In the method of multiple-station communication for low-orbit satellite systems, according to which service information modulated pseudirandom synchronization signals are emitted from a satellite transponder over the entire band of the transmission spectrum, information packets are received. from user stations, mismatches by frequency and delay are measured, and the mismatches and information portions of the packets are memorized, they are reswitched and reemitted with spatial, frequency- and time-division multiplexing; all the user stations receive the synchronization signals and the information packets assigned to them, with the transmitters being autotuned by frequency and delay with multibase information encoding; there are provided high-orbit satellite transponders for integration with the low-orbit satellite transponders; search of signals and initial synchronization of channels owing to linear discrete scanning of the clock-frequency signals of the user station transmitters with compensation for the Doppler shift by the clock frequency, evaluations of the instants of correlation convolutions of the relayed signals with reference signals in two points by each user, calculation of the number of the scanning steps between the convolutions and evaluation of the delay introduced into the emitted signal.

There are presently communications systems operating via satellite transponders located in a stationary or a high-elliptical orbit.
In the last few years, however, there is great interest in systems of personal communications with direct access by users and with low-orbit satellite transponders, which affords a drastic decrease in the energetics of radio lines and the use of small-size user stations. Such systems hold particular promise for personal communication with the users disposed on mobile objects or in hard-to-reach areas.
It is to be noted at the same time that the low-orbit satellite systems are extremely complicated because at a height of the satellite transponder in the order of 700 to 22000 km, there are considerable movements of the satellite transponder relative to users, resulting in high Doppler shifts of signal frequencies, and a short time period within which satellite transponders remain in the visibility range of the user consequently, complex equipment of satellite transponders and user stations must be used. Considerable problems arise in case it is required to establish continuous and stable communication of the users during any period of time.
Most known in the art are satellite communications systems with direct signal re-relaying by satellite transponders. A class of satellite communications systems is known in which a partial (or complete) processing of signals from the user stations is performed at the satellite transponders.
Systems are also known of the same class which ensure synchronization of not only the receivers of the user stations but their transmitters as well, which makes it possible to simplify the transponder process, which performs processing of signals from many user stations (G. I. Tuzov et al, "Interference immunity of radio systems with composite signals", edited by G. I. Tuzov, M., Radio i svyaz publishers, 1985, pp 130-132).
There are disclosures of a number of specific satellite low-orbit telephone communications systems. Thus, in the application of "Motorola satellite communication Inc." for the low-orbit communications system, "IRIDIUM" submitted to FCS , Washington, USA, 1990, by the inventors Golsky L. S., Malet F. I., Mutke A. M. is disclosed a communications system including 66 satellite transponders, which ensures global cellular personal telephone communications. This system is disadvantageous in that it has a low level of noise immunity and electromagnetic compatibility, which is defined by the shape of the simple signals used in the system and by the problems in implementing the specific in addition, the system suffers from cellular structure low level of privacy of talks without application of specialized means.
In the application of "Loral cellular systems, corp.," for the system "Globalstar " submitted to FCS , Washington, USA, 1991, by the inventors L. K. Smith, R. M. Halperin, L. A. Taylor, is disclosed another form of a low-orbit satellite communications system. This system is most close to the method of the present invention by the technical essence, shape of the signals used and the effect obtained. Both the method of the present invention and the prior-art method use wide-band pseudorandom phase-shift keyed signals.
Among the disadvantages of the prior-art method is the presence of regional stations providing for control of the communications system and switching of signal flows at satellite transponders, which, though simplifying the transponder design, results, however, in narrowing the area and time of service (communication is ensured only under the condition of transponder visibility at an angle of elevation greater than the limiting one from three points simultaneously, namely, two points of location of the user stations and the point of location of the regional station), and also in increasing signals delay along their propagation route. Among the disadvantages of the prior-art method is also the limitedness of the area of servicing the users and impossibility of effecting global communication.
Considerable difficulties arise in providing continuous communication in the system, which presupposes synchronous transfer of the relaying functions from one (flying past) satellite transponder to another (flying next) at the user stations arbitrarily disposed in the service area. In this case continuity of communication can be provided under the condition of simultaneous visibility (at least during a short time period) of the two satellite transponders following one the other from three points at once, namely, two points of location of the user stations and the point of location of the regional station. In this case the necessity arises of either increasing the number of the satellites in the orbit or of increasing the number of regional stations, which results in greater costs and makes the communications system more complicated. It is to be noted that the level of electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) in the "Globalstar" system is not high because multiple circulation of the signal flows takes place between the Earth and satellite transponder. The disadvantages of this form of the communications system are also not high level of noise immunity, in particular, along the channels of synchronization and service communication, the serviceability of the entire system being dependent on the adequate operation of these channels; there is no solutions at the system level aimed at increasing the privacy of the communication while the numerous users of the system have identical receiving-transmitting subscribers' stations.
One more specific feature of the low-orbit satellite communications systems "Globalstar" and "IRIDIUM" is to be noted, which is associated with the possibility of determining the coordinates by each user from the results of processing the signals coming from a satellite transponder (this is connected mainly with measuring the Doppler frequency in several points of the orbit). This is necessary, first, for the operation of the low-orbit communications system itself because it permits of fixing the user station to a quite definite area on the Earth's surface, and, second, considering the mobility of some user stations, permits the users themselves to establish their position without using specialized navigation means. Not high accuracy of self-location must be listed among the shortcomings of the approach adopted in these systems. On the other hand, a differential method of self-location is known, which is one of the ways for further development of the existing navigation satellite systems of "Glonass" sad "GPS" type. The method resides in that the receiver of one of the said navigation systems is disposed in a reference point with exactly known coordinates. Such a receiver, by receiving signals from a constellation of navigation satellites, solves the problem of assessing the coordinates of the reference point. After comparing the obtained coordinates with the exact coordinates, corrections are calculated, which are transmitted to the navigation information consumers (mainly, to mobile consumers) who are in the vicinity of the reference point at distances within hundreds kilometers. Utilizing the received corrections, the consumers of the navigation satellite systems are capable of improving the accuracy of self-location by one or two orders of magnitude as compared with assessing the coordinates by the navigation satellites only. Implementation of this method is only possible with a developed mobile communications system and with the possibility of ensuring broadcast transmission. Therefore, the subject of the present invention is intended to improve the accuracy of navigation aids for the mobile users of the low-orbit communications system, which widens the potentialities and service properties of the low-orbit satellite communications systems.
The above-mentioned method of establishing communication with the use of "Globalstar" system, allowing the service area widening and calling for the presence of regional stations which ensure going into the network associated with a stationary satellite, makes it possible to provide global communication and can be considered as the most close to the method of multiple-station communication with integration of low-orbit and high-orbit satellite systems.
The communication of two users of the low-orbit system is implemented through the following chain: a user station, a low-orbit transponder, a regional station, a stationary satellite transponder, another regional station, a low-orbit satellite transponder, a user station. In order to establish global communication, another stationary satellite may be needed, which is connected via an intersatellite link with the first stationary satellite.
In this case, with due regard for the signal delay on the time of propagation of radio waves and also because of the numerous reswitchings and rerelayings and also delays in vocoders, the total signal delay will exceed the normal value 0.39 s admissible according to MCCTT, which is a shortcoming of the prior-art method. Listed among other disadvantages must be complexity of the system directly because of the great number of rerelayings and reswitchings, losses in the characteristics of the electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) and noise immunity caused by multiple circulation of signal flows, an insufficient level of unification of the low-orbit and high-orbit communications systems owing to the different principles of their structure (multiple station access, kinds of signals, encoding), narrowing the service area of the low-orbit systems because of the presence of regional stations.
Known in the art is the design of the satellite communications systems which ensure synchronization of both the receivers of the user stations and the transmitters thereof.
The transmitters of the user stations are synchronized due to the auto tuning of the transmitters by the carrier frequency and signal delay (code delay).
There are known two basic types of transponders: those which perform direct relaying of user station signals and those which process the signals on board the satellite transponders. When processing signals at the satellite transponders, a higher noise immunity of the system is provided.
In order to synchronize receiver, and transmitters, use is often made of phase-modulated wideband pseudorandom signals having adequate correlation properties. However, with any signal shapes, measures must be taken on signal search and initial synchronization of receivers and transmitters.
As a result of signal search, narrowing of uncertainty is achieved in evaluating the delay and frequency of the pseudorandom signals to values ensuring the signal capture by correlation tracking systems which include systems of phase (or frequency) auto tuning of frequency and circuits for tracking the delay. It is required to provide the search and initial synchronization of the correlation receiver and transmitter at the user station. The systems of search and initial synchronization of the correlation receivers are described in sufficient detail, for example, in the publication "Interference immunity of radio systems with composite signals", G. I. Tuzov, V. A. Sivov, V. I. Prytkov et al, edited by G. I. Tuzov, M., Radio i svyaz publishers, 1985, pp 115-157. Some of said forms of signal search can be used for search and initial synchronization of the transmitters and communications channel as a whole with the search apparatus disposed at a satellite transponder. In the above-mentioned system, however, the receiver of the satellite transponder becomes seriously complicated and, as a result, the advantage is lost connected with simiplification of the satellite transponder equipment performing auto tuning of all the user stations transmitters. This is attributed to that the search and initial synchronization of the channels need be conducted for the multitute of signals simultaneously arriving from the user stations, and each search period will include, in addition to the time of averaging in the receiver, also the time of propagation of the signal to the satellite transponder and in the backward direction. At the stage of search and initial synchronization of the channels, it is also necessary to have a duplex operation between the satellite transponder and each user station by means of which it will be needed to transmit, from the satellite transponder to the user stations, the information on the instant delay evaluations and signal frequency and to receive the response of each user station, which is not always realizable. Under these conditions, the noise immunity of the communications system in the mode of search and initial synchronization of the channels will obviously be low.
