A dental hygiene device for cleaning enlarged embrasures includes a brush portion having a plurality of bristles projecting from a rigid spine opposed ends of which are secured to lengths of flexible filament such as dental floss. A free end of at least one of the filaments may be provided with a stiff pin-like tip useful as a toothpick or in threading the device through gaps between teeth or orthodontic structures.

In addition to regular dental checkups and periodic professional cleaning of the teeth to remove plaque, a regular personal regimen of dental hygiene is essential to maintaining the health and appearance of the teeth and gums. The use of a manual toothbrush having an array of bristles mounted near one end of some form of handle is the most familiar and commonly-used implement for this purpose. Also known are various forms of mechanized brushing devices in which energy in various forms are imparted to the bristles in various other ways including electromechanical drives which cause tufts of bristles to rotate either unidirectionally or biodirectionally in an oscillatory fashion. Toothbrushes in which ultrasonic energy is imparted to bristles are also known in the art. The foregoing types of toothbrushes can usually be selected from a range of bristle stiffness ranging from relatively stiff or "hard" to relatively compliant or "soft".
Toothbrushes of the types described above are effective for cleaning most areas of the teeth, dental prosthesis, and orthodontic appliances but have significant limitations. These limitations stem mainly for the need of these devices for some form of a relatively long and rigid or semi-rigid handle and the fact that bristles, by their nature, clean most effectively when they extend substantially perpendicularly to the surface being cleaned. Given the positioning and movement constraints imposed by using devices having such handles within the confines of a human mouth, it is simply not possible to position the brush and move its bristles so that maximally effective cleaning can be realized over all areas of the teeth, dental work and gums. These disadvantages have been ameliorated somewhat by various improvements directed toward improving the maneuverability of toothbrush heads such as making the heads smaller, angling the brush handle, providing a flexible joint in the handle and arranging bristles of varying lengths to form tufts having special contours intended to improve their penetration of irregularly shaped structures. These solutions however, are not entirely sufficient to effectively clean all areas especially those adjacent spaces or gaps such as those present between teeth, especially when root surfaces are exposed.
An alternative to brushing which is claimed to be effective for cleaning teeth both above and below the gum line as well as for dislodging foreign matter from between teeth involves the use of devices which operate by projecting a stream of water or other fluid either continuously or in a rapidly pulsating manner. Like many of the mechanically-powered toothbrushes, these devices tend to be relatively expensive and require a power source. They also require a fluid supply and cannot be used effectively with toothpaste. Since these devices tend to be most effective when the fluid stream is directed normally to the surface to be cleaned, their effectiveness for cleaning between teeth is limited.
It has been both well known and widely recommended to use a flexible filament such as dental floss or dental tape to remove food or other foreign matter from the gaps between teeth both above and below the gumline. Dental floss is easy to use, can be coated with a wax or other substance to ease its insertion between teeth and can be colored, flavored and/or impregnated with beneficial fluoride compounds. While flossing is effective for removal of foreign matter as well as stimulation of gum tissues, it is not, however, thought to be as effective as brushing in removing plaque and staining. Flossing continues to be a well-recommended practice and indeed may still be the only practical way of cleaning the area between teeth which are tightly spaced and will therefore not allow for insertion of other devices.
An alternative or adjunct to flossing, where interproximal spacing permits it, involves use of an interdental brush such as the type available from Butler under the trademark Proxabrush.RTM.. That product takes the form of a small replaceable brush head mounted on a reusable handle. The brush head is formed of a twisted wire spine which defines a central axis from which bristles extend radially outward. In a similar device having a permanent handle, such as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,280,518 to Gambaro, the bristles are of equal length to form a cylindrical array. In another form, the bristle array is tapered in a generally conical shape with the shortest of the bristles being located near the free end of the wire spine to facilitate their insertion between teeth. Handle-mounted interproximal brushes can be used either with or without a dentifrice, are relatively inexpensive and do an effective job of brushing where they can be inserted between teeth from the outer or cheek-facing side of the teeth. However, due to their handles, these devices can be difficult to insert and manipulate properly from the inside (lingual side) of the teeth and can consequently be less effective in cleaning those areas.
Attempts have been made in the prior art to enhance the cleaning capabilities of dental floss by providing it with bristles. U.S. Pat. No. 5,063,948 to Lloyd for example discloses a dental floss having bristled segments defined by a series of radially outwardly projecting bristles. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,896,824; 4,277,297 and 5,311,890, all to Thornton, disclose string-like tooth cleaning elements having enlarged, spongy portions formed of numerous crimped and crinkled fibers fused to one another at various points. These spongy portions can be drawn through interproximal spaces for cleaning them as well as areas in and around bridges, implants and orthodontic appliances. These devices all retain the advantages of dental floss and, due to their flexibility and lack of a rigid handle, can be inserted and manipulated with relative ease. They too, however, suffer from some significant limitations. To appreciate these limitations, some mechanics of bristle action must be considered.
Bristles clean most effectively when their tips engage the surface being cleaned under a force that lies within a particular range of forces that is related to the stiffness of the bristles. If the force is not great enough, the bristle tips will not engage the surface being cleaned with sufficient pressure to do as effective a job of cleaning as possible. On the other hand, if the force is too great, the bristles will bend so as to engage the surface being cleaned with their sides rather than their tips. This also results in less than optimal cleaning. It is for that reason that toothbrushes are routinely discarded and replaced when their bristles become bent or flattened near their tips.
With the above background, the limitations of the structures disclosed in the Lloyd and Thornton patents can be understood. Because of the flexibility of the structure to which they are affixed, the bristles or spongy fibers of these devices will tend to simply wipe tooth surfaces with their sides rather than forcibly engage them with their tips as they are drawn through interproximal spaces. This will tend to occur because the flexible filament structure from which the bristles protrude will tend to move away from the tooth surface in response to the reaction force generated by contact of the bristle with the tooth. As the interproximal spaces between teeth become larger, such as in patients with receded gums or where gum surgery has been performed, the limitations become increasingly more pronounced. Pulling the floss taut, in an attempt to overcome this effect is not only difficult in light of the space limitations inside the mouth, but would also be risky due to the possibility of cutting the gums with the filament.


Disclosed is a method of manufacturing integrated circuit (IC) chips. In the method, wafers are received and the backside roughness levels of these wafers are determined. Based on the backside roughness levels, the wafers are sorted into different groups. Chips having the same design are manufactured on wafers from all of the different groups. However, during manufacturing, process(es) is/are performed differently on wafers from one or more of the different groups to minimize systematic variations in a specific parameter (e.g., wire width) in the resulting chips. Specifically, because systematic variations may occur when the exact same processes are used to form IC chips on wafers with different backside roughness levels, the method disclosed herein selectively adjusts one or more of those processes when performed on wafers from one or more of the different groups to ensure that the specific parameter is approximately equal in the resulting integrated IC chips.

The present invention relates to fine-tuning process controls during integrated circuit chip manufacturing in order to limit systematic wafer-to-wafer and/or lot-to-lot variability.
Silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers have been increasingly in demand for manufacturing integrated circuit chips. Such SOI wafers are typically fabricated using a "smart cut" technique. In this technique, a thermal oxide layer is grown on a bulk silicon wafer and a hydrogen implantation process is performed to form a cleavage plane within the bulk silicon wafer. The bulk silicon wafer is then bonded to a handle wafer and split in two at the cleavage plane, thereby forming the SOI wafer. Additional processing includes frontside smoothing (e.g., by polishing or thermal annealing) and backside roughening (e.g., by a coarse wheel grinder) to prevent slippage during automated robot handling.
Oftentimes integrated circuit chip manufacturers may use SOI wafers from different suppliers that use slightly different techniques and/or equipment to form the SOI wafers. In some cases, the integrated circuit chip manufacturers may use SOI wafers from a single supplier with different wafer fabrication facilities that use slightly different techniques and/or equipment to form the SOI wafers. Recently, it has been discovered that systematic variations occur on integrated circuit chips manufactured on SOI wafers from different suppliers. For example, average metal wire width and, thereby average metal wire resistance (also referred to as sheet resistance) varies significantly between integrated circuit chips manufactured according to the same integrated circuit chip design on SOI wafers from different suppliers. Such systematic variations can have a negative impact on yield.

Method of fine-tuning process controls during integrated circuit chip manufacturing based on substrate backside roughness

International Business Machines Corporation


In a case where a display device (1) receives an instruction to change a refresh rate of a display panel (2), the display device (1) changes the refresh rate with a timing with which there is a balance between the length of time for which positive source signals are written and the length of time for which negative source signals are written.

