A thin, film-form seating switch able to detect whether an occupant sits on the seat or not, wherein, with a spacer (5) in-between, a film-form substrate (3) is disposed on one surface of the spacer and a film-form member (7) on the other surface, a first conductor (13) equipped with a first terminal (9) and a first electrode (11A) conductive with this and a second conductor (19) equipped with a second terminal (15) and a second electrode (17A) conductive with this are fixed to one surface of the film-form substrate, and a third conductor (21A) for letting the first electrode conduct with the second electrode when an occupant is seated is fixed to the film-form member (7). The above arrangement solves a conventional problem that it is troublesome to connect the connection terminals of wires or the like provided on a wiring harness or the like to respective terminals that are separately provided on a film-form substrate and a film-form member.

Conventional film-form seating detection switches are known which are capable of detecting when a person has sat down in a seat, disclosed in for example Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 9-315199 and Japanese Patent Publication No. 2909961. Such conventional seating detection switches comprise one electrode fixed to one surface of one film of a pair of films, electrically connected via one wire, another electrode fixed to the surface of the other film of the pair of films opposing the surface of the first film, electrically connected via one wire, and a spacer arranged between both those films such that these two electrodes are normally separated and in mutual opposition. In this arrangement, if a person sits down in a seat on which such a seating detection switch is disposed, the opposing electrodes come into contact thereby becoming conductive, in response to the weight of the sitting person.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the structure of a conventional seating detection switch 300. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the seating detection switch 300 of FIG. 1 along the line II-II.
As shown in FIG. 2 this conventional seating detection switch 300 comprises an insulating, film-form spacer 304 interposed between a film-form substrate 302 arranged on one of the surfaces of the spacer 304 and a film-form member 306 arranged on the other surface of the spacer 304.
This conventional seating detection switch 300 is used arranged at the rear side of the surface covering of a seat in which a person can sit down. This switch 300 is thus used as a seating detection device that operates in response to the body weight of a passenger that sits down in the seat to detect whether or not the passenger is seated in the seat.
FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the structure of the film-form substrate 302 forming the conventional seating detection switch 300. As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, on the surface of the film-form substrate 302 facing the film-form member 306 (the inner side surface), a plurality of contact points 308A-308D are each disposed mutually separated, in order to detect the seating of a passenger in the seat.
As shown in FIG. 3, these contact points 308A-308D are electrically connected to each other via a conductive wire (conduction route) 310 that is wired on the inner side surface. A first terminal 312 is disposed at one end of the wire 310, acting to connect this conventional seating detection switch 300 to another electronic device (for taking signals from the seating detection switch).
The wire 310 is disposed separating into a plurality of branches in the direction moving away from the terminal 312. Each of the contacts 308A-308D are disposed over the wiring, extending along the wiring branches (refer to FIG. 3).
FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the structure of the spacer 304 forming the conventional seating detection switch 300. This spacer 304 is of the same form as the film-form substrate 302 and provides a plurality of openings 320A-320D. Each of these openings 320A-320D is disposed in a position that corresponds to the respective positions at which the contacts 308A-308D are disposed.
FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the structure of the film-form member 306 comprising a conventional seating detection switch 300. This film-form member 306 is of the same form as the film-form substrate 302. A plurality of contacts 314A-314D that correspond to each of the contacts 308A-308D and each of the openings 320A-320D are disposed on the surface of the film-form member 306 facing the film-form substrate 302 (the inner side surface). Further, on that inner side surface in the same manner as the film-form substrate 302, are disposed a conductive wire (conduction route) 316 and a second terminal 318 for taking signals from the seating detection switch (refer to FIGS. 2 and 5).
FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram of the conventional seating detection switch 300. The contacts 314A-314D and the corresponding contacts 308A-308D are normally spaced apart by the spacer 304. When a passenger sits down in the seat, the film-form substrate 302 and film-form member 306 bend, the contacts 314A-340D and the corresponding contacts 308A-308D (for example contact 308A to contact 314A) contact each other, and the first terminal 312 and second terminal 318 enter a condition of mutual electrical conduction (in other words, they are connected), thereby enabling the seating of the passenger to be detected.
In the conventional seating detection switch the surface on which one of the electrodes is formed is taken as the front surface and the surface on which the other electrode is formed is the rear surface. One of the terminals connected by an electrical wire to one of the electrodes is disposed on the front surface of this conventional seating detection switch, while the other terminal connected by an electrical wire to the other electrode is disposed on the rear surface of this conventional seating detection switch.
In this way, as one of the terminals is disposed on the opposite surface to the other terminal, after a connection terminal of an electrical wire provided by a wiring harness or the like is connected to one of the terminals, it becomes necessary, in the case of this conventional seating detection switch, that the switch be turned over to enable a connection to be made to the other terminal. Thus, a problem arises in that it is troublesome to connect a connection terminal of an electrical wire (signal wire) provided by a wiring harness to each of the terminals.
Further, when a conventional seating detection switch is installed for example on a seat and a person sits down in the seat, a part of the conventional switch (e.g. the part in the vicinity of the seat back of the seat) is substantially curved.
As the conventional seating detection switch has a triple layer construction consisting of a film pairing with a spacer disposed therebetween, significant stress arises inside the seating detection switch in the parts subject to such curving and this may cause the switch to sustain damage.
Moreover, the conventional seating detection switch 300 is configured such that in any single contact pairing comprised of the contacts 308A-308D with the corresponding contacts 314A-314D (e.g. the contact pairing formed by contact 308A and 314A), if the opposing contacts of the pair come into contact with each other the first terminal 312 and second terminal 318 enter a condition of electrical conduction.
Accordingly, a problem arises due to concern about the switch incorrectly detecting that a person has sat down in the seat if for example the edge of some luggage is positioned over a single contact pairing causing the contacts of that contact pairing to come into contact with each other, even though a person has not actually sat down in the seat.


A method and an intermediate element, or a gateway, for routing an information flow in a telecommunication system including a plurality of switching centres. The switching centres are connected with an Internet Protocol (IP) based connection via the gateways, which are arranged to perform speech coding/decoding for an information flow between the switching centres. The gateways are further arranged to detect if the information flow from the switching centre is a data call and to omit the speech coding if the information flow is a data call. The data call detection is performed based on of a symbol pattern included in the frame structure of the information flow.

In addition to traditional speech services, mobile communication systems, such as the GSM system (Global System for Mobile communication), typically also provide non-speech services, for example transmission of texts, images, facsimile or computer files. These non-speech services are usually referred to as data services. The basic requirements for successful transmission of data services differ remarkably from those of speech services. Since errors are not allowed in data transmission, data services must be handled differently within a mobile communication network, i.e. on a transmission path from a mobile station (MS) to a mobile communication switching centre (MSC). Furthermore, data transmission between a mobile communication network, such as the GSM, and an external communication network, for example an ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network), a PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) or a PDN (Public Data Network), requires a specific adaptation function called an 'Interworking Function' (IWF).
In the GSM system, the transmission path from the MS to the MSC goes through a radio interface Um to a base transceiver station (BTS) and via an Abis interface further to a base station controller (BSC) and from there via an A interface to a mobile switching centre (MSC). Somewhere between the BTS and the MSC, either on the Abis interface or on the A interface, there is a transcoder/rate adaptor unit (TRAU), the task of which is to raise and adapt the transmission rate of the bit flow arriving from the MS via the BTS up to 64 kbit/s. Physically, the TRAU can be located in connection with the BTS, the BSC or the MSC. However, the TRAU cannot be located functionally inside the MSC, but logically, it must always be situated before the MSC. Therefore, the speed of the incoming information flow via the A interface towards the MSC is always 64 kbit/s, regardless of whether the information flow consists of speech or data.
Data rate adaptation problems similar to those previously solved in ISDN data rate adaptation towards external networks arose in the design of the GSM system. As a result, a similar approach, based on the V.110 protocol, was adopted in the GSM system to handle the interface between the TRAU via the MSC to the IWF (referred to as TRAU/IWF). V.110 is an ITU (International Telecommunication Union) standard technique for data rate adaptation originally designed for adaptors between a PSTN and an ISDN. The V.110 protocol utilizes TDM frames together with end-to-end control signals for modems, and it supports both synchronous and asynchronous data . There are no error detection or correction functions. Thus, data is transmitted between the TRAU and the IWF in V.110 frames.
The IWF comprises means for relaying the transmission further to external networks. The relaying means comprise ISDN means for redirecting and reformatting the V.110 frames to the ISDN network almost as such, and a modem for modulating the data transmission towards a PSTN network or the like. Thus, the relaying means used are selected on the basis of the type of the external network.
The latest development in IP-based (Internet Protocol) networks, which are typically designed for packet data transmission, has also aroused interest in the use of these networks for the transmission of voice calls. IP-based networks are becoming very common and they offer lowcost connections or even free connections, for example in local area networks (LAN). IP connections have been introduced in inter-MSC connections in mobile networks, too. A general recommendation, Voice over IP (VoIP), is used to define, inter alia, hardware compatibility for a connection, quality of service and routing of calls. For inter-MSC IP connections, a VoIP gateway is provided on both sides of the IP connection to compress the 64 kbit/s speech transmission from the MSC. The speech is compressed at 8 kbit/s, for example, to save capacity in the IP network, and on the opposite side the other VoIP gateway decompresses the speech back to 64 kbit/s to be delivered to the respective MSC.
The problem with the arrangement described above is that the current VoIP gateways are only applicable in respect of speech and fax calls. That is, if a data call using V.110 frames is to be delivered on an inter-MSC IP connection, the VoIP gateway assumes the arriving information flow to be a speech call and tries to compress it with a speech codec. The speech codec cannot distinguish the pulse-code modulated (PCM) speech frames and V.110 data frames, wherefore the VoIP gateway compresses the data call into illegible form, which cannot be decompressed any longer.