An object of the invention is to provide a method and apparatus for multiple-station communication, which will ensure:
higher noise immunity both through the channels of synchronization and service information transmission and through the channels of the main information transmission; PA1 higher electromagnetic compatibility (intersystem and intrasystem), particularly necessary in repeat use of an engaged frequency band: PA1 increased communication stability including an increase in the area and time of service with considerable dynamics of motion of transponders with respect to the users; PA1 increased privacy of talks and intrasystem electromagnetic compatibility when the users have a large number of identical stations which are randomly disposed; PA1 a decrease in the time of signal search and initial channel synchronization; PA1 a decrease in the time of signal delay along the path of their preparation between the user stations; PA1 simplification and unification of the equipment of satellites transponders and ground-based equipment; PA1 widening of the possibilities of self-location of the communications system users.
This and other objects are accomplished in a method of multiple-station communication for low-orbit satellite systems, comprising the steps of transmitting by user stations synchronization signal and information-modulated signals, reswitching the information-modulated signals aboard a transponder, emitting thereof at different frequencies by beams spaced apart with the use of phase-shift keying, emitting by the transponder its own synchronization signal, receiving the synchronization signal from the satellite transponder by the user stations and the information-modulated signals meant therefor, the method further comprising, according to the invention, generating and emitting, at the satellite transponder, a wideband pseudorandom synchronization signal with phase-shift keying over the entire width of the transmission spectrum from the satellite transponder and over the entire service area divided into cells with the power density gradually increasing from the area center to the edges thereof, modulating said synchronization signal with service information intended for control of the communication system, performing rejection of said synchronization signal spectrum sections coincident, at the time of emission, with the spectrum of signals emitted by the satellite transponder and carrying information, with the emitted power of the synchronization signal being constant, checking at the satellite transponder the location of all the user stations with respect to the spatial cells formed by the beams of an on-board antenna of the satellite transponder, receiving information packets from the user stations and storing the information portion thereof, determining from the packet preambule the carrier-frequency and code-delay mismatches against standards disposed at the satellite transponders, with subsequent storage thereof, retrieving from the memory, shaping and emitting groups of information packets within preset time intervals, meant to be transmitted into different spatial cells with preambles including mismatches for each user station, all the user stations performing reception of the synchronization signal from the satellite transponder and separation of service information with simultaneous rejection of the synchronization signal spectrum portion coincident with the spectrum of the signals carrying information from that spatial cell in which the particular user station is located, performing compensation for the Doppler shift in autotune transmitters using the synchronization signal received from the satellite by the carrier and clock frequencies, transponder, performing autotuning of the own transmitters by the carrier frequency and code delay with the use of mismatch values separated from said preambule, sending a query to the transponder on the necessity of communication with other user stations by emitting, by the auto tune transmitters, several cycles of the pseudorandom radio signal with the code assigned for the call of the satellite transponder with a delay individually preset for each of the user stations, identifying at the satellite transponder the number of the calling user station and the spatial cell in which it is disposed by the received call signal and its delay, reporting by means of the calling user station code the time interval alloted thereto and the internal code for two-way communication with the satellite transponder, the number of the called user station identified at the satellite transponder with its coordinates and the spatial location cell being reported to the satellite transponder from the calling user station within the time interval allotted thereto by modulating the internal code, with the called user station being disengaged, a call arrives from the satellite transponder with the use of its subscriber's code, said call presetting at the same time the time interval end internal code for the two-way communication with the satellite transponder, performing the initial synchronization of the auto tune transmitter from the called user station after receiving a call from the satellite transponder, and reporting to the satellite transponder within the alloted time interval on readiness for communication by modulating the assigned internal code and thereafter separating at the satellite transponder and reporting to the two user stations the time intervals and the numbers of the internal codes to establish two-way communication, the time intervals being assigned proceeding from the condition of convenience of routing the packets taking into consideration the cells of location of the user stations, establishing thereafter the internal codes in the transmitter and receiver at each user station, providing information shaping in a digital form and the time compression thereof, performing multibase coding of the information bar the allocated internal code and emitting a signal within the allotted time interval with a preamble including several cycles of the internal code with a fixed delay (or several cycles of the code allotted to a group of user stations), and performing at the user stations separation of the packets intended therefor, demodulation, decompression and separation of information transmitted to the user stations.
It is preferable that in the method of multiple-station communication for low-orbit satellite systems, according to the present invention, the code allotted to the user station for calling the satellite transponder with the delay established individually for each user station is additionally modulated by a short message including information on the number of the called party, with subsequent demodulation and separation of said message at the satellite transponder.
It is expedient that in the method of multiple-station communication for low-orbit satellite systems, according to the present invention, an intersatellite communication is established with neighbour satellite transponders similar to the communication established between the satellite transponder and one of the user stations, each of the satellite transponders performing, in this case, by the principle of constructing the network, both the part of a user station synchronized from the neighbour satellite tranponder and a satellite transponder from which are synchronized other satellite transponders, and the time of exit from the common service area of each of the user stations and from the spatial cell is determined at the satellite transponders, each of the user stations being informed about this, with simultaneous presenting thereto recommendation on switchover to communication with the most favourable satellite transponder at a new frequency and time interval of another spatial beam, whereupon at the user station, simultaneously with maintaining the communication, a synchronization signal is received from the recommended satellite, with establishing a new frequency and time interval and the auto tune transmitter is synchronized from said satellite transponder by frequency and delay, information is transmitted for some time to both the satellite transponders, and matching of the passage of information flows from the user stations in time is provided at the satellite transponders with the use of intersatellite communications lines, and after that synchonous automatic switchover of the user stations is effected to the communication via the new satellete transponder only.
It is preferable that in the method of multiple-station communication for low-orbit satellite systems, several information packets are transmitted by different internal codes in the same time intervals, the levels of the input signals are measured at the satellite transponder, higher-, lower-power signals being compressed are determined and the levels of the power correction are transmitted in the preamble, and the user stations control the power of their transmitters
It is also preferable that in the method, according to the invention, information is transmitted, from the users disposed in reference points with precisely known coordinates, about the coordinates of said reference points and the navigation corrections obtained as a result of comparison of the precisely known coordinates with those obtained as a result of estimations from navigation satellites, said information is demodulated at the satellite transponder with subsequent modulation by said information of the synchronization signal emitted from the satellite transponder and demodulation of said information by interested user stations.
It is of benefit that in the method of multiple-station communication for low-orbit satellite systems, according to the invention, at the satellite transponder, navigation information is switched which is obtained from the user stations disposed in reference points with precisely known coordinates, and it is transmitted by each of the spaced apart beams within the predetermined time intervals and the allocated internal codes with subsequent separation of said information by interested user stations.
The above-mentioned and other objects are also achieved in a method of multiple-station communication with integration of high-orbit and low-orbit satellite systems which comprise satellite transponders in stationary and low orbits, which method comprises the steps of emitting synchronization signals and information-modulated signals generated on the basis of wideband pseudorandom signals with phase-shift keying, and also receiving information-modulated signals from low-orbit satellite transponders by means of small-size user stations and synchronization signals, which also comprises, according to the present invention, generating, at high-orbit satellite transponders, a wideband pseudorandom synchronization signal with phase manipulation over the entire spectrum width allotted for information transmission from the satellite transponder with code differentiation of signals generated by different satellite transponders, emitting said signal over the entire common spatial service area divided into cells and including visible orbits of all low-orbit satellite transponders, with the power density gradually increasing from the area center to the edges thereof, modulating said signal with service information, performing rejection of said signal spectrum sections coincident at the emission instants with the spectrum of the emitted signals proper which carry information, with the output power of the synchronization signal being maintained constant, performing reception of signal packets from the low-orbit satellite transponders with storage of the information portion thereof, determination from the preamble of said packets the delay and frequency mismatches against standards disposed at the satellite transponders, with subsequent shaping of preambles from the mismatches, and storage of the preambles at the satellite transponders, performing reswitching of the stored information portions of the packets assigned for the user stations of the low-orbit communications system and packet groups to be transmitted to various spatial cells in which are disposed the corresponding satellite transponders of the low-orbit system, forming partially overlapping spatial emission cells by means of a multi-beam transceiving antenna providing a full coverage of the entire service area, the major axes of said cells being parallel to the directions of motion of the satellite transponders of the low-orbit system, performing control over the current position of the satellite transponders with respect to the spatial service cells, effecting reception of the synchronization signal at the low-orbit satellite transponders with separation of service information, conducting rejection of said signal spectrum section coincident with the spectrum of the packets received at that time, performing reception of the packets of high-orbit satellite transponders with separation of the information assigned thereto, performing, at each of the satellite transponder of the low-orbit system, synchronization of its own transmitter by the delay of the emitted signal code and frequency with the use of the corresponding mismatches from the separated packet preamble and with preliminary compensation of the Doppler shift by the carrier and clock frequencies, the value of said compensation being obtained from the received synchronization signal, forming a beam of the transceiving antenna to the corresponding high-orbit satellite transponder from calculated data of the relative position of the satellite and/or from the estimations of the power maximum of the received synchronization signal, said beam being formed wide in the direction of the satellite transponder motion and narrow in the perpendicular direction, emitting, from a low-orbit satellite transponder, in order to call a high-orbit satellite transponder on a request of a user station of the low-orbit system to establish communication, several cycles of the pseudorandom signal, which are allotted for a call, said signal being synchronized from a common clock generator of a transmitter with a delay individual for each low-orbit satellite transponder, modulating said signal with information on the number of the called user station, identifying the number of the calling satellite transponder by the call signal received at the high-orbit satellite transponder and obtaining information on the number of the called user station, determining for communication the satellite transponder of the low-orbit system and reporting thereto the number of the called user station in the user code of said satellite transponder, receiving the call at the satellite transponder of the low-orbit system, relaying the call to the corresponding user station, and, with the readiness of the station, assigning and transmitting, at the calling and called satellite transponders of the low-orbit system, the internal codes and time intervals from said satellites for two-way communication, which are established by the user stations at the low- and high-orbit satellite transponders.
