Apparatus and methods for assembling together separate components, such as a first substantially flat sheet metal component to a second substantially flat sheet metal component, in substantially perpendicular relationship. A first latch component body may have an elongated displaceable latch member provided on a first edge of the first latch component body that is configured to be received and latchably retained within a latch reception opening of a second latch component body that is of complementary shape and dimensions to receive the displaceable latch member. The displaceable latch member may be displaced to an extended position while inserted within the latch reception opening to extend a first latch extension surface of the displaceable latch member outwardly and away from a second latch extension surface of the displaceable latch member such that the first latch extension surface latchably engages a first latch retention surface of the latch reception opening and such that the second latch extension surface latchably engages a second latch retention surface of the latch reception opening to latch the first latch component body to the second latch component body.

As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Separate components and materials have been joined together using a variety of different apparatus and methods. Examples of such apparatus and methods include surgical staples and apparatus configured to join automotive, building and appliance assemblies, and forming operations for joining seams or edges together. More particularly, parallel sheets of metal have been joined together for automotive and other industries using cylindrical rivet-like fasteners that extend perpendicularly from a first sheet of metal that may be provided in the form of a flange through a corresponding opening in an adjacent and parallel sheet of metal where the fastener is securely held in order to join the flange to the adjacent sheet of metal. Adjacent parallel sheets of metal have also been joined using a punch and die process to form a round projection joint that joins the material of the two adjacent parallel sheets of metal. Spot welding methods have also been employed to join adjacent parallel sheets of metal.
Metal sheets have also been assembled together as components of information handling systems, e.g., sheet metal walls and partitions are commonly used in chassis enclosures and for mounting components of an information handling system. For example, a first piece of sheet metal may be joined in perpendicular fashion to a second piece of sheet metal to form a mounting bay shelf for a desktop information handling system, which may be used to mount and support disk drives or other internal components of the information handling system. FIG. 1 illustrates one assembly method that has been employed to join a first metal sheet 102 in perpendicular orientation to a second metal sheet 104 during the assembly of a desktop information handling system. In the illustrated assembly of FIG. 1, the second metal sheet 104 may be taken to represent a supporting wall within an information handling system and the first metal sheet 102 may be taken to represent a cross-member or shelf of a mounting bay that is mounted perpendicular to second metal sheet 104 as shown. As shown in FIG. 1, second metal sheet 104 includes two spaced openings 110 that are provided to receive two spaced tabs 112 that are provided on an edge of first metal sheet 102. Second metal sheet 104 also includes a third opening 106 that is provided to receive twist tab 108 that is provided on the edge of first metal sheet 102. As shown, first sheet metal 102 is joined perpendicularly to second sheet metal 104 by insertion of tabs 112 into corresponding openings 110 and insertion of twist tab 108 into opening 106. When so inserted, tabs 112 serve to locate and orient first metal sheet 102 in a desired position relative to second metal sheet 104, and twist tab 108 serves to retain first metal sheet 102 in this inserted position relative to second metal sheet 104 when tab 108 is twisted as shown in FIG. 2. In this regard, twist tab 108 is provided with angled sides that contact and bind against the edges of slot 106 when tab 108 is twisted in a manner that serves to pull and retain first metal sheet 102 against second metal sheet 104.
FIG. 3 shows another assembly method that has been employed to join a first metal sheet 102 in perpendicular orientation to a second metal sheet 104 during the assembly of a desktop information handling system. As with the assembly of FIGS. 1 and 2, second metal sheet 104 of FIG. 3 also includes two spaced openings 110 that are provided to receive two spaced tabs 112 that are provided on an edge of first metal sheet 102. However, second metal sheet 104 also includes a third opening 118 that is provided to receive elongated tab segments 116 that are provided on the edge of first metal sheet 102. As shown, first sheet metal 102 is joined perpendicularly to second sheet metal 104 by insertion of tabs 112 into corresponding openings 110 and insertion of elongated tab segments 116 into opening 118. When so inserted, tabs 112 and 116 serve to locate and orient first metal sheet 102 in a desired position relative to second metal sheet 104. A rivet 114 is then inserted through opening 118 and used to secure first metal sheet 102 in this inserted position relative to second metal sheet 104. A cutout 120 is provided in the edge of first metal sheet 102 as shown to receive the body of rivet 114.

Apparatus and methods for assembling separate components


A method of modeling operational and/or logical aspects of a system in a system-of-systems environment. Modeling components of generic structure are used to obtain a logical model of the system. The logical model and the modeling components of generic structure are used to obtain related models targeted toward the aspects. The related models are implemented to determine effects of the aspects on the system and/or system-of-systems.

In current modeling environments, a variety of modeling tools are available that provide different ways of analyzing a system. Typically a single characteristic and/or view of a system is modeled to provide insight into a targeted aspect of the system. While such model output may provide results relative to the targeted aspect of the system, no visibility is provided into the impact of behavior associated with the targeted aspect on the behavior of the system as a whole. When modeling efforts are compartmentalized, it can be difficult and time consuming to analyze a large system. Modeling and analysis can be particularly difficult where the system is included in a system-of-systems (SoS).

Integrated system-of-systems modeling environment and related methods


A process for measuring the amount of mis-registration between first and second print heads of a digital printing machine and adjusting the print data sent to the machine. The process comprises a step of printing a calibration test page comprising overlapping registration targets created by the first and second print heads. The overlapping registration targets each comprise a target region comprising X and Y co-ordinates. The process further comprises a step of scanning the calibration test page to produce a bitmap image. The process further comprises a step of processing the bitmap image to produce a mis-registration score for each target region. The process further comprises a step of producing X and Y registration correction amounts for the second print head based upon the mis-registration scores. The process further comprises a step of adjusting the print data to the second printhead based upon the X and Y registration correction amounts.

Referring to FIGS. 1-2, a conventional off-set or digital printing system 100 using imaged metal plates or print heads generally includes a ripping system 102, a printing system 104, a scanning system 106, and a physical re-positioning system 108. Multiple ink printing involves the step of aligning the printing of each ink on the paper so they overlap as perfectly as possible, typically to within a thousandth of an inch. On printing system 100, registration is done by repositioning the individual imaged metal plates mounted on cylinders for each ink with respect to each other or the print heads for a digital printing machine. As shown in FIG. 2, as indicated by a block 202, system 100 comprises code to print a page having special vertical and horizontal registration targets suitable for use with special purpose high resolution cameras. As indicated by a block 204, system 100 comprises code to scan the registration targets using a high resolution camera to take digital images of the registration marks which ideally should overlap perfectly. Any shift between inks or separations will be shown by and included within the digital image to within a thousandth of an inch. As indicated by a block 206, system 100 comprises code to determine whether any correction of the print heads is needed. If no correction is needed, control is passed to a block 208 where system 100 ends this cycle of operation and waits for the next calibration cycle or request. If correction is needed, control is passed to a block 210 where system 100 comprises code to physically adjust the imaged metal plates by converting the mis-registration amounts into commands to the press hardware in order to reposition the imaged metal plates and/or change data timing so that the same print data will print differently. Control is then returned to block 202 where the cycle is repeated as frequently as necessary or desired. Digital printing presses, unlike traditional offset printing using imaged metal plates, have the unique ability to print every copy differently by sending different data to the print heads for each printing impression. To compensate for mis-registration, conventional digital printing presses physically adjust the position of the print heads for each ink and/or the relative timings of the print signals to the print head are adjusted. Subsequently, when the exact same print data is sent to the digital imaging machine, the registration of inks or separations appearing on the substrate is different and more accurate. However, physical movement of the print heads creates many problems, including down time of the printing press.

System and process for automatic print head registration of a digital printing machine


A method for estimating the state of health of an exchangeable rechargeable battery. The method includes: i. determining a remaining capacity of the battery during a charging operation, in such a manner, that a first charging value is ascertained by measuring an open-circuit voltage, as long as no charging current or only a minimal charging current is flowing; at least one further charging value is ascertained by measuring the charging current in specific time intervals, until the charging operation is completed; and a sum of the ascertained charging values is calculated; ii. determining a remaining performance of the battery during the charging operation in such a manner, that after a predefined battery voltage is reached, the charging current is briefly changed, and the respective battery voltage is measured; and an impedance of the battery is calculated from the quotient of the difference of the measured charging currents and battery voltages.