A side surface unit of a heat treatment space S is formed by a shutter member 250 including an outer shutter 260 and an inner shutter 270. Supply air A is supplied as a horizontal laminar flow toward a wafer W from a lower end side of the shutter member 250, that is, from a gap d1 located on the level with the wafer W placed on a heat plate 211 of a mounting table 210. Supply air B is supplied into the heat treatment space S from an upper end side of the shutter member 250, that is, from a gap d2 positioned higher than the wafer W. A ratio between a flow rate of the supply air A and a flow rate of the supply air B is 4:1.

In the manufacture of a semiconductor device, to dry a coating film such as a resist film formed on a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter, simply referred to as "wafer"), a heating treatment is performed on this semiconductor wafer.
Conventionally, such a heating treatment is performed by using a heating treatment apparatus. In performing this heating treatment, it is required to heat the substrate uniformly as it affects uniformity of a film thickness.
In consideration of this requirement, a conventional heating treatment apparatus is equipped with a placing table for mounting the substrate thereon; a housing configured to accommodate the placing table and form a processing space therein; a shutter member provided around the placing table to surround the placing table; an elevating device configured to move the shutter member up and down; a cover member configured to cover an upper portion of the processing space within the housing and connected to a gas exhaust line at a central portion thereof; and gas holes arranged along a circumferential direction thereof (Patent Document 1). A ring-shaped air rectifying plate configured to form an annular air flow inlet between the ring-shaped air rectifying plate and a peripheral portion of the cover member when the shutter member is raised is further provided.
With this configuration, a downflow in the vicinity of the apparatus can be uniformly introduced into the processing space from a circumferential direction of the processing space. As a result, a local decrease of a temperature of the wafer as a result of a direct contact with the downflow introduced from a wafer entrance can be suppressed, so that a hindrance to achieving thickness uniformity of the resist film can be improved.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. H09-326341

Heating treatment apparatus and heating treatment method


A method of manufacturing a tensioner (10) by mounting an end member (38) on an end of a hollow tensioner shaft (24) includes a step of providing an end member (38) of sheet material with an opening (76) having a plurality of annularly spaced inwardly extending pointed projections (78). A hollow shaft (24) has an outwardly extending shoulder (82) at an end portion thereof. A relative axial movement between the end member (38) and the hollow shaft (24) is effected so that the end member (38) abuts against the shoulder (82) of the hollow shaft (24). The hollow shaft (24) is deformed at the end portion radially outward to embed the projections (78) into the hollow shaft (24) to thereby form a joint (32) therebetween.

Belt tensioners of the type herein contemplated are exemplary of those used to tension the serpentine belt drive of a motor vehicle engine. Other types of tensioners contemplated are those used for timing belts. A tensioner of the type herein contemplated includes a fixed structure, which is usually fixed to the engine housing and a pivoting structure mounted on the fixed structure for pivotal movement about a pivotal axis. A spring is operatively connected between the fixed structure and the pivotal structure so as to pivot the pivotal structure in one direction about the pivotal structure. The pivoting structure carries a belt-engaging pulley for rotational movement about a rotational axis parallel with the pivotal axis. The pivotal movement of the pivoting structure applies a constant tension to the belt and to compensate for increases and decreases in the belt path length due to temperature changes and wear.
The fixed structure comprises a hollow shaft and an end member. The hollow shaft transmits the torque created by the spring to the end member. The end member comprises tensioner stops or locating pins that allow for the transmission of torque to the mounting structure. A common form of locating pins is a pair of diametrically opposed knobs protruding from the outward-facing surface of the end member. Since the entire magnitude of torque produced by the spring must be transmitted to the mounting structure through the joint between the end member and hollow shaft, a rigid joint is required between these members that is capable of resisting torque.
A common method currently employed for the purpose of joining the shaft and the end member is casting a positive torque retention feature into the end of a cast aluminum shaft. This allows the two elements to be joined, with material of the end portion of the shaft deformed over the outer surface of the end member. This practice creates a rigid joint capable of torque retention, but is limited to a cast aluminum shaft design. Additional operations may be added to create a torque retention feature on a steel shaft; however production costs are increased.
There is a need for a cost-effective method of producing a joint that is capable of high torque retention between a shaft and an end member of a tensioner and for a more cost-effective tensioner embodying such a joint.

High torque retention joint in a tensioner


An optical switching device, comprises an optical switch and an optical connector receiving means mateable with a connector., means for effectuating switching by engaging a connector in said receiving means, characterised in that said switching effectuating means acts or is acted upon once a connector is sufficiently engaged in the receiving means for optical communication with the connector to occur.

One of the major problems in designing optical networks is in the placement of the optical components, such as Optical Add Drop Multiplexers (OADMs), optical switches, amplifiers, equalisers and dispersion-compensating elements. Design decisions on the inclusion and placement of such elements need to accommodate not only the initial traffic on the network, but also future network growth, which is often unpredictable. This issue is especially critical for Metropolitan (or city) networks where cost needs to be minimised and growth is especially unpredictable.
The closest prior art to the invention is acknowledged:                JP040366804A; (Hitachi);        US6463189B1 (Avanex);        US6430332 (Fibre);        JP020272405A (Fujitsu);        US5179602 (Norcross).

Optical switching using optical fiber connector


A method of manufacturing an ink-jet head according to the present invention includes a step of providing a vibration plate in which grooves associated with respective pressure chambers are formed on a surface of the vibration plate, and a piezoelectric layer forming step of forming a piezoelectric layer by depositing particles of a piezoelectric material on the surface of the vibration plate on an opposite side of a channel unit. Since grooves corresponding to the grooves in the vibration plate are formed also in the piezoelectric layer, it is possible to reduce a cross talk between operating sections of the piezoelectric layer. Further, chip and crack is hardly developed in the piezoelectric layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a piezoelectric actuator, a liquid transporting apparatus, and a method of manufacturing liquid transporting apparatus, and in particular to a piezoelectric actuator, a liquid transporting apparatus, and a method of manufacturing liquid transporting apparatus in which a cross talk between a plurality of operating sections is reduced.
2. Description of the Related Art
An ink-jet head which discharges ink from a nozzle onto a recording paper is an example of a liquid transporting apparatus which discharges liquid onto an object subjected to discharge. This ink-jet head includes a channel unit which has an ink-discharge channel including a pressure chamber which communicates with the nozzle, and a piezoelectric actuator which causes an ink to be discharged from the nozzle by changing a volume of the pressure chamber. In this case, a general piezoelectric actuator includes a vibration plate which is positioned oppose to the pressure chamber, a piezoelectric element which is formed of a material such as lead zirconate titanate (PZT) and arranged on a surface of the vibration plate, and an individual electrode which is formed in an area facing the pressure chamber on a surface of the piezoelectric element. The piezoelectric actuator is structured such that when a drive voltage is applied to the individual electrode, an electric field is generated in the piezoelectric element positioned corresponding to the individual electrode, the piezoelectric element and the vibration plate are deformed partially so as to apply pressure on ink in the pressure chamber.
In such ink-jet head, for realizing both of high quality of recording image and the reduction of the size of the head, there is a tendency that a plurality of nozzles are arranged closely. However, when an attempt is made to arrange a large number of nozzles very closely, it is necessary to arrange a plurality of pressure chambers closely, too. Therefore, when a voltage is applied to an individual electrode facing a certain pressure chamber and the piezoelectric element to deform the vibration plate, this deformation is propagated even to a piezoelectric element and a vibration plate of an area corresponding to an adjacent pressure chamber, which in turn causes a phenomenon (a so-called cross talk) which destabilizes the ink-discharge characteristics of a nozzle communicating with the adjacent pressure chamber. As a result the negative effect exerted on a printing quality cannot be neglected. More specifically, due to the cross talk, there is an increased variation in a speed of the ink droplet discharged from each of the nozzles or a decrease of discharge stability.
In view of the situation, an ink-jet head is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2-187352 and Japanese Patent No. 3152260. In this ink-jet head, a groove is formed by a dicing process in an area of the piezoelectric element and the vibration plate, which does not overlap with the pressure chamber, with the piezoelectric element joined to a surface of the vibration plate, so that the deformation of the piezoelectric element and the vibration plate is hardly propagated between the adjacent pressure chambers.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2-187352 discloses laminating a piezoelectric element on the vibration plate before forming a groove in the vibration plate and cutting the piezoelectric element and the vibration plate simultaneously so that the groove is formed in the vibration plate. The obtained head has a structure in which the piezoelectric element is divided into individual piezoelectric elements with a plurality of the grooves intervening therebetween in the vibration plate, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 of this patent document.
Japanese Patent No. 3152260 discloses, to prevent the cross talk, laminating the vibration plate and the piezoelectric element on the pressure chamber and then cutting simultaneously the piezoelectric element and the vibration plate so that a groove is formed which extends to a side wall of the pressure chamber. The obtained head has a structure in which not only the piezoelectric element but also the vibration plate are divided for each of the pressure chambers, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 of Japanese Patent No. 3152260.

