A front loader arrangement includes a bracket, a mounting mast mounted on upper and lower bearings of the bracket, a loader arm which is articulated to a first pivot pin on the mast, a loader support articulated to a second pivot pin on the mast, and a locking device for locking the mast to the bracket. The locking device is arranged on the loader support. The locking device includes a pivoting locking bar which is mounted on a third pivot pin on the loader support, a pre-tensioning device which pre-tensions the locking bar depending on its position relative to the loader support into an open or a closed position, and an adjusting device arranged on the mast which can be brought into engagement with the locking bar, by which the locking bar can be moved into the closed position.

Front loader arrangements are known. They generally comprise a mounting bracket or a mounting frame which is mounted on both sides of a carrier vehicle, for example a tractor, and a front loader with a loader arm which may be mounted on the mounting bracket on both sides of the carrier vehicle via a mounting mast corresponding to the corresponding mounting bracket. The mounting takes place via bearings on the mounting bracket, on which the mounting mast is placed and to which it is connected in a lockable manner. For parking or stopping the front loader, parking supports or loader supports are generally provided thereon, the parking supports or loader supports, for example, being able to be extended and positioned by a pivoting mechanism such that the front loader is securely supported when parked. As the mounting and dismantling of the front loader may be associated with a very complex operation, proposals have been put forward by which the mounting and/or dismantling process of the front loader could be increasingly automated and thus simplified.
Such a front loader arrangement is disclosed, for example, in EP 1 593 781 A2. A front loader is disclosed for a tractor with a mounting bracket, loader arm and loader support, wherein the loader support is pivotably mounted on a mounting mast of the front loader and by the pivoting movement which the mounting mast performs during the mounting and/or dismantling of the front loader on the mounting bracket, the loader support is either pivoted in toward the loader arm or pivoted away from the loader arm. Moreover, a locking of the mounted front loader is provided at the free end of the loader support in the pivoted-in state by fixing the loader support to a front part of the vehicle chassis so that by the locking of the loader support a fixing of the mounting mast is also achieved relative to the mounting bracket. A drawback is that firstly the locking takes place at a point on the vehicle chassis remote from the driver's cab and thus, in particular, the unlocking process, inasmuch as it is not automatically carried out, is time-consuming and secondly it is difficult or impossible for the driver to see, in particular, whether the locking has been carried out correctly. Furthermore, the locking is only suitable for an angle between the loader support and the mounting mast which is determined in the parked position. Therefore, further adjustments to the mounting mast have to be undertaken if, for example when changing the front loader tool, the geometric relations are altered, in particular the angle between the loader support and the mounting mast. This is achieved in this case by a complicated adjusting device which is arranged between the loader support and the mounting mast.
A comparable front loader arrangement is disclosed in EP 2 042 660 A2. A similarly complicated locking solution is also used here with the cited drawbacks.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,168,907 B2 also discloses a front loader arrangement of the aforementioned type but with a locking device which is directly in engagement with the mounting bracket and/or directly locks the connection between the mounting mast and the mounting bracket. The loader support used here, in contrast to the aforementioned examples, is configured rigidly in the form of a tubular frame mounted on the mounting mast, the tubular frame being lowered to the ground as soon as the mounting mast is inclined to the front relative to the mounting bracket when dismantling the front loader. This solution may be suitable for smaller front loader models with small, compact and relatively short loader supports. For larger and heavier front loader arrangements, if only for statical reasons, greater support forces and thus more stable loader supports, optionally also with different carrier profile structures and larger dimensions, are required. However, this does not alter the fact that for an operating position and for a parked position, specific geometric arrangements have to be maintained on the front loader which is why a pivotable arrangement of the loader support is often desirable, if not imperative.

Front loader arrangement with hook-shaped locking bar


The present invention relates to a novel pyruvate transporter. By using the novel enzyme of the present invention, biomass and metabolite production amounts of a microorganism can be increased. Accordingly, by massively incubating the microorganism having improved growth characteristics, biomass or target protein production efficiency, or biodiesel production efficiency can be improved, and bioenergy production costs can be reduced, which may bring out the effect of industrial development.

Microalgae, which are the subjects of basic research because they have intracellular reaction mechanisms such as photosynthesis, have recently attracted attention as a next generation feedstock for advanced biofuels such as biodiesel and other hydrocarbons (Kilian et al., 2011). Compared to ground crops, microalgae are advantageous in that they do not require arable land, and many species thereof can be cultured in aquatic environments containing sewage or salt.
However, there are limitations in economically producing biofuels from unmodified wild-type microalgae. A powerful molecular biological tool is needed as one of species optimization tools for overcoming such limitations, and thus, research thereinto is underway (Radakovits et al., 2010). For a long time, most molecular biological genetic studies have been carried out on the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Thereby, molecular biological methods such as transgene expression and gene knockdown have been mostly developed with regard to C. reinhardtii species.
Recently, research tools for diatoms, which are attracting attention for industrial applications, or other microalgae are being rapidly developed (Radakovits et al. 2010). Using nutrient limitation, heterotrophic growth conditions, genetic engineering, and the like among various tools, research into increase of a useful lipid content according to biomass increase in microalgae is actively underway. To date, positive research results for the development of biofuels through genetic modification using useful genes to change a biomass or lipid content in microalgae have been continuously obtained (Kilian et al., 2011; Kranz et al., 2013).
Accordingly, there is still a need for development of novel proteins, vectors, or transformants for genetic engineering modification which are capable of increasing biomass production amounts or lipid contents in external open ponds or unopened photobioreactors of commercially important microalgae, i.e., imposing an ideal growth characteristic, among various considerations related to the growth and culture of microalgae.

IUCF-HYU (INDUSTRY-UNIVERSITY COOPERATION FOUNDATION HANYANG UNIVERSITY)


A faucet with a vertically adjustable spout.

The invention relates to a faucet or mixer tap with a vertically movable spout and a separate control input or adjusting means.
According to an illustrative embodiment of the invention a faucet includes a spout that can be moved upwards and downwards by means of a hydraulic cylinder. The faucet is particularly discrete, and the spout may be moved downwards to a lowered or hidden position substantially flush with the support deck or table top. The faucet may further be adapted such that the water supply to the spout is not opened until the spout is in its uppermost or raised position. The upward and downward movement of the spout may be controlled by the pressure from the water supply. In an alternative embodiment, the upward movement of the spout may be activated by depressing the end of the spout to release a snap lock.
According to yet another illustrative embodiment, the downward movement of the piston rod may be activated by depressing and keeping the control input down until the piston rod and the spout have adopted their lowered positions.
Additional features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of the illustrative embodiment exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the invention as presently perceived.


A primary computer system maintains a master audit trail of changes made to the primary database. A fuzzy database copy of a portion of the primary database is generated by copying the primary database portion using a shared load operation so as to copy the primary database portion without regard to changes being made to the primary database portion while the fuzzy copy is being generated. The fuzzy database copy is installed at a backup computer system. An extractor process executed by the primary computer system extracts audit records from the master audit trail corresponding to the primary database portion, and sends audit information corresponding to extracted audit records to the backup system. The sent audit information includes audit information corresponding to all audit records, including both update and backout audit records, representing changes made to the primary database portion by (A) transactions while the fuzzy database copy was generated, and (B) transactions that were active while the fuzzy database copy was generated and that continue to be active thereafter. The sent audit information also includes audit information corresponding to all audit records representing updates made to the primary database portion by the transactions after the fuzzy database copy was generated. At the backup system the audit information sent by the extractor process is received and applied to the fuzzy database copy so as to generate a synchronized backup database, by performing redos of the database updates corresponding to the audit information sent to the backup system.

