A mixture of materials can be used within a layer of an electronic device to improve electrical and physical properties of the layer. In one set of embodiments, the layer can be a dielectric layer, such as a gate dielectric layer or a capacitor dielectric layer. The dielectric layer can include O, and two or more dissimilar metallic elements. In one specific embodiment, two dissimilar elements may have the same single oxidation state and be miscible within each other. In one embodiment, the dielectric layer can include an alloy of (HfO2)(1-x)(ZrO2)x, wherein x is between 0 and 1. Each of Hf and Zr has a single oxidation state of +4. Other combinations are possible. Improved electrical and physical properties can include better control over grain size, distribution of grain sizes, thickness of the layer across a substrate, improved carrier mobility, threshold voltage stability, or any combination thereof.

1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to dielectric layers, electronic devices, and processes, and more particularly to a dielectric layer including a metallic oxide, an electronic device comprising the dielectric layer, and an electronic device including a layer that includes grains.
2. Description of the Related Art
State-of-the-art metal-insulator-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MISFETs) require gate dielectric layers having a relatively high dielectric constant ("high-k"). For the purposes of this specification, a high-k material has a dielectric constant higher than silicon nitride, which is approximately seven. One such material is HfO2. A MISFET having an HfO2 gate dielectric layer suffers from a relatively lower mobility of carriers within the MISFET's channel region and degraded reliability.
One attempt to address the shortcomings of an HfO2 gate dielectric layer is to use a laminated gate dielectric layer that includes separate films. A laminated gate dielectric layer typically has an interface between each of the films within the gate dielectric layer. The interface(s) are undesired because they are more likely to have defects, trapped charge, or a combination thereof at the interface(s) as opposed to a gate dielectric layer that is not a laminate.
Another attempt to address the shortcomings of a high-k gate dielectric layer is to include one or more impurities within the gate dielectric layer. An HfO2 layer may include a divalent or a trivalent impurity. Alternatively, ZrO2 layer include the divalent or the trivalent impurity. The divalent or trivalent impurity typically has chemical and physical properties significantly different from hafnium and zirconium. Therefore, adding a divalent or trivalent impurity to HfO2 or ZrO2 is undesired.
Hafnium and zirconium have similar chemical and physical properties. Separating the two from each other can be difficult. Therefore, hafnium typically includes at least trace amounts of zirconium. Such trace amounts can approach 0.067 atomic % Zr when compared to the sum of the hafnium and zirconium atoms present.
Skilled artisans appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help improve understanding of embodiments of the invention.

Electronic device including dielectric layer, and a process for forming the electronic device


A method for producing a water absorbent resin by polymerizing a water-soluble monomer having a polymerizable unsaturated group (A) and a crosslinking agent (B) as the essential components by radical polymerization in the presence of water or, polymerizing a water-soluble monomer having an unsaturated group (A) and a crosslinking agent (B) by radical-graft copolymerization with a water-soluble polymer (C) as the backbone polymer in the presence of water, wherein a water-based solid material capable of being endothermally fused or dissolved into water (D) is added when initiating the polymerization, with at least a part of the water-based solid material (D) in a solid state. By the method of the present invention, a water absorbent resin having a high molecular weight and a high absorption capacity with little water-soluble component can be obtained with ease.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method for producing water absorbent resins, and more specifically, to a polymerization method for producing water absorbent resins having excellent absorption ability.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In general, the absorption ability of a water absorbent resin comprising a polymer of a water soluble monomer having a polymerizable unsaturated group as the main chain increases as the molecular weight of the main chain becomes larger. In order to provide a water absorbent resin having a high molecular weight by polymerizing a water soluble monomer and a crosslinking agent with a small amount of a polymerization initiator to an appropriate concentration, a rise in the temperature of the polymerizable monomer solution resulting from the polymerization heat should be avoided.
To realize a high molecular weight by avoiding the rise in temperature, methods of polymerizing while eliminating heat using a special polymerizing device to facilitate cooling off of the hydrogel obtained by the polymerization have been proposed, such as a method of polymerizing in a sheet form or a method of facilitating the cooling efficiency by the use of a device to stir for increasing the surface area to be cooled while pulverizing the proposed in JP-B-2-14361 and JP-A-4-175319.
However, in the above mentioned conventional production methods, heat elimination is not efficient enough to provide a water absorbent resin having a sufficiently high molecular weight. Thus, there have been problems including difficulty in producing a water absorbent resin having a good absorption ability and the need of a complicated production device.

Method for preparing water absorbent resin


A microscope includes: a first light dividing part that divides a light flux of light from a light source into a first pump light flux and a second pump light flux; a Stokes light source that receives the second pump light flux as an input and outputs a Stokes light flux; a multiplexing part that multiplexes the first pump light flux and the Stokes light flux to generate a multiplexed light flux; a first light-collecting part that collects the multiplexed light flux in a sample; a first detector that detects CARS light generated from the sample, the CARS light having a wavelength different from the multiplexed light flux; a second light dividing part that lets at least one of the second pump light flux and the Stokes light flux branch partially as a reference light flux; a second multiplexing part that multiplexes a light flux from the sample and the reference light flux to generate interfering light; and a second detector that detects the interfering light.

Optical microscopes are, needless to say, observation tools that are indispensable in the field of natural science, engineering and industries. Especially a high-performance microscope including a laser as an illumination light source has been recently essential for the development of advanced technology. A typical example of such a microscope is a fluorescence confocal microscope, which is widely used in combination with fluorescent reagent in the field of medicine and biology as means to observe the spatial distribution of a specific substance in a biological sample. Coupled with a sophisticated short-pulse laser light source becoming available in recent years, techniques for a non-linear optical microscope based on non-linear optical effects have been developed, and needs therefor in the field of medicine and biology have been grown noticeably. Known examples of such a non-linear optical microscope (or non-linear microscope) include a two-photon fluorescence microscope (Non Patent Literature 1), a SHG microscope (Non Patent Literature 2), a coherent anti-stokes Raman scattering (CARS) microscope (Non Patent Literature 3), and a stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) microscope (Non Patent Literature 4). For instance, a two-photon fluorescence microscope allows a small wavelength band less absorbing the sample to be selected as laser light to be applied to the sample, and so imaging is enabled at a deep part as compared with a conventional fluorescence confocal microscope. A SHG microscope is to observe second harmonics from the sample, which can detect the fiber structure of collagen or the like and a specific structure such as cell membrane selectively. A CARS microscope is configured to irradiate a sample with two types of lights including pump light and Stokes light, and to observe anti-Stokes light generated as a result of the resonance of the frequency difference between these lights with the natural vibration of the molecules of the sample. Based on the distribution of wavelength and intensity of the anti-Stokes light, the spatial distribution of a specific substance in the sample can be observed, and so this technique has attracted attention as a labeling-free and non-invasive microscope as a substitute of a fluorescence microscope. A SRS microscope is configured to irradiate a sample with pump light and Stokes light similarly to the CARS microscope, and to observe the natural vibration of the substance in the form of a change in intensity of these two types of lights, which also is a non-invasive microscope like the CARS microscope. In this way, a non-linear optical microscope can provide various sophisticated observation means, which cannot be implemented with conventional microscopes.
The following describes the operating principle of the CARS microscope. CARS is the emission of light due to third-order polarization, and in order to generate CARS, pump light, Stokes light and probe light are required. Typically in order to reduce the light sources in number, the pump light doubles as the probe light. In this case, induced third-order polarization will be represented by [Math. 1]:PAS(3)(ωAS)=|χr(3)(ωAS)+χnr(3)|EP2(ωP)E*S(ωS)  [Math. 1]
In this expression, χr(3)(ωAS) is the resonant term of the molecule vibrations of third-order electric susceptibility, and χnr(3) is the non-resonant term. EP represents the electric field of the pump light and the probe light, and ES represents the electric field of the Stokes light. The non-resonant term does not have frequency-dependency. Asterisk attached to the shoulder of ES in [Math. 1] denotes a complex conjugate. Then the intensity of CARS light is represented as follows:ICARS(ωAS)∝|PAS(3)(ωAS)|2  [Math. 2]
Referring to the energy level diagram (FIG. 14) of molecules, the following describes the mechanism to generate CARS light. This drawing illustrates the process for the resonant term. Numeral 1401 denotes the ground state of molecule vibrations, and 1402 denotes the excitation state of vibrations. Pump light at a frequency ωP and Stokes light at a frequency ωS are applied simultaneously. At this time, molecules are excited to some excitation level of vibrations in 1402 via an intermediate state 1403. When the molecules in such an excitation state are irradiated with the probe light at a frequency ωP, then the molecules return to the ground state of vibrations while emitting CARS light at a frequency of ωAS via an intermediate state 1404. The frequency of the CARS light at this time is represented as ωAS=2·ωP−ωS.
As is evident from FIG. 14, this resonant CARS light is generated only when the difference in frequency ωP−ωS between the pump light and the Stokes light is equal to a certain vibration excitation state of the sample observed (Note here that Planck units are used here, where the Planck constant is 1). That is, when a broadband light source is used for the Stokes light, then the CARS light generated also becomes broadband light, and has a spectrum having a sharp peak at the wavelength corresponding to the vibration excitation state. This spectrum is called Raman spectrum, which reflects the spatial distribution of vibration excitation state of the molecules in the sample, and so can be used for identification of the molecular species.
FIG. 15 illustrates one process relating to the non-resonant term in Math. 1. The Stokes light has the frequency that is not in the vibration excitation state, and the process occurs via an intermediate state 1405. When the pump light at the frequency ωP and probe light at a frequency ω′P are applied simultaneously, then the intermediate state 1405 involving electrons or the like is excited, and when Stokes light at a frequency of ω′P is further applied, non-resonant CARS light at a frequency of ωAS is generated via an intermediate state 1406. This non-resonant CARS light is generated irrespective of the vibration excitation state, and so when broadband Stokes light is used, broadband non-resonant CARS light is generated, whose intensity does not have frequency-dependency. These resonant CARS light and non-resonant CARS light are mutually coherent, and so interference occurs therebetween. Since the spectrum of the resonant CARS light, i.e., the Raman spectrum, actually is required to identify the molecular species in the sample, signal processing has to be performed to acquire the Raman spectrum from the CARS light spectra acquired. Some methods are known for such signal processing (see Non Patent Literature 5), and for example, in the method of maximum entropy that is to recover a phase spectrum from the intensity spectrum, mathematical operation is performed to find the complex component of the resonant term.
The pump light, the Stokes light and the CARS light have a relationship for frequency as in FIG. 16. When the pump light at a predetermined frequency and the Stokes light in a frequency area smaller than that are incident on the sample, then CARS light is generated in a frequency area that is larger than the pump light.
The CARS microscope is configured to measure the thus found Raman spectrum a plurality of times while changing the focusing position of the pump light and the Stokes light, and acquire an image of the spatial distribution for each molecular species as a result.


