A method for operating functional unit of a motor vehicle using an identification system, in which at least a first authorization is requested for operating the functional unit and an identification signal is transmitted to an identification device by an identification element of the identification system. The functional unit is operated after receiving and the functional unit is only operated in a second authorization. The second authorization is generated by the identification device. Using the identification device, a first signal duration of the identification signal is determined for determining a first spacing of the identification element at a first point in time, and a second signal duration of the identification signal is determined for determining a second spacing of the identification element at a second point in time, and the second authorization is generated depending on a comparison.

Exemplary embodiments of the invention relate to a method for operating a functional unit of a motor vehicle by means of an identification system. At least one first authorization is required to operate the functional unit. By means of a mobile identification element, an identification signal is transmitted as authorization to the identification device of the identification system, and after the identification signal is received, the functional unit is operated. Furthermore, exemplary embodiments of the invention relate to an identification system.
It is known that there is a requirement that an identification element must be located within the operating range of the motor vehicle in order for a functional unit of the motor vehicle to be operated. By way of example, this functional unit can cause the motor vehicle to be unlocked. The principle of Keyless-Go is to be mentioned as an example in the series production of motor vehicles. In this method, only the key or the identification element has to be brought within a distance of approximately 1.5 meters from the motor vehicle so that it is unlocked. As soon as the user touches the door handle, an unlocking of the motor vehicle is triggered. In accordance with prior art, the permissible operating range is ensured by the fact that the motor vehicle generates a low-frequency field, which is received by the key. The maximum effective range is determined by an evaluation of the field strength received by the key.
It is known that the effective range of the motor vehicle can be extended "maliciously". In order to prevent this, it is known that the distance between the motor vehicle and the identification element can also be determined, wherein, in particular, a duration of the identification signal can be measured and used as a basis for the determination. Thus, a malicious increase of the effective range can be formally prevented.
A distance measurement based on a measurement of durations of electromagnetic waves brings new challenges. A broadband identification signal is usually used for the duration measurement, which operates in a carrier frequency in the gigahertz range (see also radar, for example). The propagation properties of such high-frequency waves differ significantly from those of low-frequency waves. The penetration of bodies is to be mentioned, for example. The penetration of the human body is not a problem for a low-frequency wave. In contrast, for a high-frequency wave in the gigahertz range, a penetration of the human body is almost impossible.
To counteract this problem, it is known from the prior art that a motion sensor is implemented in the key, i.e., a passive key is not used for distance measurement. The disadvantage of this is that not all conceivable cases are solved. Furthermore, the measure only works if the identification element is not in motion. Furthermore, it is problematic that additional space and additional costs arise for the identification element.
Furthermore, it is known from the prior art that the distance determined by the identification device in a permissible way is strongly limited. This has the disadvantage that the availability decreases, since in many cases only one of the antennas available on the vehicle is able to determine a valid distance value. If the communication path to this antenna is obstructed by external influences, e.g., body attenuation, no distance can be determined. As a result, a valid and permissible access request for a user cannot be executed.
DE 10 064 141 A1 discloses a code generator used to perform a question-answer dialogue when approaching an object from a certain position. Depending on the position of the code generator, different control commands are executed in the object if the answer signal proves to be justified.
DE 10 2017 103 201 A1 discloses a method for a security system of a motor vehicle, in particular for a keyless activation of at least one security function of the vehicle.
DE 10 2014 226 925 A1 discloses a method for access verification of a motor vehicle, in which the distance of a transponder unit from the vehicle is determined at least twice at a predetermined time interval, the determined distances are compared with each other and the vehicle remains locked if the determined distances are the same.
DE 10 212 648 A1 discloses a portable code generator, which emits a response signal when triggered, which contains code information characteristic for the code generator. In a receiving unit arranged on the object side, which is connected to an evaluation unit, the code information contained in the received response signal is compared with a piece of reference code information. In addition, both the spacing of the code generator from the receiving unit and the receiving level of the response signal are measured on the object side and the position of the code generator is determined from this. This also allows a distinction to be made between the position of the code generator in the exterior and the interior. Only if the code generator is recognized as being in an approved position is access is approved and usage allowed.
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are directed to a method as well and identification system by means of which the functional unit in the motor vehicle can be operated reliably and securely.
One aspect of the invention relates to a method for operating a functional unit of a motor vehicle by means of an identification system, in which at least a first authorization is requested with the identification system for operating the functional unit. Furthermore, an identification signal is transmitted as an authorization to an identification device by means of a mobile identification element and the functional unit is operated after the identification signal has been received.
It is provided that the functional unit is only operated if the first authorization and the second authorization are present, and the second authorization is generated by means of the identification device, wherein a first signal duration of the identification signal for determining a first spacing of the identification element from the identification device at a first point in time is determined by means of the identification device. It is further provided that a second signal duration of the identification signal for determining a second spacing of the identification element from the identification device is determined at a second point in time different from the first point in time, and the second authorization is generated depending on a comparison of the determined first spacing and with the determined second spacing. Furthermore, by means of the identification device, additionally a first receiving level of the identification signal is determined at the first point in time and a second receiving level of the identification signal is determined at the second point in time, and additionally the second authorization is generated depending on a receiving level comparison of the determined first receiving level with the determined second receiving level.
The first receiving level and the second receiving level are compared with at least one reference receiving level stored in a storage medium to determine a first distance of the identification element from the identification device at the first point in time and a second distance at the second point in time, and the second authorization is generated depending on a comparison of the first distance with the second distance.
In this way, it is possible that a movement of the identification element can be reliably detected. In particular, the functional unit can then be operated depending on the detected movement and depending on the transmitted identification signal. In particular, the motor vehicle can thus be opened, for example. Thus the functional unit can be operated reliably based on two authorizations. In particular, this is still very easily possible, since the two authorizations can be generated independently of any user action. Overall, the functional unit of the motor vehicle can be operated comfortably and still reliably and securely.
In other words, as soon as the motor vehicle and the identification element, which can be designed in particular as a key, have found each other (reception of the identification signal), a cyclic distance measurement is started, wherein the cyclic distance measurement has at least two distance measurements at different points in time. If the identification element then approaches the motor vehicle, which corresponds to a usual situation, it can be assumed that a subsequent triggering of the functional element corresponds to a real user request.
In particular, a so-called "LF-polling" and a distance measurement based on the speed of light is already possible in modern motor vehicles. "LF-polling" stands for a low-frequency field with a short range, for example ten meters, which is cyclically emitted by the motor vehicle. If the low-frequency field is detected by the associated identification element, which can be the vehicle key in particular, it signals its presence. Subsequently, the motor vehicle has various possibilities to initiate functions, for example light production.
The distance can be determined by means of a second way. In particular, this prevents malicious use of the functional unit, since the second authorization is only generated when the spacing measurement is based on the duration and the distance measurement is based on the received level. Thus, a movement measurement of the identification element can be performed by means of two different ways, such that, in particular by means of the receiving level comparison, a verification of the spacing determination can be performed by means of the signal duration measurement. In particular, it is thus further possible to avoid existing physical effects like reflections or shadowing even more reliably, since the verification can take place by means of the receiving level measurement. Wrong distance measurements, based on varying values due to reflections, can in particular be prevented, since the verification is carried out based on the received level. Thus, a movement interpretation based on the reflections of the signals and the corresponding signal duration measurements can in particular also be prevented, since the distance measurement is additionally carried out based on received levels, which are independent from reflections, for example. This enables an even more reliable operation of the functional unit. The field strength measurement is carried out with the low-frequency field (LF field), since this is quite robust against body shadowing and the field strength can hardly be disturbed by body shadowing.
By way of example, a corresponding distance based on the receiving levels can be stored on the storage medium by field tests. This can, for example, be stored in a so-called look-up table. It is then possible to compare the respective receiving level with the reference receiving level on the storage device. This makes it possible to determine a respective distance of the identification element to the identification device, in particular to the motor vehicle, by means of the comparison. In particular, the two determined distances can then also be compared with each other based on the receiving levels, which means that if there is a difference between the two distances, a movement of the identification element can be concluded. This in turn leads to a movement measurement of the identification element being carried out. In particular, the spacing and the distance of the identification element can then be reliably determined by the movement measurement based on the signal duration measurement and the movement measurement based on the receiving level measurement. Thus, a verification of the movement measurement is implemented. This leads to a secure operation of the functional unit of the motor vehicle.
