Disclosed in a microwave integrated circuit, having a semiconductor substrate on which a field effect transistor is formed, a micro strip line, a contact hole and an interconnecting line. The microstrip line comprises a ground conductor, a signal line and a dielectric film interposed between the ground conductor and the signal line, and it is laminated on the semiconductor substrate. The contact hole is formed in the micro strip line so that the dielectric film above the field effect transistor is removed, and the interconnecting line is provided in the contact hole for connecting the field effect transistor with the ground conductor or signal line of the micro strip line.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a microwave integrated circuit.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In recent years, development of various devices using a microwave circuit such as a local wireless LAN, a millimeter wave radar and the like has been made. In this development, the most significant matter is to simply and cheaply manufacture the microwave circuit. In order to reduce the manufacture cost of the microwave circuit, it is the most effective means to make small the dimension of a chip with the microwave circuit. Thus, the circuits which are not generally employed are of the type that is called a monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC). As shown in FIG. 1, the monolithic microwave integrated circuit is a circuit having a micro strip line structure in which electronic devices such as MESPET, HEMT and the like and a transmission line such as a micro strip line and the like are integrated together on a GaAs substrate. In the MMIC chip, it is possible to make small the dimension of the chip. However, the manufacture process of the MMIC chip is difficult and its yield is also low. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the micro strip line structure, in general, has a signal line 5 which is formed on one side or surface side of the GaAs substrate 1 and a ground conductor 3 which is formed on the opposite side or the back side thereof. However, the process for forming this structure is very difficult, because the GaAs substrate usually having 650 micron must be made thin up to a thickness of a degree of 50 micron so as to form a micro strip line between the surface and back sides of the substrate. As a result, the strength of substrate is reduced. Moreover, in order to make contact with the ground conductor 3 on the back side of the substrate, a via hole must be formed in the GaAs substrate having a thickness of 50 micron. However, this formation process is also very difficult.
Taking such circumstances into consideration, there has been proposed a method of forming a thin film micro strip line on the GaAs substrate (this structure is called reverse micro strip line structure, ref. FIG. 2), in order to readily form the micro strip line. In this method, a dielectric film 7 made of resin is formed on the surface of the GaAs substrate 1, and the ground conductor 3 is further provided on the dielectric film 7, thereby constructing a micro strip line using the dielectric film 7 as an interlayer dielectric. With the construction as described above, there is no need of making thin the GaAs substrate 1 and forming a via hole in the GaAs substrate 1. Therefore, the manufacture process is easy. However, the dielectric film is formed on the electronic device such as HEMT and MESFET. In accordance with this structure, in order to connect the micro strip line with these electronic devices, there is a need of forming a contact hole in the interlayer dielectric film 7, as shown in FIG. 2 (hereinafter, reference numerals G, D and S in the accompanied drawings denote a gate electrode, a drain electrode and a source electrode of electronic device, respectively). Then, if the thickness of the dielectric film 7 becomes thick, the contact hole must be formed large. As a result, the dimension of the MMIC type chip also becomes large. Moreover, in the reverse micro strip line structure, the signal line 5 and the dielectric film 7 with specific dielectric constant of being about 3 are formed on the GaAs substrate with dielectric constant of being 13, and further, the ground conductor 3 is formed thereon as the uppermost layer. In the structure as described above, an electric field is generated as shown by an arrow E of FIG. 3. In this state, effective dielectric constant changes depending upon interconnecting pattern. Then, if the effective dielectric constant changes, an effective wavelength also changes. Due to the changes as described above, a design of microwave circuit cannot help being complicated.
Meanwhile, in order to solve the above problem, there has also been proposed an MMIC chip which employs a thin film micro strip line having a normal micro strip line structure as shown in FIG. 4. In this structure, the ground conductor 3 is formed adjacent to the GaAs substrate 1. Therefore, an electric field E is substantially closed between the signal line 5 and the ground conductor 3, as shown in FIG. 5. Accordingly, effective dielectric constant is determined substantially by the interlayer dielectric film 7. Therefore, a design of microwave circuit is easy. However, this structure also needs to form a contact hole in the dielectric film 7 in order to mutually connect the signal line 5 of the micro strip line and the electronic device, and, if the dielectric film 7 is formed thick, the contact hole must be also formed larger. In accordance with this, as shown in FIG. 6, a distance d from the electronic device to the micro strip line end becomes long in order to secure a margin between contact holes. The distance d is hard to handle as a model when making a design of circuit, and it produces inductive reactance which cannot be neglected when a millimeter wave band having a short wavelength, etc. is utilized. Therefore, it is difficult to make an alignment of electronic devices with interconnecting liens. Moreover, in the case where the dielectric film is formed on electronic devices such as HEMT and MESFET, gate-to-source capacitance and gate-to-drain capacitance increase. As a result, high speed performance of these electronic devices deteriorates.
As is seen from the above description, in the MMIC chips having electronic devices such as HEMT and MESFET and a surface micro strip line using resin, to achieve cost reduction, it is desirable that the distance from electronic device to the micro strip line end is made short as much as possible so as to make small chip size and to enhance alignment with a design.


A mass spectrometry apparatus includes a holding table that holds a specimen to be ionized, a probe that identifies a portion of the specimen to be ionized, an ion extraction electrode that extracts ions obtained by ionizing the specimen, a liquid supplying unit that supplies liquid to between the specimen and the probe to form a liquid bridge between the specimen and the probe, a vibrating unit that vibrates one of the probe and the holding table, an electric field generating unit that generates an electric field between the probe and the ion extraction electrode, a mass spectrometry unit that mass analyzes ions extracted by the ion extraction electrode, and a synchronization unit configured to synchronize a time at which ions are generated from the portion with a time at which the mass spectrometry unit measures the ions.

1. Field
The present invention relates to an ionization device and a mass spectrometry apparatus for ionizing a specimen and mass analyzing a specimen.
2. Description of the Related Art
For analysis of component in a surface of a solid specimen, a technology for ionizing a solid substance in an atmospheric pressure environment has been developed.
For example, such a technique is described in the following non-patent literature: Yoichi Otsuka et al., "Scanning probe electrospray ionization for ambient mass spectrometry" Rapid Communications in mass spectrometry, 26, 2725 (2012). In the technique, a small volume of the solvent is deposited onto a microregion of a surface of a solid specimen, and a component of the specimen is dissolved in the solvent. Thereafter, the component is ionized by electrospray ionization. Generated ions are introduced into a mass spectrometry apparatus, which measures the mass-to-charge ratio of the ion. Thus, the component can be analyzed. To deposit the solvent onto the microregion of the surface of the solid specimen, a probe formed from a needle-like capillary is used. The solvent is continuously fed to the probe. A liquid bridge is formed between the probe and the surface of the solid specimen that is located in close proximity to the probe. The component contained in the surface of the solid specimen is dissolved into the liquid bridge. The solvent having the component dissolved therein is ionized by applying a voltage to the solvent. The probe is vibrated and, thus, the solvent that is continuously supplied to the surface of the solid specimen is ionized. Such a technique is referred to as Tapping-mode Scanning Probe Electrospray Ionization (Tapping-mode SPESI). In contrast, a technique for ionizing the solvent with the probe remaining in close proximity to the surface of the solid specimen is referred to as Contact-mode Scanning Probe Electrospray Ionization (Contact-mode SPESI).
In the Tapping-mode SPESI described in non-patent literature above, a liquid bridge is alternately formed and disrupted. In the technique, dissolution of a component into the liquid bridge and ionization of the component are alternately and continuously performed. The frequency of the formation of the liquid bridge and the ionization is determined by the frequency of vibration of the probe. In addition, the mass spectrometry apparatus is electrically separated from an ionization device. The mass spectrometry apparatus and the ionization device are independently driven. The ions introduced into the mass spectrometry apparatus are measured within a predetermined measurement period of time.
In the technique, measurement using mass spectrometry is performed even during a period of time during which ionization is not performed, that is, during a period of time during which a liquid bridge is being formed and during a period of time during which ions are being generated after the liquid bridge is formed.
As a result, a noise signal generated when ionization is not performed is mixed with measurement data, which makes mass spectral analysis of the data difficult.
In addition, it is difficult to finely control the number of ionization processes performed within the measurement time of ionization, the quantitative capability of measurement is low and, thus, the quantitative capability when the measurement values each measured in one measurement process are compared with one another is low.
In contrast, in terms of Contact-mode SPESI, a technique for steadily vibrating a substrate having a solid specimen placed thereon is proposed. In such a technique, vibration of the substrate makes ionization stable. However, measurement of ions is performed during an entire period of vibration time of the substrate, a noise signal generated during a period of time during which ionization is not actually performed is mixed in measurement data. In addition, when the substrate is steadily vibrated for a long time, a device for generating the vibration is heated. The heat may cause the amplitude and the frequency of the vibration to fluctuate.

