A spatial light modulator includes a two-dimensional array of hexagonal mirror plates disposed in a honeycomb pattern over a substrate. Each of the hexagonal mirror plates is supported by one or more structural members. There is a gap between adjacent hexagonal mirror plates. The structural members are not located in the gap.

The present disclosure relates to micro-mirror based spatial light modulators.
A spatial light modulator can include an array of tiltable micro mirrors. A micro mirror built on a substrate can include a tiltable mirror plate that can be tilted by electrostatic forces. The mirror plate tilts to an "on" position, wherein the micro mirror plate directs incident light to a display device, and to an "off" position, wherein the micro mirror plate directs incident light away from the display device. The mirror plate can be stopped by mechanical stops at the "on" or the "off" positions so that the orientation of the mirror plate can be precisely defined at these two positions. For the micro mirror to properly function, the mirror plate must be able to promptly change between the "on" or the "off" positions without any delay. The mirror plates in a spatial light modulator can be selectively tilted to "on" or "off" positions to form a display image. A desirable performance for the spatial light modulator in a display application is to provide bright and high contrast display images.

High fill-ratio mirror-based spatial light modulator


A system and a method to track GPS (Global Positioning System) satellite signal in a GPS receiver that includes an expanded capture window to rapidly reacquire the satellite signal after the satellite signal has been obstructed or when there is other type of signal loss. The expanded capture window includes a plurality of additional early and late correlations for maintaining synchronization of the GPS signal with a generated replica signal when positional error has accumulated during the time of the signal loss. The plurality of additional early and late correlations may be delayed from each other by a multiple of a fraction of a chip and may be performed in one or multiple channels of the GPS receiver. The adjoining code samples in the replica signal may also be offset by a fraction of a chip or by a multiple of the fraction of a chip.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to spread spectrum receivers and in particular to GPS navigation systems such as those used in terrestrial navigation for cars, trucks and other land vehicles.
2. Description of the Related Art
Car navigation is conventionally performed using highway and street maps aided, to some degree, by distance measurements from external sensors such as odometers. Improvements over the last 10 years in Global Positioning System, or GPS, satellite navigation receivers has spawned several GPS car navigation systems.
Conventional GPS car navigation systems use the last known position of the vehicle, and the destination data, to compute a route data base, including route and turning data derived from a pre-existing map data base. GPS receivers are conventionally operated with a minimum of 3 or 4 satellites distributed across the visible sky in order to determine, or at least estimate, the four necessary unknowns including xuser, yuser and zuser which provide three orthogonal coordinates to locate the user as well as tuser which provides the required satellite time. Techniques such as time or clock hold and altitude hold, in which the unknown time or altitude is assumed to remain predictable from a previously determined value, e.g., zest and/or test, have permitted operation of GPS receivers with less than four satellites in view. In particular, terrestrial GPS receivers have been operated with as few as two satellites to provide a two dimensional position solution using both clock and altitude hold.
Because continuous reception from four GPS satellites is often difficult to maintain in a car navigation environment, and known clock and altitude hold techniques can only permit operation with at least two satellites, known conventional car navigation systems have typically augmented the GPS position information with information from external sensors to provide dead reckoning information. The dead reckoning information is often provided by an inertial navigation system such as a gyroscope.
Augmenting GPS data with inertial navigation data has permitted the use of GPS car navigation even when less than 4 satellites are visible, such as in tunnels and in urban situations between tall buildings. However, the resultant increased complexity and costs for such combined systems have limited their acceptance.
Conventional GPS receivers use separate tracking channels for each satellite being tracked. Each tracking channel may be configured from separate hardware components, or by time division multiplexing of the hardware of a single tracking channel, for use with a plurality of satellites. In each tracking channel, the received signals are separately Doppler shifted to compensate for the relative motion of each satellite and then correlated with a locally generated, satellite specific code.
During a mode conventionally called satellite signal acquisition, delayed versions of the locally generated code for the satellite being acquired are correlated with the Doppler rotated received signals to synchronize the locally generated code with the code, as received for that satellite, by determining which delay most accurately correlates with the code being received. Once synchronization has been achieved for a particular satellite, that satellite channel progresses to a tracking mode in which the Doppler rotated, received signal is continuously correlated with the locally generated code for that satellite to determine position information including pseudorange information. During tracking, conventional receivers also correlate the Doppler shifted received signal with one or more versions of the locally generated code at different relative delays, such as one half C/A code chip width early and late relative to the synchronized or prompt version of the code. These early and late correlations are used to accurately maintain the synchronization of prompt correlation.
When, after tracking has begun for a particular satellite, the satellite signal has been lost so that the required timing of the locally generated code for synchronization is no longer accurately known, conventional receivers reenter the acquisition mode, or a limited version of this mode, to reacquire the satellite signals by multiple correlations to resynchronize the locally generated code with the code as received. Once the locally generated code has been resynchronized with the signals as received, position information data is again derived from the signals from that satellite.
GPS systems, as well as many other radio frequency (RF) communication systems utilizing frequencies high enough to be considered line of sight systems in which there must be a substantially direct line of sight between the transmitter(s) and receivers(s) for optimum operation, often suffer from multipath effects in which the receiver(s) must process signals received over a multiplicity of different paths. A common example is a simple broadcast TV system in which a TV receiver with an antenna receives multiple copies of the signal being transmitted.
The multiplicity of signals being received results from additional, typically unwanted, signals paths including one or more reflections. When the signal path from the transmitter to receiver includes a reflection, this signal path must by definition be longer than the direct path. Multipath signals present a problem in systems, such as GPS systems, in which the time of arrival of the signal is to be measured or used because the time of arrival of the multipath signals depends on the length of the path(s) taken.
The straightforward processing of all signals, including multipath or reflected signals, often degrades the processing performed by the receiver. In the simple broadcast TV transmission system described above, the processing of unmodified multipath signals by the receiver results in the commonly experienced degradation called "ghosting" in which multiple signals are displayed offset in the TV image. The multiplicity of displayed offset video signals results from the difference in path lengths of the various multipath signals received.
The direct path is the shortest and therefore requires the least travel time from transmitter to receiver while the various unwanted multipath signals have various greater lengths, and therefore various longer travel times, than the direct path signals. Signals are processed in part in a TV receiver in accordance with their time of arrival and therefore the resultant video display may include a plurality of images slightly displaced in space on the TV monitor in accordance with their different path lengths.
Many conventional partial solutions to the problems of multipath reception exist. In the TV broadcast example, a highly direction antenna is often used for the receiver to reduce the number of multipath signals processed by the receiver. In addition, various discrimination techniques have been developed which use the knowledge that the amplitude of the direct path signal is typically substantially greater than that of the unwanted multipath signals because signal amplitude is degraded by the square of the path length.
In other types of systems, such as the GPS systems using PRN encoded spread spectrum signals, certain conventional techniques are difficult or impossible to use. For example, GPS transmitters are positioned on satellites with complex orbital paths so that the position of the multiple transmitters are constantly changing. This makes a highly directional antenna system almost completely unusable. Similarly, digital receivers, including those used in a GPS receiver, often do not rely solely on the amplitudes of the signals received, but rather rely on other signal characteristics, such as time of arrival.
Multipath processing techniques currently used for complex receivers, such as GPS receivers, are often quite complex and subject to inaccuracies. An example of one such conventional technique is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,414,729 issued on May 9, 1995 to Patrick Fenton and assigned as issued to NovAtel Communications Ltd., Canada. In this technique, an autocorrelation function of a partially processed received signal, including multipath components, is compared to an estimated autocorrelation function of an estimated direct path signal to attempt to discern direct path signals from multipath signals for further processing. This technique of comparing processed and estimated correlation power, is complex and may be subject to error in that the partially processed signals relied on are themselves subject to degradation from many effects in addition to multipath effects including receiver limitations, which may reduce the accuracy or effectiveness of the multipath processing techniques.
For example, in tracking a GPS C/A signal to determine position information from GPS satellite transmitters, it is typically important to derive an accurate estimate of the time of arrival; known as code phase, of the PRN modulation of the direct path component of the C/A signals received from each of the various GPS satellites. It is also important to derive an accurate estimate of the phase of the underlying carrier signals transmitted from the satellites on which the modulation is applied, known as the carrier phase. However, as apparently shown for example in FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 of the above referenced Fenton patent, the delayed multipath components degrade the tracking of the code and carrier phase estimates by distorting the correlation functions used is such tracking.
What is needed is an improved spread spectrum receiver, such as one for use with GPS navigation systems, which avoids the limitations of conventional designs and provides improved results in a wide range of reception conditions, including multipath interference.