The present invention works in the context of the Tandem "remote data facility" (RDF) technology disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/790,544, filed Jan. 30, 1997, which is hereby incorporated by reference as background information.
The best known and most widely used method of synchronizing a backup database with a primary database uses a procedure sometimes called Backup/Restore (i.e., backing up the database to tape and restoring from tape to a new disk or set of disks). This method generates a snapshot of the database in an internally consistent state, and requires significant downtime for applications on the primary system while the database files are being backed up. As databases have increased considerably in size over the years, the downtime for applications has correspondingly increased when having to backup the database files. Some databases are so large that the Backup/Restore method literally requires weeks to synchronize a backup database with its primary database. Since the applications on the primary system must be turned off during this entire process, this is not an acceptable solution in most situations.
As an alternative, a backup database can be generated by detaching one disk of each mirrored pair in their primary system and then reviving these mirrors against unmirrored disks on their backup systems. This method can be accomplished relatively quickly but also carries some risk that many database customers are unwilling to take. For example, after having detached the mirror ($A') on the primary, one would roll in a new disk and revive it against the existing disk ($A). If, however, one encountered any hardware problems in reviving $A' and if one was unwilling to run one's applications on unmirrored disks, then one could be faced with an extended outage, depending on the nature of the hardware failure.
Increasingly, customers with massive databases are insisting that they cannot bring their applications down at all. That is, the backup database has to be generated, initialized and synchronized with the primary database without having any impact whatsoever on the applications that are using and modifying the primary database, and further these customers are unwilling to risk running the primary system without mirrored disks.
A different but related problem involves the case where one has temporarily lost one's primary system, switched operations to the backup system, and has been running the applications at that backup system for some time. When the original primary system comes back online, how does one synchronize the databases? If the outage on the primary was planned, then there is a standard procedure whereby one can bring the database on the primary back into synchronization with the database on the backup system. Essentially, the primary system is resynchronized with the backup system by creating and storing the audit records for all committed transactions performed on the backup system, and then performing "redo" operations for those audit records on the primary system.
If, however, the outage was unplanned, then when the primary comes back online, one must perform a full database synchronization.
Previously considered solutions all boil down to the common theme of developing a program that would open database files, create duplicates on the remote system, and then read through the primary system's files, deleting and re-inserting each record.
Because the files are audited, the deletes and inserts would generate audit records that would be sent to the backup system, and then applied to the backup database. Due to the number of disk operations required, and the use of record locks that compete with record locks by the applications, the delete/insert technique is very time consuming.
There are well known problems with this technique. As an example of the type of problem caused by this technique, suppose an application updates a record in a given file before the delete/insert program replicates the record on the backup system. The Updater will encounter a file system error when attempting to apply that update because the record does not even exist in the backup database file yet. Should this error be suppressed? The delete/insert technique will also produce an error when the Updater applies the delete operation of a delete/insert pair because the record does not yet exist in the backup database. Should one suppress all such errors, since these errors are really just expected parts of the replication process? How does one inform the Updater when to suppress such errors and when not to suppress them?
There are undoubtedly ways to solve all problems associated with this delete/insert method of database synchronization, but it is not clear that even all the problems with it have been identified yet, and some of the known problems remain unsolved.
Taking into account bandwidth requirements, the amount of time it would take the delete/insert program to perform all its tasks, and the amount of time it would take to transmit the resulting audit records to the backup system and apply it to the backup system, the time required to complete database synchronization would be considerable. Performing this synchronization method on a system that is performing hundreds of transactions per second will obviously slow down the synchronization process further. It is estimated that the delete/insert synchronization method would likely take weeks to complete for a database of a few hundred gigabytes. Clearly, such a long database synchronization time is unacceptable.
It is a goal of the present invention to provide a system and method for generating and synchronizing a backup database with a primary database efficiently and relatively quickly, even when the database being replicated has hundreds of gigabytes of data.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a system and method for creating a fuzzy copy of a primary database, to be used as a backup database, and for then efficiently synchronizing the fuzzy backup database with the primary database.

System and method for sychronizing a large database and its replica


This device relates to a fluid display apparatus for an aquatic toy figure such as a fish, turtle or other marine animal or the. like. The base mount supports a receptacle having fluid therein and at least one toy aquatic piece. A motor drives a magnetic impeller in the base which in turn drives a magnetic impeller in the receptacle which causes agitation of the fluid in the receptacle to cause the aquatic toy animal to move in a realistic fashion.

This invention relates to a fish bowl or the like which will contain at least one toy aquatic figure which has a specific gravity approximating that of the fluid in which the figure is placed. A magnetically driven system will agitate the fluid to cause the animal in the fluid to swim in a realistic manner. This invention is unique in that the impeller mechanism for agitating the fluid is positioned within the display receptacle or bowl which is separatable from the base and not connected thereto.
Fluid display apparatus for fish and other aquatic animals are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,301,444, 5,405,465, 5,050,876, 5,603,994, 1,595,801, 3,425,157 and German Patent Patentanmeldung of Nov. 10, 1955 P12,239 XI-77f. In these patents, the animal has attached thereto a magnet which is affected by a second magnet which passes by the first magnet either by manual or motor means.
Some similar magnetic driving devices are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,757,986, 4,852,283, 3,006,111 and 5,146,701. In these patents, the animal figure responds through a magnetic field. In the case of U.S. Pat. No. 5,146,701, the container is moved by a magnetic field. In the case of U.S. Pat. No. 3,006,111, a magnetic field causes movement of the figure which is not encased or otherwise positioned in a fluid receptacle. In the case of U.S. Pat. No. 4,757,986, the magnets drive a figure rotationally on a non-moving platform. In the case of U.S. Pat. No. 4,852,283, the moving device can stir the debris of articles in the fluid to cause them to move about to mimic a rain or snow fall.
It is an object of this invention to provide a mechanism within a tank, bowl or receptacle which will agitate the fluid so as to cause an aquatic toy animal or the like to move with the fluid current.
Another object of this invention is to provide an aquatic display device which has a tank which is removable and separate from the base upon which it sets and is not glued or otherwise secured thereto. This allows for washing of the receptacle periodically when the fluid therein discolors.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a rotating mechanism within the tank which will agitate the fluid in various directions so as to cause the aquatic toy animal or the like to move realistically in the tank or bowl.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide an aquatic toy animal display apparatus which is inexpensive to manufacture.
Still another object of this invention is to provide an aquatic display apparatus which includes an impeller which agitates the fluid which can also be removed from the tank for cleaning and the like.
A further object of this invention is to provide a base platform which does not have to be sealed from the fluid which is in the tank.
In summary, this invention relates to aquatic toy animals positioned in a tank, receptacle or the like which are influenced by the motion of the fluid therein.
These and other objects of this invention will be apparent from the following detailed description including the drawings which are as follows:

Display apparatus for aquatic toy animals

11/F Flat D Block 2, Tai Ping Ind., Centre 55 Ting Kok Rd.


A method of making a high moisture, low fat processed cheese product, in which a mixture of particulate skim milk curd, salt and an emulsifying salt is first provided. This mixture is heated with agitation to an elevated temperature above about 160.degree. F. to provide a homogeneous cheese blend. An edible acid may be added to the cheese blend. An aqueous wet mix is added to the mixture to provide a high moisture, low fat cheese blend. The wet mix comprises water, a texture modifying agent selected from the group consisting of a maltodextrin, low D.E. corn syrup solids and mixtures thereof and a milk protein source. The wet mix is added to the cheese mixture under conditions whereby the temperature of the blend is maintained above about 130.degree. F. Agitation and heating are continued until the cheese blend reaches a temperature of at least about 190.degree. F. for a period of at least about 90 seconds to provide a high moisture, low fat processed cheese product having at least about 50% moisture.

Natural cheese is generally made by adding a microorganism to milk which is capable of metabolizing lactose to produce lactic acid and develop acidity. The milk is usually set with a milk clotting enzyme, such as rennet, or by developing acidity to the isoelectric point of the protein. The set milk is cut, whey separates and is recovered from the resulting curd. The curd may be pressed to provide a cheese block and curing takes place over a period of time under controlled conditions. A product having flavor and body characteristics of natural cheese has been made by replacing at least a portion of the animal fat of the milk with vegetable fat and/or by replacing at least a portion of the casein of the milk with a vegetable protein. Such cheeses are referred to as "analog cheese".
Processed cheese is made from one or more varieties of natural cheese, such as cheddar cheese, colby cheese, swiss cheese, washed curd, granular curd cheese, brick cheese and muenster cheese. Processed cheese is made by grinding the natural cheese, combining the particulate cheese with an emulsifying salt and heating it to a temperature sufficient to pasteurize and fluidize the cheese.
There are three general types of processed cheese. These include pasteurized processed cheese, pasteurized processed cheese food and pasteurized processed cheese spread. These processed cheese have certain characteristics which are desirable to cheese consumers. They all have a smooth, creamy texture and a slight firmness which is attributable to the presence of at least 20% fat in the processed cheese formulation.
In the United States, Standards of Identity established by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) apply to processed cheese. Based on the Standards of Identity, the main differences between the types of processed cheese is their moisture and fat content and the use of optional components.
Processed cheese has a moisture content of not more than 40% and a fat content of not less than 47%. Optional ingredients for pasteurized processed cheese includes an edible acid, cream, water, salt and spices.
Pasteurized processed cheese food generally may include the optional ingredients of pasteurized processed cheese plus other optional ingredients which may include additional dairy ingredients, such as milk, skim milk, whey, buttermilk, skim milk cheese and albumen. It has a much lower fat content. Pasteurized processed cheese food may have a fat content as low as 23%. The moisture content is not more than 44%.
Pasteurized processed cheese spread may include the optional ingredients of pasteurized processed cheese food and may also include a gum. The fat content of pasteurized processed cheese spread may be as low as 20% and it has a moisture content in a range between 44% and 60%.
Processed cheese is made by grinding or mixing while heating one or more cheeses of the same two or more varieties. Processed cheese is heated for no less than thirty seconds at no less than 150.degree. F. These cheeses are made in mass quantities. They are cooked by use of a horizontal cooker, sometimes called a laydown cooker, which can hold up to 500 pounds or more of cheese. Often, the processed cheese is then automatically packaged in air tight cartons.
In recent years, there has been a substantial amount of research effort directed to reducing the amount of fat, particularly saturated fats, in foods. In particular, there is great interest in reducing the level of fat in cheese products, such as processed cheese. It would be highly desirable to develop a processed cheese product with very low levels of fat, but which retains the body, texture, organoleptic properties and meltability of a pasteurized processed cheese food containing at least 23% dairy fat.
To date, most related efforts have been directed to the use of starch and starch gum combinations to replace the caseinate fraction in cheese and other food products.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,552,774 is directed to a cheese-like product containing up to 10% by weight starch which prevents separation during melting.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,499,116 describes imitation cheese products having up to 80% by weight of the caseinate replaced by modified starches containing 15% to 40% by weight amylose. U.S. Pat. No. 4,608,265 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,695,475 describe imitation cheese products having up to 100% replacement of caseinate by modified starches having an amylose content of at least 40%. U.S. Pat. No. 4,937,091 describes an imitation cheese product where up to 100% of the caseinate fraction may be replaced by partially enzymatically debranched starch (amylopectin), a short chain amylose and amylopectin having the texture, thermoreversibility and emulsification characteristics of caseinates found in imitation cheeses.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,847,107 describes a method of preparing fresh cheese in a finely particulate form where the particles are prevented from sticking together by the addition of starch to milled cheese.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,568,555 is directed to a cheese sauce containing various gums to provide shelf stability without the need for refrigeration.
Other patents include U.S. Pat. No. 3,806,606 which describes a synthetic cheese product containing essentially narrow melting range fats, wheat gluten, egg white and gelatin to provide a cheese with the same texture and eating quality of natural cheese.
None of the above-cited patents disclose a processed cheese product having very low fat levels which retains the body, texture, organoleptic properties and meltability of a pasteurized processed cheese food containing at least 23% fat made in accordance with the Standards of Identity of the United States FDA.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a low fat cheese product containing substantially no fat which has the body, texture, firmness, organoleptic properties and melting qualities of processed cheese containing at least 23% dairy fat. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method for preparing such low fat cheese products. These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description.

