This invention provides methods and materials for the manufacture of lithium ion rechargeable battery electrodes comprising fullerene compounds which have not been exposed to oxygen. Fullerene compounds are intercalated into carbonaceous materials to form electrodes having superior intercalation/deintercalation properties. Fullerene monomers, such as C60, C70, C74, C76, C78, C80, C84 and C80–100 and fluorinated derivatives thereof, are useful in the methods and materials of this invention. Materials incorporating C74 are particularly preferred. The invention also provides fullerene polymer materials useful for lithium ion electrodes with greatly improved electrochemical properties.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to methods and compositions for the construction of anodes, cathodes and batteries of the lithium ion secondary (rechargeable) type. In particular, the invention relates to fullerene-based secondary cell components and methods and compositions for their construction.
2. Description of the Background Art
Lithium ion secondary (rechargeable) cells are commonly used as power sources in portable electronic devices. Such rechargeable cells generally use a lithium transition metal oxide (very often Li2CoO2 (lithium colbaltate)) cathode and an anode composed of a highly porous carbonaceous material, usually graphite or a pyrolyzed organic material. A lithium ion-soluble electrolyte is placed between the two electrodes, and the cell is charged. During the electrochemical process of charging, some of the lithium ions in the cathode material migrate from the cathode to the carbonaceous anode layer and completely intercalate into it. During discharge, the negative charge held by the anode is conducted out of the battery through its negative terminal, and the Li+ ions migrate through the electrolyte to their original location in the cathode. When this migration is complete, the cell has been completely discharged, and the lithium ions in the battery are at an electronic "ground state."
The porous carbonaceous anode material can reversibly incorporate ions within its crystal lattice with only small structural changes. Structurally, graphite is a planar sheet of carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb. The carbon layers are stacked to form what is commonly known as hexagonal (2H) or rhombohedral (3R) graphite. A certain amount of random stacking or disorder in the structure is common in graphite and in other carbon forms such as cokes, petroleum cokes, synthetic graphites, carbon blacks and the like.
Lithium ion batteries possess four main advantages over other rechargeable cells such as nickel metal hydride, nickel-cadmium, and lead-acid cells. First of all, lithium ions, due to their small size, can intercalate between carbon layers more easily and completely than larger battery ions such as nickel and lead. Because of this property, lithium ion cells do not form battery "memory" ion channels. Secondly, the electrical potential of lithium ions is the most similar to graphite (carbon) of any metal ion. This allows the easiest possible charge transfer between carbon battery anodes and migrating lithium ions. Better charge transfer gives these cells more efficient, complete, and long-lasting discharge rates. Thirdly, lithium cells are much less toxic than comparable secondary cells which use lead, cadmium or nickel metal ions. Fourthly, lithium, the lightest metal, has a high charge-to-mass ratio and thus produces a battery of lighter weight.
Although current lithium battery technology constitutes an enormous advance over that of previous commercial secondary cells, there are a number of shortcomings involving the current materials used as battery electrodes. Commercial lithium secondary cell cathodes are composed of lithium salts, such as lithium colbaltate, which allow less than 50% lithium ion migration to the anode. Largely due to the presence of two distinct ionization energies in the active cathode material (i.e., [Li2CoO4]⇄[Li+][LiCoO4]⇄[2Li+][CoO42−]) the battery never achieves its full theoretical charge potential. To overcome the activation energy barrier for lithium ion formation in the cathode, more energy must be put into the battery during charging than is returned during discharge. Some of the energy used to overcome this barrier is regained when the original compound is reformed, but some is lost as heat. Cathodes which do not have this high energy barrier would require less energy to charge and would achieve a more complete charge. Therefore, materials with more efficient charge transfer chemistries would be highly desirable.
The anodes used in lithium ion batteries also have certain characteristics which prevent optimal performance. Due to the nature of graphitic and pyrolyzed carbon anode materials, electrodes made from them are inevitably irregularly sized, non-directionally specific, and possess non-predictable "pockets" of charging where lithium ions can intercalate into the anode. The extended structure of the carbon compound chosen for the anode therefore influences both the total amount of lithium which can be intercalated within it and at what voltage. The electrical charge stored in the anode must be able to freely migrate between all points of the anode and the negative cell terminal for optimal performance. Poor orientational control increases resistance in the anode and reduces cell charge transfer efficiency as well. The carbon electrodes currently in use commercially employ various forms of amorphous or graphene layered carbon. By their very nature, the structure of these materials cannot be controlled at a molecular level to maximize their affinity for lithium ions.
Heat-treating these prior art carbonaceous materials increases their crystallinity and affects both their structure and their ability to intercalate lithium. Current methods of hydraulic compression and heat treatment significantly help this problem by creating a more regular structure, but the problem cannot be completely solved until the anode is manufactured in a manner such that the order and porosity is more controlled. Therefore, new carbon materials which can be manufactured with more controlled structure would be highly desirable and produce more efficient batteries.
Fullerenes are spherical or partially spherical aromatic compounds composed solely of triconjugate (Sp2-hybridized) carbon atoms. As such, they resemble an ideal graphite sheet, but for the strain which their spherical shape imposes on the normally planar aromatic structure. This strain causes fullerenes to be more reactive than a continuous aromatic sheet. Fullerene molecules are highly electronegative as well, and possess unusual magnetic and electrical properties.
Improvements in the art of lithium ion batteries and battery electrodes therefore would be highly desirable. Such electrodes would enable the manufacture of smaller, lighter rechargeable batteries with longer life and more efficient charging for use in portable electronic devices such as telephones, CD players, hearing aids, computers, and the like, or any device where a high efficiency light weight rechargeable battery is desirable.

Fullerene-based secondary cell electrodes


A variable capacitor is disclosed. The variable capacitor includes a multi-layer ceramic capacitor member, and a capacitance varying mechanism. The multi-layer ceramic capacitor member includes one or two external electrode(s), a ceramic dielectric, and a plurality of electrode layers positioned inside the ceramic dielectric. The capacitance varying mechanism includes an electrical conductor positioned aside and approximate to the ceramic dielectric. The electrical conductor is deformable responsive to a pressure applied thereon, and an area of the electrical conductor in contact with the ceramic dielectric varies in accordance with the pressure, thus varying a capacitance value between the external electrode(s) and the electrical conductor. In general, the external electrode(s) of the multi-layer ceramic capacitor member serve(s) as fixed electrode(s) of the variable capacitor.

The present invention relates to a variable capacitor, and particularly, to a variable capacitor employing an external electrode of a multi-layer ceramic capacitor serving as its fixed electrode(s).
Typically, a conventional plate capacitor, as shown in FIG. 1, is consisted of an electrode A, an electrode B, and a dielectric member C positioned there between. Such a plate capacitor is configured with a fixed capacitance, and therefore its application is very limited. In addition, such plate capacitors are normally large sized, inconvenient for installment, thus not adaptive for specific applications.C=ε*ε0*S/d,  (1)
The capacitance of a plate capacitor is defined in accordance formula (1), in which C represents capacitance with F (Faraday) as unit; ε represents relative dielectric constant; ε0 represents vacuum dielectric constant (8.86×10−12) with F/m as unit; S represents area with m2 as unit; and d represents the distance between electrode plates with m (meter) as unit.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,206,785 disclosed a variable capacitor. As shown in FIG. 2, the variable capacitor includes an electrode A′, corresponding to the plate electrode A as shown in FIG. 1, a deformable disc-like member B′ corresponding to the plate electrode B as shown in FIG. 1, and a dielectric disc C′ corresponding to the dielectric member C as shown in FIG. 1.
In most variable capacitors, the areas of electrodes are usually less than 100 mm2, and a 0.2 mm thick ring with an inner cavity and an air gap is often remained between the dielectric member and the deformable electrode. Under the standard atmosphere pressure, the relative dielectric constant of dry CO2-free air is "ε=1.00053". According to formula (1), the capacitance of the variable capacitor as shown in FIG. 2 is lower than 0.1 pf.
FIG. 3 demonstrates the structure of the variable capacitor of U.S. Pat. No. 5,206,785. When an external pressure applied, the deformable disc-like member B′ deforms and contacts the dielectric disc C′, thus the air gap disappears. Accordingly, the capacitance varies. As disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 5,206,785, the dielectric disc C′ is made of TiO2Sr4Oy, and its relative dielectric constant is 7000. When the thickness of the dielectric disc C′ is 2 mm, and the area of the deformable disc-like member B′ in contact with the dielectric disc C′ is 1 mm2, the capacitance in accordance with the formula (1) is 31.01 pf. Such a capacitance is convenient to measure with a simple measuring circuit.
The variable capacitors disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 5,206,785 have been widely applied in electronic pens, serving as sensors measuring the pressure applied by the pen tips.
However, TiO2Sr4Oy is a very hard sintered-ceramic material, and a polishing process is often needed to assure a solid contact between the deformable disc-like member B′ and the dielectric disc C′. Further, a complicated metal coating process shall be adopted to configure a solid conductive electrode onto the ceramic material. In addition, an electronic pen typically offers very limited room for the sensor, and therefore the ceramic material shall also be precisely cut and processed. As such, due to the complicated processing technologies employed as aforementioned, the sensor is too expensive to be widely used.