Method of manufacturing a liquid transporting apparatus


A semiconductor integrated circuit device of the invention is provided with a memory cell array portion and a peripheral circuit portions. In the memory cell array portion, a plurality of plugs which penetrate each of a plurality of interlayer insulating films and the sides of which are almost vertical are directly connected in sequence. In the peripheral circuit portion, a plurality of plugs are mutually connected through contact pads for wiring.

In a semiconductor integrated circuit device, particularly a DRAM (dynamic random access memory), it is very important to increase integration and make multilayer wirings microscopic. According to a first conventional approach, for example, disclosed in Laid-open Japanese Patent Application No. 06-120447 the DRAM design is structured to include two plugs, having a reverse trapezoidal cross section and with the bases thereof being smaller than the top, which are directly connected electrically to connect a diffused layer of a MOS transistor and a lower electrode of a capacitor (a storage node electrode) that consists of a polycrystal silicon, in a DRAM memory array portion.
In conventional, DRAMs, a storage capacitor is, typically, placed in a lower portion of a bit line or just above it, similarly to the case of the first conventional method, described above. In that case, however, one problem is that a focus margin in photolithography cannot cover a stage difference between a memory array portion and a peripheral circuit portions (an I/O control circuit portion and a decoder portion), posing limitations to microminiaturization. Further, in the case of fabricating an LSI chip containing a logic circuit, in addition to a memory array portion having a capacitor of a DRAM, etc., the above problem creates a major drawback.
Accordingly, there is proposed a structure in which a capacitor is formed above wiring layers for the purpose of eliminating the limitations on microminiaturization by reducing the stage difference described above. For example, according to a second conventional approach, for example, in Laid-open Japanese Patent Application No. 06-085187, a plug for connecting a diffused layer of a MOS transistor and a lower electrode of a capacitor are formed after wiring layers have been formed.
The first conventional art described above has the problem that because the cross section of the plugs is of reverse trapezoid shape with the sides not vertical and the top area large, the plugs occupy a large area and an area per memory cell increases. Although a polysilicon film is used as a lower electrode of a capacitor of the memory cell array portion, because smaller resistance is required for use as plugs of peripheral circuit portions and a logic circuit portion, a metallic film such as a tungsten film, etc. is usually used. Accordingly, the memory cell array portion, the peripheral circuit portions, and the logic circuit portion require that plugs made of mutually different materials be formed through processes different for each of them, increasing the number of process steps.
Thus, the conventional arts cannot solve three problems simultaneously: (1) making a memory array portion microscopic; (2) lowering the resistance of plugs of peripheral circuit portions and a logic circuit portion; and (3) lowering fabrication cost.
On the other hand, as with the second conventional art, in the case of forming a plug for connecting a diffused layer of a MOS transistor and a lower electrode of a capacitor after forming a wiring layer, although there are required the process to form holes with a large aspect ratio and the process to form plugs by padding the holes with a metallic film, the processes are technically difficult, making it difficult to obtain satisfactory results. Especially when the depth of a connection hole exceeds 1.0 .mu.m, the formation of the hole and the padding of a metallic film becomes very difficult, a yield decreases, and fabrication cost increases. This method requires a large alignment margin for layer alignment among multiple layers in photolithography performed to form connection holes, so that a unit memory cell area increases.

Semiconductor integrated circuit device having multi-level wiring capacitor structures


A plasma processing system may include a radio frequency (RF) generator configured to supply a pulsing process signal to a target in a plasma processing chamber via a RF matching network. A phase and magnitude detector circuit is coupled to the RF generator and configured to sense the pulsing process signal and output a magnitude error signal and a phase error signal. A pulse tracking circuit is electrically coupled to the phase and magnitude detector circuit and configured to receive the magnitude error signal and the phase error signal and output a tracked magnitude signal and a tracked phase signal. A match controller is electrically coupled to the pulse tracking circuit and the RF matching network and configured to receive the tracked magnitude signal and the tracked phase signal and vary an impedance of the RF matching network in response to the tracked magnitude and phase signals.

Plasma processing systems (for example, physical vapor deposition ("PVD") systems) are used to deposit thin layers of a target material onto a substrate or etch patterns into a target. Plasma processing systems generally include a radio frequency ("RF") generator that transmits a continuous and/or pulsing signal to a plasma chamber. An RF match having a variable impedance is generally located between the RF generator and the plasma chamber. The RF match may be tuned, i.e., the impedance may be varied, to make the output impedance of the RF match be the complex conjugate of the plasma chamber's impedance. Tuning the RF match reduces reflected power from the plasma chamber and/or the RF match, thereby increasing the power transferred from the RF generator to the plasma chamber and into the plasma process.
Oftentimes the RF generator is run in pulse mode and transmits a pulsing RF signal to the plasma chamber rather than a continuous RF signal. Conventional RF matches, however, cannot be actively tuned while the RF generator is in pulse mode. In one existing implementation, the conventional RF match is tuned while the RF generator is run in continuous mode. Once the RF match is tuned, the impedance of the RF match is fixed, and the RF generator is switched to pulse mode. Although the plasma chamber impedance may vary while the RF generator is running in pulse mode, the RF match impedance remains fixed resulting in reflected power from the chamber. In another implementation, the conventional RF match may continuously follow the phase and magnitude signal from the RF generator, and tune according to an average power of the phase and magnitude signal. This causes the RF match to move to a non-optimum position.


An expansion and isolation valve, specifically an electric expansion and isolation valve for operation with the coolant R744, featuring a valve body arranged in a valve body chamber, a seal seat, and a seal, which are arranged along an axial movement direction of the valve body in the expansion valve. The expansion valve is further designed such that in a closed state of the expansion valve, there is a pressure bypass to the valve body chamber, and preferentially, that a valve body diameter at the positions of the seal seat and the seal corresponds with the respective seal diameters.

In view of the state of the art of electromobility and its acceptance, it is important that the total architecture of electrical vehicles be optimized such that both their range and their environmental performance in general are maximized. As part of this optimization strategy, specific work is being done in order to optimize air conditioning systems for motor vehicles, specifically for electric vehicles, for instance in terms of weight and energy use. A main component of these systems that must be improved without loss of functionality are the expansion and isolation valves. Such improvements are also needed in terms of the use of environmentally compatible coolants such as, for instance, R744 (carbon dioxide, CO2).
From prior art, it is known that R744 heat pump and air conditioning systems necessarily cause coolants to expand. In most heat pump systems, the direction of the coolant circuit must be changed during operations. This means that an expansion valve used therein must expand the coolant in two different directions. Conventional expansion valves do not have the ability to make such a bidirectional expansion possible. Furthermore, it is necessary that expansion valves be able to be opened entirely, so that any pressure drops will be limited. Furthermore, respective valve systems must be absolutely impermeable in both directions. Such a bidirectional impermeability makes it possible for coolant to be "caught" in the active circulation system.
From the aforementioned description follows a need for electrically operated expansion and isolation valves, specifically for R744-based systems, with the following properties:                bidirectional expansibility,        bidirectional tightness/impermeability, and        bidirectionally maximized/full flow diameter,
respectively, under high pressure up to the high pressure level of R744.
The fulfillment of these criteria has led in the past to a limited diameter of the valves and/or to larger assembly units which had to be powered by a larger actuator. In addition, there is a problem in that the high pressures lead to correspondingly high motive forces of the valve body or valve needle.