Spread spectrum receiver with multi-bit correlator


A direct drive motor for a washing machine and a method of manufacturing the same are provided. The motor may include a stator having a winding part with a coil wound thereon, a rotor frame including a side wall part and a rear wall part, the rotor frame being connected to a shaft that drives a drum of a washing machine, and a permanent magnet provided at an inner surface of the side wall part of the rotor frame. The permanent magnet may be formed of a resin material, with a plurality of magnetic poles that alternate in a circumferential direction to form a sine wave magnetization pattern. Such a direct drive motor may reduce cogging torque, noise and vibration.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a washing machine, and more particularly, to a direct drive motor for a washing machine and method of manufacturing the same. Although the present invention is suitable for a wide scope of applications, it is particularly suitable for enhancing a configuration of a rotor of the direct drive motor.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Generally, a pulsator type washing machine is a product that removes various dirt from clothes, linen and the like using detergent emulsification, a frictional power of water current, an impact power of a pulsator, etc. In particular, the pulsator type washing machine performs a washing process in a manner of automatically setting the washing method by detecting a quantity and type of a laundry using a sensor, supplying water to a level suitable for the detected quantity and type of the laundry, and then executes the washing process under a control of a microcomputer.
In a drum type washing machine, while a detergent, water and laundry are provided within a drum, a driving force of a motor is transferred to the drum to rotate. So, a washing is performed using a frictional force between the rotated drum and the laundry. Hence, the drum type washing machine is advantageous in preventing the laundry from being damaged and raveled with each other. And, the drum type washing machine has a washing effect of beating and rubbing the laundry.
Drum type washing machines according to a related art are classified into an indirect drive type washing machine of which drum is rotated by a motor indirectly transferring its driving force to the drum via a belt that connects a motor pulley and a drum pulley together and a direct drive type washing machine of which drum is directly connected to a rotor of a motor to be rotated.
In this case, the indirect drive type washing machine, in which the driving force of the motor is transferred via the belt connecting the motor and drum pulleys together, considerable noise and energy loss takes place in the course of transferring the driving force.
In order to problems of the related art drum type washing machine, a motor is assembled to a rear wall of a tub to directly transfer its driving force to a drum. So, the direct drive type drum type washing machine becomes more popular.
A configuration of a direct drive type drum type washing machine according to a related art is explained as follows.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional diagram of a direct drive type drum type washing machine according to a related art.
Referring to FIG. 1, a direct drive type drum type washing machine according to a related art consists of a tub 2 provided within a cabinet 1, a drum 3 provided within the tub 2, a washing shaft 4 connected to the drum 3 to transfer a driving force of a motor 5 to the drum 3, an a bearing (not shown in the drawing) provided to an outer circumference of each end of the washing shaft 4.
A door 21 is provided to a front side of the cabinet 1 and a gasket 22 is provided between the door 21 and the tub 2.
A hanging spring 23 is provided between an inside of a topside of the cabinet 1 and an upper outer circumference of the tub 2 to support the tub 2. And, a frictional damper 24 provided between an inside of a bottom side of the cabinet 1 and a lower outer circumference of the tub 2 to attenuate vibration of the tub 2 in executing a dewatering cycle.
In this case, the motor 5 consists of a stator 7 assembled to a rear wall portion 200 of the tub 2 and a rotor 6 configured to enclose the stator 7. A driving force of the rotor 6 is directly transferred to the drum 3 via the washing shaft 4. Namely, the drum 3 is driven according to a direct drive type without a power transmission via separate pulley or belt configuration.
A configuration of a direct drive type motor for a washing machine according to a related art is explained with reference to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 as follows.
FIG. 2 is a perspective diagram of a stator of the motor shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3 is a perspective diagram of a rotor of the motor shown in FIG. 1.
Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the motor 5 consists of the stator 7 and the rotor 6. If an electric power is applied to the motor 5, a rotational magnetic field is generated between a coil 8 wound on the stator 7 and a permanent magnet 16 to rotate the rotor 6.
In this case, the stator 7 consists of the coil 8, a stator core 10 provided with a plurality of teeth 9 having the coil 8 wound thereon and an insulator 12 insulating the coil 8 and the stator core 10 from each other. In particular, the stator 7 is fixed to the rear wall portion of the tub 2 via bolts or the like fitted into locking holes 11, respectively.
Alternatively, although FIG. 2 shows that the locking holes 11 are provided to the insulator 12 and the stator core 10, the locking holes 11 can be provided to the insulator 12 only in a manner of configuring the stator core 10 to have protrusions projected inward in a radial direction for the locking holes.
The rotor 6 is provided to enclose the stator 7 and is connected to the washing shaft 4 connected to the drum 3 by perforating the tub 2. Namely, the drum 3 is rotated by a rotation of the rotor 6 via the washing shaft 4.
And, a bearing housing (not shown in the drawings) is provided between a rear wall portion 200 of the tub 2 and the stator 7 to rotatably support the washing shaft 4.
Configurational details of the rotor 6 are explained as follows.
First of all, the rotor 6 consists of a rotor frame 15 and a permanent magnet 16. The rotor frame 15 consists of a sidewall part 13 and a backside wall part 14. A perforated hole is provided to a central portion of the backside wall part 14. And, a washing shaft passes through the perforated hole to directly drive a drum. Moreover, the permanent magnet 16 is provided in a circumferential direction within the sidewall part 13 of the rotor frame 15.
In this case, a magnetic path needs to be formed to enable a magnetic flux generated from the permanent magnet 16 to pass through. Yet, if the rotor frame 15 is formed of a magnetic substance, it is unnecessary to include a magnetic back yoke to form a magnetic path therein. Namely, the sidewall part 13 of the rotor frame 15 plays a role as a back yoke for forming the magnetic path, whereby the rotor frame 15 and the back yoke can be formed on one body.
Meanwhile, a connector 30 connecting the washing shaft 4 and the rotor frame 15 together is provided in one body of the rotor frame 15 to the perforated hole. Alternatively, the connector 30 is assembled to the rotor frame 15 using a separate locking means.
In this case, a serration 31 is provided to a central part of the connector 30 to transfer a driving force of the rotor 6 to the washing shaft 4 by the serration joint with the washing shaft 4.
A plurality of cooling fins 16, cooling holes 17 and drain holes 18 are provided in a circumferential direction to the backside wall part 14 of the rotor frame 15, thereby preventing the stator from being overheated and facilitating water to be drained.
A plurality of embossed parts 19 are provided to the backside wall part 14 of the rotor frame 15 to raise rigidity of the rotor frame 15, and a step sill 20 is provided to an inner side of the sidewall part 13 of the rotor frame 15 in a circumferential direction to support the permanent magnet 16.
FIG. 4 is a graph of a magnetization waveform of a permanent magnet of a direct drive type motor according to a related art.
In the related art, a permanent magnet is separated into a plurality of pieces to be assembled to an inner surface of a sidewall of a rotor in a circumferential direction. And, the permanent magnetic pieces are magnetized to enable N and S polarities to alternate along the circumferential direction.
So, the permanent magnet, as shown in FIG. 4, has a waveform close to a square wave according to an angle to generate a point at which the magnetic polarity abruptly changes according to the circumferential direction of the inner surface of the sidewall of the rotor.
In general, a related art washing machine motor is the BLDC (brushless DC motor) and a rotational speed of a rotor is controlled by an inverter. In particular, an AC voltage of a power is converted to a DC voltage, converted to a 3-phase (u,v,w) AC voltage, and then applied to the motor.
The voltage applied to the motor has a PWM (pulse width modulation) waveform, and an amplitude and frequency of the voltage applied to the motor are adjusted by controlling a size of a duty ratio.
Meanwhile, the inverter is driven according to a square wave drive or a sine wave drive, which is discriminated according to whether the drive has a conduction angle 180° or a 120° conduction angle in six type switching sequences of a 3-phase inverter.
Since a harmonic component is small in case of the 120° conduction angle, a waveform gets closer to the sine wave. So, the sine wave drive is more popular for a washing machine motor drive in general.
However, in a motor driven by the sine wave drive and having a permanent magnet magnetized in a square waveform, a cogging torque and the like are generated due to the square waveform magnetization of the motor. And, this problem causes a torque ripple that pulsates as well as a drive torque for driving the motor. So, motor efficiency is lowered but vibration and noise are raised.
In particular, the cogging torque is generated from an abrupt fluctuation of a mutual reaction between the permanent magnet 16 and a winding part having the coil wound thereon while the motor is driven. And, the cogging torque is raised if a magnetized pattern of the permanent magnet gets closer to the square wave.
So, in a direct drive motor of a general washing machine for a sine wave drive, many efforts have been made to solve the problem of the cogging torque raised due to the square wave magnetization of the permanent magnet and the corresponding vibration and noise problems.
Meanwhile, such a general permanent magnet as an AlNiCo magnet, a ferrite magnet and the like is normally formed by sintering or the like. So, the magnet is considerably heavy to cause an energy loss attributed to an inertial force and difficult to be assembled to a rotor frame.
Meanwhile, a number of permanent magnets need to be attached to the rotor frame in a circumferential direction. So, the magnet attaching process is complicated and a reliability of the attachment is degraded.

Direct drive motor for washing machine and method of manufacturing the same


A scupper door system includes a frame defining a passageway. A door is mounted within the frame at a pivot and is therein rotatable about the pivot within the passageway between a closed position, blocking the passageway, and an open position wherein the passageway is open to permit passage of water therethrough. A latch mechanism is configured to retain the door in the closed position and is triggerable in response to a preset water condition at one side of the passage to release the door from the closed position and allow the door to rotate to the open position.

