A plasma processing apparatus is disclosed which comprises a container which can be evacuated; a gas supply means for supplying a gas to the inside of the container; and a microwave supply means for supplying microwaves to generate a plasma in the container, the plasma being utilized to process an article, wherein the microwave supply means is a microwave applicator which is provided with an annular waveguide having a planar H-plane with a plurality of slots provided apart from each other and a rectangular cross section perpendicular to the traveling direction of microwaves and which supplies microwaves to the inside of the container through a dielectric window of the container from the plurality of slots provided in the planar H-plane, and wherein the gas supply means is provided a gas emission port through which the gas is emitted toward the planar H-plane.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a plasma processing apparatus for applying plasma processing to an article to be processed (hereinafter, simply referred to as xe2x80x9carticlexe2x80x9d as occasion demands) using microwaves, and more particularly to a microwave applicator having an annular (or circular) waveguide, a plasma processing apparatus provided therewith, a microwave applicator having a multiple annular waveguide, and a plasma processing apparatus provided therewith.
2. Related Background Art
As plasma processing apparatuses that use microwaves as an excitation source for plasma generation, there have been known the plasma polymerizing apparatus, the CVD apparatus, the surface modifying apparatus, the etching apparatus, the ashing apparatus, and the cleaning apparatus and the like.
The CVD using such a so-called microwave plasma processing apparatus is carried out, for example, as follows. A gas is introduced into a plasma generation chamber and/or a film formation chamber of a microwave plasma CVD apparatus, and a microwave energy is simultaneously applied to generate a plasma in the plasma generation chamber to excite and/or decompose the gas, thereby forming a deposited film on an article to be processed disposed in the plasma generation chamber or film formation chamber. Further, a similar method can be used to carry out plasma polymerization of an organic substance or surface modification such as oxidation, nitridation or fluorination.
Furthermore, the etching using a microwave plasma etching apparatus is carried out, for example, as follows. An etchant gas is introduced into a processing chamber of the apparatus, and a microwave energy is simultaneously applied to excite and/or decompose the etchant gas to generate a plasma in the processing chamber, thereby etching the surface of an article to be processed disposed in the processing chamber.
In addition, the ashing using a microwave plasma ashing apparatus is carried out, for example, as follows. An ashing gas is introduced into a processing chamber in the apparatus, and a microwave energy is simultaneously applied to excite and/or decompose the ashing gas in order to generate a plasma in the processing chamber, thereby ashing the surface of an article to be processed, namely a photoresist disposed in the processing chamber. As with the ashing, it is possible to effect cleaning for removing unwanted matter deposited on a to-be-processed surface of an article to be processed.
In the microwave plasma processing apparatus, since microwaves are used as a gas excitation source, electrons can be accelerated by an electric field having a high frequency, thereby efficiently ionizing and excite gas molecules. Thus, the microwave plasma processing apparatus is advantageous in that the efficiency of ionization, excitation, and decomposition of a gas is high, so that a high density plasma can relatively easily be formed, thereby enabling fast processing at a low temperature to provide high quality. In addition, since the microwaves have a property of penetrating a dielectric member, the plasma processing apparatus can be constituted as a electrodeless discharge type, whereby highly clean plasma processing can be carried out.
To increase the processing speed of the microwave plasma processing apparatus, plasma processing apparatuses using electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) have been put to practical use. The ECR is a phenomenon in which when the magnetic flux density is 87.5 mT, the electron cyclotron frequency for electrons rotating around the magnetic line of force is brought into conformity with the general frequency of the microwaves of 2.45 GHz, whereby the electrons resonantly absorb microwaves to be accelerated, thereby generating a high density plasma. As to such an ECR plasma processing apparatus, the following four typical configurations for a microwave introducing means and a magnetic-field generating means are known.
In a first configuration (i), microwaves propagated via a waveguide are introduced into a cylindrical plasma generation chamber from a surface opposed to an article to be processed through a transmissive window, and a divergent magnetic field coaxial with the central axis of the plasma generation chamber is introduced via an electromagnetic coil provided at the periphery of the plasma generation chamber. In a second configuration (ii), microwaves transmitted via a waveguide are introduced into a bell-shaped plasma generation chamber from a surface opposed to an article to be processed, and a magnetic field coaxial with the central axis of the plasma generation chamber is introduced via an electromagnetic coil provided at the periphery of the plasma generation chamber. In a third configuration (iii), microwaves are introduced into a plasma generation chamber from its periphery via a coil that is a kind of a cylindrical slot antenna, and a magnetic field coaxial with the central axis of the plasma generation chamber is introduced via an electromagnetic coil provided at the periphery of the plasma generation chamber. In a fourth configuration (iv), microwaves transmitted via a waveguide are introduced into a cylindrical plasma generation chamber from a surface opposed to an article to be processed via a planar slot antenna, and a loop-like magnetic field parallel to the antenna plane is introduced via a permanent magnet provided on the rear surface of the planar antenna (planar slot antenna method).