A snow mat series is positioned in surrounding relationship relative to an associated automotive vehicle to effect melting of snow surrounding the vehicle to accommodate access thereto. The apparatus is positioned along a portion of the vehicle as required. The mats may be formed of a rigid housing construction or of a cellular construction that permits the melting snow to be directed through the cellular matrix of each mat.

1. Field of the Invention
The field of invention relates to snow melting apparatus, and more particularly pertains to a new and improved snow melting heater mat apparatus wherein the same is arranged to be positioned adjacent a vehicle permitting ease of access to the vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Snow melting apparatus in mat construction has been utilized in the prior art. The access to vehicles, particularly during snow storms, is awkward, difficult, and even dangerous due to melting and freezing of snow. The instant invention attempts to provide an organization to melt and direct snow through a cellular matrix of the mat structures to provide for a grid construction to permit a relatively non-slip surface, as well as directing melting snow therethrough. The prior art has addressed snow melting mats of various types and such mats are set forth in the U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,976,057; 3,976,855; 4,258,248; and 4,314,772.
Accordingly, it may be appreciated that there continues to be a need for a new and improved snow melting heater mat apparatus as set forth by the instant invention which addresses both the problems of ease of use as well as effectiveness in construction and in this respect, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.


A spool body is provided that is adapted for use in a vibrating densitometer. The spool body comprises a core and a plurality of spines that emanate distally from the core. At least one channel is defined by the plurality of spines, wherein a cantilever mode of the spool body lies outside a predetermined natural frequency range of a vibrating tube portion of the vibrating densitometer.

Densitometers are generally known in the art and may be used to measure a density of a fluid. The fluid may comprise a liquid, a gas, a liquid with suspended particulates and/or entrained gas, or combinations thereof.
Vibrating densitometers can comprise a vibrating member, such as a cylinder that is exposed to a fluid under test. One example of a vibrating densitometer comprises a cylindrical conduit that is cantilever-mounted, with an inlet end coupled to an existing pipeline or other structure and with the outlet end free to vibrate. The conduit can be vibrated and a resonant frequency can be measured. As is generally known in the art, the density of the fluid under test can be determined by measuring a resonant frequency of the conduit in the presence of the fluid. According to well-known principles, the resonant frequency of the conduit will vary inversely with the density of the fluid in contact with the conduit.
FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art densitometer. The prior art densitometer includes a cylindrical vibrating member located at least partially within a housing. The housing or the vibrating member may include flanges or other members for operatively coupling the densitometer to a pipeline or similar fluid delivering device in a fluid-tight manner. In the example shown, the vibrating member is cantilever mounted to the housing at an inlet end. The opposite end is free to vibrate. The vibrating member includes a plurality of fluid apertures that allow fluid to enter the densitometer and flow between the housing and the vibrating member. Therefore, the fluid contacts the inside as well as the outside surfaces of the vibrating member. This is particularly helpful when the fluid under test comprises a gas, as a greater surface area is exposed to the gas. In other examples, apertures may be provided in the housing and the vibrating member apertures may not be required.
The vibrating member may be vibrated at or near to a natural (i.e., resonant) frequency. As noted, by measuring a resonant frequency of the member in a presence of a fluid, the density of the fluid can be determined.
A driver and a vibration sensor are positioned on a spool body inside or outside of the cylinder. The driver receives a drive signal from a meter electronics and vibrates the vibrating member at or near a resonant frequency. The vibration sensor detects the vibration of the vibrating member and sends the vibration information to the meter electronics for processing. The meter electronics determines the resonant frequency of the vibrating member/test fluid and generates a density measurement from the measured resonant frequency.
To obtain accurate density measurements, the resonant frequency must be very stable. Unfortunately, vibrating densitometers often experience a series of v-like dips in the response to a sensor operated over a range of gas pressures. This is illustrated in the graph of FIG. 2. The spool body with the cylinder has a cantilever mode that may be excited during the normal operation of the densitometer, but the frequency that excites this cantilever mode is inconsistent between spool bodies. A key design criterion for a gas density cylinder is the separation of the vibration mode shapes so that they may be easily and accurately discriminated. It should be noted, however, that the spool body cantilever mode can unpredictably appear between 1100-1700 Hz, which is within the range of a typical vibrating densitometer's expected measuring range, thus impacting the accuracy of measurements. It is hypothesized that the variation in frequencies is due to the inconsistency related to potting material around the spool bodies, as the potting process is not precise and prone to void formation. FIG. 3 illustrates a potting void in a prior art spool body.
As a result, prior art vibrating densitometers may generate a resonant frequency value that incorporates an unpredictable spool body cantilever mode, introducing errors into density measurements.
Therefore, there exists a need to remove the spool body cantilever mode from the vibrating member's natural frequency range. There exists a need for a spool body exhibiting an increased or decreased natural frequency, yet still maintain a small footprint that is compatible with densitometer form factors. There also exists a need for a spool body that is less prone to forming potting voids. The present invention addresses these and other needs, and an advance in the art is achieved.


A process for controllably applying thermal spray coating onto substrates is described. The process includes positioning rotor blades in a fixture rotatable about an axis, forming a spray of particles of softened coating medium in an apparatus for propelling the coating medium towards the blade tips and coating the blade tips by passing the blades through the spray of particles of coating medium. Various process details, including process parameters, are developed.

Large gas turbine engines are widely used for aircraft propulsion and for ground based power generation. Such large gas turbine engines are of the axial type, and include a compressor section, a combustor section, and a turbine section, with the compressor section normally preceded by a fan section. An annular flow path for working medium gases extends axially through the sections of the engine. Each of the fan, compressor, and turbine sections comprises a plurality of disks mounted on a shaft, with a plurality of airfoil shaped blades projecting radially from the disks. A hollow case surrounds the various engine sections. A plurality of stationary vanes are located between the disks and project inwardly from the case assembly which surrounds the disks.
During operation of the fan, compressor, and turbine sections, as the working medium gases are flowed axially, they alternately contact moving blades and the stationary vanes. In the fan and compressor sections, air is compressed and the compressed air is combined with fuel and burned in the combustion section to provide high pressure, high temperature gases. The working medium gases then flow through the turbine section, where energy is extracted by causing the bladed turbine disks to rotate. A portion of this energy is used to operate the compressor section and the fan section.
Engine efficiency depends to a significant extent upon minimizing leakage of the gas flow to maximize interaction between the gas stream and the moving and stationary airfoils. A major source of inefficiency is leakage of gas around the tips of the compressor blades, between the blade tips and, the engine case. Accordingly, means to improve efficiency by reduction of leakage are increasingly important. Although a close tolerance fit may be obtained by fabricating the blade tips and the engine case to mate to a very close tolerance range, this fabrication process is extremely costly and time consuming. Further, when the assembly formed by mating the blade tips and the engine case is exposed to a high temperature environment and rotational forces, as when in use, the coefficients of expansion of the blade tips and the engine case parts may differ, thus causing the clearance space to either increase or decrease. A significant decrease in clearance results in contact between blades and housing, and friction between the parts generates heat causing a significant elevation of temperatures and possible damage to one or both members. On the other hand, increased clearance space would permit gas to escape between the compressor blade and housing, thus decreasing efficiency.
One approach to increase efficiency is to apply an abradable coating of suitable material to the interior surface of the compressor housing, which when abraded allows for the creation of a channel between the blade tips and the housing. Leakage between the blade tips and the housing is limited to airflow in the channel. Various coating techniques have been employed to coat the inside diameter of the compressor housing with an abradable coating that can be worn away by the frictional contact of the compressor blade, to provide a close fitting channel in which the blade tip may travel. Thus, when subjecting the coated assembly to a high temperature and stress environment, the blade and the case may expand or contract without resulting in significant gas leakage between the blade tip and the housing.
However, it is critical that the blade tips not degrade when contacted with the coatings applied to the interior surface of the compressor housing. To increase the durability of the blade tips which rub against the abradable seals, abrasive layers are sometimes applied to the blade tip surface by a variety of methods. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,802,828, of Rutz et al, which suggests several techniques for providing an abrasive layer on a blade tip, including powder metallurgy techniques, plasma spray techniques, and electroplating techniques; Schaefer et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,735,656, which teaches application of an abrasive comprising ceramic particulates in a metal matrix by controlled melting and solidification of the matrix metal; or, Schaefer et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,851,188, which teaches a sintering operation for application of an abrasive layer to the tip of a superalloy gas turbine blade.
Plasma spraying devices and techniques are well known in the art for depositing protective coatings on underlying substrates. One known device is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,145,287 to Siebein et al entitled "Plasma Flame Generator and Spray Gun ". In accordance with the teaching of the Siebein et al patent, a plasma-forming gas forms a sheath around an electric arc. The sheath of gases constricts and extends the arc part way down the nozzle. The gas is converted to a plasma state and leaves the arc and nozzle as a hot plasma stream. Powders are injected into the hot plasma stream and propelled onto the surface of the substrate to be coated.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,851,140 to Coucher entitled "Plasma Spray Gun and Method for Applying Coatings on a Substrate" and 3,914,573 to Muehlberger entitled "Coating Heat Softened Particles by Projection in a Plasma Stream of Mach 1 to Mach 3 Velocity" disclose contemporaneous coating technology.
This above art notwithstanding, scientists and engineers working under the direction of Applicant's assignee are seeking to improve the process of applying thermal spray coating to substrates in a gas turbine engine. In particular, they have sought to improve the application time of the thermal spray coating using the plasma spraying devices, and to produce a process that is tolerant of variations in flow parameters affecting the spray coating.