Furthermore, high availability is enabled by the method according to the invention, which means that a measurement can always be carried out as successfully as possible, since, in particular, a plurality of receiving devices of the motor vehicle, in particular the identification device, can be included in the method.
In the sense of high availability, the goal is therefore to include the respective receiving devices, wherein it is sufficient if only one receiving device can determine a distance. This can prevent the human body, for example, from disturbing the communication between the identification device so strongly that this cannot determine a distance. In particular, a plurality of receiving devices of the motor vehicle could be used to determine a measurement result. This makes it possible, in particular, that even if the identification signal is maliciously extended, the functional unit or the vehicle function is not operated until a movement of the vehicle key is identified. In this way, malicious access to the motor vehicle can be prevented. A high availability can nevertheless be implemented.
In particular, it can be provided that the functional unit is designed as an unlocking device of the motor vehicle. By way of example, the unlocking device of the motor vehicle can be provided as a Keyless-Go function, such that the motor vehicle can be unlocked accordingly without any user intervention and only when the user approaches the motor vehicle. Furthermore, it can also be provided that, for example, a car trunk opening device can be operated as a functional unit, such that the car trunk door can open accordingly when the user approaches the car trunk. This list is to be regarded as purely exemplary and by no means as exclusive. Thus, further functional units, for example a light device of the motor vehicle, can also be correspondingly operated by means of the method according to the invention.
According to an advantageous design, the second authorization is generated when the determined first spacing from the determined second spacing is exceeded. In other words, if the first spacing is different from the second spacing, the second authorization is generated. In particular, a movement can be identified at a first spacing and a different second spacing. Thus, it can be excluded that it is a passive identification element. In particular, the second authorization is generated and the functional unit is operated only when a movement of the identification element is detected. In particular, it can be provided that a tolerance range is defined in which the difference between the first spacing and the second spacing must be located. By way of example, it can be provided that the identification element has only moved a few centimeters within a predetermined time interval, such that no second authorization is generated. In particular, it can be provided that, if a movement from the first spacing to the second spacing has taken place within the predetermined time interval, the second authorization is generated. In particular, this allows the movement of the identification element to be reliably detected, whereby the vehicle can be operated reliably and precisely.
It has also proved to be advantageous if the second authorization is generated when the first spacing is greater than the second spacing. In other words, if the first spacing is greater than the second spacing, the identification element approaches the motor vehicle. In particular, this is the normal case in which the user with the identification element wishes the motor vehicle to be unlocked, for example. Only when an approach and, for example, no distance of the identification element from the motor vehicle can be determined, is the second authorization generated and the functional unit operated. In this way, it can be ruled out, for example, that walking past the motor vehicle with the identification element will lead to an operation of the functional unit. Thus, the functional unit of the motor vehicle can be operated reliably and comfortably depending on the situation.
In an advantageous design, the identification signal is received by means of a plurality of receiving devices, in particular four receiving devices, of the identification device and a respective signal duration measurement and a respective spacing determination from the respective receiving devices are carried out at the first point in time and at the second point in time. In particular, it can be provided that the receiving devices are arranged in different places in the motor vehicle. By way of example, a first receiving device can be arranged on a left side on a front area of the motor vehicle and a second receiving device can be arranged on a right side in the front area of the motor vehicle. It may also be possible that a third receiving device can be located in a rear area of the motor vehicle on a right side of the motor vehicle. It can also be provided that a fourth receiving device can be located on a left side in the rear area of the motor vehicle. This makes it possible that the identification signal can be received by means of four different receiving devices respectively and a respective distance measurement from the respective receiving element can be carried out. Thus it can be prevented, for example, that a low availability is implemented due to the high-frequency identification signal. In particular, this means that, for example, coverages due to the human body, which would then in turn seal off the high-frequency identification signal from, for example, one receiving device, can be received by other receiving devices, such that the identification signal can be reliably received and an access determination can be carried out. The receiving device can also be referred to as an antenna. This enables increased availability of the operation of the functional unit, such that the functional unit of the motor vehicle can be operated reliably and securely.
It has also proved to be advantageous if a position of the identification element is determined relative to the motor vehicle, depending on the respectively determined distances of the respective receiving devices. In particular by using different receiving devices, an exact position of the identification element relative to the motor vehicle can be determined on the basis of different signal duration measurements. This makes it possible, for example, that if the user approaches from a left side of the motor vehicle, a left side of the motor vehicle can be unlocked. By way of example, if the user approaches from a right side of the motor vehicle, a right side of the motor vehicle can be unlocked. Likewise it is possible, if the user approaches a rear range of the motor vehicle, that a car trunk lid can then be unlocked, for example. Thus, the functional unit of the motor vehicle can be operated very comfortably and nevertheless reliably.
In a further advantageous design form, the spacing is only taken into account in the comparison if the respective spacing falls below a predetermined spacing threshold. In other words, for example, the second authorization can only be generated when the identification element approaches the motor vehicle at less than 1.5 meters. This prevents, in particular, a signal which is emitted at a large spacing, for example maliciously generated, from being taken into account. Thus, the second authorization is only generated when the user is at a predetermined spacing from the motor vehicle. In this way, the functional unit of the motor vehicle can be operated securely and still reliably.
According to a further advantageous design, at least one first receiving level comparison of a first receiving device of the identification device and at least one second receiving level comparison of a second receiving device of the identification device is carried out, and the first receiving level comparison is compared with the second receiving level comparison, and depending on this, the receiving device is selected to determine a distance of the identification element from the selected receiving device. In other words, it is provided that first the presence of the identification element is determined by the first receiving unit and by the second receiving unit. A signal duration measurement of the first receiving device and the second receiving device is carried out. In particular simultaneously, for each spacing measurement, the received power, in particular the corresponding receiving level or equivalent parameters, such as RSSIGC for example, is detected, such that the distance measurement can be carried out. If a distance measurement via a receiving device exceeds the requirement of the maximum permissible distance, it will not be considered further. In particular, it can then be provided that, by means of the formula:
            10                        P                      spacing                          d                            b                                                1                    0                      ·                  (        spacing        )            2        =      k    =    constant  a respective constant kANT_x is calculated. The determined constant kANT_x is then compared with the reference level values, which, in particular, occurs in the clearance under ideal propagation conditions. A qualification can then be made by comparing, which is also referred to as dkx, the real key distance/identification element distance. In particular, only distance measurements whose Δkx have small values are preferred.
In other words, a first distance measurement is carried out by means of the receiving level measurement of the identification element. A second receiving level measurement is carried out at a second point in time by means of the identification element. The receiving level measurements are carried out for at least two receiving devices. A plausibility check is performed and the receiving device that has the lowest possible dkx in both measurements at the two different points in time is searched for. For the found receiving device, the distance is compared and it is evaluated whether the identification element has actually moved in the direction of the motor vehicle, in other words has approached it. As a criterion, it could be considered, for example, that a difference of the first measurement to the second measurement is 0.5 meters. It is also possible that further measurements can be made if the required distance difference is not large enough, for example, due to a user who is talking and not approaching and therefore does not want the motor vehicle to open.
The constant k0 can be permanently stored, for example, by a production adjustment (measurement of the field strength or similar) in the case of an identification element aligned in a defined manner and a known spacing/distance. By way of example, this can be set in the sensor in such a way that the control unit to be evaluated can work with a fixed value, regardless of which sensor the data comes from.
A further aspect of the invention relates to an identification system, which has an identification device and an identification element and having an electronic computing device, wherein the identification system is designed to perform the method according to the preceding aspect or an advantageous form thereof. In particular, the method is performed by means of the identification system. The identification system is in particular designed in a motor vehicle.
Advantageous designs of the method are to be regarded as advantageous designs of the motor vehicle. For this purpose, the motor vehicle has objective features which enable the method or an advantageous design thereof to be carried out.
The motor vehicle is in particular designed as a passenger car.
Further advantages, features and details of the invention arise from the following description of preferred exemplary embodiments and from the drawings. The features and combinations of features mentioned above in the description as well as the features and combinations of features mentioned below in the description of the figures and/or shown in the figures alone can be used not only in the combination specified in each case, but also in other combinations or on their own without leaving the scope of the invention.
In the figures, identical or functionally identical elements are provided with the same reference numerals.