In connection with thermal recovery projects, a system determines temperature gradients for a heat affected zone associated with a subterranean hydrocarbon reservoir. An exemplary system includes a plurality of temperature sensors distributed in the wellbore at least partially along the heat affected zone. A downhole processor positioned proximate and substantially outside of the heat affected zone receives and digitizes the temperature measurements. A data link such as a data cable coupled to the downhole processor conveys the temperature measurements to a surface interface.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to data acquisition systems and methods for oil and gas wells. In one aspect, the present invention relates to systems and methodologies for determining temperature gradients in connection with thermal recovery projects involving oil or gas wells.
2. Description of the Related Art
There exists throughout the world major deposits of heavy oils which, until recently, have been substantially ignored as sources of petroleum since the oils contained therein were not recoverable using ordinary production techniques. These oil deposits are also referred to as heavy oil, or bitumen. For example, it was not until the 1980's that much interest was shown in the heavy oil deposits of the Alberta province in Canada even though many deposits are close to the surface and represent an estimated petroleum resource upwards of many billion barrels.
It is well known that heat can be employed to recover hydrocarbons from underground formations such as those found in the regions noted above. Often referred to as thermal recovery projects, the well owner uses heat to reduce the viscosity of the petroleum to a level where it will readily flow to wells from which it can be recovered to the surface of the earth. Steam and/or hot water flooding are commonly used for this purpose and have been very successful in some formations for stimulating recovery of viscous petroleum which is otherwise essentially unrecoverable. Steam flooding is a thermal oil recovery method which has enjoyed increased popularity in recent years and is often the most commercially practical method or process.
Steam flooding can be utilized in a single well by the so called "huff-and-puff" technique. That method involves first injecting steam into a vertical well, then shutting in the well for a "soak", wherein the heat contained in the steam raises the temperature and lowers the viscosity of the petroleum. Thereafter, a production period begins wherein mobilized petroleum is produced from the well, usually by pumping. This process can be repeated over and over again.
Steam flooding may also be utilized as a thermal drive means by injecting steam into the reservoir through one or more vertical injection wells. This steam then moves through the subterranean reservoir mobilizing and volatilizing the petroleum it encounters. This steam-flood front moves through the reservoir towards a production well wherefrom the petroleum fluids are produced. This steam drive process is often more effective than the "huff-and-puff" method inasmuch as the potential volume of the reservoir which can be swept by the process is greater.
Alternate methods are also available to heat and mobilize the oil or bitumen in the reservoir. These include the use of hot solvent, hot gas, hot air as well as underground burning or combustion.
Thermal oil recovery projects such as those described above require temperature monitoring of the downhole temperature in the reservoir. Conventionally, temperature data is obtained via sensors positioned in both vertical observation wells and horizontal production wells. Historically, monitoring of thermal oil reservoirs utilized either multi-point thermocouple sensors or distributed temperature fiber optic cable in order to obtain multi-point readings and therefore infer a temperature profile in the reservoir. Many individual points are desired and therefore it is necessary to obtain a multitude of readings. Twenty points are often obtained in order to create a temperature profile across the formation. Typically, a thermocouple (e.g., a mineral insulated (MgO) thermocouple) is positioned at each selected temperature measurement point in the wellbore and connected to a surface interface with two wires. As is known, two wires are required for each thermocouple because two different alloys are connected together at the junction of the thermocouple. As can be appreciated, the costs of such wiring can become considerable because the length traversed by the wires can approach several kilometers. Furthermore, the data transmitted across these relatively long spans of wiring or cables can degrade and weaken and be corrupted by noise. The long lengths are also prone to accuracy loss caused by wire impurities, insulation breakdown, and low voltage signal degradation. Likewise, fiber optic cables sensors as well as the associated fiber optic cables are relatively expensive and prone to degradation in signal accuracy and strength due to hydrogen related problems with the glass fiber. Moreover, in both instances, the splices or couplings between individual lengths of cable can introduce noise and errors into the transmitted data. Yet another difficulty and expense arises from the need to effectively seal and pack-off multiple wires or multiple bundles of cables exiting the wellhead. As is known, effective wellhead sealing can be essential to containing a well blow out.
The present invention addresses these and other drawbacks of the prior art.

Systems and methods for acquiring data in thermal recovery oil wells


A method of bonding an integrated circuit to a substrate is provided. The integrated circuit is one of a plurality of integrated circuits, each having a respective frontside releasably attached to a film frame tape supported by a wafer film frame. The method comprises the steps of: (a) positioning a substrate at a backside of the integrated circuit; (c) positioning a bonding tool on a zone of the film frame tape, the zone being aligned with the integrated circuit; and (c) applying a bonding force from the bonding tool, through the film frame tape and the integrated circuit, onto the substrate.

The present Applicant has described previously how a pagewidth inkjet printhead may be constructed from a plurality of abutting printhead integrated circuits (also known as printhead ICs, printhead chips and printhead dies). As described extensively in, for example, Applicant's U.S. application Ser. No. 11/014,732 filed on Dec. 12, 2004 (the contents of which is herein incorporated by reference), a pagewidth printhead usually comprises a plurality of abutting printhead ICs attached to a liquid crystal polymer (LCP) ink manifold via an adhesive intermediary layer, which is sandwiched between the LCP ink manifold and the printhead ICs. The adhesive intermediary layer is typically a laser-drilled epoxy-coated polymer film.
The construction of such printheads presents a number of design challenges. Firstly, the printhead ICs must be mounted with high precision on the polymer film so that laser-drilled holes in the film are aligned with backside ink supply channels in the printhead ICs. Secondly, the MEMS fabrication process for the printhead ICs should preferably present the ICs in such a way that facilitates bonding onto the intermediary layer.
Hitherto, the Applicant has described how backside MEMS processing of a printhead wafer may be performed to provide individual printhead ICs (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,846,692, the contents of which is incorporated herein by reference). During backside MEMS processing, the backside of the wafer is ground to a desired wafer thickness (typically 100 to 300 microns) and ink supply channels are etched from a backside of the wafer so as to form a fluidic connection between the backside, which receives ink, and nozzle assemblies on a frontside of the wafer. In addition, backside MEMS processing defines dicing streets in the wafer so that the wafer can be separated into the individual printhead ICs. Finally, any photoresist in the wafer is ashed off using an oxidative plasma. The exact ordering of backside MEMS processing steps may be varied, although backside MEMS processing is typically performed after completion of all frontside MEMS fabrication steps, in which the nozzle assemblies are constructed on the frontside of the wafer.
In the process described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,846,692, the individual printhead ICs end up mounted, via their backsides, to a handling means. The handling means may be a glass handle wafer, with the printhead ICs attached thereto via a releasable adhesive tape e.g. UV-release tape or thermal-release tape. Alternatively, the handling means may be a wafer film frame, with the printhead ICs being attached to a dicing tape supported by the wafer film frame. Wafer film frame arrangements will be well known to the person skilled in the art.
The printhead ICs may be picked off individually from the handling means (for, example, using a robot) and either packaged or bonded directly to an intermediary substrate to construct a printhead. U.S. Pat. No. 6,946,692 describes how a vacuum pick-up may be used in combination with a reciprocating x-y wafer stage and a UV lamp/mask to remove individual printhead ICs from a glass handle wafer.
However, a problem with the process described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,846,692 is that the individual printhead ICs must be removed from the handling means and then aligned and bonded with high accuracy to the intermediary substrate. Whilst robot handling of the ICs helps to improve alignment accuracies, there are inevitable alignment losses in such a process.
It would be desirable to provide a process for removing MEMS devices, such as printhead ICs, from a handling means, which facilitates alignment of the devices when bonded to a further substrate, such the intermediary substrate described above.
It would be further desirable to provide a process for printhead construction, which facilitates the use of alternative non-polymeric intermediary substrates. Polymeric adhesive layers are inexpensive and convenient to handle, but suffer from comparatively high thermal expansion relative to the silicon printhead ICs and the LCP ink supply manifold. A comparatively high coefficient of thermal expansion for the intermediary substrate exacerbates alignment problems during construction and may even lead to loss of alignment over the duration of the printhead lifetime.

Method of bonding MEMS integrated circuits


A circuit to detect the use of an element of an integrated circuit may include a non-volatile electrically programmable storage circuit and a programming circuit. The programming circuit may be used to partially program the storage circuit and gradually modify its programming level as the element is used so that the level represents the number of uses of the element.