Thermal spray coating process for rotor blade tips using a rotatable holding fixture


Information created by a device and recorded on a recording medium and information supplied externally to the device and recorded on the recording medium are classified according to creation date and time information. Each image data file recorded on the recording medium has an original recorded file flag added thereto which indicates whether the image data file is obtained by photographing using the device. Photographing date and time information is added to an image data file obtained by photographing using the device. Obtainment date and time information is added to an image data file supplied externally. In a classification process, an original recorded file flag is checked; an obtainment date and time is used for an image data file obtained externally; a photographing date and time is used for an image data file obtained by photographing; a classification process is performed; and a result of the classification process is displayed.

The present invention relates to an information processing device that has a camera function and an information input function of a key operating unit or the like, and that can receive external information by wire or radio, such as, for example, a digital camera, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), or a portable communication terminal, and a method for classification processing on captured information.
An image taken by an image pickup device such as a digital camera or the like is recorded on a recording medium. The image recorded on the recording medium can be reproduced and used through a display device such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or the like provided to the image pickup device. Further, the image recorded on the recording medium is displayed on the display device using a representative image such as a thumbnail or the like, whereby a plurality of images recorded on the recording medium can be checked at a time.
However, with an increase in the capacity of the recording medium, a much larger number of images than before can be recorded when images taken by the image pickup device are to be recorded on the recording medium. Therefore, when a desired image is to be selected from the taken images and displayed, it is difficult for a user to extract the desired image from among the large number of images recorded on the recording medium.
Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Hei 11-215457) proposes a method of managing images recorded on a recording medium by classifying the taken images according to photographing dates and times thereof. In the case of this technique, the images are classified according to the photographing dates and times thereof, and therefore if a date of photographing of a desired image can be roughly guessed, the desired image can be retrieved quickly. The technique is beneficial when a photographing date and time of an image recorded on the recording medium is desired to be known later, for example.
With the development of networks, an image pickup device can be connected to another image pickup device, a personal computer (hereinafter abbreviated to a PC), and various servers. It is thereby possible for a user to capture images taken by a friend in the image pickup device of the user and use the images, for example.
Further, images made open to the public through servers on a network can be downloaded and reproduced similarly. In this case, images taken independently and the images supplied through the network and the like are mixed with each other on the recording medium of the image pickup device.
In the case where the images taken by the own device and the images obtained through the network are thus mixed with each other on the recording medium, when these images are managed by the method described in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, the images obtained through the network are classified according to photographing dates and times thereof, of course.
However, it is not often that the user of the image pickup device knows the photographing dates and times of images obtained through an external device or a network, and there is no need for the user of the image pickup device to know the photographing dates and times of images obtained through an external device or a network. Thus, images obtained through an external device or a network are classified into unexpected dates, and therefore it is difficult to extract a desired image.
In addition, when a result of classification covers a wide range, for example when images are classified according to photographing dates and times thereof and the photographing dates and times of the taken images cover a wide range such as a period of a few months, a period of a few years or the like, it takes much time to check the result of classification.
Such a problem occurs inevitably not only when image data is managed in a digital camera but also when information obtained through different paths, such as, for example, information generated by an own device and information obtained through a network, needs to be managed.
For example, in a case where a PDA manages text data input through the keyboard of the own device and text data obtained through a network, or in a case where a portable telephone terminal manages data of an incoming call melody (a so-called ringer tone) created by inputting information through the key operating unit of the own device and data of a ringer tone obtained through a network, it is difficult to make a search when the data obtained through the network is to be managed by a date of creation of the data.
In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide an information processing device and an information processing method that do not impair advantages of classification of information according to the creation dates and times of the information when desired information is extracted from information recorded on a recording medium, can perform classification even of information obtained via a network or the like appropriately, and enables a result of classification to be checked quickly even when the result of classification covers a wide range.

System and method for classifying files in an information processing device


Systems and methods that shift the halftone screen relative to the image data in the low-addressability direction to compensate for misregistration would be useful. In various exemplary embodiments of the systems and methods of this invention, each pixel of the halftone cell is first divided into high-addressability pixels at the high-addressability factor. The high-addressability factor is the ratio between the base resolution and the high-addressability resolution. The high-addressability pixels are then divided into subrows using the same high-addressability factor. Each high-addressability pixel in each subrow is then assigned its own threshold value. By shifting the threshold values between adjacent subrows based on the subrow, a particular halftone pattern in the low-addressability direction is implemented. Then, by appropriately selecting the particular subrow to select a particular set of threshold values, the halftone screen can be shifted at the high-addressability resolution along the low-addressability direction.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to systems and methods for generating binary halftone dots.
2. Description of Related Art
Digital halftoning has evolved as a method of rendering the illusion of continuous tone, or "contone", images using devices that are capable of producing only binary picture elements. Conventional halftoning adds a two-dimensional, spatially-periodic, dot screen or line screen structure to the images to be halftoned. Typically, the same screen, or at least a number of more or less identical screens, are used to halftone each of the color separation layers of a polychromatic, i.e., color, image. The halftone screens are oriented at different angles for printing the respective halftone color separation layers.
Misregistration between the color separation layers in a halftoned color image causes a number of problems, including gaps and overlaps between colors, color shifts and moiré. Ideally, perfect registration should be obtained. However, obtaining perfect registration is usually too difficult and/or too costly to obtain using mechanical systems.
Trapping is commonly used to reduce gaps. Using rotated halftone screens can reduce color shifts and moiré, because such rotated halftone screens are less sensitive to misregistration. However, rotated screens do not provide as large a color gamut or as fine a screen structure as that which can be achieved using a dot-off-dot halftone. Unfortunately, dot-off-dot halftones are extremely sensitive to misregistration.
Recently, systems and methods that shift or warp the image data have been developed to compensate for misregistration. These systems and methods place the image in the correct location and can avoid trapping problems. However, these systems and methods do not shift the halftone and they do not solve color shift problems that can arise from misregistered halftoned color separation layers.
The halftoning methods disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,410,414 to Curry, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,537,470 to Schoppmeyer, warp, i.e., adjust or move, the image data produced by an image data generator to improve registration. Such image data generators include color or gray scale image generators and binary image generators.
In many image-forming devices, a stimulus is scanned relative to the surface on which the image is formed at high rate in one direction, and a lower rate in a generally orthogonal direction. For example, in an image forming device that uses a raster output scanner, such as a laser beam, the beam is scanned across a photoreceptor along a first direction, known as the high-addressability direction, that is generally orthogonal to a process direction in which the image surface moves past the raster output scanner. Subsequent scans of the laser beam are offset from each other in a low-addressability direction that corresponds to the process direction. Thus, the low-addressability direction is generally orthogonal to the high-addressability direction. In contrast, in an image forming device that uses a page-width wide bar of LEDs or laser diodes, the high-addressability and process directions are parallel to each other, while the low-addressability direction is generally orthogonal to both the high-addressability and process directions.
High addressability or hyperacuity refers to the ability to locate an edge, occurring between one portion of an image and another portion of an image, at a resolution that is greater than the resolution of the stimulus used to form the image. Such edges often occur between halftone dots and the non-image background regions of each of the color separation layers. One common stimulus used by various image forming apparatus to form images is the light beam scanned by the raster output scanner (ROS). In various known high-addressability systems, the light beam is modulated at a rate that is four times or eight times the period it takes the raster output scanner to move the one or more light beams a distance along the high-addressability direction that is equal to the diameter of the light beam. This is known as 4× or 8× high addressability.

Systems and methods for generating threshold array halftone images with partial pixel position resolution


A method and apparatus for arranging, reporting, and delivering call record information to customers. The communication records of each customer includes call transaction data corresponding to call transaction activity of the customer. The call transaction data is received and matched to a customer. The call transaction data is appropriately formatted, and electronically transmitting the formatted call transaction data to the subscriber, such as via e-mail.

Current telecommunications networks are capable of tracking and recording call transaction data, i.e., information associated with a given telephone call, and using this data to support call processing and to provide accurate billing information to customers. Systems have also been developed which strive to provide the customer with quite detailed call transaction data which the customer may use for specific purposes. U.S. Pat. No. 5,425,087 to Gerber, for example, discloses a system that reports the length of each call, the length of time that a party was placed on hold, and the telephone number of the other party to a system administrator so that the telephone activities of employees can be monitored in real time.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,754,634 to Kay, et al. discloses a system for tracking calls made to individual predetermined subscribers and automatically reporting information, including demographic breakdowns of calls, such as time of day, day of week, and location of origin, to the subscriber. The disclosed system makes use of the Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN) and Integrated Service Control Point (ISCP) platform to provide such information to those subscribers desirous of such service. The ISCP captures the time and date of the call, the originating call number and the subscriber's call number. ISCP network data is collected for all calls placed to service subscribers by the AIN Data and Reports System (DRS). DRS is an operation support utility that provides service analysis on the collected data. The data may be sorted on the basis of called subscriber number and transmitted at periodic intervals to a report processor.
The call originating telephone number for each call may be used to access an existing telephone system billing database to obtain caller information, including zip code. The zip code, in turn, can be used to access a commercially available census database to provide further demographic information. For example, demographics for a given zip code may include median age and median income. Report statistics can match these demographics with a number of calls received as collected at the ISCP.
The calling party number may be supplied through Caller ID or AIN transmission. If this information is available only for calls within a telephone company Local Access and Transport Area (LATA), reports may include detailed breakdown of such calls while categorizing out of LATA calls in more general breakdowns. Detailed zip code results can include number and percentage of residential calls, business calls, homeowners, median income and age. Generalized information may include numbers, averages and percentages of calls in time ranges for days of the week.
The existing arrangements have some drawbacks. In the existing arrangements, a zip code cannot be attached to certain calls. For example, because a telephone company has no billing records for telephone numbers outside of its LATA, it cannot attach a zip code to long distance calls. Further, under the existing arrangement, there is no way to attach a geographical indicator to a call without a zip code. Thus, for many calls, no geographical indicator can be attached. Furthermore, even for calls for which a zip code is attached, there is no indication of an actual geographic location. All the subscriber receives is a zip code. Another drawback of the existing arrangements is that the report that is output to the subscriber is only available in tabular form, which tends to be rather cryptic. Thus, it is difficult and inconvenient for the subscriber to comprehend and absorb the information contained in the tables. Further still, the prior art does not facilitate convenient call record report delivery.
There is a need in the telecommunications industry for a system and method of providing accurate call records, and providing such records to service subscribers in a convenient manner. The present invention fulfills these and other needs, and provides additional advantages over the prior art.