In recent years, thin, light, and low-power-consumption display devices such as liquid crystal display devices have been widely used. It is noteworthy that such display devices have been mounted, for example, on electronic book devices, smartphones, mobile phones, tablet devices, PDAs (portable information devices), laptop personal computers, portable gaming devices, car navigation devices, and the like. It is expected that in the future, development and prevalence of electronic paper, which is an even thinner display device, will be rapidly advanced. Under such circumstances, it is now a common challenge to reduce power consumption of display devices and to improve display quality of the display devices.
Therefore, conventionally, there have been various proposed technologies intended to overcome the challenge of the display devices.
For example, there is a technology used that increases a refresh rate in order to improve display quality. For example, the refresh rate is increased from 60 Hz (i.e. 60 fps) to 120 Hz (i.e. 120 fps) while a video image is being displayed. This allows a smoother motion to be delivered and a reduction in the occurrence of a display malfunction such as flickering.
However, since the number of times a display panel is driven increases along with the increase in the refresh rate, electric power consumption also becomes increased. Therefore, the use is made of a technology that, on the contrary, reduces a refresh rate in a case where emphasis is placed on a reduction in electric power consumption.
As a specific example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a technology in which (i) image quality is improved by actively increasing a refresh rate in a case where false contours are likely to occur or false contours are noticeable on a displayed image and (ii) power consumption is reduced by actively lowering the refresh rate in a case where false contours are unlikely to occur or false contours are unnoticeable on a displayed image.

Drive device changing refresh rate of display panel and display device including drive device


A proximity-based audio sharing system includes two identical units in wireless communication with each other. Each unit includes: a wireless transceiver module configured for communicating audio signals with the wireless transceiver module of the other unit; an audio output device connected with the wireless transceiver module and configured for playing back audio signals transmitted from the wireless transceiver module; a mute control circuit connected with the wireless transceiver module and the audio output device, and configured for selectively muting the audio output of the audio output device; and a microcontroller unit connected with the wireless transceiver module and configured for controlling the wireless transceiver module and the mute control circuit, and transmitting a control signal which includes a link signal and a mute control signal to the microcontroller unit of the other unit when the two units are in touch or in proximity of each other.

Wireless headsets have been made based on various wireless technologies such as Bluetooth, Wifi, Zegbee, NFC, and etc. Normally, a wireless headset includes a transmitting unit and a receiving unit. The transmitting unit is connected with an audio source. Audio signals are modulated and transmitted to the air by the transmitting unit, and picked up, demodulated and played back by the receiving unit. In some cases, there are more than one receiving unit receiving the broadcast from a single transmitting unit, and thereby the same audio content is shared among the multiple receiving units.
However, when two users within the proximity of each other would like to share the music one is listening with the other person respectively, it is desired to have a system that enables the music sharing with minimum loss of audio quality.


An optical amplifier includes a multi-mode pump laser module, a multi-mode waveguide, a multi-mode to multiple single-mode fiber converter module and a plurality of single-mode cores. The multi-mode pump laser module emits pump light having a plurality of modes to the multi-mode fiber or waveguide. The multi-mode waveguide propagates the emitted pump light to the converter module. The converter module receives the pump light and distributes the pump light approximately uniformly to a plurality of single-mode cores.

Technical Field
This disclosure relates generally to optical nodes and more particularly, but not exclusively, to systems and methods for optical amplification of optical signals.
Description of Related Art
The statements in this section provide a description of related art and are not admissions of prior art. An optical amplifier is a device that amplifies an optical signal directly in the optical domain without converting the optical signal into a corresponding electrical signal. Optical amplifiers are widely used, for example, in the fields of optical communications.
One type of an optical amplifier is a doped-fiber amplifier, with a well-known example being the Erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA). In operation, a signal to be amplified and a pump beam are multiplexed into the doped fiber. The pump beam excites the doping ions, and amplification of the signal is achieved by stimulated emission of photons from the excited dopant ions.
Another type of an optical amplifier is a Raman amplifier, which relies on stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) for signal amplification. A Raman amplifier uses the intrinsic properties of silica fiber to obtain signal amplification, such that transmission fibers themselves can be used as a medium for amplification, allowing the attenuation of data signals transmitted over the fiber to be mitigated within the fiber itself. More specifically, when a signal to be amplified and a pump beam are multiplexed into an optical fiber made of an appropriate material, a lower-frequency signal photon induces SRS of a higher-frequency pump photon, which causes the pump photon to pass some of its energy to the vibrational states of the fiber material, thereby converting the pump photon into an additional signal photon. An amplifier working on the basis of this principle is commonly known as a distributed Raman amplifier (DRA) or simply a Raman amplifier. The pump beam may be coupled into the fiber in the same direction as the signal (co-directional or co-pumping) or in the opposite direction (contra-directional or counter-pumping). The counter- and co-propagating Raman amplifiers are a marked improvement on this technology. In contrast to the standard Raman amplifier where a single counter-propagating Raman pump signal is responsible for the amplification of the traffic signals in the fiber, a counter-propagating and a co-propagating Raman amplifier may be used together. Together the co- and counter-propagating Raman pumps provide amplification to combat signal attenuation in fiber extending the reach of an optical span.
A multi-core fiber (MCF) increases a number of cores within a cladding of a single fiber. Multi-core fiber has the potential to increase data rates by using spatial division multiplexing (SDM). By increasing the number of cores within a single fiber, the information carrying capacity of the fiber is dramatically increased. Multi-core fibers have many times the signal-carrying capacity of traditional single-core fibers. Multi-core fibers may be employed in many applications ranging, e.g., from sensors to spatial division multiplexing to high density coupling.
A need exists for improved optical amplifiers to combat signal attenuation in multi-core fibers extending the reach of an optical span.

System and method for a multi-mode pump in an optical amplifier


A medication dispensing device comprising a rotating platform configured for receiving a plurality of medication dispensing containments housing a plurality of pills comprising medication or supplements, and a scanner or user input for identifying the one or more medication containments and receiving data specific to the medication or supplements provided therein, wherein the medication containment has a lower surface with a dispensing opening and pill capture head sized according to at least one dimension of the plurality of pills contained therein, and a medication sweeper disposed above the pill capture head and between the plurality of pills so as to selectively direct is single pill out the dispensing opening while blocking a remainder of the plurality of pills in the containment. A motor-driven first gear is coupled to the pill capture head and medication sweeper such that rotation of the gear affects rotation of the pill capture head with respect to the medication sweeper to dispense the single pill, wherein the motor receives commands from data acquired by the scanner to affect dispensing of the single pill.

Medication adherence refers to whether patients take their medications as prescribed (e.g., twice daily), as well as whether they continue to take a prescribed medication. Medication non-adherence is a growing concern to clinicians, healthcare systems, and other stakeholders (e.g., payers) because of the mounting evidence of its prevalence, and associated adverse outcomes and higher costs of care.
As should be appreciated, there is a continuing need to improve medication adherence, and in particularly a need for an automated system that is capable of tracking dispensing of multiple medications from the same dispensing device, with visual confirmation that the patient is dispensed the correct medication at the correct time, and that the patient indeed ingests the medication.

Systems and methods for dispensing medications and supplements


The present disclosure is generally directed to a system and method of operation for a convertible door system including a door accessible compartment having a moveable dividing wall that substantially divides the compartment into a first and a second sub-compartment. A first door assembly, configured to allow access to the first sub-compartment, is disposed between a first of two opposing sidewalls and the moveable dividing wall. A second door assembly, configured to allow access to the second sub-compartment, is disposed between a second of the two opposing sidewalls and the moveable dividing wall. A first and a second hinge assembly are adapted to rotationally join the first and second door assembly to respective opposing sidewalls. A third hinge assembly is adapted to rotationally join the moveable dividing wall to either the first door assembly or the second door assembly.

Handicapped-accessible aircraft lavatories typically include a wheelchair region and a toilet assembly adjacent to a sink assembly. The sink assembly includes a basin positioned at a predetermined height and a predetermined lateral distance with respect to the toilet seat. However, single handicap lavatories of this type consume large amounts of valuable aircraft floor space that cannot be used for any other function than a handicap lavatory.
Aircraft designers have attempted to address the inefficient use of space in providing a handicap access lavatory by creating expandable sections of a standard-sized non-handicap lavatory enclosure. These expandable lavatories are for use in limited spaces on an airplane, however, they must be positioned proximate a doorway area of the airplane to accommodate an expandable section that moves into the doorway area. An expandable module may be pivotally attached to a stationary assembly conventionally affixed to the ceiling and floor of the airplane, where during take-off and landing, the module is locked in a stowed position within the stationary assembly. During flight, module is unlocked and deployed within the doorway area.
Another attempted solution is a lavatory body that stows a storage module capable of being pulled out of and stowed again into the lavatory body. The storage module may include a closet for storing the coats and jackets of passengers that is pulled out of the lavatory body, thereby expanding the interior space of the lavatory unit for passenger use. However, a part of the closet that pulls out protrudes to the space in front of the aircraft door.
These solutions currently provided to expand aircraft lavatory compartment space for accommodation of handicap passengers require expansion into a door area that compromises safety issues of emergency egress should the aircraft need to evacuate passengers quickly. No expanded portion of the lavatory should block the door area for this reason. If an expansion portion were to fail to fully retract during an emergency evacuation, the door exit would be obstructed to some degree jeopardizing the safety of the aircraft passengers.
There exists a need to accommodate an aircraft lavatory that uses an existing footprint of a lavatory compartment that does not encroach upon necessary emergency evacuation paths. Additionally, there exists a need for a system that is simple to use and easily accommodates handicap access passenger ingress and egress from the compartment. It is with respect to these and other considerations that the disclosure herein is presented.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Convertible door system and method of operation


