A turbo-molecular pump that enables reliable suppression of attachment of depositions onto component parts thereof. The turbo-molecular pump discharges a deposition-causing gas from a processing chamber. A rotor has a rotor shaft aligned with an exhaust stream. A cylindrical casing houses the rotor therein. A plurality of blade-form rotor blades projects from the rotor orthogonally with respect to the rotor shaft and are divided into a plurality of rotor blade groups. A plurality of blade-form stator blades projects orthogonally with respect to the rotor shaft from a rotor-facing surface and are divided into a plurality of stator blade groups. Gas supply ports are located on an upstream side of the rotor blade group that is located furthest downstream in the exhaust stream, and supply a deposition-suppressing gas which includes gas molecules having a large molecular weight.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a turbo-molecular pump, a substrate processing apparatus, and a method for suppressing attachment of depositions to the turbo-molecular pump, and in particular to a turbo-molecular pump for discharging a deposition-causing gas.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, substrate processing apparatus for performing plasma processing on wafers for semiconductor devices is equipped with a processing chamber (hereinafter referred to as "chamber") for performing a predetermined processing on substrates housed therein. When the plasma processing in the substrate processing apparatus is etching processing, CF gas or like is introduced into the chamber as a processing gas, and the plasma generated from the CF gas is used in the etching processing. During the etching processing, the plasma reacts with an etching film of the wafers, but a certain amount of unreacted processing gas is left over. Also, reaction products are sometimes generated by the reaction between the plasma and the etching film, and the generated reaction products may vaporize and mix with the unreacted processing gas.
After the etching processing, the unreacted processing gas alone or the mix of the unreacted processing gas and the vaporized reaction product (hereinafter both referred to as "deposition-causing gas") is discharged from the chamber using a turbo-molecular pump connected to the chamber.
FIG. 8 is cross-sectional view schematically showing a construction of the conventional turbo-molecular pump. Note that in FIG. 8 the exhaust gas from the chamber is flowing from an upper part to a lower part.
In FIG. 8, a turbo-molecular pump 80 includes a rotor 81 which is a rotating body having a rotor shaft extending in a direction of flow of the exhaust gas and a cylindrical case 82 which houses the rotor 81. A plurality of blade-form rotor blades 83 project orthogonally from the rotor 81 with respect to the rotor shaft. A plurality of blade-form stator blades 84 project orthogonally with respect to the rotor shaft from an internal wall of the case 82 towards the rotor 81. The rotor blades 83 and the stator blades 84 form a turbine. When the rotor 81 is rotated at high speed by an induction motor, the turbo-molecular pump 80 drives gas that is upstream of the turbine to a downstream side of the turbine at high speed. The gas driven to the downstream side of the turbine is discharged to an external portion via an exhaust pipe 85.
Note that gas is continuously fed by the turbine into a space LS (herein after referred to as a "lower space") between the turbine and the exhaust pipe 85 in the turbo-molecular pump 80. Also, since a volume of the exhaust pipe 85 is smaller than a volume of the lower space LS, gas fed into the lower space LS by the turbine builds up in the lower space LS. As a consequence, the pressure rises in the lower space LS. Here, the gas discharged by the turbo-molecular pump 80 is a deposition-causing gas. Thus, if the pressure in the lower space LS exceeds the saturated vapor pressure of the processing gas or the like in the deposition-causing gas, components of the processing gas liquefy and the reaction product solidifies, causing attachment of depositions to surfaces of the rotor 81 or the like which face the lower space LS. Since the depositions lower the discharge efficiency of the turbo-molecular pump 80, and in a worst-case scenario, causes the turbo-molecular pump 80 to seize, there is a need to suppress the depositions.
In the prior art, a turbo-molecular pump including a heating apparatus which generates eddy currents using the rotation in the turbo-molecular pump has been developed as a turbo-molecular pump for suppressing attachment of depositions. In this turbo-molecular pump, the Joule heat caused by the generated eddy currents is transmitted to the various component parts thereof (see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. H9-32794, for instance). In such turbo-molecular pumps, the temperature of the component parts is raised to vaporize reaction products or processing gas which have reached the surface of the component parts, thereby suppressing attachment of the depositions.
However, the following problems occur when raising the temperature of the component parts by transmitting heat from the heating apparatus.
1. Since heat is applied to all the component parts, the degree of thermal expansion of the component parts increases. Such thermal expansion may damage the component parts.
2. The depositions temporarily attaching to the component parts forms an insulating layer, and it is not therefore possible to raise the temperature at the surface of the depositions. As a result, new depositions attaching to the surface of the depositions cannot be suppressed.3. Since it is not possible to raise the temperature of component parts not mechanically connected to the heating apparatus, attachment of depositions cannot be suppressed in all of the component parts.
In other words, attachment of depositions to the component parts cannot be reliably suppressed by transmission of heat from the heating apparatus.
Also, since the rate of attachment of depositions varies depending on the processing gas, it is difficult, when attachment of the depositions to the component parts cannot be reliably suppressed, to set a timing at which the turbo-molecular pump are to be replaced. Hence, stable running of the turbo-molecular pump and, by extension, the substrate processing apparatus cannot be ensured.

