A single-step wet etch process is provided to isolate multijunction solar cells on semiconductor substrates, wherein the wet etch chemistry removes semiconductor materials nonselectively without a major difference in etch rate between different heteroepitaxial layers. The solar cells thus formed comprise multiple heterogeneous semiconductor layers epitaxially grown on the semiconductor substrate.

The present invention relates to the field of multijunction solar cells incorporating a plurality of heterogeneous layers of epitaxial material on semiconductor substrates. More particularly, the present invention relates to an improved method of patterning epitaxial layers using a single step wet etch process.
Solar cells are important renewable energy sources that have become widely deployed for both space and terrestrial applications. Today, the highest efficiency solar cells are realized using the multijunction solar cell approach. Multijunction solar cells typically consist of two, three, or more junctions, i.e., subcells, that are serially connected in a stack, as illustrated in FIG. 1A. The junctions are typically realized by growing a plurality of heteroepitaxial layers 9 on a semiconductor substrate 12. Each junction 114, 115, and 116 is designed to absorb from a separate portion of the solar energy spectrum, allowing for solar energy conversion with high efficiency. The junctions are separated by interconnection regions 117 and 118. The epitaxial layers 9 that make up the multijunction solar cells are chosen from a variety of semiconductor materials with different optical and electrical properties in order to absorb different portions of the solar energy spectrum.
Fabrication of multijunction solar cells is conventionally carried out on the wafer scale using conventional semiconductor processing methods that are known to those skilled in the art. A summary of processing steps for making a typical multi junction solar cell is found in Danzilio et al., cited below.
An important step in the fabrication of multijunction solar cells, illustrated in FIG. 1B, is the isolation of individual cells 100 on a semiconductor substrate 12, herein referred to as "mesa isolation." Mesa isolation is done to eliminate electrical contact between adjacent solar cells on the same wafer, which then allows the mechanical separation of the individual cells 100 (also referred to as singulation) to take place without disturbing the edges of each individual cell.
In the mesa isolation step, the epitaxial layers 9 must be removed on all four edges of the individual solar cell chips, as can be seen in FIG. 1A and FIG. 2. If the bottom-most junction in the stack uses the substrate 12 as seen in FIG. 2 as the base region of the junction (e.g., germanium), then mesa isolation must extend into the substrate region, resulting in partially etched substrate 12, such that the etch depth into the substrate exceeds the minority carrier diffusion length in that base region.
Mesa isolation of cells can be achieved by using a number of techniques including, but not limited to, dry etching, partial (or full) cut using techniques such as saw or laser dicing, and wet etching. These techniques, as used in the prior art, can be reviewed briefly as follows:
Dry Etching: Dry etching is the removal of semiconductor material by exposing the material to plasma of reactive gases in vacuum chambers. Dry etching is a well-established processing technique in the semiconductor industry. However, it has found limited use in solar cell manufacturing due to low throughput and high costs involved in equipment setup and maintenance. Consequently, dry etching is not typically used for mesa isolation of multijunction solar cells.
Partial Cut: The partial cut technique uses a dicing saw or laser beam to cut partially through the wafer to isolate solar cells electrically. Mechanical removal of semiconductor material results in chipping and damage on sidewalls, which leads to poor electrical performance of the chip. It is difficult to control the actively absorbing area of the solar cell, resulting in a variation in performance. Furthermore, partial cut is also a low throughput technique. Nevertheless the partial cut technique is relatively cost-effective and is sometimes used.
Wet Etching: Wet etching is the removal of semiconductor material using chemicals in liquid phase. Wet etching is the preferred method found in the prior art, because it is cost effective, does not require sophisticated processing equipment, and wafer throughput is high. The present invention is a wet etching technique for multijunction solar cell processing.
Multijunction solar cells are formed of multiple epitaxial layers with different electrical, optical, and chemical properties. Semiconductor materials used in multijunction solar cells include, but are not limited to, indium gallium phosphide, indium phosphide, gallium arsenide, aluminum gallium arsenide, indium gallium arsenide, dilute nitride compounds, and germanium. For ternary and quaternary compound semiconductors, a wide range of alloy ratios can be used.
There are several wet etch chemistries commonly used in compound semiconductor manufacturing. A comprehensive list of wet etchants, along with etch rates and selectivity relationships was published by Clawson, Materials Science and Engineering, 31 (2001) 1-438. Typically, the wet etchants used for etching one class of semiconductor material are selective and will not etch certain other classes of semiconductor material. The selectivity of a wet etchant may also depend on alloy concentration of the compounds. Consequently, etching a full stack of epitaxial layers in multijunction solar cells for mesa isolation typically has required application of multiple wet etch chemistries.
Using multiple applications of selective (or nonselective) etchants typically results in jagged, non-smooth, and/or irregular mesa sidewall profile. FIG. 4 depicts an example of a multijunction solar cell found in the prior art, as would be produced by an image of a scanning electron microscope. In the fabrication of the solar cell shown in FIG. 4, different etch chemistries were used to etch each of the junctions 114, 115, and 116. Due to differences in chemistries and selectivity relationships, each of the three junctions and the substrate 112 has a distinctively different etch profile, resulting in the jagged, non-smooth, and/or irregular shape shown in FIG. 4. The shape of mesa sidewalls will vary depending on the semiconductor materials used in the solar cell and the chemicals used to etch them. Typically, such jagged mesa sidewall profiles result in larger sidewall surface areas (for a given mesa size and etch depth) compared to a uniform sidewall profile. Such larger sidewall surface areas may result in a higher leakage current on the perimeter of the solar cell, which in turn may result in reduced open circuit voltage and efficiency in multijunction solar cells.
In addition to perimeter leakage current, the use of multiple etchants has other disadvantages compared to single-etch chemistries including, for example:
1. Longer processing time.
2. Increased difficulty in controlling the etch rate and relative undercut of layers.
3. More chemical, water, and energy consumption during fabrication.
4. More chemical waste generation.
5. Multiple photolithography steps may be required to prevent damage to the sidewalls.
6. Uneven etching of different semiconductor layers.
Conventional processes have not been adequate to fabricate a cost-effective, high performance multijunction solar cell. Consequently there have been attempts to find nonselective etchants. The prior attempts are briefly described.
Turala et al. (CPV-7 Las Vegas, Nev. 2011) disclose a method using a high-viscosity bromine solution to etch III-V materials used in multijunction solar cells on germanium substrates. The solution proposed by Turala et al., however, requires the use of a silicon nitride hard mask, which must be deposited using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. Using dielectric hard mask is not the preferred method in fabrication of solar cells because the use of photoresist masking, common in all semiconductor manufacturing, is much more cost-effective.
In a different approach, Zaknoune et al., J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 16, 223 (1998), report an etching procedure that is nonselective for gallium arsenide and aluminum gallium indium phosphide, wherein the aluminum gallium indium phosphide quaternary compound has 35% aluminum phosphide, 15% gallium phosphide, and 50% indium phosphide. The etching procedure described by Zaknoune et al. uses a diluted solution of hydrochloric acid, iodic acid, and water to etch 300 nm of the quaternary compound grown on gallium arsenide substrate using a photoresist mask. The main application areas described in the paper by Zaknoune et al. are heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBT), various quantum well lasers (QWL), and high electron mobility transistors (HEMT) for which large conduction and valance band discontinuities are required. These devices are majority carrier devices wherein the large bandgap materials are typically used as barrier materials for majority carriers. Zaknoune et al. describes a system with one layer of epitaxy and does not recognize any sidewall problem related to multilayer epitaxy that is characteristic of solar cells.
The device requirements for multijunction solar cells are significantly different than for HBTs, QWLs, and HEMTs, largely because multijunction solar cells are minority carrier devices. Consequently the procedure described by Zahnoune et al. has no direct application to etching multijunction solar cell structures, which include a wide variety of semiconductor materials with a wide range of bandgaps (typically 0.67 eV to 2.25 eV).
The requirements for the mesa isolation step in the fabrication of multijunction solar cells can be summarized as follows:
1. Etchants that do not affect standard photoresist materials, such that conventional photolithography techniques can be used to define mesa patterns on semiconductor substrates and the exposed areas can be removed using wet etch chemistry. In particular, dielectric hard masks can thereby be avoided when defining mesa patterns.
2. A nonselective etch that etches all materials in the range of bandgaps from 0.67 eV (germanium) to 2.25 eV (gallium phosphide). FIG. 3 shows some of these semiconductor materials and their alloys in the range of bandgap energies.
3. Small sidewall surface area to result in reduced leakage current.
4. Ability to change and control the relative etch rates of epitaxial layers within the solar cell, for example through changing the composition of the etchant. An etchant that etches all materials in the bandgap range with similar etch rate may be preferred.
5. Using a single mixture of chemicals such that the wet etch for mesa isolation can be completed in a single step with minimal waste generation and water and energy consumption.
What is needed is a fabrication process better adapted to multijunction solar cell manufacturing.