Rechargeable batteries are used in many areas, either permanently integrated in the device, or as an exchangeable rechargeable battery and/or exchangeable rechargeable battery pack. Generally, exchangeable rechargeable batteries are provided by the manufacturer for a specific use. However, exchangeable rechargeable batteries of the same power or voltage class may often be used for a variety of different devices, as well. This is the case, in particular, in the area of electric power tools, household appliances and garden tools. In the following, the terms battery, rechargeable battery, exchangeable rechargeable battery, or exchangeable rechargeable battery pack are to be understood as synonymous with regard to their technology and in the scope of the present invention.
The following parameters are characteristic of rechargeable batteries:                The cell technology (chemistry) used, such as Li-ion, Li-polymer, Li-metal, Ni—Cd, Ni-MH, etc.        The voltage (maximum/nominal/minimum voltage). It follows from the cell technology and from the number of battery cells, which are connected in series in the rechargeable battery.        The capacity. This is typically specified in ampere hours (Ah) and indicates the charge that the battery may contain. It is calculated from the ampere-hour capacity of a single battery cell and from the number of battery cells, which are connected in parallel in the rechargeable battery. At a given battery voltage, a higher capacity means that the battery may store more energy.        The performance. It is indicated, for example, as the maximum current that the battery may supply. Since the battery cells warm up in response to high currents and may only be operated in a particular temperature range, the performance of the battery may also be described by a current, which the battery may supply for a particular time or until completely discharged. The performance is a very strong function of the impedance (internal resistance) of the battery.
Capacity and performance may change over the service life of the rechargeable battery due to different ageing mechanisms. A rechargeable battery typically decreases in capacity and performance in the course of its life cycle, which has a direct influence on its "physical condition." The acute physical condition of a rechargeable battery is often referred to as its "state of health" (SOH).
Different methods for estimating the SOH are described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2018/0097370 A1, PCT Application No. WO 2014/196933 A1 and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2018/0088181 A2. However, the estimation of the state of health of exchangeable rechargeable batteries is associated with further difficulties, since their respective loadings and performance requirements differ greatly for some different devices and uses. To be sure, it is possible to measure the discharging current in the device and the charging current in the battery charger, but as a rule, the exact state of charge, at which the exchangeable rechargeable battery is plugged into the device or into the battery charger, is not known. Therefore, it is not possible to measure the remaining capacity precisely. Measuring the current directly in the exchangeable rechargeable battery would indeed be an alternative, but one having a high space requirement and associated with high costs, if the currents to be measured are high, which is the case, in particular, with heavy-duty electric power tools. If an exchangeable rechargeable battery is additionally intended to be suitable for a plurality of different devices, then this renders the estimation of the SOH considerably more difficult. Due to the different power requirements of the devices, the ageing of an exchangeable rechargeable battery may have several consequences:                Diminished remaining capacity. In this case, the expected operating time of a device may no longer be attained.        Decreased remaining performance due to an increase in the internal resistance. In this case, some devices (e.g., heavy-duty tools, such as angle grinders) only operate at reduced power or not at all.
An object of the present invention is to enable a precise estimation of the state of health of exchangeable rechargeable batteries during a charging operation. The subject matter of the present application also includes a battery charger and an exchangeable rechargeable battery, in particular, an exchangeable rechargeable battery pack for electric power tools, for carrying out the estimation of the SOH in accordance with the present invention.

Method and device for estimating the state of health of an exchangeable rechargeable battery


An electrical filter having first and second filter sections with respective sets of electrical filter components. These sets of electrical filter components include primary tuning coils which are arranged parallel to a reference axis. An electrical isolation shield is disposed on a reference plane between the first and second filter sections for electrically isolating the sections from one another, the reference plane being orthogonal to the reference axis. The unique configuration of the filter sections allows for the filter sections to be independently tuned while being physically and electrically isolated from one another. The filter sections are then coupled to one another both physically and electrically subsequent to the tuning operation.

The invention relates to a tunable electrical filter with multiple filter sections which may be used in a cable information system.
Conventional tunable filters or cable traps of the kind described are typically referred to as "tuned notch filters" which are utilized for removing frequency scrambling signals provided within, for example, a TV channel band to eliminate reception of that channel. This is referred to as positive trapping in the art. An exemplary scrambling system for cable television signals is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,074,311 issued to Tanner et al., incorporated herein by reference. These filters may also be utilized for negative trapping, which involves removing specific frequencies within the TV channel band, such as the video carrier, in order to prevent reception of the channel information.
Such tunable notch filters should be capable of approximately 80 dB of attenuation at the center frequency of the notch, and in all cases should be capable of 60 dB at the scramble signal frequency, the notch being sufficiently narrow to prevent serious degradation of the video information. In order to achieve such levels of notch attenuation, conventional filters have been designed with one or more filter sections which are employed in cascade to achieve the high attenuation required. Problems in these designs, however, arose due to the fact that the tuning of one filter section necessarily affects the electrical performance of the other filter sections because of magnetic coupling between the sections, which in turn increases the time required to tune the overall filter in cascade. One such example of a conventional tunable filter with multiple sections is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,451,803 issued to Holdsworth et al., incorporated herein by reference.
With reference now to FIG. 1, a conventional multi-section tunable filter 10 of the type described above is shown. The filter 10 includes first 11 and second 12 filter sections, each section respectively including circuit boards 13,14 which are magnetically isolated from one another by isolation shields 15,16, and separated by an isolation area IA. A connecting wire CW electrically connects the circuit boards of each section through the isolation area.
According to the filter illustrated, the first filter section 11 includes a female input terminal 17 and a female connector housing 19 connected to the circuit board 13. A primary coil-post assembly 25 and tuning components 27, e.g., capacitors and secondary coils, are provided on the circuit board 13 for tuning the filter section to a desired frequency notch, the primary coils being tuned by adjustment of tuning set screws 29. The assembled circuit board is enclosed by a female cap 21 which is soldered to the first isolation shield 15 at the open end thereof. The female cap includes an externally threaded port 23 for coupling to the information-carrying cable.
Similarly, the second filter section 12 includes a primary coil-post assembly 26, tuning components 28, and a male output terminal pin 18 provided on the circuit board 14. The circuit board 14 is housed within a male cap 22 with an internally threaded port 24. As with the female cap 21, the male cap includes through holes so that an operator may tune the filter section 12 via the primary coils by adjusting the set screws 30. A moisture barrier seal 20a and outer seal 20b are provided about the output terminal pin 18 in order to protect the filter section from moisture or vapor. It will be appreciated that the assembled filter sections 11 and 12 are inserted and sealed within an outer housing sleeve 31.
The use of filters with multiple filter sections requires that each section be magnetically isolated from one another in order to enhance the ease of tuning of the separate sections and to minimize the effects of tuning of one filter section on the tuning of the other. This magnetic isolation is accomplished by providing the isolation area IA between the filter sections, preferably with the use of spaced-apart isolation shields mounted between the filter sections. The isolation area disrupts magnetic fields which might couple the separate filter sections together, thus minimizing the effects of tuning one of the filter sections on the tuning of the other. Specifically, while the magnetic flux emanating from the sides of each coil within a given filter section does not disrupt the tuning characteristics of coils in the same section due to phase cancellation, the side flux emanations tend to disrupt the overall tuning characteristics of the filter if no shields are used.
Due to specified standards defined within the industry, specifically diameter limitations, conventional filter traps have typically been designed with an elongated housing. This elongation is due in part to achieving optimum distances between the tuning coils associated with each filter section. This separation distance is somewhat limited due to the constraints required for the width of the housing, while there are limited constraints on length. Furthermore, the conventional designs require an adequate isolation area, which may be a space between two shields or a relatively thick single shield, in order that the filter sections are properly isolated from one another.
With the number of channels being offered to subscribers continually increasing, it is advantageous to obtain filters of small physical size. Typically, one filter will be used for each channel to be blocked. As the need for more channels to be filtered increases, the number of filters used increases accordingly. This may create problems for cable television systems using enclosures having limited space for housing the filters and other associated equipment. The weight of the filters is also of concern since the equipments used to interface with the filters are normally capable of supporting minimal stress.
Another drawback to the conventional designs of filter traps in the prior art is the fact that typically the filter sections and their associated inner housings are coupled to one another prior to the tuning of each filter section. Therefore, while conventional designs allow for separate tuning of each filter section, the filter sections remain physically tied to one another. This is quite disadvantageous in situations where one of the filter sections is either inoperable or malfunctioning due to unforeseen circumstances. Unfortunately, since the sections are physically coupled to one another prior to the tuning, the entire assembly of both filter sections is unsalvageable. In those filters which have sections that are capable of being tuned separately and then coupled together, there is a further disadvantage in that the coupling configuration does not prevent access to the tuning screws. These screws are typically accessible from the longitudinal periphery of the filter sections when the outer sleeve is removed.
In addition, when filters of this type are deployed for use, they are typically exposed to an outdoor environment and should be self-protective against atmospheric conditions. When there is a fluctuation in temperature, the components housed within the filter expand and contract. Since the components are constructed from dissimilar materials, the coefficients of thermal expansion for these materials are not unified, thus leading to microscopic openings at the filter interface ports. These openings will allow the penetration of water vapor into the filter, thus altering the pre-set resonant frequency, and rendering the filter ineffective for its application.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an electrical filter having a plurality of filter sections with unique component configurations that allow for the reduction of the overall length of the filter.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide an electrical filter having filter sections which are independently tunable and which are coupled to one another subsequent to the tuning process in a manner which prevents access to the tuning screws of each filter section while the sections are coupled to one another.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an electrical filter which is adequately sealed so as to prevent water vapor from penetrating the insides of the filter.