Turbo-molecular pump, substrate processing apparatus, and method for suppressing attachment of depositions to turbo-molecular pump


A QFP adapted to lowering the heat resistance and increasing the number of pins, and a method of producing the same. The QFP includes a heat-radiating metal plate having bumpers formed at the four corners thereof as a unitary structure, a semiconductor chip mounted on the heat-radiating metal plate, leads provided on the heat-radiating metal plate and surrounding the peripheries of the semiconductor chip, bonding wires for connecting the leads to the semiconductor chip, and a sealing resin member for sealing part of the semiconductor chip, inner leads of the leads, bonding wires and part of the heat-radiating metal plate. The tips of the bumpers integrally formed with the heat-radiating metal plate are positioned outside the tips of the outer leads that are protruding from the sealing resin member. In the QFP producing method, the heat-radiating metal plate having the bumpers and the lead frame having the leads are secured outside the sealing resin member.

The present invention relates to a technology for producing semiconductor devices and, particularly, to a semiconductor device equipped with a resin-sealed package of surface mount type, such as the one which has many pins and a small heat resistance, and is small in size and is produced at a decreased cost.
As ICs are now produced having many functions being highly densely fabricated and operating at high speeds, it has been desired to develop a surface mount resin-sealed package having many lead pins having a good heat-emitting property or a small heat resistance. A surface mount type resin-sealed package which is constituted as described below has been proposed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 286558/1991.
In such a package, the tabs to which a semiconductor pellet is bonded and heat-radiating fin leads are integrally formed together, and the heat-radiating fin leads and heat-radiating fins outwardly protruding from a sealing resin member of the package are integrally formed together. Moreover, a heat sink is buried in the package on the side of the back surface of the tabs, and is mechanically coupled to the heat-radiating fin leads inside the package.
A QFP (quad flat package) which has a good heat-radiating property and whose outer leads are prevented from deforming has been disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 218262/1993.
This QFP employs a lead frame and in which tabs to which a semiconductor pellet is bonded and heat-radiating fin leads are formed integrally together, and the heat-radiating fin leads and heat-radiating fins outwardly protruding from the sealing resin member of the package are integrally formed together, the tips of the heat-radiating fins being outwardly protruded beyond the tips of the outer leads.
In the former device in which the heat sink and the heat-radiating fin leads are mechanically coupled together inside the sealing resin, however, the coupling portions impose limitation upon the arrangement of leads and upon the number of pins. Besides, the pellet must be bonded, wires must be bonded and sealing with resin must be executed after a plurality of heat sinks are coupled to a series of lead frames, deteriorating the throughput of production.
In the latter device in which the leads and the heat-radiating fins are constituted by a lead frame, a problem arouses that it is impossible to design a package, taking a sufficiently high heat-radiating performance into consideration.
The object of the present invention is to provide a semiconductor device whose outer leads can be prevented from being deformed yet maintaining a high heat-radiating performance.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of producing semiconductor devices at a low cost.
The above and other objects as well as novel features of the present invention will become obvious from the description of the specification and the accompanying drawings.
Among the inventions disclosed in this application, representative will be briefly described below.
That is, the semiconductor device has a feature that the semiconductor pellet is bonded to a main surface of the heat sink which is partly buried in a sealing resin member of a square shape, and the heat sink has a plurality of bumpers formed integrally therewith, the bumpers protruding from the corners of the sealing resin member and having tips which are arranged on the outer sides of the row of tips of the outer leads which are led out from the four sides of the sealing resin member.
A method of producing semiconductor devises comprises:
a step of preparing a series of lead frames having unit lead frames which are arranged in a row and in each of which the outer leads and inner leads are radially arranged from the region where a semiconductor pellet is provided;
a step of preparing a series of heat sinks having unit heat sinks which are arranged in a row, and having main surfaces to which the semiconductor pellets are to be bonded and a plurality of bumpers that are integrally formed together therewith;
a step of coupling the series of lead frames and the series of heat sinks together outside at least a pair of bumpers of the unit heat sinks;
a step of bonding the semiconductor pellets onto main surfaces of the unit heat sinks;
a step for electrically connecting the electrodes of the semiconductor pellets to the inner leads with bonding wires thereto;
a step of sealing the semiconductor pellets, inner leads, and at least the main surfaces of the unit heat sinks on the semiconductor pellet side with a resin;
a step of cutting the series of lead frames to form the unit lead frames; and
a step of cutting off the unit heat sinks from the series of heat sinks.
According to the above-mentioned semiconductor device, the heat generated by the semiconductor pellet is conducted to the heat sink; i.e., the semiconductor pellet is cooled quite efficiently.
Moreover, since the tips of bumpers arranged at the corners of the sealing resin member protrude outwardly beyond the tips of the outer leads, in case an external force is unexpectedly given to the package during the steps of production, during the shipment to the user, or while it is being mounted by the user, the bumpers absorb the external force, preventing the outer leads from being deformed.
According to the above-mentioned method of producing semiconductor devices in which the coupling portion between the heat sink and the lead frame is not buried in the sealing resin member, no limitation is put on the layout of the inner leads by the coupling portion in the sealing resin member. Besides, an increase in the degree of freedom of laying out the wirings permits the bumpers to be arranged, making it possible to produce even semiconductor devices that do not have leads for the heat-radiating fins.
Since the heat sink is coupled to the lead frame, furthermore, the devices for fabricating the semiconductor pellets and inner leads of the prior art may be employed. Before being coupled, furthermore, the heat sink is separate from the lead frame. Therefore, the thickness of only the heat sink can be easily increased, contributing to further enhancing the heat-radiating performance with ease.