Further, U.S. Pat. No. 5,034,086 discloses a plasma processing apparatus using a radial line slot antenna (RLSA).
In addition, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-290995, U.S. Pat. No. 5,359,177, and EP 0564359 disclose a plasma processing apparatus using an annular waveguide with terminals.
Separately, as an example of a microwave plasma processing apparatus, there has recently been proposed an apparatus using an annular waveguide in which a plurality of slots are formed on an inner side surface thereof as a device for uniform and efficient introduction of microwaves (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-345982; U.S. Pat. No. 5,538,699).
This microwave plasma processing apparatus is shown in FIG. 29 and a microwave supply means thereof is shown in FIG. 28.
Reference numeral 501 designates a plasma generation chamber; 502 is a dielectric window that separates the plasma generation chamber 501 from the atmosphere; 503 is a slotted endless annular waveguide with a cylindrical external shape for supplying microwaves to the plasma generation chamber 501; 505 is a plasma-generating gas supply means; 511 is a processing chamber connected to the plasma generation chamber 501; 512 is an article to be processed; 513 is a support for the article 512; 514 is a heater for heating the article 512; 515 is a processing gas supply means; 516 is an exhaust port; 521 is a block that distributes microwaves to the right and left; and 522 is a slot provided in a curved surface 523. In addition, 524 is a diaphragm and 525 is a microwave introducing port.
The generation of a plasma and the processing are carried out as follows.
The inside of the plasma generation chamber 501 and the processing chamber 511 is evacuated via an exhaust system (not shown). Subsequently, a plasma generating gas is introduced into the plasma generation chamber 501 at a predetermined flow rate via the gas supply port 505.
Then, a conductance valve (not shown) provided in the exhaust system (not shown) is adjusted to retain the inside of the plasma generation chamber 501 at a predetermined pressure. A desired power is supplied to the inside of the plasma generation chamber 501 from a microwave power source (not shown) via the annular waveguide 503.
On this occasion, the microwaves introduced into the annular waveguide 503 are distributed to the right and left by the distributing block 521 and propagate through the waveguide at a guide wavelength longer than a free-space wavelength. The microwaves are supplied from the slots 522 provided at an interval of xc2xd or xc2xc of the guide wavelength, through the dielectric window 502 to the plasma generation chamber 501 to generate a plasma 527.
At this time, when a processing gas has been supplied into the processing chamber 511 via the processing gas supply pipe 515, the processing gas is excited by the high density plasma as generated to process a surface of the article to be processed 512 put on the support 513.
Since the use of such a microwave plasma processing apparatus can generate a high density, low potential plasma of a uniformity within xc2x13%, an electron density 1012/cm3 or more, an electron temperature 3 eV or less, and a plasma potential 20V or less in a space of a diameter of about 200 mm at a microwave power of xe2x88x921 kW or more, the gas can fully be reacted and supplied in an active state to the article to be processed and the surface damage due to incident ions of the article to be processed can be reduced, thereby enabling high quality and high speed processing even at low temperatures.
However, when the microwave plasma processing apparatus that generates a high density, low potential plasma as shown in FIGS. 28 and 29 is used to effect processing in a high pressure region at 100 mTorr (about 13.3322 Pa) or more, as in the case of the ashing processing, the diffusion of plasma is suppressed, so that the plasma may locally exist in the periphery of the chamber to reduce the processing speed for the center portion of the article to be processed.
Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-90591 discloses a plasma processing apparatus using a disc-like microwave introducing device. In this apparatus, a gas is introduced into a waveguide and emitted toward a plasma generation chamber through slots provided in the waveguide. In this apparatus, in order to prevent a plasma from being generated in the waveguide, the gas supply pressure, the conductance in the waveguide, the conductance of the slots, the exhaust pressure, and the like must be adjusted precisely. It is thus very difficult to design an apparatus that can be commonly used for any one of the CVD, etching, ashing, and so on the optimal pressures for which are different from one another.