Volatile organic compounds are removed from a liquid and destroyed using a device in which an air stripper having alternating phases of hydrophilic and hydrophobic packing materials promotes transition of the VOC from the liquid phase into the gas phase, and wherein the is oxidized VOC in the gas phase on a hydrophobic carbon nanostructure that further comprises a catalytically active metal.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have been used for decades in many industrial processes. For example, various VOCs are frequently used as building block for chemical syntheses, as solvents, or lubricants. In still other uses of particular VOCs, MTBE is used as fuel oxygenate in gasoline to reduce carbon monoxide emissions. Annual production of MTBE in the EU was reported to about 3 million tones, with even higher annual production in the U.S.
Unfortunately, MTBE and other VOCs (e.g., benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene, xylene) have recently been found in groundwater in the U.S. and other countries as a result of direct or indirect discharge into the soil, atmosphere, and/or groundwater. Among other routes, VOCs reach the groundwater via incomplete combustion from automobile engines, surface spills or leaks of fuel, leaking underground fuel tanks and piping systems. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has tentatively classified MTBE as a possible human carcinogen, and the California EPA Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) established an interim action level of 35 ppb for MTBE. The importance of MTBE removal is further compounded by the fact that MTBE is relatively inert to biodegradation in most soils and/or aquifers. Presently, it is estimated that over 1600 groundwater wells in more than 39 states in the U.S. have substantial levels of MTBE contamination, and additional wells with significant MTBE levels have recently been reported in Canada.
There are numerous configurations and methods for VOC removal and/or destruction known in the art. For example, VOCs can be selectively removed from a source stream using membrane filtration as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,954,966 to Matsuura et al. However, such systems often fail to provide an economically attractive solution, as membrane manufacture is relatively complex. Furthermore, and especially compared with air stripping, the filtration rate using such membranes is relatively low. Alternatively, VOCs may be removed from a source using adsorption to a solid material, and typical processes are described in WO 2003/062153 to Mirzayi et al. (using activated charcoal), U.S. Pat. No. 5,814,132 to Grime et al. (using coated aluminosilicates), or European App. No. 0822004 (using an organic polymer). While such solid adsorbents are generally inexpensive, simple to use, and provide relatively high flow rates, various disadvantages remain. Among other things, various VOCs (and especially MTBE) adsorb only poorly to activated charcoal. Moreover, the sorbent typically requires separate regeneration or disposal, thus shifting the MTBE problem merely to another locale.
Similarly, solvents can be employed to remove VOCs from a source material, and numerous solvent-based processes are described in the art. For example, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 2003/0094099 to Lin et al. employs water as a solvent, and the VOCs are then treated with ozone or peroxide. Alternatively, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,165,253 to Sirkar et al., a paraffinic oil or synthetic hydrocarbon solvent is employed to absorb the VOC, while Grasso et al. teach in U.S. Pat. No. 5,198,000, use of motor oil, mineral oil, or corn oil as an absorbent. However, the energy costs of most solvent processes are relatively high due to the circulation pumps and solvent heaters in the regeneration process.
In further known processes, air stripping is employed to drive the VOC from water into a gas phase. Air stripping can be performed in situ in soil as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 2002/0144953 to Kerfoot, using micro bubbles, or in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,389,267 and 5,180,503 to Gorelick, using gas lift pumping. Air stripping may also be performed in stripping vessels or columns as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,171,334 to Kabis. While air stripping is a relatively simple process, the liberated MTBE must be captured and destroyed, which is often problematic in in situ applications.
Once isolated from a source (e.g., air or water), the VOCs can be destroyed using various methods well known in the art. For example, in one approach, MTBE and other VOCs are transformed into less toxic compounds using microorganisms as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,365,397 to Salanitro, U.S. Pat. No. 6,194,197 to Hyman et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,714,379 to Phipps Jr., or in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 2003/0129735 to Moorhead. Biological transformation of VOCs is often desirable, as little or no equipment is needed to clean up a contaminated site. However, biotransformations are often relatively slow. Moreover, where relatively toxic additional contaminants are present, microorganisms may not be viable for a sufficient time to degrade the VOC to the desired extent.
In another approach, MTBE and other VOCs can be photolytically destroyed as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,117,335 and 6,200,466 to Bender using near blackbody radiation. In further examples of photolytic destruction, UV irradiation and supplemental ultrasound energy is used to destroy VOCs as taught by Sato in U.S. Pat. No. 6,617,588. While photolytic destruction is often relatively effective, various disadvantages remain. Among other problems, large quantities of water are often impractical to treat as water absorbs UV relatively strongly. Furthermore, to ensure substantially complete VOC destruction, the relatively high-energy demand often renders such technology uneconomical.
In a still further approach, VOCs may be electrolytically destroyed either via direct oxidation at the anode, or indirectly via generation of oxidizing species in the electrolytic cell. For example, Cole teaches in U.S. Pat. No. 5,531,865 the use of sacrificial electrodes, while Breault teaches in U.S. Pat. No. 5,637,198 use of corona discharge. Such methods are generally effective in VOC destruction, however, suffer from similar problems as photolytic methods. Most significantly, the energy demand is often undesirably high. To circumvent at least some of the problems associated with energy demand, VOCs can be contacted with oxidizing species as taught by Wasinger in U.S. Pat. No. 6,197,206 or U.S. patent application Ser. No. 2002/0144953 to Kerfoot. In further known oxidative processes, molten yellow phosphorus may be employed as an oxidant as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,332,563. Such processes are conceptually simple, however, typically require exact dosing or post-treatment steps where over-oxidation or residual oxidant in the water is undesirable.
In most preferred methods, MTBE and other VOCs are catalytically oxidized using various catalysts. For example, Taylor et al. use uranium oxide to catalytically destroy various VOCs. In other examples, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,193,504 to Chen, U.S. Pat. No. 5,914,091 to Holst et al., or U.S. Pat. No. 5,609,829 to Lucas et al., platinum, manganese, or copper are used on a ceramic material to form a catalyst that assists in VOC oxidation. Suitable catalysts may also be admixed with a VOC adsorbent as taught by Campbell et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,479,022. While the use of catalysts typically significantly reduces energy requirements as compared to many electrolytic or photolytic methods, most of the known catalysts still require relatively high temperature for proper operation. To reduce temperature requirements, mixed metal oxide or multi-phase catalysts can be employed as described in WO 01/45833 or U.S. Pat. No. 6,458,741 to Roark et al., or in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,851,948 and 5,009,872 to Chuang et al.
Such low-temperature catalyst in combination with air stripping typically provides technologically simple and effective systems for VOC removal and destruction. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,190,668 to Chuang, the inventor describes a process in which VOCs are stripped from a liquid and oxidized using a noble metal oxidation catalyst that is deposited on a hydrophobic support. A similar system using certain precious metal catalysts is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,892,664 to Miller, and further suitable catalysts are described. Such systems generally provide various advantages over other systems described above. However, energy consumption and flow rate are often still less than desirable. Moreover, and particularly where noble metals are employed, the cost of such catalysts frequently reduces the economic attractiveness.
Therefore, while numerous configurations and processes for water purification are known in the art, all or almost all of them, suffer from one or more disadvantages. Thus, there is still a need for improved water purification plants and methods, and especially for removal and destruction of MTBE from water.

Configurations and methods for water purification


A semiconductor device includes a plurality of bit lines that intersect an active region on a substrate and extend in a first direction, a contact pad formed on the active region between adjacent bit lines, and a plurality of spacers disposed on sidewalls of the plurality of bit lines. An upper portion of the contact pad is interposed between adjacent spacers, and a lower portion of the contact pad has a width greater than a distance between adjacent spacers.

Embodiments of the inventive concept are directed to a semiconductor device, and more particularly, to a semiconductor device that includes a contact plug.
With an increase in the integration density of semiconductor devices and the shrinkage of the semiconductor devices, contact plugs have been downscaled. Thus, resistance of a contact plug wiring has increased, which can degrade electrical properties of the semiconductor devices and complicate a process of forming the contact plug.

Semiconductor device including contact pads


In an example, a system specifies a first configuration of the physical transport network that models a plurality of devices as a corresponding first plurality of nodes having a tree topology. Each node of the first plurality of nodes has at least one first device identifier and at least one first connection identifier to other nodes in the tree topology. The system specifies a second configuration of the logical transport network that models the plurality of devices as the first plurality of nodes having a non-tree topology. Each node of the first plurality of nodes has at least one second device identifier, at least one second connection identifier to other nodes in the non-tree topology, the at least one first device identifier, and the at least one first connection identifier of the tree topology. The system folds the logical transport network over the physical transport network using the at least one second device identifier, at least one second connection identifier to other nodes in the non-tree topology, the at least one first device identifier, and the at least one first connection identifier of the tree topology.

The Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) computer bus system has a tree topology. A fundamental problem with tree topologies is their hierarchical nature. For example, when a source leaf node wants to transmit a message to a destination leaf node, traffic traverses from the source leaf node through a corresponding tree structure to a destination leaf node. Traffic does not traverse directly between the source leaf node and the destination leaf node, but traverses from the source leaf node to its corresponding branch node and thence to a root node of the tree structure, if the destination leaf node is not on that same branch, and then traverses from the root node toward a branch node containing the destination leaf node and then finally to the destination leaf node. Typically, a server/computer system is located at the root node at the top of the hierarchy, and peripheral devices are located at leaf nodes at the bottom of the hierarchy. Thus, there is an inherent performance bias towards traffic from/to the root node, or from/to the branch depending on the location of the source and destination leaf nodes, both in terms of bandwidth and latency. Leaf node to leaf node traffic competes across the same ports with traffic from/to the root node, or branch node. Furthermore, direct leaf node to leaf node traffic incurs additional latency due to the first-up-then-down nature of communication as it traverses the tree.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a logical transport conforming to a first transport protocol having an arbitrary topology that can be overlayed on a physical transport conforming to a second transport protocol having a tree topology without replacing physical layer hardware of the underlying physical transport and without modifying the second transport protocol.

Logical transport overlayed over a physical transport having a tree topology


A method for manufacturing a nonvolatile semiconductor storage device, including: forming a first conductive layer so that it is sandwiched in an up-down direction by first insulating layers; forming a first hole so that it penetrates the first insulating layers and the first conductive layer; forming a first side wall insulating layer on a side wall facing the first hole; forming a sacrificing layer so that the sacrificing layer infills the first hole; forming a second conductive layer on an upper layer of the sacrificing layer so that the second conductive layer is sandwiched by the second insulating layer in an up-down direction; forming a second hole on a position which matches with the first hole so that the second hole penetrates the second insulating layer and the second conductive layer; forming a second side wall insulating layer on a side wall facing the second hole; removing the sacrificing layer after the formation of the second side wall insulating layer; and forming a semiconductor layer so that the semiconductor layer infills the first hole and the second hole after the removal of the sacrificing layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a nonvolatile semiconductor storage device which can electrically rewrite data and a manufacturing method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, elements are integrated in a two-dimensional plane on a silicon substrate to form an LSI. In order to increase a memory storage capacity, a dimension of one element should be decreased (miniaturize), but the miniaturization becomes difficult from viewpoints of the cost and the technique. The technique of photolithography should be improved for the miniaturization, but for example, about 40 nm is a resolution limit in a current ArF immersion exposing technique, and thus introduction of a EUV exposing machine is necessary for further miniaturization. However, the EUV exposing machine is expensive, and thus is not realistic from the viewpoint of the cost. Even if the miniaturization is achieved, it is expected that with stand pressure between elements or the like reaches physical breaking point, as long as a driving voltage is not scaled. That is to say, an operation as a device is most likely to become difficult.
In recent years, therefore, in order to increase an integration degree of a memory, a lot of semiconductor storage devices where memory cells are arranged three dimensionally are proposed (see Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-266143, Patent Document 2: U.S. Pat. No. 5,599,724, and Patent Document 3: U.S. Pat. No. 5,707,885).
One of the conventional semiconductor storage devices where memory cells are arranged three dimensionally is a semiconductor storage device using a transistor with a cylindrical structure (Patent Documents 1 through 3). In the semiconductor storage device using the transistor with the cylindrical structure, a laminated-conductive layers with plural laminated layers as a gate electrode, and a pillar-shaped semiconductor are provided. The pillar-shaped semiconductor serves as a channel (body) section of the transistor. A memory gate insulating layer which can accumulate charges is provided around the pillar-shaped semiconductor. A structure including the laminated conductive layer, the pillar-shaped semiconductor, the memory gate insulating layer is called as a memory string.
In the semiconductor storage device having the memory string, the pillar-shaped semiconductor is formed by laminating amorphous silicon or the like in a plurality of batches. Therefore, in the pillar-shaped semiconductor, a natural oxide film is likely to be formed on an interface between the laminated layers. The natural oxide film raises the resistance of the whole pillar-shaped semiconductor, and thus there is a problem that an electric current reduces.

Method for manufacturing a nonvolatile semiconductor storage device where memory cells are arranged three dimensionally


Each of the auxiliary capacitors (6a) includes a capacitor line (11b) comprised of the same material as the gate electrode (11a) and provided in the same layer as the gate electrode (11a), the gate insulating film (12) provided so as to cover the capacitor line (11a), a capacitor intermediate layer (13c) provided using the oxide semiconductor and provided on the gate insulating film (12) so as to overlap the capacitor line (11b), and a capacitor electrode (15b) provided on the capacitor intermediate layer (13c), and the capacitor intermediate layer (13c) is conductive.

Active matrix liquid crystal display panels include a TFT substrate having, e.g., a thin film transistor (hereinafter also referred to as the "TFT") provided as a switching element in each pixel as a minimum unit of an image, a counter substrate placed so as to face the TFT substrate, and a liquid crystal layer enclosed between the substrates. In this TFT substrate, an auxiliary capacitor is provided in each pixel in order to stably retain charge of the liquid crystal layer in each pixel, namely a liquid crystal capacitor.
For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a method for manufacturing a TFT substrate having storage capacitors (corresponding to the auxiliary capacitors) by using four masks. Each storage capacitor is formed by: a stacked pattern of a semiconductor pattern comprised of a semiconductor such as amorphous silicon, a contact layer pattern comprised of amorphous silicon heavily doped with N-type impurities such as phosphorus, etc., and a storage capacitor conductive pattern comprised of a conductive substance such as Mo or a MoW alloy, Cr, Al or an Al alloy, or Ta; a storage electrode provided so as to be located below the stacked pattern, and comprised of a conductive substance such as Mo or a MoW alloy, Cr, Al or an Al alloy, or Ta; and a gate insulating film provided between the stacked pattern and the storage electrode.

Thin film transistor substrate and method for producing same


A hollow surgical probe for the minimally invasive removal of tissue has an elongate hollow body and an electrical conductive ring-shaped or loop-shaped cutting element. The elongate hollow body includes two segments of which at least one encloses a cavity for receiving tissue and which can be separated from each other and which are movably relative to each other in such a way that an opening between the segments is to be selectively opened or closed. The electrically conductive ring-shaped or loop-shaped cutting element is movable relative to at least one of the segments and is adapted for electrosurgically cutting out tissue which has penetrated into the opening between the hollow body segments.