The above-mentioned and other objects are accomplished also in a method of search and initial synchronization of channels in a satellite communications system with direct relaying of signals, in which wideband pseudorandom signals are used for synchronization, and synchronization of the user station transmitters are carried out by a synchronization signal from the satellite transponder, said method providing emission by each user station, in addition to an information-modulated signal, of its own synchronization signal, reception from the satellite transponder of information-modulated signals and its own synchronization signal, the method further comprises, according to the invention, performing at the user stations, after receiving the synchronization signal of the satellite transponder, unidirectional discrete scanning of the delay of the emitted synchronization signal with preliminary compensation of the Doppler increment by the carrier and clock frequencies, which increment is separated from the received synchronization signal of the satellite transponder, noting the instant of coincidence of the own relayed synchronization signal delay with the delay of the reference signal of the same waveform phased from the synchronization signal of the satellite transponder received by the receiver, varying at that instant the direction of scanning to the opposite, again noting the instants of coincidence of the delays of said signals, ceasing scanning at a K-th instant of coincidence of the delays, calculating the number of the steps of scanning between the first and the K-th instants of coincidence of the delays, then inputting the delays into the emitted synchronization signal in the initial direction of scanning by a value equal to half the calculated number of the scanning steps between the first and the K-th coincidence of the delays, where K=2 with (.tau./T)<1 and K=N+1 with (.tau./T).gtoreq.1, where T is the time of exhaustive search of all possible delays of the signal, .tau. is the time of propagation of the signal in forward and reverse directions, N is the integral part (.tau./T).
It is preferable that in the method of search end initial synchronization of channels in the satellite communications system, according to the invention, with the a priori known signal delay on the route (or distance to the transponder) a delay is introduced into the emitted signal at the user station with a reverse sign relative to the received synchronization signal, said delay being proportional to -(.tau./2).sub.ap .-+..DELTA.!, where (.tau./2).sub.ap is the a priori known delay, .DELTA. is the maximum value of the a priori error in the knowledge of the delay, and scanning is commenced in the direction .+-..DELTA., the instant of coincidence of the delays is noted of the own relayed signal received by the receiver and of the reference signal of the same waveform phased from the satellite transponder synchronization signal received by the receiver, the discrete delay 2(.tau./2).sub.ap .+-..DELTA.! is introduced into the emitted signal and scanning is performed in the direction .-+..DELTA., a new instant of coincidence of the signal delays is noted, the resultant is estimated taking into account the scanning of delay between the instants of coincidence of the delays of the reference and relayed signals, and then a discrete introduction of the delay is performed in the initial direction, said delay being equal to half the resultant delay.
It is also expedient that in the method of the present invention, at the satellite transponder with signal processing, the instants of coincidence of the delays of the synchronization signal emitted by the user station and the reference signal of the same waveform are noted, which reference signal is phased from a generator of the synchronization signal codes disposed at the satellite transponder, and the instants of coincidence of the delays are subsequently relayed by modulating the signal from the satellite transponder, the signal is received and demodulated by the appropriate user stations.
The above-mentioned and other objects are also accomplished in that in an apparatus for implementing the method of multiple-station communication for low-orbit satellite systems, which comprises, at a satellite transponder, a transceiving phased antenna array with a modulator and a high-frequency portion, a receiver of signals of communication and service information, a unit for generating a synchronization signal and a service information signal, a frequency spectrum synthesizer, an antenna for transmitting a signal of synchronization with a high-frequency portion, a unit for packet generating with a buffer memory, a user station including a transceiving antenna with a high-frequency portion of a transmitter, a signal receiver with a high-frequency portion and channels for separating information, a synchronization signal receiver comprising a circuit for phase autotuning of frequency, a delay tracking circuit, interconnected by a cross link, and a channel for service information separation; a transmitter with frequency end code delay autotuning, including a frequency auto tune circuit and a delay tracking circuit, a unit for generating digital information with a device for compressing thereof, a buffer memory and a packet shaper, a control unit, according to the present invention, installed at the satellite transponder between the synchronization signal generating unit and the antenna for transmitting the synchronization signal are rejection filters connected through a control input with a control unit, frequency and delay discriminators are introduced, which are connected to the buffer memory and a preamble shaper and have their input and output connected, respectively, to a linear output of the receiver of communication and service information signals and to an input of the packet generator with the buffer memory, the output of the packet generator being connected to the transceiving phased array with the modulator and high-frequency portion, there ere introduced generators of a synchronization code, internal and user codes controlled from a single clock generator and phased with each other, the internal code generator being connected to the packet generator and frequency and delay discriminators with the buffer memory and the preamble shaper, a receiver of a call of the satellite transponder is incorporated, which is a matched filter connected, through an input, to the receiver of communication and service information signals, and, through outputs, to the control unit and to a user station call generator, a unit for compensating the Doppler shift being installed at the user station, installed between the circuit of phase auto tune of frequency and the signal receiver with the high-frequency portion and information separation channels are rejection filters having their input connected to an output of the control unit; gerators of a synchronization code, user codes and internal codes synchronized and phased between each other are incorporated into the circuit for tracking the delay of the receiver synchronization signal, the internal code generator being coupled to a delay discriminator of the transmitter with frequency and code delay autotuning, introduced into the circuit for tracking the delay of the auto tune transmitter is a code generator for calling the transponder and an internal code generator synchronized and phased with each other and a series combination of a voltage adder, a clock frequency generator and a scanning circuit having its output coupled to an input of the generator of call code of the transponder and the internal codes of the auto tune transmitter, and having its input connected to an output of a circuit for search and initial synchronization of the transmitter having its input connected to an output of the signal receiver with the high-frequency portion and information separation channel, incorporated in the circuit for autotuning the transmitter is a voltage adder having its output connected via a controlled generator, as is the output of the controlled clock frequency generator of the autotune transmitter, to the Doppler shift compensation unit.
The above-mentioned and other objects are further accomplished in that in an apparatus for signal search and initial channel synchronization in a satellite communications system, comprising, at a user station, a circuit of phase auto tune of frequency, including a series combination of a signal receiver with a high-frequency portion, injection filters, a subtractive mixer, a code demodulator with an intermediate frequency amplifier, a phase detector with a lowpass filter, a controlled generator coupled to a reference input of the subtractive mixer, a frequency spectrum synthesizer, a delay tracking circuit, including a series combination of a discriminator with a lowpass filter, a controlled generator, a synchronization code generator connected to a reference input of the discriminator, and generators of transmitter codes (user and internal); a circuit of phase (frequency) auto tuning of the transmitter frequency, including a phase (frequency) discriminator with a lowpass filter, a controlled generator, a modulator and an amplifier of high frequency; a circuit for tracking a transmitter delay code, including a delay discriminator with a lowpass filter, a controlled clock frequency generator, generators of a transmitter code (call of a transponder and internal codes), said transmitter being coupled to a modulator with a high-frequency amplifier, the inputs of of the phase (frequency) discriminator with a lowpass filter and of the delay discriminator with a lowpass filter being coupled to the signal receiver with a high-frequency portion, and the input of the discriminator with a lowpass filter being connected to the output of the subtractive mixer, according to the present invention, a Doppler shift compensation unit is introduced, which is made up of two identical circuits which comprise subtractive mixers; phase detectors with lowpass filters, a voltage adder, the inputs of the subtractive mixer in the first circuit being connected to the outputs of the controlled generator and to the corresponding output of a frequency spectum synthesizer, and the second input of the phase detector with a lowpass filter is connected to the output of the controlled generator, and the inputs of the subtractive mixer in the second circuit being connected to the output of the controlled clock generator and to the corresponding output of the frequency spectrum synthesizer, and the second input of the phase detector with a lowpass filter is connected to the output of the controlled clock frequency generator, said voltage adder of the first circuit being included into the circuit of phase (frequency) auto tuning of the transmitter frequency between the input of the controlled generator and, through a switch K, the output of the phase (frequency) discriminator with a lowpass filter, and said voltage adder of the second circuit being included into the code delay tracking circuit of the transmitter between the input of the controlled clock frequency generator and, through a second switch K, the output of the delay discriminator with a lowpass filter, a circuit for signal search and initial synchronization of the transmitter, which circuit is a series combination of a search correlator and a search mode control unit coupled to a scanning circuit, the input of the search correlator being connected to the output of the signal receiver with a high-frequency portion and to the reference output of the internal code generator of the transmitter, and the second and third inputs of the search mode control unit being connected to the outputs of the controlled clock generator and the reference output of th,e internal code generator of the transmitter, and the control output of the search mode control unit being connected to the switches K, the scanning circuit being connected between the input of the generators of the transmitter code of the transponder call and of the internal codes and the output of the controlled clock frequency generator.