Method for etching multi-layer epitaxial material


An improved flexible substrate for a touchpad, with the flexible substrate having conductive ink for forming a sensor array. A printed circuit board is also used, but only for the components which need to connect to the array, and not the array, thus giving a smaller printed circuit board. The printed circuit board can have the components compactly mounted on it taking advantage of the close spacing available in PC board technology. The PC board itself has wider spacing on its contacts at its outer edges, allowing it to be attached by conductive glue to the flexible substrate.

The present invention relates to touchpads, and in particular to methods for assembling lightweight, very thin, low cost touchpads.
A touchpad is one method for providing a pointing function to control a cursor or viewpoint on a computer. Alternately, the display itself can be a touchscreen, being activated when the user presses on the screen. Detection of the user finger or stylus has been done by a variety of different ways. Resistive tablets are one method that has been used, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,680,430. Another method uses surface acoustic waves. Yet another method uses strain gauges or pressure plates. Optical devices have also been used.
The most common type of commercially used touchpad device is a capacitive sensing device. One advantage of the capacitive-type device is the lower power consumption required and it doesn't require finger pressure. An example of such a device, which also discusses a number of other related technologies, is set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 5,495,077.
Touchpads are currently built into some laptop computers, typically being on a portion of a computer in front of the keyboard where the user would normally rest his or her hands. For a portable computer application, it is important that the touchpad unit consume little power, be compact, and be lightweight.
Typically, a touchpad requires a substrate with multiple layers. The layers include rows of conductive traces, followed by an insulating layer, followed by columns of conductive traces, followed by another insulating layer and a ground plane. By pressing on a particular portion of the array, the capacitance between the conductive lines and ground varies and can be detected. By sensing both rows and columns, the position of the changing capacitance can be pinpointed. A variety of electronic components are required in order to control and detect the signals from the sensor array.
One technology used in some electronics applications is a flexible, Mylar sheet upon which are deposited conductive ink. Such a sheet is thinner than a typical PC board, and thus provides size advantages. However, components cannot be soldered to a Mylar sheet without melting it, and thus conductive adhesives are required to attach components. Thus, electronic chips and discrete components can be attached to such a Mylar sheet.
One limitation in using a conductive glue or adhesive to attach components to the conductive ink traces on a Mylar sheet is that there must be sufficient spacing between the contacts or pads attaching to the sheet. Thus, greater spacing between leads of components, such as semiconductor chips, is required than would be required on a PC board. Thus, a tradeoff of using a Mylar sheet is that lower weight and a thinner profile can be obtained, but at the expense of requiring a greater area on which to place the components. One solution for semiconductor chips is to mount them in a larger package, with the package itself having a wider lead spacing which can then be attached to the Mylar sheet.
An approach used by Alps is to use a combination flexible sheet and circuit board at different layers for a touchpad device. Conventional touchpads use 4 layer PC boards. Instead of building all 4 layers of a touchpad from PC board material, a 2 layer PC board is used for the Alps touchpad. The flexible material is used for the upper 2 layers, and is glued to the PC board. This still gives a PC board which is the same size and is rigid, it does not provide a thin touchpad. Through holes are used to connect to the underlying PC layer, with conductive ink being placed on the flexible layer and over the through holes.

Flexible touchpad circuit with mounted circuit board


A machine for dispensing powder products into suitable receptacles comprises a rotating container in which is defined a withdrawal zone, a dispensing unit, and a fixed device which levels the produce in the container. The device includes a member located upstream of the withdrawal zone and having a first portion which levels the product into a layer and a second portion which defines a channel which directs the product accumulated on this first portion in excess of the layer, towards a part of the container downstream of the withdrawal zone; and a member positioned downstream of the withdrawal zone, along which the excess product slides. The latter member defines with a central part of the container, a passage which directs the excess product towards a part of the container upstream of the fixed device.

The present invention relates to a machine for dispensing powder-based products with an improved device for levelling and homogenization of such products.
As is known, devices of the above indicated type installed in dispensing machines comprise a fixed wall and a bar, also fixed, installed within a rotating container respectively upstream and downstream of the region in which the product is withdrawn by the dispensers. The lower edge of this wall is at a predetermined distance from the bottom wall of the container so that this fixed wall causes levelling of the layer of products. The bar, on the other-hand, performs the function of mixing the product to re-cover the recesses left in the layer by the dispensers.
The above-described devices have several disadvantages which cause an insufficient precision in the quantity of product dispensed from the container, and which is then distributed into doses. In fact, current devices do not sufficiently insure the re-covering of the recesses left by the dispensers and the continuous and constant circulation of the product. These disadvantages are due primarily to the fact that the fixed wall, which is normally in a radial position with respect to the center of rotation of the container, causes an accumulation of the product which cannot pass between this fixed wall and the bottom wall of the container. The product accumulated on the fixed wall is often stationary for a long time, so that it is possible that it or part of it deteriorates due to the presence of oxygen and/or due to being hygroscopic, with the consequent formation of a single large lump or several lumps. It is evident that the presence of lumps reduces the effectiveness of the levelling and homogenization.

Dispensing machine for powder-based products with an improved device for levelling and homogenization of such products


A biomedical electrode is provided wherein the electrode comprises a conductor in contact with a conductive medium, the conductor comprises an electrically conductive surface comprising an active source of silver and the conductive medium comprises a peroxide scavenger. The biomedical electrode typically will include a non-conductive backing having a first side comprising a first major surface and a second side comprising a second major surface, the electrically conductive surface being associated with the second major surface of the non-conductive backing, and the conductive medium comprises an electrically conductive adhesive associated with the conductive substrate, the electrically conductive adhesive being a pressure sensitive adhesive comprising the at least one peroxide scavenger. A method for the manufacture of the foregoing electrodes is also provided.