In addition, for the processing of the surfaces of a 12-inch wafer (also called xe2x80x9c300 mm waferxe2x80x9d) of a diameter 305 mm, a glass substrate of an area equivalent thereto, and the like as required in recent years, a layer of a high density plasma is needed which is uniform, of a large area, and thin.
To provide such a plasma layer, the configuration of a gas supply means and/or the configuration of a microwave supply means need to be further improved.
A first object of the present invention is to provide a plasma processing apparatus and method that can perform various higher-quality plasma processing of higher quality at lower temperatures.
A second object of the present invention is to improve a gas supply means and to therefore provide a plasma processing apparatus and method that can generate a layer of a high density plasma which is uniform, of a large area, and thin, even when the processing is carried out in a region of a relatively high pressure.
A third object of the present invention is to provide a microwave applicator of a simple and inexpensive structure that can provide various microwave radiant intensity distributions.
A fourth object of the present invention is to improve a microwave supply means and to therefore provide a microwave applicator and a plasma processing apparatus and method that can generate a layer of a high density plasma which is uniform, of a large area, and thin.
A fifth object of the present invention is to provide a microwave applicator and a plasma processing apparatus and method that can plasma-process a large area article to be processed equivalent to a wafer of a diameter of 300 mm or more.
The gist of the present invention resides in a microwave applicator having a slot provided in the plane of an annular waveguide and a plasma processing apparatus and method using the same.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a plasma processing apparatus comprising a container which can be evacuated; a gas supply means for supplying a gas to the inside of the container; and a microwave supply means for supplying microwaves to generate a plasma in the container, the plasma being utilized to process an article, wherein the microwave supply means is a microwave applicator which is provided with an annular waveguide having a planar H-plane with a plurality of slots provided apart from each other and a rectangular cross section perpendicular to the traveling direction of microwaves and which supplies microwaves to the inside of the container through a dielectric window of the container from the plurality of slots provided in the planar H-plane, and wherein the gas supply means is provided a gas emission port through which the gas is emitted toward the planar H-plane.
This configuration can generate a uniform, large-area, and low-temperature plasma even at a relatively high pressure, whereby a large-area article to be processed equivalent to a 8-inch or more wafer can be processed.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a microwave applicator which is provided with an annular waveguide having a plane with a plurality of slots provided apart from each other and a rectangular cross section perpendicular to the traveling direction of microwaves and which supplies microwaves to the outside of the annular waveguide from the plurality of slots provided in the plane, wherein an assembly comprising a conductive member having an annular recessed portion and a microwave introducing port formed therein and a plate-like conductive member having the plurality of slots formed therein forms the annular waveguide in which the plane with the plurality of slots forms an H-plane.
This configuration enables a low-cost and highly universal microwave applicator to be manufactured.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a plasma processing apparatus comprising a container which can be evacuated; a gas supply means for supplying a gas to the inside of the container; and a microwave supply means for supplying microwaves to generate a plasma in the container, the plasma being utilized to process an article, wherein the microwave supply means is a microwave applicator which is provided concentrically with a plurality of annular waveguides each having a planar H-plane with a plurality of slots provided apart from each other and a rectangular cross section perpendicular to the traveling direction of microwaves and which supplies microwaves to the inside of the container through a dielectric window of the container from the plurality of slots provided in the planar H-plane of each of the plurality of annular waveguides.
This configuration can generate a uniform, large-area, and low-temperature plasma regardless of flow of the gas, whereby a large-area article to be processed equivalent to a 12-inch or more wafer can be processed.

Plasma processing apparatus provided with microwave applicator having annular waveguide and processing method


A method and apparatus for improving the separation efficiency of a cyclone separator intended for gaseous medium flows in which an incoming gaseous medium flow to be cleansed is directed into the cyclone separator through an inlet duct such that the incoming medium flow ends up in a downward, revolving flow movement inside the cyclone separator until the incoming medium flow reaches a bottom end of a conical lower part of the cyclone separator, and then becomes a revolving tornado flow that flows in a generally upward direction opposite to the direction of the downward, revolving flow movement. An outlet flow of cleansed gaseous medium is directed through a center pipe situated in the cyclone separator. A component-flow pipe is arranged in the center pipe such that the component-flow pipe has an inlet opening in a wall of the center pipe. A component flow of the incoming medium flow is passed from a location within the cyclone separator through the inlet opening in the wall of the center pipe into the component-flow pipe directed out of the component-flow pipe against the tornado flow such that the component flow disintegrates the tornado flow and thereby prevents solid matter from being carried along with the tornado flow through the center pipe into the outlet flow of the cleansed medium flow.

