A fan assembly comprising, a shroud having a through opening, around which the shroud defines an air conveying ring, a motor-fan assembly which includes an axial fan rotatable with respect to the support about an axis of rotation, and a noise-reducing annular structure, having a plurality of projections which are arranged in succession in a circumferential direction and extend radially towards the axis of rotation of the fan, each projection having a face which is directed towards the axis of rotation and is substantially parallel thereto, and a plurality of portions radially recessed towards the air conveying ring. Each of the recessed portions has a face which is directed towards the axis of rotation of the fan and the profile of which in the axial direction is generally curvilinear and not parallel to the axis of rotation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fan assembly for cooling a radiator, a radiator-condenser assembly or a radiator-condenser-intercooler assembly of a vehicle, comprising:
a shroud having a through-opening, around which said shroud defines an air conveying ring, and a support which is located at the centre of said opening,
a motor-fan assembly which is mounted in said support and includes an axial fan rotatable with respect to said support about an axis of rotation, and
a noise-reducing annular structure, fixed to the air conveying ring and surrounding said fan, said annular structure having
a plurality of projections which are arranged in succession in a circumferential direction and extend radially towards the axis of rotation of the fan, each projection having a face which is bounded by side edges in the circumferential direction and is directed towards said axis of rotation and is substantially parallel thereto, and
a plurality of portions radially recessed towards the air conveying ring and arranged alternating with said projections.
2. Description of the Related Art
A fan assembly of this type is described in EP 1 914 402. Fan assemblies with different forms of the annular structure for reducing the tonal noise are described by the documents U.S. Pat. No. 5,489,186, U.S. Pat. No. 6,863,496, U.S. Pat. No. 7,481,615 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,874,990.
As is known, in order to attenuate air recirculation effects in the fan assembly it is required to reduce as far as possible the distance between the tip of the fan blades and the air conveying ring or, in the case of a fan provided with an outer ring which interconnects the ends of the blades, the distance between this outer ring and the air conveying ring.
The fan is the main source of tonal noise; since it consists of a fairly large number of rotating blades it produces, by its nature, a "non-stationary lift" which is the main source of noise.
The acoustic combination of fan and conveyor, in terms of combined air volume, has an effect on the spatial distribution and the directivity of the acoustic pressure field produced by the "non-stationary lift" and therefore influences the tonal component of the resultant noise.
The presence of an air layer between fan and conveyor contributes functionally to rotation of the fan without interfering with the structure of the conveyor which supports the fan and ensures a suitable fluid dynamic interaction for obtaining the desired pressure difference between upstream side and downstream side of the fan.
From a fluid dynamic point of view, reducing the combined air volume results in an increase in the efficiency, defined as the ratio between output fluid dynamic power (Q·ΔP) and input electric power (V·I); reducing the abovementioned volume in turn results in an increase in the pressure difference imparted by the system to the recirculation flows which are generated at the tips of the blades, therefore opposing the associated losses.
The existence of an air volume between the conveyor and the fan causes a general increase in the wide-band noise, but in particular intensifies the radial modes which maintain the fluctuations in lift produced by the rotation of the blades; these fluctuations in lift result in generation of localized sound-pressure spectral lobes. Moreover, the presence of a wall surrounding the fan produces sound diffusion and reflection effects which contribute to the fluctuations of the existing acoustic field.
In order to solve these problems, in the past different noise-reduction structures have been proposed: for example those described in the documents EP 1,914,402, U.S. Pat. No. 5,489,186, U.S. Pat. No. 6,863,496, U.S. Pat. No. 7,481,615 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,874,990 mentioned above.
The presence of these noise-reduction structures results in irregularity of the surface of the conveying ring which may have one or both the effects as mentioned:
1) favour diffraction and diffusion of the pressure waves in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the fan, resulting in random spatial distribution of the acoustic pressure waves, with a consequent reduction in the tonal component of the noise generated;
2) induce the formation of vortices inside the spaces which have the effect of reducing the fluid-dynamic cross-section, thus preserving the fluid-dynamic performance (lift/head).


In a circuit breaker, a power source current transformer (2) comprises: a secondary coil (6) arranged between two legs (1a and 1b) of a U-shaped part of a main circuit conductor (1), and an iron core (7) including an iron core leg (7a) which penetrates the secondary coil, and yokes (7b and 7b) which embrace the two legs (1a and 1b) of the U-shaped part of the main circuit conductor, the power source current transform supporting the current detecting means. As a result, the power source current transformer (2) is arranged compact inside the main circuit conductor (1), and the main circuit current, when flowing in each of the legs (1a and 1b) of the U-shaped part, produces the magnetic flux output acting on the secondary coil. Hence, even if the main circuit current is small, a great power source output can be obtained.

This invention relates to circuit breakers such as molded-case circuit breakers and earth leakage breakers, and more particularly to power source means in an over-current trip section.
A circuit breaker is well known in the art in which its main circuit conductor has a U-shaped portion, and a Hall element is arranged as current detecting means between both legs of the U-shaped portion to detect current flowing in the remain circuit conductor (cf. Japanese Utility Patent Publication No. 26683/1993). The convention al circuit breaker is as shown in FIG. 4. As shown in FIG. 4, a current path is formed between a power-source side terminal 8 and a load side terminal 9 which comprises a switching section including a stationary contactor 10 and a movable contactor 11, a flexible conductor 11 whose one end is connected to the movable contactor 12, and a main circuit conductor connected to the other end of the flexible conductor 12. The terminals 8 and 9 are connected to external conductors with screws 13.
The movable contactor 11 is opened and closed with an operating section 14. The operating section 14 comprises an operating handle 15, a latch 16, a latch receiver 17, a toggle link 18, and an opening and closing spring 19. When, with the circuit breaker in "on" state as shown in FIG. 4, the operating handle 15 is moved to the right in FIG. 4, the toggle link is collapsed with the aid of the opening and closing spring 19, so that the movable contact 11 is disengaged from the stationary contactor 10; that is, the application of current is suspended. When an excessively large current (over-current) flows in the main circuit conductor 1, a trip coil (not shown) is activated, so that the latch 16 is disengaged from the latch receiver 17; that is, the latch 16 is turn counterclockwise about a supporting pin 20. As a result, the toggle link 18 is collapsed, and the movable contactor 11 is therefore disengaged from the stationary contactor; that is, the flow of current is suspended.
A part of the main circuit conductor 1 is U-shaped. Between the two legs of the U-shaped part of the main circuit conductor, a Hall element 3 for detecting current flowing in the main circuit conductor 1 is provided separately in each phase. The Hall element 3 is mounted on a printed circuit board on which an electronic circuit for the over-current trip section is formed. The main circuit conductor 1 and the printed circuit board 5 are accommodated in a casing 21. When a current I flows in the main circuit conductor 1, the portions of the U-shaped part of the conductor 1 produce magnetic flux outputs .phi..sub.1, .phi..sub.2 and .phi..sub.3 in the directions of the arrows. Inside the U-shaped part of the main circuit conductor, those magnetic flux outputs act on the Hall element 3 in the same direction. As a result, the Hall element produces a voltage (or Hall voltage) in a direction which is perpendicular to the directions of the current applied thereto in advance and the magnetic field. When the current I in the main circuit conductor 1 exceeds the rated value, then the Hall voltage also exceeds a predetermined value, as a result of which the electronic circuit applies a trip signal to the trip coil (not shown), so that the application of the current is interrupted.
In the circuit breaker shown in FIG. 4, a power source for the electronic circuit of the over-current trip section is obtained from the main circuit conductor. If, in the case where the power source is formed by a current transformer with the main circuit conductor as a primary conductor, it is intended to arrange the power source currents before and after the U-shaped part of the main circuit conductor, then the straight part of the main circuit conductor is unavoidably long, so that the resultant circuit breaker is elongated in the longitudinal direction as much. The power source current transformer of this type suffers from a problem that its output is insufficient in the case where the main circuit current is small.


Disclosed are methods and apparatus for facilitating transmission of file access type messages over a Fiber Channel (FC) network. In one embodiment, at a file interposed access protocol layer of a file access client, a file access type operation is received from a file access type layer at the client device. The interposed layer may be interposed between an upper file access layer and an FC layer. The file access type operation specifies a request pertaining to file access. At the interposed file access protocol layer of the client, the file access type operation is modified into one or more sequence of operations so that the operations can be transmitted over an FC network. A sequence of operations are transmitted to an file access server over the FC network.

In recent years, the capacity of storage devices has significantly increased as the demand for storage has also increased. Although various types of storage systems, such as storage area network (SAN) and network attached storage (NAS) are available, improved systems and methods for storing and managing data would be beneficial so as to enhance the performance capabilities of such systems and methods.

Apparatus and methods for handling network file operations over a fibre channel network


A surgical suturing tool comprising a suture needle holder and suture needle is disclosed. The needle includes a groove in its sidewall which leads to a blind hole to receive one end of a suture which is secured therein by swedging.