System and method for reporting and delivering calls


A lubricant composition comprising lubricating oil and a compound containing phosphorus and an amine of formula I:

One of the most important aspects in developing lubricant compositions for various applications is the individual adjustment and optimization of friction properties. Varying applications have differing demands on a lubricant. For example, a gear oil will require good extreme pressure and load-bearing properties, generally low boundary friction and low thin film friction is desired. On the other hand, a lubricant optimized for continuously variable transmissions (CVT) will require low boundary friction and high thin film friction. Clutches, in particular in automatic transmissions, require high boundary friction for an optimal torque transfer, whereas low thin film friction is generally desired to efficiently pump fluid through the transmission.
A particular focus of automatic transmission fluids (ATF) is the minimization of shudder (anti-shudder properties), which is believed to be a function of the change of friction coefficient with time (dμ/dt<0). Furthermore, shift characteristics of automatic transmissions are primarily dependent on the frictional characteristics of the ATF. The fluid needs to have a very stable frictional performance over the life of the fluid. Generally, it is desired to design ATF lubricant compositions that maximize service intervals or even better, avoid oil service during the lifetime of the equipment. This is referred to in the industry as a lifetime fill or "fill-for-life" fluid. Therefore, maintenance of the friction properties of an ATF over time, i.e. ATF friction durability, is a highly desired property.
This is especially true in the field of power transmissions, in particular automatic transmissions, where an increasing demand for lubricant compositions with such improved friction properties exists. Accordingly, several approaches for providing a lubricating composition with improved friction performance are known. One approach is using high levels of amines as friction modifiers to improve the friction properties of a lubricant. The use of such amines at high levels has two problems. First the use of these amines will, because they are typically such effective friction reducers, drop the static friction performance of the ATF in a transmission to unacceptable levels causing the transmission to not be able to transmit torque effectively. Second, the use of high levels of amines often has a deleterious effect on the various polymeric seal materials, e.g., the seal material classed as GM DEXRON® IIIH Elastomers, e.g., V3 (VAMAC), P2 (polyacrylate), N1 (nitrile), F1 (fluoroelastomer), etc., used in transmission hardware.
In EP 0 721 978 B1 a power transmission fluid composition comprising a hydrogenated poly-alpha-olefin oligomer fluid, an acrylic viscosity index improver, a dialkylester, an ashless dispersant, a friction modifier and an inhibitor is disclosed. Furthermore, EP 0 721 978 B1 suggests the use of amine phosphate as anti-wear extreme pressure agent in an amount of 0.05 wt.-%.
EP 0 713 908 B1 describes power transmission fluids having a Brookfield viscosity of 13,000 mPa s or less at −40° C. comprising at least 50 wt.-% of 55 N to 125 N hydro treated mineral oils, 5 to 40 wt.-% of hydrogenated poly-alpha-olefin oligomer, 5 to 20 wt.-% of acrylic viscosity index improver and other additives components. The compositions possess a combination of performance properties necessary for electronically controlled automatic transmissions equipped with torque converter clutches capable of operating in a continuous slip mode. Furthermore, EP 0 713 908 B1 suggests the use of amine phosphate as anti-wear extreme pressure agent in an amount of 0.02 to 0.05 wt.-%.
Again, two important friction properties of ATF compositions are friction durability and minimum static friction. EP 0 856 042 B9 describes two conventional ways to improve friction durability. One way is to increase the amount of friction modifier in the fluid which improves the friction durability, but, as discussed above, adversely affects, i.e. lowers, the friction coefficient of the fluid to undesirable levels, especially the static coefficient of friction. An alternative method is to improve the oxidation resistance of the fluid because it is generally believed that polar oxidation products compete with the friction modifiers for the friction surface. Nevertheless, reducing fluid oxidation for improving long term control of friction is difficult and hardly predictable. EP 0 856 042 B9 suggests to use a composition comprising a mixture of an antioxidant, a low potency friction modifier and an oil-soluble phosphorus containing compound, for improving the friction durability of an automatic transmission fluid.

Abstract: wherein R1 is a hydrocarbon group and at least one of R1 is selected from: —(C1-C20)alkyl, —(C1-C20)alkenyl, —(C5-C20)cycloalkyl; R is selected from: —(C4-C20)alkyl, —(C4-C20)alkenyl, —(C5-C20)cycloalkyl; and wherein R2, R3 and R4 are independently selected from: —H, —(C6-C36)alkyl, —(C6-C36)alkenyl, —(C6-C36)cycloalkyl, wherein at least one of R2, R3 and R4 is not H; X is O or S; Y1 and Y2 are selected from S and O; m is 1 or 2, n is 0 or 1, p is 1 or 2, provided that m+n+p=3 and q=0.8 to 1.2*p, wherein the compound provides at least 48 ppm of phosphorus and a molar ratio phosphorus to nitrogen (P/N) in the range of about 0.40 to about 1.50.


A fixing apparatus for fixing an unfixed image on a recording material includes: a heating member having a conductive layer, that is rotatably provided; a pressure member that is rotatably provided and that is brought into press-contact with the heating member, thereby forms a fixing nip part to pass the recording material between the pressure member and the heating member; a heating unit that performs induction heating on the heating member via the conductive layer; a driving unit that rotates the heating member; and an attachment/separation unit that attaches or separates the heating member to/from the pressure member.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a fixing apparatus or the like to fix a toner image onto a recording material in an image forming apparatus utilizing e.g. an electrophotographic method.
2. Related Art
Generally, in an image forming apparatus using powder toner, at a process to fix a toner image, a method of electrostatically transferring a toner image onto a recording medium, then placing the recording medium between a heating member and a pressure member, and heat-melting the toner image thereby press-fixing the toner image to the recording medium, is widely employed. For the heating of the heating member, an arrangement where the heating member has a conductive layer such that the conductive layer generates heat by electromagnetic induction heating has been proposed. The electromagnetic induction heating is providing an exciting coil to generate a varying magnetic field near the conductive layer (heating member) and causing the conductive layer to generate heat by an eddy current generated in the conductive layer. According to the electromagnetic induction heating, as the heating member is directly heated and the range of high temperature by heating is extremely limited, the heating member can be heated to a predetermined temperature in a short time. Accordingly, in comparison with heating using a halogen lamp or the like as a heating source, warm-up time of the fixing apparatus can be reduced, and electric consumption can be reduced. Further, as it is not necessary to previously heat the heating member when the apparatus is not used, the electric consumption can be further reduced.
On the other hand, as the heating member (fixing member), as well as a heating roller, an endless fixing belt is generally used. The endless fixing belt is a belt put around plural support rollers, or is a belt with an inside pressure member and is circulate-driven without a roller. The fixing belt has a thin heat-resisting resin layer or the like as a base layer. As the thermal capacity of the fixing belt is smaller than that of the heating roller, the warm-up time is shorter in comparison with that of the apparatus using the heating roller. Further, in the non-expanded type fixing belt, the area to be contact with another member can be reduced, thereby heat transfer to the other member can be reduced. Accordingly, further efficient warming up can be performed.
In a fixing apparatus where an endless belt as a heating member is heated by electromagnetic induction, when the endless belt is put around plural rollers, the exciting coil is provided to face the inner surface or outer surface of the belt. On the other hand, when the endless belt is circulate-driven without a roller, the exciting coil is provided in a position close and facing the outer peripheral surface of the endless belt. Then, a varying magnetic field is generated in a direction through the endless belt, and an eddy current is induced around the magnetic field.
Generally, a high frequency current supplied to the exciting coil is generated by switching a direct current at a high frequency, and constant current control or constant energy control is performed. Further, upon electric power supply to the exciting coil, the temperature of the fixing member as a heated body is detected with a temperature sensor and the amount of supplied power is controlled and/or power supply ON/OFF control is performed so as to maintain a predetermined temperature.
In recent image forming apparatuses, further reduction of warm-up time is needed. Accordingly, when a printout request has been inputted from a user, it is necessary to immediately heat the fixing apparatus (heating member) to a fixing temperature.
On the other hand, in a fixing apparatus employing e.g. the electromagnetic induction heating, the warm-up time can be reduced as described above, however, as the temperature of the heating member rises in a short time, it frequently overshoots, i.e., it exceeds the upper limit of a desired temperature range. When the overshoot occurs, the heating member or the like is damaged by the overheating, and the life of the heating member may be reduced or the member may be broken.
To address the above problems, it may be arranged such that the level of electric power supplied to the exciting coil during the warm-up is gradually lowered and the inclination of a heat-up curve of the heating member is gradually reduced, thereby the occurrence of overshoot is suppressed.
However, in this method, the warm-up time of the heating member becomes long, and the advantage of the electromagnetic induction heating cannot be utilized. Further, since the power supplied to the exciting coil is set at multiple levels, the power supply ON/OFF control is frequently performed. In this case, a secondary fault such as flicker easily occurs.
Note that these problems are not limited to the fixing apparatus employing the above-described electromagnetic induction heating but similarly occur in a fixing apparatus having a mechanism to quickly heat the heating member.