Sensitive security data may include, for example, personal data identifying the owner or manufacturer of an integrated circuit, keys, initials or derivatives, data encryption algorithms, etc. Such data may be produced or used, for example, by elements of an integrated circuit. As used herein, the term "element" is to be understood in the broad sense of the term. That is, this term may designate, for example, an identification circuit or cryptographic computation circuit of an integrated circuit, or simply a portion of one of these circuits. The term "element" also designates an instruction, a particular sequence of instructions, or a step of a process that is implemented by the integrated circuit and which, during its execution, leads to the production or use of sensitive data.
Known snooping techniques often take advantage of the changes undergone by a physical variable inherent to an integrated circuit that is measurable from outside the circuit. A variable of this kind may be, for example, the total energy consumption of the circuit or its electromagnetic radiation. In particular, to access sensitive data from outside the circuit, a snooper activates the operation of an element that produces or uses this sensitive data, measures a physical variable that is externally accessible, and searches for a correlation between this variable and the sensitive data.
One of the main difficulties for the snooper lies in the fact that the measurement of the variable is particularly difficult because it is generally noise-ridden. That is, the physical variable is produced by the entire integrated circuit and not solely by the element(s) producing or manipulating the sensitive data. The snooper then needs to have a large number of identical measurements at his disposal (e.g., about 2,000 to 20,000 measurements) to remove the noise from the measurement and extract the sensitive data.
To prevent such an attack, the user may take preventive action if an element producing or using the sensitive data is subjected to excessively frequent action. For example, he may disable the operation of the element, i.e., disable the operation of the circuit, portion of the circuit, instruction, or the particular series of instructions that produces or uses the sensitive data. The user may also act preventively by replacing the sensitive data element(s) with another data element(s), if this option is available, or modify the mechanism for producing this data.
For this purpose, the user must be able to know how many times the element producing or using the sensitive data has been used, or he must have at least an estimate of this number, to find out whether or not the element is being used wrongfully. He may deem this to be the case when the number of uses or the estimate of this number has reached a chosen value N, such as 1,000 or 10,000. The user may then take preventive action by blocking the operation of the integrated circuit, preventing the production or use of the sensitive data to be protected, or modifying the value of the sensitive data.
There are existing prior art approaches that generally use a counter to determine the number of productions or uses of the element using the sensitive data. However, one drawback of a counter is that a large memory cell may be needed to store the number. The surface and the consumption of the counter itself, as well as the time needed to program the counter, may also be significant, especially if the count is large. Furthermore, if the counter has a reset device, then this reset device is generally quite easily accessible from outside the circuit, allowing a snooper to then erase the contents of the counter.


A photo-detector for detecting a light having a predetermined photon energy, comprises: a semiconductor member having a source region, a gate region and a drain region; a first path for propagating an electron wave from the source region to the drain region through the gate region; a second path for propagating an electron wave from the source region to the drain region through the gate region; the second path being of quantum well structure or a quantum line structure and having a plurality of electron levels having an energy difference therebetween slightly smaller or slightly larger than the photon energy of the light to be detected; a wave function of the electron wave propagating through the second path being coupled with a wave function of the electron wave propagating through the first path in the source region and the drain region and separated from the wave function of the electron wave propagating through the first path in the gate region; means for applying a voltage across the source region and the drain region; means for detecting a current flowing across the source region and the drain region. When the light to be detected is applied to the second path, the electron levels are shifted by an optical Stark effect and phase difference is created between the electron wave propagating through the first path and the electron wave propagating through the second path so that the current changes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a photo-detector which converts a light intensity to a current magnitude for detection and a photo-detection method using the same, and more particularly to a photo-detector which does not substantially absorb a light to be detected.
2. Related Background Art
A PIN photo-diode and an avalanche photo-diode have been known as a photo-detector which converts a light intensity to an electrical signal for detection.
In such photo-diodes, however, a light to be detected is absorbed and carriers are generated by an energy of the absorbed light. As a result, a substantial portion of the light does not pass through the photo-detector. For example, where the photo-diode is applied to a bus type light communication system which receives a signal light serially by a plurality of receivers, a photo-diode in the first receiver in a communication path absorbs the signal light and the light does not reach the second and subsequent receivers. Thus, each receiver has to newly generate the same signal light as that it received and transmit the generated signal light to the succeeding receiver.

Photo-detector and photo-detection method using the same


Various embodiments provide a terminal capable of establishing multiple communication sessions with a public network proxy through different access networks. The terminal actively communicates with the public network proxy to control which of the multiple communication paths are active, as well as control the transition from actively using one communication path to using another. The public network proxy facilitates data and voice sessions between the terminal and any number of other communication devices. In one embodiment, the communication sessions are reserved tunneling sessions, and the terminal cooperates with the public network proxy to effectively control how many tunneling sessions are established, how many tunneling sessions are active at any given time, and the transition from one tunneling session to another for active communications. Each of the communication or tunneling sessions may be established over different access networks using different communication technologies and protocols.

The present invention relates to communications, and in particular to allowing a mobile terminal to communicate with other communication devices via disparate access networks.
Expansion of packet-based networks, such as the Internet, is extending into mobile environments. Accordingly, mobile terminals equipped with wireless communication capability can now establish communication sessions with other communication devices in part over wireless communication channels. Unfortunately, there are numerous wireless communication networks using different communication technologies and protocols. In an effort to increase functionality, these mobile terminals may be equipped to communicate with different types of networks using the same or different access technologies. With such capabilities, there is a need for an efficient technique to allow the mobile terminals to communicate with the other communication devices over different access networks. There is a further need for an effective technique to transition through sequential connections over these different access networks as the user element moves from one access network to another.

Mobility in a multi-access communication network


A splash guard for vehicles and for other applications. The splash guard has a splash guard body having a plurality of attachment holes extending therethrough, and a reinforcing structure, at least in the vicinity of the attachment holes for resisting tearing or cracking of the splash guard. The reinforcing structure includes one or both of thickened portions through which the attachment holes extend, and a reinforcing scrim embedded in the splash guard body.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a splash guard; and, more particularly, to a reinforced splash guard for vehicles and for other applications.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As a vehicle travels on a roadway, rotation of the vehicle wheels can cause the wheels to throw water, ice, snow, mud, sand, rocks or other materials from the roadway. Such materials can be directed outwardly from the vehicle in various directions, and can produce annoying or dangerous conditions.
Splash guards are known and have been developed in an effort to reduce the splashing and spraying of liquids or slush or the like and the throwing of sand and rocks or the like from moving vehicles. Typically, splash guards hang down from the vehicle behind the vehicle wheels in order to catch the liquid, slush, rocks, etc. thrown by the wheels and to deflect the materials downwardly onto the roadway.
Usually, a splash guard is supported from a structure of the vehicle by a plurality of bolts, commonly four bolts, that extend through attachment holes formed adjacent the upper edge of the splash guard. Over a period of time, however, the splash guard tends to fatigue and weaken, particularly around the area of the attachment holes; and this can cause the splash guard to tear away from the bolts. Besides requiring replacement, the damaged splash guard can tear completely away from the vehicle while the vehicle is in use creating a significant risk of damage or injury.
Another problem that often occurs with many known splash guard designs is commonly referred to in the art as "sailing". Sailing is the tendency of a splash guard to swing or flap rearwardly during forward movement of the vehicle; and can result in uncovering at least part of the wheel, thus allowing liquid, slush, rocks, etc. to be thrown rearwardly from the vehicle without obstruction.
Efforts to reduce sailing of a splash guard often involve affixing rigid backing materials on the splash guard or inserting stiffening members in cavities formed by rolling the splash guard. These approaches, however, are generally not fully satisfactory because it is desirable that the splash guard retain sufficient flexiblity so as to be able to withstand impacts, cold temperatures or the like that can cause the splash guard to crack or break.
There is, accordingly, an important need for a splash guard for vehicles and for other applications that resists tearing or cracking; and that reduces the tendency of the splash guard to sail without excessively reducing the flexibility of the splash guard.


A voice and/or video message for a user in the form of a voicemail or a video mail is edited in accordance with editing of text corresponding to audio of the message. Speech contained in the audio of the voice or video message is automatically converted to corresponding text and presented to the user via a graphical user interface. In response to various user inputs in relation to the presentation of the corresponding text, the corresponding text is modified and the digital representation of the voice or video message is modified in a manner corresponding to the modification of the corresponding text. New versions of the modified voice or video message including the modified digital representation of the voice or video message can be created and saved.

A voicemail service is one of the modern day essential telecommunications services provided by carriers or telecommunications service providers. Generally, the voicemail service provides a 24-hour universally accessible voice messaging service to users of the service. It answers telephone calls and allows callers to leave messages when the users are unable to take calls. In addition, text messaging and e-mail services enable the carriers to provide a number of additional services including value-added features, such as converting or transcribing voice messages and sending via email or short message systems as texts and/or sending the corresponding voicemail audio file as e-mail attachments to others.
One such existing service is GoogleVoice™. It provides voicemail services along with other features, such as call history, conference calling, call screening, blocking of unwanted calls, and voicemail-to-text transcription services. Further, it provides users with voicemail services with indexable automated transcriptions of voicemail messages, which are accessible via a web browser, e-mail, or by phone.
Another existing service is YouMail™. It provides users with voicemail systems independent of the traditional wireless or landline carriers. YouMail™ provides features such as webmail-like voicemail access and transcription services of voicemail-to-text messages. Also, it enables a user to send transcribed texts to the user's mobile phone so that the user can preview before listening to received voicemail messages.
Other existing services with similar features are Voicecloud™, Jott™, and AT&T Wireless™. Also, nowadays, with a webcam, an enhanced mobile device, or similar technology, users of video mail services can create video messages by recording audio and video content (e.g., recording video clips) and send them to others' mobile devices on a mobile network or to e-mail addresses. Similar to voicemail, the users of the video mail services can access the recorded messages through a designated service provider or over the Internet.
There is, however, room for improvement to provide enhanced capabilities to edit the messages.
The existing services and/or applications do not provide users with capability to selectively modify or edit contents of received voice or video messages and their corresponding texts before forwarding to another person. That is, even if a user of a voicemail service desires to forward only desired portions of a received voice message, the user cannot do so by using existing services discussed above. In such a case, the user has to forward the received voice message in its entirety along with its transcribed text, although the voice message and its corresponding transcribed text may contain unnecessary or unwanted portions that the user does not want another person to hear or read about. As a result, with existing services the users often experience unnecessary frustration and sometimes embarrassment from sending unedited messages to another party, thereby tending to decrease effectiveness and/or customer satisfaction in communication via voice and/or video messages.
Hence, a need exists for providing users of electronic messaging services, such as voicemail and/or video mail containing a voice message in an audio portion of the message, with capabilities to easily modify the received voice and/or video message and corresponding transcribed texts so that the users of the electronic messaging services can modify and create new versions of the received messages and the corresponding texts before forwarding them to another person or storing the new versions for future use.