In laparascopic surgery a known device called Deep Suture is a needle holder made by REMA.RTM. Medizintechnik GmbH of Germany, D-7201 Durbheim-Tuttlingen, In Breiten 10 Germany. It is believed that a German patent corresponding to this device is DE 42 10 724 C1, a copy of which in German is attached hereto as Appendix A and incorporated herein by reference.
While this device has various inherently good features, a number of significant improvements have been developed as disclosed in this application. The prior device, in summary, has a central shaft with proximal and distal ends. Extending through the shaft is a rotatable rod having a control handle at the proximal end and a drive gear at the distal end. A pair of driven gears are positioned at the periphery of the drive gear at opposite sides thereof, each driven gear coupled to an arm or wing that pivots radially outward from the shaft when the control handle is turned. Each wing includes a recess or blind hole for receiving the proximal end of a suture needle. In operation a single strand of suture material has its ends threaded through the eye of each of the needles, the suture then extending as a double strand from each needle. The proximal ends of the needles are then inserted in the wings, and the wings are pivoted to their retracted position whereby they and the needles are radially inward of the outer cylindrical boundary established by the central shaft. To facilitate this an axial groove is provided in the shaft into which each needle can move. The device, with wings retracted, is inserted down into the opening in the abdominal wall produced by a trocar. During insertion the suture is dragged down.
When adequately inserted downward the wings are pivoted to open position exposing the needles now pointing upward. The shaft is withdrawn until the needles pierce the wall and protrude out of the wall. These needles are engaged individually by a clamp, forceps or a needle holder or by a clamping device movable axially on the shaft and drawn through the tissue, pulling the suture until it forms a loop beneath the opening. The wings, now empty of needles, are pivoted closed, and the shaft is extracted from the opening. The needles are cut off the suture ends and the suture is tied.
The improvements in this device are described below.

Laparascopic suturing device and suture needles


An EUV light source target material handling system is disclosed which includes a target material dispenser and a target material repository including a nozzle with a radial trench design. The nozzle may be formed from a silicon-on-insulator wafer.

Extreme ultraviolet light, e.g., electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength of around 50 nm or less (also sometimes referred to as soft x-rays), and including light at a wavelength of about 13.5 nm, can be used in photolithography processes to produce extremely small features in substrates such as silicon wafers. Here and elsewhere herein the term "light" is used even though it is understood that the radiation described using that term may not be in the visible part of the spectrum.
Methods for generating EUV light include converting a target material from a liquid state into a plasma state. The target material preferably includes at least one element, e.g., xenon, lithium or tin, with one or more emission lines in the EUV part of the spectrum. In one such method, often termed laser produced plasma ("LPP"), the required plasma is produced by using a laser beam to irradiate and so to vaporize a target material having the required line-emitting element to form a plasma in an irradiation region.
The target material may take many forms. It may be solid or a molten. If molten, it may be dispensed in several different ways such as in a continuous stream or as a stream of discrete droplets. As an example, the target material in the discussion which follows is molten tin which is dispensed as a stream of discrete droplets. It will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, however, that other target materials, phases of target materials, and delivery modes for target materials may be used.
The energetic radiation generated during de-excitation and recombination of ions in the plasma propagates from the plasma omnidirectionally. In one common arrangement, a near-normal-incidence mirror (often termed a "collector mirror" or simply a "collector") is positioned to collect, direct, and, in some arrangements, focus the light to an intermediate location. The collected light may then be relayed from the intermediate location to where it is to be used, for example, to a set of scanner optics and ultimately to a wafer in the case where the EUV radiation is to be used for semiconductor photolithography.
The target material is introduced into the irradiation region by a target material dispenser. The target material dispenser is supplied with target material in a liquid or solid form. If supplied with target material in a solid form the target material dispenser melts the target material. The target material dispenser then dispenses the molten target material as a series of droplets into the vacuum chamber containing the irradiation region.
As can be appreciated, one technical requirement for implementation of a target material dispenser is introduction of liquid target material into the area where it will be irradiated. This requires some form of nozzle or jetting structure. One solution for the nozzle uses a glass capillary. A drawback of using a glass capillary is that it is not compatible with the pressures (6000 to 8000 psi) that the nozzle is preferably able to withstand. Also, the nozzle is preferably configured to permit stable modulation of the droplet stream. One method of modulating the droplet stream is to use a tube with a piezoelectric element. When a glass capillary is used as the nozzle it is affixed to the piezoelectric tube, for example, using an epoxy. This arrangement may exhibit instabilities over time. Also, a glass capillary is susceptible to malfunction, either in the form of missing droplets or misdirected droplets, due to particle contamination. There thus remains a need to provide a nozzle structure that can operate reliably under the required operating conditions, including high pressure, that are needed to dispense liquid target material, and to be able to do so stably over time and despite particle contamination.


According to the present disclosure, there are provided a backlight module and a display device. With the backlight module, a heat dissipating device can be saved, and a light guide plate is prevented from being warped and deformed due to heat generation of a light source. The backlight module comprises a light source, a light guide plate and a side-glowing optical fiber. The side-glowing optical fiber includes: a light emitting section which is fixed to at least one side of the light guide plate; and a light guide section, which extends from the light emitting section to the outside of the light guide plate, and a terminal of which is connected to the light source.

Liquid crystal display panels do not emit light themselves, and in order that contents displayed in liquid crystal display devices can be seen, they need backlight modules to provide them with light sources. An edge-lit backlight module includes a light guide plate and a light source that is disposed on a side of the light guide plate. The edge-lit backlight module is capable of converting a point light source or a linear light source which is disposed on a side of the light guide plate into an area light source, so as to provide a liquid crystal display panel with backlight.
The light source disposed on the side of the light guide plate gives out a large amount of heat while it emits light, resulting in a fact that warping and deformation occur in a position adjacent to the light source. Thus, badness such as a light leaking phenomenon or the like is caused. Therefore, for the sake of preventing the light guide plate from being warped and deformed owing to heat generation of the light source, it is also necessary to add a heat dissipating device. For example, a heat-dissipating adhesive tape is used to fix the light source and a heat dissipating block together.

BEIJING BOE CHATANI ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.


A method of controlling a digital photographing apparatus is provided. The control method includes detecting a gesture of a user for the digital photographing apparatus using a plurality of video images sequentially generated according to live view photographing, changing an operation of the digital photographing apparatus to a zoom adjustment mode when the detected gesture of the user includes a preset first user gesture, and controlling a zooming state of the digital photographing apparatus step-by-step according to a moving path of a second user gesture after the first user gesture has ended, when the operation mode has been changed to the zoom adjustment mode.

1. Field
Apparatuses and methods consistent with exemplary embodiments relate to a digital photographing apparatus and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to a digital photographing apparatus which controls a zooming state according to a gesture of a user and a control method thereof.
2. Related Art
With the development of electronic technology, various kinds of electronic apparatuses have been developed and sold in the market. In particular, electronic apparatuses such as digital photographing apparatuses based on excellent IT technology have also been developed.
In the recent years, demands for the most advanced digital photographing apparatuses have been increased due to reduction in cost and improvement in performance of the most advanced digital photographing apparatuses. Therefore, there is a need for a more convenient method of using the most advanced digital photographing apparatus.

Digital photographing apparatus and control method thereof


A lighting unit of the present invention includes a light guiding plate (3), a light source (2) disposed so as to face an end face of the light guiding plate, a reflector (4) disposed so as to surround the light source, a housing (6) disposed so as to have a light guiding plate-retaining portion (6a) that retains at least the reflector and is partially interposed between the light source and the end face of the light guiding plate so as to retain the light guiding plate, and a reflecting sheet (5) disposed on one of principal surfaces of the light guiding plate, the lighting unit being configured such that light from the light source enter into the end face of the light guiding plate and goes out from another principal surface of the light guiding plate. The reflecting sheet is disposed so that an edge portion (5a) is bent so as to be positioned between the light guiding plate-retaining portion of the housing and the end face of the light guiding plate.