Fixing apparatus, image forming apparatus and fixing apparatus heating method


A device for opening an ampoule includes an ampoule holder configured to hold a body of the ampoule along a central longitudinal axis, a head holder configured to hold a head of the ampoule, and a guide engaged with the head holder and configured to direct the head holder from a first position on the central longitudinal axis to a second position offset from the central longitudinal axis when the ampoule holder is advanced in a first direction along the central longitudinal axis from an initial position. A method for opening an ampoule includes moving the ampoule in a first direction along a central longitudinal axis, directing the head of the ampoule laterally and/or obliquely away from the central longitudinal axis to break the head of the ampoule from the body of the ampoule when the ampoule is moved in the first direction, removing material from the body of the ampoule, and removing liquid from the head of the ampoule.

A variety of materials, such as pharmaceuticals and other chemicals, are packaged and stored in ampoules prior to use. Ampoules typically include a cylindrical body which forms the main storage portion, a smaller tapered head portion, and a narrower neck portion therebetween. Ampoules conventionally used in the art are made from a frangible material such as glass and must be broken by the user to provide access to the material stored within. Usually the ampoule is broken at the neck portion to separate the head from the body.
Ampoules are sometimes broken by hand, which creates a number of risks for the user. For example, breaking the ampoule may release splinters and shards into the material and/or the surrounding environment. Sharp or jagged edges may also be created where the ampoule was broken which creates a hazard for the user. Moreover, the material stored in the ampoule may be volatile and/or reactive, and the user may be exposed to the material if spillage occurs during or after breaking the ampoule. The user may also be exposed to fumes released from the material once the ampoule is broken.

Device and method for opening an ampoule


The invention is an assay for detection of Watermelon silver mottle virus (WSMoV)-serogroup tospoviruses using a monoclonal antibody and a method for preparing the monoclonal antibody. A hybridoma cell line that produces a monoclonal antibody against the NSs proteins of WSMoV-serogroup tospoviruses was produced. The hybridoma cell line produces a monoclonal antibody binding with peptide SEQ ID No. 19.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an assay for detection of Watermelon silver mottle virus serogroup in Tospovirus genus with monoclonal antibody and a method for preparing the monoclonal antibody.
2. Description of the Related Art
Tospovirus species belong to the genus Tospovirus are the only group of plant-infecting virus in the family Bunyaviridae. Tospoviruses are transmitted by thrips in a persistent manner and distributed worldwide to infect more than 900 species in 82 families of monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous plants. Virions of tospoviruses are enveloped quasi spherical particles containing three single-stranded RNAs of negative sense and ambisense. Owing to the instability of tospoviruses, it is difficult to purify sufficient amounts of their individual proteins.
The tropical and subtropical climate in South Asia and Eastern South Asia is adaptable for the growth and survival of thrips, the vector of tospoviruses. The Watermelon silver mottle virus (WSMoV)-serogroup tospoviruses are the major species distribute over these areas. The reported members in the WSMoV serogroup, based on the serological relationship of nucleocapsid protein (NP), include WSMoV and Calla lily chlorotic spot virus (CCSV) in Taiwan, Peanut bud necrosis virus (PBNV) and Watermelon bud necrosis virus (WBNV) in India, and Capsicum chlorosis virus (CaCV) in Australia and Thailand.
Due to the convenience of international transportation and the frequency of agricultural transaction among various countries, tospoviruses or their vectors are easily to be inadvertently imported. Therefore, the quarantine of agricultural products tends to important. Development of a fast and precise examination system will be useful to understand and monitor the distribution of tospoviruses for promoting agriculture competition in the international market.

Monoclonal antibody to the common epitope of NSs protein of watermelon silver mottle virus and assay for tospovirus


A Class S RF power amplifier for use in a radio frequency (RF) transmitter. The Class S power amplifier comprises a delta-sigma modulator that receives an analog modulated RF carrier and generates a pulse-width modulated binary signal. The Class S power amplifier also comprises a switch mode power amplifier that receives the pulse-width modulated binary signal generated by the delta-sigma modulator and generates an output carrier signal that switches between a fully on state and a fully off state. The sampling rate of the delta-sigma modulator is less than four times the frequency of the output carrier signal generated by the switch mode power amplifier.

Wireless communication systems implement a variety of radio frequency (RF) power amplifier topologies. The current trend towards highly linear multi-carrier RF transmitters and microwave transmitters having high power efficiency requires more sophisticated circuit topologies, such as class F amplifiers, Doherty amplifiers, and various switch mode RF power amplifier families. Due to the rigorous noise requirements of the new generation wireless systems, some linear power amplifier, such as classes A, AB and B, are forced to operate at low power efficiency, which increase the operating costs of the wireless network. Since power amplifiers consume about 60% of the total power in a transmitter system, highly efficient topologies are need.
With semiconductor technologies pushing clock speeds, switch mode power amplifier (SMPA) systems are becoming an attractive choice over the conventional linear power amplifiers by offering higher efficiency, reduced size, and lower cost. Among switch mode power amplifier topologies, the Class S power amplifier, which is widely used at low frequency, becomes a promising configuration suitable for wireless systems operating at high frequency, such as the new generation base stations using W-CDMA, UMTS, or CDMA2000 air interfaces. Working at a switching frequency higher than the signal frequency, the Class S power amplifier offers a lower harmonic distortion than an amplifier that switches at the signal frequency.
However, the number of available applications of Class S power amplifiers is limited. Many of these applications are directed towards the use of band-pass delta-sigma modulators for either baseband audio applications or intermediate frequency (IF) applications with much lower sample rates than those being considered for the UMTS band and other wireless communication bands. Commercial applications of the band-pass delta-sigma modulator (BP-DSM) are mainly for GSM at intermediate frequency (i.e., IF=70 MHz) and relatively low frequency RF carriers (i.e., RF=250 MHz).
However, many commonly deployed wireless systems operating at 1.9 to 2.1 GHz require a high sampling rate and switching rate of about 8 GHz. To implement a BP-DSM at 8 GHz forces the design out of inexpensive semiconductor processes for implementation. A delta-sigma modulator (DSM) operating at an 8 GHz switching frequency is also more susceptible to parasitic effects that could degrade the loop performance or cause instability. Also, operating a switch mode PA at 8 GHz requires a power device having a high fT. In practical terms, power devices with higher fT have lower peak operating power. For these reasons, the significant limiting factors in implementing a Class S power amplifier in the 1.9 to 2.1 GHz frequency bands are the cost and performance limitations of implementing circuits with switching frequencies in the 8 GHz range.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for an improved radio frequency (RF) power amplifier for use in wireless communication systems. In particular, there is a need for an improved RF power amplifier for amplifying RF signals with high power-added efficiency.

Apparatus and method for reduced sample rate class S RF power amplifier


Disclosed is a system and method for a complex domain radio frequency (RF) frontend, adaptive beamforming can separate the relatively slowly changed waveform delay information required from wideband RF signals, upon which a self-contained beamforming system is implemented with a low-speed baseband. By introducing vector RF multipliers in the frontend of the present invention, the amplitude and phase of RF signals are simultaneously controlled by the real and imaginary parts of complex numbers, such that beamforming algorithms derived in complex domain can be directly applied without any form of transformation. By doing so, the massive use of conventional T/R modules and high-speed baseband devices can be avoided, thus simplifying the realization and decreasing the cost of wideband digital beamforming systems for use in low cost, power efficient beamforming applications.

Phased array antennas significantly extend the capability of conventional antennas by enabling the functionality of adaptive beamforming. In modern communication and radar systems, beamforming technique has been widely used to not only steer and shape the lobes of radiation patterns so as to obtain optimal signal performance, but also to control the nulls to suppress directional interference and improve the noise performance. Due to these advantages, phased array antennas with beamforming functions have been widely used in modern civil and military systems like radars, radio telescopes, acoustic applications and radio communication systems.
Beamforming can be realized in either radio frequency (RF) domain or baseband (BB) domain. Nowadays, BB beamforming based on the state-of-the-art highly adaptive phased array is the main stream. Compared with the conventional RF beamforming that relies on analog RF phase shifters, such BB beamforming systems are based on the concept of software defined radio (SDR) architecture that combines antenna elements with RF frontends (transmitter/receiver (T/R) modules), analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), and digital signal processors (DSPs) to provide the maximum flexibility in achieving high-performance adaptive beamforming. For a wideband BB beamforming system, the massive use of high-speed ADCs is inevitable. Consequently, digital down-converters (DDCs) are needed to convert the digitized intermediate frequency (IF) signals to baseband. In order to handle the wideband data and complex beamforming algorithms in digital domain, a high-performance processing unit is required in baseband, typically implemented by high-speed DSPs or field programmable devices, such as FPGAs. All these high-speed digital and digital-analog mixed devices are expensive and power hungry. Therefore, the hardware expense, power consumption and structural complexity of a high-performance BB beamforming phased array system directly increase with the number of RF channels, making the implementation of a large-scale BB beamforming system a complex and challenging task.