Modern medicine employs many medical procedures where electrical signals or currents are received from or delivered to a patient's body. The interface between medical equipment used in these procedures and the skin of the patient usually includes a biomedical electrode. Such an electrode typically includes a conductor connected electrically to the equipment and a conductive medium adhered to or otherwise in contact with the patient's skin. Biomedical electrodes have been included as a part of therapeutic as well as diagnostic medical procedures and equipment.
Therapeutic devices and procedures using those devices make use of biomedical electrodes. For example, such electrodes are employed in transcutaneous electronic nerve stimulation (TENS) devices for pain management; neuromuscular stimulation (NMS) techniques for treating conditions such as scoliosis; defibrillation electrodes for dispensing electrical energy to a chest cavity to defibrillate the heart; and dispersive electrodes to receive electrical energy dispensed into an incision made during electrosurgery.
Diagnostic procedures that make use of biomedical electrodes include electrocardiography for monitoring heart activity and diagnosing heart abnormalities. Examples of diagnostic biomedical electrodes include those described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,352,359 to Larimore; U.S. Pat. No. 4,524,087 to Engel; U.S. Pat. No. 4,539,996 to Engel; U.S. Pat. No. 4,554,924 to Engel; U.S. Pat. No. 4,848,348 to Carim; U.S. Pat. No. 4,848,353 to Engel; U.S. Pat. No. 5,012,810 to Strand et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,133,356 to Bryan et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,215,087 to Anderson et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,296,079 to Duan et al.
For diagnostic applications, non-polarizable electrodes, and in particular electrodes comprised of silver and/or silver chloride, have become the current collectors of choice because of their high electrical stability. In low-cost versions, such electrodes are often coated in thin sections onto an insulating backing from a conductive ink containing silver/silver chloride particles and a polymeric binder. While silver/silver chloride electrodes are resistant to corrosive attack and generally have a long shelf-life, under certain gel conditions (e.g., at a low pH in conjunction with a high water content and high chloride concentration), they can undergo accelerated corrosion and exhibit premature electrical failure. Attempts to address the problem of undesired corrosion and failure include the use of sacrificial anodes interwoven into an electrode assembly and electrically connected to a current collector. While functional, the use of sacrificial anodes is generally not cost-effective due to added material costs and certain design constraints. Another method for inhibiting corrosion has been the addition of organic agents as corrosion retarding agents to the silver/silver chloride matrix. The use of corrosion retarding agents is disclosed in copending and coassigned U.S. Patent Application 20030045788 by Menon et al, entitled "Corrosion Prevention In Biomedical Electrodes."
Additionally, other materials have been proposed as alternatives for traditional silver and/or silver chloride electrode materials. Exemplary of such alternate materials include those comprised of titanium hydride and certain carbon-containing materials. However, electrodes incorporating these alternative materials are often complex, making them more expensive to manufacture.
While the art has focused on how to protect or substitute silver or silver chloride materials in biomedical electrodes, it has not provided a means to avoid corrosion altogether while continuing to use silver/silver chloride as conductive electrode materials. Some effort has been made to formulate conductive adhesives using antioxidants, for example. While such measures are intended to eliminate the corrosion problem, they have been less than effective, especially when "bicontinuous" adhesives having both hydrophilic and hydrophobic regimes are used. Therefore, a need remains for corrosion-resistant biomedical electrodes employing silver/silver chloride that are relatively easy to construct and remain relatively cost-effective.
While not intending to be bound by theory, it is known that peroxides are produced in conductive adhesives that are used to adhere biomedical electrodes to mammalian skin. The formation of peroxides is generally attributed to the process employed to "age" or condition the electrodes prior to use. It has been postulated that the formation of such peroxides is a factor in the onset of corrosion in biomedical electrodes, especially silver/silver chloride biomedical electrodes. In particular, the aging process for electrodes comprising bicontinuous conductive adhesives is believed to produce significant amounts of oxidizing peroxides because certain surfactants normally included in such adhesive formulations are abundant and of a type that can react to produce such peroxides.
It has now been unexpectedly discovered that a unique class of materials act as peroxide scavengers when used as additives in conductive adhesives, including bicontinuous adhesives, to significantly reduce the onset of corrosion in biomedical electrodes.


A device for detecting wear of switching contacts in an electric switch appliance is disclosed, the wear of the contacts being caused at least at a pair of switching contacts appliance. The device includes a lightwave guide and a detector. A light exiting from at least one light source is capable of being injected into the lightwave guide and guided by the lightwave guide up to the detector. The lightwave guide is arranged relative to the pair(s) of switching contacts, such that the intensity of the light injected in the lightwave guide, which is measured by the detector, decreases in the switching appliance as the number of wear particles of contacts generated by the wear of the contacts increases.

The opening and closing switching contacts for switching currents in an electrical switching device result in switching arcs between the switching contacts. These switching arcs lead to increasing contact erosion on the switching contacts, and thus to wear of the switching contacts. Since this wear influences the switching behavior of the switching device, the contact erosion of the switching contacts must be monitored.
EP 1 022 904 A1 discloses the use of a camera for imaging monitoring of the wear of the switching contacts. Another apparatus which is disclosed in EP 1 022 904 A1 for monitoring the wear is numerical monitoring with the aid of a switching operation counter, or numerical monitoring on the basis of addition of the disconnection currents.
DE 101 09 952 A1 discloses an arrangement by which a fault arc in an electrical switchgear assembly can be identified by way of an optical waveguide. For this purpose, the light originating from a fault arc that occurs is injected radially into the optical waveguide, and is passed to a detector. The injected and detected light is then used in a disturbance light detection circuit to identify whether a fault arc has occurred.

Device for detecting contact wear in switching appliances


An adjustable chair facilitates the transfer of a patient from or to a hospital bed. The chair includes at least two segments which are movable relative to each other. The segments include rollers which are normally hidden from view, but which can be exposed when needed. To transfer the patient, the segments are moved so as to define a substantially flat surface. The chair is moved adjacent to the bed, and its height is adjusted so that the flat surface becomes level with the bed. A board is inserted between the patient and the bed. One then slides the board, with the patient on it, onto the flat surface. The board engages the rollers while sliding, thus making it possible for the transfer to be performed by only one person. When the board, with the patient, is located on the flat surface, the board can be removed, leaving the patient on the chair. The segments of the chair can then be arranged to form a normal chair configuration. The invention substantially reduces the number of personnel required to transfer a patient from a bed.