In recent years, by taking advantage of such features as light weight, small thickness, and low power consumption, liquid crystal display devices have been widely used for display devices in information devices such as notebook-type personal computers and word processors, or for display devices in video devices such as portable televisions, camcorders, and vehicle navigation systems. In order to realize a bright display screen, many of these liquid crystal display devices have such a configuration that illuminating light is applied from the rear of a display element by a built-in lighting unit.
For this lighting unit, an edge light system, in which a light guiding plate is placed on the rear of a display element (liquid crystal display panel) and a line light source of a fluorescent discharge tube or the like is disposed on an end face of the light guiding plate, is advantageous in thickness reduction and brightness uniformity across the light-emitting surface. Accordingly, in many cases the edge light system is adopted for the backlight system of a liquid crystal display device used for notebook-type personal computers or the like since a smaller thickness is given a priority. In addition, a liquid crystal display device used for portable televisions, vehicle navigation systems, or the like, adopts in many cases an edge light system in which light sources are arranged on four end faces or two end faces of a rectangular-shaped light guiding plate in order to obtain both brightness and small thickness.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a conventional edge-light type lighting unit and a liquid crystal display device using the same, and FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VI—VI of FIG. 5. In FIG. 5, a liquid crystal display device 301 is oriented as shown in the figure according to the conditions of use.
Referring to FIG. 5, this liquid crystal display device 301 has a transparent light guiding plate 3, shaped like a rectangular flat panel, that transmits light in a direction parallel to a principal surface. On the rear face of the light guiding plate 3, a reflecting sheet 5 is disposed. Further, respective light sources 2 are arranged along the upper end face and the lower end face of the light guiding plate 3. That is, this lighting unit adopts an edge light system in which light sources are arranged on two opposing end faces. In addition, respective reflectors 4 having a substantially U-shaped cross section are arranged so as to surround this pair of light sources 2. The light sources 2, the light guiding plate 3, the reflectors 4, and the reflecting sheet 5 constitute a lighting unit.
Additionally, a rear cover RC is disposed so as to be in contact with the rear faces of the reflecting sheet 5 and the reflectors 4, and respective housings 6 are disposed on the upper and lower ends of this rear cover RC. The housing 6 is disposed so as to surround the end face and the front face of the reflector 4 and the edge portion of the front face of the light guiding plate 3 and to retain the light guiding plate 3 by being partially interposed between the reflector 4 and the light guiding plate 3. These portions 6a that retain the light guiding plate 3 (hereafter referred to as "light guiding plate-retaining portions") each have a rectangular window portion 101 in the middle, as shown in FIG. 6. The rear cover RC and the pair of housings 6, 6, arranged on upper and lower ends of the rear cover RC, constitute a case of the liquid crystal display device 301.
A protruding portion 6b is formed on an edge of each front face of the pair of housings 6, 6, and a liquid crystal display panel (liquid crystal display element) 1 is disposed so as to span between the front faces of the two housings 6, 6. In addition, a pair of front frames FC are disposed so as to be in contact with the protruding portions 6b of the respective housings 6 and to cover end faces of the housings 6 and edge portions of the liquid crystal display panel 1. This pair of front frames FC constitute a cover portion of the case of the liquid crystal display device 301. The liquid crystal display device 301 also incorporates a driver circuit, which is not shown in the figure, for the liquid crystal display panel 1.
The light guiding plate 3 is formed of a material such as an acrylic resin. The reflector sheet 5 is formed by, for example, a film made of a light-reflective white resin. The housing 6 is composed of, for example, a polycarbonate resin.
In the liquid crystal display device 301 thus configured, although thin, the light source 2 and the reflector 4 are retained by the housings 6 and the light guiding plate 3 is suitably retained by the light guiding plate-retaining portions 6a.
The light emanating from the light sources 2 passes through the window portions 101 of the light guiding plate-retaining portions 6a of the housings 6 and enters the end faces of the light guiding plate 3 either directly or with it being reflected by the reflectors 4; then it propagates in the light guiding plate 3 and emanates from its front face. During this process, the light that leaks from the rear face of the light guiding plate 3 is returned into the light guiding plate 3 by the reflecting sheet 5. In addition, scattering dots are provided on the rear face of the light guiding plate 3 at densities corresponding to the distances from the light source 2, whereby the distribution of intensity of the light emanating from the light guiding plate 3 becomes uniform. The light emanating from the light guiding plate 3 passes through the liquid crystal display panel 1, where the transmittance thereof is controlled by the driver circuit according to an image signal, and thereby an image is displayed on a display screen 1a of the liquid crystal display panel 1.
This thin-type liquid crystal display device 301, however, suffers from brightness unevenness such that the light guiding plate-retaining portions 6a block the light that is to enter the end faces of the light guiding plate 3, causing the portions where the light is blocked to appear as dark shades on the display screen 1a. This is particularly conspicuous in an edge light system in which the light sources 2 are arranged in a substantially L-shape along two adjoining end faces of the light guiding plate 3. The reason is that, due to the shape of the light guiding plate-retaining portion 6a of the housing 6, a large proportion of the light that is to enter the light guiding plate 3 is blocked by the light guiding plate-retaining portion 6a.

Lighting unit and liquid crystal display device using the unit

Toshiba Matsushita Display Technology Co., Ltd.


A molded case circuit breaker modular line strap assembly allows three components to be selectively interconnected for the different circuit breaker ampere ratings. A single component being used with the lower ampere ratings with additional components being additively assembled to accommodate the increased ampacity requirements with the higher ampere ratings.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,754,247 entitled "Molded Case Circuit Breaker Accessory Enclosure" describes a so-called "integrated" circuit breaker that provides both circuit interruption as well as accessory function. This Patent should be reviewed for its disclosure of an accessory cover mounted on the circuit breaker cover for providing access to field-installable accessory devices. The integrated circuit breaker includes an integrated circuit electronic trip unit which allows one circuit breaker design to be used over a wide range of ampere ratings in combination with a rating plug, also mounted in the circuit breaker cover. The electronic trip unit is described within U.S. Pat. No. 4,589,052 and the rating plug is described within U.S. Pat. No. 4,649,455.
The use of common circuit breaker components over a wide variety of ampere ratings could provide a strain on the circuit breaker case in the vicinity of the line and load terminal straps upon short circuit interruption when operated at high ampere loadings. The large electrodynamic forces exerted between adjacent line terminal straps and between adjacent load terminal straps exert corresponding large stress forces to the underlying case to which the line and load terminal straps are secured. U.S. Pat. No. 4,975,667 describes a glass-filled plastic inset that provides added strength to the line and load terminal straps to thereby allow common circuit breaker components to be used over a wider range of circuit breaker ampere ratings without adding to the circuit breaker cost.
The increase in the cost of the copper and silver materials used to fabricate the line strap components is reflected in the overall circuit breaker component costs. To reduce the number of components that must be inventoried, a large line strap that is designed for a 1600 ampere circuit breaker is also used within an 800 ampere circuit breaker. Since the remaining components are common within both circuit breaker designs, it would be cost beneficial to provide a line strap design that can be assembled from common lower current components and additively assemble the components to accommodate for the higher current rating.
Accordingly, one purpose of the invention is to provide a circuit breaker line strap modular assembly whereby the line strap components are additively combined for each circuit breaker ampere rating.

Molded case circuit breaker modular line strap assembly


The present invention discloses a method of fabricating a multi-level interconnection on semiconductor substrate. A dielectric layer is formed on the substrate, and a first conductive layer is formed on the dielectric layer. An IMD layer is formed on the first conductive layer, a buffer layer is formed on the first IMD layer, a second conductive layer is formed on the buffer layer, and a second metal dielectric layer having a hole with a shallow trench is formed on the buffer layer. The width of the second conductive layer is the same with the width of the hole. A third conductive layer is formed, filling the shallow trench. The third conductive layer also contacts a sidewall of the hole and is accessible from the top of the second metal dielectric layer.

In order to build an integrated circuit, it is generally necessary to fabricate active devices on a single substrate. In addition, it is a long-standing goal in the integrated circuit industry to make the active devices as small as possible; i.e., scale the active devices. The aim of device scaling has been two-fold: (1) to increase circuit performance (increasing circuit speed); and (2) to decrease the size of the integrated circuits so as to allow an increase in the functional complexity of the circuit (i.e., make practical the fabrication of highly integrated, complex integrated circuits). Scaling down of active device sizes was a very effective means of achieving these goals. However, the scaling of active devices has become less effective, as the limitations of the circuit speed and maximum functional density come to depend more on the characteristics of the interconnects than on the scaled devices. Since current MOS and bipolar technology devices almost invariably require more than one level of interconnect, this dependency on the interconnects is more pronounced.
Before a circuit element formed in silicon or gallium arsenide can perform a useful function, it generally must be electrically connected with other elements on the same chip and most certainly must be connected with circuitry not on the same chip. An integrated circuit is by definition a number of electrically interconnected circuit elements on the same chip. Some of the interconnections are done in the silicon itself, but most are done by means of thin conductive stripes running across the top surface of the wafer.
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional method of fabricating a via (i.e., an interconnection between a conductor in one layer with a conductor in another layer) is described. The conventional method begins with a silicon wafer, preferably with a single crystalline substrate 10. After devices are formed on the semiconductor substrate 10 in a conventional manner, a dielectric layer 12 is formed on the substrate 10. The dielectric layer 12 is composed of BPSG (borophosphosilicate glass). Next, a first conductive layer 14 is formed on the dielectric layer 12. The conductive layer 14 is typically formed by deposition of a metal such as aluminum. A first inter-metal dielectric (IMD) layer 16 is then formed over the first conductive layer 14. Typically, the first IMD layer 16 is formed by depositing an oxide.
Subsequently, a second conductive layer is formed on the first IMD layer 16. Then, standard photolithography and etching steps are performed to form a conductive line 18 (shown in cross-section) on the top surface of the first IMD layer 16. It is understood that other conductive lines or regions (not shown) are also formed in the second conductive layer. Typically, the width of the conductive lines formed in the second conductive layer are about 0.25 mm-0.7 mm.
Referring to FIG. 2, a photoresist 22 having an opening or hole is formed in a conventional manner on the second IMD layer 20. The width of the opening is the same as the conductive line 18 formed in the second conductive layer. Ideally, the hole is perfectly aligned with the conductive line 18; however, such alignment is difficult to achieve. Instead, the hole is commonly partially misaligned with the conductive line 18 as shown in FIG. 2. An anisotropic etching step is then performed to form a via hole through the second IMD layer 20 to the conductive line 18. However, because the via hole is partially misaligned with the conductive line 18, the via hole penetrates the first IMD layer 16 to the first conductive layer 14.
As shown in FIG. 3, the anisotropic etching step creates a via hole 24 with a deep trench 26 to the surface of the first conductive layer 14. Because of the added depth of the trench 26, the via hole 24 has a relatively large aspect ratio. Subsequently, the photoresist is removed and a third conductive layer 28 is deposited on the second IMD layer 20 to fill the via hole 24 and then patterned and etched to form the via. Typically, this conductive layer is a metal layer or metal stack. However, the high aspect ratio of the via hole 24 causes the third conductive layer 28 to have poor step coverage. Consequently, the metal is deposited on the side wall of the second IMD layer 20 and does not completely fill the via hole. As is well known in the art of integrated circuit fabrication, the reduced amount of metal contacting the conductive line 18 undesirably increases the resistance of the via. In the worst case, the third conductive layer 28 short circuits the first conductive layer 14 to the conductive line 18.
To overcome this problem, conventional via fabrication methods typically increase the width of the portion of the conductive line 18 where a via is to be formed to allow for misalignment of the via hole with the conductive line 18. Of course, this wider portion or border causes the conductive line 18 to undesirably occupy more area. This increased area usage can become significant in integrated circuits having a large number of vias. In addition, these wider portions cause the conductive lines in a layer to be spaced farther apart than would be necessary if the conducive lines had no wide portions for vias. Thus, the wider portions undesirably cause a limitation in the degree of scaling possible for a given process. More specifically, even if the active devices can be made smaller, the wider portions in the conductive lines needed to form vias prevent the active devices from being more closely together.