Semiconductor device having bumper portions integral with a heat sink


The invention provides an information processing apparatus and a data processing method for the information processing apparatus wherein software processing is performed using a program and/or data and which are improved in that the reliability of data can be raised flexibly in accordance with a degree of reliability required for the data even after operation of a system is started without using a specific backup hardware construction. The information processing apparatus is of the type wherein software processing is performed using data stored in a storage apparatus and includes a first storage apparatus for storing original data, a second storage apparatus for storing preliminary data which can back up the original data and can be used similarly to the original data in the software processing, and a data duplicating registration section for storing a relation between the original data and the preliminary data into a storage table.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an information processing apparatus and a data processing method for the information processing apparatus wherein software processing is performed using a program and/or data.
2. Description of the Related Art
Usually, an information processing apparatus performs software processing using required data (including a program for operating the apparatus) stored in a storage apparatus.
In an information processing apparatus of the type mentioned, the data stored in the storage apparatus cannot sometimes be used in software processing when a program suffers from a bug or by some other cause.
For example, in a multi-processor system, it is often the practice that a plurality of processors are integrated so that hardware and software resources are shared by them under an integrated operating system, and the storage apparatus for storing data is used such that data of programs and so forth to be used by the individual processors are allocated in the same space. Consequently, if a program to be used by a certain processor suffers from a bug, then data being used by another processor are sometimes damaged.
In this connection, it has been proposed, for example, to provide an information processing apparatus with a duplex hardware construction or to provide, in addition to a main storage apparatus, an auxiliary storage apparatus for backing up the main storage apparatus in order to enhance the reliability of data.
However, the information processing apparatus described above has a subject to be solved in that, in order to enhance the reliability of data, it is required to expand the hardware and this requires a high hardware cost.
Also it is a possible countermeasure to provide an accommodating apparatus which backs up and accommodates all data and/or programs. This accommodating apparatus, however, requires re-production of or amendment to system software when it becomes necessary to raise the reliability of data after operation of the system is started since the system is fixed.

Information processing apparatus and data processing method for information processing apparatus


A process for propagating a mutant herpes virus having a mutation in its endogenous HSV VP16 gene or a homologue thereof, which process comprises infecting a cell line with the mutant herpes virus and culturing the cell line, wherein the cell line comprises a nucleic acid sequence encoding a functional herpes simplex virus (HSV) VP16 polypeptide, or a homologue thereof, operably linked to a control sequence permitting expression of the polypeptide in said cell line; the nucleic acid sequence being (i) capable of complementing the endogenous gene and (ii) unable to undergo homologous recombination with the endogenous gene. In addition, the present invention provides cell lines which can be used for the growth of mutant herpes viruses which have defects in certain immediate early genes together with mutations in VP16 or homologue thereof.

Herpes viruses have been suggested as potential vectors for gene delivery. This could, for example, either be to the nervous system or elsewhere in the body for gene therapy, vaccine or other purposes, or to cells in culture or to animal models of disease. However, while HSV has a number of potential advantages as a vector in that it can infect a wide variety of cell types in vitro and in vivo and can accept large DNA insertions allowing the delivery of multiple genes, infection of most cell types with HSV will result in lytic replication or other toxic effects of the virus. Thus for use as a vector HSV must usually be disabled in some way to prevent or minimise these effects.
HSV can be disabled in a number of ways, and this includes when used as a helper virus in the growth of so-called amplicon vectors which consist of plasmids containing herpes origin and packaging sequences which can be replicated in the presence of a helper virus after transfection into permissive cells. For example genes required for replication in all cell types can be inactivated, which must be complemented for growth in culture, these including one or other or both of the essential immediate early genes ICP4 or ICP27. Alternatively genes required for pathogenesis in vivo but which are not required for growth in culture can be removed, such as ICP34.5 or ICP6, as can further genes the deletion of which reduces toxicity further. These can for example include the other IE genes ICPO, ICP22, and ICP47, the inactivation of ICPO and/or ICP22 reducing the efficiency of virus replication in culture unless these are also complemented in the cell line used for virus growth. The production of effective and practical vector viruses therefore depends on a balance of appropriately minimised toxicity in the target cell type, and on the ability to grow the virus in culture, in some cases requiring the use of a cell line complementing at least some of the inactivating mutations in the virus. As a general rule, the greater the number of mutations in the virus, the harder the virus will be to grow in culture. HSV vectors generally are reviewed in Coffin and Latchman, 1996.
It can be seen from the above that particularly attractive genes for inactivation in the production of HSV vectors are one or more of the five IE genes, as inactivation of these will for ICPO, ICP4, ICP22 or ICP27 at least, also reduce levels of other proteins the expression of which is stimulated by these IE gene products. However if these genes are inactivated replication in culture will either be blocked (ICP4 and ICP27) or reduced (ICPO and ICP22), and thus for efficient replication the inactivated genes must be complemented in the cell line used for virus growth.
However an alternative means by which the levels of functional IE proteins can be reduced, rather than by including inactivating mutations in the IE genes themselves, is to include an inactivating mutation in the gene encoding VP 16 (Ace et al., 1988). VP 16 is a virion protein that together with cellular factors is responsible for the trans-activation of HSV IE gene promoters after infection. Thus inclusion of specific inactivating mutations in VP 16 results in a virus in which IE gene expression is reduced, although not blocked completely (Ace et al., 1989). This may be advantageous in the production of an HSV vector virus as inactivation of a function in one gene (VP16) results in reduced levels of expression of multiple IE genes.
The gene for VP 16 cannot however be deleted from the virus as it is also an essential structural protein. Specific mutations are therefore used which reduce or abolish the transactivating activity of VP 16, but still allow the protein to fulfill its structural function (Ace et al., 1988). Viruses including this type of mutation—specifically insertion of a linker sequence into the gene for VP 16 as in virus mutant in1814 (Ace et al., 1989)—are essentially avirulent in vivo, giving reduced growth both in vivo and in culture (Ace et al., 1989). Growth of stocks of viruses including such a mutation is thus of reduced efficiency as compared to viruses lacking the mutation. The mutation in VP16 can be partially compensated for by the inclusion of HMBA in the media (MacFarlane et al., 1992), but cell lines cannot be used that have been engineered to express an unaltered copy of VP 16 without the generation of virus in the culture in which the mutation has been repaired. This is because, as the gene cannot be deleted from the virus due to its essential structural role, the inclusion of an unaltered copy of the gene for VP 16 in the cell line used for virus growth would result in the generation of virus containing the unaltered VP 16 sequence by homologous recombination between the mutated VP16 sequence in the virus and the unaltered VP16 sequence in the cell line. Moreover complementation of the VP16 mutation by such a cell line would in any case result in the production of new virions containing fully functional VP16, which when used as a vector in non-complementing cells would activate IE gene expression, exactly as the mutation in VP16 was intended to reduce.
The problem therefore remains of how to efficiently grow stocks of HSV including mutations in the gene for VP16 which affect the trans-activating properties of the protein, such that the mutation in the virus cannot be repaired during virus growth.