Ionization device, mass spectrometry apparatus, mass spectrometry method, and imaging system


A closet pole and shelf support bracket includes a bracket back plate portion for securing to a closet wall, a bracket body portion having a first (back) edge releasably secured to the back plate, a second (top) edge defining a shelf support surface, and a third (front) edge, and a closet pole support element releasably secured to the bracket body front edge. The closet pole support element may be in the form of a support hook (for medial support of the pole) or a left or right rosette (for terminal support of the pole).

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to building materials and home construction hardware, and more specifically to an improved bracket structure for closet pole and closet shelf support.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Storage closets typically include a horizontal closet pole or rod to enable hanging of garments from clothes hangers. Traditional closet pole support brackets simply provide a bracket body which is secured by nails or screws to the wall of the closet, and terminating in a fixed hook portion into which the closet pole may be rested, with the ends of the closet pole captured in and supported by separate rosettes secured to the closet walls. Such traditional brackets are often difficult to install and remove, and to align with the corresponding rosettes on opposing walls.


In some embodiments, a capacitor includes a first conductive layer electrically coupled to a first terminal, a second conductive layer electrically coupled to a second terminal, a floated conductive layer disposed between the first and second conductive layers, and a plurality of non-conductive layers respectively disposed between each of the conductive layers. Other embodiments are disclosed and claimed.

Electronic devices typically include a variety of common circuit components, including passive components such as resistors, inductors, and capacitors, as well as active components such as transistors and integrated circuits. Passive components such as inductors or capacitors are designed to store energy, and resistors are designed to resist the flow of applied current to a specified degree. Most capacitors comprise conductive plates separated by an insulator and are configured to provide a specified opposition to change in voltage across the plates.
In practical applications, passive components may not have only those desired electrical characteristics described above. For example, a capacitor may exhibit some amount of effective inductance and resistance. Although it is difficult to measure the resistance or inductance present across a capacitor because it includes a nonconductive layer, various methods of measuring and calculating an equivalent series inductance (ESL) and an equivalent series resistance (ESR) of a capacitor have been developed and are useful in characterizing capacitors. Equivalent series inductance is also sometimes called parasitic inductance, indicating that although it is present it is not generally desired.
In conventional capacitors, it is difficult to provide both high equivalent series resistance (ESR) and low equivalent series inductance (ESL).


Apparatus for controlling the temperature of a reaction mixture held within a reaction container, the apparatus including a radiation source for exposing the reaction container to radiation thereby heating the reaction mixture, a temperature sensor for sensing a temperature indicative of a reaction mixture temperature and a controller for controlling the radiation source in accordance with the reaction mixture temperature to thereby selectively heat the reaction mixture.

The reference in this specification to any prior publication (or information derived from it), or to any matter which is known, is not, and should not be taken as an acknowledgment or admission or any form of suggestion that the prior publication (or information derived from it) or known matter forms part of the common general knowledge in the field of endeavour to which this specification relates.
PCR is a technique involving multiple cycles that results in the exponential amplification of certain polynucleotide sequences each time a cycle is completed. The technique of PCR is well known and is described in many books, including, PCR: A Practical Approach M. J. McPherson, et al., IRL Press (1991), PCR Protocols: A Guide to Methods and Applications by Innis, et al., Academic Press (1990), and PCR Technology: Principals and Applications for DNA Amplification H. A. Erlich, Stockton Press (1989). PCR is also described in many U.S. patents, including U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,683,195; 4,683,202; 4,800,159; 4,965,188; 4,889,818; 5,075,216; 5,079,352; 5,104,792; 5,023,171; 5,091,310; and 5,066,584.
The PCR technique typically involves the step of denaturing a polynucleotide, followed by the step of annealing at least a pair of primer oligonucleotides to the denatured polynucleotide, i.e., hybridizing the primer to the denatured polynucleotide template. After the annealing step, an enzyme with polymerase activity catalyzes synthesis of a new polynucleotide strand that incorporates the primer oligonucleotide and uses the original denatured polynucleotide as a synthesis template. This series of steps (denaturation, primer annealing, and primer extension) constitutes a PCR cycle.
As cycles are repeated, the amount of newly synthesized polynucleotide increases exponentially because the newly synthesized polynucleotides from an earlier cycle can serve as templates for synthesis in subsequent cycles. Primer oligonucleotides are typically selected in pairs that can anneal to opposite strands of a given double-stranded polynucleotide sequence so that the region between the two annealing sites is amplified.
Denaturation of DNA typically takes place at around 90 to 95° C., annealing a primer to the denatured DNA is typically performed at around 40 to 60° C., and the step of extending the annealed primers with a polymerase is typically performed at around 70 to 75° C. Therefore, during a PCR cycle the temperature of the reaction mixture must be varied, and varied many times during a multicycle PCR experiment.
The PCR technique has a wide variety of biological applications, including for example, DNA sequence analysis, probe generation, cloning of nucleic acid sequences, site-directed mutagenesis, detection of genetic mutations, diagnoses of viral infections, molecular "fingerprinting" and the monitoring of contaminating microorganisms in biological fluids and other sources.
In addition to PCR, other in vitro amplification procedures, including ligase chain reaction as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,988,617 to Landegren and Hood, are known and advantageously used in the prior art. More generally, several important methods known in the biotechnology arts, such as nucleic acid hybridization and sequencing, are dependent upon changing the temperature of solutions containing sample molecules in a controlled fashion. Conventional techniques rely on use of individual wells or tubes cycled through different temperature zones. For example, a number of thermal "cyclers" used for DNA amplification and sequencing are disclosed in the prior art in which a temperature controlled element or "block" holds a reaction mixture, and wherein the temperature of the block is varied over time. One advantage of these devices is that a relatively large number of samples can be processed simultaneously, e.g. 96 well plates are commonly employed. However, such devices suffer various drawbacks, in that they are relatively slow in cycling the reaction mixtures, they are relatively energy intensive to operate, temperature control is less than ideal and detection of the reaction mixture in situ is difficult.
In an effort to avoid several of these disadvantages, other thermal cyclers have been developed in which a plurality of containers for holding reaction mixture(s) are supported on a rotatable carousel rotatably mounted within a chamber adapted to be heated and cooled. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 7,081,226 to Wittwer et al. However, these devices still suffer various disadvantages. For example, control over the temperature of the reaction mixtures is less than ideal, control over the rate of heating and cooling of the reaction mixtures is less than ideal, and these devices have relatively poor energy efficiency.
Thus, there still remains a need for thermocyclers for PCR which provide improved temperature control of the reaction mixtures, are not complex to use, can provide real-time to analysis of the reaction occurring in the sample containers, and are energy efficient.
The present invention seeks to overcome or ameliorate at least one of the disadvantages of the abovementioned prior art, or to provide a useful alternative.