Method of making a low fat cheese product


Microelectronic devices include a lower deck and an upper deck, each comprising a stack structure with a vertically alternating sequence of insulative structures and conductive structures arranged in tiers. A lower array of pillars extends through the stack structure of the lower deck, and an upper array of pillars extends through the stack structure of the upper deck. Along an interface between the lower deck and the upper deck, the pillars of the lower array align with the pillars of the upper array. At least at elevations comprising bases of the pillars, a pillar density of the pillars of the lower array differs from a pillar density of the pillars of the upper array, “pillar density” being a number of pillars per unit of horizontal area of the respective array. Related methods and electronic systems are also disclosed.

Memory devices provide data storage for electronic systems. A Flash memory device is one of various memory device types and has numerous uses in modern computers and other electrical devices. A conventional Flash memory device may include a memory array that has a large number of charge storage devices (e.g., memory cells, such as non-volatile memory cells) arranged in rows and columns. In a NAND architecture type of Flash memory, memory cells arranged in a column are coupled in series, and a first memory cell of the column is coupled to a data line (e.g., a bit line).
In a "three-dimensional NAND" memory device (which may also be referred to herein as a "3D NAND" memory device), a type of vertical memory device, not only are the memory cells arranged in row and column fashion in a horizontal array, but tiers of the horizontal arrays are stacked over one another (e.g., as vertical strings of memory cells) to provide a "three-dimensional array" of the memory cells. The stack of tiers vertically alternate conductive materials with insulating (e.g., dielectric) materials. The conductive materials function as control gates for, e.g., access lines (e.g., word lines) of the memory cells. Vertical structures (e.g., pillars comprising channel structures and tunneling structures) extend along the vertical string of memory cells. A drain end of a string is adjacent one of the top and bottom of the vertical structure (e.g., pillar), while a source end of the string is adjacent the other of the top and bottom of the pillar. The drain end is operably connected to a bit line, while the source end is operably connected to a source line. A 3D NAND memory device also includes electrical connections between, e.g., access lines (e.g., word lines) and other conductive structures of the device so that the memory cells of the vertical strings can be selected for writing, reading, and erasing operations.
Forming 3D NAND memory devices tends to present challenges. For example, differing residual stresses at various dispositions along a wafer, or relative to a particular feature being constructed on the wafer, may result in some features, intended to be truly vertical, bending away from true vertical, leading to misalignments, missed connections, or other fabrication problems with regard to subsequently-formed features. Such misalignments, missed connections, or the like may ultimately cause device failure. Thus, reliably fabricating the features of microelectronic devices, such as 3D NAND memory devices, presents challenges.

Microelectronic devices with tiered decks of differing pillar density and related methods and systems


A socket tool extension element includes a latching mechanism for automatically securing a socket to a driven stud on one end of the extension simultaneously with the attachment of a wrench drive stud to a socket portion at the opposite end of the extension. A captive latch ball projecting from an opening on one side face of the driven stud is constantly biased to the projected position by one end of a compression spring housed within a latching bore angularly disposed relative the longitudinal axis of the extension element. The other end of the compression spring constantly engages a bearing member which in turn biases against a lock pin slidably disposed within a bore axially extending from the socket portion to the driven stud of the extension element. In an at-rest condition and with a socket attached to the driven stud, the socket is manually attachable and removable from the driven stud and temporarily retained thereupon by the yieldably biased latch ball. Thereafter, upon the attachment of a wrench drive stud to the extension socket portion, the drive stud engages an end of the lock pin, causing its axial displacement to force the bearing member toward the captive latch ball and full compressing the helicies of the compression spring so as to preclude any inward deflection of the latch ball such that the attached socket is non-removably retained or locked upon the extension element as long as the wrench drive stud is connected thereto.

No doubt one of the most frequently utilized tools of a mechanic, particularly an automotive mechanic, is the socket wrench. This tool comprises a wrench of any one of various types having a square drive element adapted to engage in a snap-fit manner, a square cavity as formed in any one of various sizes of socket elements, the latter destined to captively engage the polygonal periphery of either a nut or the head of a bolt/machine screw. When operating around larger pieces of equipment, such as motor vehicles and construction machinery, the need frequently exists to apply or remove threaded fasteners which are not readily accessible in view of cramped quarters immediately surrounding the fastener. In these cases, one applies an extension element intermediate the wrench and socket and which comprises an elongated element having a female upper end engaged by the wrench drive element and an opposite male end similar in configuration to the wrench drive element and which is snap-fitted into the socket.
A problem encountered when using many existing extensions with socket tool sets is that often when withdrawing the tool assembly from a use position, the socket is pulled from the lower end of the extension element due to an interference fit with the involved nut or bolt head. Thereafter, the socket may fall to an even more inaccessible spot or at least remain attached to the nut or bolt which is already in an awkward location. Thus, it will be highly desirable to have available an extension device for socket tools that automatically will provide a reliable locking action to positively retain sockets on its outer end yet will not call for an inordinate amount of machining or an excessive cost to manufacture. Many attempts at providing mechanisms in this area have been hampered by the extremely cramped space within which to install any supplemental structure. The most popular and often considered the standard size among socket tool sets is considered the 1/2" drive. This means that the square drive stud at the forward end of each extension is but one-half inch wide per face while the maximum diameter usually available throughout the length of the extension shank is approximately 5/8". Then, one must realize that a smaller, 3/8" drive socket tool set also exists and the available room within extensions in this latter size set will be even more restrictive. Thus, extension socket latching mechanisms must maximize use of the limited area available within the confines of elongated extension members and the instant construction proposes a unique solution in this area.