Electrical filter with multiple filter sections


A system and method is provided for measurements of building façade elements by combining ground-level (201) and orthogonal imagery (906). The measurements of the dimension of building façade elements are based on ground-level imagery that is scaled and geo-referenced using orthogonal imagery (209). The method continues by creating a tabular dataset (1002) of measurements for one or more architectural elements such as siding (e.g., aluminum, vinyl, wood, brick and/or paint), windows or doors. The tabular dataset can be part of an estimate report (1002).

Technical Field
The technology described herein relates generally to a system and method for estimating dimensions of buildings, and in particular to a system and method for estimating façade elements of buildings using ground-level and orthogonal imagery.
Description of Related Art
Location-based technologies and mobile technologies are often considered the center of the technology revolution of this century. Essential to these technologies is a way to best present location-based information to devices, particularly mobile devices. The technology used to represent this information has traditionally been based on a two dimensional (2D) map.
Some efforts have been made to generate three-dimensional (3D) maps of urban cities with accurate 3D textured models of the buildings via aerial imagery or specialized camera-equipped vehicles. However, these 3D maps have limited texture resolution, geometry quality, accurate geo-referencing and are expensive, time consuming and difficult to update and provide no robust real-time image data analytics for various consumer and commercial use cases.

Estimating dimensions of geo-referenced ground level imagery using orthogonal imagery


Some embodiments include methods of forming patterns. A first mask is formed over a material. The first mask has features extending therein and defines a first pattern. The first pattern has a first level of uniformity across a distribution of the features. A brush layer is formed across the first mask and within the features to narrow the features and create a second mask from the first mask. The second mask has a second level of uniformity across the narrowed features which is greater than the first level of uniformity. A pattern is transferred from the second mask into the material.

Integrated circuit fabrication often involves formation of patterned masks across materials, followed by transfer of patterns from the mask into the materials. For instance, patterned masks may be utilized for fabrication of memory, logic, etc.
A continuing goal is to increase density of integrated circuitry. A related goal is to increase density of features within patterned masks. However, difficulties may be encountered in attempting to create uniform, dense patterns of features within masks. Accordingly, it is desired to develop new methods of forming patterned masks.

Methods of forming patterns by using a brush layer and masks


Disclosed is a light emitting element package having excellent heat radiation performance and high luminance, and a backlight unit including the same. The light emitting element package includes a package including a lead frame, a light emitting element provided on the lead frame, and a molded material combined with the lead frame and having an opening for emitting light generated by the light emitting element, and a reflection structure having an opening corresponding to the opening of the molded material, and contacting the molded material.

In general, a light emitting element is used as a light source of a backlight unit in an electronic device, e.g., display device. A light emitting element may be packaged in various ways before being connected to a backlight module and a backlight unit includes a packaged light emitting element.
The light emitting element of the light emitting element package generates not only light but also a considerable amount of heat.

Light emitting device package and backlight unit comprising the same


A method for manufacturing a single crystal includes the steps of: flowing a raw material gas toward a seed crystal in a reactive chamber so that the single crystal grows from the seed crystal; controlling the raw material gas by a gas flow control member having a cylindrical shape; passing the raw material gas through a clearance between the seed crystal and an inner wall of the gas flow control member; and flowing a part of the raw material gas to bypass the seed crystal. The method provides the single crystal having good quality.

Silicon carbide (i.e., SiC) single crystal has excellent thermal and chemical properties. Further, a forbidden band width in the SiC is larger than that of silicon single crystal, so that the SiC single crystal also has excellent electronic property. Therefore, the SiC single crystal is available for high power device, high temperature device, and high frequency device. The SiC single crystal having hexagonal crystal structure for manufacturing a SiC semiconductor wafer is formed by a sublimation recrystallization method (i.e., modified Lely method). The modified Lely method is such that raw material is heated and sublimed so that the SiC single crystal grows from a seed crystal. It is required to form a large diameter and long SiC single crystal. Further, it is required to form the SiC single crystal having no crystal defect and distortion.

Apparatus for manufacturing single crystal

National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology


A rotation detection device includes a cover member having an opening end, and a sensor body member which has a mounting portion protruding from a mounting-portion protrusion surface and a joint portion positioned around the mounting-portion protrusion surface. The opening end of the cover member is joined to the joint portion of the sensor body member in such a manner that a magnet is housed in the cover member and the mounting-portion protrusion surface is covered by the cover member. A magnetism detection unit is fixedly mounted to the mounting portion and arranged in the magnet. One of the joining surface of the opening end of the cover member and the joining surface of the sensor body member has at least one of a flange-shaped portion and a bent portion. The other of the joining surfaces has a shape corresponding to that of the one thereof.

Generally, with reference to FIG. 11, a rotation detection device is used to detect a rotation of an object such as a vehicle-mounted engine and a vehicle wheel (for wheel velocity detection) and the like, for example, as disclosed in JP-7-260813A (U.S. Pat. No. 5,637,995).
As shown in FIG. 11, the rotation detection device has a sensor chip 101 (magnetism detection unit) which is arranged to face a rotor RT as the detection object. The sensor chip 101 has a magnetic resistance element pair 1 including a magnetic resistance element MRE1 and a magnetic resistance element MRE2, and a magnetic resistance element pair 2 including a magnetic resistance element MRE3 and a magnetic resistance element MRE4. The sensor chip 101 and a processing circuit thereof are arranged in an integrated circuit, and integrally molded in a mold resin 102.
Specifically, the sensor chip 101 is mounted to one end of a lead frame (not shown) in the mold resin 102. A feeding terminal T1, an output terminal T2, and a GND (grounding) terminal T3 are arranged at other end of the lead frame to be respectively connected to the exterior.
Moreover, a magnet 30 (bias magnet) is arranged in the vicinity of the sensor chip 101 to surround the mold resin 102. The magnet 30 applies a bias magnetic field to the magnetic resistance element pairs 1 and 2. The magnet 30 which has a hollow cylinder shape is provided with a hollow portion 31 extending in the longitudinal direction of the magnet 30. The mold resin 102 in which the sensor chip 101 is embraced is inserted in the hollow portion 31.
In the practical use of the rotation detection device, the mold resin 102 in which the sensor chip 101 is molded, and the magnet 30, and the like are accommodated in a suitable case member. The whole of the rotation detection device which has been cased is mounted to an engine or the like, with reference to FIG. 12. The component shown FIG. 12 and that shown in FIG. 11 which have the same function are same numbered.
As shown in FIG. 12, the mold resin 102 and the magnet 30 are integrated with a housing resin 120 (sensor body member), in such a manner that the mold resin 102 and the magnet 30 are accommodated in a cap member 40 (cover member) which is bottomed. The housing resin 120 has a flange 123 used for a connection with an engine body or the like, and a connector portion 124 which extends from the flange 123 and functions as a connector for a connection with an electronic control device or the like of the exterior through wirings. The terminals T1-T3 are respectively electrically connected with metal terminals 100a-100c which are integrally arranged in the housing resin 120 and also used as terminals of the connector portion 124.
The rotor RT which faces the sensor chip 101 can be constructed of a magnetic member having a gear shape, for example. With a rotation of the rotor RT, there is a variation in a magnetic vector which is resultant due to the magnetic field generated by the rotator RT and that generated by the magnet 30. The sensor chip 101 detects the vibration in the magnetic vector as a variation in a resistance value of the magnetic resistance element. Thus, a rotation detection signal can be obtained.
Then, the rotation information of the rotator RT is transferred to the exterior electronic control device (not shown) or the like through the output terminal T2, after passing various process circuits such as a differential amplifier, and a comparator and the like.
However, in this case, the mold resin 102 where the sensor chip 101 is embraced, the magnet 30 and the cap member 40 are respectively constructed of primary-molding members by injection molding. These primary-molding members are sequentially assembled in the order of the mold resin 102, the magnet 30 and the cap member 40, and then set in a suitable mold. Thereafter, the housing resin 120 is constructed by injection molding to be arranged around the mold resin 102, the magnet 30 and the cap member 40. That is, the housing resin 120 is formed as a secondary-molding member, so that the sensor body member is integrated.
Therefore, the sensor chip 101 (of rotation detection device) where the magnetic resistance element pairs are arranged is isolated from ambient air of the exterior and protected from pollution and the like, by the mold resin 102.
However, when the sensor chip 101 is molded in the mold resin 102, the interior stress is directly applied to the sensor chip 101. In the shipment, a suitability is sought by obtaining an appropriate detection output in this state. In this case, the variation in the sensing property due to the time-varying interior stress cannot be ignored.
That is, after the shipment of the rotation detection device to the market and the mounting of the rotation detection device to a vehicle-mounted engine or a general machine, the interior stress which is applied to the sensor chip 101 has a tendency to be gradually released due to an environment change such as a temperature stress and the like.
Due to the release of the interior stress, an offset variation will be caused because of a magnetostriction effect. Thus, it is difficult to avoid the influence of the offset variation on the sensing property of the rotation detection device.
Recently, it is proposed that the sensor chip 101 in a bare-chip state is mounted to the sensor body member 120 and both the sensor chip 101 and the magnet 30 are covered by the cap member 40. In this case, the cap member 40 is bottomed, and the opening end of the cap member 40 is joined to the sensor body member 120.
On the other hand, with the miniaturization of various sensor members, the miniaturization of the rotation detection device is desirable. Specially, it is desirable to shorten a distance from a mounting surface (to vehicle-mounted engine or the like) to an end surface of the rotation detection device, that is, a distance UL (i.e., under-neck length) from the mounting surface of the flange 123 of the rotation detection device (shown in FIG. 12) to the outer surface of the end portion of the cap member 40.
Because the detection sensitivity of the rotation detection device greatly depends on the distance between the end surface of the rotation detection device and the detection object (e.g., rotor RT), it is important to set the distance UL which corresponds to a distance of the inner side of the mounting surface of the flange 40. Practically, in addition to shorten the distance UL, it is also desirable to provide the rotation detection devices having various sizes corresponding to the machines to which the rotation detection devices are to be mounted.
However, in the case where the sensor chip in the state of the bare chip is mounted to the sensor body member 120, the following problems cannot be ignored. That is, though the joining area between the sensor body member 120 and the cap member 40 can be maintained in the case where the rotation detection device is provided with the long distance UL, it is difficult to maintain the joining area in the case where the rotation detection device is provided with the short distance UL.
Thus, it is difficult to sufficiently maintain the joining area between the sensor body member 120 and the cap member 40. In the case where the hermeticity of the joining portion cannot be maintained due to the vibration or the like of the object to which the rotation detection device is mounted, the isolation of the sensor chip 101 (mounted in bare chip state) from the ambient air is deteriorated.