Method and apparatus for modifying digital messages containing at least audio


Fluorescent lamps that comprise a glass envelope with an exterior surface and first and second electrodes located within the glass envelope include a transparent electrically conductive material affixed to the exterior surface of the glass envelope. The transparent electrically conductive material extends between the vicinity of the first electrode and the vicinity of the second electrode, thereby providing a path for an electric current to pass between the first and second electrodes and reduce the open circuit voltage required to start the fluorescent lamp. The transparent electrically conductive material affixed to the exterior surface of the glass envelope can comprise one or more stripes of the material so that less than the total exterior surface area of the glass envelope is covered by the transparent electrically conductive material.

The present invention relates in general to fluorescent lamps and in particular to fluorescent lamps the glass envelopes of which include a transparent electrically conductive material that serves to reduce the open circuit voltage required to start the fluorescent lamps.
The operation of fluorescent lamps is well understood by those skilled in the art, but certain salient features of the operation are reviewed here for the purposes of facilitating a better appreciation of the benefits of the present invention.
A fluorescent lamp typically comprises a sealed glass envelope, usually in the form of a glass tube, that contains a small amount of mercury and an inert gas under low pressure. Examples of inert gases that can be used are argon, krypton, neon, xenon and mixtures thereof. The inside surface of the glass envelope is coated with a phosphor powder. Two electrodes are located within the glass envelope and are wired to an electric circuit that is connected to an alternating current supply.
When the fluorescent lamp is turned on, electric current flows through the electric circuit causing electrons to be emitted from the electrodes. The electrons then flow through the interior of the glass envelope along an electrical field applied between the two electrodes. In the meantime, at least a portion of the liquid mercury is vaporized to mercury gas within the glass envelope, and the electrons ionize the mercury gas. This increases the conductivity of the inert gas so that more electric current can flow and more power thereby dissipated in the inert gas. The power so provided converts additional liquid mercury into a gas until a near-optimal pressure of mercury vapor has been established by the evaporation of the liquid mercury. As electrons and mercury ions move through the interior of the glass envelope, the electrons collide with the gaseous mercury atoms. As a result, the energy level of the outermost electron in some of the gaseous mercury atoms is raised. When these electrons return to their original energy levels, photons are radiated.
Most of the photons radiated by the gaseous mercury atoms are in the ultraviolet wavelength range and are not visible to the naked eye. However, when one of the ultra-violet photons strikes the phosphor powder that coats the inside surface of the glass envelope, one of the phosphor atom's electrons is excited to a higher energy level. When the electron in the phosphor atom returns to its normal energy level, it radiates energy in the form of another photon. The wavelength of this photon is in the visible spectrum and can be seen by the naked eye.
Before the lamp is turned on, there are a very few ions and electrons present in the gas within the glass envelope. Consequently, it is difficult to pass an electric current from one electrode to the other and establish an electric arc between the electrodes capable of sustaining the generation of white light within the glass envelope. Therefore, it is necessary to initially provide a high enough voltage across the electrodes to generate a sufficient density of free electrons in the gas within the glass envelope such that the gas becomes an electrically conductive medium. Once that is accomplished, the current across the electrodes increases to a level capable of establishing the electric arc required for normal lamp operation. The desired voltage and operating current are provided and controlled by a ballast that is incorporated into the electric circuit to which the lamp is wired. The voltage across the electrodes required for the lamp to ignite and transition to arc is variously referred to as the ignition voltage and starting voltage. The voltage that is supplied to the ballast during lamp ignition is usually referred to as the open circuit voltage. It is generally desired for design simplicity and the cost of the ballast that the ignition voltage required to start the lamp be as low as possible.
The operation of ballasts are well known to those skilled in art, and the details of their operation are not presented here. However, it is noted that with a so-called rapid-start type of ballast a heating current continually flows through both electrodes while the ignition voltage is applied between the two electrodes. When the fluorescent lamp is turned on, the voltage that is applied must exceed the ignition voltage that is required to ionize the gas in the glass envelope so that the electric arc current can be established. After the ballast is switched on, the filaments of both electrodes heat up very quickly (due to the heating current), thereby thermionically emitting the electrons required to sustain the operating current of the lamp without unduly damaging the electrodes. A related type of ballast, known as a programmed-start ballast, provides a similar heating current to the electrodes during ignition, and for a few seconds thereafter, until the electrodes have reached the temperature necessary for the thermionic emission of electrons required to establish and supply the electric arc. Thereafter, the heating current is terminated to save the portion of power supplied to the lamp for heating and the electrodes are self-heated by both the lamp current and thermal contact with the discharge. Both rapid-start and programmed-start ballasts are advantageous for long lamp life because, during start-up and warm-up of the lamp, most of the electrons supplied by the electrodes are from thermionic emission as opposed to a more destructive process.
Another type of ballast that is used with fluorescent lamps is the so-called instant-start ballast. This type of ballast applies a somewhat higher voltage across the electrodes than a rapid-start ballast but does not simultaneously heat the electrodes. The electrons required by the electric arc during ignition and briefly thereafter are primarily emitted from the electrodes by a damaging process of secondary electron emission. This emission is driven by bombardment of the electrode with high energy ions. The high energy ions not only eject electrons from the cold electrodes but they also sputter the emission mix and the tungsten metal from the electrodes, typically resulting in reduced lamp life. Consequently, to achieve the longest possible lamp life, it is desirable to enable all lamps to start on rapid-start and programmed-start ballasts which provide a lower circuit voltage than the instant-start ballasts.
There can be instances where fluorescent lamps, for various reasons, are difficult to start or transition to arc. For example, the ballast available in a particular instance may not be capable of generating an open circuit voltage that exceeds the ignition voltage required for the lamp to ignite.
Standard fluorescent lamps utilizing only argon as the inert gas filler have a lower lumen efficacy, expressed as lumens per watt, as compared to mixed argon/krypton energy-efficient, lower wattage fluorescent lamps. These lower wattage lamps yield reduced positive column power through substitution of some or all of the argon fill gas by krypton, or possibly xenon. The addition of krypton reduces energy consumption in fluorescent lamps because krypton has a higher atomic weight than argon resulting in a lower voltage gradient in the positive column with lower heat conduction losses per unit length of discharge in the lamp. Lamps of this type are often referred to as watt-miser lamps. The addition of krypton increases the open circuit voltage required to start the lamp so that the lamp will not start with some ballasts including many rapid-start and programmed-start ballasts. For example, a standard full-argon F32T8 lamp of the General Electric Company requires an open circuit voltage of approximately 300 to 315 volts to ignite while an argon-krypton F32T8WM watt-miser fluorescent lamp of the General Electric Corporation may require an open circuit voltage of more than about 400 volts to transition to arc. In these lamp designations, "F" means fluorescent, "32" means 32 watts dissipated in the lamp, "T8" means a lamp having a diameter of eight one-eighths of an inch, or one inch, and "WM" means "watt-miser". The energy-saving argon-krypton lamps provided by manufacturers other than the General Electric Company have similar identifying nomenclature.
If the watt-miser fluorescent lamps are used with the instant-start ballasts described above that are capable of providing open circuit voltages in excess of about 400 volts, the watt-miser lamps normally will not experience any difficulty in igniting. However, if the watt-miser fluorescent lamps are paired with the rapid-start or programmed-start ballasts described above, that are only capable of providing open circuit voltages of less than 400 volts, (but which typically provide for longer lamp life) the watt-miser fluorescent lamps may not ignite. It would be desirable to have watt-miser fluorescent lamps available that, in general, start and transition to arc for rapid-start and programmed-start ballasts as well as for instant-start ballasts. And in particular, it would be desirable to have available a high-efficiency lamp containing krypton capable of starting and operating on all existing ballasts so that the lamps can be rated for "Universal Operation On All Ballasts".
Certain of the foregoing concerns have been addressed in the prior art by the provision of a starting assembly or starting aid that effects starting of fluorescent lamps with or without krypton in the fill gas. The starting assembly provides an easier path for the electrons to flow along during start-up of the lamps, thereby reducing the peak starting voltage requirement of the lamps.
One conventional starting aid consists of a metal strip attached to the outside of the glass envelope of the lamp. In a typical embodiment, an optically-opaque electrically-conducting metal strip is applied to the outside of the glass envelope of a lamp having a diameter of about one and one-half inches. The strip is approximately one-fourth inch wide and extends the full length of the lamp. A disadvantage with this starting aid is that the metal strip covers a relatively large percentage (approximately five percent) of the exterior surface of the glass envelope. The strip, therefore, absorbs or reflects approximately five percent of the light emitted by the lamp. Even though some of the light reflected by the metal strip is redistributed inside the lamp and is re-emitted, the total emission of the lamp is reduced by more than one to two percent. Another disadvantage is that the metal strip is visible at significant distances. A further disadvantage arises because the strip is usually manually attached to the lamp with an adhesive and an insulating cover to protect against electric shock. This manual process significantly increases the costs of manufacture.
Another starting aid disclosed in the prior art consists of a conductive coating, such as tin oxide, that is applied to the entire inside surface of the glass envelope. As with the opaque metal strip referred to above, a disadvantage with this starting aid is that it absorbs an important quantity (more than approximately one to two percent) of light emitted by the lamp. This is because the tin oxide covers essentially all of the interior surface area of the glass envelope. Another disadvantage is that the tin oxide coating creates potential concerns related to safety and lamp breakage during the manufacturing process. A further disadvantage from an environmental standpoint is that a corrosive agent is required to be used during the coating of the glass envelopes.
Yet another starting aid that is used is the metal luminaire into which the lamp is mounted. However, the proximity of the luminaire to the lamp electrodes is important in that case and the greater the separation, the less efficient is the starting aid. The present invention relaxes the requirements associated with the distance between the lamp electrodes and the metal luminaire and even enables the use of non-conducting (e.g. plastic) luminaires or even the elimination of the luminaire.