In the context of minimally invasive medicine the endeavor is to carry out an operation which causes the minimum degree of trauma to the patient. In that respect the endeavor is to gain access to the depth of the tissue either by way of the natural body openings of the patient as in the case of interventional endoscopy by way of instruments (endoscope) with visual control or however by way of small incisions directly at the location of intervention, in order there to remove tissue for diagnostic purposes, for example for histological tissue determination or for therapy purposes, for example for tumor removal.
In recent years the development of suitable instruments for minimally invasive surgery has been the subject of rapid progress as that operating technique affords considerably advantages for cosmetic reasons, for minimizing post-operative complications and for speeding up the healing process.
Apparatuses are known by the name "Fine needle aspiration" (FNA) or "true cut needle biopsy", which have a fine needle which is introduced into a suspicious area of tissue and by means of which one or more tissue samples can be removed purely mechanically by way of a cutting or perforating mechanism in order to subject that tissue to histological examination.
Thereafter possibly in the event of malignant findings suitable surgical measures can be initiated. The volumes of tissue which can be removed with those needle probes however are only very small and are therefore suitable exclusively for diagnostic purposes. By virtue of the small volume of tissue which can be removed in one puncture insertion a plurality of puncture insertions into the suspicious area of tissue are therefore often required, which under some circumstances can result in spreading of malignant tumor cells. In addition the degrees of accuracy of the histological tissue results are not optimum, by virtue of the small volume of tissue involved.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,775,333 and 5,782,795 disclose surgical instruments which permit larger volumes of tissue to be removed by virtue of multiple tissue removal from the same target area. Those known instruments use a vacuum-supported mechanical punching-cutting device which reduces the number of puncture insertions required and which in addition also improves the level of accuracy of the diagnostic findings, by virtue of the larger volume of tissue. It is also often possible with those known instruments for relatively small changes in tissue to be already removed in toto, which under some circumstances makes a subsequent operation unnecessary.
In the case of the instrument in accordance with U.S. Pat. No. 5,775,333 a needle-shaped hollow probe is introduced into the target area, for example a breast tumor. Disposed laterally at the end of the probe is an elongate opening into which the tissue to be removed is sucked. Disposed within the apparatus is a rotating hollow blade which by the way of a mechanical advance cuts off the tissue which has been sucked into the opening, within the apparatus, and sucks it away through the hollow probe by means of a vacuum. By successive rotation of the shaft through 360° a given volume of tissue which has been previously sucked into the hollow probe and cut away is removed around the distal end of the probe, which however is often not entirely sufficient for complete removal of the medically suspicious area of tissue.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,817,034 discloses a surgical instrument in which a tubular cylindrical blade of a diameter of up to 25 mm is advanced as far as the target area. The head portion of the cylinder which is thus punched out within the apparatus is severed by way of a loop which is disposed at the end and which is subjected to the action of HF-voltage, and then the entire severed cylinder of tissue is removed by way of the apparatus. Admittedly that known system can provide that the suspicious area of tissue can be removed in toto, but also a great deal of healthy tissue is removed, until the tip of the probe has reached the suspicious area of tissue, and a relatively large scar is then left behind by virtue of the large diameter of the apparatus.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,810,806 discloses a surgical probe in which the tissue is not cut into by means of a mechanical annular blade but by means of an axially immovable loop which is fixed at the distal end of the hollow body and which is supplied with an HF-voltage and thereby acts as a cutting blade. In a cutting operation the cylinder of tissue which is cut off at the periphery by the HF-loop is displaced frontally into the forwardly open hollow body and then is severed at the end of the procedure by a windshield wiper-like rotary movement of the loop which is subjected to the action of HF-voltage. That known apparatus also provides that the tissue is completely severed only when it is in the hollow body, whereby a great deal of healthy tissue is also removed therewith until the tip of the probe has been advanced as far as the suspicious area of tissue. A further disadvantage is that only the cylinder of tissue in front of the front opening of the hollow body can be removed.
German applications 197 06 751 and 195 28 440 disclose an electrosurgical device of the kind set forth in the opening part of this specification, in which a loop-shaped cutting element is adapted for electrosurgically cutting out tissue in parallel relationship with the longitudinal axis of an elongate hollow body and while retaining that orientation can be moved in a loop shape out of the hollow body so that then the adjoining tissue can be cut out in a toric shape by virtue of rotation of the hollow probe. The tissue which is cut out can then be introduced into the hollow passage of the hollow body through the same opening through the cutting element issues, and can then be transported along the hollow passage to the proximal end of the device. That known device has the advantage that the puncture location is of small dimensions and that it is then possible to take at the treatment location a piece of tissue which surrounds the hollow probe in externally adjoining relationship therewith. A disadvantage in this case however is that the volume of tissue which can be cut out is relatively is small and is therefore not sufficient for thorough examination of even larger regions of tissue.
PCT application WO 99/44506 issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,331,166, discloses a loop-shaped cutting element which can be moved out of the hollow body in a plane which extends transversely with respect to the longitudinal axis of the hollow body, wherein after the cutting element has been moved out of the hollow body it is displaceable along the hollow body.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,810,659 discloses a surgical probe for removing tissue, in which the distal end of a shaft carries a sharply ground cutting sleeve to which a HF-voltage can be applied. Disposed distally behind the cutting sleeve, at a guide wire extending centrally through the catheter, is a ceramic body as a counterpart support for the cutting sleeve, at the end of which a rounded-off metal electrode is fixed and connected by way of the guide wire to a HF-generator. By way of an operating member, the cylindrical counterpart support can be moved by way of the guide wire to the sharply ground metal sleeve, in which case the tissue disposed therebetween is purely mechanically severed by the sharp ground portion of the metal sleeve and is thus collected within the proximal cutting sleeve. Both the proximal sleeve and also the metal electrode fixed to the counterpart support are connected to an HF-generator and thus permit bipolar coagulation of tissue in order possibly also to stop bleeding. That however does not involve a technical solution for easily removing the biopsate once collected. The tissue has to be removed from the sleeve in a complicated procedure using micro-tweezers or a needle.
PCT published application PCT/US99/21416 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,261,241, discloses a rigid surgical instrument, which also comprises a sleeve configuration displaceable relative to each other in order to remove tissue samples and to coagulate the tissue. The novelty in relation to the state of the art lies on the one hand in the complicated and expensive, partly automated operating member, and in the possibility of applying a cutting current to one of the two displaceable sleeves in order to electrosurgically cut off the tissue. In a further embodiment the cutting operation is not implemented by way of the sleeve itself, but a fixed cutting electrode which is let into the casing at the proximal periphery of the sleeve.


A multi-output DC-to-DC power converter includes: a transformer having a primary winding and a secondary winding unit; a primary side control circuit used to receive a DC input voltage, and configured to control supply of the DC input voltage to said primary winding, said transformer generating an induced voltage when the DC input voltage is supplied to said primary winding; a rectifier and filter circuit used to receive the induced voltage, and configured to rectify and filter the induced voltage so as to output at least a first DC voltage; and a converting unit used to receive the first DC voltage, and configured to generate at least first and second DC output voltages based at least on the first DC voltage.

Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional multi-output DC-to-DC power converter 1 is shown to include a transformer (T1), a primary side control circuit 11, first to third rectifier and filter circuits 12, 13, 14, a regulator circuit 15, a feedback circuit 16 and a regulator control circuit 17.
The transformer (T1) has a primary winding (Lp) and first to third secondary windings (Ls1, Ls2, Ls3). The primary side control circuit 11 is used to receive a DC input voltage (Vin) from an input power source 10, and is coupled to the primary winding (Lp) of the transformer (T1). The primary side control circuit 11 controls supply of the DC input voltage (yin) to the primary winding (Lp). When the DC input voltage (Vin) is supplied to the primary winding (Lp), the transformer (T1) generates first to third induced voltages respectively across the first to third secondary windings (Ls1, Ls2, Ls3). The first rectifier and filter circuit 12 is coupled to the first secondary winding (Ls1) of the transformer (T1) for receiving the first induced voltage therefrom, and rectifies and filters the first induced voltage so as to output a first DC output voltage (V1) of 12V to a load (not shown). The second rectifier and filter circuit 13 is coupled to the second secondary winding (Ls2) of the transformer (T1) for receiving the second induced voltage therefrom, and rectifies and filters the second induced voltage so as to output a second DC output voltage (V2) of 5V to a load (not shown). The third rectifier and filter circuit 14 is coupled to the third secondary winding (Ls3) of the transformer (T1) for receiving the third induced voltage therefrom, and rectifies and filters the third induced voltage so as to output a third DC output voltage (V3). The regulator circuit 15 is coupled to the third rectifier and filter circuit 14 for receiving the third DC output voltage (V3) therefrom. The regulator circuit 15 regulates the third DC output voltage (V3) based on a control signal to generate a regulated third DC output voltage (V3′), and outputs the regulated third DC output voltage (V3′) of 3.3V to a load (not shown). The feedback circuit 16 is coupled to the regulator circuit 15 for receiving the regulated third DC output voltage (V3′) therefrom, and generates a feedback signal based on the regulated third DC output voltage (V3′). The regulator control circuit 17 is coupled to the regulator circuit 15 and the feedback circuit 16. The regulator control circuit 17 receives the feedback signal from the feedback circuit 16, generates the control signal based on the feedback signal, and outputs the control signal to the regulator circuit 15.
Under such configuration, it is evident that to output a plurality of different DC output voltages, the conventional multi-output DC-to-DC power converter 1 must include a plurality of different secondary windings respectively for the different DC output voltages, and a plurality of rectifier and filter circuits that are coupled respectively to the secondary windings. In this way, the number of the secondary windings (Ls1, Ls2, Ls3) of the transformer (T1) is increased, and the circuitry of the transformer (T1) becomes more complicated. Therefore, the manufacturing cost and the volume of the transformer (T1) are both increased.


A method, apparatus and system that in an embodiment detect that a trigger exists, where the trigger indicates a potential need to rebuild a saved query access plan, and determine whether a previous job associated with the trigger created a new access plan that was identical to the saved access plan. If a previous job associated with the trigger has already created the new access plan and found that it was identical to the saved access plan, then the query is performed with the saved access plan, since there is no advantage to be gained by creating the new access plan again. In this way, multiple jobs are kept from repeatedly re-creating an access plan that is identical to one that already exists.

The development of the EDVAC computer system of 1948 is often cited as the beginning of the computer era. Since that time, computer systems have evolved into extremely sophisticated devices, and computer systems may be found in many different settings. Computer systems typically include a combination of hardware, such as semiconductors and circuit boards, and software, also known as computer programs.
Fundamentally, computer systems are used for the storage, manipulation, and analysis of data, which may be anything from complicated financial information to simple baking recipes. It is no surprise, then, that the overall value or worth of a computer system depends largely upon how well the computer system stores, manipulates, and analyzes data. One mechanism for managing data is called a Data Management System (DMS), which may also be called a database system or simply a database.
At the most basic level, a database stores data as series of logical tables. Each table is made up of rows and columns. Each table has a unique name within the database and each column has a unique name within the particular table. Different statements called queries allow the user or an application program to obtain data from the database. As one might imagine, queries range from being very simple to very complex. When a database receives a query, the database interprets the query and determines what internal steps are necessary to satisfy the query. These internal steps may include identification of the table or tables specified in the query, the row or rows selected in the query, and other information such as whether to use an existing index, whether to build a temporary index, whether to use a temporary file to execute a sort, and/or the order in which the tables are to be joined together to satisfy the query. When taken together, these internal steps are referred to as an execution plan or an access plan. The access plan is typically created by a software component that is often called a query optimizer. When a query optimizer creates an access plan for a given query, the access plan is often saved by the data management system in the program object, e.g., the application program, that requested the query. The access plan may also be saved in an SQL (Structured Query Language) package or an access plan cache. Then, when the user or program object repeats the query, the database can reutilize the saved access plan instead of undergoing the expensive and time-consuming process of recreating it.
Despite the existence of a saved access plan in the program object, some triggers, events, or conditions may cause the query optimizer to rebuild the access plan. Often the rebuilt access plan turns out to be the same as the saved access plan, so the rebuilding process was actually unnecessary. Unfortunately, no way exists to determine prior to the rebuilding that the resultant rebuilt access plan will turn out to be identical to the saved access plan.
The problem with the rebuilding turning out to be unnecessary is exacerbated when multiple jobs call the same program object at about the same time, and each is trying to update its access plan. For example, suppose that one job detects a trigger that causes it to rebuild the saved access plan, but then the other jobs see the same trigger, which causes all the jobs to rebuild the saved access plan. But none of the jobs can save their rebuilt access plan back into the program object because all the other jobs hold read locks on the saved access plan, and they all need an exclusive lock to update the saved access plan. Thus, the end result is that all jobs may continue to rebuild the access plan for some time since none of them can save the rebuilt access plan back into the program object due to contention, yet as previously stated, the rebuilding is often unnecessary, so all of the jobs are rebuilding the access plan in vain.
Without a better way to handle rebuilding access plans, computers will continue to suffer from performance problems caused by unnecessary rebuilding.