The present invention relates to methods for screening of reagents used in the performance of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays. The invention has applications for genotyping, pathogen detection and in vitro diagnostics.

The development of nucleic acid amplification technology has revolutionized genetic analysis and engineering science. For example, the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is commonly utilized to amplify specific target nucleic acids using selected primer nucleic acids, e.g., to facilitate the detection of target nucleic acid as part of a diagnostic, forensic or other application. Primers typically function in pairs that are designed for extension towards each other to cover the selected target region. A typical PCR cycle includes a high temperature (e.g., 85° C. or more) denaturation step during which the strands of double-stranded nucleic acids separate from one another, a low temperature (e.g., 45-65° C.) annealing step during which the primers hybridize to the separated single strand, and an intermediate temperature (e.g., around 72° C.) extension step during which a nucleic acid polymerase extends the primers. Two-temperature thermocycling procedures are also utilized. These generally include a high temperature denaturation step and a low temperature anneal-extend step.
Various strategies for detecting amplification products have been developed and one of the most widely used method is the 5′ nuclease or TaqMan® assay. The 5′ nuclease assay typically utilizes the 5′ to 3′ nuclease activity of certain DNA polymerases to cleave 5′ nuclease oligonucleotide probes during the course of PCR. This assay allows for both the amplification of a target and the release of labels for detection, generally without resort to multiple handling steps of amplified products. The 5′ nuclease probes typically include labeling moieties, such as a fluorescent reporter dye and a quencher dye. When the probe is intact, the proximity of the reporter dye to the quencher dye generally results in the suppression of the reporter fluorescence. During a 5′ nuclease reaction, cleavage of the probe separates the reporter dye and the quencher dye from one another, resulting in a detectable increase in fluorescence from the reporter. The accumulation of PCR products or amplicons is typically detected indirectly by monitoring this increase in fluorescence in real time.
Many reagents are required to perform a PCR assay and reagents such as DNA polymerase, deoxyribonucleoside triphosphates (dNTPs), oligonucleotide primers, probes, and salts (magnesium, potassium, chloride) in pH-maintaining buffers (e.g. Tris-HCl) are often pre-mixed in solutions referred as mastermixes. It has been known also that certain materials such as gelatin, bovine serum albumin (BSA), ammonium sulfate, and nonionic detergents act as stabilizing agents and improve the performance of a PCR assay. The addition of glycerol (15-20%) to a PCR mixture can also enhance PCR reaction performance by increasing the thermal stability of DNA polymerase and also by lowering the temperature necessary for strand separation (see Cheng, S. et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 91, 5695, 1994).

Method for screening reagents used in PCR assays


Disclosed is a washing machine for preventing leakage of bubbles. The washing machine includes: a housing (10); a tube (20) installed inside the housing (10), for storing washing water, the tub (20) including at least one opening (21, 22, 23) and at least one pipe (21b,22b, 23b) connected with the opening (21, 22, 23); a drum (30) installed inside the tub (20) and configured to wash laundry; and cutoff means (100, 200, 300, 400) for preventing bubbles generated in the drub (30) and the tub (20) from being leaked to an outside through the opening (21, 22, 23) and the pipe (21b, 22b, 23b).

Generally, a washing machine has a drum equipped therein and washes laundry by rotating the drum. In this washing machine, there is also installed a tub for accommodating the drum, preliminarily storing washing water and feeding the stored washing water to the drum. The tub is connected with an inlet pipe, and the inlet pipe is connected with a detergent box so as to feed the detergent along the washing water to the tub.
However, the bubbles generated by the detergent during a washing are introduced into the detergent box through the inlet pipe to contaminate the detergent box. Further, the bubbles may be leaked to the outside through the detergent box and may contaminate the washing machine and the surrounding thereof.
In particular, compared with the top loading type of washing machine in which the drum and the tub stand, the front loading type of washing machine causes more serious bubble generation, so that the leakage possibility of the generated bubbles increases. To this end, in the front loading type of washing machine, it is requested that the detergent particularly generating a small amount of bubbles be used. However, the use of such a detergent does not exclude the leakage possibility of the bubbles  completely.


A method for treating a skin wound of a subject is described. The method includes contacting the skin wound with a therapeutically effective amount of a wound healing composition comprising glycoprotein nonmelanoma clone B (GPNMB) protein, an active peptide fragment thereof, a GPNMB analog, a GPNMB potentiating agent, or a combination thereof.

Chronic wounds constitute a major health care problem and significantly impair the quality of life for millions of people and impart economic burden on community. There are between 13 to 23 million people suffering from chronic wounds. The annual costs of chronic wound care in the U.S. are estimated to be $25 billion USD. The incidence of chronic wounds is expected to continue on a significant growth trajectory associated with an increase in aging population and prevalence of obesity and diabetes. Several sources estimate that the prevalence of diabetes will rise from 366 million patients in 2011 to 522 million in 2030, and if 5% of all diabetes patients suffer from a chronic wound, then 26 million people would be affected in 2030 by diabetic ulcers alone. This number is significantly high, considering that diabetic ulcers represent only one category of chronic wounds. Furthermore, the prognosis for diabetes ulcer patients remains very poor, whereas wound care for other indications has improved in the past few years.
Current available therapeutics for treating chronic wounds includes debridement to remove necrotic and infected tissues, dressings to provide a moist wound environment, bandages, and topical applications of antimicrobial or biologic agents (growth factors), offloading, physical therapies, and educational strategies. Biological therapies which have been applied to chronic wounds include the applications of growth factors such as platelet derived growth factors (PDGF, such as REGRANEX® gel), keratinocyte growth factor 2 (KGF 2), and gene therapy. A number of other growth factors having the ability to induce wound healing include Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) and basic Fibroblast Growth Factor (bFGF). However, these therapeutic options often fail to achieve complete wound closure. This might be due to that most of these treatments do not readily address the underlying causes of chronic wounds, i.e., persistent inflammation, reduced or non-existent angiogenesis, and tissue remodeling.