Method for operating a functional unit of a motor vehicle by means of an identification system, in which two authorizations are necessary, and an identification system


A compressor including at least one cascade of fixed vanes, the vanes of which are mounted on a wall and between them form air-flow passages, and an air bleed system which bleeds air from the passages between two vanes, through openings made in the wall, the openings being discontinuous and each including a plurality of orifices arranged one behind the other in a direction of the air flow. An upstream orifice of each opening has a larger cross-sectional area than downstream orifices of the opening, and a number and cross section of the downstream orifices are adjusted to suit a predetermined bleed-off flow rate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns the domain of engine compressors, particularly of aircraft jet engine compressors incorporating air bleed systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known that the compression system of a jet engine (and in particular, the high pressure compressor) is one of the most critical components of the engine. The compressor of a jet engine is made up of several successive compression stages, each stage comprising a moving cascade of vanes (rotor) and a fixed cascade of vanes (stator).
As it passes into a fixed cascade of vanes, the air is diverted, causing a loss of speed and an increase in pressure. In these conditions, aerodynamic losses due to friction, also called diffusion losses, occur. These losses result in a degradation of compressor performance. In the vicinity of the walls of the airflow channel, these losses combine with friction losses along the walls and form 3D flows causing additional high losses.
Furthermore, it is known that, in the case of an aircraft jet engine, air at high pressure is generally bled off inside the high pressure compressor, principally for cooling requirements or for operating various systems of the jet engine or aircraft.
An installation with cascades of vanes is known from Patent FR-2 166 494, incorporating at least one cascade of vanes, fixed or moving, with a fluid flow passing through it, and comprising a succession of vanes supported by at least one side wall. Each passage defined by two successive vanes and the side wall incorporates at least one localized suction opening formed in this side wall and connected to suction means disposed such that the pressure at the suction openings is of the same order of magnitude as the static pressure of the local flow in the passage under consideration. Patent FR-2 166 494 furthermore provides a perforated wall arranged in a suction opening having an elongated shape, formed facing a passage between two successive fixed vanes, in a wall of the compressor casing, which serves to limit the suction rate.
On account of a large passage cross section enabling sufficient suction to be obtained, such a suction opening generally has dimensions which are large compared with those of the channel between two vanes. Therefore, as the pressure gradients in this channel are high, local fluid recirculation or ejection occurs. This recirculation, which interferes with suction, interferes with the airflow and reduces the efficiency of the air bleed system. This air bleed system is therefore not optimum, nor is the corresponding engine.
Furthermore, a compressor is known from document GB 2 407 142 that bleeds air at the passages between two vanes through openings made in a wall, which are discontinuous.

Engine compressor, particularly aircraft jet engine compressor, fitted with an air bleed system


The invention is directed to a process for the continuous acetylation of wood elements. The process particularly combines a batchwise impregnation step, with a continuous reaction step. In order to realize this, a collection step is built-in, so as to allow batches of impregnated wood elements to be fed into a reactor in a continuous manner. Very high acetylation contents can be obtained, at a level that had not been achievable before in a continuous and non-catalyzed acetylation process.

In order to produce wood-based materials with a long service life, it has been known to chemically modify the wood and in particular to acetylate the wood. Thereby materials with improved material properties, e.g. dimensional stability, hardness, durability, etc., are obtained.
In the art, it is known to use batch processes, i.e. stop/start processes for the acetylation of wood particles. Such processes, however, often lead to poor product uniformity as the properties differ significantly from batch to batch and no two batches can ever be considered as identical.
Some references address the option to conduct wood acetylation in a continuous process. Thus, e.g., EP 0746570A1 discloses a process for the acetylation of lignocellulosic materials (LM) comprising a first step wherein the LM is brought into intimate contact with an acetylating agent comprising acetic anhydride as the major component at a temperature from 80° C. to 140° C. and bringing the acetylated LM from the first step into contact with a heated gas inert under the reaction conditions in a stripper at a temperature above 140° C. A comparable process is described in EP 650 998.
To the extent that these references would enable conducting a continuous process, this is on the basis of a plug screw feeder type of impregnation in series with continuous further processing (e.g. reaction). This is described for wood elements of relatively small dimensions, e.g., fibres, small particles, etc. When used for wood elements of larger dimensions, such as chips or strands, the plug screw will normally lead to a product wherein the wood dimensions have become smaller (crushed chips, crushed strands, broken fibres, smaller particles etc.). Particularly, if chips or strands are used, no plugging effect can be achieved to separate between zones with different pressures and/or atmospheres without destruction/crushing of the chips or strands. It is desired to provide a process for the continuous acetylation of wood particles, and particularly of wood chips or strands, wherein the particles are not damage in the way as done when using a plug screw feeder.
Moreover, in the acetylation of wood elements, particularly of wood chips, a technical challenge in providing a suitable continuous process, is to combine the advantages of a continuous process, with the desired result of a sufficiently high degree and uniformity of acetylation.
It should be noted that in determining wood acetylation degrees, two different approaches are taken in the field. One is based on WPG (Weight Percentage Gain). WPG compares a sample before and after acetylation treatment, and as a result any substances added (and any residues still present in the wood) increase the value. WPG is explained in the following formula: WPG=(Mincrease/Msample before reaction)×100%. Herein M stands for mass, and Mincrease=Msample after reaction−Msample before reaction).
The other approach, is to actually measure the acetyl content (AC). This is given as AC=(Macetyls/Msample after reaction)×100%. Typically HPLC (high-pressure liquid chromatography) can be used to quantify the acetate ion concentrations resulting from the saponification of acetyl groups from the Macetyls.
The different results for WPG and AC can be explained with reference to the following theoretical example: a sample of, e.g., 1 g of wood is acetylated and after the reaction has a mass of 1.25 g. Thus Macetyls is 0.25 g. The resulting WPG is: (1.25−1.00)/1.00*100%=25%. Calculated as acetyl content, AC is =(1.25−1.00)/1.25*100%=20%.
Hence, care should be taken not to directly compare degrees of acetylation expressed in WPG with degrees of acetylation expressed in AC. In the present description AC values are elected to identify the degree of acetylation.
The present invention aims to provide a continuous process for the acetylation of wood elements, thereby securing the concomitant advantages of consistency in quality (such as acetyl levels, and preferably also residual acetic acid and residual acetic anhydride level) and cost over existing batch processes. Particularly, the invention also aims to provide a continuous acetylation process that enables the production of all wood elements having a relatively high degree of acetylation.
It is notoriously difficult to obtain acetylation degrees of AC higher than 20% for wood elements. In the art, such degrees are only obtained via catalyzed processes. In catalyzed acetylation processes, a catalyst for the acetylation reaction is added to the wood. These are frequently toxic organic substances, such as pyridine, but also sodium bicarbonate, potassium acetate, and other salts, particularly acetate salts are known. The invention aims at providing a non-catalyzed process, thus avoiding the drawback of having residues of additional foreign substances (viz. the catalyst) remain in the wood.