A plasma confinement ring comprising a first generally planar surface; a second generally planar surface; an aperture extending between the first and second surfaces, the aperture including an annular surface, and a curved surface extending between the annular surface and the first planar surface. A method of manufacturing a plasma reactor for processing a semiconductor wafer, the method comprising providing a reactor chamber and an electrostatic chuck in the reactor chamber for supporting a semiconductor wafer; providing a plasma confinement ring having first and second opposite surfaces, an aperture extending between the first and second opposite surfaces, the aperture being defined by an annular surface, an annular corner being defined at the intersection of the annular surface and the first surface; enhancing adhesion of condensed polymer byproducts by rounding the annular corner to provide a gradual transition from the annular surface to the first surface and roughening the rounded corner to increase surface area; and supporting the ring in the chamber.

Single wafer plasma etchers are known in the art. Plasma etchers include a reactor chamber, a susceptor or electrostatic chuck in the reactor chamber, and a top electrode in the reactor chamber, above the electrostatic chuck. A wafer is supported on the electrostatic chuck, etching gasses are introduced into the reactor chamber, and a plasma is initiated by supplying a voltage between the top electrode and the electrostatic chuck. It is known to employ stacked plasma confinement rings in single wafer plasma etchers. A plasma confinement ring is an annular ring made of SiO.sub.2 that is positioned intermediate the electrostatic chuck and the top electrode in the reactor chamber of a single wafer plasma etcher. The ring has upper and lower opposite surfaces, and has a central aperture including a vertical annular surface. The central aperture has a diameter which is just slightly larger than the diameter of the wafer. The opening in the ring focuses or centralizes the plasma over the wafer for etching purposes.
In the course of the plasma etching, and particularly when using a perfluorocarbon or hydrofluorocarbon etching gas chemistry, gas fragments condense on interior chamber surfaces and react to form short-chain "polymers." These polymers become especially thick on the interior vertical surface of the central aperture of the ring. This surface sees much more of the plasma than the upper and lower flat surfaces because plasma formed in the reactor is more concentrated against this vertical surface than upper and lower surfaces of the ring.
The polymer or precursor continues to build until the point where it must be cleaned from the surfaces. If it is not cleaned soon enough, it starts to peel or flake-off and fall and deposit either on the wafer (creating point defects) or on the electrostatic chuck, preventing adhesion of subsequent wafers to the chuck, thereby halting the process. It may also deposit on a wafer in process, leading to manufacturing defects and yield loss. The manufacturers of such plasma reactors and rings have procedures and processes as to how to clean the ring after the polymer or precursor is formed. One plasma etching apparatus, employing confinement rings, is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,534,751 to Lenz et al.
Fairly sharp edges or corners are defined where the annular surface meets the upper and lower surfaces of the ring, although these corners are slightly rounded due to the process of manufacture or for safety reasons. The inventors of the present invention have discovered that these sharp edges define "delamination initiation corners" which throughout the course of heat cycling or temperature cycling creates a stress point in the deposited polymer or precursor film which facilitates interfacial crack propagation causing it to flake off the ring.

Polymer adhesive plasma confinement ring


Methods may be provided to operate a wireless terminal UE in a wireless communication network. Responsive to receiving a request for a primary identification of a non-serving base station for the wireless terminal, transmission to the non-serving base station for the wireless terminal may be initiated using a random access channel RACH configuration. A random access response RAR may be received from the non-serving base station. Moreover, the random access response may be received with the primary identification of the non-serving base station, and the random access response may be responsive to the transmission using the RACH configuration. The primary identification of the non-serving base station may be transmitted to a node of the wireless communication network other than the non-serving base station.

This disclosure relates to recent technology trends that are of interest in a 5G context. This disclosure may also be applicable in further development of the existing mobile broadband systems such as WCDMA and LTE. Some relevant technology trends are briefly discussed in this section.
A design principle currently under consideration for NR (New Radio) is to base it on an ultra-lean design. This may imply that "always on signals" from the network should be reduced/avoided as much as possible. Possible benefits from this design principle may include significantly lower network energy consumption, better scalability, a higher degree of forward compatibility during the RAT evolution phase, lower interference from system overhead signals and consequently higher throughput in low load scenario, and/or improved support for user centric beam-forming.
In case of operating NR in non-standalone mode, supported by LTE (Long Term Evolution), then the NR (New Radio) nodes are not transmitting system information, neither to provide the global cell identifier (ECGI in LTE) nor the random access parameters for the NR nodes. FIG. 1 illustrates a non-standalone configuration with a UE 10, LTE Master eNBs 20, and NR gNBs 30. The UE 10 is served by a LE MeNB 20 and can at the same time be connected to one or more NR gNBs 30.
Beam-formed transmission of synchronization and a physical cell identifier (PCI) may be used.
In New Radio (NR), a Synchronization Signal (SS) block may include at least two time-division multiplexed components: Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS) and Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS). SSS can be used for downlink based Radio Resource Management (RRM) measurement for Layer 3 mobility.
The PSS+SSS are transmitted together with a broadcast channel denoted PBCH, which carries a small part of the system information, sometimes referred to as the Master Information Block (MIB). The PSS+SSS+PBCH structure is denoted SS Block.
The SS Block is broadcast in a cell to provide crucial information for UEs, and is also considered to be transmitted by gNBs in non-standalone mode.
An example of SS block configuration is provided in FIG. 2, where each SS block in an SS block burst set is associated to a beam.
Connected mode mobility will now be discussed.
Mobility is supported by measurements of alternative beams at neighboring NR nodes. When the measurements meet a configured criterion (e.g. neighbor beam/cell becomes better than currently serving), the UE will send a measurement report to the serving LTE MeNB, which can use the information to decide to add, replace, remove the connectivity to an NR gNB. The LTE MeNB may use the reported PCI to identify the target NR gNB, which requires that the MeNB is configured with a mapping between the PCI and the unique gNB ID, or the transport network layer (TNL) address information to the gNB. The TNL address information can be retrieved using the unique gNB ID. In the following, the unique gNB ID will be denoted Global Node ID, GNID. The association procedure to establish a relation between a non-unique PCI and a unique gNB ID is commonly denoted Automatic Neighbor Relations (ANR).
In LTE, ANR was based on UEs upon request detecting and reporting the unique evolved cell global ID, ECGI, which is broadcasted as part of the system information.
The random access procedure in a mobile communication system (such as LTE) in case of initial access is outlined below with respect to FIG. 3:                Step 1 includes transmission of a random access preamble, allowing the receiving node to estimate the transmission timing of the UE. Uplink synchronization is necessary as the UE otherwise cannot transmit any uplink data.        Step 2 includes the network transmitting a timing advance command to correct the uplink timing, based on the timing of arrival measurement in the first step. In addition to establishing uplink synchronization, the second step also assign a temporary identifier to the UE, and temporary identifier of the node, to be used in the third step in the random access procedure. In NX is it envisioned that several nodes may reply to the Random Access Preambles sent by the UE in step 1.        Step 3 includes signaling from the UE to the network in order to setup connection. A primary function of this message is to uniquely identify the UE. The exact content of this signaling depends on the state of the UE, e.g., whether it is previously known to the network or not.        Step 4, the final phase, is responsible for contention resolution in case multiple UEs tried to access the system on the same resource.
The random access resource in a beam based system may need to be associated to a beam based random access reception, where the beam forming gains of the synchronization signal transmission and the random access reception may need to be aligned and matching. One typical configuration is illustrated by FIG. 4 with the random access resources defined by offsets in time and/or frequency in relation to the SS block, or NR synch signal in general (NR-SS). The random access resource can be separated into one or several resources.
Overhead for current ANR procedures, however, may be inefficient, and/or current ANR procedures may be unsuitable for non-standalone cases.

Methods providing primary identifications of base stations and related wireless terminals and base stations


A signal processing apparatus may comprise: a pixel array where a plurality of pixels for storing data values are arranged; and a noise removing unit suitable for reflecting a data value of an adjacent pixel that is adjacent to a selected pixel, and a gain value depending on a data value of the selected pixel, on the data value of the selected pixel, and outputting the reflected data value of the selected pixel.