Cell lines for the propagation of mutated herpes viruses


A battery pack is made up of a plurality of flat prismatic batteries arranged face to face, each battery having one electrode terminal protruding from one end face in the height direction of the battery case and this end face or a side face of the battery serving as the other electrode terminal. The connector for electrically connecting adjacent prismatic batteries includes a flat part that is welded to one electrode terminal of one prismatic battery of the adjacent prismatic batteries, and a cylindrical part that is fitted onto and welded to the other electrode terminal of the other prismatic battery. The cylindrical part is formed in an attachment part that extends from the flat part through an upright part in the direction in which the batteries are aligned. The connector enables reliable electrical connection of the prismatic batteries despite possible variation in height of the electrode terminals.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a battery pack made up of two or more prismatic batteries electrically connected together.
2. Description of the Related Art
Battery assembly, more commonly known as a "battery module" or "battery pack", is made up of two or more batteries that are connected in series to output a predetermined voltage, and used for the power source of cordless devices such as mobile phones and electric tools, or of hybrid vehicles. With the downsizing of electric devices, volume-efficient prismatic batteries are increasingly used. One problem with the battery pack of prismatic batteries is that because the batteries are arranged in face-to-face relationship, the terminals of adjacent batteries that are to be connected are located more closely to each other as compared to a battery pack of cylindrical batteries, and also the connectors for connecting these terminals are smaller than those used for cylindrical batteries, because of which precise positioning of terminals and connectors relative to each other is hard to achieve.
When connecting two prismatic batteries, the connector is held by a jig or human fingers, and its position is adjusted relative to the cap-like terminal of the prismatic battery. It is difficult, however, to ensure that the small connector is always precisely positioned in a reliable manner, and because of this difficulty in positioning of the components, the work efficiency of spot welding is extremely poor. Also, there is always the risk of weld failure caused by a misaligned connector and of other troubles such as short-circuiting caused by a dropped connector.
In light of these problems, the applicant of the present invention has proposed a design that facilitates series connection of prismatic batteries of a battery pack, with which connectors are precisely positioned in a reliable manner on the cap-like terminals of the batteries before the welding, and the risk of weld failure caused by misalignment of the connector during the spot-welding is reduced (Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 11-167912).
FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 show this type of battery pack: Prismatic batteries Ba1 shown in FIG. 6 are connected together using a connector 30 shown in FIG. 5. The connector 30 consists of a flat end 30a to be welded to the electrode terminal plate 32 of one prismatic battery Ba1, and a square U-shaped slit with a pair of engaging ends 30b and 30c formed by bending. The engaging ends are fitted onto the cap-like terminal 31 of the other prismatic battery Ba1 such as to cover the terminal from both sides.
When connecting two batteries Ba1 with this connector 30, the pair of engaging ends 30b and 30c are placed over the cap-like terminal 31 so that the connector 30 is set in position in both widthwise and lengthwise directions relative to the battery Ba1. The position of the connector 30 is thus defined reliably and the risk of weld failure resulting from misalignment of the connector during the spot welding is reduced. Moreover, when fitted onto the cap-like terminal 31, the connector 30 need not be held with fingers or the like, which largely reduces the time required for the positioning during welding.
On the other hand, when arranging the batteries face to face so that the positive electrode and the negative electrode of two adjacent batteries Ba1 are in alternate positions, they must be positioned relative to each other with an offset x in the height direction that corresponds to the height of the cap-like electrode terminal 31. Thus, if there is a variation in the height of the cap-like electrode terminal 31 and flat electrode terminal 32 of the batteries Ba1, the contact between the connector 30 and the terminals 31 and 32 may not be tight enough, leading to a weld failure in which the connector 30 separates from the terminal 31 or 32 by vibration or the like.
Another problem is that the above-described connector 30 cannot be used for electrically connecting prismatic batteries Ba2 of the type shown in FIG. 1, which each have a negative terminal 3 protruding from the sealing plate 2 that closes one open end of the battery case 1.


An interchangeable concrete cutting chain-saw cutting assembly (500) adapted for installation upon a drive assembly (112) in exchange for a removed, different type cutting head assembly. The chainsaw cutting assembly (500) includes a housing (703) that has fasteners that releasably attach the housing (703) to a drive assembly (112) in an installed configuration. A ratio transmission (525) has a plurality of interconnected rotatable members (533, 535), each rotatable member (533, 535) having a mounting shaft (641, 643) positioned at a fixed location on the housing (703) by a bearing assembly (640, 642). The driven member (533) has a receiver that interconnects with a driveshaft (372) of the drive assembly (112) in the installed configuration whereby the driven member (533) is rotated by the drive assembly (112). The cutting chain drive member (535) operatively interconnected with a drive sprocket (707) whereby rotation of the cutting chain drive member (535) rotates the drive sprocket (707). The chainsaw cutting assembly (500) is pivotable relative to the drive assembly (112).