This invention relates to the medical field, and provides an adjustable chair which facilitates the transfer of a patient from a hospital bed, or other bed.
When a patient in a hospital is unable to walk, it often becomes necessary to move the patient between a bed and a chair, or between a bed and a gurney or other transport device. Transferring a non-ambulatory patient from a bed typically requires the cooperation of several persons, who must lift the patient carefully, and deposit him or her onto the chair or other device. In practice, the nurse, or other hospital employee in charge of moving the patient, must enlist the help of other hospital personnel to perform this task. The procedure is inefficient because it requires that several persons simultaneously interrupt their other work to come to assist in the transport of one patient. When the procedure is performed repeatedly for many patients in a hospital on a single day, the disruptive effect is multiplied. And if the nurse tries to move the patient alone, the nurse risks a back injury due to the excessive strain required to lift the patient.
The present invention solves the problem of transferring a patient from a bed, by providing a method and apparatus which generally require only one person. The invention allows the patient to be transferred easily and comfortably between a bed and a lounge chair, and to be moved easily from one location to another.

Adjustable chair for transfer of patients


An ignition wire spark plug terminal comprising a connector and a wire attachment. The wire attachment is adapted to attach to a wire. The connector is comprised of a ferrule and a spring clip. The ferrule is generally at least semi-cylindrical and the spring clip is a partially cylindrical band that is permanently attached coaxially to the ferrule. Dimples in the spring clip extend through holes in the ferrule into the space within the ferrule that receives a spark plug or distributor cap terminal. The permanent attachment is by weld, solder, or adhesive.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electrical connectors, more particularly, to connectors for connecting an ignition wire to a spark plug terminal.
2. Description of the Related Art
The terminal of an ignition wire of an internal combustion engine attaches to a spark plug 8 or distributor cap terminal. As shown in FIG. 3, the typical ignition wire terminal 50 has a attachment 52 at one end to attach to the ignition wire 54. The other end 56 that connects to the spark plug 8 or distributor cap is a generally cylindrical ferrule 58. A spring clip 60 with dimples 62 snaps into through holes in the ferrule wall. The dimples 62 snap into the center 6 of the hour-glass shaped spark plug terminal. The spring clip 60 applies a radial compression force to the spark plug terminal that helps to retain the connector on the spark plug terminal and to maintain the cylindrical shape. An insulating boot 64 fits over the connector to protect the connector and spark plug terminal. During the ignition wire manufacturing process, when the insulating boot is installed over the connector, the spring clip can become dislodged and/or dislocated, as at 66.

Ignition wire spark plug terminal assembly


A communication system includes a SLIC device and a SLAC device. The SLIC device and the SLAC device cooperate to control the power level provided to a subscriber line. The SLAC device includes a digital control circuit which receives a parameter signal indicative of a first parameter of the electrical power. The digital control circuit provides a digital control signal to the SLIC device in response to a sample digital control signal and the digital parameter signal. Preferably, the digital parameter signal relates to a sensed current signal and the sample digital control signal relates to a desired voltage signal. The digital control circuit can be implemented hardware or software.

Throughout the world, telephone systems and communication systems rely on a battery feed circuit or power supply to provide electrical power to a subscriber line or load. The level of power supplied to the subscriber line must be controlled according to regional specifications such as Bellcore, CCITT, and EIA to ensure proper operation of the telecommunication equipment attached to the subscriber line. The power supply or battery feed circuit generally provides direct current (DC) power within an acceptable range of voltage and current levels to the subscriber line. The battery feed circuit should ideally provide an appropriate amount of power for both long subscriber lines or loops and short subscriber lines or loops. For example, more power is required for the higher impedance loops such as long loops than for the lower impedance loops such as short loops.
Most telephone or communication systems include a central office (office exchange) which generally includes a line card having a subscriber line interface circuit (SLIC device) and a subscriber line audio-processing circuit (such as a SLAC.TM. or DSLAC.TM. device manufactured by Advanced Micro Devices). The SLIC device is an analog interface coupled to the subscriber line; the SLIC device generally includes audio amplifiers and often supports line card "BORSHT" (battery feed, over-voltage protection, ringing signal, supervision of the line, hybrid two to four-wire conversion, and test) functions. The SLIC device often is coupled to SLAC device on the line card. The subscriber line is generally coupled to a subscriber telephone, termination equipment or other customer communications equipment.
The SLAC device which is generally coupled to the SLIC device transmits and receives analog signals from the SLIC device and provides digital signals to the central office. The SLAC device generally includes analog-to-digital (A/D) converters and digital-to-analog (D/A) converters. The SLAC device typically handles filtering and conversion tasks necessary to interface the analog signals from the SLIC device to the digital pulse code modulation (PCM) highway associated with the central office.
Generally, the SLIC device or other equipment in the central office includes a battery feed circuit or DC power supply which provides power to the subscriber line. Alternatively, the battery feed circuit can be an external component. The battery feed circuit often includes an analog regulator or other analog control circuit which provides an appropriate current level or voltage level to the subscriber line in accordance with the regional specifications. The battery feed circuit requires the analog regulator to provide the appropriate output current level or voltage level over the variable impedance of the subscriber liner. The impedance of the subscriber line can vary from less than 200 ohms to more than 3.1 k ohms. The variance in impedance is generally due to the variable subscriber line lengths from the central office to the customer telephone or other equipment.
Analog regulation circuits are disadvantageous because they consume a relatively large amount of power, generate relatively significant amounts heat, occupy space on the integrated circuit substrate and on the line card, and are subject to long-term instability and imprecision. Such disadvantages can be accentuated by the large impedance variation associated with the subscriber line in a telephone system. Thus, there is a need for a battery feed control circuit which is inexpensive, occupies a minimal amount of chip space, and is precise and stable.

Digital direct current feed control for a communication system


A tiltable chair has a base, a vertical post, a seat, a back and a chair control. The chair control comprises a housing attached to the vertical post, a resilient biasing means mounted in the stationary housing for biasing the chair in an upright position, a seat support structure, a back support structure and a back frame member. The seat support structure is pivotally connected to the housing at a pivot axis aligned over the vertical post. The back support structure is pivotally connected to the seat support structure at an axis forward of the vertical post. One end of the back frame member supports the back support structure while a mid-portion is interconnected to the seat support structure and the opposite end is pivotally attached to the housing to provide both differential tilting of the seat and back and correlated differential vertical movement for ergonomic comfort and to avoid "shirt pull." A spring mount assembly comprising compression springs compressed between the front portion of the seat and the seat support structure provides resilient but flexible seat support. A base cover assembly comprises top and bottom fairings which form a friction fit with the base and which also snap fit together to provide a smooth, attractive appearance.