1. Field
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to a signal processing technique and more particularly, to a signal processing apparatus and a signal processing method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Image sensors sense lights and convert brightness of the lights to digital image data. A complementary metal oxide semiconductor image sensor (CIS) is one of the image sensors nowadays. Needs for a digital image processing apparatus using the CIS rapidly increase and thus functions of the digital image processing apparatus are being developed day by day. Despite the development, it is difficult to store an image of a subject as it is. According to a current status of technology, an image is stored through sampling of representative value of the subject. Recently, research is progressing in order to obtain image information as close as the subject possible.
When taking a picture of a subject having both of a bright region and a dark region, it is hard to obtain a fine image of the subject with an excellent view of both the bright region and the dark region in spite of optimal time of exposure and optimal adjustment of aperture. A wide dynamic range (WDR) technique is one of solutions to those concerns. The WDR technique is classified into a 'multiple sampling method' and a 'well capacity adjusting method'. The multiple sampling method has an advantage of an excellent combination quality and a disadvantage of need for a frame memory or a plurality of line memories due to a combination of a plurality of images with time difference. The well capacity adjusting method has disadvantages of nonlinearity and image composition due to large distribution between unit pixels. In short, the WDR technique causes an unintended noise with an obtained image.

Signal processing apparatus and method for reducing noise


A memory having an array of perpendicular spin-transfer torque (STT) magnetic random access memory (MRAM) cells, wherein each cell has a magnetic layer stack. A magnetic shield disposed between the cells and having a minimum height of at least the height of the magnetic layer stacks.

Perpendicular Spin-Transfer Torque (STT) Magnetic Random Access Memory (MRAM) is an embedded non-volatile memory technology based on magnetoresistance.
FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram 100 of a perpendicular STT-MRAM stack 110 coupled to a transistor 120. Unlike typical RAM technologies, which store data as electric charge, MRAM data is stored by magnetoresistive elements. Generally, the magnetoresistive elements are made from two magnetic layers, each of which holds a magnetization. The magnetization of one layer (the "fixed layer" or "pinned layer" 110A) is fixed in its magnetic orientation, and the magnetization of the other layer (the "free layer" 110C) can be changed by a spin polarized programming current. Thus, the programming current can cause the magnetic orientations of the two magnetic layers to be either in a same direction, providing a lower electrical resistance across the layers ("0" state), or in opposing directions, providing a higher electrical resistance across the layers ("1" state). The switching of the magnetic orientation of the free layer 110C and the resulting high or low resistance states across the magnetic layers provide for the write and read operations of the typical MRAM cell.
The magnetic layer stack 110 in combination with top and bottom electrodes (not shown) located on top of the free layer and below the fixed layer, respectively, is known as a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ). A programming current typically flows through the access transistor 120 and the MTJ. The fixed layer polarizes the electron spin of the programming current, and torque is created as the spin-polarized current passes through the MTJ. The spin-polarized electron current interacts with the free layer by exerting a torque on the free layer. When the torque of the spin-polarized electron current passing through the MTJ is greater than the critical switching current density, the torque exerted by the spin-polarized electron current is sufficient to switch the magnetization of the free layer. Thus, the magnetization of the free layer can be aligned to be either in a same or an opposing direction to the pinned layer, and the resistance state across the MTJ is changed.
FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of an STT-MRAM cell 200, which may be fabricated to form an array of memory cells in a grid pattern including a number of rows and columns, or in various other arrangements depending on the system requirements and fabrication technology. STT-MRAM cell 200 includes magnetic layer stack 210, bottom electrode 290, top electrode 295, bit line 220, source line 230, access transistor 240, word line 250, read/write circuitry 260, sense amplifier 270, and bit line reference 280.
A programming current is applied for the write operation of STT-MRAM cell 200. To initiate the programming current, read/write circuitry 260 may generate a write current to bit line 220 and source line 230. The polarity of the voltage between bit line 220 and source line 230 determines the switch in magnetization of the free layer in the magnetic layer stack 210. Once the free layer 210C is magnetized according to the spin polarity of the programming current, the programmed state is written to the STT-MRAM cell 200.
To read STT-MRAM cell 200, read/write circuitry 260 generates a read current to bit line 220 and source line 230 through magnetic layer stack 210 and transistor 240. The programmed state of STT-MRAM cell 200 depends on the resistance across magnetic layer stack 210 which may be determined by the voltage difference between bit line 220 and source line 230. In some embodiments, the voltage difference may be compared to a reference 280 and amplified by sense amplifier 270.
Vertical external magnetic fields can affect the magnetic moment of the free layer resulting in undesired bit flipping. It takes a vertical magnetic field of only a few hundred Oersted (Oe) to disturb stored information. Many applications of perpendicular STT-MRAMs require a higher magnetic robustness.
In-plane STT-MRAMs, as opposed to perpendicular STT-MRAMs, are susceptible to external magnetic fields that are horizontal. This is because in-plane STT-MRAMs are written by a programming current that causes the magnetic orientations of two magnetic layers to be either horizontally in parallel or antiparallel. Stability of in-plane MRAMs with respect to external magnetic fields can be increased using magnetic shields located on the top and bottom of the dies. However, this magnetic shielding concept is only applicable to in-plane STT-MRAMs, not perpendicular STT-MRAMs. For perpendicular STT-MRAM applications, it is the vertical magnetic fields that are of concern. Therefore, applications of perpendicular STT-MRAMs require effective shielding of vertical external magnetic fields.

Magnetic shielding of perpendicular STT-MRAM


A unique sound system installed inside a toilet tank lid adapted to be used with any standard size toilet tank. This sound system which features AM & FM radio, a tape cassette player and/or a CD player. A loudspeaker system similar to any sound system available in the market helps to enhance the quality of sound. The entire system is designed to be water resistant in order to avoid electrical hazards. This audio system can be installed inside a ceramic, plastic, wood or metal cover for toilet water tank. This sound system is designed in such a way so that it can be installed in any toilet water tank available in the market. One only needs to replace the top (cover) of the conventional toilet water tank. The cover for the sound system which is identical to the cover for conventional toilet water tanks can be installed in any residential or commercial facilities. The toilet sound system can function with batteries or electrical outlet power. An radio antenna is directly connected to system for better sound quality. The sound system makes a lavatory stay or shower more fun and enjoyable.

The invention relates to a restroom entertainment system and more particularly to a quality component stereo system installed in a toilet tank lid.
The purpose of this invention is to provide a unique quality sound system for entertainment in any restroom equipped with conventional toilet seat and a water tank attached to the toilet seat. Unlike many sound system inventions, for example refer to U.S. Pat. No. 4,521,919 to Molloy, U.S. Pat. No. 4,773,863 to Douglas, U.S. Pat. No. 5,253,375 Prosper, U.S. Pat. No. 5,465,422 to Dean, and U.S. Pat. 5,518,405 to Aiello, this stereo system does not only provide quality sound but it also proves to be safer and more sanitary than the prior art where the toilet seat is the main source of the sound (radio) system. This invention is a water-resistant sound system which has the components isolated from the user of the system to prevent exposure to electrical current. In addition, in contrast to the referred inventions, this unique invention is designed in such a way so it can feature a cassette recorder as well as CD player. The quality of sound is enhanced in this sound system because unlike the referred inventions it is equipped with bigger and more powerful loudspeakers capable of stereo sound quality. The sound system can be installed as a compact package which includes a TV, a radio, a cassette player, and a CD player, or the system can be itemized and have only one the 4 basic features.
An object of the invention is to provide a quality stereo sound system for entertainment within a toilet tank which is easily operated by a user.
Another object of the invention is to provide a safe and sanitary sound system which isolates a user from contact with the system components and prevents contact with electrical current.
A further object of the invention is to provide a user of the system with multiple system components to choose from.
It is another object of the invention to provide a superior stereo sound system than the prior art by equipping the system with larger and more powerful speakers.

Toilet tank lid with stereo sound system


The invention relates to a treatment for printing a surface with an ink that includes a compound that exhibits a change of electronic spin state as a function of temperature, imparting optical properties such that the ink is visible in a temperature range that includes an ambient temperature of around 20° C. and is transparent in the visible spectrum when the ink is brought to a temperature above said range and then brought back down to a temperature within the range.