GPNMB compositions for treatment of skin wounds


The temperature difference battery includes a solution 2 which contains redox ion couples having a temperature-dependent redox potential. A low-temperature (LT) electrode 1 and a high-temperature (HT) electrode 3 are disposed in the solution 2. A membrane film 6 impervious to the redox ion couples is disposed between the HT electrode 3 and the LT electrode 1. A LT power electrode 7 is disposed between the LT electrode 1 and the membrane film 6, and a HT power electrode 8 is disposed between the HT electrode 3 and the membrane film 6. When there is a temperature difference between the electrodes 1, 3, the redox potential of the ion couples change, and thermoelectric power is generated between the LT electrode 1 and the HT electrode 3, which is used to charge the battery. The concentration of the redox ion couples in the LT region and in the HT region increases as charging progresses, and the membrane 6 maintains the concentration difference thus storing the electrical power. Because the power electrodes 7, 8 are disposed in the solutions of different concentrations, an emf is generated by the concentration effect, and continuous power is delivered. By open circuiting the electrodes 1, 3, the continuous power deliver and can be continued until the concentration difference disappears, even after the temperature difference is eliminated. Therefore, the invented battery possesses charge storage, generation and power delivery capabilities. The battery can be used effectively for waste heat utilization.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a storage battery which generates and stores electrical energy when there is a temperature difference, and discharges the electrical energy when there is no temperature difference. The battery can be used effectively in a wide variety of cases of thermal to electrical energy conversion utilizing heat sources such as plant waste heat, fuel cell heat, automotive-based heat such as exhaust gases and engine heat, hot springs, geothermal heat, solar heat, oceanic heat, facilities waste heat, incinerators, air conditioning equipment, radioisotopes and atomic reactors.
2. Technical Background
Conventionally, thermal/electrical energy converters based on temperature difference electrochemical batteries have been known. Such batteries comprise, as shown in FIG. 9, a low-temperature electrode 1, a high-temperature electrode 3, and disposed between the electrodes 1, 3, is a solution 2 containing redox ion couples which undergo a reversible charge transfer reaction between the electrode. A low-temperature medium 4 and a high-temperature medium 5 generate a temperature difference between the low-temperature electrode 1 and the high-temperature electrode 2, and an electromotive force (emf) is generated between the electrodes 1, 3.
If ferrocyanide and ferricyanide are used as the redox ion couple, for example, the following reactions take place, respectively, at the low-temperature electrode 1 and at the high-temperature electrode 3. The thermoelectric power generation is performed by negative ions (negative thermoelectric power generation), and the result is that the low-temperature electrode 1 becomes a positive electrode, and the high-temperature electrode 3 becomes a negative electrode. EQU Fe(CN).sub.6.sup.3- +e.sup.- .fwdarw.Fe(CN).sub.6.sup.4- (LT Electrode 1, Positive) EQU Fe(CN).sub.6.sup.4.sup.- .fwdarw.Fe(CN).sub.6.sup.3- +e.sup.- (HT Electrode 3, Negative)
As shown above, at the low-temperature positive electrode, Fe(CN).sub.6.sup.4- ions are generated, and at the high-temperature negative electrode, Fe(CN).sub.6.sup.3- ions are generated. The generated ionic species migrate to their respective electrode by mechanisms such as diffusion and thermal convection, thereby establishing a steady state electrochemical reaction between the electrodes 1, 3 and causing an electric current to flow when a load is connected therebetween.
In such a temperature difference battery, when the temperature difference ceases to exist by stopping the circulation of heating medium, the battery loses not only the ability for generating an emf but also its ability to deliver a flow of electric current.

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation


A method of preparing a monodisperse particle may include mixing at least two types of monomers in a solvent, placing an initiator in the solvent, and forming a particle having a copolymer shape by polymerizing the at least two types of monomers. The particle may have a size controlled by a content of the at least two types of monomers.

1. Field
Example embodiments relate to methods of preparing monodisperse particles, monodisperse particles prepared by using the methods, and tunable photonic crystal devices using the monodisperse particles.
2. Description of the Related Art
Photonic crystals have a lattice structure in which two or more materials having different refractive indices are regularly arranged in a two-dimensional (2D) or three-dimensional (3D) shape. Photonic crystals having a lattice structure with a photonic bandgap through which light having a predetermined or given wavelength can be intercepted or transmitted, due to periodic distribution of refractive indices of the materials. For example, when the photonic bandgap of photonic crystals is formed in a visible light band and the frequency of light incident on the photonic crystals corresponds to the photonic bandgap, 99% or more of incident light should be reflected from, the photonic crystals. Contrary to this, most of the incident light having a frequency other than the photonic bandgap of the photonic crystals is transmitted through the photonic crystals.
Technologies for applying photonic crystals to a variety of electro-optical devices, e.g., wavelength filters or display devices, by adjusting the photonic bandgap of photonic crystals have been suggested. For example, it has been reported that stop band tuning is performed by controlling effective refractive indices of materials used in forming photonic crystals. However, in such stop band tuning methods, there is little change in refractive indices, and there is a limitation in a tuning range of a stop band. Thus, it is difficult to apply photonic crystals to display devices. As another method, a method of adjusting the photonic bandgap of photonic crystals by controlling a lattice distance of photonic crystals has been suggested. There are a number of well-known methods of controlling a lattice distance of photonic crystals, e.g., a method of encapsulating photonic crystals with a polymer matrix and using a phenomenon whereby the polymer matrix swells or deswells due to oxidation/reduction according to an electrical signal of the polymer matrix and compressing/stretching the polymer matrix, and a method of using a phenomenon whereby a polymer matrix swells or deswells because the polymer matrix reacts with temperature, humidity, or chemical and biological stimuli. However, in such methods, the speed of switching color is limited because the polymer matrix swells or deswells at a relatively low speed. Thus, there is a limitation in applying photonic crystals to display devices.

Method of preparing monodisperse particle, monodisperse particle prepared by using the method, and tunable photonic crystal device using the monodisperse particle


A semiconductor integrated circuit includes an inductor formed by a conductive loop that is fabricated on one or more metal layers. The inductor also includes a dielectric region provided adjacent to the conductive loop. The semiconductor integrated circuit may also include a pattern of electrically isolated metallic fill structures formed within the dielectric region.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to semiconductor integrated circuits and, more particularly, to metal fill structures and metallization layers within semiconductor integrated circuits.
2. Description of the Related Art
Integrated Circuits (ICs) are manufactured using complex processes including a variety of specific processing steps. Typically, the solid-state devices that make up an IC are formed on the surface (or substrate) of a semiconducting material such as silicon, for example. Although silicon has been the most widely used semiconducting material, other materials such as Gallium-Arsenide (GaAs) and Silicon-Germanium (SiGe) have also become popular for certain applications including analog and specialty integrated circuits. Once the devices have been formed, the individual components are interconnected. The devices are typically interconnected by metal lines or wires made from aluminum, copper, tungsten or some other conductive material. The metal lines are typically manufactured by depositing layers of metal over the entire surface of the wafer and then precisely etching away areas other than those defining the metal lines. Due to the high density of devices, most modern ICs include multiple metal layers that may be separated by an interlayer dielectric (ILD).
Analog and mixed signal ICs may rely on high quality passive devices such as capacitors and inductors for proper circuit operation. Mixed signal ICs may include both analog and digital circuits that are manufactured on the same semiconducting substrate. As process technologies have improved, it has become more common to build passive devices such as inductors onto the die as part of the IC. A typical IC inductor may have one or more loops (or coils) of conductive material formed onto one or more layers of the integrated circuit.
In conventional ICs, the die areas adjacent (i.e., inside the loop and in close proximity to the exterior part of the inductor loop) to the inductor loop are typically left void of metal and thus filled with dielectric material. In some cases, these unused areas may present manufacturing issues. For example, it is sometimes desirable in IC designs to maintain consistent metal density and uniformity for manufacturability reasons and to ensure good planarization. Typically the goal is to increase the metal density to above 20% but below about 70% or 80% and in a uniform way. Fill programs are commonly used to add metal dummy fill structures wherever it is considered necessary. However, in some designs such as analog designs the dummy metal fill structures may not be desirable since they may detrimentally affect circuit performance. More particularly, placing some types of metal structures such as the dummy fill structures, within the loop or in close proximity to the exterior part of the inductor loop may adversely affect the electrical characteristics of the inductor.
It would accordingly be desirable to provide an integrated circuit structure that may provide desired metal density while reducing some of the adverse effects associated with conventional fill metal in close proximity to inductors.

Fill structures for use with a semiconductor integrated circuit inductor


A parking lot attendant robot is provided with a camera for capturing an image of an vehicle and a parking space, and a receiver from receiving vehicle information such as the steering angle, shift position and vehicle speed from the vehicle. Based on the knowledge of the position of the vehicle with respect to the parking space gained from the camera and the vehicle information received from the vehicle, the robot computes the optimum parking path which the vehicle should follow. The robot signals the motorist by a visual and/or auditory display and/or a hand signal as to how the steering wheel should be turned and which way the vehicle should move or stop for the vehicle to follow this parking path and to be successfully parked in the prescribed parking space.