A moisturizing process for slurry delivery tubes in chemical mechanical polishing is disclosed. A mist of deionized water is dispensed directly into the tubes each time a high pressure spray bar automatically cycles. The tips of the tubes are kept wet enough to prevent the slurry from drying in and clogging the tubes. A fan-type spray nozzle is located in the bar and, when pressurized, dispenses a fine mist. A direction of the nozzle is modified to avoid overspraying the tool. Only the tips of the delivery tubes and part of the polishing pad receive the misted spray. The slurry is moisturized and never dries at the point of use as the mist is dispensed with each cycle of a pad rinse feature.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to chemical mechanical polishing and, in particular, to an improved system, method, and apparatus for maintaining chemical mechanical polishing slurry delivery tubes in a wetted condition to prevent clogging therein.
2. Description of the Related Art
Magnetic recording is employed for large memory capacity requirements in high speed data processing systems. For example, in magnetic disc drive systems, data is read from and written to magnetic recording media utilizing magnetic transducers commonly referred to as magnetic heads. Typically, one or more magnetic recording discs are mounted on a spindle such that the disc can rotate to permit the magnetic head mounted on a moveable arm in position closely adjacent to the disc surface to read or write information thereon.
During operation of the disc drive system, an actuator mechanism moves the magnetic transducer to a desired radial position on the surface of the rotating disc where the head electromagnetically reads or writes data. Usually the head is integrally mounted in a carrier or support referred to as a "slider." A slider generally serves to mechanically support the head and any electrical connections between the head and the rest of the disc drive system. The slider is aerodynamically shaped to slide over moving air and therefore to maintain a uniform distance from the surface of the rotating disc thereby preventing the head from undesirably contacting the disc.
Typically, a slider is formed with essentially planar areas surrounded by recessed areas etched back from the original surface. The surface of the planar areas that glide over the disc surface during operation is known as the air bearing surface (ABS). Large numbers of sliders are fabricated from a single wafer having rows of the magnetic transducers deposited simultaneously on the wafer surface using semiconductor-type process methods. After deposition of the heads is complete, single-row bars are sliced from the wafer, each bar comprising a row of units which can be further processed into sliders having one or more magnetic transducers on their end faces. Each row bar is bonded to a fixture or tool where the bar is processed and then further diced, i.e., separated into sliders having one or more magnetic transducers on their end faces. Each row bar is bonded to a fixture or tool where the bar is processed and then further diced, i.e., separated into individual sliders each slider having at least one magnetic head terminating at the slider air bearing surface.
The slider head is typically an inductive electromagnetic device including magnetic pole pieces, which read the data from or write the data onto the recording media surface. In other applications the magnetic head may include a magneto resistive read element for separately reading the recorded data with the inductive heads serving only to write the data. In either application, the various elements terminate on the air bearing surface and function to electromagnetically interact with the data contained on the magnetic recording disc.
In order to achieve maximum efficiency from the magnetic heads, the sensing elements must have precision dimensional relationships to each other as well as the application of the slider air bearing surface to the magnetic recording disc. Each head has a polished ABS with flatness parameters, such as crown, camber, and twist. The ABS allows the head to "fly" above the surface of its respective spinning disk. In order to achieve the desired fly height, fly height variance, take-off speed, and other aerodynamic characteristics, the flatness parameters of the ABS need to be tightly controlled. During manufacturing, it is most critical to grind or lap these elements to very close tolerances of desired flatness in order to achieve the unimpaired functionality required of sliders.
Conventional lapping processes utilize either oscillatory or rotary motion of the workpiece across either a rotating or oscillating lapping plate to provide a random motion of the workpiece over the lapping plate and randomize plate imperfections across the head surface in the course of lapping. During the lapping process, the motion of abrasive particles carried on the surface of the lapping plate is typically along, parallel to, or across the magnetic head elements exposed at the slider ABS.
In magnetic head applications, the electrically active components exposed at the ABS are made of relatively softer, ductile materials. These electrically active components during lapping can scratch and smear into the other components causing electrical shorts and degraded head performance. The prior art lapping processes cause different materials exposed at the slider ABS to lap to different depths, resulting in recession or protrusion of the critical head elements relative to the air bearing surface. As a result, poor head performance because of increased space between the critical elements and the recording disc can occur.
Rotating lapping plates having horizontal lapping surfaces in which abrasive particles such as diamond fragments are embedded have been used for lapping and polishing purposes in the high precision lapping of magnetic transducer heads. Generally in these lapping processes, as abrasive slurry utilizing a liquid carrier containing diamond fragments or other abrasive particles is applied to the lapping surface as the lapping plate is rotated relative to the slider or sliders maintained against the lapping surface.
The slurries used in chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) processes solidify when allowed to dry. Under such conditions, the tubes used to dispense the slurry can become completely clogged with the dried slurry. Even if the dried slurry does not completely obstruct the delivery tubes, it can also act as a "filter" when in a semi-porous form that actually removes the required abrasive media entrained in the slurry. If the slurry is not properly dispensed, the wafers being processed may be over polished which results in scrapped wafers. Dry slurry can also form scratches on the wafers during the polishing process, resulting in either rework or additional scrap.
One prior art solution to the problem is to adjust a setting of the software used to control the process to initiate a "slurry flush" after a polish cycle has completed. However, typical slurry delivery systems are located about six feet away from the CMP tool. The cost to flush the slurry located in the tubing over this distance and then prime the system after each cycle is unacceptable. This same process may be repeated manually on a regular (e.g., daily) basis, but human operator errors introduce significant inconsistencies. Thus, although these prior art methods of addressing the problem are workable, an improved solution would be desirable.

System, method, and apparatus for wetting slurry delivery tubes in a chemical mechanical polishing process to prevent clogging thereof

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Netherlands B.V.


A system includes a primary monitoring system to determine a battery status of a battery pack and a secondary monitoring system configured to monitor the battery status as communicated by the primary monitoring system over a network. At least one of the primary and secondary monitoring systems generates a warning signal when the battery status comprises a thermal event that reaches a predetermined level.

The desire to reduce automotive fuel consumption and emissions is well documented. Therefore, vehicles are being developed that reduce or completely eliminate reliance on internal combustion engines. Electrified vehicles are one type of vehicle currently being developed for this purpose. In general, electrified vehicles differ from conventional motor vehicles because they are selectively driven by one or more battery powered electric machines. Conventional motor vehicles, by contrast, rely exclusively on the internal combustion engine to drive the vehicle.
A high voltage battery pack typically powers the electric machines and other electrical loads of the electrified vehicle. The battery pack includes a plurality of battery cells arranged in one or more cell stacks or groupings. The battery cells require monitoring to maximize efficiency, maximize performance, and detect potential battery malfunctions. It is important to identify any potential battery malfunctions in an efficient and reliable manner.

Distributed battery thermal runaway detection


Process for continuously galvanizing steel sheet by passing the sheet through a bath consisting of zinc, aluminium and silicon, the aluminium content ranging from 0.05% to 0.5% by weight and the silicon content from 0.005% by weight up to saturation.. There is neither formation of aluminiferous floating dross nor formation of bottom dross in such a bath.

In the continuous galvanizing of steel sheet, it is known that either a bath consisting of zinc and 0.10%-<0.15% by weight of aluminium or a bath consisting of zinc and >0.15-0.20% by weight of aluminium is most often used. The first type of bath is employed when the zinc-coated sheet, after the coating has been wiped, is subjected to a diffusion heat treatment so as to transform the zinc coating into a coating of an iron-zinc alloy, this commonly being called "galvannealing". The second type of bath is used to produce conventional galvanized product, that is to say sheet coated with a thin layer of zinc. If the bath contains less than 0.12% of aluminium, a whole range of iron-zinc compounds, as is described in the zinc-iron phase diagram, is formed at the interface between the iron and the zinc, which compounds are to be avoided in the production of conventional galvanized product. In order to prevent any nucleation of the .delta. phase, the aluminium must, in fact, be greater than 0.15%. This is the reason why the second type of bath has an aluminium content of more than 0.15%. For an aluminium content of approximately 0.15%, a very thin layer of Fe.sub.2 Al.sub.5 alloy, which will act as a barrier to any subsequent diffusion, is formed at the surface of the steel. This is the reason why the first type of bath has an aluminium content of less than 0.15%. However, this first type of bath requires the presence of at least approximately 0.10% of aluminium in order to slow down the reaction between the iron and the zinc while the sheet is passing through the bath; otherwise, this reaction would give rise to an excessive growth of the coating in the bath. Although slowed down by the aluminium, the reaction between the iron and the zinc nevertheless causes the formation of iron-zinc dross which accumulates at the bottom of the bath and which is consequently called bottom dross. This bottom dross stops being formed as soon as the aluminium content exceeds 0.15%; it therefore does not form in the second type of bath. In the second type of bath, part of the aluminium reacts with the iron of the sheet in order to form Fe.sub.2 Al.sub.5 compounds commonly called floating dross. It is also known that, in the continuous galvanizing world, three categories of galvanizers exist: those which just make "galvannealed" sheet, those which just make conventional galvanized sheet and those which make alternately, and without interruption, both types of sheets on one and the same galvanizing line. The latter use the first type of bath to make "galvannealed" sheet and the second type of bath to make conventional galvanized sheet, and they raise the aluminium content of the bath in order to pass from the first type of bath to the second: they therefore apply a process as defined hereinabove. This known process has the drawback that, because of the increase in the aluminium content of the bath when passing from the first to the second type of bath, the iron-zinc bottom dross existing in the bath at this moment will be progressively converted into iron-aluminium floating dross, and will rise and create defects on the sheet passing through the bath; there is therefore a risk of producing a substantial quantity of sheet of lower quality every time one passes from the production of "galvannealed" sheet to the production of conventional galvanized sheet.


A plastic molded article laminated a layer with a photochromic property and/or a layer with a polarization property on at least one side of a base material, said base material being a polycarbonate having a photoelastic constant of 55×10−12 m2/N or below.