The invention therefore relates in general to a treatment for printing a surface with an ink.
In spite of the significant growth in the digitization of printable documents and their accessibility on screens where they are easily viewed, no tangible decrease in the consumption of paper for printing such documents has been observed. Studies show that users still rely on hardcopy printouts in order to read documents.
To take environmental questions into consideration, proposals for the reuse of printed paper concern the nature of the ink used for printing. The goal is an ink that can be erased (rendering the paper blank once again) by a thermal and/or chemical treatment.
Document U.S. Pat. No. 5,922,115 proposes such an ink, which is erased when it is added to a reagent that causes the color to fade at a temperature of about 140° C. However, the reagent proposed in this document is costly and the paper used must be of a special design to enable it to withstand temperatures as high as 140° C.
In addition, a method for photocatalysis of the ink is known from document EP-2110417, but this method requires about 16 hours to obtain a blank page.
Also, such methods are not reversible. The ink is erased with no possibility of its reappearing. It may be advantageous in certain applications, particularly those related to security, to cause the printing to be visible once again.
The invention improves this situation.

Treatment for printing a surface with a reversible ink

Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique—CNRS


An apparatus, based on a heat pipe, is provided for heating a building having at least one enclosed space that is bounded by a wall. The apparatus includes a plurality of passive heat transfer modules distributed along a dimension of the building and a hot source. Each passive heat transfer module includes a closed volume filled with two-phrase heat transfer fluid, at least one evaporator located outside of the enclosed space, downwardly directed heaters formed from a condenser tube, and an adiabatic circuit connecting an outlet of the evaportor and an inlet of the condenser tube. The heaters are spaced from the evaporator and located inside and at a top of the enclosed space to be heated. The hot source is located outside of the enclosed space to be heated but in heat exchange relationship with the evaporator. The hot source includes a lagged duct for the flow of a gas stream at high temperature and the adiabatic circuit passes through the wall of the enclosed space to be heated.

The present invention relates to the heating of a building, and more particularly of a building for industrial use, for example a workshop.
Document FR-A-2,320,501 has described and proposed an apparatus for heating a building using a heat pipe, for example a dwelling, consequently comprising several enclosed spaces or rooms to be heated, each bounded by a wall or equivalent separating means. This heating apparatus comprises a passive heat transfer module or system, forming a closed volume filled with a two-phase heat transfer fluid, for example a fluoro-chlorinated hydrocarbon. This module comprises, at a low end, an evaporator, located outside the enclosed space or room to be heated, a condenser located at the top inside the same enclosed space, and an adiabatic circuit connecting the outlet of the evaporator to the inlet of the condenser, passing through the wall of the enclosed space to be heated, said adiabatic circuit being designed to pass the evaporated heat transfer fluid from the evaporator to the condenser and to return the condensed same fluid from the condenser to the evaporator, all this by means of a column arranged as a heat pipe. The heating means located inside the enclosed space to be heated are solely of the convective type and are thermally coupled to the condenser.
The apparatus described above appears to be unsuitable for heating an industrial building.
Document GB-A-764,280 has described an apparatus for heating using a heat pipe, which comprises, as previously:
(a) a passive heat transfer module forming a closed volume filled with a two-phase heat transfer fluid, comprising at least one evaporator, at least one condenser and an adiabatic circuit, connecting the outlet of the evaporator and the inlet of the condenser, said adiabatic circuit being designed to pass the evaporated heat transfer fluid from the evaporator to the condenser and to return the condensed heat transfer fluid from the condenser to the evaporator; PA1 (b) a hot source in heat exchange with the evaporator; PA1 (c) heating means thermally coupled to the condenser consisting essentially of means for heating the air or ambient atmosphere convectively.

Apparatus for heating a building using a heat pipe


The cover is intended for a container with an angled rim and has a sealing mechanism acting peripherally on the edge of the container. There is, around the edge of the cover, an open elastic metal sealing ring exerting a spring force which increases with the diameter of the sealing ring. In its position of rest the sealing ring is clamped between the end region of a part of the rim of the container and the end region of an annular angled section on the edge of the cover. The sealing mechanism comprises means for expanding the diameter of the sealing ring against said spring force.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lid for a container, more particularly, a lid for a container with a bent peripheral rim.
2. Prior Art
Such a lid is known from the DE-C-360 479 comprising a closing-mechanism which can be mounted on the container independently from the lid. The closing-belt comprises a rubber-ring, which is mounted around the lid rim and the container rim, and, finally, is tightly closed with the means of a lever-mechanism. Providing of a pressure-tight junction is necessary, if a container is held under pressure, as in the case of a cooking vessel where vapor pressure is used advantageously to reduce cooking times.
In known solutions, the junction between the lid and the container is achieved by a series of lock elements which are attached to the lid, and which after positioning of the lid on the container, by means of a rotating, pivoting or gliding movement, grip under-neath the bent peripheral container rim, such that, in conjunction with an elastic joint, an over pressure can be built up in the interior of the container. These better known solutions have the disadvantages of being expensive and requiring complicated handling. The object of the invention is therefore to provide a lid for a container, in particular a cooking vessel, which is especially easy to handle.

AMC International Alfa Metalcraft Corporation AG


An apparatus for estimating capacitance of a DC link capacitor in an inverter is provided. The apparatus for estimating capacitance of a DC link capacitor selects a unit power cell in which capacitance of a DC link capacitor is to be estimated, from unit power cells, and estimates capacitance of the DC link capacitor by correcting a reference voltage that controls a plurality of unit power cells.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to an apparatus for estimating capacitance of a DC-link capacitor in an inverter.
2. Background of the Invention
A multi-level medium-voltage inverter is an inverter in which an effective value of an input line voltage is 600V or higher. The multi-level medium-voltage inverter outputs an output phase voltage having multiple stages (or multiple levels). A medium-voltage inverter is used to drive a motor having large capacity ranging from hundreds of kW to tens of MW, and mainly used in the fields such as fans, pumps, compressors, traction, hoist, conveyor, and the like.
Among multi-level medium-voltage inverters, a serial-type H-bridge inverter having a modular structure is easily extendable, so it is commonly used as a medium-voltage inverter. The serial type H-bridge inverter includes a DC link capacitor having large capacitance in every unit power cell, and here, the DC link capacitor, among constituent components of a power conversion circuit, is relatively easily broken.
FIG. 1 is a view illustrating a related art serial-type H-bridge medium voltage inverter.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, the related art medium voltage inverter 100 receives a voltage having a line voltage effective value equal to or higher than 600V from an input power source 200, converts it into a 3-phase voltage, and outputs the same to a motor 300. The motor 300 is a 3-phase motor having a medium voltage.
The medium voltage inverter 100 includes a phase replacement transformer 110 and a plurality of unit power cells 120a to 120f.
The phase replacement transformer 110 electrically insulates the input power source and the medium voltage inverter 100, reduces harmonics from an input terminal, and provides input 3-phase power to the respective unit power cells 120a to 120f.
Upon receiving power from the phase replacement transformer 110, the unit power cells 120a to 120f outputs a phase voltage of the motor 300. The respective unit power cells are divided into three groups. In FIG. 1, a power cell A1 120a and a power cell A2 120b are connected in series to synthesize an a-phase voltage of the motor 300. A power cell B1 120c and a power cell B2 120d are electrically connected to synthesize a b-phase voltage. A power cell C1 120e and a power cell C2 120f are electrically connected to synthesize a c-phase voltage. The synthesized b-phase voltage and a-phase voltage has a phase difference of 120 degrees, and the c-phase voltage and the b-phase voltage also have a phase difference of 120 degrees.
FIG. 2 is a view illustrating a detailed configuration of a unit power cell of FIG. 1.
As illustrated in FIG. 2, a unit power cell 120 of a general medium voltage inverter includes a rectifying unit 121, a DC link capacitor 122, an inverter unit 123, a voltage sensor 124, a current sensor 125, a driving unit 126, and a controller 127.
The rectifying unit 121 receives an electrically insulated AC voltage from the phase replacement transformer 110 and converts it into a DC voltage. The rectifying unit 121 generally includes a plurality of diodes, and the rectified voltage is determined by a difference between input power and output power of the rectifying unit 121 and capacitance of the DC link capacitor 122.
The DC link capacitor 122 compensates for a power difference between the rectifying unit 121 and the inverter unit 123, and the voltage sensor 124 measures a voltage from the DC link capacitor 122.
The inverter unit 123 is a single phase full bridge inverter and synthesizes output from a DC link voltage to the motor 300 through a power switch.
The current sensor 125 measures an output current from the inverter unit 123.
The driving unit 126 independently transmits a driving signal to each unit power cell. The driving unit 126 receives a voltage reference from the controller 127, generates a gating signal for determining a switching state of the inverter unit 123, and provides a state of a unit power cell to the controller 127.
The controller 127 applies a voltage reference Vref to each unit power cell 120 and determines a sequence of an overall system. The controller 127 may determine a voltage reference applied to each unit power cell 120 according to a user command and setting.
According to the voltage reference from the controller 127, the driving unit 126 may determine a gating signal with respect to the voltage reference in consideration of the DC link voltage Vdc. Also, when the driving unit 126 determines that the DC link capacitor has an error according to the output current Iout and the DC link voltage Vdc, the driving unit 126 may stop generating of the gating signal.
The DC link capacitor used to smooth the DC link voltage has a short lifespan and high fault generation frequency, relative to the other elements, significantly affecting reliability of the inverter. In order to recognize a fault state of the DC link capacitor 122, conventionally, an additional device is required, and also, although an additional device used, it is used merely in a particular operational state such as a power separation state, making it impossible to measure a state thereof in real time.