Water collected on surfaces such as decks, roofs, and terraces may be drained to prevent potentially damaging accumulations. A prior art drainage system is provided as an example in FIGS. 1A and 1B. The drainage system includes a roof 1 and a parapet 2 positioned around the perimeter of the roof 1. Scupper passageways extend through the parapet 2 and include primary scuppers 5 and secondary scuppers 7. When water collects at the roof surface 4, the water initially flows to the primary scuppers 5 positioned approximately level with or below the roof surface 4. Downspouts 6 are positioned to receive water from the primary scuppers 5 for additional directing of the water. The secondary scuppers 7 are positioned above the adjacent roof surface 4 at a height that may be defined by code or preferred engineering standards. The secondary scuppers 7 function to provide additional drainage points for accumulating water 21 as shown in FIG. 1B if the primary scuppers 5 or downspouts 6 become clogged or lack desired drainage capacity.


For efficient pulse motor drive over a wide speed range, two drive-current control methods are switched in accordance with the speed of the pulse motor. As the first method, a PWM control method generates a pulsewidth modulation signal in accordance with a value indicated by a current control pattern. The pulse-motor drive current is controlled by voltage corresponding to the pulsewidth. As the second method, a BIT control method generates a digital signal corresponding to the value indicated by the current control pattern. The pulse-motor drive current is controlled by voltage corresponding to the digital value.

This invention relates to a pulse-motor driving apparatus used in an image communication apparatus capable of transmitting/receiving image data or copying an image.
As methods for controlling pulse-motor drive current (simply referred to as "drive current") in a conventional pulse-motor driver, mainly BIT control method and PWM control method are known. In the BIT control method, a control signal to control a drive current value of a motor-driver IC is a digital signal. The drive current value is controlled by a signal D/A converted from the digital signal. In the PWM control method, a control signal to control the motor-driver IC is a pulse-width modulation signal (PWM signal). The drive current value is controlled in accordance with a voltage level signal analog-converted from the PWM signal. One of these controls is performed to control a motor-driver current.
However, these conventional controls have the following problems. The BIT control executes the drive current control by D/A conversion. This provides excellent follow-up characteristic of the drive current value with respect to the control signal. However, delicate drive current control is difficult because the steps of current-control by the motor-driver IC are limited. This limits motor-drive torque control. Especially, when the drive speed slows down, as an appropriate torque cannot be obtained, there is a high probability that noise or out-of-synchronization may occur.
The PWM control, which executes drive current control by a voltage level, can perform very delicate drive current control. However, as the control signal is an analog signal, the change of current value has a transient phenomenon. As a result, follow-up characteristic of the drive signal with respect to the control signal becomes poor. Accordingly, if the motor drive speed is increased, the period required to obtain a desired current value of the drive signal is prolonged, which increases the possibility of noise or out-of synchronization.


A resin-sealed type semiconductor device comprises a lead frame having a bed and external leads, a semiconductor element mounted on the bed and having electrodes, a fine metal wire for making an electrical connection between the electrode and the lead frame, a resin layer which seals the semiconductor element, fine metal wire and portion of the lead frame therein and a recess formed at a central portion of one surface side of the resin layer and having a controlled depth, whereby the development of cracks in the resin layer as caused by heat load is prevented.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a surface-mount type semiconductor device and, in particular, to a semiconductor device in which, for example, a semiconductor element mounted on a lead frame is sealed with a resin.
2. Description of the Related Art
A resin-sealed type semiconductor device comprises a semiconductor element mounted on a bed of a lead frame, fine metal wires electrically connecting electrodes of the semiconductor element to external leads of the lead frame, a resin layer fixedly sealing the semiconductor element, a portion of the lead frame and the fine metal wires, and a recess formed in the resin layer at a resin-sealing step. The resin sealing step is carried out by locating an assembly of the semiconductor element, a portion of the lead frame and the fine metal wires in the cavity of a mold, introducing a sealing resin which is melted in a pot into the mold cavity, subjecting the resin thus introduced to an aging process, and after completing such a series of steps, knocking a resin-sealed semiconductor element out of the mold by an ejector pin which is located at a lower mold half thereof. Since, at this knock-out step, the sealing resin is not yet solidified, a recess is formed at that place of the sealed resin layer where the resin-sealed semiconductor element is knocked out by the ejector pin. The ejector pin is somewhat projected out of the lower mold half of the mold. In the prior art, there is no proposed concept that the dimension of the ejector pin be controlled. Therefore, the depth of the recess thus obtained in the resin-sealing step varies over a range of 80 to 150 .mu.m.
The semiconductor device, after being temporarily fixed to the mount substrate, has its external lead soldered to the mount substrate. In the conventional sealed resin layer, cracks are developed due to thermal stress upon assembly of the aforementioned components by soldering, so that a decided imperfection occurs due to such cracks. This imperfection involves the following defects:
(1) After the device is mounted as set forth above, the sealed resin layer absorbs moisture through the cracks under a practical atmosphere, causing the semiconductor substrate or associated components to be corroded due to the moisture intruded.
(2) After the device is mounted as set forth above, cracks occur near the recess by thermal load caused at the soldering step and become more wide open there, bringing a "temporary state of fixing" into an unstable state. In an extreme case, the semiconductor element is removed from the bed.
In the surface-mount type semiconductor device, the resin layer is maintained to at least about 1.0 mm. There is, however, a growing demand that a compact semiconductor element be applied at a high integration density to the semiconductor device. A package with a semiconductor element sealed with a resin requires more exact external lead pitch and is made as near a bare chip as possible. However, no adequate preparation has been made so as to solve the aforementioned problems.

Resin-sealed type semiconductor device and method for manufacturing the same


A central air conditioning unit with a blower and feed duct is provided with a filter unit between the blower and the air outlet into the space applied with the conditioned air. The filter unit has both a sorption filter and a suspended filter and is constructed and arranged to form a sound barrier, i.e. a sound-damping or sound-blocking system.

Air conditioning units of the aforedescribed type are referred to as room air conditioners. The reference to human applications of such air conditioning units is intended to indicate that the air conditioner is primarily for rooms occupied by people including offices, domiciles, theaters, commercial establishments, hospitals, schools and other institutions.
The reference to air conditioning is here intended to cover complete conditioning systems as well as partial conditioning systems. Complete conditioning systems are those which can effect all four thermodynamic air treatment functions, namely, heating, cooling, moisturization or humidification and dehumidification to appropriate levels or with appropriate controls. Such units thus contain control devices for all four of the thermodynamic conditions.
Partial conditioning systems are those which provide reduced functions, for example, only cooling. The control systems are correspondingly reduced in such arrangements.
Conditioning systems of the described type and for the described purposes are well known for domiciles. Their construction and configurations have been designed to satisfy air conditioning technology requirements for such domiciles. Nevertheless they can be improved upon.
In the past, for example, conditioned room air was not completely free from suspended matter and molecular impurities that could collectively be referred to as contaminants. The reference to suspended matter is intended to cover both inorganic and organic particulates, including viruses, bacteria, fungi or molds. In addition, the blower generated considerable noise, usually in a frequency range of 125 to 250 Hz. The sound level at the outlet of the blower increased with blower power and decreased along the duct to the air outlet. Nonetheless there was a high sound level at the outlet of the blower with a high sound level in the space to which the treated air was admitted.
With conventional air conditioning systems of the type over which the present invention is an improvement (see, for example, Recknagel, Sprenger, Homann "Taschenbuch der Heizungs- und Klimatechnik", R. Oldenburg Verlag Munchen und Wien 1987, Pg, 900, FIG. 329-2), it is known to equip a central air conditioning unit with a filter device. This is provided upstream of the units which effect the conditioning of the air and filters the fresh air entering the central unit and/or the recirculated air delivered thereto. To reduce the noise below a detrimental level and to suppress noise generally, it is known to form the feed duct of the treated room air so that it is of a sound-damping nature and/or to combine this duct with sound-damping features (see Recknagel, Sprenger, Honmann, loc. cit. pg. 1073 to 1076).
It is also known, in this connection, to provide sound-blocking structures for such systems. Sound-blocking refers to the interference with the spreading or transmission of sound by interposing sound reflecting barriers or materials. A measurement for the degree of sound blocking is the sound blocking coefficient or the degree of sound transmission (ratio of transmitted sound to generated sound). In order to generate a maximum possible sound reflection, a medium must be provided in the sound path whose sound damping impedence differs from that of the sound transmission medium, i.e. the treated room air, to the greatest possible extent. For example, a high density, high weight solid mass can serve as an effective sound blocking medium as interposed along a sound path because of its much greater sound block impedence than the impedence of the propagation medium, namely, room air.
For air transmitted sound, therefore, sound blocking requires hard and heavy materials in the form of walls for high sound frequencies while for lower frequencies the use of walls of relatively soft bendable materials or body vibration materials are used.
For sound-damping, i.e. the reduction of sound transmission or the attenuation of sound, sound absorbing media or devices are used. A measure of sound damping is the degree of sound adsorption, i.e. the proportion of the sound impinging upon a surface which is transmitted through it. Sound-damping is a characteristic of materials which are particularly suitable for blocking sound transmission and in general some of these materials will also give rise to a noticeable sound-damping. Sound-damping materials seldom block all sound, although they will give rise to a significant attenuation, i.e. should have a sound adsorption of at least 10% and usually much more. Sound-damping materials are usually materials which convert sound to thermal energy by internal friction. The field is aware of many sound-damping and sound-blocking materials and the conditions under which both may be used or provided to achieve either sound-damping or sound-attenuation or both.
With the previously described known air conditioning systems, providing filter units upstream of the central unit, even with said ducts which have sound-damping or sound-blocking devices associated therewith, the filter unit and the sound-damping or sound-blocking unit operate individually and additively as far as energy losses are concerned. As a consequence, the blower capacity must be increased and this results in ah increased noise level at the blower outlet.