Examples of application of a transparent plastic product having a glare-reducing ability include windows for construction, sunroofs and windows for motor car, sun glasses, goggles, illuminations and ornaments.
Particularly, recently, demand for plastic lenses used a transparent aromatic polycarbonate with excellent impact resistance in a sun glass with degree having a glare-reducing ability has rapidly expanded mainly in U.S.A. Thus, lens materials for spectacle having more excellent optical properties than those in an aromatic polycarbonate have been extensively developed.
For example, Japanese Patent Kokai (Laid-open) No.12-63506 discloses that an aromatic-aliphatic copolymerization polycarbonate resin material has balanced and excellent optical properties as a lens material. When an object is seen through a lens applied this material as a lens base material, Abbe's number representing definition of image (Abbe's number: a value representing a degree of color aberration of a lens material) is higher as 39 than 29 of conventional aromatic polycarbonate, so that definite image can be seen.
Further, the refractive index of this material is 1.57 whereas conventional polymethylmethacrylate as an optical material is 1.49. This material has a high refractive index about equivalent to 1.59 of conventional aromatic polycarbonate. When this material is applied to a spectacle lens with degree, it is suitable to a spectacle lens requiring lightness because its thickness can be made thin.
A sunglass with a polarization property has a glare-reducing ability excellent in cutting characteristic against a reflected light. Thus, its usefulness in outdoor activities such as marine sport, skiing and fishing has come to be noticed widely. Recently, its demand has rapidly expanded. Particularly, when it is produced from an aromatic polycarbonate, the above-mentioned tendency is remarkable because it is excellent in impact resistance.
On the other hand, with progress of rapid development for excellent photochromic pigment, a plastic photochromic sunglass with a glare-reducing ability changing transmittance depending on surrounding brightness has been remarkably improved and is rapidly attaining popularity.
However, it is not easy to process the plastic photochromic sunglass. For example, in the production of such polycarbonate lens as described in Japanese Patent Kokai (Laid-open) No.61-5910, when a process comprising adding a photochromic pigment(s) during production of a polycarbonate sheet to be used is applied, a lens thus obtained is insufficient in both response speed and contrast. Also in resins other than polycarbonate, there usually occur some problems that, in a sheet with strength usable as a glare-reducing material, degradation of a photochromic pigment occurs; its kneading is troublesome; contrast of a product to be obtained is low and its response speed is slow.
Further, in a lens base material, when aromatic polycarbonate is applied to the base material, definition of image is, as described above, slightly inferior because its Abbe's number is comparatively small and interior distortion becomes large due to its high photoelastic constant. Therefore, further improvement of optical properties has been desired.
Thus, development of a lens material used a polycarbonate excellent in impact resistance as a lens base material in which distortion of image is small and definition can be secured has been required. Moreover, further improvement of performances of a lens with a glare-reducing ability due to a polarization property or a photochromic property changing transmittance depending on surrounding brightness has been required.

Plastic molded product having photochromic characteristic and/or polarizing characteristics


The present invention relates to light diffusion type light emitting diodes, more particularly, to a light emitting device having a large divergence angle by widely spreading an emitted light from a single color to a white color and a method thereof. The light emitting diode including the encapsulating layer according to the present invention is characterized by including at least two materials with different characteristics. According to the present invention, an encapsulating material for light emitting diode is mixed with at least two materials with a different polarity or a refractive index to easily form a light emitting diode. In addition, the light emitting diode die is bonded on the bottom surface of a cup, and an encapsulating material and microspheres are dispersed in the vicinity and upper portion of the light emitting diode and the entire light emitting diode, therefore the light emitting diode has a large and uniform divergence angle due to a light uniformly scattered and refracted. Furthermore, the microsphere particles with similar density to the encapsulating layer exist, thereby solving a problem of precipitation of particles, which occurs when the existing inorganic particles are dispersed.

A light emitting diode (referred to as LED, hereinafter) has been recently changed from a light source for display into a light source for lighting LED to be expected as a next-generational energy saving light source and may replace an incandescent bulb or a fluorescent lamp. Therefore, technology innovations in the field of white LED technology, semiconductor lighting or a solid state lighting have been made in the worldwide.
In view of a light emitting mechanism of an LED, a light radiation basically depends on peculiar characteristics of a semiconductor and a fluorescent substance not on a heat or a discharged light. Because a LED lighting equipment does not feel hot unlike an incandescent bulb when it is touched, it is safe. Also, it generates less wastes because of its property that is longlasting. In addition, the LED lighting equipment does not include harmful materials such as fragile glass, mercury or organic material, therefore it is the earth environment-friendly light source for lighting. Therefore, the LED lighting equipment can be applied in various fields as well as in general lightings and is expected to form a huge market for the upcoming 10 years.
In general, a semiconductor light emitting diode is called a point source of light because of a small light emitting area of a LED and its property of going straight on. Accordingly, a lot of researches for obtaining a light emitting diode having a uniform and large divergence angle have been conducted. In general, a method of mixing inorganic and organic particles with an encapsulating material to be packaged or a method of widely spreading a light using a lens have been used. The former method is affirmatively used because it is benefical in saving the prime cost of a product and miniaturization.
As the prior art, a method to enlarge a divergence angle by dispersing light-conductive particles that scatter a light on the cover of a lamp is registered in U.S. Pat. No. 4,191,943 and a method to enlarge a divergence angle by dispersing inorganic particles such as CaF in the range of 6 to 25 wt % on an encapsulating layer is registered in U.S. Pat. No. 5,140,220.
By the way, an application about a method to use a light diffusing agent and a fluorescent substance altogether is pending. Nichia uses barium titanate, titanium oxide, aluminum oxide and silicone dioxide as diffusing agent for making a white color by mixing a blue wavelength lighting with a fluorescent substance in U.S. Pat. No. 6,069,440. As the similar technology, Arima Optoelectronics registered a technology using a fluorescent substance and bubbles in U.S. Pat. No. 6,614,170B2 and General Electric Company registered a technology of forming a diffusing layer separately from a fluorescent layer to diffuse a light emitted from a LED die in U.S. Pat. No. 6,653,765.
As described above, researches for widening a light diffusion range of a diode continue.

Light diffusion type light emitting diode


The present invention reduces deterioration in the output of a fuel cell caused by a high moisture concentration at an oxidant electrode. A control apparatus for a fuel cell comprising an electrolyte membrane, an oxidant electrode provided on one side of the electrolyte membrane, and a fuel electrode provided on the other side of the electrolyte membrane, in which electric power is generated from an oxidant gas supplied to the oxidant electrode and a fuel gas supplied to the fuel electrode, wherein when the current-voltage characteristics of the fuel cell fall below a predetermined reference level, and the electrolyte membrane has not dried beyond a predetermined reference level, the control apparatus executes a control operation that increases the gas pressure at the oxidant electrode.

Fuel cells comprising an electrolyte membrane, an oxidant electrode provided on one side of the electrolyte membrane, and a fuel electrode provided on the other side of the electrolyte membrane, wherein electric power is generated from an oxidant gas such as air containing oxygen that is supplied to the oxidant electrode, and a fuel gas containing hydrogen that is supplied to the fuel electrode are already known (for example, see JP H05-47394 A, JP 2004-127914 A, and JP 2004-220794 A).
JP H05-47394 A discloses technology for controlling the water content state of a solid polymer electrolyte of a fuel cell in an optimal state, thereby enabling stable operation of the cell. Specifically, a fuel cell is disclosed in which when the current-voltage characteristics of the fuel cell deteriorate and the conductivity of the solid polymer electrolyte increases, the amount of moisture contained within the supplied reactant gas is reduced, whereas when the current-voltage characteristics of the fuel cell deteriorate and the conductivity of the solid polymer electrolyte is low, the amount of moisture within the reactant gas is increased.
Further, JP 2004-127914 A discloses technology for controlling the pressure difference between the pressure of the oxidant gas and the pressure of the fuel gas in accordance with the result of diagnosing the state of moisture within the fuel cell. Specifically, in JP2004-127914A, when the moisture content is diagnosed as being excessive, the pressure difference is controlled so that the pressure of the fuel gas is increased relative to the pressure of the oxidant gas, and as a result, diffusion of water from the air electrode side to the fuel electrode side is inhibited, thus preventing water accumulation within the electrode region of the fuel electrode. On the other hand, when the moisture content is diagnosed as being insufficient, the pressure difference is controlled so that the pressure of the fuel gas is lowered relative to the pressure of the oxidant gas, and as a result, migration of water from the air electrode side to the fuel electrode side is promoted, enabling water impregnation of the electrolyte membrane to occur rapidly.
Furthermore, JP 2004-220794 A discloses a technology for maintaining the pressure difference between the anode pressure and the cathode pressure at a constant level without the use of an anode pressure sensor or cathode pressure sensor, by using the change in the current-voltage characteristics of the fuel cell caused by excessive or insufficient supply volume or pressure of the hydrogen gas or air. Specifically, JP 2004-220794 A discloses a technique wherein when the actual voltage value is lower than a previously stored standard voltage value that is based on the current-voltage characteristics of the cell, this reduced voltage is corrected by increasing the pressure of the fuel gas or the oxidant gas. This technique utilizes the fact that a judgment as to whether or not the supply of hydrogen or air is insufficient can be made by comparing the actual voltage value with the standard voltage value.