An arrangement for providing passive alignment between an optical fiber and the “tip” of a nanotaper coupling waveguide (the nanotaper formed within the SOI layer of an SOI-based optoelectronic arrangement). The arrangement includes a separate fiber carrier support element, including a longitudinal V-groove for supporting the fiber and an alignment feature formed parallel thereto. The SOI structure is formed to include an associated alignment slot, so that as the fiber carrier is positioned over and attached to the SOI structure, the alignment feature and alignment slot will mate together and provide passive alignment of the optical fiber to the nanotaper waveguide tip.

One of the most promising types of optical coupling into/out of "thin" optical waveguides formed within the surface layer of a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) structure has been defined as an "inverse taper", or "nanotaper". An inverse taper is generally defined as a terminating portion of a core of a high index contrast waveguide that is used to effectuate optical coupling between a fiber (or other type of optical transmitting device) and a thin waveguide. In a typical device construction, the lateral dimension of the portion of the nanotaper proximate to the core of the waveguide approximately matches the width of the core. The lateral dimension of the nanotaper decreases monotonically along the direction of light propagation until it reaches a small value associated with a 'tip" (i.e., that portion of the nanotaper distal from the core of the waveguide). The tip portion represents the point at which light first enters the high index contrast waveguide for an "entry" nanotaper, or the point at which light first exits the waveguide for an "exit" nanotaper.
Consequently, the ability to align an associated optical fiber (or an optical fiber with associated coupling elements, such as a lens) with such a small-dimensioned coupling arrangement has proved to be problematic. For the most part, "active" alignment techniques have been employed, where an optical signal is passed through an optical fiber and into the tip of a nanotapered waveguide structure. The optical coupling efficiency (measured as a function of the optical power received at a given point along the waveguide) is used as a calibration signal, where the position of the fiber endface with respect to the tip of the nanotaper is manipulated until maximum coupling efficiency is achieved.
While this "active" method has been found to provide the desired result, it would be preferable for such alignment to be achieved in a "passive" manner; that is, without the need to illuminate the fiber, measure signals and perform adjustments in real time. Thus, a need remains in the art for a passive arrangement for providing coupling between an optical fiber and a nanotapered coupling waveguide as utilized within an SOI-based optical structure.

Passive fiber alignment arrangement for coupling to nano-taper optical waveguides


The present invention is directed to an in situ reservoir recovery process that uses a horizontal well located near the top of a reservoir and an inclined production well to extract bitumen or heavy oil from a reservoir. In a first stage, the top well is used for cold production of reservoir fluids to the surface, in which, reservoir fluids are pumped to the surface in the absence of stimulation by steam or other thermal and/or solvent injection. A lower production well is drilled into the formation below the top well. The top well is converted to an injection well or, if no cold production then a top well is drilled as an injector well. A portion of the bottom well is inclined so that one end of the incline is closer to the injector well than the other end of the incline. In the process, steam circulation creates a heated zone at the point of the two wells that are closest together in the reservoir.

There are several commercial recovery technologies that are currently used to recover in situ heavy oil or bitumen from tar sands reservoirs. In current practice, in situ technologies are used to recover heavy oil or bitumen from deposits that are buried more deeply than about 70 m below which it is no longer economic to obtain hydrocarbon by current surface mining technologies. Most commercial in situ processes can recover between about 10 and 60% of the original hydrocarbon in place depending on the operating conditions of the in situ process and the geology of the heavy oil or bitumen reservoir. The impact of variations of oil phase viscosity has been demonstrated by using detailed and advanced reservoir simulation. In addition to permeability, porosity, and oil saturation heterogeneity, oil phase viscosity variations add another complicating and sometimes process dominating feature for producing heavy oil and bitumen reservoirs.
The Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,344,485 (Butler) is used by many operators in heavy oil and bitumen reservoirs. In this method, two horizontal wells, drilled substantially parallel to each other, are positioned in the reservoir to recover hydrocarbons. The top well is the injection well and is located between 5 and 10 meters above the bottom well. The bottom well is the production well and typically located between 1 and 3 meters above the base of the oil reservoir. In the process, steam, injected through the top well, forms a vapour phase chamber that grows within the oil formation. The injected steam reaches the edges of the depletion chamber and delivers latent heat to the tar sand. The oil phase is heated and as a consequence its viscosity decreases and the oil drains under the action of gravity within and along the edges of the steam chamber towards the production well. In the initial stages of the process, the chamber grows vertically. After the chamber reaches the top of the reservoir, it grows laterally. The reservoir fluids, heated oil and condensate, enter the production wellbore and are motivated, either by natural pressure or by pump, to the surface. The thermal efficiency of SAGD is measured by the steam (expressed as cold water equivalent) to oil ratio (SOR), that is CWE m3 steam/m3 oil. Typically, a process is considered thermally efficient if its cumulative SOR is between 2 and 3 or lower. There are many published papers and portions of books and regulatory applications that describe the successful design and operation of SAGD. A literature review shows that while SAGD appears to be technically effective at producing heavy oil or bitumen from high quality connected reservoirs, there remains a continued need for well configurations and processes that improve the SOR of SAGD. Currently, the major capital and operating costs of SAGD are tied to the steam generation and water handling, treatment, and recycling facilities.
A variant of SAGD is the Steam and Gas Push (SAGP) process developed by Butler (Thermal Recovery of Oil and Bitumen, Gray-Drain Inc., Calgary, Alberta, 1997}, In SAGP, steam and non-condensable gas are co-injected into the reservoir, and the non-condensable gas forms an insulating layer at the top of the steam chamber. This lowers the heat losses to the cap-rock and improves the thermal efficiency of the recovery process. The well configuration is the same as the standard SAGD configuration.
Examples of literature on design and operation of SAGD in the field include: Butler (Thermal Recovery of Oil and Bitumen, Gray-Drain Inc., Calgary, Alberta, 1997), Komery et al. (Paper 1998.214, Seventh UNITAR International Conference, Beijing, China, 1998), Saltuklaroglu et al. (Paper 99-25, CSPG and Petroleum Society Joint Convention, Calgary, Canada, 1999), Butler et al. (J. Can. Pet. Tech., 39(1): 18, 2000). Examples of literature describing oil composition and viscosity gradients in heavy and bitumen reservoirs include: Larter et al. (2006), Head et al. (2003) and Larter et al. (2003).
There are other examples of processes that use steam or solvent with different well configurations to recover heavy oil and bitumen.
The literature contains many examples of in situ methods to recover heavy oil or bitumen economically yet there is still a need for more thermally-efficient and cost-effective in situ heavy oil or bitumen recovery technologies, especially when considering the vertical and areal variations of viscosity in the reservoir. There is disclosed herein a method to recover heavy oil or bitumen from a heterogeneous viscosity reservoir in a manner that is more cost-effective and thermally-efficient than existing methods.