In the prior art, cyclone separators are used for separation of particles of solid matter present in gas flows. In a cyclone separator, the gaseous medium flow enters inside the cyclone separator into a centrifugal flow which revolves inside the cyclone, as a rule, flowing from the top towards the bottom. When the cyclone operates in the vertical position, the inlet of the gaseous medium flow is placed at the top edge of the cyclone separator, in which case the gaseous medium flow that flows in starts revolving downwards inside the cylindrical cyclone separator. When the revolving medium flow flows down into the conical bottom portion of the cyclone separator while maintaining its flow velocity, the revolving medium flow is accelerated at a certain angular velocity. When the revolving medium flow reaches the bottom of the conical bottom portion of the cyclone separator, the revolving medium flow is forced to turn upwards while maintaining its sense of rotation. Then, as is well known, at the lowest point in the bottom end of the cyclone separator, a so-called tornado effect is produced, which is seen, for example, in summer in wind whirls.
Frequently, dust and other solid matter is absorbed into such tornado whirls, being carried along by the tornado whirl and raised even to a high altitude. It is only after disintegration of the tornado whirl that the solid matter can fall down freely and be separated from the tornado to the environment.
In principle, the same also takes place in a cyclone separator regarding the tornado formed inside the conical part at the lower end. The tornado vortex always carries along with it some of the dust or particles of solid matter entering into the cyclone along with the gaseous medium flow. This is why cyclone separators can, as a rule, not be considered to be very good dust separators, because, along with the tornado flow, even large dust particles can flow out of a cyclone separator, for which reason, by means of the prior-art cyclone separators, a particularly precise separation limit cannot be achieved.
At present, a number of different cyclone solutions are used, of which so-called low-pressure, medium-pressure, and high-pressure cyclones should be mentioned. This refers to the pressure loss in the gaseous medium flowing in the cyclone separator that is required by the flowing-through with a nominal volume. Low-pressure cyclones usually have rather large diameters. On the other hand, the diameters of high-pressure cyclones are relatively small. In high-pressure cyclones, the pressure loss may be up to 2000 Pa, whereas in low-pressure cyclones the pressure loss is usually less than 1000 Pa. High-pressure cyclones are often constructed side by side as groups, in which case such a solution is called a multi-cyclone battery. Such a multi-cyclone battery is relatively difficult to manufacture, because it comprises a number of small cyclones, whose dimensional accuracy must be very high. This is why the manufacture of multi-cyclone batteries is relatively expensive. Also, owing to the magnitude of the pressure loss, their operation requires considerably more energy than the operation of low-pressure cyclones does.
The efficiency of separation of cyclone separators depends on the centrifugal field formed inside the cyclone separator. It is commonly known that the higher the angular velocity of the gaseous medium flow, the more intensive is the centrifugal field, and that the intensity of the centrifugal field is directly proportional to the second power of the angular velocity of the medium flow. This is why small-diameter cyclone separators are more efficient separators than cyclone separators of larger diameter. It also comes from this that, in practical solutions, multi-cyclones are adopted more and more frequently even though their investment cost and power consumption are higher. In spite of this, cyclone separators are not capable of meeting the requirements of good efficiency of separation.
From the prior art, a solution is known by whose means the tornado effect can be eliminated to a reasonable extent. This solution consists of a tornado elimination plate placed at a suitable distance from the orifice of the centre pipe of the cyclone separator, which plate prevents direct flow of the tornado flow into the centre pipe. A drawback of this prior-art solution is intensive wear of the elimination plate, and further, the size of the elimination plate may produce undue wear of the cylinder part of the cyclone separator.

Method and apparatus for improving the separation efficiency of a cyclone separator intended for gaseous fluid flows


An apparatus is provided for facilitating communication between, for example, a configuration tool in a process control system and a wireless field device (such as a wireless sensor or actuator). The configuration tool and the wireless field device use different protocols, and the apparatus converts between the different protocols. The protocol used by the configuration tool could include HART. From the perspective of the wireless field device, the apparatus could appear to support the application protocol of the wireless field device. From the perspective of the configuration tool, the apparatus could simulate a HART multiplexer. This may allow a user to use the configuration tool to configure, commission, and monitor the wireless field device, even when the user does not know or understand the protocol used by the wireless field device.