Air conditioning system for human-occupied spaces


A universal communication system enables dedicated and independent communications capability to NSTS payload elements and ground based communications networks. The system may either utilize existing communications satellites as an intermediate network to provide continuous communications with payload elements, regardless of orientation or configuration of the NSTS Orbiter, or may communicate directly with ground stations via down link capability. In addition, the universal communications system can provide supplemental and independent communications capacity to the NSTS Orbiter's primary communication system.

There has been a movement in recent years to privatize access to space and space transportation systems and develop commercial space systems. In this regard, various privately owned commercial systems have been proposed for implementation with the NSTS Orbiter. Most recently, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has also decided to relinquish control of NSTS operations to a coalition of private companies called the United Space Alliance.
One such successful implementation of a commercial space venture was the successful development of the SPACEHAB module by SPACEHAB Inc. The SPACEHAB module, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,867,395, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference, includes flat end caps and a flat top panel that permit useful payload items to be attached to the outside of the module in addition to being carried within the module. The SPACEHAB module can be readily co-manifested with other payloads within the cargo bay of the NSTS Orbiter and has been successfully flown on several missions. In order to increase the pressurized volume of the basic SPACEHAB module, it has been recently proposed to couple one or more of the basic modules together to form a variable length mission-configurable module, as described in co-pending and commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/401,353, now U.s. Pat. No. 5,806,799, to carry cargo required to facilities in highly inclined orbits such as the Mir space station or the planned International Space Station Alpha.
One current drawback to offering commercial access to space via privately owned and operated modules within the cargo bay of the NSTS Orbiter, is the inability of commercial customers to maintain constant direct communicate with payload elements and/or their own mission specialists working within the module, due to the inherent limitations of communicating through the NSTS Orbiter primary communications system. It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a universal communication system that will provide dedicated and independent communications capability to NSTS payload elements.

Universal communications system for space applications


The present invention provides an actuator using a fluid cylinder capable of imparting stiffness to a fluid cylinder such as an air cylinder with a simple constitution, a control method thereof and a choke valve device. The actuator is provided with a fluid cylinder 1, a first choke valve device 3 and a second choke valve device 5. The fluid cylinder 1 has a cylinder chamber 7 and a piston 12 dispose slidably in the cylinder chamber 7 so as to partition the cylinder chamber 7 into a first chamber 9 and a second chamber 11. The first choke valve device 3 is disposed between a fluid pressure source and the first chamber 9; and the second choke valve device 5 is disposed between the fluid pressure source and the second chamber 11. Each of the choke valve devices 3 and 5 is provided with a discharge valve mechanism capable of changing the opening of the valve.

As disclosed in the Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 311667/2003, conventionally electric motor such as servomotor has been employed as an actuator for moving a joint of a robot, since motors are easily available. However, there resides such a disadvantage in motors that the entire size of robot tends to become larger. Since motors weigh considerably, design of mechanical strength of robot is also important. The fluid cylinders such as air cylinder have such advantages that, compared to motors, smaller in weight, simple in structure and easy to maintain. The fluid cylinder is estimated as useful as an actuator for robots.
Patent document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open 311667/2003

Actuator using fluid cylinder, method of controlling the actuator, and choke valve devices


Annotations are customized for a tenant-specific search within a public corpus. In a non-limiting embodiment of the invention, a cartridge file is received by a semantic search application. The cartridge file includes a new attribute definition that is not available in an index of the semantic search application. The new attribute definition is incorporated within the index based on an approximation of one or more existing attributes in the index. One or more documents are retrieved from the public corpus based on a concept search using the incorporated new attribute definition and the one or more documents are annotated based on the incorporated new attribute definition. The annotated one or more documents are stored in a tenant-specific dataset separate from the public corpus.

The present invention generally relates to natural language processing (NLP), and more specifically, to creating tenant-isolated custom annotations for a search within a public corpus.
Machine learning is a form of artificial intelligence that uses algorithms to enable a system to learn from data rather than through explicit programing. Machine learning follows a process of preparing data, training an algorithm to generate a machine learning model, and then making and refining predictions. Machine learning algorithms learn from a labelled set of features from training data. The field of machine learning has been gaining momentum due to the capabilities of state-of-the-art processors and to the abundant amount of digitized data that is available, which are both key to achieving accurate predictions.
NLP is a process that can leverage machine learning to process and analyze large amounts of natural language data. This natural language data is sometimes referred to as a corpus. In linguistics, a corpus or text corpus is a language resource consisting of a large set of structured and unstructured text. NLP processing can occur on a large corpora resulting in many annotations associated with the corpora. With the massive amounts of data that are available and being added to computer repositories each day, companies are trying to figure out how they can structure the data, clean it, and garner deeper insights from the data. NLP is the parsing and semantic interpretation of text, allowing computers to learn, analyze, and understand human language to enable, for example, communication between computers and humans in natural language.
Healthcare documents, such as medical records, are an example of a type of digitized data that is stored in computer systems. NLP techniques can be used to extract features describing a patient from a medical record(s) associated with the patient such as a medical condition of the patient, a height of the patient, and/or a test performed or scheduled to be performed on the patient. Medical records can be stored in many different formats including text data and/or image data. In addition, medical records often include structural information such as titles, sections, and headers; as well as a variety of text patterns such as structured data (e.g., paragraphs, sentences, etc.) and unstructured data (e.g., a list of symptoms, conditions listed in bullet points, etc.).

Tenant-isolated custom annotations for search within a public corpus

International Business Machines Corporation


A fire suppression system for aircraft storage containers includes a fire suppression unit removably located within each cargo container and a human to machine interface (HMI) located in the aircraft cockpit. Each fire suppression unit includes an identifier so that each unit is identified and correlated with its container. The HMI monitors each fire suppression unit including monitoring internal temperature, presence of chemical fumes, presence of smoke, presence of flammable gases, and presence of fire. Each fire suppression unit is programmed with specific thresholds of temperature, chemical fumes, smoke, and/or flammable gases, whereby when a threshold is reached activation of fire suppression means within the fire suppression unit is accomplished.

The present invention relates to a fire suppression system for aircraft storage containers. Fire suppression systems used in aircraft are generally well known. However, Applicants are unaware of any such system specifically designed to be removably placed within cargo containers in the baggage compartment of an aircraft and including means for sensing adverse conditions and also including means for communicating in the cockpit of the aircraft so that pilots and other crew can monitor the conditions within storage containers stored within the baggage compartment of an aircraft.
In a flying aircraft, a fire or conditions leading to initiation of a fire can easily be fatal to the aircraft's continuing ability to safely fly. On Jul. 12, 2013, an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787 aircraft caught fire while sitting on the tarmac at London's Heathrow Airport. Earlier, on Jan. 7, 2013, a fire broke out aboard an empty Japan Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner at Boston's Logan Airport. The cause of that fire was a defective battery. Luckily, both of these incidents occurred when the aircraft were on the ground.
The passengers and crew of ValuJet flight 592 were not so lucky when, on May 11, 1996, their DC-9 aircraft caught fire and crashed in the Florida Everglades. It was later found that the fire was caused by a number of chemical oxygen generators that were improperly stored in the baggage compartment. After this incident, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommended to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that all Class D cargo holds have smoke detectors and/or fire suppression systems. While such systems are now installed in the cargo holds of aircraft, the problem is that a fire is rarely started in the cargo hold. Rather, if a fire is going to start, typically, it starts within large cargo containers that are loaded into the aircraft cargo hold. Punctuating the need for improved fire suppression systems in aircraft cargo containers, UPS Flight 6 out of Dubai, a 747-400 cargo plane, crashed on Sep. 3, 2010 near Dubai International Airport after a load of batteries in a cargo container caught fire.
To maximize the ability of an aircraft to store baggage and other items, typically, cargo containers are designed so that their outer walls mimic the shape of the cargo hold so that such storage containers can be easily loaded and unloaded and provide the maximum volume of storage of items within the cargo hold. Doors accessing the cargo hold are specifically sized and configured to allow easy placement of these cargo containers within the cargo hold and easy removal therefrom so that these containers can be loaded and unloaded. A blueprint of the cargo hold of an aircraft easily shows that each cargo container is designed to be located in a specific location within the cargo hold due to the unique outer configuration of each cargo container mimicking the configuration of the location within the cargo hold where that specific container is to be located. As such, it is possible to numerically identify each cargo container with specificity. It would be advantageous to devise a system in which a portable fire detection and suppression system could be placed within each cargo container and each such system could be specifically identified with each such system communicating with the cockpit of an aircraft so that the pilots and other crew could closely monitor ambient conditions within the cargo hold of an aircraft and ensure rapid response to any adverse conditions. It is with these thoughts in mind that the present invention was developed.
Applicants are aware of the following prior art:
U.S. Pat. No. 8,200,379 to Manfredi et al, discloses sensors for detecting conditions aboard an aircraft or inside various compartments of the aircraft. Included in these conditions are fire and smoke. The system includes means for notifying pilots or crew members of an adverse condition.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,035,520 to Hanania discloses a discrete intelligence system which includes the ability to sense when a cargo crate has been opened in an unauthorized fashion. Hanania also discloses that such a sensor can be used on canisters or other containers to detect temperature changes.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,142,105 to Chen discloses a fire alarm algorithm using smoke and gas sensors that may be located in the compartments of an aircraft.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,960,987 to Dohi et al. discloses a fire alarm system, fire sensor, fire receiver, and repeater and contemplate use of a plurality of sensors which when triggered identify location, including the use of a transmitter and receiver.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,347,274 to Hassett discloses a system in which a plurality of sensors are mounted on a vehicle to monitor characteristics including temperature and to wirelessly communicate those conditions.
U.S. Published Application No. US 2007/0241879 to Jobe et al. discloses wireless interconnection between components of a fire and security protection system and a control panel, controller and/or computer network.
U.S. Published Application No. US 2005/0128093 to Genova et al. discloses a self-protected fire sensing alarm apparatus and method that contemplates use in an aircraft seating area as well as the use of a remote monitor.
The present invention differs from the teachings of these references as contemplating an integrated system including locating discrete fire sensing and suppression systems in cargo containers located within the cargo compartment of an aircraft and wireless communication between those systems and a human to machine interface located in the cockpit of that aircraft.