In Situ heavy oil and bitumen recovery process


An axle assembly is provided having a varying wall thickness resulting in an axle assembly that is lightweight yet has sufficient strength and stiffness. The axle assembly includes a tube disposed about a longitudinal axis and having first and second end portions and a center portion. The first and second end portions have a uniform wall thickness and the center portion has a wall thickness that is uniform at first and second axially spaced segments and a non-uniform wall thickness both between the axially spaced segments and between each of the axially spaced segments and the end portions.

1. Field of the Invention
The field of the present invention is that of axle tubes and axle assemblies for trailer axles, especially trailer axles associated with large over the road trucking vehicles.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Many axle assemblies for truck trailers are fabricated from a tubular center member. At each extreme end of the tube, there is frictionally welded thereto, a spindle. The spindle provides a platform for rotatably mounting the vehicle wheel and associated rotary gear thereto. In a center portion of the axle tube outer diameter, there is typically welded thereto, brake brackets. The vehicle suspension brackets interact with the axle tube between the brake brackets.
There are two major technical challenges to be met in providing an axle assembly. First, the axle assembly must be strong and stiff enough to support the vehicle and withstand the various loading imposed upon it while maintaining proper wheel alignment. Second, the axle assembly must meet the strength and stiffness requirements, yet be as light as possible to maximize the load capacity of the vehicle.


The disclosure relates to a method for determining position information of a motor vehicle, which has an inductive charging device with at least one charging coil, which is in particular situated in the region of the bottom of the vehicle, and a measurement means which is assigned to the charging coil to measure a magnetic field, the method having the following steps: magnetizing, by supplying current to the charging coil, at least one magnetic structure which is situated in or on a surface on which the motor vehicle drives, wherein the structure and further structures are stored together with a position indication for the respective structure in a digital map; measuring, using the measurement means, measurement data which describe the magnetic behavior of the structure; identifying the structure by evaluating the measurement data; and determining the position information depending on position indication assigned to the identified structure.

Many driver assistance functions in modern motor vehicles require relatively accurate position information which describes the current position of the motor vehicle, in particular geodetically. In particular, at least partially automatic vehicle guidance functions for autonomous guidance of the motor vehicle may be mentioned here. For these, it is extremely important, for example, to know exactly where on a road the motor vehicle is. Known positioning systems, such as GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite Systems) such as GPS (Global Positioning System), often still exhibit inaccuracies that may cause it to be unclear on which lane of a multi-lane road the motor vehicle is situated, and the like. Other known positioning or localization systems of motor vehicles often still have weaknesses in this regard, for example positioning systems using optical markers, positioning systems based on dead reckoning or combinations of the previously mentioned positioning systems.
In addition, motor vehicles have been proposed which have an inductive charging device for charging a battery assigned, for example, to an electric motor of the motor vehicle. Such an inductive charging device has at least one charging coil, which interacts with an induction unit at the bottom of the vehicle for energy transfer. The charging coil is usually associated with a measurement means for measuring magnetic fields, which can be used in particular to detect possibly flammable objects that are situated between the bottom induction unit and the charging coil, and interfere with the charging operation and/or can cause problems by igniting. In order to achieve an optimal energy transfer for charging the battery of the motor vehicle, the most accurate possible positioning of the motor vehicle relative to the bottom induction unit is useful, for which purpose, for example, radio-based localization methods and/or localization methods using optical markers have been proposed.
EP 0 067 337 B1 relates to the arrangement of a magnetic field probe on a vehicle intended to determine the horizontal components of the earth's magnetic field at the respective location. It is proposed there to attach the probe directly to a ferromagnetic outer wall of the body and to connect it rigidly thereto in order to reduce interactions with the ferromagnetic body.
For determining position information of a motor vehicle by means of magnetic structures, reference is also made to DE 33 07 123 C2, U.S. Pat. No. 4,529,982 A, JP H09-292 236 A and JP 2001-325691 A.

Method for determining position information of a motor vehicle, and motor vehicle


A method of measuring the coefficient of thermal expansion of a ceramic material, including the steps of applying a glaze to a substantially densified refractory body, wherein the coefficient of thermal expansion of either the glaze or the body is known, bonding the glaze to the body, putting the glaze insufficient tension to induce crazing, measuring the average distance between cracks in the crazed glaze; and determining the unknown coefficient of thermal expansion of the glaze or body.

Thermal expansion coefficients (C.T.E.s) are characteristics of ceramic and/or refractory bodies, glazes, and glasses that are critically important for many applications, both traditional and advanced. In the case of traditional ceramics, the thermal expansion mismatch between the body and its glaze is tailored to place the glaze layer into compression, thus strengthening both the body and the glaze. For glazed ceramic materials, the C.T.E. of the glaze is usually less than the C.T.E. of the underlying body such that on cooling, the glaze contracts less than the underlying body and is thus placed in compression. Correspondingly, the underlying body is placed in tension. In general, when a glaze is in compression, the glaze is considered to "fit" the body. If the glaze has a greater C.T.E. than the body, the glaze is placed in tension and will crack on cooling forming the glaze defect of crazing. It is often assumed that glaze thickness contributes to crazing but the data to date does not support this assertion. It has also been proposed that crazing is related to thermal shock, but this is similarly not supported by the data.
Measuring the thermal expansion coefficient, however, is difficult due to a variety of factors ranging from material heterogeneities to instrumental problems. Current technology requires a bar or rod sample that is placed in an instrument and the change in length of the sample measured as a function of temperature; the slope of that line is the C.T.E. Throughout the industry, it is widely accepted that measurement of the thermal expansion coefficient, while often repeatable within a specific lab, is often not reproducible between labs. This casts doubt on the reliability of the data and makes the global use of the data problematic. In addition, C.T.E. measurement equipment is often both slow and quite expensive. In other words, current C.T.E. testing is expensive, slow and unreliable. Thus, a need remains for a relatively cheap, quick and reliable technique for determining the thermal expansion coefficient of a ceramic material. The present invention addresses this need.

Method for determining the thermal expansion coefficient of ceramic bodies and glazes


A process for preparing ethane derivatives containing the trifluoromethyl group in good yield is described which is carried out in liquid phase and is particularly suitable for preparing CF.sub.3 CHCl.sub.2 (R123).