Proposals have been made to provide a system for guiding an vehicle to a prescribed parking space as can be found in Japanese patent laid-open publications Nos. 2003-104220, 2000-072019 and 2003-339060. Such a parking guide system typically comprises an onboard camera for capturing the image of the area around the parking space to acquire the information required for guiding the vehicle. However, to obtain the image information and other data required for guiding the vehicle solely from the end of the vehicle, cameras, various sensors and a control unit that are highly expensive are required to be mounted on the vehicle, and this adds to the cost of the vehicle to an unacceptable extent.
On the other hand, if a robot that can move about in the parking lot is used for guiding each vehicle, the vehicles are not required to be provided with any expensive guide system, and the required overall cost can be minimized. For this purpose, the robot is required to be equipped with a camera for capturing the image of the vehicle and parking spaces and a control unit for obtaining the necessary information and providing an appropriate guidance to each vehicle.
The assignee of this application previously proposed robot systems that could be applied to a robot system for guiding an vehicle to a prescribed parking space as can be found in Japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2004-094288 that discloses a device for analyzing the image of an object for the purpose of obtaining information on the object and Japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2004-171165 that discloses a system for recognizing a moving object at a high precision.
Oftentimes, the parking space may not be very spacious, and it may not be easy for a motorist to park the vehicle. Curbside parking and backing into a parking space from an oblique angle are known to cause some difficulty to inexperienced motorists. In such cases, properly selecting the steering angle at each moment is highly important for successful parking. It is therefore desired that a robot is able to give a proper guidance on the steering angle to the motorist at each moment in such a manner that the motorist can follow the guidance without difficulty.


A method used by an electronic design automation system for partitioning the logic design of an integrated circuit and generating test patterns for testing the integrated circuit. The logic design of the integrated circuit includes a gate-level description having components and nets. Nets include base nets input to the integrated circuit and apex nets output from the integrated circuit. The nets are specified by vector net notation. The method includes creating a plurality of cones of logic design from the logic design of the integrated circuit. Each cone is defined by tracing a path from an apex net, defined by a logic designer, output from a logical register of the logic design to a logic designer-defined base net affecting the logical register. A test pattern is then automatically generated for each of the traced cones of logic design. Logic cone tracing and partitioning the logic design of integrated circuits according to logical registers specified by vector net notation decreases automatic test pattern generation time in an electronic design automation system.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to electronic design automation (EDA) systems used for designing complex integrated circuits. The invention is more specifically related to a method of partitioning logic designs for improved automatic test pattern generation (ATPG) during the integrated circuit design process.
2. Background Information
The design process for all integrated circuits is composed of several discrete operations. Initially, the proposed functionality for a circuit is analyzed by one or more chip designers. These designers define the logical components of the circuit and their interactions by specifying the logic design using design capture tools. These design capture tools are commonly implemented in software executing on an engineering workstation, with well-known input devices being used to receive design information from the chip designer, and output devices, such as computer displays, being used to provide visual feedback of the design to the designer as it is being constructed. Such software is typically implemented as part of an electronic design automation (EDA) system. Specifically, the design entry operation involves generating a description of the logic design to be implemented on the integrated circuit chip in an appropriate machine-readable form. Chip designers generally employ hierarchical design techniques to determine the appropriate selection and interconnection of logic and/or memory devices which will enable the chip to perform the desired function. These techniques involve describing the chip's functionality at various levels of abstraction, ranging from the most general function performed by the chip to the precise functions performed by each logic and/or memory element on the chip.
Two common methods for specifying the integrated circuit design are schematic capture and hardware description languages. Both of these methods allow a circuit designer to specify the circuit at the register transfer level (also known as a "behavior description"). The schematic capture method provides a sophisticated user interface which allows a logic circuit to be drawn in graphical form on a computer display. The design is often specified with standard logic symbols such as NAND gates and NOR gates. Using this method, the circuit is defined in small building blocks. The names of the building blocks are specified by the circuit designer. Thus, they usually are logical names with specific functional meaning.
Encoding the design in a hardware description language (HDL) is the other major design entry technique used to specify modern integrated circuits. Hardware description languages are specially developed to aid a designer in describing a circuit. These languages often contain specific functions and syntax to allow complex hardware structures to be described in a compact and efficient way. The HDL program specifying the design may be compiled into the same data format produced by schematic capture, thereby providing a designer great flexibility in methods used for specifying a logic design.
It is useful to distinguish between those components of an integrated circuit design called cells, provided by a silicon chip vendor as primitive cells (i.e., leaf candidates), and the user-defined hierarchy blocks built upon them. One way is to speak of a "cell library" vs. a "design library" as two separate libraries, both of which are available to subsequent designs. Alternatively, at least initially, a design library contains a standard cell library. A cell library is a database containing detailed specifications on the characteristics of each logical component available for use in a design. Initial cell library contents are usually provided by the chip vendor. The components in the cell library are identified by the generic description of the component type. For example the term "NAND" for a NAND gate is its type description and distinguishes this component from others such as OR gates, flip-flops, multiplexors, and so on. A two-input NAND gate might be of type 2NAND.
When a particular 2NAND component is specified as part of a given circuit design, it is given an instance name, to distinguish it from all other 2NAND gates used in the circuit. The instance name typically includes the instance names of all parent instances by concatenation when defining the instance in the context of the chip. A single name is sufficient when dealing only in the context of a single user function. The user-defined blocks can then be used to design larger blocks of greater complexity. The user-defined blocks are added to the design library, which grows from the additions of new design modules as the design evolves. The top level of the design hierarchy will be a single block that defines the entire design, and the bottom layer of the hierarchy will consist of leaf cells, the cells (i.e., the logical components) that were originally provided in the cell library. Note that the hierarchy is typically structured as a special kind of a graph called a tree. This resulting data structure is called a detailed or gate-level) description of the logic design.
The generation of the detailed description is accomplished by logic design synthesis software. The logic design synthesis software generates a gate-level description from the behavior or register transfer level description of the design. This gate level description references a silicon vendor's library cells as the leaf or bottom level nodes in the integrated circuit design. Constituent parts of new gate-level logic created luring each pass through the logic design synthesis software are given computer-generated component and net names. Each time the logic design synthesis software is executed for the integrated circuit design, the component and net names which are generated by the software, and not explicitly controlled by the user, may change, depending on whether new logic has been added to or deleted from the original behavior level description of the circuit. Typically, the logic design synthesis software is executed many times during the integrated circuit design process, because errors may be detected during the simulation and testing phases of the design cycle and then fixed in the behavioral description.
The output of the design capture and synthesis tools is a logic design database which completely specifies the logical and functional relationships among the components of the design. Once the design has been converted into this form, it may be optimized by sending the logic design database to a logic optimizer tool implemented in software. The logic optimizer removes logic from the design that is unnecessary.
It is also necessary to verify that the logic definition is correct and that the integrated circuit implements the function expected by the circuit designer. This verification is currently achieved by timing and simulation software tools. The design undergoes design verification analysis in order to detect flaws in the design. The design is also analyzed by simulating the device resulting from the design to assess the functionality of the design. If errors are found or the resulting functionality is unacceptable, the designer modifies the behavior description as needed. These design iterations help to ensure that the design satisfies its requirements.
After timing verifications and functional simulation have been completed on the design, placement and routing of the design's components are performed. These steps involve allocating components of the design to locations on the integrated circuit chip and interconnecting the components to form nets.
After the integrated circuit is manufactured, and prior to shipping to users, the circuit is electronically tested by a computerized tester to verify that no faults exist in the circuitry. Once an integrated circuit has been packaged, it must be treated as a black box having a finite number of inputs and outputs. Unlike a printed circuit board, access cannot be obtained to intermediate points in the circuit unless they are brought out to one of the package pins. The operation of testing requires that certain input conditions are applied to the circuit and the resultant output conditions are compared with those predicted by simulation or those generated by a known good circuit to which the same input conditions are applied.
Testing a digital circuit requires that the circuit is exercised in such a way as to validate its required functionality and identify any faults present in the circuit. Faults within a circuit can take many physical forms and be produced by a variety of problems during processing and operation. For many physical faults, the terminal effect of these faults is modelled by the stuck-at fault model. A circuit node is said to be stuck-at-0 or stuck-at-1 if the application of a pattern at the primary inputs which should drive the node to a logic 1 or logic 0 level fails to produce the expected change at the output. Functional testing of a digital integrated circuit is concerned with verifying that when a particular pattern or sequence of patterns is applied to its inputs, it will produce the desired pattern or sequence of patterns at its outputs. Ideally, the applied patterns should exercise each internal node of the circuit in order to establish whether one or more stuck-at faults exist. The two stages of establishing an appropriate set of test stimuli include generating a set of test vectors or test patterns, and evaluating the fault coverage of the set.
When generating sets of test patterns, it is usually assumed that a single stuck-at fault is present in the circuit. Assuming that a particular node is stuck-at 0 or 1, a combination of inputs is selected which will cause this node to be set to the opposite (1 or 0), fault-free state. Other inputs are set so as to propagate the state of the node being tested to one or more primary outputs so that its condition can be observed. Manual generation of appropriate sequences of input patterns to exercise all of the nodes in a complex integrated circuit is impractical. Hence, automatic test pattern generation (ATPG) mechanisms were developed. In combinational circuits, where the current output state depends only on the current state of the inputs, it is possible to perform exhaustive testing by applying all possible combinations of inputs to the circuit, in order to verify the circuit's truth table. Unfortunately, the time taken to perform this type of test becomes excessive as the number of inputs increases. In practice, the presence of a stuck-at fault at every node can be detected using a reduced, carefully chosen set of test patterns, resulting in a significantly smaller test time. Typically, however, circuits will include one or more feedback loops and a number of bistable storage elements. For this type of circuit, an exhaustive test is likely to be even more impractical because of the need to check the sequential operation for all possible sequences of combinations of input patterns to the storage elements.
Various methods of deterministic generation of non-exhaustive test sets are known in the prior art. These methods usually produce a reduction in the size of the test set while providing maximum fault coverage. These methods have been implemented in software to form the basis of current automatic test pattern generation (ATPG) programs. As the test pattern generation task for a large integrated circuit is non-trivial, ATPG programs often require many hours of CPU time to produce a set of test patterns with acceptable fault coverage. The overall objective is to spend the smallest amount of time generating a minimal set of test patterns which will give the maximum fault coverage. A minimal set of test patterns is one which can be applied by automatic test equipment in a reasonable test time. Clearly a technique which significantly decreases the time required to produce an acceptable set of test patterns would advance the state of the art.