Fire suppression system for aircraft storage containers


Provided are methods for programming in a non-volatile memory device, using incremental step pulses as a program voltage that is applied to a selected wordline. Methods may include applying a precharge voltage to an even bitline and an odd bitline such that the even bitline and the odd bitline are alternately charged with the precharge voltage and a boosted voltage that is higher than the precharge voltage. Methods may further include applying a bitline voltage corresponding to program data to a selected bitline of the even bitline and the odd bitline.

The present invention relates to semiconductor devices, and more particularly to methods of programming memory devices and memory devices.
Semiconductor memory devices may be typically classified into non-volatile memory devices that maintain stored data even though power is off and volatile memory devices that lose stored data when power is off. The non-volatile memory devices may include electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) in which stored data can be electrically erased and then new data can be reprogrammed.
Operations of an EEPROM may include a program mode for writing data into a memory cell, a read mode for reading the data stored in the memory cell, and an erase mode for initializing a memory cell by deleting the stored data. In an incremental step pulse programming (ISPP) method, verification and reprogramming may be repealed by using incremental step pulses until desired data is stored.
In flash memory devices pertaining to EEPROM, an erasing operation may be performed per memory block or sector, and a programming operation may be performed per page that includes a plurality of memory cells commonly coupled to a word line. The flash memory devices may be classified, according to a configuration of a memory cell array, into NAND Hash memory devices in which cell transistors may be coupled in parallel between a bitline and a ground electrode, and NOR flash memory devices in which cell transistors may be coupled serially between a bitline and a ground electrode. A NAND flash memory device may have higher programming and erasing speeds than a NOR flash memory device, but may not provide access per byte in reading and programming operations.
FIG. 1 is a timing diagram illustrating a conventional method of programming in a non-volatile memory device. Referring to FIG. 1, a power supply voltage Vcc is applied to an even bitline BLe and an odd bitline BLo at time t1. A voltage Vcc+Vth corresponding to a sum of the power supply voltage Vcc and a threshold voltage Vth of a string selection transistor is applied to a string selection line SSL at time t2. Thus, the string selection transistor is turned on and a channel of a memory cell is precharged at the power supply voltage Vcc.
When a program voltage Vpgm is applied to a selected wordline and a pass voltage Vpass is applied to unselected wordlines at time t3, the channel of the program-inhibited cell may be boosted to a voltage V1 higher than the power supply voltage Vcc due to capacitive coupling between the memory cells. When the program voltage Vpgm is deactivated at time t5, a cycle of a programming operation is finished.
FIG. 1 illustrates an example where the power supply voltage Vcc as a program-inhibiting voltage is applied to the program-inhibited bitline and the channel of the memory cell coupled to the program-inhibited bitline is boosted to the voltage V1 higher than the power supply voltage Vcc. On the contrary, a program-enabling voltage as a program-enabling voltage (for example, a ground voltage of 0 V) may be applied to a program-enabled bitline. The memory cell coupled to the program-enabled bitline can be programmed through Fowler-Nordheim (F-N) tunneling since a voltage difference between a floating gate and a channel may be relatively high in the memory cell coupled to the program-enabled bitline.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating voltage variations of bitlines and channels in the programming method of FIG. 1. The voltage variations according to ISPP, in which voltage levels of pulses are sequentially increased by a step ΔISPP, are illustrated in FIG. 2 with respect to a program-inhibited even bitline BLe, a channel of a memory cell coupled to the program-inhibited even bitline BLe, a program-inhibited odd bitline BLo, and a channel of a memory cell coupled to the program-inhibited odd bitline BLe.
A precharge voltage (for example, a power supply voltage Vcc) may be simultaneously applied to the bitlines BLe and BLo before (N−2)th through (N+2)th pulses are sequentially applied to a selected wordline. Thus, program-inhibited even and odd bitlines BLe and BLo may be maintained at the power supply voltage Vcc and the channels of the memory cells coupled thereto may be boosted to a voltage V1 higher than the power supply voltage Vcc when the pulse is applied to the selected wordline.
For example, the even bitlines BLe can be selected so that the memory cells coupled to the even bitlines are programmed according to loaded program data. In this case, the voltages of the even bitlines BLe may become either the power supply voltage Vcc (i.e., the program-inhibiting voltage) or the ground voltage of 0 V (i.e., the program-enabling voltage) according to each bit of the loaded program data. For convenience of description. the voltage of the program-enabled even bitlines is omitted in FIG. 2. The unselected odd bitlines BLo maintain the program-inhibiting voltage, that is, the power supply voltages Vcc regardless of the bit values of the program data, which are loaded, for example, in page buffers.
As the integration degree of a memory device is increased and the size of memory cells therein is decreased, a capacitance between a channel and a floating gale may be increased and a leakage current from the channel to a substrate body may be increased. The increased capacitance and the leakage current cause program disturbance since the boosted voltage V1 of the channel is decreased. The program disturbance represents undesired programming such that the memory cells coupled to the program-inhibited bitlines are programmed because the voltage difference between the channel and the floating gate is great enough to induce the F-N tunneling due to an insufficient boosting effect.
In a non-volatile memory device using a relatively low power supply-voltage as a precharge voltage, the program disturbance may become more serious. The higher power supply may be required to reduce the program disturbance. A method of increasing a boosting efficiency is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 1999-120779, capable of obtaining a higher channel voltage by increasing a boosting efficiency with the same level of a power supply voltage.
FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram illustrating a conventional non-volatile memory device. Referring to FIG. 3, the non-volatile memory device includes a memory cell array 10 consisting of memory cells 11 coupled to even bitlines BLe and memory cells 12 coupled to odd bitlines BLo. A pair of even and odd bitlines is commonly coupled to each page buffer 20 through bitline selection transistors T11 and T12.
The switching operation of the bitline selection transistors T11 and T12 is controlled by selection signals SS1 and SS2. The bitlines BLe and BLo are coupled to transistors T21 and T22 for applying precharge voltages VA1 and VA2 (for example, a power supply voltage Vcc), respectively, and the transistors T21 and T22 are controlled by precharge signals PRA1 and PRA2.
In the non-volatile memory device 50, the precharged bitlines BLe and BLo may be boosted by controlling activation timings of the precharge signals PRA1 and PRA2, and then the bitline selection transistors may be simultaneously turned on. Accordingly, the even and odd bitlines BLe and BLo commonly have a boosted voltage Vbst by charge sharing after the precharge operation is completed. The boosted voltage may be determined in Equation 1, as follows:Vbst=(Vcc+βVcc)/2=(1+β/2)Vcc  Equation 1
where a power supply voltage Vcc is used as a precharge voltage, and a bitline coupling coefficient β is determined according to a configuration of the memory cell formed in the substrate.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating voltage variations of bitlines and channels in the non-volatile memory device of FIG. 3. Since the bitline coupling coefficient β is a positive value, the bitlines are boosted to a voltage (1+β/2)Vcc that is greater than the precharge voltage Vcc and the channels of the memory cells coupled to the program-inhibited even and odd bitlines BLe and BLo are commonly boosted to a voltage V1a. The boosted channel voltage V1a of FIG. 4 is greater than the boosted channel voltage V1 of FIG. 2.
The non-volatile memory device 50 can increase a channel voltage by capacitive coupling between the adjacent bitlines. A time for turning on the transistors T11 and T12, however, may be required for the charge sharing between the adjacent even and odd bitlines BLe and BLo, and thus the programming time may be increased. If the incremental step pulses are used as the program voltage Vpgm, increased turning-on time of the transistors T11 and T12 may be required for each step pulse and the entire programming time may be further increased.