This invention relates to a process for preparing ethane derivatives containing the trifluoromethyl group corresponding to the formula CF.sub.3 CHYZ, in which Y and Z may be the same or different and are hydrogen, chlorine or bromine or fluorine.
Perhalogenated organic compounds which are used as refrigerants, degreasing agents, lubricants and release agents or in the production of plastic foams, are increasingly being replaced by hydrogen-containing halogenated organic compounds.
One class of compounds highly suitable as substitutes for perhalogenated organic compounds is that of trifluoromethyl-containing ethane derivatives corresponding to the formula CF.sub.3 CHYZ in which Y and Z may be the same or different and are hydrogen, fluorine, chlorine or bromine.
Compounds of this type can be prepared by halogen/fluorine exchange which is usually a chlorine/fluorine exchange. One disadvantage of known preparation processes is the poor yield. Furthermore, undesirable perhalogenated by-products are often also formed.
However, the industrial preparation of these compounds is not without problems. The reason for this is that the more highly halogenated compounds are relatively inert towards chemical reactions.
Processes for preparing CF.sub.3 CHCl.sub.2 are known. One preparation of CF.sub.3 CHCl.sub.2 in the liquid phase is described in A. E. Feiring, J. Fluor. Chem., Vol. 13, pp. 7-18 (1979). There, fluorotetrachloroethane is reacted with hydrogen fluoride in the liquid phase in the presence of tantalum pentafluoride catalyst. The yield of CF.sub.3 CHCl.sub.2 is about 10%. Starting from tetrachloroethylene, the preparation is only possible with one single catalyst, namely again with tantalum pentafluoride, but in a yield of only 2%.
A gas phase process considered the only industrially useful process for preparing CF.sub.3 CHCl.sub.2 is described European Patent Application No. EP 282,005. The preparation of CF.sub.3 CHCl.sub.2 is carried out at temperatures of 320.degree. to 360.degree. C. by reacting tetrachloroethylene with hydrogen fluoride on aluminum fluoride/chromium oxide catalysts. The degree of conversion and yield in this process are unsatisfactory, and the energy consumption naturally very high.

Process for preparing ethane derivatives

by Sara Fernschild, legal representative


A new and distinct cultivar of Impatiens plant named ‘Balfafbricol’ characterized by its bright coral-colored flowers, medium green-colored foliage, and vigorous, trailing growth habit.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Impatiens plant botanically known as Impatiens×hybrida and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name 'Balfafbricol'.
The new cultivar originated in a controlled breeding program in Illinois during November 2002. The objective of the breeding program was the development of Impatiens cultivars with numerous large flowers, attractive flower colors and freely basal branching, trailing growth habit.
The new cultivar is an irradiation induced sport of 'Balfafusia', U.S. Plant Pat. No. 12,588, characterized by its bright purple-colored flowers, dark green-colored foliage, and semi-trailing growth habit. The irradiation occurred on Nov. 5, 2002. The new cultivar was discovered and selected on May 27, 2003 in a controlled environment at Arroyo Grande, Calif.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal stem cuttings since May 2003 at Arroyo Grande, Calif. and West Chicago, Ill. has demonstrated that the new cultivar reproduces true to type with all characteristics, as herein described, firmly fixed and retained through successive generations of such asexual propagation.