This relates to wall saws and other equipment and chainsaw cutting heads that can be attached to wall saws and such other equipment, and components and methods relating thereto. This also relates to machining tools other than chain saws that can be attached to wall saws and such other equipment, as well as components and methods relating thereto.
US Application Publication No. US20070163412 discusses details of a wall saw with which the present apparatus can be used, and of which the entire disclosure is hereby expressly incorporated by reference.

Wall saw and interchangable assemblies for wall saws


A combination of inter-frame and intra-frame and sequential classification methods provide for robust and flexible object classification. Intra-frame classification determines the object type based on features extracted from a single image. Inter-frame classification determines object types based on the features extracted from several sequential frames. A sequential classification combines the results of the inter- and intra-frame classifications over a sequence of images.

Advanced video surveillance systems typically perform many basic analytic functions, such as time recording, motion detection and motion tracking. More advanced features for video surveillance and monitoring are also in high demand. One such function is classifying object that are detected and tracked. Having an accurate object classification function enables users to define more specific events of interest, such as a moving red car, and consequently provides more video storage space, without storing more broadly defined events, such as-motion only. Current object classification methods are not robust and do not offer any flexibility.


A decoding method is carried out in a receiver configured to accept format information relating to sequences of input data, to use format information in the decoding of each input sequence, and to issue an acknowledgement signal in the event that an input sequence is successfully decoded. The method involves receiving a format message pertaining to a new input sequence, searching a candidate set of format indices an index best satisfying a criterion for matching to the format message, and selecting the index giving the best match. Before searching, the receiver reads the acknowledgement signals issued in response to the decoding or attempted decoding of recent input sequences. If the acknowledgement signals satisfy an appropriate condition, the search is limited to fewer than all the indices in the candidate set. The format information that corresponds to the selected index is used in decoding the new input sequence.

It has long been recognized that the data throughput of a digital communication system may be limited by noise, interference, and at least in the wireless context, by the physical channel effects referred to as fading. To counter these effects, it is common practice to send data in coded form, such that redundant information in the code makes decoding possible even in the presence of some corrupted information. Certain of these codes are designed such that the receiver can check the detected and decoded data sequence using an operation referred to as a Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC). If the CRC succeeds, the data sequence is deemed to have been received successfully.
In the context of packetized communications, there are known procedures according to which the receiver will request the retransmission of a corrupted packet. In at least some such procedures, information from both the original packet and the retransmitted packet is used for decoding.
In the context of wireless CDMA communication, a certain class of protocols for requesting retransmission of corrupted packets is referred to as Hybrid ARQ (Automatic Repeat Request), or HARQ. In accordance with the known techniques of HARQ, the receiver checks, exemplarily by executing a CRC, for successful decoding of the received data sequence. The receiver sends the transmitter a positive acknowledgement signal, referred to as ACK, in the event of sucessful decoding. Additionally or alternatively, the receiver sends a negative acknowledgement signal, referred to as NACK, in the event of unsuccessful decoding. The NACK, or alternatively the absence of an ACK at a designated time, prompts the transmitter to retransmit the corrupted packet.
Various alternative protocols are included in the broad category of HARQ techniques. One such protocol is Incremental Redundancy (IR). According to the IR protocol, each packetized sequence of bits to be transmitted is referred to as a "subpacket." If the first subpacket fails the CRC check, the receiver requests retransmission. The retransmitted subpacket is a new subpacket containing the same message information as the first subpacket, but also containing a greater number of redundant bits as an aid for decoding. Generally, at least one further subpacket is available for retransmission, containing even more redundant bits than the previous subpacket.
In the practice of the IR protocol at least on the reverse link of a CDMA system as described, e.g., in the CDMA2000 RevD standard, each subpacket is preceded or accompanied by a control signal which identifies the format of the subpacket. Format information is communicated in the form of an index, which if received correctly identifies a particular selection from a multiplicity of available formats. Knowledge of the format tells the receiver, among other things, what level of redundancy to expect in the particular subpacket that is to be received.
It will be appreciated that in order for the subpacket to be decoded correctly, it is important for the receiver to receive the format index correctly. One of the challenges in at least the field of CDMA has been to increase the reliability with which such control information is received. In particular, it would be advantageous to increase such reliability without allocating additional power to the control messages at the expense of system capacity.

Reception method for packetized information with automatic repeat request


A functionalized mesoporous carbon composition comprising a mesoporous carbon scaffold having mesopores in which polyvinyl polymer grafts are covalently attached, wherein said mesopores have a size of at least 2 nm and up to 50 nm. Also described is a method for producing the functionalized mesoporous composition, wherein a reaction medium comprising a precursor mesoporous carbon, vinyl monomer, initiator, and solvent is subjected to sonication of sufficient power to result in grafting and polymerization of the vinyl monomer into mesopores of the precursor mesoporous carbon. Also described are methods for using the functionalized mesoporous carbon, particularly in extracting metal ions from metal-containing solutions.