A method, system and computer program product for determining a positional offset associated with a location of a road sign are disclosed herein. The method comprises obtaining a first plurality of road sign observations of the road sign captured by a plurality of vehicles, wherein the first plurality of road sign observations comprise location data of the plurality of vehicles, heading data of the plurality of vehicles, and speed data of the plurality of vehicles. The method further comprises computing, by a processor, a plurality of longitudinal offsets between at least a second plurality of road sign observations of the first plurality of road sign observations and ground truth data associated with the road sign. Further, the method comprises deriving, by the processor, a function, based on the plurality of longitudinal offsets and the speed data in the at least second plurality of road sign observations, and determining, by the processor, the positional offset associated with the location of the road sign, based on a learned heading and the derived function, wherein the learned heading is based on the heading data of the plurality of vehicles.

Various navigation applications are available to provide directions for driving, walking, or other modes of travel. Web sites and mobile applications offer map applications that allow a user to request directions from one point to another. Navigation devices based on Global Positioning System (GPS) technology have become common, and these systems are capable of determining the location of a device to provide directions to drivers, pedestrians, cyclists, and the like. As part of navigation process, it is important for users of vehicles and autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicles to detect road signs, such as, "men at work" sign, "roadwork ahead" sign etc., or temporary signs such as barrier boards, etc. with accurate positioning of these signs.
Moreover, especially for precise navigation assistance particularly in the context of autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicles, identifying such signs well in advance is of utmost importance to avoid collisions and undue mishaps. However, most of the existing sign recognition systems are incapable of computing the offset associated with road sign observations. Sign recognition observations provided by existing sign recognition systems are inaccurate due to presence of a distance gap (offset) between the information of GPS logger and the actual road sign. Quite often there may be errors/offsets in the determined position of a road sign when compared with the actual position of the road sign. As such, the location of road signs determined by these systems may be inaccurate and not suitable for applications requiring precise positioning.

Methods and systems for determining positional offset associated with a road sign


Methods and systems for identifying a meaning of an ambiguous term in a natural language query. The media guidance application isolates first and second terms from a query received from a user and identifies, in a knowledge graph, first and second pluralities of candidate components associated with the first and second terms. The first and second terms each having multiple candidate components indicates the first and second terms have ambiguous meanings. The media guidance application matches each candidate component of the first and second pluralities of candidate components to form a plurality of pairs and determines strength of association for each pair in the plurality of pairs. The media guidance application filters the plurality of pairs by strength of association for each pair and determines a plurality of possible meanings based on the filtered plurality of pairs. The media guidance application selects a meaning from the plurality of possible meanings.

The increased use of natural language processing in systems that people use daily has greatly raised the average person's expectations regarding how the computer formulates an answer to a query formatted for natural conversation. Many terms in such queries are only given meaning based on context and other terms in the query. In order for systems to handle the increasingly complex natural language queries, it is necessary to identify the meaning of the ambiguous terms in a way that allows the system to efficiently provide a relevant answer in real time.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Systems and methods for identifying a meaning of an ambiguous term in a natural language query


Generally described, the methods disclosed herein for recycling fiber composite source objects, such as wind turbine blades, include converting a whole wind turbine blade to an output material state that is useful for manufacturing other products, such as those used in construction of buildings, packaging, raw materials, and pellets, among other products. The recycling process is performed while tracking the progress and location of each wind turbine blade such that the direct source of the output material may be determined. In some embodiments, the method includes sectioning the wind turbine blades, crushing the wind turbine blade sections, tracking the progress of each blade through the process, and loading output materials into a suitable transportation vessel. Correlating each wind turbine blade to a quantity of output material provides several advantages, including various certifications of the material for uses with restricted or otherwise controlled products and materials, cost savings, and other advantages.

Wind energy, and more specifically the use of wind turbines to generate electricity, is an exploding market. There are many companies producing blades for this growing number of turbines, and these blades need to be periodically replaced if they wear out or become damaged. This generates a problem for blade manufacturers, utilities, and other entities that may wish to keep decommissioned blades out of landfills. Although the prospect of recycling wind turbine blades may be attractive and consistent with the notion of wind energy as a "green" power source, it has not previously been technically or economically feasible. Despite previous efforts, experts have regarded wind turbine blades as "unrecyclable" and a problematic source of waste. See Liu et al., "Wind Turbine Blade Waste in 2050," Waste Management, Vol. 62, pp. 229-240 (April 2017). With the growing importance of wind power in worldwide energy production, this problem will only get worse.
One obstacle is that if a potentially viable recycling process is proposed, wind turbine owners and manufacturers have no reliable way to verify which of the blades have been properly recycled and where the recycled material originated, among other obstacles.
The applicant has determined that these obstacles continue to inhibit the development of wind turbine blade recycling processes, partially because there is currently no system to efficiently track the status of blades after installation at a wind farm. Tracking the status of wind turbine blades in a recycling process is important for several reasons. For example, as suggested above, such a tracking system would allow turbine owners, utilities, or certification organizations to determine whether blades have been recycled properly and to correlate each recycled blade and its raw material that can be used for feedstock for various products. As another example, a tracking system would allow recyclers to adjust or redesign recycling processes to achieve further productivity and quality gains. In addition, when recycled blades are transformed into useful raw materials, the tracking system would provide manufacturers with additional intelligence to improve the productivity and quality of their manufacturing processes.
As a greater part of commercial and residential power is provided through renewable resources, the supply of used and no longer serviceable wind turbine blades has grown. Therefore, a need exists for methods to recycle the no-longer serviceable wind turbine blades, and other objects, and track the status of the recycling process accordingly.


While a transmission time interval (TTI) length of other than 1 ms is in effect for communication between mobile and network nodes, at least one timer related to discontinuous reception (DRX) is implemented according to a rule that defines a time duration of the timer different from a time duration of the same timer implemented when the TTI length is defined as 1 ms. There are a plurality of such DRX-related timers, and in certain embodiments each is associated with one rule of a set of rules for implementing the respective timer when the TTI length is other than 1 ms; and in particular examples the timers are associated with groups for this purpose and all the timers of at least one of the groups is implemented according to the same rule of the set. Thus new DRX parameters need not be sent anytime the TTI length changes.

Acronyms used herein are listed below following the detailed description.
The 3GPP sets various goals to guide the development of future iterations of wireless communications, a current one of which is set forth in a study item by Ericsson and Huawei at document RP-150465 entitled LATENCY REDUCTION TECHNIQUES FOR LTE [3GPP TSG RAN Meeting #67; Shanghai, China; Mar. 9-12, 2015]. Section 4.1 of that document sets for the following objective:                Study enhancements to the E-UTRAN radio system in order to:                    Significantly reduce the packet data latency over the LTE Uu air interface for an active UE            Significantly reduce the packet data transport round trip latency for UEs that have been inactive for a longer period (in connected state).
That same section further quotes from RAN1 #83 that the following area should be studied from the physical (PHY) layer                TTI shortening and reduced processing times [RAN1]:                    Assess specification impact and study feasibility and performance of TTI lengths between 0.5 ms and one OFDM symbol, taking into account impact on reference signals and physical layer control signaling            backwards compatibility shall be preserved (thus allowing normal operation of pre-Rel 13 UEs on the same carrier);
Conventionally the TTI length in E-UTRA networks is 1.0 milliseconds (ms). There has been some investigation into the ramifications of shortening this TTI length; see for example 3GPP TR 36.881 v0.5.0 (2015-11) which sets out a TCP performance evaluation for a shorter TTI This study shows that that the best performance is achieved with a mix of TTI lengths; see for example the conclusions at section 11. In this regard document R2-153889 by Ericsson, entitled AREAS FOR LATENCY REDUCTION [3GPP TSG-RAN WG2 #91; Beijing, P. R. China; Aug. 24-28, 2015] explains that since the initial window size for each TCP connection is very small and the increase is steeper for each size increment, the effect of latency reductions for both RTT and HARQ RTT are more considerable for the slow start phase. It follows that it would be beneficial to first start with a short TTI length and then increase it.
From the above referenced documents it appears likely that a new TTI length will be introduced for future wireless cellular communications. The inventors herein consider that such a new TTI length will impact various operations related to discontinuous reception (DRX), but the only prior art recognition of such impact is seen to be at section 3.3 of document R2-153889 which recognizes that the UE may in certain instances have an increased DRX opportunity due to a shorter active transmit time (specifically, no longer needing to send padding bits when obtaining a fast uplink grant that the shorter TTI enables). DRX is an energy saving concept well-established in the cellular wireless arts and for context certain specifics of conventional DRX operation in the E-UTRAN system are outlined in the description below. Embodiments of these teachings address at last some aspects of DRX operation when the TTI length is changed.