A method of designing a semiconductor integrated circuit includes: generating a layout data indicating a layout; and generating a mask data based on the layout data. The generating the mask data includes: referring to the layout data to extract a parameter that specifies a layout pattern around a target transistor included in the semiconductor integrated circuit, wherein the parameter includes at least a width of a device isolation structure around the target transistor; correcting a gate length and a gate width of the target transistor to offset a variation of a characteristic of the target transistor from a design value, the variation depending on the extracted parameter; and generating the mask data from the layout data in which the gate length and the gate width are corrected.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a design technique for a semiconductor integrated circuit. In particular, the present invention relates to a design technique in which layout around an element is considered.
2. Description of Related Art
Characteristics of a transistor depend on "device parameters" such as gate length L, gate width W, mobility μ, threshold voltage Vt and the like. When the transistor is actually manufactured, those device parameters are likely to vary from design values. The variations of the device parameters from the design values lead to variations of the transistor characteristics from expected values. It is therefore important to sufficiently consider variation factors of the device parameters at circuit design, verification and manufacturing stages.
For example, a typical variation factor of a gate size (L and W) is OPE (Optical Proximity Effect) in photolithography processes. Due to the OPE, a resist pattern may not be formed as intended, which causes deviations of interconnection width and gate size from the design values. In particular, the variation from the design value caused by the OPE becomes more conspicuous with increasing miniaturization of semiconductor manufacturing processes. Also, the OPE becomes remarkable in a case of a high pattern density. Therefore, OPC (Optical Proximity Correction) is generally performed, in which the OPE is estimated to correct a mask data in advance (refer to US Publication 2007/0033558, for example).
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application JP-2003-23080 discloses a technique to change a buffer cell depending on cell density in order to obtain a desired chip speed. More specifically, plural types of buffer cells having different driving capability are first prepared, and then driving capability of a buffer cell is changed at a layout design stage depending on the cell density.
Moreover, a layout pattern (or structure) surrounding a transistor can affect device parameters and characteristics of the transistor. Such a peripheral factor affecting the characteristics includes: (1) gate pitch; (2) well proximity effect; and (3) STI stress, for example.
(1) The gate pitch is an interval between a gate of a transistor and a gate of the adjacent transistor. The gate pitch affects, for example, ion dose in an ion injection process. It is known that ON-current becomes larger as the gate pitch becomes smaller while ON-current becomes smaller as the gate pitch becomes larger.
(2) The well proximity effect is described, for example, in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application JP-2007-36249. More specifically, in a well ion injection process, a part of the injection ions collide with an edge of a resist pattern to be scattered. The scattered ions intrude into an active region of the transistor, which varies the threshold voltage Vt from the design value. This is the well proximity effect. The influence of the well proximity effect becomes larger, as an interval between an edge of the well and an edge of the active region becomes smaller.
(3) The STI stress, which is stress imposed on a transistor from an STI (Shallow Trench Isolation) that is a device isolation structure, affects the mobility μ in a channel (refer to Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application JP-2006-178907) When a width of the STI becomes narrower, the STI stress is increased, and thereby the mobility μ and the ON-current are changed.
As described above, a peripheral pattern (peripheral structure) around a transistor causes variation of the transistor characteristics from the design values. That is to say, the transistor characteristics have "peripheral pattern dependence". If the peripheral pattern is different between transistors, the characteristics of the transistors after manufacturing may become different, even if the transistors have the same design. It is therefore important to consider the peripheral pattern dependence of transistor at the semiconductor integrated circuit design and verification stages.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application JP-2006-178907 discloses a method of circuit simulation in which the STI width is considered. According to the circuit simulation, the mobility μ which is one of model parameters of a transistor is corrected depending on the STI width. More specifically, an approximate expression that expresses a relationship between the STI width and the mobility μ is created beforehand based on actually measured values or the like. Prior to the circuit simulation, a designed STI width (design value) is extracted based on the circuit layout. Then, the mobility μ as the model parameter is corrected by using the extracted STI width and the above-mentioned approximate expression. After that, the circuit simulation is performed by using the corrected model parameter. Consequently, the transistor characteristics dependent on the STI width are considered and accuracy of the circuit simulation is improved.
In this context, a tool is commercially available that modulates (corrects) a SPICE netlist used in a SPICE simulation in consideration of the peripheral pattern dependence. The tool is hereinafter referred to as "pattern dependence consideration tool".
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining a function of the pattern dependence consideration tool. First, a model (e.g. Δμ=f(X)) that expresses a relationship between graphical information (e.g. STI width X) and modulation amount (e.g. Δμ) of a SPICE model parameter is created through evaluation of TEG (Test Element Group). After that, the SPICE simulation of a cell is performed.
Prior to the SPICE simulation, the pattern dependence consideration tool reads a SPICE netlist (pre-modulation cell netlist) of a target cell and a layout data (cell layout data) of the target cell. Subsequently, the pattern dependence consideration tool extracts the graphical information (X) from the cell layout data, and rewrites (modulates) the SPICE model parameter included in the pre-modulation cell netlist with reference to the above-mentioned model (Δμ=f(X)). As a result, a post-modulation cell netlist that is a SPICE netlist after the rewriting is generated. In the SPICE simulation, the post-modulation cell netlist output from the pattern dependence consideration tool is used. Since the peripheral pattern dependence of transistor is reflected in the SPICE netlist, the simulation accuracy is dramatically improved. It should be noted that the SPICE model parameter to be modulated is not limited to the mobility μ but can include the gate length L, the gate width W, the threshold voltage Vt or the like.
Next, a method of designing and verifying a semiconductor integrated circuit by utilizing the pattern dependence consideration tool will be described with reference to FIG. 2. The pattern dependence consideration tool is used at a cell characterization stage. As mentioned above, the pattern dependence consideration tool rewrites the pre-modulation cell netlist based on the cell layout data to generate the post-modulation cell netlist. After that, the SPICE simulation is performed by using the post-modulation cell netlist, and a delay value (expected value) of the cell is calculated. At this time, a gate size and the like of the transistor are set to corner values in consideration of manufacturing variability. As a result, cell delay values corresponding to the manufacturing variability can be obtained. A corner delay value is extracted from the calculated cell delay values, and a cell delay library that provides the corner delay value is generated. In this manner, the cell characterization is performed.
At the design/verification stage, a placement and routing tool performs cell placement and routing based on a netlist of a design circuit. As a result, a layout data indicating layout of the design circuit is generated. Next, a delay calculation tool reads the netlist, the generated layout data and the above-mentioned cell delay library, and calculates delay values in the design circuit. More specifically, the delay calculation tool calculates delay values of inter-cell interconnections, based on RC extracted from the layout data. The cell delay values (corner delay values) of cells are obtained from the cell delay library. Thus, a delay file indicating the cell delay values and path delay values is generated.
Next, delay verification (timing verification) of the design circuit is performed. More specifically, the STA tool performs an STA (Static Timing Analysis) based on the netlist and the generated delay file. If the verification result is "FAIL", the above-described placement and routing process is performed again to modify the layout data. The same processing is repeated until the verification result becomes "PASS".
With regard to the method shown in FIG. 2, there are the following problems. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram for explaining the problems, showing one example of a cell layout used at the characterization stage. As an example, let us consider a primitive cell such as a NAND gate, an inverter or the like. The cell shown in FIG. 3 has PMOS transistors P1 to P3 and NMOS transistors N1 to N4 which are formed in a region sandwiched between a power supply line VDD and a ground line GND. The PMOS transistor P1 has diffusion regions PD1 and PD2 that are in contact with an STI. The PMOS transistors P2 has diffusion regions PD3 and PD4 that are in contact with the STI. A distance between diffusion regions of the respective PMOS transistors P1 and P2 that are placed adjacent to each other, namely, a distance X2 between the diffusion regions PD2 and PD3 is the "STI width".
According to the method shown in FIG. 2, the pattern dependence consideration tool extracts the graphical information (e.g. STI width X) from the cell layout data to calculate the modulation amount (e.g. Δμ) of the SPICE model parameter. As to the PMOS transistor P2 shown in FIG. 3, the peripheral layout pattern (e.g. STI width X2) is already known and thus the SPICE model parameter can be modulated. As to the PMOS transistor P1 placed at the outermost of the cell, on the contrary, not all peripheral layout pattern is known at the characterization stage where surrounding cells (cells on the left and right sides) are not placed yet. In FIG. 3, for example, an STI width X1 on the left side of the PMOS transistor P1 is not known at the characterization stage but becomes known at the subsequent cell placement process. Therefore, it is not possible to module the SPICE model parameter of the PMOS transistor P1 prior to the SPICE simulation. The same applies to the PMOS transistor P3, the NMOS transistors N1 and N4.
In this manner, with regard to a transistor placed at an inward area of the cell, it is possible by the above-described method to consider the peripheral pattern dependence in the SPICE simulation. However, with regard to the outermost transistor placed near the cell boundary, it is not possible to consider the peripheral pattern dependence in the SPICE simulation since the peripheral layout pattern is unknown. In other words, the peripheral pattern dependence cannot be fully considered at least with respect to the characteristics of the outermost transistor. Since the transistor characteristics affect the cell delay value, it cannot be said that the peripheral pattern dependence is fully considered in the generated cell delay library. Consequently, it cannot be said that the accuracy of the delay verification (STA) is sufficient. This contributes to reduction of yield and reliability of the semiconductor integrated circuit to be manufactured.
In view of the above-described problems, the following two new methods are suggested as alternatives to the method shown in FIG. 2.
According to the first method, types of cells adjacent to a target cell are assumed at the characterization stage for the target cell. The pattern dependence consideration tool modulates the cell netlist based on layout data of the assumed adjacent cells in addition to the cell layout data of the target cell. The resultant post-modulation cell netlist is used in the SPICE simulation so that the cell delay value of the target cell is calculated. The same processing is repeated with setting the adjacent cell type variously (for each of prepared types). As a result, plural kinds of cell delay values corresponding to respective combinations of the adjacent cells are obtained. Then, the cell delay library is generated based on the obtained plural kinds of cell delay values. The peripheral pattern dependence of the outermost transistors in the cell is considered in the generated cell delay library. However, the time (TAT) required for the cell characterization is increased as compared with that in the method shown in FIG. 2.
Furthermore, the first method is disadvantageous in that the corner condition of the cell delay value becomes stricter as compared with that in the method shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 schematically shows the corner condition (corner delay value) provided by the cell delay library. According to the method shown in FIG. 2, a delay value distribution corresponding to only the normal manufacturing variability is obtained. According to the first method, on the contrary, the various types of adjacent cells are assumed and thus a plurality of delay value distributions having different center delay values are obtained. Therefore, a variability range of the delay value of each cell is expanded as compared with the case where the adjacent cells are not assumed. That is to say, a "margin" corresponding to the difference of the combination of adjacent cells is further added to the variability range of the delay value of each cell. This means that the corner condition (corner delay value) becomes stricter.
At the circuit design/verification stage, it is necessary to perform the layout design such that the design circuit can operate even in the corner condition. In other words, it is necessary to repeat the layout design and delay verification until the design circuit operates in the corner condition. Therefore, when the corner condition becomes stricter, the number of the repetition times is inevitably increased and thus the time (TAT) required for the circuit design/verification is increased. Moreover, since the margin is added to the cell delay value such that every adjacent cell types can be supported, it is necessary to increase driving capability of transistors and/or to additionally insert redundant cells. This leads to increase in a chip area and power consumption. According to the first method, as described above, the design/verification TAT, chip area and power consumption are increased although the peripheral pattern dependence is fully considered.
According to the second method, the cell characterization is performed as in the case of the method shown in FIG. 2. As a result, the cell delay library in which the peripheral pattern dependence is partially considered is generated. After that, the pattern dependence consideration tool is utilized again at the circuit design/verification stage. More specifically, the pattern dependence consideration tool modulates the SPICE netlist of each cell with reference to the chip-level layout data generated in the placement and routing process. Subsequently, the SPICE simulation of each cell is performed again by using the post-modulation netlist, and a "difference (variation)" from the cell delay value given by the cell delay library is calculated. The calculated difference is reflected in the delay file. In this manner, the peripheral pattern dependence can be considered with regard to the outermost transistor in the cell.
The same processing is repeated for all cells (for example, millions of cells) included in the design circuit. That is to say, the modulation of the SPICE netlist and the SPICE simulation are executed for millions of times at the cell design/verification stage. Thus, the design/verification TAT is increased also in the second method, although the peripheral pattern dependence is fully considered.
According to the related techniques, as described above, while the peripheral pattern dependence is considered, the design/verification TAT is increased. A technique is desired which can prevent the increase in the design/verification TAT for the semiconductor integrated circuit, while considering the peripheral pattern dependence of the transistor characteristics sufficiently.

Method of designing semiconductor integrated circuit and mask data generation program


Techniques for organizing and grouping memory contents related to multicast routing so as to enable more efficient multicast operations. For PIM multicast routing, techniques are provided for organizing and grouping multicast routing information into data structures according to a plurality of dimensions such that multicast routing cache entries are accessible when performing a multicast routing operation by traversing the one or more data structures according to at least two of the dimensions.