Mesoporous carbon materials have found an increasing number of utilities, e.g., in gas separation, water purification (i.e., nanofiltration), catalysis, carbon dioxide adsorption, capacitive deionization (CDI), energy storage and conversion, and as advanced electrode materials, such as capacitive, supercapacitive, and battery electrode (e.g., lithium-ion) materials. Nevertheless, a key obstacle in directing the mesoporous carbon compositions to these and other applications is the known difficulty in modifying the surfaces of these materials with any of a wide variety of functional groups that could make the mesoporous carbon materials better suited for the intended purpose.
In an effort to further advance mesoporous carbon materials in such practical applications, there would be a substantial benefit in a method capable of functionalizing mesoporous carbon materials with any of a variety of functional groups. The method would preferably be cost effective and scalable for bulk production. Moreover, the method would preferably be effective in functionalizing the interior of the mesopores, since the bulk of the activity and reactivity of mesoporous carbon compositions are found in the mesopores. The latter requirement is non-trivial, as traditional polymer grafting techniques do not provide the mass transport necessary for functionalizing such miniaturized spaces.

Surface-functionalized mesoporous carbon materials


A dashboard interface may be displayed on a lab instrument to provide aggregate status information from a plurality of other interfaces organized into a single interface. The aggregate status information may be viewed by a nearby user of the lab instrument, and selecting portions of the information via a touchscreen display will navigate directly to a subsequent interface that may be used to view additional information or make configuration changes relating to the selected information. The dashboard may be used as a screensaver on a lab instrument when the instrument is not in use, or may be navigated to by an active user of a lab instrument, or both.

Modern lab instruments such as body fluid analyzers have developed into advanced automated systems having numerous features. As these systems have become more fully featured, the interfaces used to interact with and configure such features have grown in complexity, and in some cases have not been implemented with an eye towards ease of use. In an ideal scenario, where the instrument is functioning normally, a user may be able to complete a task by waking the instrument from an inactive state, logging in, navigating to a sample testing screen, configuring a test for a sample, placing the sample in the instrument, and starting the test.
However, in scenarios where the instrument is in a state of reduced operation or is inoperable, such a task may take many additional steps. This may include, for example, receiving an error message after attempting to start the test, navigating between five separate interface screens to diagnose the source of the error as a low reagent fluid level, navigating to a materials interface to perform a reagent refill process, and then returning to your initial task, which itself may need to be re-entered or reconfigured. Such a distraction during testing can at increase the time required for completing a task, and can also increase the risk of a task being forgotten (e.g., moving on to a different task after the instrument error is addressed without completing the first task) or erroneously performed (e.g., performing the task in spite of the error, where a user may be in a hurry or is unable to locate the interface screen that identifies the error).


A voltage regulator is disclosed that includes an output transistor outputting a current according to an input control signal to an output terminal; a control circuit part controlling the operation of the output transistor; a switching circuit part connecting the substrate gate and the gate of the output transistor to one of the input terminal and the output terminal and one of the output of the control circuit part and the output terminal, respectively, in accordance with the relationship in magnitude between a voltage at an input terminal and a voltage at the output terminal; a first rectifier element connected between the input terminal and a power supply end; and a second rectifier element connected between the output terminal and the power supply end.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to voltage regulators, and more particularly to a voltage regulator having the function of preventing reverse current flowing from the output side to the input side and protecting the circuit at the time of reverse connection of a direct current power supply where the direct current power supply is connected in reverse polarity to the voltage regulator.
2. Description of the Related Art
In conventional voltage regulars where circuits are formed of CMOS transistors, circuit failure may be caused by a large forward current caused to flow through a pn junction in a MOS transistor by reverse current flowing from the output side to the input side when a direct current (DC) power supply is connected in reverse polarity or an output voltage is greater than an input voltage. Therefore, conventionally, a PMOS transistor M102 is disposed between an input terminal IN and an output transistor M101 as shown in FIG. 1 so that the PMOS transistor M102 is turned OFF to be non-conducting when an output voltage VOUT is greater than an input voltage VIN or a DC power supply is connected in reverse polarity to the voltage regulator, thereby preventing circuit failure.
Although different from the present invention, there has been provided a reverse battery connection protection circuit that prevents damage to a semiconductor switching device in the case of reverse connection of a battery (for example, Patent Document 1 listed below). Further, there has also been provided a step-down switching regulator having a changeover switch to switch connections at the substrate gate of a switching transistor so as to be capable of preventing backflow of current without using a diode for backflow prevention even in the case of using a PMOS transistor for the switching device of the switching regulator (for example, Patent Document 2 listed below).
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2005-137190
[Patent Document 2] Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2006-34033
In the case of FIG. 1, however, there is a problem in that if the output transistor M101 is increased in size in order to increase output current, which is an index of the performance of the voltage regulator, the PMOS transistor M102 on the input terminal side should be greater in current driving capability than the output transistor M101, which runs against product downsizing. Further, there is another problem in that the resistance at the time of operation increases because the PMOS transistor M102 is connected in series to the output transistor M101.