Discontinuous reception timer operation for changed TTI length


Techniques are provided for de-duplication of data. In one embodiment, a system comprises de-duplication logic that is coupled to a de-duplication repository. The de-duplication logic is operable to receive, from a client device over a network, a request to store a file in the de-duplicated repository using a single storage encoding. The request includes a file identifier and a set of signatures that identify a set of chunks from the file. The de-duplication logic determines whether any chunks in the set are missing from the de-duplicated repository and requests the missing chunks from the client device. Then, for each missing chunk, the de-duplication logic stores in the de-duplicated repository that chunk and a signature representing that chunk. The de-duplication logic also stores, in the de-duplicated repository, a file entry that represents the file and that associates the set of signatures with the file identifier.

The approaches described in this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section.
De-duplication of data generally involves eliminating redundant copies of data items. According to one approach, storage de-duplication provides an encoding for a file system. The encoding is such that identical data blocks, which appear in multiple files in the file system, are stored only once physically in a disk repository and are pointed to by the various files' metadata structures. For example, instead of storing data blocks, a file in the encoded file system may store references to data blocks, some of which may be shared with other files, where each data bock is associated with a reference count.
According to another approach for de-duplication of data, network de-duplication reduces the amount of traffic being sent over a network by eliminating the transfer of data blocks that have been already been sent in the past. By doing so, the network de-duplication approach may achieve two objectives—bandwidth savings and faster transfer (assuming that the processing time to de-duplicate data blocks does not outweigh the time savings due to transfer of less data).
While network de-duplication and storage de-duplication bear some similarities, they have different and conflicting motivations. Storage de-duplication aims at optimizing storage utilization and trades it off with overhead in performance. In contrast, network de-duplication aims at optimizing network performance and trades it off with overhead in storage. Thus, the objectives and trade-offs of the network de-duplication approach and the storage de-duplication approach are directly opposite to and conflicting with each other.


An apparatus and method for the improved combined edge bead removal and backside wash of spin coated semiconductor wafers is disclosed. This is preferably accomplished by providing a nozzle having a plurality of outlets adapted for the ejection of a cleaning fluid onto the backside of a semiconductor wafer. This cleaning fluid can be EEP or a similar EBR type of solvent. This dual outlet nozzle can be mounted to a stationary EBR arm, and preferably comprises two outlets located on a beveled top surface that are separated at a predetermined angle. The angle of this beveled top surface with respect to a horizontal plane of the processed wafer is preferably about 45 degrees, while the angle of each nozzle outlet with respect to a primary axis of the stationary EBR arm is also preferably about 45 degrees. Other angles are also possible in order to maximize solvent jet efficiency.

In most conventional integrated circuit (IC) manufacturing processes, a semiconductor wafer to be processed is placed inside a process chamber and atop a chuck, where it is typically held in place. Such chucks typically have a diameter that is slightly less than that of the semiconductor wafer, such that the wafer can overhang the chuck by a small amount around the entire circumference of the chuck surface. Prior to processing, the semiconductor wafer is usually positioned on the chuck such that the center of the wafer lies on or near the center of the chuck, with both the wafer and the chuck residing in substantially parallel horizontal planes. One surface of the wafer, which is designated as the bottom or inactive side, is the one that is placed in contact with the chuck, while the opposite top surface is designated as the active surface to be processed.
Processing of the wafer can be accomplished via a variety of techniques and methods well known in the art, such as various CVD, PVD, spray and spin coating procedures. During a typical spin coating procedure, for example, which is usually performed through use of a rotating chuck, one or more coating materials are applied to the semiconductor wafer by flowing at least one liquid coating material onto the top surface of the wafer while it is spinning. As the chuck rotates, a liquid coating material, such as a photoresist, is then applied at the wafer center. The centrifugal force of the rotating wafer then causes the liquid coating material to spread radially outward from the center of the wafer towards the edge, such that the top of the wafer is substantially evenly coated with the liquid coating material.
Photoresist, polyamide, and other spin-coated materials are typically spun onto the semiconductor wafer in a sticky form, which when dried becomes brittle, such that the material has a tendency to crack, chip, flake or even shatter where the spun on film is too thick. Although such effects can result in defects in the finished wafer, film thickness for the majority of the wafer is usually controlled throughout the spin on operation and in a subsequent drying or heat treatment step. This is not usually the case, however, for any spun on liquid that travels to the edge of the wafer or to the wafer backside. While it is desirable that excess coating material be ideally ejected or sucked away from the edge of the wafer, more often than not some coating material will invariably collect at and form a bead along the edge of the wafer.
On occasion, excess coating material may even curl around and under the wafer to collect and rest along the backside of the wafer. These "edge beads" and "backside deposits," as they are called, tend to be irregular by nature, and if not accounted for will almost invariably result in the kind of cracking, chipping and flaking that accompanies a coating film that is too thick or otherwise irregular. Furthermore, any coating material that has crept around to the backside of the wafer during the spin coating process can not only become a source of particulate contamination, but can also prevent proper leveling and focusing of a lithography tool during any potential subsequent photoexposure step.
Accordingly, a common follow up step after any spin coat step or steps in the wafer manufacturing process is to dispense a solvent, such as ethoxypropanol (EEP) at or near the edge of the wafer to dissolve the edge bead and remove any photoresist or other undesirable coating from the edge and/or backside of the wafer. Although some wafer processing systems, such as those employing a frustraconical or similar catch cup design, do not require backside wafer cleaning, virtually all systems and techniques do require at least an edge bead removal or similar process step. In such an "edge bead removal," "backside wash," and/or "wet edge bead operation" cleaning step, a solvent is typically sprayed via nozzle to the bottom and/or top surfaces of the wafer near the outer edge while the wafer is spinning. This solvent, which is sometimes referred to as edge bead removal (EBR) fluid or solvent, can be sprayed onto the backside edge of the wafer, in which case it usually spreads outward and curls up and around to the top of the wafer to dissolve the edge bead during a spray and spin process. Alternatively, this solvent can be dispensed directly onto the top edge of the wafer, whereby it usually spreads outward and curls around toward the bottom of the wafer to dissolve the edge bead.
Various apparatuses and methods for depositing a spin coated film on a semiconductor wafer and cleaning up edge beads and backside deposits are well known, and instances of such apparatuses and methods can be found, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,062,288; 6,033,988; 5,952,050; 5,952,045; 5,939,139; 5,911,090; 5,868,843; 5,718,763; 5,688,411; 5,444,921; 5,294,257; 4,732,785; 4,668,334; and 4,113,492, for example, all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. As mentioned in some of these references and elsewhere, one or some combination of one or more top and bottom nozzles as outlined above is frequently employed for purposes of edge bead removal and backside wash. In most such cases, however, such processes allow solvent and dissolved photoresist to be splashed about, which often leaves an undesirably jagged edge profile on the photoresist or other coating material, which in turn tends to result in wafer defects at those locations.
In addition, the use of only one nozzle is often insufficient to provide enough solvent over enough of an area to result in an adequately complete backside wash and edge bead removal for an entire wafer. Furthermore, most semiconductor wafers are not perfectly round, as many have one or more flattened areas or "flats" along the outer circumference in order to better facilitate other steps of the wafer manufacturing process. Such a flat on a wafer is a region that is particularly susceptible to irregularities in spin coated films, and many edge bead removal and backside wash techniques do little or nothing to account for the irregular nature of the "flat" region of a wafer. As a result, edge beads tend to be more prevalent in such regions, with the accompanying rise in wafer defects as well.
Accordingly, there exists a need for improved apparatuses and methods for cleaning semiconductor wafers during and after the processing of same, and more particularly, for such apparatuses and methods to provide better and more reliable results in an edge bead removal and backside wash process, especially at or near the flat regions of such wafers.