The present disclosure relates to networking technologies, and more particularly to techniques for performing efficient multicast operations.
Multicast routing protocols are used to distribute data to multiple recipients. IP multicasting enables a sender device (or sender host) to send a packet to a set of recipients. The set of recipients is referred to as a multicast group and is represented by an IP address referred to as the multicast address. A multicast address thus corresponds to or represents a group of IP hosts that have joined the multicast group and want to receive packets whose destination address is the multicast address. By specifying a multicast address as the destination address for a packet (referred to as a multicast packet or multicast IP datagram), the packet is then delivered to the zero or more members (receivers) of the multicast group.
The membership of a multicast group is dynamic—hosts may join and leave multicast groups at any time. There is typically no restriction on the location or number of members in a multicast group. An IP host may be a member of more than one multicast group at a time. A host need not be a member of a group to be able to send multicast packets. Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) is an example of a protocol that facilitates formation and management of multicast groups. Hosts may use IGMP to join or leave multicast groups. Hosts may also use IGMP to advertise their membership in a multicast group.
Forwarding of multicast packets from senders to receivers is performed by a fabric of network devices (e.g., routers, switches) that execute a multicast routing protocol. For example, multicast routing may be performed using Protocol Independent Multicast (PIM), which is a collection of multicast routing protocols including protocols such as PIM Sparse-Mode, PIM dense Mode, Bi-directional PIM, and others. PIM and its variants provide a set of protocols that can be used by network devices such as routers providing multicast routing services to distribute information about multicast group membership.
Network devices such as routers that are configured to perform multicast routing are also referred to as multicast routers. A multicast router typically maintains multicast state information (also referred to as multicast information) that is used by the router to forward a multicast packet to its multicast group receivers. The multicast information can include PIM mcache information (also referred to as a multicast routing table) with multiple forwarding entries (referred to as mcache entries) that are cached by the router and are used to determine how a multicast packet is to be forwarded by the router.
For some networks, there may be tens of thousands of mcache entries. PIM mcache information is conventionally structured with hash tables and linked lists, such that all mcache entries that hash to the same hash bucket is further organized as a linked list. Because of this structure, with conventional multicast routing techniques, when an event occurs (e.g., a link goes down), all of the mcache entries need to be traversed to determine which particular mcache entries are affected by the event. This need to traverse all mcache entries can lead to significant inefficiency if the number of mcache entries affected is very small relative to the number of entries.


A wide magnetic field range measuring method includes the measurement step for a medium-and-large magnetic field and the measurement step for an extremely large magnetic field. In addition to that, the method further includes: Step 1: placing four orthogonally-configured magnetic resistance resistors into an external magnetic field and obtaining the resistance value of each magnetic resistance resistor; Step 2: substituting the resistance values of two mutually orthogonal magnetic resistance resistors into the measurement step for a medium-and-large magnetic field for calculation; if calculation process converges, then, determining that the external magnetic field as a medium-and-large magnetic field with the calculation result representing the magnetic field intensity and the direction of the medium-and-large magnetic field.

If the magnetic field to be measured is small (the magnetic field intensity is less than 0.1HAF, HAF is the anisotropy field of the free layer of the magnetic resistance resistor, and different magnetic resistance resistors are varied in HAF, the HAF is generally tens of Oe. Oe is the magnetic field strength unit, Oersted), a magnetic resistance resistor features good linearity and better measuring accuracy.
It is considered that, for the existing small magnetic field measuring method, the sensitivity is the highest in the hard axis direction of the magnetic resistance resistor (that is, the angle between the magnetic field direction and the easy axis direction is 90°). When the magnitude and direction of the magnetic field are calculated according to the resistance value of the magnetic resistance resistor, calculation is executed by taking this direction as the maximum sensitivity direction.
However, the study shows that the angle between the maximum sensitivity direction of the magnetic resistance resistor and the magnetic field is not 90°, which may be possibly offset by an angle. Therefore, the existing calculating model cannot measure small magnetic fields more accurately. A new measuring method of a small magnetic field needs to be provided based on our research findings.
Furthermore, the existing magnetic resistance resistor measuring model is difficult to measure a medium-and-large magnetic field (with the magnetic field intensity of about 4 to 6 HAF) because: 1) the magnetic resistance resistor sensing curve tends to be saturated from a linear relationship in a medium-and-large range, which is severely non-linear. It is necessary to establish a non-linear model for calculation; 2) the reference layer of the magnetic resistance resistor will rotate significantly. The influence of the reference layer must be considered; 3) it is possible that the magnetic resistance domain direction is irreversibly overturned. As a result, resistance value jump occurs, and two different branched sensing curves are formed.
If the external magnetic field is extremely large, the domain of the magnetic resistance reference layer will significantly rotate and the magnetic resistance resistor will enter the saturation region.
Therefore, the existing measuring method cannot accommodate the measurement of a large magnetic field range (with a magnetic field range of about 1 mOe, to 2.5 kOe). It is necessary to bring forward a new measuring method of a large magnetic field.

Wide magnetic field range measuring method and device

SICHUAN ENERGY INTERNET RESEARCH INSTITUTE, TSINGHUA UNIVERSITY


A cyber security appliance has modules that utilize probes to interact with entities in a cloud infrastructure environment (CIE). A cloud module can 1) use the information about relevant changes in the CIE fed from the probes, and 2) use machine learning models that are trained on a normal behavior of at least a first entity associated with the CIE; and thus, indicate when a behavior of the first entity falls outside of being a normal pattern of life. A cyber threat module can use machine learning models trained on cyber threats in the CIE and examine at least the behaviors of the first entity falling outside of the normal pattern of life to determine what is a likelihood of ‘a chain of unusual behaviors under analysis that fall outside of being the normal behavior’ is a cyber threat. An autonomous response module can cause actions to contain the cyber threat.

The reality is that modern threats bypass the traditional legacy defense tools on a daily basis. These tools need a new tool based on a new approach that can complement them and mitigate their deficiencies. In the complex modern world it is advantageous that the approach is fully automated as it is virtually impossible for humans to sift through the vast amount of security information gathered each minute within a digital business.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Cyber security appliance for a cloud infrastructure


The present invention is a method of measuring and reporting a product application rate for a mobile product applicator. Machine parameter data, such as the speed of the applicator and a measurement of an amount of crop product applied by the mobile product applicator, is collected. Based on the collected machine parameter data, an application rate is determined. The application rate is displayed on a visual display device, such as a computer screen, on-the-go in near real time.