A number of attempts have been made to provide a simple, reliable chair and control which allows the chair to move in tune with the user's movement, and also alleviate the problem of "shirt pull" found in many conventional chairs. "Shirt pull" occurs in chairs which, when a user tilts the chair rearwardly, the chair back moves longitudinally up the user's back, pulling up the user's shirt from its normal retention at the waist.
An additional problem occurs in chairs in which the back and seat tilt at substantially the same rate, that is, where the degree of back tilt and seat tilt are substantially the same. In such chairs, as the user leans back, the front portion of the seat exerts upward force on the back of the user's upper legs which can be uncomfortable and even impair blood circulation through the user's legs. Furthermore, if too much of the user's weight is shifted backward, the user can lose stability.
It is therefore desirable to have a chair in which the back and seat tilt separately. More particularly, it is desirable to have a chair in which, as the user leans back, the degree of back tilt is significantly greater than the degree of seat tilt.
It is also desirable that the seat provide independent flexibility of support for the user, particularly at the front portion of the seat, to further accommodate the user in various typical body positions. The seat should accommodate, for example, the user shifting left and right, straightening one leg more than the other, or extending both legs, without putting undue localized pressure on the user's legs. To these ends, the seat should allow torsional (left-right) flexing of the front portion of the seat, as well as vertical resilience of the front portion for fore-and-aft pitch flexibility.
Further it is desirable to provide a finished, integrated and smooth surfaced pedestal and support structure.
While chairs have been proposed previously toward accomplishing the various noted characteristics, it is desirable to obtain improved designs which provide these desirable characteristics in an efficacious manner and which can be produced economically.
The present invention achieves differential tilt, that is, a greater degree of back tilt to seat tilt, in a chair having separate back and seat supports. The chair control mechanism is designed to allow for movement of the chair back and seat in concert with the user's natural body seating and semi-reclining movements, while alleviating the problem known as "shirt pull" found in many prior art chairs. It also provides both torsional and vertical yieldability of the front portion of the seat to further comfortably accommodate various typical user body positions.
A further advantage of the preferred embodiment as illustrated is that it can be economically manufactured by modifying existing chair tilt control mechanisms, e.g., a known control available from Faultless Caster of Evansville, Ind.


The present disclosure relates to an anode active material for a lithium secondary battery, a lithium secondary battery comprising the anode active material, and a method of preparing the anode active material. One embodiment of the present disclosure provides an anode active material for a lithium secondary battery, comprising a composite of SiOx-carboxylmethyl cellulose (CMC)-carbon nanotube (CNT) in which CNT is bonded to SiOx (0<x≦1) through CMC; and a carbon-based material. Also, another embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method of preparing an anode active material for a lithium secondary battery, comprising bringing SiOx (0<x≦1) into surface-treatment with carbon nanotube (CNT) and carboxylmethyl cellulose (CMC) to form a composite of SiOx-CMC-CNT; and mixing the composite of SiOx-CMC-CNT with a carbon-based material.

Recently, there has been an increasing interest in energy storage technology. Electrochemical devices have been widely used as energy sources in the fields of cellular phones, camcorders, notebook computers, PCs and electric cars, resulting in intensive research and development into them.
In this regard, electrochemical devices are one of the subjects of great interest. Particularly, development of rechargeable secondary batteries has been the focus of attention. Recently, research and development of such batteries are focused on the designs of new electrodes and batteries to improve capacity density and specific energy.
Many secondary batteries are currently available. Among these, lithium secondary batteries developed in the early 1990's have drawn particular attention due to their advantages of higher operating voltages and much higher energy densities than conventional aqueous electrolyte-based batteries, for example, Ni-MH, Ni—Cd, and H2SO4—Pb batteries.
Generally, a lithium secondary battery is prepared by using a cathode and an anode which are each made of a material capable of intercalating and disintercalating lithium ions, and filling an organic or polymer electrolyte solution between the cathode and the anode, and the battery produces electrical energy by oxidation and reduction when the lithium ions are intercalated and disintercalated in the cathode and the anode.
In lithium secondary batteries which are currently available, an anode is mostly made of carbon-based materials as an electrode active material. Particularly, graphite which has been commercially available has a real capacity of about 350 to 360 mAh/g which approaches its theoretical capacity of about 372 mAh/g. Although a carbon-based material such as graphite has a capacity of such a degree, it does not meet the demand for high-capacity lithium secondary batteries as an anode active material.
In order to meet such a demand, attempts have been made to use metals as an anode active material, for example, Si, Sn, an oxide and an alloy thereof, that have a higher charge/discharge capacity than the carbon materials and allow electrochemical alloying with lithium. However, this metal-based electrode active material has a great change in volume during charging/discharging, which may cause cracks and micronization to the active material. Secondary batteries using this metal-based anode active material may suddenly be deteriorated in capacity and have reduced cycle life during repeated charging/discharging cycles. Accordingly, there is a need for solving the deterioration of capacity and cycle life by the use of such a metal-based electrode active material.
In particular, SiO is conventionally used by mixing it with graphite and dispersing a conductive material to the mixture as it has low initial efficiency, electric conductivity and life characteristic. However, the conductive material is not uniformly distributed on the surface of SiO due to its poor dispersity, and such an ununiform distribution may greatly deteriorate the cycle performance of batteries. In order to solve this problem, there is an attempt of pre-treating carbon nanotube (CNT) on the surface of SiO to improve the life characteristic of batteries, but the CNT has not been well-attached to the surface of SiO.

Anode active material for lithium secondary battery, lithium secondary battery comprising the same, and method of preparing the same


A drum hi hat apparatus including a first tube device, a second tube device, a third tube device, a rod, a support device, a pedal device, and a first adjusting device. The third tube device may have a first end which is configured to have a first cymbal placed on it. The rod may be configured to fit within the first, second, and third tube devices. The support device may be configured so that it is able to support the first tube device in an upright position. The first adjusting device may be configured to adjustably fix the rod to the second tube device, so that the rod extends out from the second tube device different amounts. The pedal device may be connected to the second tube device, which is adjustably fixed to the rod by a first adjusting device, so that the pedal device can pull down the second tube device and thereby pull down a second cymbal fixed to the rod to bring the second cymbal in contact with the first cymbal.

There are various devices known in the prior art related to drums and drum hi hats. Typically, in prior art hi hats, a top cymbal is adjusted in height by loosening a wing screw with respect to a first rod, sliding the top cymbal up or down the first rod and then fixing the top cymbal at a position with respect to the first rod. However, first rod is typically fixed to a second rod, which lies inside of a tube, and the combination of the first rod and the second rod has a fixed height. In prior art hi hat devices the only way to change the height of the first and second rod combination is to get a different first rod of a different height, or to cut the first rod. The fixed height of the combination of the first rod and the second rod, often may leave an unnecessary extended portion of the first rod above the top cymbal, and this unnecessary extended portion may get in the way of the drummer's playing. Worse yet, the fixed height of the combination of the first and the second rod may be too short, so that the drummer can not properly adjust the height of the top cymbal based on what level he or she is comfortable with or for ergonomic purposes.
In addition, the fixed height of the combination of the first rod and second rod, makes it difficult to transport a prior art hi hat device, unless the first rod is dismantled from the second rod. The first rod is usually dismantled from the second rod before transporting the hi hat device to avoid the first rod being damaged, such as being bent, during transport.
The second rod is fixed to a pedal device. When a foot of the pedal device is pressed down, the first and second rods move down and pull the top cymbal down with them. This brings the top cymbal in contact with a lower cymbal. However, the first and second rods are not adjustable with respect to each other.

Drum hi hat with adjustable upper hi hat rod


The present invention provides a sanitary napkin that is thin (less than 5 mm in thickness), highly absorbent and has a lateral flexibility allowing for controlled deformation when in use, namely the assumption of a “W” pattern. This controlled deformation provides a good comfort potential and simultaneously reduces the likelihood of bunching due to compression forces exerted laterally against the napkin by the thighs of the wearer. In a specific example, the sanitary napkin is characterized by a pair of preferential bending zones extending along the longitudinal axis of the sanitary napkin and by a pair of longitudinal adhesive zones on the liquid-impervious barrier layer of the sanitary napkin, that register with the preferential bending zones. The longitudinal adhesive zones fasten the sanitary napkin to the undergarment at the areas at which the sanitary napkin is intended to fold when subjected to lateral compression. This feature allows the napkin to fold and adopt a desired three-dimensional deformation profile in a predictable manner when laterally compressed.