The present invention utilizes two precious metals with two to five different metal-oxides in a layered matrix to convert CO, HCs, and NOx to CO2, and N2 by oxidation of two components and reduction of the other in a moderately high temperature gaseous environment containing excess oxygen.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally an oxidation/reduction catalyst. It relates particularly to an improved oxidation/reduction catalyst for the treatment and control of post combustion emissions.
2. Description of the Related Art
Emissions from fossil-fuel combustion contribute significantly to smog, acid rain, and global warming problems and are subject to stringent environmental regulations. The most significant regulated emissions include CO, CH4 and unburned hydrocarbons (HCs), and NOx. These regulations are expected to become more stringent as state and regional authorities become more involved in addressing these environmental problems. Better systems are needed for catalytic control. Exhaust emission composition characteristics of fossil-fuel burning internal combustion engines vary with air-fuel mixtures. The most energy-efficient operation is under stoichiometric conditions where exhaust oxygen levels are less than 1.0 vol %. Under this condition, exhaust gas temperature is much higher and HCs and NOx levels are much higher than for operations under lean-burn conditions. In order to better control emissions, modern engines are operated under lean-burn conditions to minimize CO and NOx emission levels so that catalytic converters are better able to reduce them below regulatory levels. In all air-fuel mixtures, CO and HC levels are considerably higher than NOx levels (Ref. Gas Research Institute RFP #94-260-0470, 1994) and are potential candidate reagents for the reduction of NOx to N2 with a catalyst which catalyzes the reducing chemical reduction.
In general, existing catalytic converters used for NOx and HC emission control use precious metal or combinations (PM's) as wash coats with various architectures over alumina on ceramic substrates to effect catalytic conversion. Some of the more common are coatings of Pd, Pd/Rh, or Pt/Rh.
Existing catalytic converters are less effective for removal of methane HC emissions due to the high light-off temperatures for methane on these catalysts. The greater challenge to existing emission control technology is ultra-low HC and NOx emission performance with higher converter operating temperatures (e.g. near stoichiometric air-fuel mixtures for more efficient engine operation) (Ref. Manufacturers of Emission Controls Association: Advanced Emission Control Technologies for LEV 2 Standards Meeting, May 1998).
In response to the need for the next generation of catalysts for automotive applications, low-temperature oxidation catalysts were developed by NASA Langley Research Center. These improved catalysts are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,829,035; 4,839,330; 4,855,274; 4,912,082, 4,991,181, 5,585,083; 5,948,965 and 6,132,694 and are hereby incorporated by reference as if set forth in their entirety herein. These catalysts exhibit several key advantages over the current state-of-the-art. First, unlike the thick, inert layer of alumina used in conventional catalyst technology, these catalysts can use a single active tin-oxide coating (<5 microns) that enhances the catalytic performance by acting as an oxygen storage device. Second, their active washcoat reduces the temperature (i.e., light-off) at which the catalyst begins converting pollutants (e.g. CO, HC and NOX) to non-pollutant gases, as well as, requiring less precious metal to attain the same pollutant gas conversion efficiency over time. Third, these catalysts are capable of capturing enough oxygen from the natural exhaust stream to complete the chemical reactions. Unlike traditional catalytic converter technology, external air sources and the ancillary sensors, air pumps, and hoses are not required for catalytic converter operation.
Despite these advances in catalyst technology, there remains a need for an improved catalyst capable of oxidation and reduction for a variety of applications. Specifically, there remains a need for an oxidation/reduction catalyst for use in diesel and natural gas applications as well as non-automotive pollution sources.

Catalyst for treatment and control of post-combustion emissions

The United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration


An improved PIN photodiode provides enhanced linearity by confining the light absorption region of the diode wholly within the depletion region. The photodiode exhibits improved linearity over prior art designs because the thickness of the absorption region is no longer a function of changes in the size of the depletion region during device operation. Keeping the absorption region wholly within the depletion region ensures that the charge carriers generated by incident illumination will increase the conductivity of the semiconductor material.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to semiconducting devices and, more specifically, to PIN photodetector diodes.
2. Description of Related Art
Existing PIN diodes include an absorption region in which incident illumination generates electron-hole charge carriers, and a depletion region in which the density of charge carriers is insufficient to neutralize the fixed charge density of donors and acceptors. Light incident upon the depletion region causes a change in PIN photodiode conductivity. In the context of optical communications, this conductivity change has been advantageously exploited to detect multichannel signals carried on fiber optic cables. Unfortunately, however, presently-existing PIN photodiodes exhibit insufficient linearity when conductivity is measured as a function of illumination. This shortcoming is apparent when the photodiode is employed in the context of cable television to process a plurality of frequency-division-multiplexed, amplitude-modulated vestigial-sideband (AM-VSB) video signals. Nonlinearities in photodiode conductivity as a function of illumination distort the envelope of VSB video signals, providing a degraded video signal at the customer premises.
The invention is based upon our discovery that presently-existing PIN diodes are nonlinear because some of the charge carriers generated by illumination do not change the conductivity of the diode. In particular, charge carriers generated outside of the depletion region become trapped by semiconductor donors and acceptors, and are thus unable to enhance photodiode conductivity. Due to the fact that existing PIN diodes absorb some light in areas outside of the depletion region, and this light absorption does not lead to a corresponding change in conductivity, the photodiode exhibits nonlinearities. A further complication is that the boundaries of the depletion region change dynamically during photodiode operation, thereby rendering linearity all the more difficult to achieve.
In view of the foregoing, an improved PIN photodiode embodying the principles of the invention provides enhanced linearity by confining the light absorption region of the diode wholly within the diode""s charge carrier depletion region. The photodiode exhibits improved linearity over prior art designs because the thickness of the absorption region is no longer a function of changes in the size of the depletion region during device operation. Keeping the absorption region wholly within the depletion region ensures that a greater number of the charge carriers generated by incident illumination will increase the conductivity of the semiconductor material relative to prior art designs.