This present invention relates generally to mobile product applicator machines, and more particularly to mobile product applicator machine having monitoring capability for measuring and reporting the output rate of selected products, e.g. waste products, being dispensed from the mobile product applicator machine.
Various mobile product applicator systems and associated methods of control have been suggested at one time or another, but in each instance, these systems leave something to be desired. For example, there is a need for a mobile product applicator machine that precisely and accurately measures and reports the amount of waste products being dispensed on-the-go and near real-time from the applicator machine whenever the machine traverses a product delivery area. The waste products management industry has not yet recognized the necessity for providing feedback regarding the actual amount of waste products applied. This problem has been totally ignored by the waste products management industry because the focus of this industry has been concentrated on machines and methods to adjust and control the rate of waste product application in contradistinction with machines and information feedback methods to accurately measure and report the actual amount of waste products dispensed on-the-go in near real-time.
Numerous different types of mobile product applicator systems are available today. These systems may include a pull type unit (towed) or a self-propelled unit. Presently, these systems do not provide a means to measure the rate of product output on-the-go in near real-time. Some of these systems do provide a way to adjust the application rate by means of a gate or by changing the rpm of the power unit driving the product applicator. As stated above, they do not provide any feedback as to the actual amount of product applied on-the-go. Typically, the application rate is controlled by adjusting the ground speed of the applicator and adjusting another variable such as gate height in order to apply a given amount of product over a specified area. Such an approach is time consuming and it requires some trial and error in order to determine the proper settings of the numerous variables involved (gate height, conveyor speed or others). It also results in application rates that are above or below the target rate. If these rates are too high due to mistakes in the machine settings, problems such as water and/or ground contamination may result.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,085,372, issued Feb. 4, 1992, to Martin, entitled Manure Spreaders, discloses one such waste (manure) spreader that uses a gate mechanism to control the rate of product application through a trial and error process. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,386,943, issued Feb. 7, 1995, to Peeters, entitled All Purpose V-Shaped Manure Spreader and U.S. Pat. No. 3,876,055, issued Apr. 8, 1975 entitled Farm Waste Material Handler, disclose waste product applicator machines that use a trial and error process to control the product application rate.
Machine and associated methods of accurately controlling the rate of product application have been developed. However, these machines and methods still lack the desirable operator feedback allowing the machine operator to have knowledge of actual waste product application rates measured on-the-go. U.S. Pat. No. 5,301,848 issued Apr. 12, 1994, to Conrad et al., entitled Electromagnetic Meter For Closed Dispensing Container discloses a metering device for controlling the flow rate of granular material through a conduit. U.S. Pat. No. 5,234,128, issued Aug. 10, 1993, to Hill entitled Aggregate Material Spreader, discloses a material spreader attached to a motor vehicle that receives and dispenses an aggregate material in predetermined quantities. U.S. Pat. No. 4,878,598, issued Nov. 7, 1989, to Ruschhaupt, Jr., entitled Method And Apparatus for Dispensing A Substance To A Work Area, discloses a method and apparatus for dispensing a substance using a trial and error procedure. U.S. Pat. No. 4,352,445, issued Oct. 5, 1982, to Cusumano et al., entitled Building Material Applicator, discloses an applicator for introducing and spreading building material in a controlled manner using a metering device.
Still needed, but not available with mobile product applicator machines presently known in the art is a waste product applicator having an integral system to measure and report in near real-time, the discharge rate of waste product and which provides the operator instant feedback via a display or other like mechanism of the actual amount of product applied on-the-go. The data could then be used by the operator to determine the actual waste product application rate.
Modern mobile product applicator machine control systems typically have a host controller located within the operator cab of the machine, including a processor with associated input and output devices. The host is generally directly linked to at least one other controller which may also be located within the cab, and which is responsible for all communication to devices on the machine, such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,630,773, issued Dec. 23, 1986, to Ortlip, entitled Method and Apparatus for Spreading Fertilizer, and U.S. Pat. No. Re. 35,100, issued Nov. 28, 1995, to Monson et al., entitled Variable Rate Application System, both assigned to Ag-Chem Equipment Company, Inc. of Minnetonka, Minn., the Assignee of the present invention. The system disclosed in the '100 reissue patent comprises a controller accessing a soil map indicating a soil characteristic for each portion of the field. Field locations and status maps indicating current crop input level at various locations in the field to be treated are monitored by a control system. A crop input map is updated after a dispensing pass to provide a status record. Position locators for the machine in the field may include "Dead Reckoning", GPS, or LORAN systems, for example.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,355,815 discloses yet another closed-loop variable rate applicator system. The system operates by determining a soil prescription in near real-time and dispenses crop inputs to the soil scene as a fraction of the soil prescription. The '815 patent is also assigned to Ag-Chem Equipment Company, Inc. and is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Another system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,453,924, issued Sep. 26, 1995, to Monson et al., entitled Mobile Control System Responsive To Land Area Maps. This system expands on earlier known applicator machine control systems including those heretofore assigned to Ag-Chem Equipment Company, Inc., by incorporating a network scheme which links a host controller positioned within the operator cab to multiple controllers located at various points on the machine external to the operator cab. All of the above patents are assigned to the Assignee of the present invention and are incorporated by reference in their entirely herein. The control systems referenced herein above describe systems which, when properly configured with the present inventive algorithmic software and associated sensors and feedback devices, may be adapted to practice the present invention.

Method for monitoring mobile product application


A resource-saving neck of a synthetic resin bottle having high resistance to pressure and heat and a high, stable sealing property is provided. The part is aimed at equalizing an effect of thread-formed portions on the crystallization of a molten resin material along the circumferential direction of the part. These objectives are achieved by (1) forming screw threads of a multi-threaded screw structure on the outer surface of the neck wall, each screw thread comprising a main thread, with a starting and ending extension, with a width and height thereof being reduced gradually; (2) disposing the starting extension of a screw thread vertically above the ending extension of another thread; and (3) whitening the entire part by thermal crystallization. Sinks are prevented in the neck wall, and the height can be restricted despite increase in the diameter.

The neck of a bottle is given high heat resistance and rigidity by whitening the neck in the thermal crystallization treatment. Such a neck is used for the synthetic resin bottle to be filled with tea, fruit juice, liquid seasoning, retort-packed food and the like at a high temperature or to be subjected to an intermediate process, such as a thermal sterilization process, and is used especially for the biaxially drawn, blow-molded bottle made of a polyethylene terephthalate resin (hereinafter referred to as PET bottle). (See Patent Document 1.)    [Patent Document 1]: Application No. 1998-058527
A multi-threaded screw structure is adopted to shortcut the rotating movement required to fit or remove the screw cap or to reduce the amount of synthetic resin material required to mold a neck. The multi-threaded screw structure is utilized, especially for most of wide-mouth bottles, so that the neck does not become too tall.
In most cases, the cap screwed on the PET bottle is not an aluminum pilfer-proof cap that requires large screwing strength, but a synthetic resin pilfer-proof cap that does not require much strength. The neck of a PET bottle can have the wall thickness and bead ring size that are smaller than those used in the case where the aluminum pilfer-proof cap is put on. Thus, the synthetic resin pilfer-proof cap gives a higher resource saving effect.
As shown in the rolled-out view of FIG. 11, the neck in the conventional art is provided with a number of screw threads 30, which amount to three in FIG. 8, and these threads 30 are disposed at an equal central angle on the outer surface of round neck wall 2. Each main thread 40 primarily carries out the screwing function of each screw thread 30. The anterior half of the main thread 40 of a screw thread 30 is located above the posterior half of a neighboring screw thread 30. In turn, the posterior half of the main thread 40 of the first screw thread 30 is located beneath the anterior half of the main thread 40 of still another screw thread 30.
Each screw thread 30 is provided with a starting portion 50 at the start of the main thread 40 and an ending portion 60 at the end of the main thread 40. This starting portion 50 has reduced dimensions for smooth screw engagement and release from the mold. The ending portion 60 too has reduced dimensions for smooth release from the mold.
The main thread 40 of a screw thread 30 is located above the main thread 40 of another screw thread 30 in a main zone that performs the screwing function. Between a main zone and another neighboring main zone there is an auxiliary zone that helps the main zones perform the screwing function. This auxiliary zone includes a starting portion 50 of a screw thread 30, an ending portion 60 of another screw thread 30, and a part of the main thread 40 of still another screw thread 30.
The screw engagement between the neck and a screw cap is achieved in the main zones, which are equally spaced in the circumferential direction and in which the above-described screwing function is performed. On the other hand, the above-described auxiliary zones do not need to accept large screwing and fitting force. Therefore, the starting portion 50 and the ending portion 60 of these screw threads 30 are molded in sizes as small as possible within a range in which mold release and screw engagement can be achieved smoothly.