Complex domain beamforming system and methods relating thereto


In an electromagnetic valve applicable to an evaporated fuel purge system of a vehicular internal combustion engine and a method for manufacturing the same, a magnetic core member is caulked to a housing at an accurate position thereof under a spinning process. The core member includes: a relatively large diameter portion; a relatively small diameter portion; and a whole peripherally caulked portion. With the relatively large diameter portion inserted into a core member inserting hole of a valve casing, the relatively small diameter portion is inserted into a core member attaching hole of the housing. The whole peripherally caulked portion is formed in an approximately truncated cone shape using a roll of a spinning process device.

a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electromagnetic valve having a magnetic core member secured to a housing and a method for manufacturing the same. The electromagnetic valve is suitably applicable to a vehicular internal combustion engine for controlling a fuel supply quantity or controlling a purge quantity of an evaporated fuel into an intake air system of the engine.
b) Description of the Related Art
In general, for example, a purge system of an evaporated fuel has been adopted in a vehicular internal combustion engine in which a fuel gas evaporated in a fuel tank (so-called, an evaporated gas) is temporarily reserved into a canister and the evaporated gas is introduced into an intake air passage to burn the evaporated gas with the intake air so that the evaporated gas is prevented from being discharged into the atmosphere external to the engine. In the purge system, a purge passage is installed between the canister and intake air passage for causing the evaporated gas to be circulated into the intake air passage, in a midway through the purge passage an electromagnetic valve such as a purge control valve being installed so as to enable an open or closure of the purge passage according to a drive signal inputted thereto.
A previously proposed structure of the electromagnetic valve such as the purge control valve will be described below.
A valve casing formed in a stepped cylindrical shape includes: a core inserting hole through which a core member as will be described below is inserted; and a valve seat arranged for seating a valve body (which will be described below) thereon, both of the core inserting hole and the valve seat being coaxially and vertically extended in the electromagnetic valve. In addition, inlet and outlet are projected radially from the valve casing, both of the inlet and outlet being mutually communicated or interrupted according to an open and closure of the valve seat. An annular metallic plate made of a magnetic material is buried into an internal (thickness portion) of the valve casing so as to enclose the valve body. A part of the annular metallic plate is projected radially from the valve casing.
An approximately letter-U shaped housing formed of the magnetic material such as the iron member or a magnetic stainless steel material is positioned on an outer periphery of the valve casing and extended in the axial direction of the valve casing.
A core inserting hole at a basic end of the housing is placed on an axis line of the valve casing so as to be coaxial with the core inserting hole of the valve casing. A tip end of the approximately letter-U shaped housing is linked to the annular metallic plate.
A rod-shaped core member made of the magnetic material such as iron or magnetic stainless steel includes: a large diameter portion inserted into a core inserting hole of the valve casing; a small diameter portion located on a basic end of the large diameter portion and inserted into a core member attaching hole of the housing at a position projected from the core inserting hole; and a diameter extended portion formed on a basic end of the small diameter portion.
It is noted that the core member is secured to the core member inserting hole of the housing through the diameter extended portion and is extended along the axial line of the core member attaching hole.
In addition, the core member is attached onto the valve casing together with the housing and its large diameter portion is coaxially extended within the core member inserting hole of the valve casing. A tip end of the large diameter portion is faced against a valve body with a constant clearance to limit a lift distance of the valve body (a valve opening variable of the valve body) at a predetermined magnitude. An electromagnetic coil is located on an outer periphery of the core member inserting hole and is buried into an internal of the valve casing. The electromagnetic coil is energized by an external power supply to form a magnetic field thereabout to open a valve body.
The valve body is made of the magnetic material of an iron system metal and is installed within the valve casing. The valve body is attracted magnetically onto the core member by means of the power supplied electromagnetic coil so as to be separated from a valve seat of the valve casing to open the valve.
When the electromagnetic coil receives the power supply, a closed magnetic path is formed with the coil, plate, housing, the core member, and the valve body is magnetically attracted onto the tip end of the core member (large diameter portion). Hence, the valve body is open and is contracted on the tip end of the core member so as to communicate the inlet with the outlet.
In addition, when the electromagnetic valve is assembled, the electromagnetic coil and the valve body are at first attached onto the valve casing, the core member is fixed onto the housing, and, thereafter, the housing is attached onto the valve casing.
It is noted that when the core member is fixed onto the valve casing, with the large diameter portion of the core member is attached onto a clamp, after the small diameter portion is inserted within the core member attaching hole, a pressurizing jig such as a punch is used to apply the pressure onto the basic end of the small diameter extended portion. Hence, the diameter extended portion is deformed due to a plastic deformation on the small diameter portion. Consequently, the core member cannot be drawn out from the housing by means of the diameter extended portion.

Electromagnetic valve and method for manufacturing the same


A circuit connecting device has a circuit connecting body constructed by a fixed body connected to a connector for a wire harness and a rotating body rotatable with respect to this fixed body and fixed onto a steering wheel side. An inner cylindrical portion inserting a steering shaft thereinto is formed in an inner circumference of this rotating body. A collar is mounted to this inner cylindrical portion and is slidable in an axial direction and a rotating movement of the collar is restricted. A relative rotation of the rotating body and the fixed body is restricted by engaging this collar and the fixed body with each other. This engagement is released by pushing-in the collar at an inserting time of the steering shaft. Accordingly, a vehicle assembly working property of a steering module can be improved.

The present invention relates to a circuit connecting device of a steering module for a vehicle. More particularly, the present invention relates to a circuit connecting device for connecting a vehicle wire harness and a steering module intensively arranged in a steering wheel section of the vehicle.
In a conventional steering wheel, a steering module of switches, an air bag system, etc. for operating an air conditioner, an audio, an autocruise system, etc. is assembled into a steering pad of a vehicle or a peripheral portion thereof. A circuit connecting body having a reel shape is used to connect circuits of this steering module and a wire harness of the vehicle.
This circuit connecting body connects a rotating body and a fixed body to each other by a flat cable having a spiral shape and is generally called a clock spring or a cable reel. Namely, the rotating body in a central portion of the circuit connecting body is fixed to the steering wheel and a steering shaft. A connector of the fixed body is attached to a connector for the wire harness.
In such a conventional structure, the rotating body and the fixed body of the circuit connecting body are relatively rotated freely. Therefore, when the steering wheel is conveyed and the circuit connecting body is assembled into the steering shaft, the fixed body of the circuit connecting body accidentally comes in contact with something and is rotated so that a shift in position of the connector is caused and no fixed body can be fitted into a movable connector on a steering shaft side in a certain case. Accordingly, careful attention must be paid such that no fixed body is rotated, thereby causing a problem about an assembly working property.

Circuit connecting device of steering module for vehicle


Systems, methods, and apparatus including computer-readable mediums for managing memories by overlapping ranges of pages in nonvolatile memory systems are provided. An example memory system includes a memory controller coupled to a memory and configured to: determine a range of logical addresses associated with a command, search particular mapping tables including the range of logical addresses in mapping pages in the memory, determine whether a starting address of the range of logical addresses is in an overlapped range of first and second sequential mapping pages, the overlapped range including logical addresses of one or more mapping tables duplicated in the first and second mapping pages, determine which of the first and second mapping pages from which the particular mapping tables to be loaded based on a result of determining whether the starting address is in the overlapped range, and load the particular mapping tables from the determined mapping page.

Some memory systems, e.g., flash memory system, have an erase-before-write architecture. To update a location in a flash memory system, the location must first be erased before new data can be written to it. The smallest memory portion for erasing (e.g., a block) is larger in size than that for reading or writing (e.g., a sector), which results in a major performance degradation of the overall flash memory system. In some cases, Flash Translation Layer (FTL) is introduced in the flash memory system to manage read, write, and erase operations. At the core of an FTL is using a logical-to-physical address mapping table. If a physical address location mapped to a logical address contains previously written data, input data is written to an empty physical location in which no data were previously written. The mapping table is then updated due to the newly changed logical/physical address mapping.

Overlapping ranges of pages in memory systems


A lighting apparatus is described. One embodiment of the lighting apparatus includes a substrate and a lighting element. The lighting element is coupled to the substrate to emit light through a light exit plane. The light exit plane is substantially perpendicular to the substrate. By providing a lighting device with a substrate oriented perpendicular to the light exit plane of the lighting device, the lighting device can enable better mixing of the light from different LEDs. The lighting apparatus facilitates light mixing, generally, to minimize or eliminate dark spots on the diffusion panel. The lighting device also facilitates color mixing to produce relatively consistent white light on the diffusion panel.