This invention is directed to a wastewater treatment system having a fluidizable media carrying anoxic bacteria in a first treatment zone and a filter membrane positioned in a second treatment zone. A wastewater is contacted with the fluidizable media and further contacted with air and a filter membrane.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a system and method for treating wastewater, and more particularly to a wastewater treatment system and method utilizing a membrane bioreactor.
2. Discussion of Related Art
The importance of membrane for treatment of waste water is growing rapidly. With the arrival of submerged membrane processes where membrane modules are immersed in a large feed tank and filtrate is collected typically through suction applied to the filtrate side of the membrane, membrane bioreactors (MBRs) combining biological and physical processes in one stage promise to be more compact, efficient and economic. Membrane bioreactors are typically sized to accommodate community and large-scale sewage treatment, i.e. 160,000 gpd, and 20-40 mgd and more. These large-scale wastewater treatment systems are commonly designed to operate while attended, have numerous controls, and typically require chemical addition. A need remains for a simple, robust small scale wastewater treatment systems designed for relatively unattended use, requiring only periodic maintenance.


A complex working system for sheet metal working comprising a sheet metal working line having at least a first step working cell and a subsequent second step working cell, wherein a working schedule for the second step working cell is first determined. A working schedule for the first step working cell is then determined based on the working schedule for the second step working cell, and the scheduled operation of the first and the second step working cells is executed according to the determined working schedules.

Conventionally, there is a production method of sheet metal products through blanking and bending, such that a sheet material is subjected to blanking by the punching cell, and the obtained parts is subjected to bending by the bending cell (Japanese patent publication: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2000-33541).
However, with such a conventional technique, bending can be executed by the bending cell, after blanking a sheet material by the punching cell, and then (1) disjointing, (2) classifying parts, (3) searching a part from the classified interim inventory (half-finished goods), and (4) performing bending planning (replacement of required mold, material setting, calling data). Therefore, time and labor are inevitably required for disjointing, parts classification, parts search, and bending planning. It is not so bothersome when a large lot is handled, but in the case of variety and variant production in which various different parts are handled in a small lot, lots of time and labor are required, thereby considerably reducing the productivity.
In view of the above situation, it is an object of the present invention to provide a complex working system for sheet metal working, which is applied to a sheet metal working line equipped with a pre-step working cell and a subsequent post-step working cell, for example, blanking and bending by the punching cell and the bending cell, to considerably improve the productivity in the variety and variant small-lot production, while excluding problems in the conventional system.

Compound processing system for sheet metal processing


A display apparatus displaying a picture based on an input video signal includes an auto-adjustment button to select an implement of an auto-adjustment function, and a controller to implement a quick auto-adjustment function when the input video signal is determined to be changed in a display mode on the basis of the input video signal, and to implement a detailed auto-adjustment function when the auto-adjustment function is selected by the auto-adjustment button. In the display apparatus and a control method thereof, the auto-adjustment function is differently implemented according to the auto-adjustment mode and the selection of the auto-adjustment button.

1. Field of the Invention
The present general inventive concept relates to a display apparatus and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to a display apparatus and a control method thereof, in which an auto-adjustment function is differently implemented according to an auto-adjustment mode and selection of an auto-adjustment button.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a display apparatus receives a video signal of a predetermined display mode from a video signal source, such as a computer, a television broadcasting system, etc., and displays a picture based on the video signal. Recently, in the display apparatus, a cathode ray tube (CRT) is replaced by a flat panel display, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display panel (PDP), etc.
As compared with a CRT display apparatus, a flat panel display apparatus receives an analog video signal from the video signal source, and converts the analog video signal into a digital video signal, thereby displaying a picture. Here, the flat panel display comprises an analog/digital (A/D) converter to convert the analog video signal into the digital video signal. Further, the digital video signal outputted from the A/D converter is processed by a preset signal processing procedure, and transmitted to the LCD panel or the PDP, thereby correspondingly driving a pixel provided on a screen to display the picture.
Meanwhile, the display apparatus has a function of automatically changing a display mode suitably when resolution of the analog video signal is varied, which is called an auto-adjustment function.
For example, the video signal outputted from the video signal source, such as a computer, has various resolution of 640×480 at 60 Hz, 640×480 at 75 Hz, 800×600 at 60 Hz, 1024×768 at 60 Hz, 1600×1200 at 60 Hz, 1920×1200 at 60 Hz, and so on. In a case where the display apparatus has a resolution of 1024×768 at 60 Hz, and the video signal having a resolution of 640×480 at 75 Hz is inputted from the video signal source, the video signal is not optimally displayed as a picture. Therefore, the auto-adjustment function compensates the preset display mode for the input video signal, thereby optimally displaying the picture on the screen.
Generally, the auto-adjustment function of the display apparatus is implemented only when an auto-adjustment button provided in a front of the display apparatus is operated.
Further, there is a display apparatus that continuously applies the auto-adjustment function to the video signal. In this case, the auto-adjustment function is implemented whenever a display mode of the video signal is changed. Here, the change of the display mode is determined on the basis of horizontal/vertical synchronization signals of the video signal.
However, it takes about 6˜7 seconds until the auto-adjustment function is implemented in the display apparatus although there is a difference in the implementation time according to the display apparatuses or the input video signals. Also, while the auto-adjustment function is implemented, the picture displayed on the display apparatus is shaken or moves left and right.
At this time, a user is able to suppose that the picture displayed on the display apparatus will be shaken or moves left and right in the case where the auto-adjustment function is implemented according as he/she pushes the auto-adjustment button. However, in the case where the auto-adjustment function is implemented according as the display mode of the video signal is changed, a user cannot suppose that a picture displayed on the display apparatus will be shaken or moves left and right, so that he/she is likely to take that a picture displayed on the display apparatus is shaken or moves left and right for troubles with the video signal source or the display apparatus.
Further, when the auto-adjustment function is suddenly implemented while the display apparatus displays the picture, it may be inconvenient to use the display apparatus for 6˜7 seconds because the picture displayed on the display apparatus is shaken or moves left and right.

Display apparatus to display a picture according to an input video signal and control method thereof