One element that contributes to the performance of a sanitary napkin is the way the napkin withstands deformation when in use. It has been observed that the thighs of an individual exert lateral forces on a sanitary napkin when the article is positioned for use on the undergarment. This results in bunching of the sanitary napkin, affecting the efficiency of the article's ability to collect bodily fluids since there is a reduction in the article's surface area. This observation is especially true for thin sanitary napkins that are highly flexible.
One approach to minimising this problem is to make the sanitary napkin stiffer in order that it may better withstand the effects of lateral compression. This approach may, however, have an adverse effect on the comfort potential of the sanitary napkin because the added stiffness affects the movement of the napkin in all directions, making it more difficult for the napkin to conform to the natural shape of the wearer's body.
Against this background, it can be seen that there exists a need to provide a sanitary napkin that is comfortable and yet reduces the likelihood of bunching when in use, leading to an overall increase in its efficiency for collecting bodily fluids.

Thin sanitary napkin allowing for controlled deformation when in use


A device and method for monitoring the integrity of a ground connection between an electrostatic apparatus and earth ground. The device and method provide for continuous monitoring of the connection. The device includes an audible and visual alarm if there is a fault in the grounding connection. It also provides an audible and visual alarm if a DC power supply falls below a specified value. A switch is provided for testing the circuit manually to ensure its proper operation.

The present invention relates to integrated circuit manufacturing. More specifically, the present invention relates to a device for detecting whether an apparatus, such as one used in manufacturing and development environments, is grounded sufficiently.
Due to the sensitive nature of modern integrated circuits, care must be taken to ensure adequate grounding of equipment and work spaces used near these devices. Without adequate grounding, static electricity may build up and cause an electrostatic discharge (ESD) event. ESD events may cause damage to the integrated circuit. To prevent this static electricity build up, grounding cables are often provided to electrically couple apparatuses such as work benches, tables, people, tools, equipment, and other conductive objects to earth ground. These grounding cables provide a conductive path to earth ground so as to shunt any static electricity to earth ground before it can build up.
Problems may occur with the grounding cables in many manufacturing and design environments. The grounding cables may be accidentally or intentionally disconnected. With the grounding cable disconnected, the equipment is no longer adequately grounded. If the disconnected ground cable goes undetected, integrated circuits may become damaged by an ESD event. Consequently, disconnected grounding cables may have negative effects on quality control in a manufacturing environment.
A variety of monitoring devices are presently on the market which can detect whether a particular apparatus is properly grounded. However, presently available devices have limitations. For example, one such device operates from an AC power source and requires the user to manually perform a series of tests to verify the grounding integrity of the apparatus. Such a system requires the user to follow correct procedures to ensure a proper grounding. If the tests are not completed, the monitor does not indicate a fault in the grounding system. So, the monitor is only as good as the people executing the procedures. Furthermore, no indication is given of a grounding cable that becomes disconnected between the performance of the tests. Consequently, the integrated circuits may be damaged in the time between the disconnection of the cable and the subsequent performance of the test.
Additionally, the use of AC power can cause problems in manufacturing or design environments. For example an AC power source must be conveniently available, the power source may accidentally be unplugged, the power supply may fail, or electromagnetic interference may be generated which effects the monitoring circuit. If the power supply is disconnected so the monitor no longer operates properly, currently available devices do not give an indication that a problem exists. So the user may not detect grounding problems even after following the testing procedures.
Consequently, an improved device for monitoring the integrity of ground connection is desirable.

ESD ground monitor for electrostatic safe work tables


An apparatus and method for fine-grained multithreading in a multipipelined processor core. According to one embodiment, a processor may include instruction fetch logic configured to assign a given one of a plurality of threads to a corresponding one of a plurality of thread groups, where each of the plurality of thread groups may comprise a subset of the plurality of threads, to issue a first instruction from one of the plurality of threads during one execution cycle, and to issue a second instruction from another one of the plurality of threads during a successive execution cycle. The processor may further include a plurality of execution units, each configured to execute instructions issued from a respective thread group.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to processors and, more particularly, to fine-grained multithreaded execution within a processor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many conventional processor implementations attempt to increase performance by increasing the number of instructions the processor can concurrently execute from a single execution thread. For example, typical superscalar processor architectures include multiple execution units, such as load/store units, arithmetic logic units, branch processing units, etc. If such a superscalar processor can identify sufficient instruction-level parallelism within a given execution thread, it may correspondingly improve performance by executing those instructions in parallel in the multiple execution units.
However, increasing the amount of parallelism available within a single thread has proven to be a difficult problem. The presence of conditional branches in code creates challenges in predicting which instruction path to issue from, and speeding instruction execution using superscalar techniques offers little benefit if the instructions executed in parallel were fetched from an incorrectly predicted path. Correspondingly, considerable design effort and implementation area are often devoted to branch prediction in superscalar architectures, in order to keep execution units busy.
Though branches may be successfully predicted at least some of the time, predictors are often considerably less useful in resolving the problem of memory latency. Most superscalar processors include local caches to provide rapid access to instructions and data. However, such caches invariably miss, incurring substantial delays as the processor must access more distant caches or system memory to satisfy its memory request. Such delays may effectively stall or starve the conventional single-threaded superscalar processor, such that over time, the average utilization of processor resources is poor relative to the processor's peak throughput capability.

Apparatus and method for fine-grained multithreading in a multipipelined processor core


Modulators of Wnt activity, e.g., Wnt inhibitors, that act on TIKI proteins and inhibit TIKI-mediated cleavage of Wnt proteins, as well as methods of identifying such modulators and methods of use thereof.