An apparatus removes textile articles such as empty tubes or full yarn packages from the individual posts on which such articles are supported simultaneous with advancing movement of the posts. The textile articles are removed in a direction generally parallel to the axis of the posts so that during removal detrimental binding of the textile article relative to the post does not occur. According to one aspect of the invention, at least one pair of endless belts are mounted in spaced, parallel relation to one another to form an elongate opening therebetween. The elongate opening is aligned with the travel path of the textile articles being advanced on the posts so that the textile articles automatically enter the elongate opening and are engaged by the endless belts without the need to stop or otherwise control the advancing movement of the textile articles. In another aspect of the invention, a pair of spaced, parallel elongate rollers are provided, the elongate rollers being rotated in opposite directions to effect removal of a textile article which has been advanced into the elongate opening formed between the rollers. The textile article removal apparatus preferably also includes a collection assembly for collecting removed textile articles in an orderly manner and an assembly for transporting loads of removed textile articles to a location for further handling.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for removing textile articles from supported dispositions on the posts of support members, the textile articles being tubes or tubes having textile strand material built thereon.
Tubes of the type on which textile strand material is built typically have an elongate shape and a hollow interior. Numerous transport systems have been proposed for transporting such tubes with the tubes either in an empty status (no textile strand material thereon) or in a condition in which textile strand material has been built on the tube and several of these transport systems include support members each for individually supporting a tube in a separate disposition from the other tubes. The support members may be interconnected to one another for simultaneous advancing movement of the support members and one example of this type of transport system arrangement is a plurality of textile article support members mounted to a flexible endless member at uniform spacings therealong. Another transport system arrangement includes independently movable support members, each capable of individually supporting a tube in an upright disposition thereon, and a device for advancing the independent support members along a travel path. Both in those transport system arrangements in which the support members are interconnected together and those transport systems in which the support members are independently movable, the support members each include a cylindrical post having a diameter selected in relation to the inside diameter of the hollow interior of a tube for snug receipt of a tube inserted over the post of a support member.
At various stages during the processing of a textile article, the textile article, which may be an empty tube or a tube having textile strand material built thereon, must be removed from the support member on which it is supported and this textile article removal process necessarily includes axially moving the textile article along and beyond the post on which it is supported. Various textile article removal devices have been proposed. For example, in Japanese Patent Document 49-26531, a textile article removal device is disclosed for removing textile articles supported in upright dispositions on posts uniformly mounted along the extent of an endless belt. In this known textile article removal device, a pair of oppositely moving endless belts are disposed adjacent the travel path of the textile articles and the pair of oppositely moving endless belts form an opening therebetween.
As each supported textile article is advanced along the travel path to a position adjacent the opening, the post on which the textile article is supported is displaced in a direction transverse to the travel path to thereby effect movement of the supported textile article into the opening until the textile article is frictionally engaged at generally diametrically opposite locations by the pair of oppositely moving endless belts of the textile article removal device. The oppositely moving endless belts then draw the engaged textile article off the post on which it is supported with the advancing movement of the post being temporarily halted during the drawing off of the textile article. Following removal of the textile article from the post, the advancing movement of the other textile articles continues while the removed textile article is transported by the oppositely moving endless belts of the textile article removal device to a chute along which the textile article slides to a collection container.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,674,636 to Sekitani et al discloses a textile article removing device operable to remove textile articles from support members of the type which are movable independently of one another. In this known textile article removal device, the individual support member on which each textile article is supported is temporarily stopped at a removal location and a pair of opposed engaging surfaces such as, for example, an endless belt and a roller, are moved toward one another to frictionally engage a supported textile article therebetween. Once frictionally engaged between the opposed engaging surfaces, the textile article is drawn off from its associated support member and the now-empty support member is subsequently advanced beyond the removal location.
In both of the known textile article removing devices just described, the advancing movement of the textile articles must be temporarily halted each time a support member is advanced into the removal location so that the respective textile article at the removal location can be frictionally engaged and drawn off of its associated support member. The start of a textile article removal operation must therefore be coordinated with the advancing movement of the textile articles in cycles of stopping and re-starting the advancing movement of the textile articles. This correspondingly limits the rate at which textile articles can be removed from their associated support members. Accordingly, the need still exists for improvements in the expeditious removal of textile articles from support members and particularly in minimizing interruptions in the advancing movement of textile articles during the removal operation.

Textile article removal apparatus for removing textile articles from supported dispositions on the posts of support members


A single-inductor dual-output buck converter facilitates power conversion by converting a single DC power source/supply into two separate DC outputs, each of which can be configured to provide a selected/desired voltage. The converter includes a single inductor and three power switches, which control operation of the converter. The converter has four basic stages of operation in which power is initially supplied to a first output that also stores charge. Subsequently, the stored charge of the first output is employed to provide power to a second output.

Switching power supply circuits are utilized in a number of different circuit applications. There are three basic switching power supply topologies in common use; buck converter, boost converter, and buck boost converter. These topologies are generally non-isolated, that is, the input and output voltages share a common ground. There are, however, isolated derivations of these non-isolated topologies. The differing topologies refer to how the switches, output inductor and output capacitor associated therewith are interconnected. Each topology has unique properties that include the steady-state voltage conversion ratios, the nature of the input and output currents, and the character of the output voltage ripple. Another property is the frequency response of the duty cycle-to-output voltage transfer function.
A single output buck converter topology is also referred to as a buck converter, buck power stage or a step-down power stage (because the output is always less than the input). The input current for a buck power stage is said to be discontinuous or pulsating if a switching current pulses from zero or some negative value to some positive output current value every switching cycle. The output current for a buck power stage is said to be continuous or nonpulsating because the output current is supplied by an output inductor/capacitor combination. In the latter event, the inductor current never reaches a zero or negative value.
An exemplary basic buck converter circuit is illustrated in prior art FIG. 1A, and designated at reference numeral 10. When a power switch 12 is activated, the switch behaves like a closed circuit, as illustrated in prior art FIG. 1B, and the input voltage VIN is applied to an inductor 14, and power is delivered to an output load 16. The output load voltage is VOUT=VIN−VL, wherein the VL, the voltage across the inductor 14, is given by L(di/dt). The output voltage VOUT also is formed across a capacitor 18, thus the capacitor charges and the output voltage increases each time the switch 12 is closed.
When the switch 12 is deactivated, or turned off, the switch 12 behaves as an open circuit, as illustrated in prior art FIG. 1C, and the voltage across the inductor 14 reverses due to inductive flyback, thus making a circuit diode 20 forward biased. The circuit loop generated by the diode 20 allows the energy stored in the inductor 14 to be delivered to the output load 16, wherein the output current is smoothed by the capacitor 18. Typical waveforms for a buck converter are shown in FIG. 2. The power switch 12 is switched at a relatively high frequency (e.g., between about 20 KHz and about 300 KHz for most converters) to produce a chopped output voltage, however, the inductor 14 and capacitor 18 together operate as an LC filter to produce a relatively smooth output voltage having a DC component with a small ripple voltage overlying the DC value (see, e.g., output voltage waveform of FIG. 2). The ripple voltage can be controlled by varying the duty cycle of the power switch control voltage.
Single output buck converters work well in applications and/or devices that employ a single input voltage. However, some applications and/or devices utilize two power sources. For example, a digital signal processor (DSP) generally employs two power supplies; one power supply (1.8V) is to power an I/O ring and the other (1.2V) is to power a digital core. Dual voltage outputs of the power converter are also reported to reduce power dissipation. Two single output buck converters can be employed in such instances, but at a relatively high cost in terms of power utilization, area utilization, and component costs. Typically, inductors are the highest cost component and employing two buck converters results in requiring two inductors. Additionally, more switches are then employed, which can result in greater power consumption.
What is needed is power supply system that supplies two output voltages, yet is relatively low cost compared with using multiple single output buck converters.

Single inductor dual output buck converter


Provided is a method, system, and program for sending notification to an Input/Output (I/O) device comprised of multiple components of an event from an originating device that transmits data to the I/O device. The originating device detects a notification event and generates a notification message in response to the detected notification event to transmit to the I/O device. In response to receiving the notification message, the I/O device activates at least one of the multiple components. The notification message may be transmitted to the I/O device on a first port at the I/O device, where data is received at a second port at the I/O device. In response to receiving the notification message on the first port, the I/O device activates at least one of the multiple components.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method, system, and program for transmitting notification to an Input/Output (I/O) device of an event at an originating device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Most printers today implement a sleep mode where the printer halts the supply of power to various system components. For instance, during sleep mode in a laser printer, the printer may shut down the laser, a mirror engine that moves mirrors that direct the laser beam, a drum that is charged by the laser to attract the toner that is applied to the paper, and a fuser which is heated to pressure and heat seal the print onto the paper. Sleep mode helps increase the longevity of the printer components by reducing the wear and tear on moving parts, reduces the noise of the parts, and reduces energy consumption during periods when the printer is not used.
Printer performance is adversely impacted by the sleep mode because printing may be delayed while the printer has to activate, including power-up, the components lying dormant in sleep mode. In fact, the time to print the first page of a print job is gated by the time to rasterize the data into a bitmap and the time to activate all the components lying dormant in sleep mode, which is longer. Moreover, the time to activate the components may be many times longer than the time to rasterize the data. The printer may receive print job data from an attached computer or from a server that receives print jobs from several attached computers. Many printers in the prior art begin to power-up dormant components in sleep mode upon receiving the first page of data from the spooler.
Printer manufacturers are constantly attempting to improve printer performance to obtain marketing advantages. The time from when the print job is submitted to when the printer stacks the first page of the print job is one popular performance measurement commonly used to judge printer performance. This performance measurement is adversely affected if the print job is large and/or complex because the spooling process to rasterize and buffer the print data takes longer. Further, the technique used by the system submitting the print data can also significantly affect printer performance. The time to print the first page will increase if the system is configured to spool the entire print job before submitting any data to the printer as opposed to submitting data from the spooler before all data is spooled.
For these reasons, there is a continued need in the art to improve printer performance and reduce the time needed to start printing from when the print job was submitted by the application.

Method, system, and program for transmitting notification to an input/output device

International Business Machines Corporation