Fuel cell apparatus and fuel cell system


A liquid jet recording apparatus includes a liquid jet head including discharge ports, element substrates, a base substrate, common liquid chambers, and a head liquid chamber. The apparatus also includes a first liquid supply path that leads from a liquid reserve tank to a liquid indraft orifice provided on the base substrate via a pump, a second liquid supply path that leads from a liquid outflow orifice provided on the base substrate to a sub-tank, a third liquid supply path that leads from the sub-tank to a liquid indraft orifice provided on the head liquid chamber, a fourth liquid supply path that leads from a liquid outflow orifice provided on the head liquid chamber to the liquid reserve tank or the sub-tank, and a fifth liquid supply path that leads from the sub-tank to the liquid reserve tank to return the liquid from the sub-tank to the liquid reserve tank.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid jet recording apparatus.
More specifically, the present invention relates to a liquid jet recording apparatus using a full-line type recording head that has a discharge port array with a length substantially equal to the width of a recording medium and that carries out image recording onto substantially the whole surface of a recording medium by relatively scanning the recording medium with the recording head for only one time.
Even more specifically, the present invention relates to a liquid jet recording apparatus that supplies ink to the head from a second tank that is different from a liquid reserve tank.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, in a liquid jet head that discharges an ink droplet by utilizing thermal energy such as heat generated by a heater and the like, some of the thermal energy generated by the heater is discharged to the outside of the head by the discharge of the ink droplet.
However, in some cases, the remaining thermal energy is stored in the liquid jet head, so that the temperature of the liquid jet head is raised.
Due to the rising of the temperature of the liquid jet head, the ink in the head is more intensely heated.
On the other hand, the viscosity of the ink is reduced as the temperature of the head is raised. Thus, in the case of the ink with reduced viscosity, a larger amount of ink is discharged even when the energy of the same level as compared to the case of an ink having a viscosity of a normal level is applied.
In addition, the temperature of the head is raised as the number of copies to be printed increases. Therefore, there is a problem such that in this case, the density of an image is gradually increased.
In addition, when the temperature of the head is raised, air dissolving in the ink supplied to the head is separated out. Then, the separated-out air is accumulated, and as a result, the ink is not supplied to the discharge ports in a sufficient amount. Thus, there occurs phenomena of an instability of a discharge operation and a discharge failure in the worst case.
An effect of the rise in the temperature appears more remarkable in a recording apparatus using a long full-line type head that has a large number of nozzles distributed in a high density and that carries out recording onto substantially the whole surface of the recording medium by a single relative movement of the head and the recording medium.
In this type of conventional liquid jet recording apparatus, an excellent image is obtained by cooling the full-line type head in order to prevent the temperature rise of the head.
In recent years, the trend for higher definition and higher printing speed of a liquid jet recording apparatus is getting more and more developed. With regard to resolution, for example, the trend is transited from 1,200 dpi to 2,400 dpi, and then to 4,800 dpi. As is known from this, a product of a higher resolution is brought out to the market year by year.
In accordance with the improvement of the resolution, an ink droplet discharged by one discharge operation is getting smaller and smaller in size. In this regard, at present times, there is a product that is capable of discharging a very small ink droplet of 2 pl.
However, as the resolution becomes higher, it is necessary to make a discharging frequency higher in accordance with the higher resolution. Thereby, the temperature rise of the liquid jet head becomes much greater.
In the case of a recording apparatus using a full-line type liquid jet head that carries out printing by only one relative movement (single pass) of a recording medium and the recording head, an image is finally formed by one relative movement of the recording medium and the recording head.
However, there is a problem such that it is impossible to decrease the number of ink discharge nozzles used at the same time to a submultiple of the number of nozzles by carrying out the image formation by distributing the operation into multiple passes as in the case of a serial type recording apparatus that forms an image by reciprocating movement of the head.
In a case where the recording by a single pass by the full-line type head is finally carried out, it is necessary to use the whole portion of the head in the single pass. Therefore, the rise in the temperature of the head caused by continuous printing becomes more remarkable.
Practically, in order to implement high speed printing by which 60 sheets of A4 size paper are fed per one minute in the direction of a shorter side of the paper (in a horizontal direction), a discharge frequency of the head of 16 kHz is necessary for the resolution of 1,200 dpi.
When the resolution is doubled to 2,400 dpi, a discharge frequency of the head of 32 kHz is necessary. In other words, when the resolution becomes high and the size of the ink droplet is made smaller in accordance with the higher resolution, it is necessary to increase the number of ink droplets to be discharged per unit area.
Therefore, in the conventional recording apparatus, in order to implement high speed printing, it is necessary to increase the ink discharge frequency to a large extent. As a result, the intense rise in the temperature of the head is caused.
In the recording apparatus using the full-line type head, the head itself is long, and accordingly, a temperature distribution in the head is likely to occur.
Especially, in the vicinity of an ink supply port through which ink flows into the head in order to replenish ink in an amount equal to an amount of the discharged ink, the ink of a low temperature flows in, and therefore, the temperature is relatively lowered. On the other hand, in a portion distant from the ink supply port, the ink that is heated to some extent in the head is supplied to the nozzle, and therefore, the temperature is raised. Thus, there is a problem such that the temperature distribution is caused in the same head, and the printing density becomes uneven.
In a recording apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-255048, as shown in FIG. 14 and FIG. 15, one end of an ink supply path to a head 1 is connected to an ink cartridge 3, and the other end of the ink supply path is connected to a sub-tank 4.
A pipe-like circuit in the head 1 is filled with ink. When an amount of consumed ink reaches a given amount during printing, the ink is automatically supplied from the ink cartridge 3 to the head 1, and the ink passes through the pipe-like circuit in the head 1 and is then returned to the sub-tank 4.
However, a timing at which the ink is supplied to the head 1 is determined in advance. In a case where a continuous printing at a high resolution is carried out by a full multihead, the ink supply for offsetting the rise in the temperature cannot be implemented, and it is not possible to carry out a sufficient cooling of the head.
In addition, ink is directly supplied from the ink cartridge 3 into the head 1, and, thereby, a liquid level of the ink cartridge 3 fluctuates. Therefore, the recording apparatus of this type is liable to be directly affected by the fluctuation of a head difference between the liquid levels of the ink cartridge 3 and an ink discharge section.
In a recording apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,896,172, which is a second conventional example, a liquid jet recording apparatus provided with a switching unit configured to be capable of switching between an ink supply system and an ink circulation system is discussed.
As shown in FIG. 16 and FIG. 17, a heating element 35, a common liquid chamber 33, a recording liquid supply port 36A, and a second supply port 36B used at the time of the circulation of the liquid are provided on an element substrate.
A recording head 31 includes a liquid path 34 and an orifice 32.
Further, the head 31 is provided with a cooling chamber 39 formed on the element substrate in a manner opposed to the liquid path 34, a temperature sensor 38, an ink supply port 310A for supplying the liquid to the cooling chamber 39, and a liquid return port 310B.
In the recording apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,896,172, the rise in the temperature in the head 31 is detected by the temperature sensor 38. If the temperature is above a certain given level as a result of the detection, the switching unit switches the ink supply path. That is, the ink is circulated between a recording liquid reserve tank 37 and the head 31 in order to cool the head 31, as indicated by full line arrows shown in FIG. 18.
The liquid circulation path is constituted by valves 314, 315A, and 315B, pumps 313, 314A, 325A, and 325B, the recording liquid reserve tank 37, liquid supply paths 312B and 312A, and liquid return paths 311A and 311B.
However, in the configuration of the recording apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,896,172, it is necessary to switch the ink supply path by the switching unit in carrying out the cooling of the head.
That is, in a case where continuous printing is carried out by a liquid jet recording apparatus using a full-line type liquid jet head capable of high speed printing, there is a problem such that a capacity of cooling the head is not high enough.


Arrangements for initialization-time and run-time integration of firmware and driver software extensions for supporting add-in hardware.