Apparatus for estimating capacitance of DC-link capacitor in inverter


A kind of improved bicycle shock absorption structure, specifically referring to a kind of improved bicycle shock absorption structure featuring a unitary configuration of the bicycle crankset with rider's saddle of the seat cluster that, furthermore, provides direct elastic characteristics upward and downward during operation. Utilizing the force of human physical weight and pedaling power, whenever the wheels are subjected to impact, the unified structure automatically responds by absorbing the shock by elastically rising and falling, the obvious shock absorption effects of which are not only immediately apparent to the rider while seated or standing, but the bicycle does not lose speed, the bicycle frame does not flex and forceful brake application does not adversely affect the effective performance of the shock absorption structure. Most significantly, the advantages offered by the invention includes the retaining of a unified design for the bicycle frame so that there is no front or rear wheel wobble, no adverse effect on power transmission system during shock absorption operation, and a luggage rack can be securely and easily installed over the rear wheel.

Although there are numerous kinds of bicycle shock absorber devices, most can be classed into the two main categories as transmission system-related and non-transmission system related. Of these, the so-called non-transmission system related variety mainly consists of systems installed on the front end of a bicycle frame, such as on the front fork, handle bar, stem and seat post, which are directly installed and have an integrated resilient component (such as a coil spring, leaf spring or elastomer, etc.). Since this type of installation is does not directly connected to the transmission system, they are simpler and less complex and of course the shock absorption characteristics are mainly focused on the hands of the rider and provide no benefits to the body of the rider. Furthermore, the so-called transmission system-related variety mainly consists of rear stays (such as the seat stays and chain stays in which the rear wheel is mounted) that are not fixed, but active installations equipped with a shock absorber that provides effective shock absorption characteristics for the body of the bicycle rider. In terms of shock absorption performance, the aforesaid variety is further divided into the three categories of low pivot point shock absorption systems, high pivot point shock absorption systems and linked axle-type shock absorption systems, with each category having several dozen variations of respective shock absorption devices. The aforesaid low pivot point shock absorption system refers to a pivot point at the rear wheel that is resilient in upward and downward movement and is positioned below the center line of the front and rear wheels. As indicated in FIG. 1, the shock absorber (30) is installed in between the seat stays (11) and the top tube (13), and the chain stays (12), in addition to having one end conjoined to the lower end of the seat stays (11), the other end is below the center line (C) of the front wheel (A) and the rear wheel (B), with the active installation near the bottom bracket (14), which enables, when the rear wheel (B) subjected to impact, the providing of a resilient upward and downward movement of the pivot point (M) to achieve effective shock absorption. This type of structure can be said to be structurally simpler, lighter in weight and results in reduced chain stretch during shock absorption operation, and although having the advantage of less effect on the transmission system, when the rear wheel is subjected to impact, the locus of wheel movement tends to be upward and forward, which produces a loss of wheel traction. Furthermore, the bicycle frame flexes when large physical objects are encountered. Since the aforesaid structure provides for rear wheel mounting at the seat stays and chain stays, and is not a solidly anchored active installation, whether riding or during brake application, wobbling readily occurs in the aforesaid rear wheel (wheel wobble increases in direct proportion to the assembly clearances of the seat stays and chain stays), and during braking operation, the braking force increases the shock absorber pressure, which decreases shock absorption efficiency and affects structural integrity. In the high pivot point shock absorption system, as indicated in FIG. 2, the middle of the high pivot point (M) is above the center horizontal line (C) of the rear wheel (B). With this type of structure, since the pivot point is positioned over the center horizontal line of the rear wheel, therefore, after shock absorption, the rear wheel moves rearward and is capable of automatically producing a horizontal shock absorption effect. As a result, when the rear wheel is impacted, reduction in bicycle speed is minimal and the bicycle rider feels less impact. However, the chain stretch tension increases considerably and pedal rebound force becomes greater, which produces adverse effects on the transmission system, and the aforesaid pedal rebound force is directly transferred to the bicycle rider, with the shortcoming of creating discomfort to the bicycle rider. Naturally, since the seat stays (11) and the chain stays (12) are both active installations, therefore, the aforementioned wobble produced by the rear wheel as well as the increased shock absorber (30) pressure from the application of bicycle braking force cannot be improved upon. Furthermore, the linked axle-type shock absorption system, as indicated in FIG. 3, is a high pivot point design with the pivot point (M) located above the center horizontal line (C) of the rear wheel (B). However, the aforesaid bottom bracket (14) is designed to move together with the rear wheel (B) and since the aforesaid bottom bracket moves with the rear wheel, therefore, during shock absorption, the advantages are that the effect on the transmission system is lessened and there is no pedal rebound. However, due to the simultaneous movement design of the bottom bracket and the rear wheel, the bicycle rider enjoys the shock absorption performance when riding in a seated position, but all shocks due to ground surface irregularities are transmitted to the rider when riding in the standing position, thereby resulting in periods when all shock absorption characteristics are predictably absent. Furthermore, during shock absorption operation while riding in the standing position, the feet are continuously subjected to shock from the ground surface, which adversely affects the comfort of the rider. Naturally, since the seat stays and the chain stays (12) are active installations, therefore, wobbling occurs in the aforesaid rear wheel and the force of brake application increases shock absorber (30) pressure, both of which cannot be overcome. In other words, although the three shock absorption systems consisting of the aforesaid low pivot point, high pivot point and linked axle-type each have the advantage of being usable, each type has several shortcomings. To the user, this obviously presents certain advantages and inconveniences in application. Furthermore, during the shock absorption operation of each type, the aforesaid rear wheel moves upward and downward and, therefore, conventional baggage racks that are mounted over the rear wheel cannot be installed or cushioned by the shock absorption structure.
Of course, in the meanwhile manufacturers have provided resilient component shock absorbers installed at the seat post of saddles such that during shock absorption, the aforesaid rear wheel cannot move upward and downward, thereby improving upon the shortcomings of the aforesaid transmission system effects as well as the inability to install baggage racks. However, the structure is still completely ineffective when riding in the standing position and, furthermore, although the saddle moves upward and downward while riding in the seated position, the pedals are incapable of a matching upward and downward movement, of which the resulting shortcoming is discomfort to the feet of the bicycle rider.
In summation, the foregoing description conveys the knowledge that the aforementioned structure of the conventional bicycle shock absorption devices obviously still have a number of utilization shortcomings that can be improved.