Method of programming in a non-volatile memory device and non-volatile memory device for performing the same


The present application reveals an improved filter for transmitting electromagnetic radiation in an excitation frequency band (300-475 nm) and for reflecting electromagnetic radiation in higher bands (greater than 475 nm). The higher bands comprise the visible emission band and the infrared band. The improved filter can be prepared by applying an infrared hot-mirror coating to a dichroic filter or the infrared hot-mirror coating can be applied to or used in conjunction with a blue filter.

1. Field of the Invention
The present application is for an improved filter for transmitting electromagnetic radiation with high efficiency in an excitation frequency band (300-475 nm) and for reflecting electromagnetic radiation in higher bands (greater than 475 nm). The higher bands comprise the visible emission band and the infrared band. The improved filter can be prepared by applying an infrared hot-mirror coating to a dichroic filter or the infrared hot-mirror coating can be applied to or used in conjunction with a blue filter.
2. Description of the Related Art
Leak detection, materials detection and qualitative non-destructive testing are well suited to techniques employing fluorescence detection. These techniques rely upon the unique physical property of various materials to fluoresce when excited by certain wavelengths of visible or ultraviolet (UV) light.
It is a well-known phenomenon that electromagnetic energy within the near ultraviolet spectrum of approximately 315 to 400 nanometer wavelengths produces fluorescence in certain materials. That is, the fluorescent materials absorb radiated energy at the near UV or blue wavelengths and re-radiate or emit it at a longer wavelength in the visible spectrum. Thus, when fluorescent material absorbs electromagnetic energy in a specific excitation frequency band in a specific wavelength range, the material can emit electromagnetic energy in a characteristic fluorescent emission frequency band within the visible light spectrum. This phenomenon has enabled inspection and detection techniques in which fluorescent dyes, inks or pigments are illuminated by lamps selectively filtered to emit only ultraviolet radiation (invisible to the human eye) and then re-radiate with a high luminescence in the visible spectrum.
For example, the slow leakage of refrigerant from an air conditioning system is difficult to locate by any other means. The reason for the difficulty is because the refrigerant escapes as an invisible gas at such a low rate and rapid diffusion that the concentration of refrigerant in air near the leak site is difficult to differentiate from that surrounding any other location along the system circulation lines. However, by adding into the circulating system a small amount of fluorescent dye that is soluble in the refrigerant, the dye is carried out of the system with the refrigerant and glows brightly at the leak site when the area is swept with a UV lamp.
A similar procedure can be used to locate leaks of other fluids, such as lubricants, oils, fuels, heat transfer fluids or hydraulic fluids. Other UV inspection techniques use fluorescent dyes or paint to detect fissures or stress cracks in structural members.
Inspection lamps employ high intensity light sources operating at high temperatures to generate a sufficient photon flux for detection applications and utilize filters to absorb the undesirable wavelengths. A black light filter can be used but the filter is very restrictive and allows only UV wavelengths to be transmitted while all of the remaining wavelengths are absorbed. These filters typically have a transmission efficiency of 50-70% for the UV wavelengths (320-380 nm). To compensate for the limited transmission efficiency, the power of the lamps is very high in wattage and therefore heat producing. These lamps are usually 75-200 watts. The fluorescent dyes used in this system typically have maximum excitation in the range of 320-380 nm.
Some newer dyes respond well to higher wavelengths of light in the visible violet and blue range in addition to the invisible UV range (340-440 nm). With these dyes, improved photographic-type blue filters are used with smaller, low wattage lamps. These blue filters work well in lamps of 50 watts or less. At 50 watts, the lamps do not produce as much heat and because the blue filter allows some visible light to be transmitted, the dyes are still acceptably excited. In most cases, the lamps using these blue filters are also sold with special glasses (blue blocker glasses) that block the visible blue spectrum light transmitted through the blue filters. These blue filters assist the operator in finding the leaks and seeing the dye reaction to UV, blue and violet light. In addition, these blue filters are much more prone to temperature damage and cracking than the black light filters. However, the transmission efficiency is greater by about 10% as compared to that for the black light filters. Also, the blue filters and the blue blocker glasses provide more excitation of the dye in the visible range.
Newer improved filters have been developed by applying a dielectric coating, that does not effect the visible and lower spectrum of light transmission, to a piece of glass. Such filters are referred to as dielectric or dichroic filters. These terms are interchangeable. Dielectric refers to the process used, and dichroic is the type of coating applied, also known as thin-film coating. For example, dichroic filters with a dielectric coating have been developed in the entertainment industry and have high levels of transmission. The dichroic filter with a dielectric coating allows UV, blue and IR wavelengths to be transmitted while most visible wavelengths are blocked. Thus, this type of filter does not absorb the IR heat and has a transmission efficiency of over 90% for the desired wavelengths. These advantages allow users to reduce the size and wattage of the detection lamps.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,905,268 (Garcia et al.) discloses an improved dichroic filter adapted to transmit electromagnetic radiation in the excitation frequency band (300-420 nm) and in the infrared and longer wavelength region (greater than 700 nm) and to reflect electromagnetic radiation in the fluorescent emission frequency band (420-700 nm).
The present application discloses an improved filter for transmitting electromagnetic radiation with high efficiency in the excitation frequency band (300-475 nm) and for reflecting electromagnetic radiation in the higher bands (greater than 475 nm) . The higher bands comprise the visible emission band (the fluorescent emission frequency band) and the infrared band. one major advantage of this improved filter is that it will allow manufactures to design higher output lamps using the blue filter and dichroic technology without damaging the filter, while allowing greater UV output and thus, improved effectiveness for the user in detecting fluorescence.
The present application discloses a filter for an ultraviolet lamp used for fluorescence detection. The filter comprises a filter coated with an infrared hot-mirror dichroic coating and adapted to transmit electromagnetic radiation in an excitation frequency band between 300 and 475 nm and for reflecting electromagnetic radiation in bands greater than 475 nm.
In a preferred embodiment, the filter is a blue filter. In another preferred embodiment, the filter is a dichroic filter. In a more preferred embodiment, the transmittance of electromagnetic radiation between 375 to 425 nm is greater than 90% for the infrared hot-mirror coated dichroic filter.
The present application also discloses a method for detecting leaks in an air-conditioning system. The method comprises adding a fluorescent dye to a fluid; placing the fluid into an air-conditioning system; examining the air-conditioning system with a fluorescent lamp equipped with a filter, where the filter comprises a filter coated with an infrared hot-mirror dichroic coating and adapted to transmit electromagnetic radiation in an excitation frequency band between 300 and 475 nm and for reflecting electromagnetic radiation in bands greater than 475 nm; and detecting any leaks in the air-conditioning system.
In a preferred embodiment of the method, the filter is a blue filter. In another preferred embodiment, the filter is a dichroic filter. In a more preferred embodiment, the transmittance of electromagnetic radiation between 375 to 425 nm is greater than 90% for the infrared hot-mirror coated dichroic filter.

Filter for an ultraviolet lamp used for fluorescence detection


A method of operating an electronic device is provided. The method includes detecting a plurality of fingerprint drags after a touch on a portion of the electronic device, wherein each of the plurality of fingerprint drags is a consecutive drag from a previous drag and each of the plurality of fingerprint drags has a different orientation from each other; and identifying a fingerprint based on a plurality of images acquired from the plurality of fingerprint drags, wherein each of the plurality of images is compared with corresponding portion of a reference image.

1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates generally to a fingerprint identifying method and an electronic device thereof, and more particularly, to a method of operating an electronic device for detecting a fingerprint swipe, and identifying a fingerprint based on an image acquired from the fingerprint swipe.
2. Description of the Related Art
As information communication technology and semiconductor technology advance, various electronic devices have been developed into multimedia devices for providing diverse multimedia services. For example, an electronic device can provide various multimedia services such as a messenger service, broadcasting service, wireless Internet service, camera service, and audio play service.
Recently, as personal privacy has become significant, an electronic device provides an enhanced security function such as a lock function. For example, an electronic device provides a fingerprint identification function. The fingerprint identification function identifies a particular person by comparing a fingerprint image input to the electronic device with a preset reference image based on a feature that the fingerprint differs from individual to individual.
Fingerprint input methods for fingerprint identification include a method for inputting a fingerprint to a fingerprint sensor using a swipe or a touch. The swipe type is subject to a low fingerprint identification rate, because the electronic device compares one fingerprint image input through the single swipe with the reference image. In addition, a user must put an electronic device down or use both hands in order to input the fingerprint.

Fingerprint identifying method and electronic device thereof


A method for controlling noise including combustion noise of an internal combustion engine includes (a) setting an engine noise target value and a cylinder pressure level target value, (b) determining a first comparison value by subtracting a measured cylinder pressure level from the cylinder pressure level, (c) receiving an engine noise parameter stored in an ECU, (d) determining the engine noise using the engine noise measured at step (c), (e) determining a direct correlation coefficient, an indirect correlation coefficient, mechanical noise, and flow noise through a proportional integral controller, (f) performing correction, (g) controlling the engine based on the value decided at step (f), (h) measuring a combustion pressure after step (g), (i) converting the combustion pressure into a cylinder pressure level within a predetermined crank angle after step (g), and (j) determining direct combustion noise of the engine noise after step (h).