The computer industry's devotion, commitment and adherence to support long-existing as well as presently-known platform arrangements have advantageously helped fuel the wide-spread (i.e., global) acceptance of computers and the explosion of the computer industries. However, providing extensive platform support (e.g., within semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) chips) has likewise been found to result in disadvantages. Alternatively, if there is no extensibility to allow support for new technologies, it may seriously impact the products' potential lifespan and prematurely curtail its attractiveness. Integrated chipset products are unique in this context, in that they tend to have both a long life span and tight size limitations in order to remain within cost and complexity budgets.
With regard to wastefulness, as one example, a primary semiconductor area within a next generation chip (e.g., a graphics chipset) may be devoted solely to contemporary graphics functions, but a significant amount of additional semiconductor area also may provide additional support (e.g., circuitry) with respect to all viable legacy display devices (e.g., cathode ray tubes (CRTs), liquid crystal displays (LCDs), plasma displays, etc.) and display device interfaces (e.g. Analog Video Graphics Adapter (VGA) CRT signaling, analog Composite-Video Signaling (TV), Transition Minimized Differential Signaling (TMDS), Low-Voltage Differential Signaling (LVDS), etc.) known at "build-time." The problems are that the display support uses valuable semiconductor area, and adds to the design complexity, pin count, size, cost and time-to-marked (TtM) delays of the next-generation chip. Further, support for some of the displays already may be extraneous/unused in some environments (e.g., VGA CRT display support may be irrelevant or less important in notebook computer and personal digital assistant (PDA) environments using an integrated LCD), or may become extraneous in the future as new display technologies are developed and supercede old display technologies. For example, while CRT, TV and LCD displays are widely used/supported today, there are a number of differing standards applying at the interface cable from the host system to the display. For example, either the TMDS and/or LVDS interfaces may be used to control a digital LCD display.
Looking further into the future, it is already well understood that displays and display interface technologies are emerging. For example, while TMDS is quite popular for displays following the Digital Visual Interface (DVI) standard, there is a new mechanism layered on to this signaling to allow protection of content on the cable using cryptographic encryption and security protocols.
Additionally, it is understood that display technologies are still maturing, and while LCDs are increasingly popular today, new technology light-emitting plastic (LEP) displays and organic-electro-luminescent displays (OELD) are showing great promise, and may very well supercede these prior displays once LEP & OELD technology matures.
Since each of the display interface standards and display technologies has its own valid usage models, unique interface protocol, characteristics and limitations, the different display interfaces have typically been partitioned into display encoder devices which have a digital pixel interface on one side and encode this into the required display signaling interface that comes out the other side. This affords platform designers more flexibility in allowing the support of multiple display options, and the ability to source display technologies from different vendors.
However, the challenge for the software supporting the graphics controller and the display encoder interface is compounded because, not only are there different display standards, there are also a number of different vendors for each type of display interface, and each vendor has a number of different encoder products with different features, capabilities and different levels of integration (e.g., it is common practice to put support for multiple display interfaces into one encoder chip). In addition, even while the electrical standards for these devices may be somewhat similar, the programming interface to the encoder of the interface varies widely. In all cases, this involves significant algorithmic (software code) and parametric (software configuration data) differences in supporting each device. It is not feasible to re-purpose existing display initialization and configuration code and data to accommodate unforeseen interfaces and technologies.
Allowing platform extensibility to support such future display interface protocol and display technologies is an important aspect in extending the life of a graphics product, and thereby enhancing the return on investment from such a product's design.
Currently, the use of "daughter-cards" is one viable means by which to flexibly alter the display outputs supported and supply the display encoder needed, so as to extend display output capabilities of an original platform. However, presently, the types of daughter-cards supported by a platform is limited by the ability of software on the platform to identify the attached card, and requires that all the software and firmware support for that particular daughter-card be included in the platform firmware and software bundle prior to the introduction of the card, e.g., at build-time of the platform.
Additionally, because the boot Power-On Self-Test (POST) process, real-mode Disk Operating System (DOS) and other Operating System (O/S) environments require that firmware support be present in the video Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) from initial boot, this adds an additional problem. That is, video BIOS space is limited to a maximum of 64 KB in its final form, this being the maximum size of a real-mode x86 option read-only memory (ROM) segment. However, the video BIOS, as an option ROM, must allow some space for other real-mode option ROMs, so practically the limit is 48 KB, or even 32 KB. Further, there is limited space in which to include real-mode code modules necessary to support each of the possible display encoder options.
One solution to the excessive support problem is to provide limited predetermined support sufficient to enable boot-up, then perform reconfiguration while booted, and then re-boot to effect the reconfiguration. More particularly, a device or limited platform might be designed to support only a singular display configuration (e.g., an analog CRT), and then if it is later decided to reconfigure the platform to a differing display configuration, there is the ability to boot with the known working display (e.g., an analog CRT), then manually reprogram the non-volatile BIOS storage device with a ROM image including support to match an actual/desired display configuration (e.g., a Digital TMDS display), and then reboot. However, such reconfiguration is impractical to an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) if the platform has already shipped. Even if it has not shipped, this process adds disadvantageous configuration/customization overhead to the system assembly process.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Arrangements for initialization-time and run-time integration of firmware and software extensions for supporting add-in hardware


The faucet insulator apparatus is a device which enables one to help protect a faucet and by extension connected pipes from cold weather elements. The invention is comprised of an insulation region and a capturing recess which provide a faucet cover for protecting a faucet against inclement weather. The portion of the inner walls of the faucet insulator, which come in contact with the faucet, are configured to deform and grasp the faucet to secure the faucet insulator apparatus to portions of the faucet's surface.

Faucets are devices which control the flow of liquid or gas from a pipe or container. Typically, faucets control the flow of the liquid in one direction. A faucet may conventionally be connected to the pipe or container for receiving a liquid or gas therefrom.
FIG. 7 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a prior art faucet 700, which may be used with the present invention. Faucet 700 may include a conduit 704 through which any liquid may pass. A faucet 700 for which the invention is used is one which is connected to a plumbing system or pipe. Conduit 704 may include a first open end 702 for receiving the liquid, and a second open end 706 ("spout 706") for permitting liquid entering first open end 702, to pass through conduit 704 and exit at spout 706.
Faucet 700 will include a mechanism for controlling the flow of the liquid through conduit 704. For example, faucet 700 may include a liquid flow control valve 708 for determining the volume of liquid transported by faucet 700. More particularly, liquid flow control valve 708 controls the volume of liquid exiting spout 706.
In a typical prior art embodiment, liquid flow control valve 708 may include a valve 710 for obstructing the flow of liquid. For example, valve 710 may be a ball valve as is found in the prior art faucets. Liquid flow control valve 708 may include a faucet handle 712, in communication with a stem 714. Stem 714 may be in further communication with valve 710, such that when faucet handle 712 is actuated (i.e., rotated), stem 714 causes valve 710 to facilitate the flow of liquid to spout 706. Not only may the conventional transport mechanism 710 impede the flow of the liquid, liquid flow control valve 708 may be configured to allow the free flow of the liquid.
Unfortunately, when faucets are placed external to a dwelling the faucet is subject to the change in the climate. For example, in tropical climates the faucet may be subjected to moisture or rain, which can cause the faucet to rust and be difficult to open. Alternatively, in colder climates, the faucet may become inoperable because moister freezes either liquid contained in the conduit 704, or in the liquid flow control valve 708, making it impossible for faucet 700 to perform its intended function, namely, to control the flow of a liquid (or gas) from a pipe or container. By "control" what is meant is that faucet 700 regulates the flow (or volume) of liquid passing through faucet 700 (i.e., regulating the volume of liquid flowing through conduit 704).
It is desirable for a faucet to be protected from the changing climate to ensure that the faucet continues to function properly. Current products on the market for protecting (i.e., "shielding") faucets are faucet covers which difficult to use and time consuming to install. These covers are especially difficult to quickly install when the weather conditions change suddenly, such as when winter storms start without warning.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,776, titled "Insulating Jacket," issued Mar. 9, 1999 to Love, teaches an insulating jacket for covering and insulating an exterior faucet against cold weather. The insulating jacket teaches using three plastic bags arranged concentrically and all opening in one direction. The invention is a fabric sock that is secured to the faucet using a draw cord. Unfortunately, the invention is deficient in that it uses a draw cord in its construction. A draw cord would require the user to remain in the inclement weather while the user attempts to properly fit the device on the faucet. Therefore, the device is not desirable because it increases the time the user would need to install the device.
Another faucet cover typical of conventional covers is taught by U.S. Pat. No. 9,261,203 (the "'203 Patent"), titled "Inflatable Faucet Insulation" issued Feb. 16, 2016 to Vulpitta. The '203 Patent teaches a faucet cover having several inflatable layers. However, just as with the prior art described above, the invention disclosed in the '203 patent is inconvenient and time consuming to install. The device's air chambers must be inflated before each use.
Yet another shortcoming of prior art faucet covers is that they do not stay affixed to the faucet once installed. The prior art faucet covers merely rest on the faucet, permitting the wind to easily remove them.
What is needed is an apparatus for protecting a faucet that may be installed in seconds compared to existing ones on the market. This would protect pipes without taking away the integrity of the insulator.
This can prevent pipes from being broken and costly damages and repairs. This would be more effective for homeowners in colder geographical climates. Further, this would be ideal for people with physical limitations with their hands. Purchasers would no longer be required to stand in the harsh winter conditions for long periods of time trying to install conventional faucet covers or have to attempt a do-it-yourself solution.


A periscope at the hatchway of a combat vehicle. The hatchway is closed by a hatch that comprises two components. One component is above the other at least when the hatchway is closed. The upper component is positioned over the upper edge of the hatchway and moves parallel to the plane that the hatch slides back and forth in. The lower component moves perpendicular to that plane. The periscope comprises two sections. The lower section is fastened to the vehicle and extends into its interior. The upper section extends through and slides back and forth along with the upper hatch component. The upper and lower periscope sections remain in optical alignment and contact as long as the upper hatch component is in its hatchway-closing position. A dirt-removal brush is secured to at least an area of the lower surface of the upper hatch component that, as long as that hatch component keeps the hatchway closed, is directly upstream of the periscope in the direction the component slides in when it opens the hatchway. The brush's bristles extend down to the roof of the vehicle perpendicular to the component's hatchway-opening direction at least along the circumference of the lower periscope section at the vehicle's roof.

The invention concerns a periscope at the hatchway of a combat vehicle. The hatchway is closed by a hatch that comprises two components. One component is above the other at least when the hatchway is closed. The upper component is positioned over the upper edge of the hatchway and moves parallel to the plane that the hatch slides back and forth in. The lower component moves perpendicular to that plane. The periscope comprises two sections. The lower section is fastened to the vehicle and extends into its interior. The upper section extends through and slides back and forth along with the upper hatch component. The upper and lower periscope sections remain in optical alignment and contact as long as the upper hatch component is in its hatchway-closing position.
A periscope of this genus, comprising a lower section fastened to the vehicle and an upper section that slides back and forth with the upper hatch component, is described in German Patent 3 305 882 for example. Two-section periscopes have the disadvantage that dirt can penetrate between the upper and lower sections.