Method for fabricating multi-level interconnection

Vanguard International Semiconductor Corp.


A vehicle recommendation device and a method for machine learning based recommendation of vehicle is provided. The vehicle recommendation device receives vehicle log data from a plurality of sensors associated with each of a first set of vehicles. The first set of vehicles are classified based on a set of vehicle types. The vehicle recommendation device generates vehicle trip data, associated with a plurality of trips of each of the first set of vehicles, based on the received vehicle log data. The vehicle recommendation device further determines a set of features, associated with the plurality of trips or with information about the first set of vehicles, based on the generated vehicle trip data. The vehicle recommendation device further generates a machine learning model which is trained based on the determined set of features to output a first type of vehicle from the set of vehicle types.

With advancements in the automobile industry, vehicles have evolved. Various vehicles may be suited for different types of people based on certain factors, for example, work, driving patterns, budget, personal preferences, etc. In certain situations, based on user inputs received about such certain factors, a customer support staff may provide a recommendation to those people to purchase a specific type of vehicle. The provided recommendation, however, may include human errors and may not be accurate due to subjective opinions or biases.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent through comparison of described systems as set forth in the remainder of the present disclosure and with reference to the drawings.

Machine learning based recommendation of vehicle


A management method for an IPv6 address for use in a gateway is provided. The method includes receiving a packet including an IPv6 address, extracting a MAC address from the IPv6 address of the packet, generating a compressed address by inserting a previously defined bit sequence into the MAC address, and storing the compressed address and the IPv6 address in a mapping table. The packet is received from a WPAN (Wireless Personal Area Network) node.

A wireless personal area network (WPAN) realizes a personal area network (PAN) in a wireless way. As a representative WPAN, there is known a wireless sensor network (WSN). WSN is a core technology as a basis of a ubiquitous network and has wide applications in various fields such as environment monitoring, medical systems, telematics, home networks, and logistics systems. Zigbee, which defines standards of upper layers including network layers based on the IEEE 802 15.4 MAC/PHY standard which is a standard technology applied to WSN, is designed to maintain low power consumption and low speed characteristics of IEEE 802.15.4.
Zigbee has a network layer based on non-IP, which does not directly interwork with an IP network. A Zigbee protocol method is inefficient because in order to communicate with an IP network, packets should be collected through certain collecting equipment and reprocessed in an application layer. If a sensor node in a terminal has an IP address, the sensor node can be individually accessed and naturally integrated with the most broadly constructed IP network. That is, without a collecting device or a relay device at an intermediate point, direct one-to-one communication becomes possible. As a technology for allowing interworking the WPAN and an external network to interact with each other by utilizing IPv6, there is known an IPv6 over low power wireless personal area network (6LoWPAN) of which standardization has been studied by the 6LoWPAN Working Group.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conceptual diagram of a network in which 6LoWPAN is implemented in accordance with a conventional technology.
With reference to FIG. 1, WPAN 10 is connected to an external IP network 20 via a gateway 30. In addition, IP communication is accomplished between a host existing on the IP network 20 and a device existing on the WPAN 10 based on Internet protocol. That is, on the network in which the 6LowPAN is implemented, if an IPv6 address is informed, a packet can be directly transmitted and received between an external host and an internal WPAN 10 node without needing to perform a conversion process of a communication protocol such as Zigbee.
In order to implement such a network, a node of the WPAN 10 has an IPv6 address. In order to generate an IPv6 address of a node, there is employed a method using an extended unique identifier (EUI)-64. An IPv6 address generated by EUI-64 is globally unique and can provide a mobile support between the WPAN 10 and the IP network 20.
However, the WPAN 10, in which PHY/MAC layers are defined by IEEE 802.15.4, uses small-sized packets. In consideration of the maximum size of information unit used by PHY/MAC in the WPAN 10, an IPv6/TCP or IPv6/UDP header and application data should be expressed within 80 bytes. As a result, in order to store as much data as possible in a single packet, the IPv6 packet header needs to be compressed.

IPV6 address management method and gateway performing the same


A synthesis process of trans-1,4-polyisoprene, using bulk precipitation polymerization of isoprene catalyzed by supported titanium catalyst TiCl4/MgCl2. The process includes prepolymerizing carried out in a prepolymerization reactor with an anchor agitator; polymerizing carried out in a polymerization reactor with a helical ribbon agitator; and devolatilizing and drying carried out in a vacuum rake dryer. Not only does the process require lower energy consumption and thus a lower production cost, but it also eliminates the emission of three wastes.

Trans-1,4-polyisoprene (TPI), which is also called synthetic Gutta percha, Gutta percha, Balata etc., is an isomer of universal natural rubber (NR) and isoprene rubber (IR). At room temperature, TPI has easy crystallinity and the melting point is merely about 60 degrees Celsius, so it can be used for medical fixed orthopedic materials and the like as a low melting point plastic. However, the TPI's molecular chain is essentially a flexible unsaturated chain containing carbon-carbon double bonds, thus it can be crosslinked by the same vulcanization method of unsaturated rubbers. If the crosslink density is lower, TPI is a thermotropic rubber elastomer, that is, it performs the elastomer feature over 60 degrees Celsius and crystallizates at room temperature, which can be used as shape memory functional materials; If the crosslink density is higher, TPI is turned into elastomer materials because crosslinking prevents crystallization. Such elastomer has advantageous characteristics as good dynamic performance, low heat-building, good fatigue tolerance, therefore it is a good material for manufacturing high performance tyres with green, energy saving and environmental conservation, and damping product of high speed trains and cars. So it can be seen that TPI is a plastic as well as a rubber, meanwhile it can be used as functional material, which is a new polymer material with a variety of applications.
Eucommia ulmoides Oliv. is a unique species in China, and the Gutta-percha can be extracted from the skin, leaves and seeds of Eucommia ulmoides. Ruifang Yan, researcher of Institute of Chemistry Chinese Academy of Sciences, has made a great deal of work on the development of Gutta-percha; the Gutta-percha which is also called Balata etc. has also been extracted from related plants. Because the contents are limited, and the extraction method is complicated, so the cost and price are high, and the applications are badly restricted.
The earliest patent for TPI synthesis was published in 1955 (British Patent Publication No. 834554 and Italian Patent Publication IT553904). From 1960s, Canada Polysar, UK Dunlop, Japan Kurary etc. successively built industrial devices for TPI synthesis, which are all small devices around several hundreds tons yearly. These devices all adopt a process of solution polymerization catalyzed by Vanadium catalyst system or Vanadium-Titanium mixed catalyst system, which is similar to the process of polybutadiene rubber. Due to the low catalysis activity (only 1-2 kg TPI/gV), complicated process, high energy and material consumption, small production scale, the cost of production is high. At present, the international market price of TPI is USD35/Kg, which is more than ten times higher than that of the ordinary rubber materials, thus very limits the market development of TPI to only special applications like medical materials etc. It is said that only a Japanese company is still producing TPI currently, which model is TP-301.

Industrial syntheses process of high tran-1, 4-polyisoprene

Qingdao Qust Fangtai Material Engineering Co., Ltd.