1. Field of the Invention
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to a method for controlling engine noise including combustion noise of an internal combustion engine; and, particularly, to a method for controlling engine noise including combustion noise of an internal combustion engine, which reflects indirect combustion noise, mechanical noise, flow noise and the like, which occur in the engine, into target engine noise, and controls an injection variable of the engine with respect to engine noise and a cylinder pressure level, thereby controlling the engine noise.
2. Description of Related Art
In general, during combustion control of an internal combustion engine, a fuel injection mode is switched depending on the operation state of the internal combustion engine.
That is, a first injection mode to perform first and second pilot injections prior to a main injection and a second injection mode to perform the main injection are selected depending on the operation state of the internal combustion engine. According to the selected fuel injection mode, the fuel injection is performed.
Therefore, there exist various change patterns of a desirable heat release rate, and the heat release rate may significantly differ depending on the operation state of the internal combustion engine.
In particular, a crank angle at which the heat release rate based on combustion pressure approaches 50% is referred to as MFB50 (Mass Fraction Burned 50%), and the MFB50 is used as a determination standard of the combustion control.
However, in the conventional combustion control method, the measured combustion pressure, the crank angle recognized by an ECU, and the maximum pressure generation time are detected and used for control.
The conventional combustion control method controls the combustion stability only through the injection time, and cannot control engine noise including combustion noise.
The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.

Method for controlling engine noise including combustion noise of internal combustion engine


A semiconductor substrate with no reduction in the effective usage area and mechanical strength, and non-uniformity of the resist film thickness, and method of manufacturing and using the same are obtained. A detection mark for detecting the crystal orientation of a silicon wafer having an outer perimeter entirely of a circular contour is formed at a predetermined region of the silicon wafer. The crystal orientation of the semiconductor wafer can easily be detected with the outer perimeter still taking a circular contour. Therefore, various problems encountered in a conventional semiconductor substrate having an orientation flat or notch such as reduction in mechanical strength and effective usage area, and non-uniformity of the resist film can be circumvented.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor substrate, and methods of manufacturing and using the same. More particularly, the present invention relates to a semiconductor substrate that can have its crystal orientation detected, a method of manufacturing thereof, and a method of using such a semiconductor substrate.
2. Description of the Background Art
Most of the current semiconductor substrates are formed of silicon (Si). Particularly, a substrate formed of monocrystalline silicon is used from the standpoint of uniformity requirement of the semiconductor. To manufacture this monocrystalline silicon substrate, first a monocrystalline silicon ingot is formed according to a floating zone method (FZ method) by epitaxial growth using a seed crystal. This monocrystalline silicon ingot is cut and processed in a direction perpendicular to the growing axis thereof.
Since monocrystalline silicon has Si atoms arranged in order throughout the crystal, the crystal plane forming the surface of the substrate differs according to the direction of which it is cut. If the crystal plane is different, the nature of an oxide film (SiO.sub.2) serving as an insulation film required for the functional aspect of the device formed on the substrate will not be uniform at a subsequent manufacturing step. This causes degradation in the reliability of the manufactured semiconductor device.
Conventionally, an orientation flat or notch is provided in the monocrystalline silicon substrate indicating a particular crystal orientation so that the crystal orientation of the monocrystalline silicon forming the substrate can easily be identified in forming a device on the substrate. Since a monocrystalline silicon ingot is manufactured according to epitaxial growth using a seed crystal as described above, a crystal is grown according to the crystal structure of the seed crystal in the growing axis, i.e., the direction of the cylinder axis of the ingot. It is therefore not necessary to identify the crystal orientation in the direction of the cylinder axis of the ingot. Identification of the crystal orientation in a plane perpendicular to the growing axis is carried out by identifying one direction on the plane perpendicular to the growing axis using the aforementioned orientation flat or notch.
FIG. 73 is a plan view showing a semiconductor substrate having a conventional orientation flat provided. Referring to FIG. 73, a conventional semiconductor substrate has an orientation flat 120 formed at a silicon wafer 101a for indicating the crystal orientation. FIGS. 74 to 78 are perspective views of a semiconductor substrate with the conventional orientation flat shown in FIG. 73 for describing the manufacturing process thereof. A method of manufacturing a semiconductor substrate with a conventional orientation flat will be described hereinafter with reference to FIGS. 74 to 78.
First, a monocrystalline silicon ingot 103a as shown in FIG. 74 is formed by a floating zone method (FZ method) or a Czochralski pulling method (CZ method). In these methods, a monocrystalline seed crystal 130 is dipped in a Si melted solution of high purity, whereby crystallization is advanced at the surface of the seed crystal. The Si atoms in the melted solution are arranged according to the arrangement of the atoms in the seed crystal and hardened, resulting in the so-called epitaxial growth. The entire ingot exhibits monocrystalline having an orderly arrangement of the atoms.
The pulled up monocrystalline silicon ingot 103a has both ends cut off. The ingot has the perimeter ground in diameter so that the cross section thereof is a true circle. Thus, a cylindrical monocrystalline silicon 103 as shown in FIG. 75 is provided.
The crystal orientation in the direction of the cylinder axis of cylindrical monocrystalline silicon 103 is known since it is determined depending upon seed crystal 130 used in forming the monocrystalline silicon ingot. However, the crystal orientation in the plane perpendicular to the cylinder axis is not identified. The crystal orientation of monocrystalline 103 is detected by an X-ray diffraction method as shown in FIG. 76.
According to the identified crystal orientation, a notch serving as an orientation flat is formed as shown in FIG. 77 in a direction indicating a predetermined crystal orientation. Cylindrical polycrystalline silicon 103 having a portion cut off is cut up into a predetermined thickness as shown in FIG. 78. Each portion is subjected to a grinding process to result in silicon wafer 101a. Thus, a semiconductor substrate with a conventional orientation flat was formed.
FIG. 79 is a plan view showing a semiconductor substrate with a conventional notch. Referring to FIG. 79, a conventional semiconductor substrate has a notch 119 indicating the crystal orientation formed in a silicon wafer 101b.
FIGS. 80 to 82 are perspective views of the semiconductor substrate having the conventional notch of FIG. 79 for describing the manufacturing process thereof. The process of manufacturing a semiconductor substrate with a conventional notch will be described hereinafter with reference to FIGS. 80 to 82. The step subsequent to the step shown in the aforementioned FIGS. 74 and 75 is shown in FIG. 80. In the step shown in FIG. 80, the crystal orientation of a monocrystalline silicon formed in a cylindrical configuration is identified by an X-ray diffraction method. According to the identified crystal orientation, a cut serving as a notch as shown in FIG. 81 is formed in a direction indicating a predetermined crystal orientation. Cylindrical monocrystalline silicon 103 having a portion cut off is cut up into a predetermined thickness as shown in FIG. 82. Each portion is subjected to a grinding step to result in silicon wafer 101. Thus, a semiconductor substrate having a conventional notch is formed.
Conventional semiconductor substrates with an orientation flat or a notch as shown in FIGS. 73 and 79 had the mark (orientation flat, notch) provided directly on the silicon wafer. Therefore, the area of the main surface of the silicon wafer is reduced by the portion of that mark. As a result, there was a problem that the effective usage area of the silicon wafer is reduced. There was also a problem in such conventional semiconductor substrates that the thickness of a resist film is increased at the portion of the mark in comparison with that of the other portions to cause non-uniformity in the thickness of the resist film. Furthermore, there was a problem that the mechanical strength is degraded due to stress concentration on the notch portion. There was also a disadvantage that foreign objects from the notch formation portion, which are particularly significant in the case of a semiconductor substrate with a notch, were generated.

Crystal orientation detectable semiconductor substrate, and methods of manufacturing and using the same


A support body for a plurality of contact terminals included in a probe card for inspecting semiconductor devices formed in a semiconductor substrate is provided. The support body includes a main body formed by stacking a plurality of plate-shaped members, a plurality of contact terminal holes formed through the main body in a thickness direction of the plate-shaped members, and one or more coolant paths provided in the main body. Further, the contact terminals respectively are inserted into the contact terminal holes.

In order to inspect each semiconductor device formed on a wafer, a prober is used as an inspection apparatus. The prober includes a stage on which a wafer is mounted, and a probe card which can be disposed to face the stage. The probe card includes a plate-shaped base, and probes which are columnar contact terminals disposed on a surface of the base facing the stage to correspond to electrode pads of the semiconductor devices of the wafer.
In the prober, when the probe card is positioned to correspond to the wafer mounted on the stage, the probes of the probe card are brought into contact with the electrode pads of the semiconductor devices, and electricity is allowed to flow from the probes through electrical circuits in the semiconductor devices connected to the electrode pads, thereby inspecting a conduction state of the electrical circuits.
Recently, in view of improving the inspection efficiency, a probe card for inspecting a plurality of semiconductor devices formed on a single wafer at the same time has been developed. In this probe card, the probes of thousands, in some cases, tens of thousands are provided corresponding to the electrode pads of the semiconductor devices. The probe card has a rectangular parallelepiped-shaped housing having a plurality of probe holes, and the housing supports the probes inserted into the probe holes. Conventionally, it is known that the housing is formed by stacking thin metal plates and diffusion bonding the thin metal plates (see, e.g., International Patent Application Publication No. WO2009/104589 (corresponding to U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0006799A1)).
However, recently, a magnitude of the current flowing through the probe for inspection increases, whereas a diameter of each of the probes decreases along with miniaturization of the electrical circuit of the semiconductor device. For example, a large amount of current ranging from 1 A to 2 A may flow in round rod-shaped probes each having a diameter of several tens μm. In the probes, conductance for the current is reduced due to the decrease in diameter of each probe, so that the resistance of each of the probes increases. Accordingly, when a large amount of current flows through the probes, there is a concern that the probes generate a large amount of heat, and the temperature of the probes becomes very high, thereby resulting in degradation of the probes.