Secreted morphogens such as the Wnt family of signaling proteins control animal development including axis formation, patterning and cell movements, and regulate adult tissue homeostasis, stem cell renewal and regeneration (Clevers, 2006; Logan and Nusse, 2004; MacDonald et al., 2009; Moon et al., 2004). Deregulation of Wnt signaling in humans causes birth defects, cancer, osteoporosis and other diseases (Clevers, 2006; Logan and Nusse, 2004; MacDonald et al., 2009; Moon et al., 2004). As prototypic morphogens Wnt proteins exhibit both short and long range signaling properties and govern the behavior of responding cells in a concentration gradient field (Hausmann et al., 2007; Strigini and Cohen, 2000; Zecca et al., 1996). The mechanism that regulates Wnt biogenesis and gradient formation has been intensively studied but not been fully understood. Critical for Wnt biogenesis and functions are post-translational modifications including N-glycosylation and lipidation, as have been best exemplified for the mouse Wnt3a protein (Komekado et al., 2007; Takada et al., 2006; Willert et al., 2003). O-acylation of a serine residue (S209) and N-glycosylation appear to be required for Wnt3a secretion (Komekado et al., 2007; Takada et al., 2006), whereas a distinct lipid modification, palmitoylation of a cysteine residue (C77), is important for Wnt3a activity (Willert et al., 2003). These modifications have profound influence on Wnt trafficking through the secretory pathway, extracellular transport/distribution and/or receptor binding (Cong et al., 2004; Franch-Marro et al., 2008; Komekado et al., 2007; Kurayoshi et al., 2007; Takada et al., 2006; Willert et al., 2003; Zhai et al., 2004). Whether Wnt proteins can be post-translationally modified and inactivated in development and/or tissue homeostasis is unknown.
Canonical Wnt signaling plays a central role in metazoan anterior-posterior (AP) patterning (De Robertis and Kuroda, 2004; Niehrs, 2004; Petersen and Reddien, 2009). Wnt engagement of a cell surface receptor complex composed of the serpentine Frizzled (Fz) receptor and the single-span LDL receptor-related protein 6 (LRP6) induces the stabilization of the transcription co-activator beta-catenin (He et al., 2004; MacDonald et al., 2009), thereby activating gene expression programs for AP patterning. A gradient of Wnt/beta-catenin signaling occurs along the AP axis, with the highest level posteriorly (Kiecker and Niehrs, 2001). In the Xenopus embryo the dorsal Spemann-Mangold Organizer promotes head/anterior development via secreting Wnt antagonists such as secreted Fz-related proteins (sFRPs) and Dickkopf-1 (Dkk1), which bind to and inhibit Wnt/Fz or LRP6 to create an anterior zone free of Wnt signaling (De Robertis and Kuroda, 2004; Harland and Gerhart, 1997; Niehrs, 2004).


A ramp activated low temperature quality epitaxial growth process. A substrate is pre-conditioned and a passivation layer overlying the substrate surface is formed. The substrate is introduced into a process chamber having a controlled temperature. A process chamber purge technique is used to remove oxygen and contaminants from the process chamber before epitaxial growth begins. A process gas, which has an epitaxial growth species, a process chamber purging species and other possible species, is introduced into the process chamber at a low temperature. The process gas and the passivation layer keep the process chamber environment and the substrate surface free from contamination and free from native oxide growth before and, in some cases, during epitaxial growth. The process chamber temperature is gradually elevated to initiate a quality epitaxial growth by starting growth relative to decomposition of the passivation layer.

The integrated circuit industry is constantly trying to improve the performance, increase the reliability and reduce the cost and complexity of all semiconductor products. The development of epitaxial growth and most importantly, silicon epitaxial growth and selective epitaxial growth (SEG), was a result of the ongoing research to further the industry-wide goals of making these improvements. Epitaxy, when interpreted literally, is defined as "arranged upon", and in a more relevant manner is defined as "the growth on a crystalline substrate of a crystalline substance that mimics the orientation of the substrate."
The main impetus for developing epitaxial capability was to improve the performance of silicon bipolar transistors and the performance of bipolar integrated circuits in general. Therefore, epitaxial growth of a film or layer of material was used in early stages of development for the optimization of bipolar breakdown voltages between a collector and a substrate junction, while still maintaining a relatively low collector resistance. As the industry developed complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) devices, the uses for epitaxial growth extended to several other applications, some of which are: (1) isolation improvements; (2) the reduction in the well-known and understood latch-up phenomena; (3) radiation hardening of circuits; (4) the development of numerous silicon on insulator (SOI) technologies; (5) the development of three dimensional silicon structures; and (6) extended source and drain technology. The use of epitaxial growth has several unique advantages, some of which are: (1) greater layout and circuit flexibility; (2) more controllable device doping; (3) the ability to form buried layers of material; (4) the ability to form very sharp junctions, where sharp junctions are defined to be two regions of opposite conductivity type, referred to as a first conductivity and a second conductivity, separated by a thin transistion region wherein the conductivity in the transistion region transistions from the first conductivity to the second conductivity in a very abrupt manner and (5) reduction in oxygen, carbon, particulate, organic, heavy metal, sodium, and inorganic device impurities. Because of these mentioned applications and advantages it is easy to see the commercial value of epitaxial growth not only to silicon bipolar and silicon CMOS technology, but to other technologies such as bi-CMOS, which is the combination of bipolar and CMOS, and other technologies that could involve substrate materials or compounds other than silicon, such as germanium (Ge) or gallium-arsenide (GaAs).
Due to a large commercial market and the many uses of epitaxial growth, the process of growing epitaxial material is important. A known and widely used method of growing epitaxial silicon requires a high temperature hydrogen pre-bake of the substrate material to remove native oxide and contaminants from the substrate surface before initiating epitaxial growth. A 950.degree. C. to 1000.degree. C., or above, pre-bake was considered necessary to allow for good quality epitaxial growth. Quality epitaxial growth can be defined, in a very general way, as being a grown material exhibiting as few crystalline defects as possible, while in the same manner providing uniform coverage over the growth area. Epitaxial growth quality is usually determined by the quality of the substrate material due to the fact that the epitaxial growth is not usually more defect free than the substrate it is grown upon.
Although a hydrogen pre-bake produces a quality epitaxy as previously described, this pre-bake step has several disadvantages: (1) hydrogen enhanced boron penetration from conventional and widely used p+ conductivity type gates through surrounding oxides causes transistor threshold voltage (Vt) shifts and unwanted charge to transfer from doped areas to surrounding areas; (2) hydrogen is known for a phenomena called interface state density (D.sub.it) generation wherein hydrogen at these temperatures severely attacks silicon dioxide (SiO.sub.2) and creates defects that usually result in well known and documented device-degrading charge trap formation; (3) oxide undercutting has been observed where this high temperature pre-bake leads to severe etching and physical removal of exposed oxides; (4) higher temperatures in most integrated circuit equipment introduce more impurities into wafers; and (5) the breakdown voltage and charge breakdown resistance of transistor gate dielectrics, which are needed to be large for long lifetime and operational safety margins on most devices, are usually degraded. It is also known that any high temperature process suffers from known disadvantages, such as: (1) outward diffusion of device electrical junctions, such as a CMOS source and drain and/or a bipolar collector, emitter and base; (2) reduced electrical isolation; (3) mechanical wafer stress and strain, (4) known wafer warpage and wafer slip phenomena; (5) increased amounts of crystalline defects; and (6) autodoping, where impurities evaporate from one exposed section of a wafer and deposit onto another section of a wafer electrically doping the other section in an undesired manner.
Another method for epitaxial growth of a film or layer of material involves a widely used manufacturing technique known as "rapid thermal processing", (RTP). Rapid thermal processing is a method by which substrate wafers are instantaneously heated to a predetermined temperature and kept in that temperature for very short time durations. After this brief time duration the substrate wafers are cooled to near room temperature. Rapid thermal processing techniques are used in many integrated circuit processes and although they have advantages, such as reducing dopant transfer and impurity outdiffusion, these processes still have several of the disadvantages listed previously. The most unwanted disadvantage for epitaxial growth being the rapid incorporation of impurities such as oxygen, carbon, particulate, organic, heavy metal, sodium, and inorganics into all exposed portions of the wafer including the substrate surface on which epitaxial growth is to take place.
In general, the industry has developed several techniques in which epitaxial growth is possible. The majority of these techniques involve high temperature processing or a low temperature process that results in contaminated or defect laden epitaxial material.