A fuel injector for a turbojet engine afterburner is disclosed having a fuel tube extending radially inwardly into an afterburner combustion chamber from the engine casing, the fuel injector tube defining a plurality of downstream facing fuel discharge orifices along a portion of its length in order to discharge fuel into the afterburner combustion chamber. A cooling device is associated with the fuel tube in order to direct cooling air from a bypass passage of the engine onto the fuel tube in order to cool the fuel tube, not only when the afterburner is in operation, but also when the afterburner is not in operation. The cooling device is an elongated tubular enclosure which substantially encloses the fuel tube, the elongated tubular enclosure having a significantly larger cross-sectional area than that of the fuel tube so as to define a cooling cavity between them. The elongated tubular enclosure, which is also attached to the turbojet engine casing, passes through the bypass passage and defines inlet openings to enable a portion of the air in the bypass passage to pass through the opening and into the cooling cavity so as to cool the fuel tube. A downstream portion of the elongated tubular enclosure defines a slit which is in alignment with the plurality of fuel discharge orifices of the fuel tube so as to enable the fuel to be injected into the afterburner combustion chamber.

The present invention relates to a fuel injector for an afterburner of a turbojet engine, more particularly such a fuel injector which improves cooling of the fuel tube.
Afterburners for turbojet engines are well known in the art and have long been utilized as a means to provide additional thrust to the turbojet engine. Typically, afterburners inject fuel into the hot gases emanating from the combustion chamber of the turbojet engine, downstream of the turbine stages. The fuel may be ignited by the elevated temperature of the exhaust gases, or supplemental ignition means may be provided to ignite the fuel/gas mixture.
When the afterburner is activated, fuel passes through one or more generally radially oriented fuel injectors into the afterburner combustion chamber. The fuel passing through the injector also acts as a coolant to lower the temperature of the injector structure, which is subjected to the hot gases from the engine combustion chamber. When the afterburner is not in operation, the fuel injectors are still exposed to the high temperature exhaust gases, but do not receive the benefit of the fuel cooling, since no fuel is passing through the injectors. As a result, coking of the fuel injectors may occur and large thermal shocks may be generated when the afterburner is subsequently activated.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,887,425 discloses a fuel spray bar for an afterburner in which each fuel spray bar has a plurality of fuel tubes extending into the afterburner combustion chamber. The fuel tubes for a particular fuel spray bar each have different lengths and a cooling device is located upstream of the forwardmost fuel tube. The cooling device directs air from a bypass passage of the turbojet engine onto the fuel tubes to control their temperatures. The cooling circuits for this device comprise a number of discharge orifices located opposite the fuel tubes and means to channel the discharged cooling air around the tubes. Such structure requires delicate machining of the parts to ensure that the space between the tubes and the cooling means be uniform over their entire lengths.

Fuel injector for a turbojet engine afterburner

Societe Nationale d'Etude et de Construction de Moteurs d'Aviation (S.N.E.C.M.A.)


A method for measuring an antenna downtilt angle based on a multi-scale deep semantic segmentation network is disclosed, including: collecting base station antenna data by using an unmanned aerial vehicle, and labeling an acquired antenna image with a labeling tool to make a data set; calling the data set for training and debugging a model; recognizing and detecting a target antenna, performing semantic segmentation on an output image, finally obtaining a target image finally segmented, and calculating a downtilt angle of the target image. The method is highly applicable, cost-effective, and safe.

Nowadays, in the era of network information, the quality of mobile communication networks is extremely important. In GSM-R construction and planning, as shown in FIG. 1, an azimuth angle and a downtilt angle of an antenna affect the coverage of signals and the interference between the signals, so the antenna needs to be timely calculated and adjusted strictly to improve the quality of network signals.
There are two traditional methods to measure the antenna downtilt angle: the first one is climbing to an antenna base station manually and using a measuring instrument (a compass, a slope meter, or the like) for measurement; and the second one is installing an angle sensor on the antenna to return data. The antenna is susceptible to wind, snow and other factors, resulting in a change in the downtilt angle, so it needs to be measured regularly. For the first method, as the base station is high and the number of the antennas is larger, the manual safety hazard and workload are larger, and the practicability is low. For the second method, the installation time is long, and the antenna models are different, so the installation cost of the instruments is high and the practicability is not high. Both the two methods consume a lot of manpower and material resources and are not suitable for large-scale measurement today.

Method for measuring antenna downtilt angle based on multi-scale deep semantic segmentation network


An output timing of an opening degree command value xcfx86total is delayed by a predetermined delay time Tdly. A predictive throttle opening change xcex94xcex8, calculated by using an electronic throttle model M4, is added to a present throttle opening degree xcex8 to obtain a predictive throttle opening degree xcex8f at an intake valve close timing. Then, a provisional predictive charged air amount Gcf is calculated based on the predictive throttle opening degree xcex8f by using an intake system mode M5. Then, a predictive change xcex94Gc of the charged air amount at the intake valve close timing is calculated by derivative and integral processing the provisional predictive charged air amount Gcf until the intake valve close timing. Then, the predictive change xcex94Gc is added to a base charged air amount Gbase calculated by a base intake system model M8 to obtain a final predictive charged air amount Gc.