Support body for contact terminals and probe card


A novel coating composition is provided for imparting corrosion and wear resistance to metal substrates. The novel coating composition is thermally applied and comprises an aluminum alloy mixed with a hard, inert matrix. The coating composition has found particular use in providing corrosion and wear resistance to metal seat rails used to secure aircrafts seats to the aircraft frame.

The application of corrosion-resistant coatings to metal articles in order to protect the surfaces thereof from degradation by oxidation, galvanic, or other chemical attack is a vastly important field of study. Much effort has been devoted to extending the useful life of articles subject to corrosion by coating the article with a corrosion-resistant composition. Coatings are also applied to substrates for protection against wear. Coatings with corrosion-resistant and wear-resistant properties are applied in many different ways. Typically, metal substrates are coated with corrosion- and wear-resistant coatings by dipping the metal article in a bath of the coating or by the use of an applicator such as a spray nozzle, brush, roller, etc. Chemical vapor deposition, as well as electroplating and electroless-plating, have also been utilized. In accordance with the present invention, a corrosion-resistant and wear-resistant coating is applied to a metal substrate to protect the surfaces of the substrate by a thermal spraying process.
Thermal spray processes are a well known family of coating technologies that include detonation guns, high-velocity oxyfuel spray processes, wire-arc spraying, and both air and vacuum plasma spraying. U.S. Pat. No. 5,451,470 of Ashary et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,384,164 of Browning; U.S. Pat. No. 5,271,965 of Browning; U.S. Pat. No. 5,223,332 of Quets; U.S. Pat. No. 5,207,382 of Si et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,694,990 of Karlsson et al. collectively describe thermal spray processes, and are herein incorporated by reference.
Thermal spraying is a process of applying coatings of high performance materials, such as metals, alloys, ceramics, cermets, and carbides, onto more easily worked and cheaper base materials. The purpose of the coating is to provide enhanced surface properties to the cheaper bulk material of which the part is made. Because of its ability to deposit virtually any material (and many combinations of materials), thermal spray has a wide and growing range of applications.
Existing thermal spray processes are compared in Table 1.
TABLE 1Comparison of Thermal Spray TechnologiesFlame powder: Powder feedstock, aspirated into the oxygen/fuel-gasflame, is melted and carried by the flame onto the workpiece.Particle velocity is relatively low, and bond strength of depositsis low. Porosity is high and cohesive strength is low. Spray ratesare usually in the 0.5 to 9 kg/h (1 to 20 lb/h) range. Surfacetemperatures can run quite high.Flame wire: In flame wire spraying, the only function of the flameis to melt the material. A stream of air then disintegrates themolten material and propels it onto the workpiece. Spray rates formaterials such as stainless steel are in the range of 0.5 to 9 kg/h(1 to 20 lb/h). Substrate temperatures are from 95 to 205° C.(200 to 400° F.) because of the excess energy input required forflame melting.Wire arc: Two consumable wire electrodes are fed into the gun, wherethey meet and form an arc in an atomizing air stream. The air flowingacross the arc/wire zone strips off the molten metal, forming a high-velocity spray stream. The process is energy efficient: all inputenergy is used to melt the metal. Spray rate is about 2.3 kg/h/kW(5 lb/h/kW). Substrate temperature can be low because energy input perpound of metal is only about one-eighth that of other spray methods.Conventional plasma: Conventional plasma spraying provides free-plasmatemperatures in the powder heating region of 5500° C. (10,000° F.)with argon plasma, and 4400° C. (8000 F. °) with nitrogen plasma -above the melting point of any known material. To generate the plasma,an inert gas is superheated by passing it through a dc arc. Powderfeedstock is introduced and is carried to the workpiece by the plasmastream. Provisions for cooling or regulation of the spray rate may berequired to maintain substrate temperatures in the 95 to 205° C.(200 to 400° F.) range. Typical spray rate is 0.1 kg/h/kW (0.2 lb/h/kW).Detonation gun: Suspended powder is fed into a 1 m (3 ft) long tubealong with oxygen and fuel gas. A spark ignites the mixture andproduces a controlled explosion. The high temperatures and pressures(1 MPa, 150 psi) that are generated blast the particles out of the endof the tube toward the substrate.High-Velocity OxyFuel: In HVOF spraying, a fuel gas and oxygen areused to create a combustion flame at 2500 to 3100° C.(4500 to 5600 F. °). The combustion takes place at very highchamber pressure (150 psi), exiting through a small-diameter barrelto produce a supersonic gas stream and very high particle velocities.The process results in extremely dense, well-bonded coatings, makingit attractive for many corrosion-resistant applications. Eitherpowder or wire feedstock can be sprayed, at typical rates of 2.3 to14 kg/h (5 to 30 lb/h).Hiqh-energy plasma: The high-energy plasma process providessignificantly higher gas enthalpies and temperatures especially in thepowder heating region, due to a more stable, longer arc and higherpower density in the anode nozzle. The added power (two to three timesthat of conventional plasma) and gas flow (twice as high) providelarger, higher temperature powder injection region and reduced airentrainment. All this leads to improved powder melting, few unmelts,and high particle impact velocity.Vacuum plasma: Vacuum plasma uses a conventional plasma torch in achamber at pressures in the range of 10 to 15 kPa (0.1 to 0.5 atm).At low pressures the plasma is larger in diameter, longer, and hasa higher velocity. The absence of oxygen and the ability to operatewith higher substrate temperatures produces denser, more adherentcoatings having much lower oxide contents.
High quality coatings are "generally" characterized by high adhesion and cohesion strengths, low porosity low oxide inclusions (except for some cases where the phases are small and well dispersed), high hardness, and other properties designed for specific applications such as electrical or magnetic properties, or machinability for finishing.
Particle impact velocity is one of the most important factors in coating quality. One of the main areas of research and innovation in the industry has been the quest for ever higher velocities. Higher velocity impact generally produces denser, harder, and more uniform coatings with less porosity and with higher adhesion and cohesion. Porosity is the largest source of coating failure and is usually indicative of poor coating cohesion and a high degree of unmelted or cold-particle entrapment. High velocity impact forces splats to fill in voids, and the kinetic energy which is converted to heat during the impact reduces the number of unmelted particles, which reduces porosity. Oblique spraying, off perpendicular, should be significantly improved by high velocity, through reduction of shadow porosity effects. In addition, higher velocity tends to produce coatings with less induced stresses.
An aircraft seat is secured by means of a seat rail, which typically includes a central notched groove on the top surface thereof that cooperates with a matching tongue of an interlocking member that secures the seat to the seat rail. During the process of manipulating the seats along the rail to the desired position during installation, reconfiguration, and removal, the groove on the upper surface of the seat rail can get worn. Deep scores, chipped metal, tooling marks, and gouges are typically present. Additionally, vibrations during flight result in constant movement of the seat with the interlocking member against the groove of the seat rail, causing additional wear. Likewise, metal surfaces of the seat rail that are exposed to the environment can corrode due to atmospheric conditions within the plane. Corrosion due to standing water is prevalent. Large amounts of dirt and other organic debris such as food and soft drinks are present in the seat rail groove, providing a constant moist, acidic interface. Corrosion is also observed on all areas of contact between the seat rail and the seat legs where moisture can ingress into mating aluminum surfaces. With the presence of moisture, galvanic effects between the seat rail, interlocking member, and the metal framing to which the seat rail is attached can also cause chemical corrosion along the rail. Generally, the extent of corrosion is proportional to the level of cleanliness of the aircraft interior.
Typically, to reduce wear and corrosion, the seat rails are anodized. Gaps in the corrosion protection, however, include, but are not limited to, all mechanical damage and fastener locations. Corrosion has been found to occur on multiple areas of the seat track and is not always located on corrosion barrier gaps. The seat rails have been painted with an epoxy paint which may contain a corrosion inhibitor well known in the art, such as a chromate-containing corrosion inhibitor. However, it has been found that the coatings previously used for seat rails, in particular aircraft, have not been sufficient to prevent wear within the groove of the seat rail, or to prevent corrosion effects on exposed metal surfaces of the seat rail. Accordingly, the present invention provides a novel coating composition which can be thermally applied to metal surfaces, in particular seat rails for securing aircraft seats, and which has been effective to withstand the wear and corrosion which has plagued these objects.

Corrosion-resistant coating for metal substrate