Method of partitioning logic designs for automatic test pattern generation based on logical registers


The invention enables an abnormality of a temperature sensor to be simply detected. In S1, a temperature measurement is performed with each temperature sensor, and measured signals are digitalized to obtain a temperature value. Then, in S2, a detection temperature Tb′ equivalent to a detected temperature of a corresponding temperature sensor is calculated with use of an arithmetic expression and a characterization factor stored in a parameter storage device, and in S3, an absolute value ΔT of a temperature difference between Ta and Tb′ is obtained. Subsequently, in S4, the calculated absolute value ΔT is compared with a limit value γ, and when ΔT is larger than the limit value γ, Ta or Tb is determined to be abnormal and an alert is issued with an alarm or the like in S5, followed by issuance of a command to a correcting device in S6 not to change a correction amount set before the abnormality occurs.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for detecting an abnormality of a temperature sensor used for correcting thermal displacement of a machine tool.
2. Description of the Background Art
In a machine tool, a thermal displacement correcting method for correcting a machining dimensional error caused by surrounding room temperature variation or cutting heat is often used. The method is configured where a temperature sensor such as a thermocouple or thermistor is provided on each of components of the machine tool, temperature information from the temperature sensor is obtained by means of a temperature measuring device such as a voltmeter or ammeter, a thermal displacement amount is estimated from the obtained temperature information to calculate a correction amount for a moving body such as a main spindle or tool rest, and the moving body is controlled based on the correction amount (see Patent documents 1 to 3).
Patent document 1: Japanese Patent Publication No. 1986-59860
Patent document 2: Japanese Patent Publication No. 1994-61674
Patent document 3: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-341049

Method for detecting abnormality of temperature sensor in machine tool


A fiber superfluorescent light source is disclosed which suppresses laser cillations without interfering with the pump light or the super luminescence. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the fiber superfluorescent light source comprises a laser diode array for providing a pump beam at a wavelength of 0.81 microns, a first fiber doped with neodymium activator ions and being responsive to the pump beam for providing a spontaneous emission at a wavelength of 1.06 microns, and a second fiber optically coupled between the laser diode array and the first fiber for passing the pump beam therethrough to the first fiber to enable the first fiber to spontaneously emit light at the 1.06 micron wavelength and for suppressing backemissions of the 1.06 micron wavelength from the first fiber toward the laser diode array to prevent back reflection from the laser diode array and oscillations in the first fiber.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to fiber superfluorescent sources and particularly to a fiber superfluorescent light source which suppresses laser oscillations without interfering with the pump light or the super luminescence.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is great interest in using fiber superfluorescent sources in fiber optic gyroscopes as a replacement for semiconductor super luminescent diodes (SLD's). Potential benefits include higher available power, better wavelength stability with temperature, and improved lifetime. Multiclad Nd:fibers pumped by a laser diode array offer high output powers in a single mode core, but are susceptible to lasing due to feedback. This type of diode laser pumped source has been successfully employed in a fiber gyroscope using a backward pumping scheme. In particular this approach avoided the backreflection of backwards going superfluorescent emission off the high reflectivity diode array facet. In addition to concern about feedback and reflections, the problem of source integration must be considered, such that an all-fiber source can be spliced into the gyro without bulk optic components.

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


An animal collar particularly adapted for dogs includes a wide flexible collar member attached to "D" rings and a flexible strap member looped through the "D" rings to provide an adjustable collar opening and a separate and apart location for a resilient gripping member. The gripping member is slidable on the strap member for adjusting the size of the collar opening.

Animal collars come in a variety of forms. Any number of collars use metal buckles to adjust to an animals neck size. Choke collars for animals commonly employ chain links as a flexible neck encircling member where the chain passes through a ring at one end of the chain links and permits a pull on the other end of the chain to develop a choking action on the animals neck for control purposes. Chain links are typically loose fitting and the weight of the chain tends to drop the ring to the under side of the neck if the chain is not kept under a pull or strain at all times. Additionally, it is necessary to maintain the chain or leash on one side of the ring so that when the chain is pulled it can produce the choking effect. Chain links can unnecessarily injure an animal.
Metal buckles of various kinds are utilized to adjust a collar to a given neck size for an animal and are held in position or to a given neck size by friction loops, tongue members or clamps of different varieties. Metal attaching devices are capable of scratching or gouging upon contact, are bulky and awkward to store when not in use.


In the method according to example embodiments, dynamic pressure oscillations in the inlet tract of the respective internal combustion engine are measured during normal operation, and from these a corresponding pressure oscillation signal is generated. A crankshaft phase angle signal is acquired at the same time. The pressure oscillation signal is used to determine an actual value of at least one characteristic of at least one selected signal frequency of the measured pressure oscillations in relation to the crankshaft phase angle signal, and the current compression ratio is determined on the basis of the determined actual value and using reference values of the corresponding characteristic of the respective same signal frequency for different compression ratios.