Method and apparatus for multiple-station communication for low-orbit satelllite systems

Federation, Moscow, ul.,Stroitelei, d.5, korp. 3, kv.24


The present invention pertains to a refillable gas adsorption bed assembly having a box-like, generally rectangular frame The frame has a pair of oppositely disposed side members and a pair of oppositely disposed end members. There is a first and a second rectangular fine mesh screen mounted within the frame on opposite sides of a filler opening through one of the side members. The first and second prefilters are mounted within the frame. The first prefilter is disposed to one side of both screens and the second prefilter is disposed on the opposite side of both screens. The invention includes a housing for the gas adsorption bed assembly and a counterflow adsorber module formed by operably connecting the housings end-to-end.

Gas adsorption beds are used in many industries to remove gaseous contaminant from the air to protect people, the environment and, in many cases, a manufacturing process. Gas adsorption beds are also used in sick buildings and other enclosed spaces.
One specific application of gas adsorption beds is in the semiconductor industry where product is manufactured in an ultra-clean air environment, commonly known as a clean room. Invariably, a manufacturing process will require the use of a solvent or an aerosol to be used in the clean-room environment. This presents a problem because gaseous contaminant coming from the process will contaminate the air and other processes in the room. To eliminate the problem, the contaminated air is drawn through a granular adsorption bed assembly having a frame and a bed of adsorption medium, such as activated carbon, disposed within the frame. The adsorption medium adsorbs the gaseous contaminant from the airstream and allows the clean air to be returned to the room.
The removal efficiency and holding capacity of a gaseous adsorption bed is dependent upon a number of factors, such as the air velocity through the adsorption bed, the depth of the adsorption bed, the type and amount of adsorption medium used, and the activity level of the adsorption medium. One other significant factor that effects adsorption efficiency is the amount of contaminated air that can leak through voids between the adsorption bed and the frame, and leak through frame joints. It is also desirable to promote even deterioration or wear of the activated gas adsorption bed by equally distributing the flow of air incident the adsorption bed across its cross-sectional area. Further, if more than one gas adsorption bed is used in an installation, it is desirable to deliver equal amounts of contaminated air to each adsorption bed so that they will wear or deteriorate at approximately the same rate.

Refillable gas adsorption bed assembly and counterflow adsorber module


A switch for optical signals, including a plurality of external inputs, a plurality of external outputs, a wavelength conversion entity and a plurality of core switching entities. Each core switching entity is associated to a respective set of at least two wavelengths. The approach is based on switching groups of at least two wavelengths in each core switching entity, while still maintaining per-wavelength switching granularity but sharing the provided capacity for wavelength conversion connections across the group. Thus, wavelength conversion resources assigned to a group of wavelengths are usable by any wavelength in that group. In this way, the blocking statistics in the node as a whole are improved with respect to a single-wavelength-plane configuration. In addition, the resulting switch is modular as it can be upgraded by adding or removing one or more switching modules as required.