Dual outlet nozzle for the combined edge bead removal and backside wash of spin coated wafers


An electrical coupling (10) adapted for connection to a complementary connector includes an elastomeric insert (16) having a plurality of inner cylindrical conductive contacts forming a socket and disposed within a cylindrical molded body (14) from which a multi-conductor cord (12) extends. The electrical coupling (10) further includes a coupling nut (22) disposed about the insert (16) and having inner threads (22a) for engaging and drawing the complementary connector into secure engagement with a first surface (26a) of an annular flange (26) disposed about the periphery of the insert. In one embodiment, the coupling nut (22) includes an annular, inner flange having a plurality of spaced, symmetrical detents (36). A washer (24) disposed intermediate a second, opposed surface (26b) of the insert's peripheral flange (26) and the coupling nut's inner flange (34) includes first projections on a first surface thereof which engage the annular flange's second surface when the coupling nut (22) is tightened. The washer (24) further includes second projections (50) on a second, opposed surface thereof which are each positioned within a respective detent (36) of the coupling nut (22) to provide a locked connection. An outer sheath (18) may be assembled to the coupling nut (22) to permit the coupling nut to be rotated for tightening until a predetermined torque is reached, whereupon the sheath freely rotates about the tightened coupling nut. Other embodiments include the combination of a split washer (96) engaging an inner ratchet surface of the coupling nut (86) and a combination of spaced outer bosses (122a, 122b, 122c and 122d) around the insert (116) engaging either a circular (142) or an undulating (128) inner flange of the coupling nut to provide a locking feature with a tactile indication of connector tightening and locking.

The great versatility of programmable logic controllers permits the programmable logic controller to monitor and control virtually any type of operating system. In the past, programmable logic controllers were frequently hard-wired to various sensors and devices within the system for monitoring and controlling their operation. Hard-wired installations limit the flexibility and adaptability of the programmable logic controller by preventing connection of the programmable logic controller to another component in the operating system or to another operating system. Multi-wire electrical connectors are increasingly being used for connecting the programmable logic controller to the operating system or a component therein to provide this flexibility. Because the electrical leads carry power, sensor and control signals and because the operating environments of such systems are frequently hostile and subject to shock, vibration, and other stresses, electrical connectors used in such applications must be rugged, easily installed and removed, and must accommodate a plurality of discrete conductors.
These types of connectors frequently include a threaded coupling nut attached to a molded connector body with conductive pins or inner contacts which is adapted for coupling to a mating connector assembly. The threaded coupling nut is subject to loosening due to shock and vibration such as encountered in many common manufacturing environments. Once the threaded coupling nut becomes unseated, removal of the plug-like leads from the socket portion of the connector is easily accomplished, resulting in a breaking of the electrical connection. In addition, it is difficult to determine the extent to which the coupling nut is secured. If it is turned too much, deformation or damage may result. If the nut is not fastened enough, the tendency to become loose is greater.
The present invention addresses the aforementioned limitations of the prior art by providing a high strength, locking, vibration resistant electrical coupling which also affords a user a tactile indication of tightening and locking of the connector portions.

Vibration resistant electrical coupling with tactile indication


According to this invention, a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device includes the steps of forming an impurity diffusion layer of a second conductivity type on a semiconductor substrate of a first conductivity type, forming a transitition layer containing a constituent element of the semiconductor substrate on the impurity diffusion layer, and doping an impurity of the second conductivity type in the metal compound layer by annealing in a reducing atmosphere. A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor substrate of a first conductivity type, an impurity diffusion layer of a second conductivity type formed in the semiconductor substrate of the first conductivity type, and a conductive metal compound layer formed on the impurity diffusion layer, wherein the conductive metal compound layer consists of at least a transition metal, a semiconductor element, and an impurity element of the second conductivity type which is an impurity element of the second conductivity type, and the impurity element of the second conductivity in the conductive metal compound layer is uniformly distributed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device and, more particularly, to a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device having a shallow impurity layer.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, electric circuits consisting of a large number of transistors and resisters are arranged in the main portion of a computer or communication equipment, and a large scale integrated circuit (LSI) obtained by integrating the large number of transistors and resistors in one chip is frequently used as the electric circuit. The improvement of the performance of one LSI is important to design high-performance equipment. Since this improvement can be achieved by increasing a degree of integration of, e.g., an LSI, a field effect transistor (FET) must be micro-patterned. For this purpose, when the length of each gate of the FET is decreased, source and drain regions must be shallow. For example, low-acceleration ion implantation is popularly used for forming these regions. In this method, shallow source and drain regions each having a depth of about 0.1 .mu.m can be formed, and a micro-patterned FET having high performance can be formed.
However, an impurity layer formed by only the ion implantation has a high resistance, i.e., a sheet resistance of 100.OMEGA./.quadrature. or more. In order to increase the speed of the FET, the sheet resistance of the impurity layer must be decreased to cause a drain current to properly flow.
When the diameter of a contact hole is decreased, Si contained in an A.lambda.-Si-Cu alloy used as an electrode wiring material is precipitated in the contact hole to cause an increase in contact resistivity.
In order to solve the above two problems, a method of metallizing a part of the impurity layer or the inside of the contact hole is considered. For example, a method called silicide is used.
According to this method, after a field oxide film 83 is formed on a (100) Si substrate 81, a gate oxide film 85, a gate electrode 87, and a gate side-wall insulating film 89 (thickness of about 150 nm) are formed on the field oxide film 83. An impurity diffusion layer 91 is formed in the surface of the Si substrate 81 by well-known ion implantation, and a titanium (Ti) film 93 is deposited on the entire surface of the resultant structure to have a thickness of 40 nm.
As shown in FIG. 1B, the surface of the Si substrate 81 is heated by lamp annealing, a silicide film, i.e., a titanium silicide (TiSi.sub.2) film 9, is formed in the surface layer of the impurity diffusion layer 91.
As shown in FIG. 1C, after the non-reacted Ti film 93 is removed by etching, an insulating film 97 is formed. Finally, contact holes are formed in the insulating film 97, and electrode wiring layers 99 are formed, thereby obtaining an FET.
According to this method, the TiSi.sub.2 film 95 having a thickness of 80 nm can be formed, and the sheet resistance can be decreased to about 2 to 3.OMEGA./.quadrature..
However, recent extensive studies have pointed out the following problems of a method of this type.
The depth of a diffusion layer must be set to be 0.1 .mu.m or less to form an FET having a gate length of 0.3 .mu.m or less. Boron (B) used for forming a p.sup.+ -type diffusion layer has a diffusion coefficient smaller than that of arsenic (As) used for forming an n.sup.+ -type diffusion layer. For this reason, in order to form such a shallow p.sup.+ -type diffusion layer by using B, annealing must be performed at a low temperature of about 850.degree. C.
When the TiSi.sub.2 film 95 is formed by the above method, however, B ions in a high-concentration region formed on the surface of the Si substrate are consumed for forming the TiSi.sub.2 film 95. It is found that the B concentration of a TiSi.sub.2 /Si interface is considerably decreased.
For example, when the p.sup.+ -type diffusion layer is formed by annealing at 850.degree. C using ion implantation of BF.sub.2, the B concentration of the TiSi.sub.2 /Si interface is a low value, i.e., 3.times.10.sup.19 cm.sup.-3 or less. On the other hand, high-temperature annealing in a POC.lambda..sub.3 gas atmosphere at 850.degree. C. for 60 minutes may be performed to
the reliability of the element after the TiSi.sub.2 film is formed. However, in this case, the B concentration of the TiSi.sub.2 /Si interface is further decreased. As a result, the contact resistivity of the electrode wiring layer to the p.sup.+ -type diffusion layer is very large value, i.e., 1.times.10.sup.14 .OMEGA..multidot.cm.sup.2 or more, ohmic and electric connection cannot be obtained between the p.sup.+ -type diffusion layer and the electrode wiring layer.
As a countermeasure against the above problem, the following attempt is made. That is, after the TiSi.sub.2 film 95 is formed, B or BF.sub.2 ions are implanted near the TiSi.sub.2 /Si interface from the upper surface of the TiSi.sub.2 film 95, and the resultant structure is annealed in a nitrogen atmosphere to increase the B concentration of the TiSi.sub.2 /Si interface.
However, B ions must be implanted at a high acceleration voltage of 30 keV or more to use this method, and a p.sup.+ -type diffusion layer is deeply formed under the TiSi.sub.2 film 95. For this reason, the method cannot be applied to a micro-patterned device requiring a shallow junction, and Ti ions in the TiSi.sub.2 film 95 are knocked in the Si substrate 81 by performing the ion implantation at a high acceleration voltage, i.e., a knock-on phenomenon occurs. Therefore, defects are formed in the diffusion layer and junction leakage is increased, resulting in inconvenience.
When a wiring layer obtained by stacking a metal compound layer such as a TiSi.sub.2 layer on a polysilicon layer containing an impurity such as B is to be formed, since the impurity is consumed, the wiring resistance of the polysilicon layer is increased.
On the other hand, the salicide method is also applied to a complementary MOS (CMOS)-FET. That is, in this case, the complementary CMOS-FET is manufactured by the step shown in FIG. 12 except for formation of p.sup.+ -and n.sup.+ -type impurity diffusion layers in the surface layer of the Si substrate 81. In this case, since the contact resistivity of the electrode wiring layer to the p.sup.+ -type diffusion layer has a very large value, i.e., 1.times.10.sup.-4 .OMEGA..multidot.cm.sup.2 or more, ohmic and electric connection cannot be obtained between the p.sup.+ -type diffusion layer and the electrode wiring layer.
In order to solve this problem, the following semiconductor device is proposed. In this semiconductor device, metal silicide films of different types are formed on the p.sup.+ -type diffusion layer and the n.sup.+ -type diffusion layer of the CMOS-FET, respectively. For example, a platinum silicide film is formed on the p.sup.+ -type diffusion layer and a Ti silicide film is formed on the n.sup.+ -type diffusion layer. However, since the number of steps in manufacturing the semiconductor device is very large, an inexpensive high-performance CMOS-FET cannot be obtained.
As described above, when the shallow p.sup.+ -type diffusion layer having a thickness of 0.1 .mu.m or less is formed, in a conventional salicide method, an impurity concentration of the interface between a TiSi.sub.2 film and a p.sup.+ -type diffusion layer is decreased in proportion to an increase in time for high-temperature annealing. For this reason, a contact resistivity is increased, and it is difficult to properly perform electric connection between the p.sup.+ -type diffusion layer and an electrode wiring layer. In addition, when an impurity is doped in the interface between the p.sup.+ -type diffusion layer and the Si substrate by ion implantation, the following new problems are posed. That is, the depth of junction is increased, and at the same time, junction leakage is increased.
In addition, the resistance is disadvantageously increased by consuming an impurity even in a stacked wiring layer consisting of a polysilicon film and a TiSi.sub.2 film.