No. 34, Alley 10, Lane 54, Sec. 2, Yangsin Rd., Yangmei


The present invention provides a method, device and system of monetary transaction processing. The method includes the steps of entering and recording on the portable, self-powered, hand held monetary transaction processing device a plurality of monetary commitments consisting of a numerical amount and indicia read from an information bearing card. The method includes the step of batch off-loading of the data from the portable, self-powered, hand held monetary transaction processing device to a second device. Recordation of a plurality of monetary transactions is uninterrupted by verification of validation and/or authorization.

Technical Field: The invention further provides a method of monetary transaction processing that is generally applicable and not limited by the type of monetary transaction involved. This invention relates generally to method of streamlining the acknowledgement of a multiplicity of monetary transactions made at a plurality of remote locations to recipients thereof, and device and system therefor.

Method of processing monetary transaction data by batch off-loading of the data from a portable, hand-held electronic device, device and system therefor


A method for detecting an Almost-Blank Subframe (ABS) configuration for an interfering macro cell of a heterogeneous network is implemented in a wireless terminal. For one or more resource blocks in a received signal, a first power metric is calculated as a function of channel response estimates determined for predicted cell-specific (or common) reference signal (CRS) resource element locations in a plurality of symbols. For the one or more resource blocks in the received signal, a second power metric is calculated as a function of channel response estimates determined for the predicted CRS resource element locations in a single one of the plurality of symbols. A difference between the first and second power metrics is compared to a threshold, and responsive to the comparison a determination is made as to whether the macro cell is operating in a Multicast and Broadcast Single Frequency Network (MBSFN) mode or a non-MBSFN mode.

The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is continuing development of the fourth-generation wireless network technologies known as Long-Term Evolution (LTE). In heterogeneous networks, a mixture of cells of different sizes and overlapping coverage areas are deployed. Improved support for heterogeneous network operations is part of the ongoing specification of 3GPP LTE Release-10, and improved support and further improvements in the context of new features for heterogeneous network operations are being discussed for Release-11 and beyond.
One example of such a deployment is seen in the heterogeneous network 100 of FIG. 1, where several low-power cells 120 (e.g. picocells), each with a respective coverage area 150, are deployed within the larger coverage area 140 of a macro cell 110, for supporting wireless communication with one or more wireless terminals 160. The macro cell 110 corresponds to a macro-base station, or node B, ("MeNB"), while the picocells 120 correspond to pico base stations ("PeNBs"). The network 100 of FIG. 1 is suggestive of a wide-area wireless network deployment. Some additional examples of low-power nodes, also referred to as "points," in heterogeneous networks, include home base stations and relays. Although picocells are discussed throughout this application, it is understood that these are only a non-limiting example of the type of low-power cell that can be used in a heterogeneous network.
One aim of deploying low-power nodes such as picocells 120 within the macro coverage area 140 is to improve system capacity, by means of cell-splitting gains. In addition to improving overall system capacity, this approach also allows users to be provided with a wide-area experience of very-high-speed data access, throughout the network. Heterogeneous deployments are particularly effective for covering traffic hotspots, i.e., small geographical areas with high user densities. These areas can be served by picocells, for example, as an alternative deployment to a denser macro network.
Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) technology is a key underlying component of LTE. As is well known to those skilled in the art, OFDM is a digital multi-carrier modulation scheme employing a large number of closely-spaced orthogonal sub-carriers. Each sub-carrier is separately modulated using conventional modulation techniques and channel coding schemes. In particular, 3GPP has specified Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) for the downlink transmissions from the base station to a wireless terminal, and has specified Single Carrier Frequency-Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) for uplink transmissions from a wireless terminal to a base station. Both multiple access schemes permit the available sub-carriers to be allocated among several users.
SC-FDMA technology employs specially formed OFDM signals, and is therefore often called "pre-coded OFDM" or Discrete-Fourier-Transform (DFT)-spread OFDM. Although similar in many respects to conventional OFDMA technology, SC-FDMA signals offer a reduced peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) compared to OFDMA signals, thus allowing transmitter power amplifiers to be operated more efficiently. This in turn facilitates more efficient usage of a wireless terminal's limited battery resources. (SC-FDMA is described more fully in Myung, et al., "Single Carrier FDMA for Uplink Wireless Transmission," IEEE Vehicular Technology Magazine, vol. 1, no. 3, September 2006, pp. 30-38.)
The basic LTE physical resource can be seen as a time-frequency grid. This concept is illustrated in FIG. 2, which shows a number of so-called "subcarriers" in the frequency domain, at a frequency spacing of Δf, divided into OFDM symbol intervals in the time domain. Each individual element of the resource grid 210 is called a resource element (RE) 220, and corresponds to one subcarrier during one OFDM symbol interval, on a given antenna port. One of the unique aspects of OFDM is that each symbol 230 begins with a cyclic prefix 240, which is essentially a reproduction of the last portion of the symbol 230 affixed to the beginning. This feature minimizes problems from multipath, over a wide range of radio signal environments. Although reference numeral 230 points to a single RE of an OFDM symbol, it is understood that reference numeral 230 refers to the entire OFDM symbol and not just that single RE.
In the time domain, LTE downlink transmissions are organized into radio frames of ten milliseconds each, each radio frame consisting of ten equally-sized subframes of one millisecond duration. This is illustrated in FIG. 3, where an LTE signal 310 includes several frames 320, each of which is divided into ten subframes 330. Not shown in FIG. 3 is that each subframe 330 is further divided into two slots, each of which is 0.5 milliseconds in duration.
LTE link resources are organized into "resource blocks," often defined as time-frequency blocks with a duration of 0.5 milliseconds, corresponding to one slot, and encompassing a bandwidth of 180 kHz, corresponding to 12 contiguous sub-carriers with a spacing of 15 kHz. Resource blocks are numbered in the frequency domain, starting with 0 from one end of the system bandwidth. Two time-consecutive resource blocks represent a resource block pair, and correspond to the time interval upon which scheduling operates. Of course, the exact definition of a resource block may vary between LTE and similar systems, and the inventive methods and apparatus described herein are not limited to the numbers used herein. Thus, although the term "resource block" is used below to refer to a block of resources covering 12 consecutive subcarriers with a duration of 1 millisecond (a 12×14 resource block) instead of a duration of 0.5 milliseconds (a 12×7 resource block), it is understood that this is only a non-limiting example.
In general, resource blocks may be dynamically assigned to wireless terminals, and may be assigned independently for the uplink and the downlink. Depending on a wireless terminal's data throughput needs, the system resources allocated to it may be increased by allocating resource blocks across several sub-frames, or across several frequency blocks, or both. Thus, the instantaneous bandwidth allocated to a wireless terminal in a scheduling process may be dynamically adapted to respond to changing conditions.
For scheduling of downlink data, the base station transmits control information in each subframe. This control information identifies the wireless terminals to which data is targeted and the resource blocks, in the current downlink subframe, that are carrying the data for each terminal. The first one, two, three, or four OFDM symbols in each subframe are used to carry this control signaling, and may be referred to as a "control region." In FIG. 4, a downlink subframe 410 is shown, with three OFDM symbols allocated to control region 420. The control region 420 consists primarily of control data resource elements (REs) 434, but also includes a number of cell-specific reference signal (CRS) REs 432, used by the receiving station to measure channel conditions. These reference signal REs 432 are interspersed at predetermined locations throughout the control region 420 and among the data REs 436 in the data portion 430 of the subframe 410, and correspond to a cell-specific (or common) reference signal (CRS).
Transmissions in LTE are dynamically scheduled in each subframe, where the base station transmits downlink assignments/uplink grants to certain wireless terminals (also known as user equipment, or UEs, in 3GPP terminology) via the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). The PDCCHs are transmitted in the control region 420 of the OFDM signal, i.e., in the first OFDM symbol(s) of each subframe, and span all or almost all of the entire system bandwidth. A UE that has decoded a downlink assignment, carried by a PDCCH, knows which resource elements in the subframe that contain data aimed for that particular UE. Similarly, upon receiving an uplink grant, the UE knows which time-frequency resources it should transmit upon. In the LTE downlink, data is carried by the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) and in the uplink the corresponding channel is referred to as the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH).
LTE also employs multiple modulation formats, including at least QPSK, 16-QAM, and 64-QAM, as well as advanced coding techniques, so that data throughput may be optimized for any of a variety of signal conditions. Depending on the signal conditions and the desired data rate, a suitable combination of modulation format, coding scheme, and bandwidth is chosen, generally to maximize the system throughput. Power control is also employed to ensure acceptable bit error rates while minimizing interference between cells. In addition, LTE uses a hybrid-ARQ (HARQ) error correction protocol where, after receiving downlink data in a subframe, the terminal attempts to decode it and reports to the base station whether the decoding was successful (ACK) or not (NACK). In the event of an unsuccessful decoding attempt, the base station can retransmit the erroneous data.
LTE offers the possibility of transmitting Multicast and Broadcast over a Single Frequency Network (MBSFN), in which a time-synchronized common waveform is transmitted from multiple cells for a given duration. MBSFN transmission can be highly efficient, allowing for over-the-air combining of multi-cell transmissions in the UE while appearing to the UE as a transmission from a single large cell. Use of MBSFN can improve received signal strength, and can eliminate inter-cell interference.