A honeycomb filter for purifying exhaust gases that is free from occurrence of cracks and coming-off of plugs and is superior in durability upon its use. The honeycomb filter includes a columnar body made of porous ceramics, which has a number of through holes placed in parallel with one another in the length direction with wall portion interposed therebetween, designed so that predetermined of the through holes are filled with plugs at one end of the columnar body, while the through holes not filled with the plugs at the one end are filled with plugs at the other end of the columnar body, and part of or the entire wall portion functions as a plug for collecting particles. A bending strength Fα (MPa) of the honeycomb filter and a length L (mm) of the plug in the length direction of the through hole satisfy the relationship of Fα×L≧30.

In recent years, particulates (fine particles) contained in exhaust gases discharged from internal combustion engines of vehicles such as buses, trucks and the like and construction machines have raised serious problems as these particles are harmful to the environment and the human body.
There have been proposed various ceramic filters which allow exhaust gases to pass through porous ceramics and collect particulates in the exhaust gases to purify the exhaust gases.
Conventionally, in the ceramic filter of this type, a number of through holes are placed in parallel with one another in one direction and wall portion that separates the through holes from each other functions as filters.
In other words, each of the through holes formed in the ceramic filter is sealed with a plug at either of ends of its exhaust gas inlet side or outlet side so as to form a so-called checkered pattern; thus, exhaust gases that have entered one through hole are discharged from another through hole after having always passed through partition wall that separates the through holes from each other. Consequently, when the exhaust gases pass through the partition wall, the particulates are captured by the portion of the partition wall to be purified.
As such a purifying process for exhaust gases progresses, particulates are gradually accumulated on the partition wall that separates the through holes of the honeycomb filter from each other to cause clogging and the subsequent interruption in gas permeability.
In order to solve this problem, there has been developed a honeycomb filter of a back-washing system, which, after having collected particulates, forms a gas flow in a direction reversed to the flow-in direction of exhaust gases so as to remove the particulates; however, this system requires a complex structure, and fails to provide a practical system (see JP Kokai Hei 7-332064).
For this reason, the above-mentioned honeycomb filter needs to be regularly subjected to a recycling process in which the particulates that cause clogging are burned and removed by using heating means such as a heater or the like to regenerate the filter.
Here, in the conventional honeycomb filter having the above-mentioned structure, the region capable of purifying the exhaust gases (hereinafter, referred to as a filtration capable region) corresponds to the inner wall of the through hole that is opened on the exhaust gas flow-in side. In order to maintain the filtration capable region as wide as possible in the honeycomb filter and also to keep the back pressure upon collection of particulates at a low level, it is profitable to make the length of a plug in the length direction of the through hole as short as possible.
Moreover, in the case where the porosity of the honeycomb filter is low, the back pressure becomes higher quickly upon collecting the particulates, with the result that the above-mentioned recycling process using the heating means such as a heater or the like needs to be carried out frequently; therefore, an attempt to make the porosity of the honeycomb filter higher has been made conventionally.
In recent years, another technique has been proposed in which, in place of the above-mentioned recycling process of the honeycomb filter using the heating means such as a heater or the like, by allowing the honeycomb filter to support an oxidizing catalyst in its pores, hydrocarbon contained in exhaust gases that flow into the honeycomb filter is made to react with the oxidizing catalyst, then heat generated through this reaction is utilized for the recycling process. In the honeycomb filter that carries out the recycling process in this manner, it is necessary to increase the porosity thereof, because the oxidizing catalyst is supported on the inside of each pore of the honeycomb filter so that the pore becomes more likely to cause clogging due to particulates, and because the oxidizing catalyst needs to be supported as much as possible in order to generate a large amount of heat, or other reasons.
By increasing the porosity of the honeycomb filter in this manner, it becomes possible to prevent the back pressure from becoming higher, to provide a superior particulate collecting property, and also to allow the filter to support a large amount of oxidizing catalyst.
However, the increase in the porosity of the honeycomb filter causes a reduction in the strength of the honeycomb filter itself. For this reason, when an exhaust gas purifying apparatus, to which the honeycomb filter is attached, is installed in an exhaust gas passage of an internal combustion engine such as an engine or the like, and actually used, cracks tend to occur in the partition wall due to an impact caused by a pressure and the like from the exhaust gases.
Moreover, as described above, the plug to be injected into the end of the through hole is formed to have the length in the length direction of the through hole, which is set as short as possible, in order to maintain the filtering capable region as wide as possible; however, the honeycomb filter of this type has a small contact area between the plug and the partition wall, resulting in a reduction in the adhesion strength of the plug to the partition wall (see JP Kokai 2003-3823).
Here, the portion of the partition wall in which the plug is injected on the outlet side of exhaust gases corresponds to a portion that is to have a highest impact from the pressure and the like from the exhaust gases; consequently, in the case of the honeycomb filter having a reduced bending strength due to the above-mentioned increased porosity, the partition wall in which the plug is injected is more likely to cause: occurrence of cracks due to an impact caused by a pressure and the like from the exhaust gases; and the subsequent coming-off of the plug, resulting in degradation in the durability.

Honeycomb filter for clarifying exhaust gas


In a case, a branch circuit unit, a multifunction relay unit and a relay unit are stored, being subsequently arranged in parallel. The branch circuit unit is composed of a laminated body of a bus bar and an insulating board, and a first printed board provided with a conductor on the both front and rear planes. The multifunction relay unit is provided with a second printed board whereupon an electric component is mounted, and a relay connector which connects the conductors of the first to the third printed boards. An external connecting terminal is protruded from the conductor of the second printed board and is protruded into a connector fitting part provided on the case. The relay unit is mounted with a plurality of relays on the third printed board.

Owing to a rapid increase of electric and electronic parts to be mounted on a car body, there is an increase in the number of electric junction boxes, to be connected with a wire harness for use in the car body, which accommodates a printed-circuit board having electric and electronic parts mounted thereon.
The electric junction box of this kind in which an internal circuit is constructed of a bus bar laminate consisting of bus bars and insulating plates alternately layered thereon and a printed-circuit board having electronic parts mounted thereon is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-233650 (patent document 1) and the like.
As shown in FIG. 6, the electric junction box 1 disclosed in the patent document 1 accommodates in the casing thereof the laminate 4 consisting of the bus bars 2 and the insulating plates 3 alternately layered thereon and the circuit substrate (printed-circuit board) 6 having the electronic parts 5 mounted thereon. The supporting bus bar tabs 2a projected from the bus bars 2 support the circuit substrate 6. The connecting bus bar 2b projected from the bus bars 2 is inserted into the connector 6a provided on the circuit substrate 6 to electrically connect the bus bars 2 with the electric conductor of the circuit substrate 6.
As described above, the circuit of the printed-circuit board is connected with the bus bars through the connector and with a connector of a wire harness of an external circuit through the bus bars. Therefore with an increase of relays and the like to be mounted on the printed-circuit board, the number of layers of the bus bars increases. Consequently the electric junction box becomes large and complicated in its construction.
Patent document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-233650


Aspects of the present disclosure describe systems, methods, and structures for aberration correction of optical phased arrays that employ a corrective optical path difference (OPD) in the near-field of an OPA to correct or cancel out aberrations in emitted beams of the OPA including those reaching far-field distances by generating a spatially-varying OPD across the aperture of the OPA that is substantially equal and opposite to an equivalent OPD of the aberration(s).

As is known, optical phased arrays (OPAs) have proven useful for transmitting and receiving diffraction limited laser light. As OPAs find utility in applications that transmit and receive laser light over long distances such as free space optical communications and LiDAR however, it becomes difficult to maintain diffraction limited beams due—in part—to environmental and fabrication non-idealities. Accordingly, methods, and structures that provide aberration correction of optical phased arrays would represent a welcome addition to the art.

Aberration correction of optical phased arrays


A method for preparing a vaccine composition to be implemented in a locally administered treatment for avian viral disease, includes at least the step of: a) extemporaneously mixing a vaccine, including at least one live virus selected from a virus belonging to one or more strains of the avian disease, with an adjuvant diluent (DA), characterized in that the adjuvant diluent is a continuous aqueous phase oil-in-water emulsion or oil-in-water microemulsion.