Temperature controlled process for the epitaxial growth of a film of material


A disk device is arranged to select an appropriate rotation control method according to a kind of an optical disk, a recording format or a recording method so that a recording operation for a certain amount of information may be completed as fast as possible, even if a waiting time takes place until the rotation is set. The disk device includes a unit for selecting the rotation control method for recording a certain amount of information more efficiently and rapidly in light of time according to a kind of an optical disk, a recording format or a recording method. The selected rotation control method is executed to control the rotation of the optical disk when recording information on the disk.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a disk device for recording or reproducing data on or from a disk-like recording medium like an optical disk and a control method for the disk drive. In particular, the present invention relates to the disk device which is suitable to be loaded in an information recording apparatus arranged to select a recording method according to each of recording formats and record information (often referred to as "data") like a moving picture and voice on a recording medium and the control method for the disk device.
2. Description of the Related Art
A recordable optical disk is mainly used as an archive. Hence, unlike a magnetic information recording device like a harddisk drive, as to the recordable optical disk, attention has been focused on a recording capacity rather than a speed of access to recorded information or a speed of rewriting recorded information. As such, in general, the harddisk drive is constructed to record information as keeping rotation of a magnetic disk located in the drive at a constant angular velocity (CAV), while the recordable optical disk is constructed to record information as keeping the linear velocity on the disk circumference constant (that is, keeping the constant linear velocity (CLV) of the disk) for the purpose of enhancing the recording capacity of each disk.
In general, the recordable optical disk includes tracks spirally formed from the inner periphery to the outer periphery of the disk. When information is recorded on the recordable optical disk, marks are formed along the tracks through the effect of heat, for example. By making the length of one information recording unit provided when information is recorded on a track on the inner periphery of the optical disk equal to the length thereof provided when information is recorded on a track on the outer periphery of the optical disk (keeping the constant recording line density in both cases) in the track direction, it is possible to obtain more recording capacity of information to be recorded on one optical disk as compared with the recording format used in the magnetic disk located in the harddisk drive. The recording format used in the magnetic disk of the harddisk drive has as one information recording unit an arc length provided when an angle to an arc becomes constant. The length of one information recording unit is made variable according to the radial location of the disk. That is, the recording density is made lower toward the outer periphery.
Recently, a rewritable and recordable optical disk is generally a phase-change optical disk if the disk has a large capacity. This optical disk is constructed by forming amorphous marks on a crystalline area served as a recording layer of the optical disk through the use of heat of the condensed, or focused laser beam and then obtaining information as the corresponding signal through a difference of reflectivity between the amorphous portion and the crystalline portion. Since the marks are formed by heat, it is necessary to radiate the laser in consideration of heat conduction and diffraction on the disk. For recording a mark of a desired length on the disk, it is necessary to control a luminous intensity or a pulse luminous interval of the laser beam. (Hereafter, this kind of control about laser is called write strategy.) Hence, when information is recorded on the optical disk in such a recording format as keeping respective information recording units the same as each other independently of the radial location, by controlling rotation of the optical disk at the CLV, it is principally possible to use the same write strategy independently of the radial location. Hereafter, the operation of recording information as controlling rotation of the optical disk at the CLV in such a recording format as keeping the recording line density constant is called CLV recording.
For the CLV recording, the angular velocity of the optical disk is varied depending upon where of a radial location on the optical disk an objective lens for condensing, or focusing a laser beam on the surface of the optical disk is located. That is, when the objective lens is located on the outer periphery of the optical disk for recording information on the outer peripheral track of the optical disk, the angular velocity of the optical disk is less than that provided when the objective lens is located on the inner periphery. Therefore, when the objective lens is greatly moved from the inner periphery to the outer periphery or vice versa, it is necessary to control rotation of the optical disk so that the angular velocity of the optical disk is made to be a proper value and then to record information on the optical disk after the angular velocity thereof becomes the proper value.
In consideration of these matters, for example, JP-A-8-22676 discloses the disk reproducing apparatus which is arranged to control rotation of an optical disk at the CLV in the normal reproduction of data or at the CAV when accessing the disk from the inner periphery to the outer periphery or vice versa, for enhancing an access speed in reproducing a reproduction-dedicated disk on which information is recorded in such a recording format as keeping a recording line density constant.

Disk device for recording and reproducing disks with adaptive rotation control


A mobile communication device that monitors and reports consumption of multi-tiered communication services is disclosed. The mobile communication device comprises a radio frequency transceiver, a processor, a memory, and an application stored in the memory. The application, when executed by the processor in a trusted security zone, wherein the trusted security zone provides hardware assisted trust; monitors a tier of communication service consumption, wherein a tier of communication service is associated to at least one of the amount of data, the data throughput, the latency, or the jitter; creates logs of communication service consumption differentiated by tier, and transmits a message containing the logs of the communication service consumption to a billing data store in a network of a service provider associated with the mobile communication device, whereby a bill is created by a billing server accessing the billing data store.

A communication application may include one of a voice call, email, text messages, multi-media messages, network applications, streaming video, etc. These applications may be affected by jitter, latency, and/or data throughput. Jitter refers to the variability in the rate of delivery or the arrival time of delivery of communication content. Latency refers to the delay in delivery of communication content. Data throughput refers to a rate of flow of communication content. The amount of jitter, latency, and/or data throughput for a communication application may depend on the level of communication service and/or a quality of service (QoS) that a service provider offers to a subscriber.


Toy blocks and sets of toy blocks containing Braille characters for teaching young, sight-impaired children. A typical wooden block is cubical, comprising a pair of opposite, spaced apart display sides having recessed surfaces. One recessed surface contains a raised Braille character, and the opposite side displays the corresponding alphabetic or numerical character or characters. The recessed sides have borders comprising a bottom tactile-sensing portion that includes a plurality of raised nubs adapted to be touched for orienting the characters properly. Smaller Braille characters are preferably disposed beneath each alphabetic character.

My invention relates generally to educational play toys for children. More particularly, my invention relates to toy blocks for sight-impaired or blind children, and to toys involving Braille.
Wooden blocks have been used as toys for children throughout history. Letters and symbols have been displayed upon toy blocks for centuries. Toy blocks provide an initial exposure to the alphabet for many children. Toy block sets are known to help in achieving "reading readiness." Sight-impaired and blind children also benefit from playing with blocks. Those children with severely impaired eyesight will eventually need to learn Braille.
In a diligent search to find useful play activities for my blind and/or visually handicapped students, I developed wooden "ABC blocks" with alphabetic characters in Braille. These blocks are to be used as toys for very young blind and low-vision children who will later become Braille readers. Playing with these blocks helps familiarize children with the English and Braille alphabets. At the very least, exposure to such blocks makes children aware that alphabetic symbols do exist. Relatively few toys for the blind are made of wood, so there may be some benefit in adding variety to his or her play materials.
My "Braille blocks" are intended to do the same for the visually impaired child. They are to be used as an early exposure to Braille and part of a Braille rich environment promoting "reading readiness" in visually impaired children. Teachers will find many ways to use the blocks in teaching concepts or reinforcing learning. The blocks also present a very unintimidating introduction to Braille for the parent. Parents who play block games with their child will find this one of the easiest ways possible to learn Braille by sight.

Toy building blocks for teaching braille