Fluorescent lamp with conductive coating


The invention provides a system and battery including a state-of-charge indicator (SOCI) to monitor and display the amount of charge within the battery. The SOCI is capable of operating in a hibernate mode, an active mode, and/or a sleep mode. The battery may be manufactured, shipped and/or stored with the SOCI operating in a power-saving hibernate mode. The SOCI may exit the hibernate mode and begin operating in active mode if a physical key connected to the battery is removed. In addition, the SOCI may operate in a sleep mode while the battery is not being used to conserve power. Furthermore, the invention provides a method of making a battery including a SOCI to monitor and display the state of charge of the battery.

When using an electronic device having a battery, it is often advantageous to know how much charge remains in the battery. In the past, batteries were manufactured without a way of knowing how much charge remained in them, which presented several problems. Some of the problems encountered included, having to manually "test" batteries by connecting them to an electronic device to determine if they had any charge remaining (and even then how much charge they contained was usually unknowable), placing two or more batteries of different charge levels in the same device and a battery having a lower amount of charge draining charge from a battery having a higher amount of charge, and a battery running out of charge at an inconvenient time and/or location.
To overcome some of the problems associated with not knowing how much charge remained in a battery, a battery state-of-charge indicator (SOCI) was developed and connected to batteries to continuously monitor and display the amount of charge remaining. These early SOCIs, however, began to monitor and display the amount of charge remaining at the point of manufacture. Thus, a battery employing an early SOCI had a decreased overall lifetime, because the SOCI consumed power for substantially the entire time from when it was connected to the battery until the battery was completely discharged. This problem was exacerbated when such a battery was shipped and/or stored for a significant period of time, because the SOCI would continue to consume power—and sometimes completely drain the battery—prior to the battery being used.
Subsequently, a battery having a SOCI which was initially turned off was developed. These SOCIs had a removable Mylar strip located between the positive and negative terminals of the battery and were activated when the Mylar strip was removed from the battery. Once activated, the SOCI monitored and displayed the amount of charge left in the battery. Though these SOCIs overcame the problem of decreasing the overall lifetime of the battery, they presented problems of their own.
For example, in SOCIs utilizing a Mylar strip, the Mylar strip often broke without being completely removed from between the battery terminals. This resulted in the SOCI not functioning properly or not functioning at all, even after multiple attempts to remove the Mylar strip. In addition, the Mylar strip was often confusingly similar to a second Mylar strip included in some batteries for activating a complete discharge device which caused batteries to completely discharge all charge in them. Therefore, there is a need for a battery with the capability of being manufactured, shipped and/or stored with a SOCI turned off so the overall lifetime of the battery is not decreased, and include a way to activate the SOCI in a relatively easy manner that does not pose a significant risk of prematurely discharging the battery.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Physical key to facilitate an inactive mode for a state-of-charge indicator within a battery


Corrosion resistant metal, either platinum or MCrAlY is bonded to a corrosion sensitive metal such as nickel based superalloys by coating the surface with the corrosion resistant metal particles held in a binder and covering this with a metalide generating tape. This is then heated to cause the formation of the metalide coating on the metal surface, which in turn, bonds the corrosion resistant metal to the surface.

Metals such as stainless steel as well as nickel, cobalt, titanium and tungsten based superalloys are frequently coated with a corrosion resistant material. One such corrosion resistant coating is a metalide coating, in particular, nickel aluminide coating. One method of applying such a metalide coating is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,334,417. Platinum and MCrAlY wherein the M represents a nickel cobalt alloy also form corrosion resistant surfaces. These metals cannot be applied as coatings using braze alloys. The melt suppressants in the braze alloy promote oxidation and corrosion and therefore are unsuitable for this application. As such, these coatings are typically applied using a plasma spray. The plasma spray apparatus is expensive and not particularly suitable for small or localized repairs.


A computing device with a multicore processing unit and a memory management unit (MMU) may provide multi-order failure resistant data isolation and segregation with a cross domain filtration system. The multicore processing unit may include a first processor, a second processor, and a third processor. A first processor may process data via an egress filter task(s). The MMU may allow the egress filter task(s) to write the data to a first segregated physical memory location. A second processor may perform filtering of the data via a cross domain filter task(s). The MMU may allow the cross domain filter task(s) to read from the first segregated physical memory location and write to a second segregated physical memory location. A third processor may process the data via an ingress filter task(s). The MMU may allow the ingress filter task(s) to read the data from the second segregated physical memory location.

Data segregation and/or data filtering may be needed for security and/or for safety purposes in a computing environment with multiple different domains (e.g., security domains). For example, security policies in some applications, it may be important that different types of data be logically separated and may not interact with each other (i.e., between multiple security domains). Separating the data may ensure that data sets and applications remain isolated from one another, protected from bad actors, and/or maintain their integrities. Data segregation may also be an important aspect of ensuring data security.
Data segregation and/or data filtration may be configured based on organizational policy, a user preference/configuration, one or more different security levels, sensitivity of the data, use/purpose of data, implicit/explicit attributes of the data, and/or the like. Data described herein may include, but is not limited to data sets, user credentials, command(s), executable(s), request(s) and/or instruction(s) for one or more tasks (e.g., applications or processes) receiving the request(s) and/or the instruction(s) may be able to execute.
Data may be shared between many different locations (e.g., within a single device and/or between multiple devices). Ensuring data segregation during transit and processing may be desirable for the reasons mentioned above. One or more domains may send and receive data (e.g., such as instructions, commands, executables, and/or the like) between one another. Internet of thing (IoT) devices, devices in a dispersed network(s), devices in a network with different security levels, and/or within a single device may need to send and receive data to and from appropriate devices and/or appropriate domains. For example, IoT devices and/or devices in a dispersed network(s) may communicate with one another to integrate together in a network and each device may have varying security levels. Improper and/or inaccurate transfer of data between data domains and/or processing units (e.g., between devices in a dispersed network(s) and/or within a single device) may pose number of risks as data may end up at an incorrect destination and be exposed and/or become available to the wrong domain(s). Security concerns exist to safely and correctly receive and send data (e.g., instructions, commands, executables, and/or the like) between different domains. A cross domain filtration and segregation system may be configured between data domains (e.g., and/or associated processing units) considering size, weight, and power constraints. A cross domain filtration and segregation system that is capable of backward compatible may be considered. For example, a cross domain filtration and segregation system may be configured so that the cross domain filtration and segregation system may be implemented instead of or in addition to an existing system.