FIG. 1 shows a metropolitan network 100 with modular photonic switching, with a level of lambda conversion, including a set of service aggregation devices 120, a set of edge photonic switch nodes 130, a set of tandem photonic switch nodes 140 and a core 100 comprising a set of core photonic switch nodes 150. An architecture similar to that of FIG. 1 has been described in aforementioned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/893,493.
In the metropolitan network 100 shown in FIG. 1, the core photonic switch nodes 150 can provide transport level grooming of sub-lambda-level (and lambda-level) services and can also provide direct service-level switching of lambda-level services. Furthermore, the core photonic switch nodes 150 can include sub-lambda-granular service-level switches 160 such as core routers (or packet switches), core ATM switches and core TDM switches to provide centralized switching of services at less than an entire lambda capacity. The service aggregation devices 120 are adapted to aggregate packet traffic (destined for a core router or packet switch), ATM traffic (destined for a core ATM switch), and TDM traffic (destined for a core TDM switch) into separate optical carriers, in order to simplify the core 110 and prevent core node capacity explosion. This segregation also allows the optical carriers to be fed directly into the appropriate sub-lambda-granular service-level switch 160 by the core nodes. Alternatively, multiple service types may share a common optical carrier, in which case a stage of electronic sub-wavelength switching should be interposed between the core nodes 150 and the sub-lambda-granular service-level switches 160 in order to route different components of the common optical carrier to different ones of the sub-lambda-granular service-level switches 160.
Each of the photonic switch nodes 130, 140, 150, includes a photonic switch and an optical carrier conditioning/validation sub-system (not shown in FIG. 1) for providing wavelength-level switching of optical signals. Thus, the metropolitan network 100 provides switchable express photonic pipes between the service aggregation systems 120 and the core 110. By using this photonic lambda switching architecture, in conjunction with electro-optical sub-lambda switching nodes at the core locations, the complexity of the electronic and electro-optic components of the network 100 is fundamentally minimized, requiring only one stage of electronic multiplexing, one stage of electro-optic conversion, one stage of opto-electronic conversion on the way to the service-level switch 160, one stage of service-level switching within the metro area, and then a return path to the far end metro customer. This leads to a much lower cost and complexity for the electro-optic and electronic parts of the network 100 but introduces the requirement for a photonic infrastructure. As such, the electronic and electro-optic complexity of the network 100 is fundamentally minimized through the use of photonic functionality to provide the appropriate connections.
In addition, the use of photonic paths that completely bypass the electronic and electro-optic components of the core nodes will permit the establishment of all-photonic end-to-end switched connections. Initially, it is expected that such end-to-end photonic paths will be very uncommon, due to the extreme bandwidth requirements to make them economically practical, the prove-in currently being situated at about 3 to 4 gigabits per second (Gb/s) per connection. However, as time progresses and optical integration becomes practicable, the prove-in is expected to drop to around 150 Mb/s, at which point many end-to-end transport pipes can be directly provisioned in a photonic fashion. The provisioning of end-to-end optical transport pipes will require an ability to change the wavelengths of optical carriers in the network, i.e., to move optical carriers from one wavelength slot to another, analogous to moving timeslots in a TDM switched network. This process, often called wavelength (or lambda) conversion, is required at some, but not necessarily all network nodes.
With continued reference to the network 100 in FIG. 1, each core node 150 includes a wavelength-level switch 155 and one or more (electrical) service-level switches 160 such as IP/packet switches, TDM/SONET switches and STS cross-connects. In addition, the core photonic switch nodes 150 may include or otherwise be connected to legacy equipment such as the TDM telephony network, and provide connectivity to long haul (LH) gateways. At least two core photonic switch nodes 150 are typically required in the network 100 and usually a greater number are provided. Exactly two core photonic switch nodes 150 give survivability, while more than two give scalability and offer protection savings.
The core photonic switch node 150 serves not only to connect each incoming wavelength to the appropriate sub-lambda-granular service-level switch 160 for a given wavelength payload, but also to select the correct capacity port on that sub-lambda-granular service-level switch 160 so as to avoid stranding core resources. As such, the wavelength-level switch 155 of the core photonic switch node 150 provides wavelength-level connectivity between buildings and electronic protocol-specific or service-specific boxes. Otherwise, the provisioning granularity would be at the fiber level, precluding the advantageous use of dense wavelength division multiplexing and demultiplexing. By the same token, exploitation of the wavelength-level switch 155 to its full potential requires some level of segregation with respect to the wavelengths traveled by IP and TDM traffic within the network 100. It is also noted that the wavelength-level switch 155 may provide dynamic network load balancing and protection in case of network failures.
Regarding the edge photonic switch nodes 130, these provide the ingress and egress points into the metropolitan network 100. The edge photonic switch nodes 130 are typically located in office buildings, although they may appear elsewhere. The optical signals migrate from sparse DWDM (S-DWDM) into DWDM by an interleaving process and continue their path across the network 100 (see above-mentioned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/893,498 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/972,989). The location where the access (S-DWDM) plant meets the inter-office plant is the edge Central Office. The edge photonic switch nodes 130 can be planar in nature, since there is no substantial need for wavelength conversion anywhere but in the core 110. Wavelength conversion is only applied in the case of intra-metro end-to-end wavelength circuits and this can be done in the tandem photonic switch nodes 140 or in the core photonic switch nodes 150. Initially, only rarely will the lack of wavelength conversion capability at the edge node 130 result in a wavelength that could have been locally switched being sent to a wavelength-conversion-equipped node instead, although the prevalence of this occurrence will increase somewhat over time. However, the changed community of interest statistics of the evolved data network, relative to the old telephony network (with its preponderance of local calling), means that the lack of local lambda conversion to complete a local photonic connection and the consequent need for back-haul to a node that does have lambda conversion does not become a problem, since only a relatively small percentage of traffic will be back-hauled when it could have been locally converted.
For its part, a tandem photonic switch node 140 provides a number of functions including a further point of partial fill consolidation before reaching the core 110, establishing end-to-end wavelength paths with wavelength conversion where required and providing a flexibility point for the addition of more core photonic switch nodes 150 or edge photonic switch nodes 130 without having to add dedicated core-edge paths. In addition, the tandem photonic switch nodes 140 may also operate in concert with the edge photonic switch nodes 130 and core photonic switch nodes 150 to provide dynamic traffic load balancing, protection and restoration functions against equipment failure or cable cuts in the core network. A level of wavelength conversion in the tandem photonic switch nodes 140 is beneficial in order to accommodate back-hauled intra-metro wavelength services without routing them back to the core photonic switch nodes 150. All other services/circuits travel to the core photonic switch nodes 150 since this is where the long haul gateways and the sub-wavelength switching functions are located.
As can be appreciated from the above, there is little need for wavelength conversion anywhere but in the tandem photonic switch nodes 140 and core photonic switch nodes 150. It has been estimated that once the metropolitan network 100 is used exclusively for photonic end-to-end connections, only in the case of about 5–10% of wavelengths will the lack of wavelength conversion capability at an edge photonic switch node 130 result in a wavelength that could have been locally switched being sent to a wavelength-conversion-equipped node instead. Stated differently, an edge photonic switch node 130 would ideally be required to provide about 5–10% wavelength conversion under expected future traffic conditions. On the other hand, analyses have shown that the tandem photonic switch nodes 140 and core photonic switch nodes 150 will need to be able to convert as much as 30% and 70% of their incoming wavelengths, respectively, in order to provide satisfactory performance under expected future traffic conditions, once the network 100 has transitioned to the provision of photonic end-to-end paths. In the meantime, the numbers will be somewhat lower, due to the need to terminate most optical carriers in the electro-optic structure of the core photonic switch node 150.
Furthermore, as the photonic switched network shown as 100 in FIG. 1 evolves and thereby grows to accommodate increased traffic, both the number of nodes and the size of those nodes will have to evolve. Thus, the nodes of a practical network have to be sized both initially and in terms of growth, to the actual network traffic levels of provisioned traffic through each individual node, precluding a "one size fits all" approach or approaches which do not scale well, both up and down in size.
These requirements place a fundamental demand on the nodes to be flexible in terms of overall capacity and to permit both various initial node throughputs and various different growth rates. This can only be achieved with a scalable, modular node since for non-scalable nodes size increase requires a "fork-lift" upgrade with the attendant massive disruption to the network at that node site.
Thus, there exists a need in the industry to provide a modular, scalable photonic switch that exhibits desirable blocking performance on both its through paths and its wavelength conversion paths even when heavily loaded and even when a significant percentage of incoming wavelengths need to be converted.
Some conventional photonic switches can be highly modular but exhibit poor blocking performance, as is the case with the switch described in aforementioned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/511,065. Such switches are based on a per-wavelength switching structure and hence are highly modular. However, they only provide sufficient wavelength conversion capability to handle the pure edge photonic switch applications and some hybrid edge-tandem photonic switch nodes up to the case where a few percent of incoming carriers must undergo wavelength conversion. However, the longer-term (and in some cases near-term) tandem photonic switch node and core photonic switch node wavelength conversion capability requirements are beyond the reach of the per-wavelength switch, since the latter exhibits a significant blocking probability, especially when heavily loaded.
Other conventional switches can exhibit superior blocking performance but are highly non-modular and non-scalable. Such is the case with the LambdaRouter™ all-optical switch from Lucent Technologies, which is an any-to-any switch based upon a large 3-D MEMS mirror chamber. The any-to-any property exhibits low blocking. However, such switches generally do not provide a wide range of sizes combined with scalability and modularity, generally requiring either a massively over-provisioned initial switch core or a "fork-lift" upgrade once the core runs out of capacity. These factors, combined with the complexity and expense of achieving a functional solution, have prevented any-to-any switches from achieving practicality.
Clearly, there still exists a need in the industry to provide a modular photonic switch with wavelength conversion that exhibits desirable blocking performance even when heavily loaded and even when a significant percentage of incoming carriers need to undergo wavelength conversion.

Modular photonic switch with wavelength conversion


The invention refers to a device for determining the angular position of a compressor stator blade, which is rotatable around its longitudinal axis and arranged in a compressor, with which is associated a measuring surface which rotates synchronously with it. For a reliable, simple and approximately error-free recording of the angular positions, the angular position of the compressor stator blade can be determined via the device in an automated manner. For this purpose, it has at least one mounting unit provided for aligned fastening of the device on the compressor, and at least one measuring and evaluating unit which comprises at least two distance sensors which each record a distance to the measuring surface which is rotatable from the reference position, as a result the angular position of the measuring surface, relative to the reference position depends upon the two recorded distances, is determined by the measuring and evaluating unit.

It is known that in the assembly of compressor stator blades, which are adjustable around their longitudinal axis, and in the associated adjusting drive, these are individually aligned, by means of a device, with a reference slot which is arranged on the stator blade carrier. This is necessary so that all the blade airfoils of the compressor stator blade ring always have identical stagger angles in order to ensure a synchronous incident flow of the subsequent compressor rotor blades during operation. An asynchronous incident flow of the compressor rotor blades could lead to a vibration excitation of individual blade airfoils of the rotor blades. In unfavorable cases, this could have an effect on the rotor blades in a damaging way. In order to avoid this unwanted and potentially critical operating situation of the compressor, a check of the assembly quality by means of a conclusive measuring of the angular position of all the adjustable stator blades is necessary before putting the compressor into operation.
Up to now, the angular position of stator blades was measured by means of a universal angle gage and an auxiliary device. The auxiliary device, which was located upon the reference slot on the stator blade carrier, served as a stop for the one measuring arm of the angle gage. The rear side face of an adjusting lever, which is arranged on the rotatable compressor stator blade, served as a stop face for the second measuring arm of the angle gage, upon which the angular position of the stator blade could then be read. Contingent upon the constricted space conditions on the compressor, and depending upon the position of the compressor stator blade to be checked on the circumference, reading errors and inaccurately located measuring arms could result. This could especially be the case if the fitter has to work overhead. As a result of the erroneous inspection, it could be possible that correctly set stator blades were unnecessarily adjusted into an incorrect position, or incorrect positions of compressor stator blades were not recognized. This could altogether lead in part to unevenly set stagger angles, as seen over the circumference, of the blade airfoils of rotatable stator blades. A further source of error, which can lead to a slightly asymmetric setting of the compressor stator blades, are the tolerances by using the auxiliary device.