Most liquid crystal display (LCD) panels use backlighting to provide a bright image to the viewer. Backlighting is typically provided by diffusing white light from a fluorescent light source or several light emitting diode (LED) sources. To provide evenly distributed backlighting, LCD panels have a diffusion panel that receives the light along one edge of the panel and diffuses the light throughout the face of the diffusion panel. The white light may be directly generated by the fluorescent light source or the LEDs. However, colored LEDs emitting such colors as red, green, and blue (RGB) are also used in some applications. Where colored LEDs are used, the different colors are mixed to create the white light.
In applications that use LEDs, several LEDs typically are mounted on a single substrate. The LEDs and substrate are referred to as an LED device. One type of LED device is referred to as an LED array. Some LED arrays have individual lenses for each of the LEDs. Other LED arrays have multiple LEDs encapsulated together between reflector walls. Whether the LEDs have individual lenses or are encapsulated together, conventional LED devices cause dark spots, or zones, on an adjacent diffusion panel. For example, the LED devices with individual lenses may have dark spots between adjacent LEDs. LED devices with several LEDs encapsulated together may have dark spots between adjacent LED devices.
In view of this, what is needed is an LED device to provide a better light distribution to overcome the problems of dark spots on the diffusion panel.

Indirect lighting device for light guide illumination

Avago Technologies General IP (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.


In a non-volatile semiconductor memory device, a memory cell array composed of a plurality of non-volatile memory cells is provided. Each word line is connected to a row of the memory cell array, and each bit line is connected to a column of the memory cell array. The memory cell array is divided into N blocks (N is an integer more than 1) in a row direction. A control signal generating section monitors erase operations to each of the N blocks to generate an erase operation history data for each of the N blocks and generates a control signal for each of the N blocks other than a selected block based on the erase operation history data for the corresponding block, when a write operation is performed to the selected block. A source voltage generating section generates a source voltage for each of the N blocks other than the selected block based on the corresponding control signal to supply the generated source voltage to a common source node of the corresponding block, when the write operation is performed to the selected block.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a non-volatile semiconductor memory device, and more particularly to a non-volatile semiconductor memory device such as an electrically programmable and erasable flash memory.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an electrically programmable and erasable non-volatile semiconductor memory device such as a flash memory, when a data is to be written in a memory cell, it is necessary for potentials to be applied to a control gate and a drain of the memory cell. However, the potentials are unnecessarily applied to memory cells to which the data is not to be written. This problem results from a memory array block structure and affects data holding performance of the memory cell.
FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram illustrating a part of the structure of a conventional flash memory. Referring to FIG. 1, the conventional flash memory is composed of memory cell array blocks 10 and 11. In each of the memory cell array blocks 10 and 11, a plurality of memory cells C000 to C0mn or C100 to C1mn are arranged in a matrix manner. The source terminals of the memory cells for each array block 10 or 11 are connected in common to a common source node such that a plurality of memory cell data stored in the memory cells can be collectively erased. The drain terminals of the plurality of memory cells C000 to C0mn or C100 to C1mn are connected to a plurality of bit lines BL00 to BL0m or BL10 to BL1m for every column, respectively. The set of bit lines BL00 to BL0m for the memory cell array block 10 and the set of bit lines BL10 to BL1m for the memory cell array block 11 are electrically independent from each other. The control gates of the plurality of memory cells C000 to C0mn and C100 to C1mn are connected to a plurality of word lines WL0 to WLn for every row, respectively. The word lines WL0 to WLn are connected in common to the memory cell array blocks 10 and 11.
The conventional flash memory is also composed of source voltage supplying circuits 20 and 21 for supplying predetermined source voltages to the common source terminals of the memory cell array blocks 10 and 11, respectively. The source voltage supplying circuit 20 includes N-type MOS transistors N01 and N02, and a P-type MOS transistor P01. The MOS transistors N01, N02 and P01 receive control signals SB0, SG0 and EB0 supplied from a control circuit (not shown) at the gates, respectively. The source voltage supplying circuit 21 includes N-type MOS transistors N11 and N12, and a P-type MOS transistor P11. The MOS transistors N11, N12 and P11 receive, at the gates, signals SB1, SG1 and EB1 supplied from the control circuit (not shown), respectively.
The conventional flash memory is further composed of a source bias voltage generating circuit 200 including a circuit section 201 for the memory cell array block 10. The source bias voltage generating circuit 200 includes a circuit section having the same circuit structure as the circuit section 201 for the array block 11. FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram illustrating the structure of the circuit section 201. Referring to FIG. 2, the circuit section 201 is composed of a P-type MOS transistor PT0 and N-type MOS transistors NT0 and NT1. These MOS transistors are connected in series in this order between the power supply Vpp and the ground line. The circuit section 201 is also composed of resistors R1 to Rn which are connected in series between the ground line and the power supply Vpp for generating a reference voltage. A signal BSB which is in a low level in a write operation to the memory cell array block 11 is supplied to the gate of the MOS transistor NT1 and supplied to the gate of the MOS transistor PT0 in an inverted form. The gate of the MOS transistor NT0 is connected to a node between the resistors Rk and Rk+1.
Referring to FIG. 1 again, the relation between the respective terminal potentials when a data is written in the memory cell C000 of the memory cell array block 10 as a selected memory cell of a selected block will be described. In this case, the write operation is not performed to the memory cells C000 to C00n, C010 to C0mn and C100 to C1mn, that is, these memory cells are the non-selected memory cells. A write drain voltage of about 6 V is applied onto the memory cells C000 to C00n connected to the bit line BL00, and the bit lines BL01 to BL0m and BL10 to BL1m are in the open state. A write control gate voltage of about 12 V is applied onto the memory cells C000 to C0m0 and C100 to C1m0 connected to the word line WL0 and the word lines WL1 to WLn are set to 0 V. A write source voltage of 0 V is applied from the source voltage supplying circuit 20 to the source terminals of the memory cells C000 to C0mn via the common source node CS0, because the control signal SG0 is in the H level. At this time, hot electrons are generated between the source terminal and the drain terminal of this memory cell C000 and injected into a floating gate (FG) of the selected memory cell, so that the threshold voltage of the selected memory cell C000 rises. In the flash memory, the data is written by making the threshold voltage of the selected memory cell rise in this manner.
In this case, the non-selected memory cells C001 to C00n receive the same write drain voltage as the selected memory cell C000. Also, the memory cells C010 to C0m0 and C100 to C1m0 receive the same write control gate (CG) voltage as the selected memory cell C000. As a result, a problem of data holding performance occurs in these non-selected memory cells. Especially, the memory cells C100 to C1m0 are in the memory cell array block 11 different from the memory cell array block 10 in which the selected memory cell C000 is present. However, the memory cells C100 to C1m0 receive the same write control gate voltage as the selected memory cell C000. When the erase operation and the write operation are repeated many times to the memory cell array block 10, the write control gate voltage is also applied to the control gates of the memory cells in the memory cell array block 11 for a long time period.
The application time period during when the non-selected memory cells of the memory cell array block 11 receive the unnecessary write control gate voltage can be expressed by the following equation. EQU TG={TW.times.NB.times.(NA-1).times.NCYC}{TW.times.(NB1)}
where TG is the application time (a gate disturb time) during when the unnecessary write control gate voltage is applied, TW is a write time period, NB is the number of bit lines/one memory cell array block, NA is the number of array blocks in which the word lines are connected in common, and NCYC is the number of times of write operation. The first term of the above equation is the application time period of the write control gate voltage to the memory cell, e.g., C100 when the write operation is performed to the memory cell array block, e.g., 10 in the above case. The second term of the equation is the application time period of the write control gate voltage to the memory cell C100 when the write operation is performed to the memory cell array block. The number of times of the write operation NCYC has great influence to the application time period TG. Therefore, it could be considered that the application time period TG to a memory cell is greatly influenced by the first term. In the currently available product, 10.sup.5 times are guaranteed.
Next, the problem of data holding performance caused in case of receiving the unnecessary write control gate voltage will be described. FIG. 3A is a diagram illustrating each of the terminal voltages, electric fields, and the directions of movement of electrons in the memory cells C010 to C0m0 and C100 to C1m0 which receive the same write control gate voltage as the written cell C000.
Referring to FIG. 3A, when the high write control gate voltage Vg of about 12 V is applied to the control gate (CG) of the memory cell, when the source terminal (S) is set to the ground potential, and when the drain terminal (D) is set to the voltage of about 6 V, the electric field directs from the control gate CG toward the source, the drain and the channel section (between the source and the drain). Also, because the electric field is strong, electrons pass through an oxide film by tunneling phenomenon and are accumulated in the floating gate (FG). This phenomenon is referred to as gate disturb hereinafter. The longer this gate disturb time period TG becomes, the more the threshold voltage of the non-selected memory cell rises. At last, a data holding error will occur. The memory cell receives the influence of the application time period depending upon the erase operation to be performed to the memory cell.
In order to solve the above gate disturb phenomenon, a potential (to be referred to as a source bias voltage hereinafter) is supplied to the common source node CS1 of the memory cell array block 11 which does not contain the selected memory cell C000. The state of the memory cell at this time will be described with reference to FIGS. 3B and 3C.
FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating the state in which the source bias voltage is applied to the non-selected memory cell. Referring to FIG. 3B, in order to solve the gate disturb phenomenon, the source bias voltage of about 2.75 V is applied to the source terminal. The drain terminal and the control gate are applied with the voltage of about 2.75 V and the voltage of about 12 V, respectively. As a result, the electric field which directs from the control gate (CG) toward the source terminal (S), the drain (D), and the channel section is weakened so that the tunneling phenomenon of electrons is restrained in the memory cells C100 to C1m0.
FIG. 3C is a diagram illustrating the source bias effect of the memory cells such as the memory cells C10n to C1mn which do not receive gate disturb. Referring to FIG. 3C, the control gate (CG) in this case is grounded. The drain is opened and the voltage of about 2.75 V is applied to the source terminal. The electric field directs from the source terminal (S) toward control gate (CG). At this time, if a lot of electrons are accumulated in the floating gate (FG), the strong electric field is generated between the source terminal (S) and the floating gate (FG), so that electrons performs tunneling toward the source terminal (This phenomenon is referred to as soft-erase hereinafter). This soft-erase causes movement of electrons in the opposite direction to the gate disturb, and also it causes the problem when a data is held.
Next, FIG. 4 is a graph illustrating a relation of threshold voltage change quantity of a memory cell and source bias voltage. Referring to FIG. 4, a curve A indicates the threshold voltage change quantity of the memory cell which receives gate disturb. The threshold voltage change quantity of the memory cell becomes small and at last becomes 0, as the source bias voltage becomes high. Also, a curve C indicates the threshold voltage change quantity of the memory cell which receives the soft-erase. The threshold voltage change quantity of the memory cell becomes large as the source bias voltage becomes high. As seen from FIG. 4, when a source bias voltage is determined in the flash memory, it is necessary that the source bias voltage is set to solve the gate disturb and the soft-erase. For this purpose, in the conventional example, a memory cell threshold voltage permission value VA is set (alternate long and short dash line in the figure). The source bias voltage PG and PS are determined such that the threshold voltage does not exceed this permission value VA because of prevention of the gate disturb and soft-erase. Then, the source bias voltage is set to a voltage P1 as a middle value between the voltages Pg and PS.
Referring to FIG. 2, in the circuit section of the source bias voltage generating circuit 200 for the memory cell array block 11, the gate voltage of the MOS transistor NT0 is set by adjusting the resistors R1 to Rn which are connected in series between the power supply Vpp and the ground. The source bias voltage P1 which has been determined as above-mentioned is outputted as the output potential. This output voltage is supplied to the source voltage supplying circuit 21 as the source power supply VS. When the erase operation is performed to the memory cell array block 10, an erasure voltage Vpp is applied to the memory cell array block 10 via the MOS transistor P01 which is controlled in response to the signal EB0, and the source bias voltage vs is applied to the memory cell array block 11 via the MOS transistor N11 which is controlled in response to the signal SB1.
As described above, when the erase and write operations are repeatedly performed to the memory cells of the flash memory, the characteristic of the memory cell changes in accordance with the number of times of the repetition of the erase and write operations, more particularly, the write time period and the erasure time period. With this, the memory cell receives the above-mentioned gate disturb and soft-erase and changes the characteristic. Especially, the characteristic change of the memory cell which receives the soft-erase is conspicuous. This seems to be the phenomenon caused when electrons are trapped in the tunnel gate oxide film of the memory cell. However, the detail is not clear.
Referring to FIG. 4 once again, the characteristic change of the memory cell which receives the soft-erase will be described. As mentioned above, the curve C indicates the threshold voltage change quantity to the source bias voltage in the memory cell which receives the soft-erase. Especially, the curve C indicates the threshold voltage change of the memory cell receiving the soft-erase when there is the small number of times of the repetition of the write and erase operations. When the number of times of the repetition the write and erase operations increases, the soft-erase characteristic of the memory cell moves to the right direction, as shown by a curve B. Also, the source bias voltage PS having the permission level VA moves to the right direction when the threshold voltage changes by the soft-erase. In the conventional method, however, the source bias voltage PS is set based on the value when there is the small number of times of the repetition of the write and erase operations. Therefore, the set source bias voltage PS has a difference from an optimal source bias voltage of the memory cell which is subjected to the repetitive write and erase operations many times. Therefore, the source bias voltage has a greater margin to the soft-erase. On the other hand, the source bias voltage is relatively more severely to the gate disturb than the soft-erase set.
In this manner, in the above-mentioned conventional non-volatile semiconductor memory device, the source bias voltage is determined such that a threshold voltage change quantity due to the gate disturb and the soft-erase does not exceed the permission level. Also, the source bias voltage is set to the middle value. However, in this case, the source bias voltage is set based on the value when there is a small repetition number of times of the write/erase operation. Therefore, the margin to the soft-erase increases more with respect to an optimal source bias voltage of the memory cell receiving the many repetition number of times of the write/erase operation. There is a problem more severely to the gate disturb than the soft-erase set.