Avian infectious bronchitis is an acute and contagious disease which affects poultry mainly through respiratory symptoms. The avian infectious bronchitis virus (or IBV) is a member of the Coronavirus genus, family Coronaviridae, order Nidovirales. This single-stranded RNA virus has a strong capacity for evolution, and the viral particles can survive for a period of one month in the outside environment. IBV affects poultry of all ages and does not target only the respiratory tracts. Indeed, IBV replicates first of all in the trachea and can subsequently spread throughout the body of the affected fowl, affecting various internal organs.
Morbidity is high and mortality can vary according to farms, to farming conditions and also to sites of bacterial superinfections.
The clinical signs are of the following types:                respiratory (coughing, tracheal rales, swollen sinuses, conjunctivitis, etc.);        reproductive (decrease in egglaying, production of eggs with thin, deformed or colored shells);        renal, intense thirst, etc.
IBV is transmitted especially by the respiratory pathway, or via aerosols. The virulent materials are made up of nasal discharge and droppings. Transmission is horizontal, directly (from sick birds to sensitive birds), or indirectly (via water, material, etc.).
IBV is sensitive to most disinfectants, but the best means of containment consists of vaccination allied to taking biosafety steps (decontamination steps, disinfection steps, etc.).
Vaccination consists in inoculating the species to be protected with an amount of killed pathogen (inactivated vaccine) or pathogen of which the virulence has been reduced (live attenuated vaccine) in order to trigger a biological response in the host, protecting it during the subsequent occurrence of the disease.
Live vaccines are generally sufficiently effective so as not to require the use of adjuvants.
A vaccine adjuvant is an excipient which amplifies the biological response against the antigen with which it is combined. Mention will be made, for example, of aluminum hydroxide, and the oily adjuvants sold under the name Montanide™ by the company SEPPIC. These adjuvants are of various natures. They can just as well consist of liposomes, of emulsions comprising at least one oily phase and at least one aqueous phase, of the "Freund's" adjuvant type, or more commonly of water-insoluble inorganic salts. Among the inorganic salts used as vaccine composition adjuvants, mention may, for example, be made of aluminum hydroxide, cerium nitrate, zinc sulfate, colloidal iron hydroxide or calcium chloride. Aluminum hydroxide is the adjuvant most commonly used. These inorganic salts used as vaccine composition adjuvants are described in particular in the article by Rajesh K. Gupta et al., "Adjuvants, balance between toxicity and adjuvanticity", Vaccine, vol. 11, Issue 3, 1993, pages 293-306.
Vaccines can be administered by injection (subcutaneous or intramuscular injection) or locally (mass vaccination by nebulization, addition to the drinking water for contact with the beak and nostrils and the oculonasal complex, for example). Vaccination by injection, even if it proves to be effective, has the drawback of not being suitable for the economic context of poultry farms (high labor cost), and it also causes stress in the poultry treated, which, in the case of egg-layers, can lead to disruptions in egglaying following the physical trauma caused by the injection.
The use of effective adjuvants in vaccine compositions, and in vaccine compositions intended for preventing the occurrence of infectious bronchitis, makes it possible:                to increase the strength of the protective response, making it possible to provide a better level of protection;        to prolong the duration of the protection conferred by a vaccine dose, providing longer-lasting protection of the animals in farms throughout their growth;        to provide sufficient protection with a single treatment when two treatments were necessary in the absence of these immune response amplifiers. The saving is then in the number of doses to be injected (halved), the handling of the animals (labor) and the stress caused during the handling of the animals (also halved);        to have the possibility of obtaining, with a lower antigenic dose, an efficacy equivalent to that conferred by a complete dose used without adjuvant. Thus, the vaccine production plant will, with the same productive capacity, be capable of producing a higher number of vaccine doses. Likewise, an existing packaging may be proposed for vaccinating a larger number of animals.
No adjuvant is described or used at the current time during the implementing of vaccination techniques by local administration using live vaccines.
There is a need to develop diluents which also have the adjuvant function for improving the immune response as described above. These compositions are referred to as adjuvant diluents (ADs).
The main difficulty encountered in the development of an AD is the ability of said adjuvant diluent (AD) to keep the live vaccine alive so that it retains its immunogenic properties.
An important element of the development of adjuvants for live vaccines lies in the specificity of the adjuvant formulations for not killing the live microorganisms constituting the vaccine antigens when they are brought into contact before injection. ADs exist on the market (such as, for example, tocopheryl acetate from the company Intervet included in Diluvac Forte®) and are recommended for certain live vaccines.
Furthermore, a live vaccine is known in French patent application FR 2 385 401.
However, this live vaccine is not prepared with adjuvant substances. It has up until now been taken as read that the greater immune response could be produced with a live vaccine, for example, by increasing the content of virus, or by using a more immunogenic strain.

SOCIETE D'EXPLOITATION DE PRODUITS POUR LES INDUSTRIES CHIMIQUES SEPPIC


A mold member 5 packaging a capacitor element 2 is in the form of a generally rectangular parallelepiped whose length L is greater than the width W and the height H. The mold member 5 includes an opposite pair of side surfaces extending in the direction of the length L, and an anode lead terminal 3 is arranged at an anode-side one 5a of the longitudinally-extending side surfaces, whereas a cathode terminal 4 is arranged at a cathode-side one 5b of the longitudinally-extending side surfaces. The chip body 6 is in the form of a generally rectangular parallelepiped elongated in the direction of the length L of the mold member 5. The lead terminals 3 and 4 are elongated in the direction of the length L of the mold member 5. Of an opposite pair of longitudinally-extending side surfaces of the chip body 6, an anode side one 6a is provided with a plurality of anode bars 7 juxtaposed and projecting therefrom. The capacitor element 2 is arranged between the lead terminals 3 and 4 so that the orientation C1 corresponds to the direction of the width W of the mold member 5.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a solid electrolytic capacitor using valve metal such as tantalum or niobium, and particularly relates to a solid electrolytic capacitor including a pair of lead terminals for mounting the capacitor on a mount object such as a printed circuit board.
2. Description of the Related Art
JP-A-2004-172527, for example, discloses a solid electrolytic capacitor to be mounted on a mount object such as a printed circuit board. For the convenience of explanation, the solid electrolytic capacitor disclosed in the document is shown in FIG. 7 of the present application, and generally indicated by reference sign 31. (The reference sign is added by the applicant of the present application.)
The solid electrolytic capacitor 31 includes a capacitor element 32 comprising a prismatic or columnar porous chip body 36 made by sintering valve metal powder such as tantalum or niobium powder and an anode bar 37 projecting from an end surface of the chip body 36. A dielectric film (not shown) having high insulation property is formed on the surfaces of the metal particles constituting the chip body 36, and a solid electrolytic layer (not shown) is formed on the dielectric film. Further, a cathode film 38 is formed on the solid electrolytic layer at the outer circumferential surface of the chip body 36. An anode lead terminal 33 is fixedly and electrically connected to the anode bar 37, whereas a cathode lead terminal 34 is fixedly and electrically connected to the cathode film 38 on the outer circumferential surface of the chip body 36. The capacitor element 32 is packaged in a generally prismatic mold member 35 made of a thermosetting synthetic resin so that the two lead terminals 33 and 34 are exposed at the bottom surface side. The lead terminals 33 and 34 are soldered onto a printed circuit board, for example.
The size of the mold member 35 is length L×width W×height (thickness) H=about 7.3 mm×about 4.3 mm×about 2.8 mm, and corresponds to the D case size of JIS. Thus, the mold member 35 of the related art is in the form of a generally rectangular parallelepiped (generally prismatic) whose length L is greater than the width W and the height H.
The mold member 35 includes a pair of end surfaces 35c and 35d extending in the width direction, at which the anode lead terminal 33 and the cathode lead terminal 34 are arranged, respectively. The capacitor element 32 is arranged between the lead terminals 33 and 34 so that the direction of projection of the anode bars 37 (orientation C0 of the capacitor element 32) corresponds to the longitudinal direction of the mold member 35 (See FIG. 7).
Recently, a solid electrolytic capacitor having a small size and a large capacitance is strongly demanded, and further, a decrease in not only the equivalent series resistance (ESR) but also in the equivalent series inductance (ESL) is demanded for improving the performance of a capacitor at a high frequency range. The equivalent series inductance increases as the length of the conductor through which current flows increases. On the other hand, the equivalent series resistance is generally inversely proportional to the surface area of a portion of the solid electrolytic layer which does not come into contact with the dielectric film (surface area of the non-contact portion). In the prior art solid electrolytic capacitor 31, the surface area of the non-contact portion is generally equal to the outer surface area of the chip body 36.
As will be understood from the above description, to reduce the equivalent series inductance of the solid electrolytic capacitor 31, the distance between the lead terminals 33 and 34 through which current flows need be shortened as much as possible. However, in the prior art solid electrolytic capacitor 31, the lead terminals 33 and 34 are arranged respectively at opposite end surfaces 35c and 35d extending in the width direction of the mold member 35 (i.e. spaced from each other in the longitudinal direction of the mold member 35), and the orientation c0 of the capacitor element 32 corresponds to the longitudinal direction of the mold member 35. With such an arrangement, the distance between the lead terminals 33 and 34 (distance through which current flows) becomes long, whereby the equivalent series inductance is relatively high.
When the distance between the lead terminals 33 and 34 is simply reduced to reduce the distance through which current flows, the overall length of the capacitor element 32 (the distance from the distal end of the anode bar 37 to the end surface of the chip body 36 which is opposite from the anode bar 37) cannot help being shortened, which results in the reduction of the outer dimension (volume) of the chip body 36. In such a case, the outer surface area of the chip body 36 decreases to increase the equivalent series resistance, and the capacitance of the capacitor element 32 decreases.
Moreover, since the outer dimensions of this kind of solid electrolytic capacitor 31 (size of the mold member 35) are standardized, the degree of freedom of design is small. Therefore, in the prior art structure in which the orientation c0 of the capacitor element 32 corresponds to the longitudinal direction of the mold member 35, it is difficult to reduce the distance between the lead terminals 33 and 34 while ensuring the sufficient volume of the chip body 36 of the capacitor element 32.