Device for determining the angular position of a rotatable compressor stator blade


An object of the invention is to provide a curable organic polymer having superior curability, a method for producing the same, and a curable composition containing the same. An organic polymer (A) including a silicon-containing organic group represented by the general formula (1):—SiR1aR2bXc  (1)(wherein, R1 that is present in the number of “a” each independently represents a group including a hydrocarbon group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms as a basic skeleton, in which at least one hydrogen atom on the carbon atoms of positions 1 to 3 is substituted with an electron-withdrawing group; R2 that is present in the number of “b” each independently represents a C1 to C20 hydrocarbon group, or a triorganosiloxy group represented by the formula of: (R′)3SiO— (wherein, R′ each independently represents a hydrocarbon group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms); X that is present in the number of “c” each independently represents a hydrolyzable group or a hydroxyl group; a is 1 or 2; b is 0 or 1; c is 1 or 2; and the relationship of: a+b+c=3 is satisfied) in the number of one or more on average per molecule, a method for producing the same, and a curable composition containing the same are provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to: an organic polymer including a hydrolyzable group or a hydroxyl group bound to a silicon atom, and including a silicon group which can be crosslinked by forming a siloxane bond (hereinafter, may be also referred to as "reactive silicon group"); a method for production of the same; and a curable composition containing the same.
2. Related Art
Organic polymers including at least one reactive silicon group in the molecule have been known to be characterized by availability of rubbery cured products by crosslinking via formation of a siloxane bond, which is accompanied by a hydrolysis reaction or the like of the reactive silicon group due to the moisture and the like even at room temperatures.
Among these organic polymers having a reactive silicon group, organic polymers having a main chain skeleton made of polyoxyalkylene based polymers and polyisobutylene based polymers have been already produced industrially and used broadly in applications such as sealants, adhesives, and paints (see, for example, JP-A-52-73998, and JP-A-63-6041). When the organic polymers having a reactive silicon group are used as curable compositions such as sealants, adhesives, paints and the like, a variety of characteristics such as curability and adhesiveness, mechanical characteristics, and the like are required.
The curable composition including the organic polymer having a reactive silicon group is hardened using a curing catalyst such as an organic tin compound which is commonly typified by dibutyltin bis(acetylacetonato) and which has a carbon-tin bond. In use, when curing within a short period of time is required, generally employed method includes increasing the amount of the curing catalyst, and the like. However, in recent years, toxicity of the organic tin compounds has been indicated, and thus these compounds must be carefully used in light of environmental security.
As the curing catalyst other than the organic tin compounds, inorganic tin carboxylates and other metal carboxylates, and catalyst systems in which carboxylic acid and an amine based compound are used in combination are disclosed (see, for example, JP-A-55-9669, JP-A-2003-206410, and JP-A-5-117519). However, it is possible that these catalysts are inferior in curability as compared with organic tin catalysts.
Meanwhile, it is disclosed that a curable composition which exhibits a high curing speed is obtained by using a polymer having a specified end structure (see, for example, JP-T-2005-501146 (Japanese Translation of PCT Application)).

Curable organic polymer and method for production thereof, and curable composition containing the same


The present invention relates to pyrazolyalkines and to their use, to a process for preparing them and also to intermediates.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to pyrazolylalkines and to processes for preparing and using them and also to their intermediates.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Pyrazolylalkines have gained industrial significance, in particular, as intermediates for the preparation of insecticides and acaricides (see also EP-A 571 326 and EP-A 1 219 173). Illustrative thereof is 4-pyrazolylphenylalkines which can be prepared, for example, by palladium-catalysed coupling of phenylalkines with iodopyrazoles. This process is however, disadvantaged in that some phenylalkines, for example 3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenylalkine, tend to be susceptible spontaneous and uncontrolled decomposition. In addition, iodopyrazoles can only be obtained in moderate yields by iodinating the corresponding pyrazoles.
There is therefore a need for a process which, starting from easily obtainable reactants, enables the reliable preparation of pyrazolylalkines.


A mechanism for encrypting confidential information, uses a transmission package than can be attached to an electronic message. The transmission package is an executable application and controls the decryption, using a separately stored key, and rendering of the contents. On termination of the rendering of the information the transmission package triggers deletion of the encrypted file, the transmission package, and the separately stored key.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of data processing systems. More particularly, this invention relates to the field of encrypted data files and their rendering for display or playback.
2. Description of the Prior Art
With the increase in the use of e-mail as a communication mechanism, there has also been a corresponding rise in the need to send messages and data that are confidential. Various encryption techniques have been developed to address this need. Generally, these techniques involve decryption keys which are made available to the recipient at the point of receipt. These keys can be used to decrypt the message once received. This has the result that in transit the message is encrypted and thus, even if intercepted, cannot be read.
There are many encryption techniques available at present for sending someone confidential information. Such techniques often involve the use of decryption keys which can be accessed on production of the correct password. These methods provide a good level of confidentiality for the information in transit, but there are weaknesses in the system after the information has been received.
One problem with existing encryption techniques is that in many cases a decrypted message is stored and thus, even after subsequent deletion, it may be possible to restore the information at some point in the future. A further point is that although current encryption algorithms may be deemed impractical to break at the moment, in five or ten years time decryption may be possible with new computing techniques. The ability to restore the encrypted messages from archive medium may therefore also be a potential problem.
Encryption techniques are known in which the user can specify that a message be read only once. However, this does not protect it from being saved in an unencrypted form or forwarded to other users. ZipLip.com, for example, provides a read-once Web based messaging service, but the contents can be printed, copied to disk and retrieved by administrators from archive media.


Described is an optical equipment using a semiconductor light emitting device array which has light emitting points formed thereon at a high density and has highly reliability. The optical equipment according to the present invention features that it is equipped with a light emitting device array on which light emitting points LP have been arranged two-dimensionally, focusing means for focusing the light from the light emitting points, photo-detecting means which is disposed at the position where the light focused through the focusing means forms image formation points, and transferring means for transferring the image formation points relative to the photo-detecting means; said light-emitting device array being composed of a plurality of semiconductor chips and adjacent end surfaces of two semiconductor chips being bonded each other so as to have an inclination against the transferring direction.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a light equipment using a semiconductor light-emitting device array, particularly to a light equipment used for LED printer, laser printer, laser display, image sensor or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional LED printers use as a light equipment a multi-tip head obtained by, as illustrated in FIG. 11, connecting rectangular LED light-emitting device chips Ch1 and Ch2 in a row, each of said chips having light emitting points LP arranged in one dimension.
Various methods have so far been proposed to attain high-density device arrangement. For example, proposed in Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. Hei 2-147259 is a method in which chips having thereon light emitting points arranged in the staggered form are formed and then these chips are connected each other. In this method, light emitting points are arranged in the staggered form within one chip, which widens the distance between the two adjacent light emitting points and also widens the interconnection space, thereby bringing about an improvement in the yield. The end surface of the chip to be connected is parallel to the subsidiary scanning direction (the direction corresponding to the rotational direction of a drum in the surface of the LED chip) so that with an increase in the density of the light emitting points, the end surface of the chip becomes closer to the light emitting point. The distance between the end surface of the chip and the light emitting point include a margin of a predetermined value as shown in FIG. 12 because of the problem of the positional accuracy caused by chip cutting. It is necessary to provide several .mu.m or greater for the distance between the light emitting point and the end surface to be cut in consideration of the damage caused by cutting. The scatter in the positional accuracy caused by chip cutting is .+-.5 .mu.m or greater so that the scatter in the distance between the end surface and the light emitting point becomes 5-15 .mu.m. If it is 15 .mu.m, the distance between light emitting points becomes 30 .mu.m when chips are connected, which makes it impossible to actualize a pitch of 21 .mu.m for 1200 dpi.
In addition, disclosed in Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. Hei 5-94080 is an optical head in which two rows of light-emitting devices are disposed, each of said devices being formed of an array light source obtained by successively connecting chips, and said two rows are disposed so that image formation points are arranged in a straight line on a photo-sensitive drum through rod lenses respectively corresponding to these two rows. It is only necessary to install, in each row, a light emitting point array having a light emitting point density half of the recording density. Owing to such low light emitting point density, the above optical head can be actualized easily. But, it is almost impossible to precisely align image formation points of each row from one end of the drum surface to the other end. In practice, it is very difficult to satisfy the severe demand for positional accuracy of light emitting points on the order of microns and moreover, this method is impractical because it takes a tremendous time and cost for the fabrication.
Moreover, Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. Sho 59-164161 discloses a light-emitting diode array head in which the end surface of a semiconductor chip to be connected, said chip having light emitting diode rows which have been divided into at least two blocks in order to facilitate easy position control upon the connection of the light-emitting diode chips, is inclined at 5.degree. from the original angle 90.degree. relative to the light emitting diode rows.
By the technique described above, it becomes easier to carry out position control upon chip connection. If the light emitting diode rows are divided into two or more blocks, the electrode interconnection should be disposed on one side. In such a case, the higher the arrangement density of light emitting points, the higher the interconnection density, which makes it difficult to conduct wire bonding or the like. Accordingly, the above method is accompanied with the problem that it cannot be applied to a light emitting device array having a high light emitting point density. Besides, the blocks should be arranged in the staggered form from the viewpoint of the space of electrode interconnection of each block and it is substantially difficult to arrange the blocks in three or more lines. The above method is therefore accompanied with the problem that light emitting points cannot be two-dimensionally arranged freely.
As described above, in the conventional semiconductor device array of a multi-chip structure, the higher the device arrangement density in the chip connecting direction, the closer the distance between the end surface of the chip to be connected and the semiconductor device. Under the present situations, an error in the position accuracy caused by chip cutting or an error in the position accuracy caused by chip bonding is at least several .mu.m so that when the cut end surface of the chip is vertical to the chip connecting direction, it is impossible to actualize the chip connection with light emitting points being arranged at high density such as 1200 dpi. Furthermore, when the device arrangement density becomes higher, it becomes impossible to secure an interconnection space or wire bonding space in the one-dimensional arrangement of light emitting points. Accordingly, there is a demand for the two-dimensional arrangement of light emitting points, thereby widening the distance between the light emitting points.