Almost-blank subframe configuration detection in heterogeneous networks


An “LED” driving circuit comprises an “LED” driving voltage generator which generates an “LED” driving voltage, a pulse width modulation (“PWM”) control unit which outputs a “PWM” signal having a predetermined duty ratio, and a main switching unit which controls the driving voltage applied to the “LEDs” in accordance with the “PWM” signal. Further, the “PWM” control unit comprises a controller including an error amplifier which detects an error between a reference voltage and a driving voltage and amplifies the detected error, an oscillator which outputs a pulse signal having a predetermined oscillation frequency, and a comparator which compares the pulse signal output from the oscillator with an output voltage from the error amplifier to generate a “PWM” signal; and a high frequency damper connected to the main switching unit to prevent malfunction of the controller due to noise. A backlight unit and liquid crystal display incorporate the “LED” driving circuit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a light emitting diode driving circuit, a backlight unit and a liquid crystal display incorporating the same. More particularly, the present invention relates to a light emitting diode driving circuit having a peripheral circuit unit for enhancing the reliability and efficiency of a pulse width modulation ("PWM") control unit included therein, and a backlight unit and liquid crystal display incorporating the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Light emitting diodes ("LEDs"), fluorescent lamps, and metal halide lamps are commonly used as backlight light sources for liquid crystal displays ("LCDs"). Of the different types of backlight light sources, "LEDs" have long life, require no additional inverter, are lightweight and thin, can uniformly emit light and have superior low power consumption. Thus, "LEDs" are frequently used as backlight light sources for small and medium sized "LCDs".
In general, switching power sources are used for driving "LEDs" used as backlight light sources in "LCDs". A switching power source is characterized by reduced power losses as they are operated in a switching mode, and thus small loss and high efficiency may be achieved as small, lightweight and high frequency transformers are employed. In addition, a switching power source may be utilized in various countries having different standard operating voltages without change of taps or circuit constants, since such devices have a wide range of input voltages associated therewith. Furthermore, these switching power sources are essential for communication devices powered by DC power sources, or for DC to DC converters in mobile equipment or other types of portable devices in which DC power sources (e.g., batteries or storage batteries) are used. Accordingly, the use of switching power sources has increased in accordance with the increasing demands of decreasing energy consumption.
Presently, there are a variety of types of switching power sources in existence, depending on specific circuit configurations or control methods of DC to DC converters. In one application of a switching power source, constant current control is used to control a power source for supplying a constant voltage to a load, regardless of time and amplitude variations. Such a device is referred to as a DC power supply. Since a change in output voltage due to load variations may occur in such a DC power supply, a feedback circuit such as a "PWM" control circuit is included within the DC power supply to obtain a stabilized power source.
However, a DC power supply typically generates noise in switching elements, rectifying diodes, transformers, choke coils and the like. In turn, such noise has an influence on other circuits (e.g., "PWM" control circuits), thus hindering the capability of maintaining a stabilized power source. Accordingly, is desirable to be able to minimize the influence of noise on "PWM" control circuits used in applications such as, for example, LED driving circuits for "LCD" backlight sources.

Liquid crystal display and backlight unit using light emitting diode driving circuit


A proportional force input apparatus for an electronic device includes a mechanism operable by a user of the electronic device, such as a stylus inserted into a spring-loaded socket of the device. The mechanism provides a tactile feedback to the user proportional to a force applied by the user. A variable strength sensor detects the force applied by the user to the mechanism and converts this to an electrical signal proportional to the force applied by the user. A processor operates to input the electric signal from the variable strength sensor and provide force information to an application running on the electronic device. Optionally, a second sensor can detect rotation of the stylus. As a result, a stylus can be used to provide vector information to an application such as a game.

Personal communication devices, such as cellular radiotelephones are becoming more versatile, and are being used for electronic tasks other than mere communication. Some of these additional tasks are using the communication device as an organizer or for game play, for example. However, many existing devices do not have the user interface to take full advantage of these applications. For example, with the addition of gaming to many personal communication devices, users are now looking for various addition means of interacting with the device. It would be of benefit to provide more articulate and accurate emulation of gaming movements on a radiotelephone.
Input devices for personal electronic devices are limited today to buttons, a stylus or pen, or a rotating mechanism (e.g. trackball, joystick, etc). These types of input devices do not accurately emulate the movement a person would make when playing electronic games. In addition, these input devices do not provide a measure for variable strength (asserted force) other than using time to measure the duration an input is held and correlating that to a strength (force) value.
An alternate solution is to use an external controller for the device, as are presently used for stand-alone gaming systems. Many devices support this option, but require modification for a RS232 port, USB port, etc. External controllers are more flexible and can provide more functionality, but they are generally expensive and larger than the communication device itself, which would be too bulky for a typical user. Moreover, an external controller accessory would add significant cost to the device.
Therefore, there is a need for variable strength input device for portable electronic devices. In particular, what is needed is an apparatus to directly translate an applied force as a signal to a gaming application. It would also be of benefit if a tactile force feedback can be supplied to the user of the device. It would also be an advantage to provide a mechanism that allows a user more than one degree of freedom of movement or force. Another advantage would be to provide a low cost implementation of a variable strength input device.

Proportional force input apparatus for an electronic device


A seal and closure member of elastomeric material adapted to be cast in situ and including a cylindrical body portion and an integral frusto-conical skirt therewithin. The skirt includes two weakened narrow annular portions of different size, on different centers, across the smaller diameter end portion of the skirt, and another weakened narrow annular portion on the skirt, axially displaced from the smaller diameter end portion.

The present invention relates to a dual purpose pipe seal and closure member for use in low pressure installations as for example septic field distribution boxes and septic tanks. A relatively slow and tedious grouting procedure is commonly used in sealing pipes having end portions in communication with the interior of septic field distribution boxes and the like.
It is the general object of the present invention to provide a pipe seal and closure member which may be cast in situ and which may thereafter be readily employed either as a closure member or as a rapidly assembled and effective seal about an end portion of a pipe in communication with the interior of a distribution box or the like. More particularly, the seal is constructed to selectively accept and support in a position for good drainage, a plurality of different diameter pipes and to accurately and securely provide a quick permanent connection for a baffle arrangement adjacent to the end of the pipe inside the distribution box. The present invention includes many of the features of U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,732,397 and 4,805,920 patented by Norman W. Gavin on Mar. 22, 1988 and Feb. 21, 1989 respectively. The present invention is an improvement on the invention claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,805,920.

Asymmetrical pipe seal and closure member