A vascular closure system includes an expandable anchor, a sealing material, a sealing tip, and a sealing tip release member. The expandable anchor is temporarily positioned through a vessel puncture within a vessel. The sealing material is positioned outside of the vessel and configured to seal the vessel puncture. The sealing tip is positioned distal of the anchor and releasable within the sealing material upon removal of the anchor and sealing tip through the sealing material. The sealing tip release member is operable to release the sealing tip without application of a tactile force.

Various surgical procedures are routinely carried out intravascularly or innaluminally. For example, in the treatment of vascular disease, such as arteriosclerosis, it is a common practice to access the artery and insert an instrument (e.g., a balloon or other type of catheter) to carry out a procedure within the artery. Such procedures usually involve the percutaneous puncture of the artery so that an insertion sheath may be placed in the artery and thereafter instruments (e.g., catheters) may pass through the sheath to an operative position within the artery. Intravascular and intraluminal procedures unavoidably present the problem of stopping the bleeding at the percutaneous puncture after the procedure has been completed and after the instruments (and any insertion sheaths used therewith) have been removed. Bleeding from puncture sites, particularly in the case of femoral arterial punctures, is typically stopped by utilizing vascular closure devices.
While there are a variety of prior art devices and techniques for closing such punctures, one method includes temporarily sealing the tissue puncture intravascularly using an inflation balloon. A sealing material may be delivered to an outer surface of the tissue to seal the tissue puncture while the temporary seal from the balloon is maintained. Removing the collapsed balloon through the sealing material may leave a tract through the sealing material. Challenges may exist in closing the tract.

Bioresorbable tip with low force release and methods


A circuit breaker includes a housing equipped with a first switchgear region, in which a quenching chamber device and a sliding contact device having movable contacts are located, the contacts lying opposite fixed contacts, and equipped with a second switchgear region, in which a current release assembly consisting of a short-circuit release and an overload release are located. In an embodiment, a continuous ventilation channel is formed within opposing housing walls along the fixed contacts, the channel acting as a first convective air-flow through the circuit breaker in order to dissipate the heat.

Circuit breakers, in particular low-voltage circuit breakers, are electromagnetic automatic switches in the event of a short circuit. Their manner of operation corresponds, in principle, to the manner of operation of miniature circuit breakers. They are usually equipped with a thermal release and a magnetic release and therefore have the same design elements as miniature circuit breakers. However, they are designed for relatively high rated currents, and the releases of circuit breakers, in contrast to miniature circuit breakers, can furthermore be adjusted partially separately. The switches are also used as motor protection switches in the low-voltage range.
The task of the circuit breaker is to protect downstream installations and, in particular, three-phase motors against damage due to overloading or short-circuiting. In this case, the aim is for the circuit breaker to interrupt these currents in conjunction with the devices of the mains contactor. If gas is present between the two poles, it is ionized by the flashover when there is a correspondingly high voltage difference between the poles, and a self-maintained gas discharge, which is also called an arc, is formed. This plasma not only continues to conduct current but also reduces the service life of the component and may even destroy the switch given heavy currents. In contrast to disconnection devices, circuit breakers are designed such that the arc which is produced when the switching contacts are opened is quenched rapidly and without damaging the switch and, as a result, the current flow is interrupted.
Circuit breakers are developed in various installation sizes. In this case, an installation size is made up of device variants with a series of rated currents which expediently build on one another, wherein the power loss is approximately proportional to the square of the rated current. The device variant with the highest rated current at a given installation size is determined by, even for this current, the power loss conversion given a corresponding housing volume being maintained for the requirements of the switching device over its service life without disadvantageous consequences. If even higher rated currents are desired, a larger design is developed. However, from a customer's point of view, it is desirable to drive the maximum rated current within an installation size even higher. In order to achieve this, measures can be taken in order to make the dissipation of heat from the housing volume technically more efficient.
In principle, there are two options for dealing with high temperatures within a protective housing on account of unavoidable electrical power loss. From amongst said options, one option makes provision for all materials to be optimized to such an extent that they meet their functional requirements even at a high temperature level. However, this is a very costly solution.
The other option is to force the generated heat to be dissipated from the housing by technical measures. For electronic products, active cooling measures by way of housing fans, a heat pipe arrangement or even coolant circuits are known from the prior art. In order to be able to also dissipate large quantities of locally generated heat in this way, the quantities of heat are distributed over large areas by use of heat sinks.
Heat sinks of this kind are unsuitable for electromechanical switchgears. In this case, in addition to the connection lines, the heat is mainly dissipated via the freely accessible surfaces of the device, essentially the top side, feed side and device output side. In practice, this often leads to a high device temperature level and to disadvantageous, relatively concentrated heat pockets on account of the long heat path.

Circuit breaker comprising ventilation channels for efficient heat dissipation


Microwave popcorn articles which upon microwave heating provide popcorn having enlarged salt particles that provide popped popcorn more reminiscent of at-home, stove-top prepared popped popcorn. The articles comprise any conventional microwave popcorn bag, kernel popcorn, fat and salt. At least 50% of the salt is essentially characterized by an enlarged particle size having a mean particle size of >400 .mu.m. Included are methods of preparing such microwave popcorn articles are disclosed wherein the coarse salt is added in a separate step after the fat and kernel popcorn have been added to the bag.

Popcorn is a highly popular snack food item. In the past, the at-home preparation of popcorn by the consumer involved adding kernel popcorn plus a cooking oil to a covered pot and heating until the popcorn kernels popped to make popcorn. As used herein, "kernel popcorn" refers to unpopped popcorn. The noun "popcorn" or synonymously "popped popcorn" refers herein to popped kernel popcorn. The adjective "popcorn" can refer to either. Once prepared, common, relatively coarse, table salt is a frequently added flavoring or condiment. The resultant salted popped popcorn is a familiar snack food.
More recently, microwave popcorn products have become extremely popular. At present, in the U.S., over 70 different brands of microwave popcorn products are available. In general, the more popular microwave popcorn products comprise an expandable paper bag containing a charge of kernel popcorn, fat and salt. The microwave popcorn article is adapted to be heated in a microwave oven for three to five minutes to produce the popped popcorn. More recently, improved microwave popcorn articles have been fabricated employing a metallized susceptor which facilitates the heating of the kernel popcorn-fat charge and which, in turn, leads desirably to increases in popcorn volume and decreases in unpopped kernels. Microwave popcorn articles of this type are described in detail in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,450,180 (issued May 22, 1984 to J. D. Watkins and incorporated herein by reference).
Microwave popcorn articles, of course, comprise a microwave popping bag and a charge of kernel popcorn, fat, and, usually, salt. Certain early patents taught the addition of kernel popcorn, fat and salt in the form of a prefabricated toroid or doughnut shaped piece. The piece was fabricated by mixing the kernel popcorn, salt and melted fat to form a blend and the blend was allowed to cool and harden into the toroid shape desired. These circular pieces were then dropped into the desired chamber of the popcorn bag prior to final sealing. (See for example U.S. Pat. No. 4,450,180, issued May 22, 1984).
Contemporary methods of filling microwave popcorn bags, however, employ a different filling process and technique. (See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,604,854 entitled Machine For Forming, Filling and Sealing Bags, issued Aug. 12, 1986 to D. W. Andreas). The microwave bags having an unsealed open end are advanced to a first kernel popcorn filling station. While being maintained in an open position, the kernel popcorn is charged to the desired channel. Thereafter, the bags are advanced to a second filling station at which the fat/salt slurry is added to the bag. Typically, the slurry is added in the form of a vertically dispensed pencil jet (i.e., a confined stream) of the slurry. Single station filling methods are also known that involve applying the fat/salt slurry as a spray onto the kernel popcorn as the kernel popcorn falls into the bag. (See, for example WO 95/01105 entitled "Reduced Fat Microwave Popcorn and Method of Preparation" published Jan. 12, 1995, or, equivalently, U.S. Pat. No. 5,960,979 issued Nov. 25, 1997) which is incorporated herein by reference. Such single station filling techniques are especially useful for the preparation of low fat microwave popcorn products.
The bags now containing both kernel popcorn and slurry are then advanced to a sealing station where the bags are provided with a top seal to complete the closure of the bag. The sealed popcorn bags are advanced to subsequent finish packaging operations which complete the folding of the bags, providing the bags with an overwrap, and inserting appropriate numbers of the bags into cartons, etc.
Whether added simultaneously with the kernel popcorn or afterwards, conventional methods involve adding the salt as part of the slurry in order to assure evenness of distribution and the minimization of the likelihood of creating hot spots due to salt clumping. Also, in order to aid suspension of the salt in the melted fat and to avoid plugging of the orifice of the pencil jet nozzle, the salt employed is in the form of a fine powder or flour salt.
The contemporary method for filling popcorn bags involving the sequentially filling (i.e., not at the same time and station) of kernel popcorn and then the slurry is well suited for those conventional microwave popcorn articles.
While employment of finely powdered salt is useful in connection with conventional microwave popcorn articles, there is a present desire for microwave popcorn products more reminiscent of "homestyle" popped popcorn seasoned by larger sized, more granular table salt. However, a variety of problems arise when such coarse crystallized salt is used in the conventional two-step sequential filling step process or a single station filling method.
A first problem can reside in the slurry viscosity. The slurry viscosity rises rapidly as more particulates are added. If an additional particulate is desired to be added to the slurry such as for flavor or mineral fortification, then addition of requisite amounts of salt to the slurry results in a slurry having a paste consistency and a viscosity too high to pump.
A second problem is plugging of the orifice of the pencil jet nozzle used to charge the slurry to the bag that can occur when a larger sized salt particle is added to the slurry. While plugging is a problem when salt alone is added to the slurry, such plugging problems are compounded when the slurry contains supplemental particulates.
Still another problem with adding coarse salt to the slurry is that coarse salt is more likely than flour salt to settle out from the slurry in the make-up kettle prior to charging the slurry to the microwave popcorn bag. As a possible result, the uniformity of the amount of salt added to the bag can vary widely. Some bags will have too much salt while others too little.
Still another problem associated with adding coarse salt to the slurry is that finished microwave popcorn articles upon subsequent microwave heating preparation might exhibit undesirable hotspots due to excessive localized salt build-ups. Such hot spots in turn can result in excessive heating and burning of the popped popcorn.
Given the state of the art as described, there is a continuing need for new and improved microwave popcorn articles of enhanced consumer appeal. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide new and improved microwave popcorn articles.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a microwave popcorn article having a salt component wherein the salt present is characterized by an enlarged coarse particle size which upon microwave heating can provide a popped finished popcorn product more reminiscent of homestyle popped popcorn, topped with table salt.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide microwave popcorn articles which upon microwave heating produce popcorn having salt distributions which are relatively more heterogeneous within a single bag than conventionally prepared flavor salt bearing microwave popcorn but consistent homogeneous distribution from one bag to the next.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide improved commercially practical filling methods for use in manufacturing microwave popcorn products having coarse salt.
Another object of the present invention is to provide improved methods of filling microwave popcorn bags with kernel popcorn, fat, and coarse salt that minimize the problem of fouling of the orifice of the fat application pencil jet nozzle.
It has been surprisingly discovered that the above objectives can be realized and that microwave popcorn articles can be provided that exhibit novel consumer appeal. In the preferred embodiment, the present invention resides in part in the separate, sequential filling of kernel popcorn, fat and coarse salt at their individual respective filling stations. By applying the kernel popcorn/fat/salt separately in the particular sequence in combination with selecting salt of a particular particle size range, improved microwave popcorn articles are achieved. Such improved microwave popcorn articles yield organoleptic improvements in the popped product in that the product is more reminiscent of homestyle popped popcorn which is topped with table salt.