Optoelectro transducer array, and light-emitting device array and fabrication process thereof


Methods and apparatuses are provided for recording asset tracking parameters in networked devices. One method includes providing a workflow that includes at least one processing mechanism, associating at least one parameter with the processing mechanism, processing at least a portion of a data file according to the workflow using the processing mechanism, and recording information regarding the parameter. Information regarding the parameter(s) may be recorded within a resulting processed data file that is saved. Thus, the processed data file may include a metadata portion that includes the information regarding the parameter(s). The method also includes selectively retrieving the information regarding the recorded parameter(s) from the resulting processed data file. In other implementations, the method may include providing information regarding the parameter(s) to a database and thereafter selectively retrieving such information from the database.

There is continued effort to connect computers and other devices together to meet the needs of a variety of different users. Consequently, both wired and wireless networks are becoming more and more common in businesses, organizations, and homes. These networks allow for data to be transferred between the various devices and also processes/processing to be selectively distributed and/or centralized, as needed. Moreover, such networks allow for certain networked devices or resources to be shared by a plurality of other devices. One common example of a shared resource is a printer. Here, for example, a laser printer may be configured to support several different users/computers. Another common example of a shared device is a server. A server may be configured for access by different users/computers. Many other types of devices may likewise be configured as a shared resource.
In certain situations, it is often necessary for the users, network administrators and/or other various others to understand how well the networked devices, including the shared resources, and the network are performing. To understand or otherwise analyze the performance of these devices/resources, performance monitoring applications/programs may be run on a networked computer or other like networked device to collect and record selected operational parameters and provide such information to an interested party. Many of these programs also provide analysis tools and/or perform automated analysis. In certain configurations, such programs may also be implemented so as to modify the operation of the network or networked devices, for example, in an effort to increase operational efficiency, address identified problems, etc.
These and similar programs are usually designed to collect and store the current status of selected networked devices. The status, for example, may indicate if the device is operating properly. The status may also include, for example, information about the number of tasks performed over a given period of time and/or a record identifying other devices that have accessed or otherwise communicated with the device providing its status. While such status reports may be useful for a variety of purposes, there is typically a lack of detailed information regarding how individual data files have been processed.
It would be beneficial to understand how an individual data file has been processed, accessed, or otherwise used, by various networked devices, programs running thereon, and/or users associated therewith. Hence, there is a need for methods and apparatuses that can provide such information and other similar information. Preferably, the methods and apparatuses will not significantly degrade the performance of the various networked devices, or otherwise substantially alter the operation of the various networked devices.

Methods and apparatuses for use in asset tracking during file handling

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A semiconductor device comprises a semiconductor chip in which a multilayer interconnection structure having an interlayer insulation film with a low relative dielectric constant is formed on a silicon substrate and a sealing resin layer which coats the semiconductor chip. The sealing resin layer meets, in coefficient of linear expansion (α) at room temperature, Young's modulus (E) at room temperature and thickness (h) thereof, a relationship of the following formula (1)E<0.891/{(α−αs)2×h}  (1)                where        E represents the Young's modulus (GPa) of the sealing resin at room temperature;        α represents the coefficient of linear expansion (ppm) of the sealing resin at room temperature;        αs represents the coefficient of linear expansion (3.5 ppm) of the silicon substrate; and        h represents the thickness (m) of the sealing resin on the device-formed surface of the semiconductor chip.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a semiconductor device having a semiconductor chip coated with a sealing resin layer.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, the wiring electrical resistance has been reduced and a relative dielectric constant of an interlayer insulation film have been made smaller for the purpose of acceleration of a semiconductor device such as an LSI. Specifically, the wiring material has been shifted from aluminum (Al) to copper (Cu). As for the interlayer insulation film, too, a low relative dielectric constant insulation film (low-k film) such as a silicon oxide film doped with-fluorine or a silicon oxide film containing organic components has been adopted together with a simple silicon oxide film.
The interlayer insulation film with low relative dielectric constant is formed by lowering the density of the material or excluding the dielectric polarization of the material. To lower the density of the material, for example, the material is generally made porous. Since the interlayer insulation film with low relative dielectric constant is low in film density, its mechanical properties such as the Young's modulus are generally small. In other words, the material of the interlayer insulation film with low relative dielectric constant is low in strength. Furthermore, the interlayer insulation film with low relative dielectric constant has a film structure of low polarity to lower the dielectric constant in the film. For this reason, if the interlayer insulation films with low relative dielectric constant or the interlayer insulation film and the other interlayer insulation film are laminated, adhesion strength in the interface between the laminated films is low.
Such a low strength in the interlayer insulation film with low relative dielectric constant and such a low adhesion strength in the interface between the interlayer insulation films in the laminated structure including the interlayer insulation films with low relative dielectric constant, particularly become serious troubles in the lamination process to form the wiring of the semiconductor device in the multilayer structure. They also cause serious problems such as peeling and the like in a packaging process executed after the lamination process. In particular, the factor bringing about a serious damage is thermal stress from a sealing resin layer which serves as an environmental protection film. The sealing resin layer is generally smaller in Young's modulus by one or more digits and greater in coefficient of linear expansion by one or more digits, than that of silicon substrate. For this reason, great thermal stress is applied to the interlayer insulation film, in various kinds of processings that make thermal influence, such as curing the resin in a resin sealing step, reflowing the solder during mounting of the semiconductor device on the printed wiring board or the like, TCT (Temperature Cycling Test), and the like. As a result, the thermal stress breaks the interlayer insulation film with low relative dielectric constant such as a low-k film which has low polarity and low mechanical strength, and causes peeling in the interface. A prompt solution is therefore demanded to solve the problem.
On the other hand, Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 9-246464 discloses a semiconductor device in which a side surface of an LSI chip or an overall surface thereof other than a bonding pad is coated with insulating resin and sealed by a sealing resin layer to reduce an external force which is to be applied directly to the side surface or entire surface of the LSI chip together with the curing and shrinking force of the sealing resin and the thermal stress of the sealing resin. The publication also discloses that the insulating resin includes resins such as epoxy, acryl, polyimide, urethane and the like that are cured by heat treatment, exposure to ultraviolet radiation, room-temperature maintenance and the like. In addition, the publication also discloses that the Young's modulus of the insulating resin should be smaller than that of the sealing resin.
In the invention of Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 9-246464, however, since the insulating resin needs to be used as well as the sealing resin, the structure of the semiconductor device becomes complicated and interfaces considered as the peeling factor are newly increased problems, which increases the manufacturing costs.


A system for inserting reagent or macrobeads into bores of a sample plate is disclosed comprising an insertion device arranged to retain one or more reagent or macrobeads by means of a vacuum whilst inserting the reagent or macrobeads into bores of the sample plate.