The present invention relates to a control apparatus for an internal combustion engine using an improved method for calculating an air amount charged into a cylinder of an engine.
To meet the recent severe law regulations relating to purification of exhaust gas, it is necessary to accurately perform an air-fuel ratio control (i.e., a fuel injection control). To this end, it is necessary to accurately calculate an air amount charged into an engine cylinder (i.e., a charged air amount) and appropriately set a fuel injection amount in accordance with the charged air amount.
One of two conventional methods for calculating a charged air amount is referred to as a mass flow method according to which an airflow meter is provided at an upstream side of a throttle valve to measure an intake airflow amount and then a charged air amount is calculated based on the measured intake airflow amount. The other conventional method is referred to as a speed density method according to which an intake pressure sensor is provided at a downstream side of a throttle valve to measure an intake pressure and then a charged air amount is calculated based on the measured intake pressure and an engine speed.
It is however impossible to accurately determine the charged air amount before an intake valve is completely closed (this timing is referred to as an intake valve close timing that corresponds to termination of an intake stroke). On the other hand, a timing for calculating a fuel injection amount (i.e., a fuel injection amount calculating timing) is earlier than the intake valve close timing because a fuel injector injects fuel into an intake passage upstream of the intake valve and therefore the fuel injection must be completed before the intake valve is closed.
In general, the charged air amount varies widely during a transient state of engine operating conditions. Accordingly, the charged air amount causes a significant change even in a short period of time between the fuel injection amount calculating timing to the intake valve close timing. As a result, a ratio of an actual charged air amount to the injected fuel amount (i.e., an actual air-fuel ratio) will possibly deviate from a target value (i.e., a target air-fuel ratio). In other words, the accuracy of the air-fuel control will be worsened during such a transient state of the engine operation.
In view of the foregoing problems of the prior art, the present invention has an object to provide a control apparatus for an internal combustion engine capable of improving the accuracy of the air-fuel ratio control during a transient state of the engine operating conditions.
To accomplish the above and other related objects, the present invention predicts a throttle opening degree at the intake valve close timing (i.e., a charged air amount determining timing), then predicts a charged air amount based on the predictive throttle opening degree, and finally calculates a fuel injection amount based on the predictive charged air amount. The reason why the present invention uses the throttle opening degree as a parameter for predicting the charged air amount is that a variation of the charged air amount originates from a change of the throttle opening degree. Thus, it is believed that any variation of the charged air amount is accurately and responsively predictable based on a change of the throttle opening degree.
To this end, the present invention provides a first control apparatus for an internal combustion engine comprising an electronic throttle system for controlling a throttle opening degree, including a throttle actuator for driving a throttle valve. An opening degree command calculating means is provided for calculating an opening degree command value based on an accelerator depression amount. A delay means is provided for delaying an output timing of the opening degree command value calculated by the opening degree command calculating means sent to the throttle actuator. A throttle opening degree predicting means is provided for obtaining a predictive throttle opening degree based on a non-delayed opening degree command value being not delayed by the delay means and response delay characteristics of the electronic throttle system, at a timing prior to outputting a delayed opening degree command value. A charged air amount predicting means is provided for obtaining a predictive charged air amount charged into an engine cylinder based on the predictive throttle opening degree obtained by the throttle opening degree predicting means. And, a fuel injection amount calculating means is provided for calculating a fuel injection amount based on the predictive charged air amount obtained by the charged air amount predicting means.
With this arrangement, it becomes possible to predict the throttle opening degree at an intake valve close timing (i.e., at the charged air amount determining timing) by appropriately delaying the output timing of the opening degree command sent to the throttle actuator. In general, an electronic throttle system includes a response delay (or a response lag) in its operation. Thus, the throttle opening degree is predicted based on the non-delayed opening degree command value being not delayed by the delay means and response delay characteristics of the electronic throttle system, at a timing prior to outputting the delayed opening degree command value. Thus, the first control apparatus for an internal combustion engine of the present invention can accurately predict the throttle opening degree at the intake valve close timing, and accurately predict the charged air amount charged into the engine cylinder based on the predicted throttle opening degree. As a result, the air-fuel ratio control accuracy can be improved during a transient state of engine operation.
Predicting a charged air amount based on the predictive throttle opening degree is advantageous in that good response is assured during the transient state. However, merely relying on the predictive charged air amount is not desirable in that a predictive charged air amount in a stationary state tends to deviate from the actual value due to dispersion or aging of the electronic throttle system or due to driving conditions. Furthermore, the charged air amount does not vary in a stationary condition. In other words, a charged air amount calculated based on present operating parameters (intake airflow amount, intake pressure etc.) substantially agrees with the charged air amount determined at a succeeding intake valve close timing.
In view of the above, it is preferable that the charged air amount predicting means obtains a predictive change of charged air amount during a predetermined predictive time terminating at an intake valve close timing based on the predictive throttle opening degree obtained by the throttle opening degree predicting means. The obtained predictive change of charged air amount is added to a base charged air amount obtained based on present operating parameters to obtain the predictive charged air amount.
This makes it possible to accurately predict a charged air amount charged into the engine cylinder in each intake stroke in both of stationary and transient states.
Furthermore, it is preferable that the charged air amount predicting means uses an intake system model according to which a throttle opening is regarded as an orifice and the law of mass conservation is applied to a throttled air amount and an intake air flowing in a throttle downstream intake passage, and the predictive change of charged air amount is obtained by integrating an output of this intake system model during the predictive time terminating at an intake valve close timing. By using this intake system model, it becomes possible to accurately predict the change of charged air amount through a relatively simple calculation.
Furthermore, it is preferable that the throttled air amount is obtained in the intake system model according to the following expression   Gin  =      μ    ·    A    ·          Pa                        R          ·          T                      ·          f      (              Pm        /        Pa            )
Gin: throttled air amount [kg/sec]
xcexc: flow coefficient
A: effective cross-sectional area of throttle opening [m2]
Pa: atmospheric pressure [Pa]
Pm: intake pressure [Pa]
R: gas constant
T: intake temperature [K]
f(Pm/Pa): physical value determined based on a ratio of Pm to Pa, f(Pm/Pa)=a negative value when Pm/Pa greater than 1
A=xcfx80r2(1xe2x88x92cos2xcex8)
r: radius of throttle valve [m]
xcex8: throttle opening degree
In this case, the charged air amount predicting means calculates f(Pm/Pa) from a table with a parameter of Pm/Pa, and calculates xcexcxc2x7A from a table with a parameter of the predictive throttle opening degree (xcex8f).
Furthermore, it is preferable that the table used for calculating f(Pm/Pa) is set in the following manner
f(Pm/Pa)=a positive value when Pm/Pa less than 1
f(Pm/Pa)=0 when Pm/Pa=1 and
f(Pm/Pa)=a negative value when Pm/Pa greater than 1
wherein the charged air amount predicting means includes a means for averaging a calculation value of the intake system model.
As described later, f(Pm/Pa) is physically a non-negative value. Setting f(Pm/Pa)=0 in the region Pm/Pa greater than 1 possibly causes a hunting phenomenon of calculation values in the intake system model during a high load operating condition (i.e., when Pm/Pa is in the vicinity of 1). This is believed because a change rate of f(Pm/Pa) becomes large when Pm/Pa is in the vicinity of 1. Every time when the calculated value Pm/Pa becomes equal to or larger than 1, f(Pm/Pa) is guarded at 0. Thus, the change of f(Pm/Pa) becomes irregular during the high load operating condition.
To solve this problem, f(Pm/Pa) is set to a negative value when Pm/Pa greater than 1 so that the variation of f(Pm/Pa) becomes regular during the high load operating condition. By averaging the calculation value of the intake system model, it becomes possible to stabilize the calculation value of the intake system model, thereby preventing the hunting phenomenon during the high load operating condition.
Furthermore, it is preferable that the delay means sets a delay time Tdly of the opening degree command value, wherein the delay time Tdly is expressed by
Tdly=Tinjxe2x88x92Tth
when Tinj represents the predictive time from a fuel injection amount calculating timing (i.e., a charged air amount predicting timing) to the intake valve close timing, and Tth represents a dead time of the electronic throttle system.
This makes it possible set the delay time Tdly so as to equalize the predictive throttle opening degree with the actual throttle opening degree at the intake valve close timing. In other words, the calculation of the predictive throttle opening degree becomes easy.
In this case, the dead time Tth of the electronic throttle system is a constant value irrelevant to a throttle driving speed. On the other hand, the predictive time Tinj decreases with increasing engine speed and may become shorter than the dead time Tth in a high engine speed region.
Considering this point, it is preferable that the delay means outputs the opening degree command value without any delay when the predictive time Tinj is shorter than the dead time Tth. This prevents a useless throttle delay control in the high engine speed region. The throttle response at the high engine speed region is improved.
Furthermore, it is preferable that the delay means outputs the opening degree command value without any delay when the engine is in any one of the following conditions:
{circle around (1)} a predetermined time has not elapsed since the engine operation is started;
{circle around (2)} the engine is in an idling condition; and
{circle around (3)} an automatic transmission is in a neutral condition.
In general, immediately after the engine operation is started, the engine operating condition is unstable. If the throttle delay control is forcibly executed to delay the output timing of the opening degree command, the engine speed will fluctuate largely. Furthermore, the throttle delay control possibly interferes with the idling speed control. The idling speed will become unstable. When the automatic transmission is in a neutral condition, the engine usually race in response to a depression of an accelerator pedal. A driver may test the response of an engine through the racing. However, if the throttle delay control is performed during the neutral condition, the driver will feel that this engine has bad response.
Accordingly, any adverse influence caused by the throttle delay control can be eliminated by prohibiting the throttle delay control in the above specific engine operating conditions (i.e., startup, idling, neutral).
Furthermore, it is preferable that the throttle opening degree predicting means obtains the predictive throttle opening degree responsive to a delayed outputting of the opening degree command value by using an electronic throttle model including a first-order or more higher order delay element inputting the non-delayed opening degree command value not delayed by the delay means and a speed limiter.
In general, the electronic throttle system is so complicated that its structure cannot be precisely expressed as a physical model. However, using the first-order or more higher order delay element to simulate the response delay characteristics of the electronic throttle system and also using the speed limiter to simulate the limit characteristics of the drive speed of a throttle valve can construct an simply processible electronic throttle model and can realize a reliable calculation for predicting the throttle opening degree without requiring highly advanced performance of CPU.
Furthermore, there is the possibility that the predictive throttle opening degree may deviate from the actual value doe to dispersion and aging of the electronic throttle system or due to driving condition.
Hence, it is preferable that the throttle opening degree predicting means obtains a predictive throttle opening change during a predetermined predictive time terminating at an intake valve close timing by using an electronic throttle model, and obtains the predictive throttle opening degree at the intake valve close timing by adding the predictive throttle opening change to a present throttle opening degree. The predicting accuracy of the throttle opening degree can be improved.
Furthermore, it is preferable that the fuel injection amount calculating means has a correcting means for correcting the fuel injection amount in accordance with engine operating conditions, and the correcting means uses a first correction factor for a load change caused by an accelerator depression which smaller than a second correction factor for a load change irrelevant to the accelerator depression.
Regarding a load change caused by the accelerator depression, it is relatively easy to accurately predict the charged air amount. Thus, a smaller fuel correction factor is used for the load change relating to the accelerator depression. On the other hand, a load change caused when an automatic transmission is shifted from a neutral range to a drive range, or a load change caused by a power steering device, a braking system, or an air-conditioning apparatus is not easily predictable based on the accelerator depression. Thus, a larger fuel correction factor is used for the load changed not relating to the accelerator depression.
Accordingly, the fuel injection amount calculating means can appropriately select the fuel correction factor according to the nature of a detected load change.
The present invention provides a second control apparatus for an internal combustion engine which does not rely on the throttle delay control. The second control apparatus for an internal combustion engine comprises an electronic throttle system for controlling a throttle opening degree, including a throttle actuator for driving a throttle valve. An opening degree command calculating means is provided for calculating an opening degree command value based on an accelerator depression amount. A throttle opening degree predicting means is provided for obtaining a predictive throttle opening degree at an intake valve close timing based on the opening degree command value calculated by the opening degree command calculating means and response delay characteristics of the electronic throttle system. A charged air amount predicting means is provided for obtaining a predictive charged air amount charged into an engine cylinder based on the predictive throttle opening degree obtained by the throttle opening degree predicting means. And, fuel injection amount calculating means is provided for calculating a fuel injection amount based on the predictive charged air amount obtained by the charged air amount predicting means.
With this arrangement, it becomes possible to predict the throttle opening degree based on the dead time of the electronic throttle system and therefore it becomes possible to accurately predict the charged air amount based on the predictive throttle opening degree. Thus, it becomes possible to improve the air-fuel control accuracy during a transient state.
In this case, it is preferable that the charged air amount predicting means obtains a predictive change of charged air amount during a predetermined predictive time terminating at an intake valve close timing based on the predictive throttle opening degree obtained by the throttle opening degree predicting means, and adds the predictive change of charged air amount to the base charged air amount obtained based on present operating parameters to obtain the predictive charged air amount.
The present invention provides a third control apparatus for an internal combustion engine which is applicable to a mechanical throttle system having a throttle valve directly linked with an accelerator pedal.
The third control apparatus for an internal combustion engine comprises a base charged air amount calculating means for calculating a base charged air amount based on present operating parameters. A change amount predicting means for obtaining a predictive change of charged air amount charged into an engine cylinder during a predetermined predictive time terminating at an intake valve close timing based on an output of an intake system model according to which a throttle opening is regarded as an orifice and the law of mass conservation is applied to a throttled air amount and an intake air flowing in a throttle downstream intake passage. A charged air amount predicting means is provided for obtaining a predictive charged air amount by adding the base charged air amount calculated by the base charged air amount calculating means to the predictive change obtained by the change amount predicting means. And, a fuel injection amount calculating means is provided for calculating a fuel injection amount based on the predictive charged air amount obtained by the charged air amount predicting means.
With this arrangement, it becomes possible to improve the calculation accuracy of the charged air amount even in a mechanical throttle system. Accordingly, the air-fuel control accuracy during a transient state can be improved.
The present invention provides a fourth control apparatus for an internal combustion engine which uses an intake system model which calculates a charged air amount charged into an engine cylinder based on an output of an intake airflow amount detecting means (e.g., an airflow meter).
The fourth control apparatus for an internal combustion engine comprises an intake airflow amount detecting means for detecting a flow amount of intake air flowing in an intake passage of an internal combustion engine. A calculating means, using an intake system model which simulates the behavior of intake air flowing in the intake passage after passing through a throttle valve and entering into the engine cylinder, is provided for calculating a charged air amount charged into an engine cylinder by inputting an output of the intake airflow amount detecting means into the intake system model to obtained an output of the intake system model as the charged air amount. In this case, a time constant of this intake system model is set to a smaller value so that a change of calculated charged air amount in this intake system model appears earlier than an actual change of charged air amount.
Setting such a smaller time constant brings the same effects as that brought by predicting the future charged air amount based on the throttle opening degree. Thus, the calculating accuracy of the charged air amount during a transient state can be improved. And therefore, the control accuracy of the air-fuel ratio during a transient state can be improved.
The present invention provides a fifth control apparatus for an internal combustion engine which uses two kinds of intake system models for predicting the air amount charged into an engine cylinder.
The fifth control apparatus for an internal combustion engine comprises a present charged air amount estimating means for estimating a present charged air amount charged into an engine cylinder based on a present throttle opening degree. A throttle opening degree predicting means is provided for estimating a future throttle opening degree. A future charged air amount estimating means is provided for predicting a future charged air amount based on the future throttle opening degree. A predictive charged air amount calculating means is provided for obtaining a difference between the future charged air amount and the present charged air amount and adding the obtained difference to a base charged air amount calculated based on present operating parameters to obtain a final predictive charged air amount. And, a fuel injection amount calculating means is provided for calculating a fuel injection amount based on the final predictive charged air amount.
With this arrangement, it becomes possible to accurately predict a change of charged air and therefore it becomes possible to improve the predicting accuracy of the air charged into an engine cylinder.