Cross domain filtration in multi-processor environments


An illumination mask (10a) for a device for the range-resolved determination of scattered light, having one or more scattered-light measuring structures (11a) which respectively include an inner dark-field zone which defines a minimum scattering range, to an associated image-field mask and a corresponding device is provided. Also provided is an associated operating method and a microlithography projection-exposure system having such a device. The scattered-lighter measuring structure in the illumination mask has a scattered-light marker zone (20a) in the form of a bright-field zone, which on the one hand borders the inner dark-field zone and on the other hand borders an outer dark-field zone, which defines a maximum scattering range. The device may optionally be designed for the multi-channel measuring of scattered light by using a suitable image-field mask and also for multi-channel wavefront measurement, and the detection part may contain an immersion medium. Applications include, for example, the range-resolved determination of scattered light of projection objectives in microlithography projection-exposure systems.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an illumination mask for a device for the range-resolved determination of scattered light, having one or more scattered-light measuring structures, which respectively include an inner dark-field zone which defines a minimum scattering range, to a corresponding device which comprises the illumination mask for the provision of measuring radiation on an entry side of a specimen and a detection part for the range-resolved detection of scattered light on an exit side of the specimen, to an image-field mask which can be used for this, to an associated operating method and to a microlithography projection-exposure system having such a device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Such devices and methods are used, for example, for the purpose of drawing from the scattered light of optical components detected in a range-resolved fashion conclusions about their optical properties and optical quality, for example with regard to surface roughnesses, contaminations and material inhomogeneities. Moreover, a scattered-light portion thus determined can correctively be considered if a spatially resolved knowledge, which is as accurate as possible, of the quantity of radiation actually supplied by an optical system is desired in corresponding optical applications, such as lithographic exposure apparatuses, for example. In the text which follows, the term light is used for the sake of simplicity to denote electromagnetic radiation of arbitrary wavelength, in particular radiation in the UV or EUV range.
For the purpose of range-resolved determination of scattered light, in a conventional method a non-transparent object which acts as dark-field zone is introduced into the beam path of a directed illuminating radiation having a larger beam cross section compared to the object, such that a shadow image of the object is produced. If the system to be examined, presently also termed a test component, is an imaging optical system, the non-transparent object is positioned in the object plane of the system. The object is imaged by the imaging system onto an image of the object in the image plane which may be enlarged or reduced by the reproduction scale and which is denoted as an "aerial image" below, as is also denoted the pure shadow image in the case of test components which are not focusing imaging systems.
Scattering of the illuminating light by the test component has the effect that scattered light passes laterally into the dark zone of the surface of the aerial image. The intensity of this scattered light normally decreases with increasing distance from the edge to the middle of the aerial image. Depending on the lateral distance from the edge of the aerial image, denoted below as scattering distance or scattering range, an intensity distribution of the scattered light thus arises which is determined as a function of distance, that is to say range-resolved.
In a conventional mode of procedure, a sensor surface is introduced as a component of a detection part into the plane in which the aerial image is produced or detected. For the sake of simplicity, the term image plane is also used for this plane whenever the test component is not a focusing imaging system. It is important here that the sensor surface is smaller than the aerial image so that a minimum, lateral scattering distance remains between the edge of the sensor surface and the edge of the aerial image. In consecutive measuring operations, objects of different size are then positioned such that the size of the aerial image, and thus the minimum scattering distance, changes. It is known for this purpose to provide objects of variable size at a distance from one another on an otherwise transparent illumination mask. Chromium squares of variable edge length, for example, are used as objects. The sensor surface correspondingly has a quadratic geometry. In order to vary the minimum scattering distance, the illumination mask is displaced such that the objects applied to it are brought one after the other into the beam path and imaged onto the sensor surface centred on the image side in the plane of the aerial image.
In one of the conventional measuring methods, the entire intensity of the scattered light impinging on the sensor surface over a fixed time interval is determined integrally for each object size, for example with the aid of an electro-optical measuring element. Each object size is assigned a minimum scattering distance in the image plane, the maximum scattering distance being infinity in theory for all objects. The scattered light distribution can be reconstructed from the intensity distribution as a function of the minimum scattering distance.
Instead of directly measuring the intensity of the scattered light on the sensor surface, in the case of an alternative conventional measuring method a photo-resist layer is provided in the image plane as sensor surface, and in different measuring operations a respectively different region of the photo-resist layer is irradiated with illuminating radiation of increasing intensity. Then, that limiting value for the intensity is determined in the case of which the aerial image first vanishes entirely as a structure in the photo-resist layer. This limiting value for the intensity of the illuminating light is used instead of the light intensity integrated over the sensor surface in order to determine the scattered light distribution. These and further details relating to conventional methods of determining scattered light are to be found in the relevant literature, see, for example, the magazine article by J. P. Kirk, "Scattered Light in Photolithographic Lenses", SPIE, Volume 2197 (1994), pages 566-572, and the magazine article by Eugene L. Church, "Fractal Surface Finish", Applied Optics, Volume 27, No. 8 (1988), pages 1518-1526.
In the case of the conventional methods outlined above, effects with a long scattering range are normally superimposed on effects of short to medium scattering ranges. The non-transparent objects on the illumination mask certainly define a minimum scattering range, but the maximum scattering range is limited only by the size of the object field, that is to say the illumination mask. Moreover, since the squares have a relatively large spacing from one another, in order not to disturb one another during the measurements, and are typically arranged in a nonsymmetrical distribution, the long-range scattering light intensity is a function of the field point, and so systematic measuring errors can occur.
The devices and methods currently of interest for determining scattered light are chiefly used in the field of medium scattering ranges, what corresponds, e.g., to typical object-side scattering ranges in a region from approximately 4 μm to approximately 1000 μm and/or image-side scattering ranges from approximately 1 μm to approximately 250 μm.
Especially for the characterization of optical systems, and in particular optical imaging systems, not only the scattered-light behavior thereof but also the behavior thereof with respect to imaging defects are of interest. Various wavefront-measurement devices and methods have been proposed for this, which can be used to find the effect of the specimen on the wavefront behavior, for example by an interferometric or Moiré fringe technique, from which the imaging defect behavior can be deduced. An important field of application is the wavefront measurement of optical systems for microlithography, in particular projection objectives for microlithography projection-exposure systems for the patterning of semiconductor wafers.
Imaging defects of such high-resolution imaging objectives can be determined with the required accuracy by using the wavefront-measurement technique, in which case radiation of the same wavelength as in the useful imaging operation of the objective is preferably used for the measurement, and it has recently become more common to use UV radiation in the wavelength range shorter than about 200 nm. Interferometric measurement devices which work in this way with measuring radiation at the operating wavelength of the specimen may also be referred to as operational interferometers (OIF) for this reason and they may, for example, be integrated into the projection-exposure system in question. Various types of interferometric wavefront-measurement devices are currently used for this purpose, such as those which are based on shear interferometry or point diffraction interferometry, or those of the Ronchi type, Twyman-Green type or Shack-Hartmann type.
As an alternative to single-channel measurement devices, it is also possible to use multi-channel measurement devices with which measurements can be taken from a plurality of field points in parallel, i.e. simultaneously, so that shorter measuring times for full-field measurements can be achieved compared with single-channel devices. For example, the laid-open patent specification WO 01/63233 A2 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 2002/0001088) discloses a multi-channel measurement device which works with lateral shear interferometry. Such a device typically includes an illumination mask, which is to be arranged on the object side of the specimen and has a structure for generating wavefronts separately for the various field points, and a diffraction-grating structure to be arranged on the image side of the specimen for the various field points. With a suitable design of the system, the intet-ferograms for the individual field points can be kept substantially separate and can be discriminately recorded by a downstream detector, with a detector surface thereof preferably being placed at a very short distance from the diffraction-grating structure.

Device for the range-resolved determination of scattered light, operating method, illumination mask and image-field mask


A circuit breaker panelboard enclosure is adapted to receive circuit breaker covers that are attached to the interior or circuit breaker module without requiring attachment screws and the like. The circuit breaker modules within the enclosure are equipped with electrically-insulative extension clips that are received and retained within apertures formed in the circuit breaker covers in press-fit relation. The circuit breaker covers are removed by grasping the ends of the circuit breaker covers and pulling the circuit breaker covers away from the enclosure.

Industrial-rated circuit breakers, contained within switchboard and panelboard enclosures of the type described within U.S. Pat. No. 5,172,300 entitled "Electric Power Distribution Panelboard-Switchboard Assembly", are usually installed within the enclosures on site. The enclosures include a number of circuit breaker covers that are temporarily removed to allow for circuit breaker installation and are later attached to the cover supports.
The circuit breaker covers are in the form of sheet metal plates having apertures formed therein for egress of the circuit breaker operating handles to allow manual intervention and control of the circuit breaker internal operating components. The ends of the circuit breaker covers are usually screwed or otherwise attached to the cover supports.
In accordance with state and local electric codes, the face covers are usually made inaccessible by means of a hinged door assembly which must be opened to access the circuit breaker handles. For circuit breaker installation on site, the face covers must be removed to access the interior of the enclosure and to install the circuit breakers within the respective circuit breaker modules that include the stab receptacles and connectors. When large-sized panelboards are involved, the face plates are unscrewed and the circuit breakers are installed, on site. The face covers then must be re-installed at a great expense of time and effort.
Accordingly, one purpose of the invention is to provide an arrangement whereby the circuit breaker covers used within panelboard enclosures can be easily and readily removed with the least amount of time and effort.