The present invention relates to a system for inserting reagent or macrobeads into one or more bores of a sample plate and a method of inserting reagent or macrobeads into one or more bores of a sample plate.
A technology has been developed which enables multiple tests to be carried out in a single well of a sample plate. The technology uses macro sized (e.g. mm sized) reagent beads that are coated with specific antigens or antibodies. Each well of a sample plate comprises multiple bores in the base portion of the sample plate. Reagent or macro beads are pressed and retained in the bores of each well by an interference fit so that the top half of bead is within the well and is exposed to the assay test.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,074,609 discloses a system for arraying microbeads. The microbeads disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,074,609 are of the order of 5-300 μm i.e. are an order of magnitude smaller than the macrobeads used according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The microbeads are stored in a reservoir holding a liquid medium. A distal end of a transfer member is lowered into the liquid medium and a vacuum is created within a lumen to draw a microbead onto the distal end of the transfer member. The transfer member is then lifted from the reservoir whilst holding the microbead on the distal end. The transfer member is then positioned in a test well holding another liquid medium. The vacuum is then removed and the microbead is released from the transfer member whilst the transfer member is within the liquid medium. The microbead is then allowed to fall under the force of gravity within the liquid medium.
There are a number of problems with the arrangement disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,074,609.
One problem with the arrangement disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,074,609 is that as a microbead is being drawn towards the distal end of the transfer member the lumen will at least partially fill with fluid. This can cause a serious problem with cross-contamination.
Another problem with the arrangement disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,074,609 is that the microbeads and in particular any sensitive coating on the microbeads may become damaged whilst the microbead is being transferred by the transfer member.
It is desired to mass produce sample plates and to improve the process of locating reagent or macrobeads in the bores of a sample plate.


A wound care bandage for treating a wound is provided. The bandage includes an SIS layer to be placed on the wound surface and a cover to be placed over the wound. The bandage further includes a structure to provide a vacuum space. A method for promoting wound healing is further provided. The method includes applying the above-mentioned wound care bandage to the wound and creating a vacuum in the vacuum space to draw blood controllably from the wound into the SIS layer.

The present invention relates to wound care and more particularly to the provision of an SIS wound care cover used in combination with a vacuum bandage. The invention contemplates both apparatus and a method for using the apparatus.
It is known to use small intestine submucosa (SIS) in wound care treatment, particularly the application of layers of SIS directly upon an open wound that has been debrided and cleaned. SIS is described in the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,855,619, 5,866,414, 5,753,267, 5,762,966, 5,755,791, 4,902,508, 4,956,178, 5,275,826, 5,281,422, 4,352,463, 5,372,821, 5,445,833, 5,516,533, 5,573,784, 5,645,860, 5,641,518, 5,711,969, and 5,695,998. These patents are hereby incorporated herein by reference for purposes of disclosing the nature of SIS.
SIS has been described as a natural acellular biomaterial used to repair, support, and stabilize a wide variety of anatomical defects and traumatic injuries. See, for example, Cook® Online New Release provided by Cook Biotech at "www.cookgroup.com". The SIS material is a tissue engineered collagen matrix derived from porcine small intestinal submucosa that models the qualities of its host when implanted in human soft tissues. Further, it is taught that the SIS material provides a natural scaffold-like matrix with a three-dimensional structure and biochemical composition that attracts host cells and supports tissue remodeling. Surgisis™ Soft Tissue Repair Biomaterial and Oasis™ Wound Dressing Biomaterial are available for remodeling partial thickness skin injuries (Cook Biotech, Bloomington, Ind.). The Oasis™ Wound Dressing is provided in single thickness, fenestrated sheets. It will be appreciated that SIS is readily available for use as a wound dressing.
While small intestine submucosa is available, other sources of submucosa are known to be effective for tissue remodeling. These sources include, but are not limited to, stomach, bladder, alimentary, respiratory, or genital submucosa. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,171,344, 6,099,567, and 5,554,389, hereby incorporated by reference. Further, it is known that these various submucosa materials may be derived from non-porcine sources, including bovine and ovine sources. Additionally, other collagen matrices are known, for example lamina propria and stratum compactum.
It is also known to use a vacuum treatment bandage for accelerating wound healing. A vacuum bandage is a bandage having a cover for sealing about the outer perimeter of the wound and under which a vacuum is established to act on the wound surface. This vacuum applied to the wound surface accelerates healing of chronic wounds. Typically, suction tubes are provided for drawing exudate away from the wound, and the suction tubes may be used to create the vacuum under the cover. If the cover is a flexible cover, which is typically more comfortable for the patient, a porous packing may be provided under the cover to provide the space in which the vacuum is formed. Additionally, it is known a heater within a wound treatment apparatus to promote healing. The following U.S. Pat. Nos. establish the nature of vacuum and/or heat treatment bandages and devices: U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,095,992, 6,080,189, 6,071,304, 5,645,081, 5,636,643, 5,358,494, 5,298,015, 4,969,880, 4,655,754, 4,569,674, 4,382,441, and 4,112,947. All of such references are incorporated herein by reference for purposes of disclosing the nature of such vacuum or heat treatment of wounds.
As shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,645,081 (hereinafter the '081 patent), a method of treating tissue damage is provided by applying negative pressure to a wound. The negative pressure is provided in sufficient duration and magnitude to promote tissue migration in order to facilitate the closure of the wound. FIG. 1 of the '081 patent discloses an open cell polyester foam section covering the wound, a flexible hollow tube inserted into the foam section at one end and attached to a vacuum pump at another end, an adhesive sheet overlying the foam section, and tubing to adhere to the skin surrounding the wound in order to form a seal that allows the creation of a vacuum when the suction pump is operating. The '081 patent further teaches use of negative pressure between about 0.1 and 0.99 atmospheres, and that the pressure can be substantially continuous, wherein the pressure is relieved only to change the dressing on the wound. Alternatively, the '081 patent teaches use of a cyclic application of pressure in alternating periods of application and non-application. In a preferred embodiment, pressure is applied in 5 minute periods of application and non-application.
The following pending applications, assigned to the same assignee as the present application is licensed, are also specifically incorporated herein by reference: U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/369,113 filed Aug. 5, 1999 and titled Wound Treatment Apparatus, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,458,109, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/725,352 filed Nov. 29, 2000 and titled Vacuum Therapy and Cleansing Dressing for Wounds, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,685,681, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/725,666 filed Nov. 29, 2000 and titled Wound Treatment Apparatus, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,755,807.
Various of prior art references teach the value of the vacuum bandage or the provision of vacuum to the surface of a chronic wound. Several Russian language articles exist that establish the efficacy of vacuum therapy. Examples of such prior art articles, each of which discusses the use of application of vacuum to a wound to promote healing, are as follows: Vacuum therapy in the treatment of acute suppurative diseases of soft tissues and suppurative wound, Davydov, et al. Vestn. Khir., September 1988 ("the September 1988 article"); Pathenogenic mechanism of the effect of vacuum therapy on the course of the wound process, Davydov, et al. Khirurigiia, June 1990 ("the June 1990 article"); and Vacuum therapy in the treatment of suppurative lactation mastitis, Davydov, et al., Vestn. Khir., November 1986 ("the November 1986 article").
The Russian articles distinguish wound drainage from use of vacuum therapy for healing, and they report that vacuum therapy results in faster cleansing of the wound and more rapid detoxification than with the traditional incision-drainage method. The November 1986 article describes the vacuum therapy protocol as 0.8-1.0 atmosphere for 20 minutes at the time of surgery, and subsequent 1.5 to 3 hour treatments at a vacuum of 0.1 to 0.15 atmosphere, twice daily. These Russian articles teach that use of negative pressure accelerates healing. The Russian articles further teach using this vacuum method to decrease the number of microbes in the wound. The June 1990 article teaches that vacuum therapy provides a significant antibacterial effect. The June 1990 article describes the stepped up inflow of blood to the zone around the wound, which leads to an increase in the number of leukocytes reaching the focus of inflammation. Moreover, the Russian articles teach improvement of local blood circulation using vacuum therapy. The September 1988 article teaches improved inflow of blood into the wound zone, which intensifies the repair processes. The June 1990 article teaches that vacuum therapy promotes mobilization of blood plasma, intertissue fluid, and lymph into the wound. The June 1990 article reports that cellular and non-cellular elements of connective tissue appear twice as quickly in wounds treated with vacuum therapy. Subsequent articles and patents further develop the benefits obtained with vacuum therapy. The prior art, therefore, teaches the benefit and value of a vacuum bandage.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Combination SIS and vacuum bandage and method