Control system for an internal combustion engine


The present invention prevents the occurrence of noise caused by an external electromagnetic wave. The present invention also prevents a high voltage from appearing in the microphone case, thus avoiding the possibility of an electric shock. A condenser microphone includes a conductive microphone case 10 containing an electronic circuit 20 for a condenser microphone unit and a 3-pin type output connector 30 attached to the microphone case 10 and to which a microphone cable 40 from an external apparatus including a polarization power source is connected. A first pin for grounding included in the output connector 30 is connected directly to the microphone case 10 and is also connected to a ground of the electronic circuit 20 via a high-frequency choke coil 31.

A condenser microphone comprises a condenser microphone unit having a very high impedance. Accordingly, the condenser microphone contains an impedance converter such as an FET (field effect transistor). Typically, a phantom power source is used in the condenser microphone. A microphone output is provided via a balanced shield cable of the phantom power source.
For example, a hand (hand-held) microphone normally comprises a 3-pin type output connector. The microphone can be attached to and detached from a microphone cable. The output connector is specified in EIAJ RC-5236 "Latch Lock Type Round Connector for Acoustic Equipment". By way of example, as shown in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. H11-341583), a cylindrical base consisting of an electric insulator is penetrated by three pins, a first pin for grounding, a second pin used as a hot side of a signal, and a third pin used as a cold side of a signal.
A microphone case is a shield case consisting of a metal material, for example, brass. The microphone case contains an electronic circuit comprising an output circuit including an impedance converter for the condenser microphone unit and a polarization voltage generating circuit, or the like. However, when an intense electromagnetic wave is applied to the microphone or microphone cable, it may enter the microphone case via the output connector from the microphone cable. The electromagnetic wave is then demodulated by the impedance converter. As a result, noise of an audible frequency may be output from the microphone.
As a technique for preventing noise resulting from the entry of an electromagnetic wave from the output connector into the microphone case, a method has been proposed which connects the ground of the electronic circuit to the microphone case by wiring and which then couples the grounding first pin, included in the output connector, directly to the microphone case (see Non-Patent Document 1; Jim Brown and David Josephson "Radio Frequency Susceptibility of Capacitor Microphones" Audio Engineering Society Convention Paper 5720 (p. 12, FIG. 8)).
The method described in Non-Patent Document 1 prevents a loop current path from being formed by the floating capacity between the electronic circuit and the microphone case. Further, this method does not involve wiring joining the grounding first pin and the ground of the electronic circuit together, that is, it does not involve anything acting as an antenna. This makes it possible to effectively prevent the entry of an electromagnetic wave.
However, according to the method described in Non-Patent Document 1, the grounding first pin is coupled directly to the microphone case, so that the use of the phantom power source results in the passage of a current through the microphone case. Consequently, if the grounding first pin gets detached from the microphone case for any reason, the potential of the microphone case may increase to 30 V or higher in the case of a 48-V phantom power source. In this case, touching the microphone case with the hand may result in an electric shock.


The present invention relates to a thermal barrier coated article with spallation and delamination inhibiting metallic bond coat. The metallic bond coat contains a reactive element oxide, preferably yttria, which reacts with sulfur, typically migrating from the substrate to the thermal barrier coating, to prevent the sulfur from inducing spallation of the oxide scale at the interface of the thermal barrier coating and the metallic bond coat. This metallic bond coat is preferably multi-layered having a reactive element oxide containing layer sandwiched between two reactive element oxide-free layers.

Many industries conventionally employ thermal barrier coatings to thermally insulate an article. FIG. 1 represents a conventional thermal barrier coated article which typically comprises a metallic layer 5 beneath a thermal barrier coating, often a ceramic layer, 1, applied to a superalloy substrate 10. The ceramic layer, which reduces the surface temperature of the metallic substrate, is chosen based upon thermal conductivity, stability, expansion compatibility with the substrate, and thermocyclic compatibility. Industry typically employs yttria stabilized zirconia as the preferred ceramic layer.
The metallic layer, commonly referred to as a bond coat, functions as a bonding means between the ceramic layer and the substrate. Conventional metallic layers include nickel-aluminum systems which generally consist of a mixture of gamma and beta phases, or the intermetallic compound nickel aluminide (NiAl). Gamma represents the solid solutions of the elements nickel, aluminum, chromium, cobalt, and the other elements that comprise the nickel base superalloys, while beta represents the intermetallic compound of nickel and aluminum frequently modified by the elements commonly present in the superalloys and often alloyed with special elements such as platinum and other precious metal elements.
The interface between the metallic layer and the ceramic layer is typically an oxide scale, such as alumina scale, which bonds the two layers together. Premature failure of these thermal barrier coatings is typically associated with chipping or breaking up (spallation) of the oxide scale. What is needed in the art is an improved thermal barrier coated article which is resistant to delamination of the thermal barrier coating due to oxide scale spallation.

Spallation/delamination resistant thermal barrier coated article