Processing facilities are often managed using process control systems. Example processing facilities include manufacturing plants, chemical plants, crude oil refineries, and ore processing plants. Among other operations, process control systems typically interact with and control various field devices, such as sensors and actuators, in the processing facilities.
Field devices are typically configured and commissioned to operate in a specific process control system and are monitored during operation in that process control system. Engineers, operators, or other personnel routinely use configuration tools to configure, commission, and monitor the field devices. Different configuration tools are often used in different process control systems or even within the same process control system, often depending on the type(s) of communication protocol(s) used in the process control system(s). Quite a few of the communication protocols are standard, and a configuration tool associated with a standard communication protocol can often be used in any process control system supporting that communication protocol.

Apparatus and method for integrating wireless or other field devices in a process control system


The invention concerns a coupling for connecting hydraulic lines having a first coupling part 1 with a first valve 6, which is received into a housing 3, and including means for receiving a second coupling part 2, which includes a second valve 64. The truncated conical valve body 30 of first valve 6 is urged in the closing direction by a separate closing spring 33. Valve body 30 of first valve 6 is then penetrated by an actuator, which is adjustable in the direction of second valve 64, and which actsacross an actuating surface cooperatively with an actuating shaft 7 disposed diagonally to the valve axis and penetrates housing 3 of first coupling part 1, which actuating surface, on the one hand, acts on valve body 30 of first valve 6 and, on the other hand, on an actuator 35. The actuator 35 is urged toward actuating surface 22 by means of an opening spring 37 supported by valve body 30. In order to attain a simplified assembly, the actuating surface is part of a separate actuating member 18, which is attached non-rotatably to an actuating shaft 7, which is divided into two partial shaft pieces 8, 9.

The invention relates to a coupling for connecting hydraulic lines. The coupling includes a first coupling part containing a first valve which is inside a housing of the first coupling part. The first coupling part has means for receiving a second coupling part to which a second valve is added. The first valve has a valve body in the form of a truncated cone which, in its closed position, is in contact with a conical sealing surface of the housing of the first coupling part. The valve body is axially penetrated by an actuator, which is movable relative to it in the direction of the second valve. An actuator shaft is disposed transversely to the valve axis and penetrates the housing of the first coupling part. The actuating shaft acts upon the valve body of the first valve by means of actuating surfaces. The actuator is spring loaded by means of an opening spring supported at the valve body of the first valve in order to urge it toward the actuator surface.
A relevant coupling is described in DE 37 04 159 C2, issued Jun. 8, 1989. In this case, a very complicated eccentric shaft is provided, which, on the one hand, moves a sliding sleeve for the ball lock closure into the locking position, then moves an actuator, supported axially in a sleeve valve body, in the direction of the plug valve and opens it, and subsequently opens the sleeve valve body opposite to the direction of the actuator. Here, the face of the sleeve valve body directed toward the plug is constructed in such a manner that it has approximately the negative contour of the conical continuation of the plug valve extending from the plug. When connecting the plug, the conical continuation of the plug valve is directed beyond the plug receiving bore into the correspondingly shaped receptacle of the sleeve valve. Here the disadvantage is that the sleeve valve is opened and closed by means of forced guidance. The control surface of the eccentric shaft cooperates with two opposite surfaces at the valve body and a snap ring connected to it. By both, forced guidance of the valve body in both directions by way of the eccentric shaft is assured. Further, the eccentric shaft has separate control surfaces for operating the actuator in order to shift the plug valve into the open position. The operation of the actuator occurs at a time prior to the opening of the sleeve valve. The forced guidance has the effect of assuring secure closure of the sleeve valve only if the tolerances are well adhered to. The complicated eccentric shaft can, therefore, be produced only with great costs in order to maintain the required tolerances. Such a coupling is correspondingly expensive.
A further disadvantage consists in the fact that in order to assure that the sleeve valve cannot be opened when there is no plug in the coupling sleeve, considerable construction cost must be incurred in order to block the push sleeve in the open position. This is intended to assure that the eccentric shaft cannot be operated.
A further disadvantage is caused by the fact that such a coupling cannot be configured as a quick disconnect coupling. A quick disconnect coupling is of the type, if by application of a pulling force at one of the two connection points, the plug can be pulled out of the coupling sleeve without leakage of fluid from the hydraulic lines. The same applies in the case of an unintended loosening of the slide sleeve.