Method of manufacturing a semiconductor device comprising metal silicide


A projection system that can adjust color balance of incident light is provided. The projection system includes a light source, a spatial filter, an optical separator, a scrolling unit, a light valve, and a projecting lens unit. The spatial filter has a slit to adjust a divergent angle or etendue of light emitted from the light source. The optical separator separates light passing through the spatial filter according to color of incident light. The scrolling unit has one or more spiral lens discs, which are formed by spirally arranging cylindrical lens cells, rotate, and scroll color beams separated by the optical separator. The light valve processes light passing through the scrolling unit according to an image signal and forms an image. The projecting lens unit magnifies the image formed on the light valve and projects the magnified image onto a screen.

1. Field of the Invention
An apparatus consistent with the present invention relates to a projection system and, more particularly, to a projection system that can adjust color balance by adapting the areas of color bars using a spatial filter.
2. Description of the Related Art
Projection systems are classified into three-panel projection systems and single-panel projection systems according to the number of light values which control the on/off operation of light emitted from a high-output lamp on a pixel-by-pixel basis and form an image. Single-panel projection systems include a smaller optical device than three-panel projection systems, but have an optical efficiency equal to ⅓ of that of the three-panel projection systems. This is because they use a sequential method to separate a red beam R, a green beam G, and a blue beam B of white light. Hence, attempts to increase the optical efficiency of single-panel projection systems have been made.
In a general single-panel projection system, light irradiated from a white light source is separated into R, G, and B beams using color filters, and the three color beams are sequentially sent to a light valve. The light valve appropriately operates according to the sequence of the color beams received and creates images. As described above, the single-panel optical system sequentially uses color beams so that the light efficiency is reduced to ⅓ of that of a three-panel optical system. A scrolling method has been proposed to solve this problem. According to the color scrolling method, white light is separated into R, G, and B beams, and the three color beams are sent to different locations on a light valve. Further, since an image cannot be produced until all of R, G, and B beams for each pixel reach the light valve, R, G, and B color bars are moved at a constant speed in a particular method.
In a conventional single-panel scrolling projection system, as shown in FIG. 1, white light emitted from a light source 100 passes through first and second lens arrays 102 and 104, a polarizing beam splitter array 105, and a condenser lens 107, and is separated into R, G, and B beams by first through fourth dichroic filters 109, 112, 122, and 139. To be more specific, the red beam and the green beam, for example, are transmitted by the first dichroic filter 109 and travel along a first optical path L1, while the blue beam B is reflected by the first dichroic filter 109 and travels along a second optical path L2. The red beam R and the green beam G on the first optical path L1 are separated by the second dichroic filter 112. The second dichroic filter 112 transmits the red beam R along the first optical path L1 and reflects the green beam G along a third optical path L3.
As described above, the light emitted from the light source 100 is separated into the red beam R, the green beam G, and the blue beam B. The R, G, and B beams pass through first through third scrolling prisms 114, 135, and 142, respectively, thereby performing a scrolling operation. The first through third scrolling prisms 114, 135 and 142 are disposed on the first through third optical paths L1, L2, and L3, respectively, and rotate at a uniform speed such that R, G, and B color bars on a surface of a light valve 130 are scrolled. The green beam G and the blue beam B that travel along the second and third optical paths L2 and L3, respectively, are transmitted and reflected by the third dichroic filter 139, respectively, and then combined. Finally, the R, G, and B beams are combined by fourth dichroic filter 122. The combined beam is transmitted by a polarizing beam splitter 127 and forms an image using the light valve 130
The scrolling of the R, G, and B color bars due to rotation of the first through third scrolling prisms 114, 135, and 142 is shown in FIG. 2. Scrolling represents the movement of color bars formed on the surface of the light valve 130 when scrolling prisms corresponding to colors are synchronously rotated.
The light valve 130 processes image information according to an on/off signal for each pixel and forms an image. The formed image is magnified by a projecting lens (not shown) and projected onto a screen.
Since such a method is performed using an optical path provided for each color, an optical path correction lens must be provided for each color, and a component for re-collecting separated light beams must be provided for each color. Accordingly, an optical system is large, and yield is degraded due to a complicated manufacturing and assembling process. In addition, a large amount of noise is generated due to the driving of three motors for rotating the first through third scrolling prisms 114, 135, and 142, and the manufacturing costs of a conventional projection system adopting the above-described method is increased compared to a color wheel method adopting only a single motor.
In order to produce a color image using a scrolling technique, color bars as shown in FIG. 2 must be moved at a constant speed. The conventional projection system must synchronize a light valve with three scrolling prisms in order to achieve scrolling. However, it is not easy to control the synchronization. Further, because the scrolling prisms 114, 135, and 142 make circular motions, the color scrolling speed by the three scrolling prisms is irregular, consequently deteriorating the quality of an image.
The width of each of the color bars is determined according to the width of the beams traveling along the optical paths L1, L2, and L3. If the width of the beams traveling along the optical paths L1, L2, and L3 is narrow, the width of each of the color bars is narrow, and black bars K between the color bars are formed as shown in FIG. 3A. On the contrary, if the width of the beams traveling along the optical paths L1, L2, and L3 is wide, the width of each of the color bars is wide, and overlapping portions P of the color bars are generated as shown in FIG. 3B.
Such black bars K or overlapping portions P deteriorate the quality of a color image. This phenomenon may be explained using the etendue (E).
The etendue (E) denotes an optical conservation physical quantity in any optical system and is given by Equation 1:
                    E        =                              π                                                                          A                                                                                sin                2                                                          (                                  θ                                      1                    /                    2                                                  )                                              =                                    π                                                                                A                                                      (                                  4                                    F                                                        /                                                      No                                )                            2                                                          (        1        )            wherein A denotes the area of an object whose etendue is to be measured, θ1/2 denotes half of an incident angle or an emitting angle of a light beam incident or emitted on the area A, and F/No denotes the F-number of lenses used in the optical system. The relationship equation,
      sin              (              θ                  1          /          2                    )        =      1          (              4                F                          /                        No            )      is obtained from Equation 1. According to Equation 1, the etendue (E) is determined by the area of the object and the incident angle of the incident beam or the F-number of lenses. The etendue (E) denotes a physical quantity that depends on the geometric structure of an optical system. The etendeu (E) at the starting point of the optical system must be equal to that at the ending point thereof in order to obtain an optimal light efficiency. That is, the etendue (E) must be conserved from the starting point to the ending point of the optical system. If the etendue at the starting point is less than that at the ending point, the area of the object A in Equation 1 is great when F/No is constant. On the contrary, if the etendue at the staring point is greater than that at the ending point, the area of the object A in Equation 1 is reduced so that light loss may be generated.
Here, when the starting point of the optical system is considered as a light source and the object is considered as a light valve, if the etendue (E) of the light source is greater than that of the optical system, the area of the color bars increases so that the colors are mixed at boundary portions between the color bars. On the contrary, if the etendue (E) of the light source is less than that of the optical system, the area of the color bars is reduced so that black bars K are generated between the color bars. The black bars K or the mix of the colors deteriorate the quality of a color image.
However, the black bars K need to be generated in a special case. For example, in a case where an LCD is used as the light valve 130, it may be difficult to sequentially process an image signal for each of the color bars. That is, when the color bars are scrolled sequentially, an image signal is changed according to the change of the color bars, making it difficult to sequentially process the changed image signal. In such a case, the black bars need to be generated between the color bars in order to produce time delay necessary for processing the changed image signal.
As described above, in the optical system which produces an image using the scrolling method, since the width of the color bars is required to be occasionally adjusted, means for adjusting the width of the color bars must be provided.