Reciprocating-piston internal combustion engines, which will in this context and hereinafter also be referred to in shortened form merely as internal combustion engines, have one or more cylinders each containing a reciprocating piston. To illustrate the principle of a reciprocating-piston internal combustion engine, reference will be made below to FIG. 1, which illustrates by way of example a cylinder of an internal combustion engine, which is possibly also a multi-cylinder internal combustion engine, together with the most important functional units.
The respective reciprocating piston 6 is arranged in linearly movable fashion in the respective cylinder 2 and, together with the cylinder 2, encloses a combustion chamber 3. The respective reciprocating piston 6 is connected by means of a so-called connecting rod 7 to a respective crankpin 8 of a crankshaft 9, wherein the crankpin 8 is arranged eccentrically with respect to the crankshaft axis of rotation 9a. As a result of the combustion of a fuel-air mixture in the combustion chamber 3, the reciprocating piston 6 is driven linearly "downward". The translational stroke movement of the reciprocating piston 6 is transmitted by means of the connecting rod 7 and crankpin 8 to the crankshaft 9 and is converted into a rotational movement of the crankshaft 9, which causes the reciprocating piston 6, owing to its inertia, after it passes through a bottom dead center in the cylinder 2, to be moved "upward" again in the opposite direction as far as a top dead center. To permit continuous operation of the internal combustion engine 1, during a so-called working cycle of a cylinder 2, it is necessary firstly for the combustion chamber 3 to be filled with the fuel-air mixture via the so-called inlet tract, for the fuel-air mixture to be compressed in the combustion chamber 3 and to then be ignited (by means of an ignition plug in the case of a gasoline internal combustion engine and by auto-ignition in the case of a diesel internal combustion engine) and burned in order to drive the reciprocating piston 6, and finally for the exhaust gas that remains after combustion to be discharged from the combustion chamber 3 into the exhaust gas tract. Continuous repetition of this sequence results in continuous operation of the internal combustion engine 1, with work being output in a manner proportional to the combustion energy.
Depending on the engine concept, a working cycle of the cylinder 2 is divided into two strokes distributed over one crankshaft rotation)(360° (two-stroke engine) or into four strokes distributed over two crankshaft rotations)(720° (four-stroke engine).
To date, the four-stroke engine has become established as a drive for motor vehicles. In an intake stroke, with a downward movement of the reciprocating piston 6, fuel-air mixture 21 (in the case of intake pipe injection by means of injection valve 5a, illustrated as an alternative in FIG. 1 by means of dashed lines) or else only fresh air (in the case of fuel direct injection by means of injection valve 5) is introduced from the inlet tract 20 into the combustion chamber 3. During the following compression stroke, with an upward movement of the reciprocating piston 6, the fuel-air mixture or the fresh air is compressed in the combustion chamber 3, and if appropriate fuel is separately injected by means of an injection valve 5. During the following working stroke, the fuel-air mixture is ignited by means of an ignition plug 4 for example in the case of the gasoline internal combustion engine, and it burns and expands, outputting work, with a downward movement of the reciprocating piston 6. Finally, in an exhaust stroke, with another upward movement of the reciprocating piston 6, the remaining exhaust gas 31 is discharged out of the combustion chamber 3 into the exhaust gas tract 30.
The delimitation of the combustion chamber 3 with respect to the inlet tract 20 or exhaust gas tract 30 of the internal combustion engine 1 is realized generally, and in particular in the example taken as a basis here, by means of inlet valves 22 and outlet valves 32. In the current prior art, said valves are actuated by means of at least one camshaft. The example shown has an inlet camshaft 23 for actuating the inlet valves 22 and has an outlet camshaft 33 for actuating the outlet valves 32. There are normally yet further mechanical components (not illustrated here) for force transmission provided between the valves and the respective camshaft, which components may also include a valve play compensation means (e.g. bucket tappet, rocker lever, finger-type rocker, tappet rod, hydraulic tappet etc.).
The inlet camshaft 23 and the outlet camshaft 33 are driven by means of the internal combustion engine 1 itself. For this purpose, the inlet camshaft 23 and the outlet camshaft 33 are coupled to the crankshaft 9, in each case by means of suitable inlet camshaft control adapters 24 and outlet camshaft control adapters 34, such as for example toothed gears, sprockets or belt pulleys, and with the aid of a control mechanism 40 which has for example a toothed gear mechanism, a control chain or a toothed control belt, in a predefined position with respect to one another and with respect to the crankshaft 9 by means of a corresponding crankshaft control adapter 10, which is accordingly formed as a toothed gear, sprocket or belt pulley. By means of this connection, the rotational position of the inlet camshaft 23 and of the outlet camshaft 33 in relation to the rotational position of the crankshaft 9 is, in principle, defined. By way of example, FIG. 1 illustrates the coupling between inlet camshaft 23 and the outlet camshaft 33 and the crankshaft 9 by means of belt pulleys and a toothed control belt.
The rotational angle covered by the crankshaft during one working cycle will hereinafter be referred to as the working phase or simply as the phase. A rotational angle covered by the crankshaft within one working phase is accordingly referred to as the phase angle. The respectively current crankshaft phase angle of the crankshaft 9 can be detected continuously by means of a position encoder 43 connected to the crankshaft 9 or to the crankshaft control adapter 10, and an associated crankshaft position sensor 41. Here, the position encoder 43 may be formed for example as a toothed gear with a multiplicity of teeth arranged so as to be distributed equidistantly over the circumference, wherein the number of individual teeth determines the resolution of the crankshaft phase angle signal.
It is likewise additionally possible, if appropriate, for the present phase angles of the inlet camshaft 23 and of the outlet camshaft 33 to be detected continuously by means of corresponding position encoders 43 and associated camshaft position sensors 42.
Since, owing to the predefined mechanical coupling, the respective crankpin 8, and with the latter the reciprocating piston 6, the inlet camshaft 23, and with the latter the respective inlet valve 22, and the outlet camshaft 33, and with the latter the respective outlet valve 32, move in a predefined relationship with respect to one another and in a manner dependent on the crankshaft rotation, said functional components run through the respective working phase synchronously with respect to the crankshaft. The respective rotational positions and stroke positions of reciprocating piston 6, inlet valves 22 and outlet valves 32 can thus, taking into consideration the respective transmission ratios, be set in relation to the crankshaft phase angle of the crankshaft 9 predefined by the crankshaft position sensor 41. In an ideal internal combustion engine, it is thus possible for every particular crankshaft phase angle to be assigned a particular crankpin angle, a particular piston stroke, a particular inlet camshaft angle and thus a particular inlet valve stroke, and also a particular outlet camshaft angle and thus a particular outlet camshaft stroke. That is to say, all of the stated components are, or move, in phase with the rotating crankshaft 9.
Also symbolically illustrated is an electronic, programmable engine control unit 50 (CPU) for controlling the engine functions, which engine control unit 50 is equipped with signal inputs 51 for receiving the various sensor signals and with signal and power outputs 52 for actuating corresponding positioning units and actuators, and with an electronic processing unit 53 and an assigned electronic memory unit 54.
Owing to the so-called exhaust and refill process of the internal combustion engine, i.e. the induction of fresh air 21 or fuel-air mixture from the intake tract 20, also referred to as the inlet tract, into the combustion chamber 3, and the expulsion of the exhaust gas 31 into the outlet tract 30, also referred to as the exhaust gas tract, which takes place after combustion and depends on the stroke motion of the reciprocating piston 6 and the opening and closing of the inlet valves 22 and outlet valves 32, pressure oscillations are generated in the intake air or the air-fuel mixture in the intake tract and in the exhaust gas in the outlet tract, and these likewise occur in phase with the rotation of the crankshaft 9 and can thus be set in relation to the crankshaft phase angle.
In order to optimize the operation of an internal combustion engine, it has long been the practice in the prior art to detect continuously determined actual operating parameters by means of sensors and, in the event of deviations from setpoint operation, to adapt or correct the influencing control parameters by means of the electronic engine control unit. The focus here has hitherto been on fuel injection quantities, injection and ignition points, valve timings, boost pressure, air mass supplied, exhaust gas composition (lambda values), exhaust gas temperature etc.
Worldwide, ever more stringent legal requirements imposed on exhaust gas composition and quantities from internal combustion engines have more recently led developers to focus on the so-called compression ratio ε, as explained with reference to FIG. 2. In conventional internal combustion engines, the compression ratio is a value set by the design and mechanical structure of the internal combustion engine, and describes the ratio of the combustion space VR to the compression space KR. The compression space KR describes the residual volume enclosed in the cylinder by the piston when the piston is at top dead center TDC, as illustrated in FIG. 2a). The combustion space is the entire volume enclosed in the cylinder by the piston when the piston is at bottom dead center BDC, as shown in FIG. 2b), and is composed of the compression space and the piston space HR, wherein the piston space HR corresponds to the volume displaced by the piston in the cylinder on its piston travel H from bottom dead center to top dead center, and thus results from the piston or cylinder cross-sectional area Q multiplied by the piston travel H.
This gives the compression ratio ε as:ε=VR/KR=(HR+KR)/KR
By increasing the compression ratio, the efficiency of the internal combustion engine may be increased. However, because of the pressures and temperatures which rise with the compression ratio, limits are imposed by the mechanical strength of the cylinders, the cylinder head gaskets and not least by the fuel quality, in particular the knock resistance. During the development of internal combustion engines, various measures could be taken to increase the compression ratio from the initial 4:1 up to 15:1 for petrol engines and up to 23:1 for diesel engines.
It has however been found that the same high compression ratio is not optimal at every operating point of an internal combustion engine. This has led to the desire for a variable compression ratio, in order to be able to set the optimal compression ratio for every operating point. Solutions already exist here, in which for example the piston travel may be varied via a so-called multi-link system, or the compression space may be increased or reduced by tilting the cylinder head. The piston travel or the tilt angle may be adjusted during operation via corresponding actuators.
Here too, as already described in connection with the abovementioned operating parameters of the internal combustion engine, it is essential that the real actual value of the set compression ratio is compared with the specified setpoint and that a corrective intervention can be made. For this, the current compression ratio must be determined reliably. Previously, this could only be achieved indirectly via determination of the adjustment travel of the actuator, or in some cases directly via cylinder pressure sensors. In the first case, uncertainties remain since any existing tolerances or deviations in the adjustment system are not determined, and in the second case substantially higher costs are incurred together with additional equipment complexity for the additional sensors. Even in the case of internal combustion engines with constant compression ratio, however, determination of the current compression ratio during continuous operation is desirable, e.g. for early detection of wear phenomena or for so-called on-board diagnosis (OBD), as well as for checking the plausibility of further operating parameters or for detecting external mechanical interventions into the mechanism of the internal combustion engine, e.g. in the course of tuning measures.

Method for determining the current compression ratio of an internal combustion engine during operation