Non-volatile semiconductor memory device with variable source voltage


Apparatus for providing electrical power to at least one inductor wherein the at least one inductor is disposed to inductively couple the electrical power to an electrically conductive object to heat the electrically conductive object by inducing electrical current to flow in the electrically conductive object, the apparatus comprising at least one inductor, at least one first half-bridge converter coupled across a DC bus and having an output coupled to a first terminal of the at least one inductor; and at least one second half bridge converter coupled across the DC bus and having an output coupled to a second terminal of the at least one inductor, each half bridge converter having first and second alternately conductive series connected switches connected between the DC bus, the at least one inductor being energized by alternately turning on respective ones of the first and second switches of each converter to cause current to flow from the DC bus alternatingly through the at least one inductor from the first and second converters.

Present induction cooktop designs (mainly but not only for domestic use) implement a "concentrated hobs" topology: similar to gas cooktops, there are a number of main heating sources, typically four, (with different maximum power levels in general to simulate the different gas outlets) and the cooking utensil, e.g. a pan or pot, is heated only if put in the proper position above one of the heating sources, typically disposed under a glass cooktop plate. Each heating source or hob is realized by a coil which, driven by a series resonant converter running at several tens kHz, couples electromagnetic energy with the cooking utensil (which must have a metallic, e.g., ferromagnetic base), thus heating it by inducing electrical currents in the cooking utensil. By changing the frequency according to a reference power signal, the actual power delivered to the coil (and to the cooking utensil) is changed accordingly.
To work properly, the relative position between the coil and the utensil must be defined. Otherwise, electromagnetic coupling will be weak and the resonant converter will be overstressed without delivering the proper power to the utensil.
According to another concept, called the "distributed" induction heating concept, the utensil is to be heated independently from its position over the cooktop glass plate. This requires the use of a large number of smaller coils, whose number defines the "resolution" of the cooktop versus the size of the utensil, each coil driven by a properly sized adjustable high frequency power source, and an intelligent utensil detection system, which activates only those coils which are covered by the utensil. This poses the issue of how many electrical power sources are needed and how they should be connected to the coils. The number of electrical power sources and their connections to the coils must be made in accordance with the following requirements:                a) The heating sources (hobs) must be activated in any possible subset configuration, except that in each subset the elements (coils) are contiguous to each other; the subset number may vary from 1 to a maximum. In fact, the utensil can be square or round or long or of any other shape.        b) Connections must be achieved with the minimum possible number of "switching" elements (arranged or not arranged in a switching matrix).        c) Each subset, constituted by "M" elements, must be independently controllable in power level.        d) The cost of the power conversion must be minimized.
The simplest way to achieve goals a) to c) is to have one power converter driving each coil; in this case no switching matrix is needed on the power side, and each converter would be optimized to drive the coil and to control it, and the coil power control could be simply realized through a low level reference signal network arranged in a switching matrix (for an N×N coil set, 2×N lines would be sufficient, for example, for ON/OFF control and another 2×N lines for fine power tuning) and controlled by a centralized controller. This solution has possibly never been described but it may be very expensive, so its industrial validity is questionable.
Another possible solution would be to use a single converter sized for the maximum whole cooktop power, while a switching matrix properly connects the various coils to the converter's outputs.
Since such a switching matrix should act directly on the power connections of the coils, very expensive high power relays or high power solid state switches would be needed. Such a solution, described for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,714,739 for the case of 4 hobs, has several drawbacks. In particular, such an optimized switching matrix (hence having a "minimum number of switches") would put the coils in parallel to each other as the cooking utensil's size increases. This means the "equivalent" inductance seen by the converter would go down as the number of coils increases, (which also means a higher power level is required from the converter). In turn, this would result in an increase of the switching frequency of the converter as the power level increases, which is not acceptable.
Furthermore, to independently control the power of more subsets each composed by "m1", "m2" . . . "mn" coil elements, low frequency PWM operation through the switching relays would be required, as described in previous patents, having the converter tuned to the overall load at the maximum power. However, this would mean the converter would be connected to a dynamically changing load, i.e., every time a number of relays is commutated to select a new load or simply to PWM an activated load, the equivalent load seen by the converter would change.
The relays in such a design would have a very limited lifetime, due to the enormous number of operations required (for example, switching at a period of 2.5 sec, and considering an average cooktop utilization of 4 hours/day×365 days/year×10 years, the relays would be required to perform 30 million operations).
The number of subsets of independent coils would reduced in such a system. It can be shown that only the elements above (or below) the center diagonal of the rectangular matrix of coils may be independently controlled through the action of the relays, and, in fact, not in all cases. If the elements above the center diagonal are independently controllable, the elements below the center diagonal of the matrix would receive a non controllable amount of power; i.e., with 2×N relays, for a square N×N matrix, a maximum of 2N−1 elements can be independently controlled. In a rectangular matrix, the number of independently controllable coils is N+M−1, where N+M equal the total number of converters (N=number of columns, M=number of rows).