An arrangement for mounting a sliding door to a vehicle body for movement between an open position and a closed position. The arrangement includes a guide track mounted to the sliding door, a carriage support arrangement carried by the sliding door and a swing arm. The swing arm is connected to the carriage for pivotal movement about a first axis and to the body for pivotal movement about a second axis. With the sliding door unlatched, the swing-arm rotates the carriage support arrangement and the sliding door through an obtuse swing angle, thereby reducing longitudinal tipping forces on the sliding door. Further, when the swing-arm and sliding door are in the full-open position, the sliding door's center of gravity is only slightly offset aft of the carriage support arrangement, thereby reducing the force needed to remove the swing-arm, carriage support arrangement and vehicle sliding door to a fully-closed position.

It is known in the art relating to vehicle sliding doors to provide a middle track on the inside of the door to improve the exterior lines of the vehicle. It is also known to use a pair of swing-arms to pivot the door out of the door panel in the manner of a four bar parallelogram linkage. One sliding door arrangement discloses a single swing-arm having its one end pivoted to a body pillar and its other end pivoted to a carriage sleeve slidably supported on a longitudinal bar fastened on the inside of the door, for resisting the entire weight of the door. The swing-arm, which is limited to ninety degrees of rotational travel, has a rigid guide arm, fixed at the swing-arm other end, and includes a guide roller on its free end that travels in a curved end of a stationary body guide rail at the door bottom edge.

Track arrangement for vehicle sliding door


A double-reeved lifting device includes a lower reeve block secured to a lifting hook and an upper reeve block, wherein the two reeve blocks include reversible connection means adapted to be reversibly configured between a connected configuration and a disconnected configuration. The reversible connection means include a locking mechanism and a complementary locking structure having a frame securely supporting a bolt. The locking mechanism includes a chassis having a locking channel provided with a mouthpiece through which the bolt is configured to enter and exit and slide in the locking channel respectively upon a relative approach or distancing between the two reeve blocks, and at least one latch pivotally mounted on the chassis so as to pivot inside the locking channel, the latch provided with a free end adapted to engage with the bolt.

In a known manner, a double-reeved lifting device is adapted to be reversibly configured between two reeving configurations including a simple-reeved configuration with two lifting strands and a double-reeved configuration with four lifting strands, wherein the double-reeved lifting device comprises a reeving change system to perform a change of reeving between the simple-reeved configuration and the double-reeved configuration.
Conventionally, such a double-reeved lifting device comprises two reeve blocks, namely a lower reeve block secured to a lifting hook and an upper reeve block, and these two reeve blocks comprise reversible connection means adapted to be reversibly configured between:                a connected configuration in which the upper reeve block is connected to the lower reeve block so as to be able to accompany it in ascending/descending movements, and        a disconnected configuration in which the upper reeve block is disconnected from the lower reeve block so as to be able to remain hanging above the lower reeve block which could perform descending/ascending movements without the upper reeve block.
The lower reeve block is hanging from the lifting machinery by a lifting rope connected to a lifting winch to make the lower reeve block ascend/descend, and this lifting rope passes through the upper reeve block, so that the connected configuration and the disconnected configuration respectively correspond to a double-reeved configuration and to a simple-reeved configuration, or vice versa, of the double-reeved lifting device, depending on the passage of the lifting rope at the level of the upper reeve block.
For example, the documents FR 1 520 612, FR 2 137 333, FR 2 368 431, FR 2 131 924, FR 2 228 024 describe double-reeved lifting devices in which the connected configuration corresponds to the double-reeved configuration, and the disconnected configuration corresponds to the simple-reeved configuration; the lifting rope passing under a pulley carried by the upper reeve block.
And conversely, the documents GB 2 176 456, FR 2 333 743, DE 31 49 690, DE 35 43 214 describe double-reeved lifting devices in which the connected configuration corresponds to the simple-reeved configuration, and the disconnected configuration corresponds to the double-reeved configuration; the lifting rope passing above a pulley carried by the upper reeve block.
However, the reversible connection means known in this prior art to connect/disconnect the two reeve blocks, are barely satisfactory. Indeed, some of them involve numerous parts which become loose, reduce the reliability of the mechanism and require a lot of maintenance, not to mention the high manufacturing costs, others require accessories to activate actuators located in general at the root of the jib, which limits the possibilities of replacement of the reeving at the root of the jib, posing an accessibility problem if the latter is in an inaccessible area of the work site, other still require manual operations on the ground for connecting/disconnecting the reeve blocks which might turn out to be dangerous if they are badly performed, and which are time-consuming.

Double-reeved lifting device with a latch-locking mechanism