Periscope at the hatchway of a combat vehicle


A silicidation blocking layer (SBL) pattern is formed on a substrate including an active region and a field region. The SBL pattern covers the field region and exposes the active region. A silicide layer is formed on the active region by reacting metal with silicon existing in the active region. An insulation layer is formed on the substrate including the silicide layer. An opening exposing the silicide layer is formed by selectively etching the insulation layer under a condition having an etching selectivity between the SBL and the insulation layer. Conductive material is filled up the opening. The field region of a substrate is sufficiently protected by the SBL pattern without any additional process so that the failure of a semiconductor device is effectively prevented because the flow of a leakage current through the field region is blocked.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to semiconductor devices, and more particularly to a method of manufacturing a semiconductor substrate including a contact having an improved structure and to devices manufactured by such a method.
b 2. Description of the Related Art
Modern semiconductor devices must have advanced functions such as high response speed and large storage capacity. To meet these functional requirements, semiconductor manufacturing technology has been developed to produce semiconductor devices with highly integrated cells on a chip. The wirings of such semiconductor devices generally are multi-layered structures.
In highly integrated semiconductor devices, contacts are provided to connect the multi-layered wirings. To form such contacts, a contact hole having minimized critical dimension (CD) is formed through an interlayer insulation film formed between an upper wiring and a lower wiring. A conductive material is formed in the contact hole, thereby forming the contact that connects the lower wiring to the upper wiring.
In the process for forming the contact hole through the interlayer dielectric film, a photoresist film is formed on the interlayer insulation film. The photoresist film is exposed and developed to form a photoresist pattern on the interlayer insulation film. The photoresist pattern exposes the portion of the interlayer insulation film where the contact hole will be formed. The exposed portion of the interlayer insulation film is etched using the photoresist pattern as an etching mask, thereby forming the contact hole through the interlayer insulation film. The size of the contact hole becomes minute when the design rule for the semiconductor device is greatly reduced. Thus, the error margin of the photo mask used to form the contact hole considerably decreases in the exposing and developing processes for the photoresist film. As a result, the mis-alignment of the contact hole may very frequently occur during the formation of the contact hole. For example, although the contact hole should be located in the active region of a semiconductor substrate adjacent to a field region of the substrate, the contact hole may be frequently formed in the field region.
A silicide film can be selectively formed on a semiconductor substrate to improve the response speed of the semiconductor device. This silicide film includes a refractory metal having a low specific resistance so that the contact resistance of a contact formed on the silicide film is low even though the contact has a minute dimension in accordance with the reduction of the design rule of the semiconductor device.
The silicide film is generally formed using a silicidation process employing a metal such as titanium (Ti), nickel (Ni), cobalt (Co), etc. After this metal is deposited on an underlying film including silicon, the deposited metal is thermally treated to thereby form the silicide film composed of titanium silicide (TiSi2), nickel silicide (NiSi2), cobalt silicide (CoSi2), etc. on the underlying film. The silicidation process is, for example, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,015,748 (issued to Kim et. al.). The cobalt silicide or nickel silicide has a relatively low specific resistance of about 15 to about 20 μΩ·cm. In a semiconductor device having a design rule of below about 0.25 μm, the cobalt silicide is mainly employed since a cobalt silicide film is relatively independent on the critical dimension of a gate structure.
To selectively form the silicide film on the semiconductor substrate, a silicidation blocking layer (SBL) is formed on portions of the substrate or other conductive structures where the silicide film is not formed. That is, the SBL is selectively formed on the portions of the substrate and the conductive structure including silicon while the SBL is not formed on the portions of the substrate and an insulating structure such as the field region and a spacer composed of insulation material without silicon. The SBL is removed after the silicidation process is completed. When the contact hole is formed to expose the portion of the active region having the silicide film thereon, a recess may be formed at the portion of the field region adjacent to the active region because the field region is relatively sensitive to the etching process for the formation of the contact hole. The recess may frequently have a depth of above 10 percent of that of the contact hole, thereby causing the damage to the substrate. Failure of the semiconductor device may occur because a current passing between the active region and the contact may leak through the damaged portion of the substrate. Further, in a semiconductor device having a design rule of below about 0.1 μm, the damage to the substrate becomes more serious at a shallow junction portion thereof so that the damaged portion of the substrate greatly serves as a leakage current source that can cause the device failure. When to prevent the formation of the recess in the field region, the etching process for the contact hole is insufficiently performed, the interlayer insulation film may partially remain in the active region and the contact hole may not be precisely formed on the active region. As a result, the contact formed in the contact hole may not be electrically contacted with the active region, thereby causing the electrical failure of the semiconductor device.

Method of manufacturing a semiconductor device having a silicidation blocking layer


An operational amplifier having temperature-compensated offset correction. The amplifier includes an operational amplifier circuit, that has a first input field effect transistor (FET) having a gate connected to receive a first input signal, and a second input FET having a gate connected to receive a second input signal, the first and the second input FETs being connected together to receive a first bias current, and also being connected to respective sides of a first current mirror. A correction amplifier circuit is also provided, that has a first correction FET having a gate, and a second correction FET having a gate, the first and the second correction FETs being connected together to receive a second bias current, and also being connected to respective sides of a second current mirror. A resistor is arranged to have a fixed voltage provided across it, one terminal of the resistor being connected to the gate of the first correction FET and the other terminal of the resistor being connected to the gate of the second correction FET. A first bias FET is connected to conduct an “extra” current from the second correction FET that is blocked by the current mirror action from flowing through the second current mirror. A second bias FET is connected in current mirror configuration with the first bias FET to form a third current mirror, and is configured to mirror and scale the current through the first bias FET to a selected one of the first input FET and the second input FET.

The operational amplifier, or, "op-amp," is a widely used electronic circuit that amplifies the difference between two input voltages. Ideally, for a zero difference between the voltages across the two inputs, the output of the op-amp is also zero. However, actual op-amps typically generate some non-zero output voltage for a zero input. The voltage applied across the inputs that causes the amplifier to provide a zero output voltage is called the "input offset voltage."
The imbalance giving rise to a non-zero output for a zero input in an op-amp is caused by variations in the input circuitry, for example due to a mismatch between the two differential input transistors common to op-amps. These variations can arise either systematically or randomly.
Systematic variations can typically be substantially eliminated by careful design. Random mismatch can also be reduced by careful design, but will always exist in the physical integrated circuits, due to variations that arise in the integrated circuit fabrication process. To correct the effects of random mismatch, trimming circuits are commonly used. Such circuits can reduce the effect of random mismatch, but may also introduce a temperature-dependent factor into the required input offset voltage.
FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram showing a typical prior art op-amp having trim type offset correction circuitry. In this circuit, the amplifier circuit 11 has P-type field effect transistor ("PFET") input devices MPamp1 and MPamp2, the gates of which constitute the minus input AMINUS and plus input APLUS of the amplifier, respectively. Offset correction is provided by correction circuitry 12. An N-type field effect transistor ("NFET") MN5 is biased with bias voltage nbias to provide a constant current that is scaled through a series of current mirrors MP4:MP5–8. Switches MNsw1–4 allow for selectability of the desired scaled current level. These current legs are typically binary weighted, allowing for 24 available trim settings. The resulting scaled current is scaled again through a current mirror MN4:MN6, and directed to the positive or negative side of the amplifier according to the sign of the select signal b4. In general, this trim current creates a current mismatch between devices MPamp1 and MPamp2 that forces a voltage mismatch between the inputs APLUS and AMINUS intended to exactly cancel the random mismatch that exists between devices MPamp1 and MPamp2.
The bias voltage nbias for device MN5 is typically generated by the use of a current mirror with a fixed current source, such as in the circuit shown in FIG. 2, in which the constant current source Itrim sets up bias voltage nbias through NFET device MN3. In effect, the constant current from current source Itrim is mirrored through NFET device MN5 (FIG. 1). The problem with this is that the input offset voltage generated from a fixed current such as in FIGS. 1 and 2 is not constant with temperature. At higher temperatures a larger voltage offset is generated from the same current mismatch through devices MPamp1 and MPamp2 than at lower temperatures. Therefore, the offset trim created by the fixed current source Itrim has a temperature coefficient.
One example of a trimming circuit that corrects for such a temperature coefficient is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,396,339, which issued on May 28, 2002, to Karl H. Jacobs, and is commonly assigned. The invention disclosed in this patent compensates for fabrication process and temperature drift mismatches without the additional temperature compensation circuitry typically used in prior art approaches. It does so by equalizing leakage currents on both sides of the op-amp.
However, while the invention disclosed in the Jacobs patent represents a significant advance in the art, it does not completely solve the problem of the drift of amplifier offset trim over temperature.

Temperature-independent amplifier offset trim circuit