Microwave popcorn with coarse salt crystals and method of preparation


A received signal (310) includes information symbols ("D's") including equidistant symbols that are equidistant from the origin of a complex plane. The D's and corresponding interference signals ("I's") are formed (403) and the quantity of equidistant symbols determined (407). A desired signal portion average is based (409) on the received signal. When the quantity of equidistant symbols exceeds a threshold, an undesired signal portion average is based (413) exclusively on the I's corresponding to the equidistant symbols. Otherwise, the undesired signal portion average is based (423) on the I's corresponding to all received D's, including the equidistant symbols. A received signal quality value is then based on a ratio of the desired signal portion average and the undesired signal portion average.

Radio frequency communication systems typically include one or more base stations and one or more subscriber units. As is known, each such base station and subscriber unit contains a receiver unit. It is known to arrange such a receiver unit to determine a quality value for the received signal of its current channel, as well as a quality value for the received signal for each of one or more adjacent channels. It is then possible to decide which channel to use based on comparing the quality values for the corresponding received signals. If a channel offering increased received signal quality is found (the "preferred channel"), the subscriber unit then leaves its current channel and moves to the preferred channel, thereby achieving a better received signal. This process is called a "hand-over".
In today's radio frequency systems, there are several ways to determine a quality value for a received signal. For example, a first approach is to determine the bit error rate. A second technique is to determine the total power of the signal, including the signal plus noise and interference.
Still another way to determine a quality value for a received signal is described in the aforementioned Birchler patent. Briefly, Birchler determines a received signal quality value by measuring the ratio of the signal to the sum of noise and interference. This technique allows the receiver unit to distinguish between a good channel with high signal power versus a bad channel with high interference.
A limitation of Birchler, however, is the maximum ratio of signal to noise-plus-interference-power is achieved even when the actual received signal quality is much better. As a result, a receiver unit cannot distinguish between a non-preferred channel offering a mediocre received signal quality and a preferred channel offering a substantially increased received signal quality. Because the receiver unit cannot identify the preferred channel, the receiver unit cannot take advantage of the substantially increased received signal quality offered by the preferred channel.
Another limitation of Birchler is that the received signal quality determination is dependent on the particular data symbols in the received signal. Thus, when certain data symbols are received, the received signal quality determination is lower than when other data symbols are received. This causes a large variance in the determinations and allows the receiver unit to misinterpret received signal quality. As a result, it is possible the subscriber unit will handover to a channel offering a degraded, rather than an improved, received signal quality.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved method for a receiver unit to determine a quality value for a received signal.

Method for a receiver unit to determine a quality value for a received signal


Disclosed is a method of discriminating materials by employing fast neutron and continuous spectral X-ray and an equipment for the same. The method comprising the steps of: (a) transmitting a fast neutron beam produced by a fast neutron source and a continuous spectral X-ray beam produced by a continuous spectral X-ray source through inspected objects; (b) directly measuring the intensity of the transmitted X-rays and the intensity of the transmitted neutrons by a X-ray detector array and a neutron detector array respectively; and (c) identifying the materials of the inspected object by Z-dependency curves formed by the attenuation differences between the neutron beam and X-ray beam transmitted through different materials of the inspected object. This direct measurement of transmitted dual-ray technique has much more efficient than secondary radiations measurement such as neutron activation analysis, has much more material discrimination sensitivity than dual-energy x-ray technique. The respective measurements of neutrons and x-rays make the usages of high detect efficiency neutron detectors and x-ray detectors possible. The using continuous spectral x-ray produced by Linac adds more advantages such as: high penetration ability, high spatial resolution, and high image quality over monoenergetic dual-ray technique.

The present invention is driven by the global terrorism threat. As the antiterrorism situation getting severe, the radiographic container inspection systems capable of automatically detecting explosive, drugs and other contraband become pressing desired. The existing material discrimination techniques for container and other voluminous objects inspection, such as: high and dual energy radiographic technique, PFNA and container inspection CT, show more and more important.
High and dual energy radiographic technique employs absorption variation between materials in the megavolt range due to the Compton Effect and Pair Production Effect to determine the effective atomic number of the irradiated objects, and accordingly to discriminate different materials. But there are some physical limitations: First, absorption variation is not big enough. Second, the high-energy spectrum partially overlapped with low energy spectrum, even with spectrum filtering only can solve part of problems. Third, measurement error degrades the discrimination effect. All this factors make the unsatisfied results, and sequentially high and dual energy system mainly used to identify "organic", "compound" and "inorganic" material in inspected container. Isotope source can provide monoenergetic gamma-ray which can solve the spectrum overlap problem, but penetration ability is too low to be used in container and other voluminous objects inspection system for material discrimination.
Present available PFNA systems, some have 3D material discriminating ability. But their spatial resolution is too big, throughput is too slow, and the price is too high. So PFNA can't dominate container inspection market at present and near future. Some NAA container inspection system using Cf-252 as neutron source can't be used for on-line real-time measurement, because only after the suspicious area having been detected by other equipment, the NAA measurement for suspicious area can be performed.
Container inspection CT system is giant and the throughput rate is too low to dominate container inspection market.
WO 2004/053472 discloses a radiographic equipment which directly measure transmitted monoenergetic fast neutron and monoenergetic gamma-ray. This equipment employs mass attenuation coefficient ratio to discriminate different materials, which can be used for detecting explosives, drugs and contraband. Comparing with high and dual energy X-ray technique, the direct measuring transmitted dual-ray technique has better material identification ability. Comparing with PFNA technique which measures secondary radiations such as neutron-induced gamma rays, the direct measuring transmitted dual-ray technique has much more efficient, especially has high penetration ability than thermal neutron. Comparing with container inspection CT, the dual-ray system is compact, low price and real-time measurement.
Unfortunately, the monoenergetic dual-ray system only can use isotope source, such as Co-60, as its gamma-ray source. Nevertheless, for containers or other voluminous objects inspection, the big disadvantage of isotope source is low penetration ability, low spatial resolution, poor image quality, and has radiation safety administration problems. This technique only provides low spatial resolution container transmission image, so is difficult to compete with Linac container inspection systems which provide high quality image. Since monoenergetic gamma-ray has low penetration ability, which limits its material identifying thickness as well, can't be used in case of fully-loaded container or thick objects inspection. All those defects limit its applications.

Method and equipment for discriminating materials by employing fast neutron and continuous spectral x-ray