Quick disconnect couplings are easier to manipulate than couplings with sliding sleeves requiring the use of both hands where the sliding sleeve must be actuated by hand in order to initiate the loosening process. An advantage of the known coupling can be seen in the fact that, because of its shape, leakage during the coupling process can be kept relatively small because the surfaces of the oppositely located parts of the plug valve and the sleeve valve have narrow gaps between one another.
A further disadvantage is caused by the fact that the design requires a relative large actuation path, which amounts to approximately 180.degree.. During the installation of the coupling, this path must be regarded as a clearance space. The coupling, therefore, requires a relatively large space for its installation.
In the case of couplings of the aforementioned type, coupling under pressure is possible since the plug valve and the sleeve valve are opened only after a completed coupling process. This is particularly important because, for example, in the area of agriculture, ever stronger implements are employed which, even after they are uncoupled, retain a counter pressure or make it necessary to maintain it. In order to utilize the many opportunities of modern hydraulics optimally, a coupling is required which can close the lines under pressure without any problems. A further requirement consists in the fact that the amount of oil leakage occurring during uncoupling must be kept as low as possible. In the case of most couplings currently in use, the amount of leakage is up to 3 cm. The same amount of air frequently enters the hydraulic system during the uncoupling process, and this has a very damaging effect on the life expectancy of valves and seals.
DE 28 23 877 B2, discloses a coupling for connecting pipe lines where the valve, belonging to the first coupling part, has a valve body which can be moved by a cam, mounted on an actuating shaft, into the open or closed position by rotating the actuating shaft. The valve body pushes, while it moves into the open position, the valve body of the second coupling part into the open position. The actuating shaft is constructed in one piece and enclosed, for part of its length, by a sleeve. This coupling is intended to connect fluid lines of tank systems and tank vehicles. It can only be used in systems where the flowing liquid is under low pressure. It is not suited for hydraulic lines because the design, consisting of the actuator shaft and the sleeve, would be blown apart because the pressure acting upon the interior faces of the sleeve and actuator shaft cannot be neutralized. The contemplated radially directed locking screws cannot withstand the pressure. Further, it is not possible to design such a coupling as a quick disconnect coupling, where the valves of both coupling parts close automatically when the coupling is disconnected, even though the actuator shaft has not been operated.
Besides the known couplings described above, which include a conical valve body, quick connect couplings are also known, in which two ball valves located behind one another on a coupling sleeve are controlled by an actuator shaft (U.S. Pat No. 3,680,591). If the actuator shaft is turned to its open position, then the sleeve valve as well as the plug valve are opened. By the forced opening a back flow protection is also provided. It is known that back flows can effect undesired closing in the case of valves which are only spring-loaded. It is a disadvantage of this coupling that, during coupling of a plug under pressure, a space in the sleeve valve exposed to pressure must be first connected to a discharge line by a corresponding positioning of the eccentric shaft, if a pressurized medium is enclosed in this space. In this case, the pressurized medium is either released as leakage or it must be allowed to flow back to the tank through a special line. Also in the case of the uncoupling process a major leak occurs because the second valve, which is also adjacent to the plug valve of the coupling sleeve, closes only after some delay so that the oil in the enclosed space can still escape before the valve is finally placed in the closed position. The use of ball valves is disadvantageous because they rely on a metal-to-metal seal and they are only absolutely tight when the seal sets are made very precisely. Especially when only a low hydraulic pressure applies a force to these valve seats, they tend toward leakages, and they tend to be dirty due to the oil leaks and the associated contamination of the environment because dust and dirt are deposited on the oil film.
For this reason, the couplings using conical valve bodies are more favorable because better sealing conditions can be achieved. Valves with conical sealing surfaces allow the installation of soft seals, which further improve the already better sealing capability of the conical seating surfaces.


Disclosed is a radiation image capturing apparatus including the following. A sensor panel includes a plurality of radiation detecting elements aligned two-dimensionally. A case stores the sensor panel. A ventilation hole is provided in the case. A ventilation filter is provided in the ventilation hole and prevents infiltration of liquid into the case. Air flows in and out of the case through the ventilation hole and a thickness of the case is maintained at a predetermined thickness when outside pressure changes.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a radiation image capturing apparatus. Specifically, the present invention relates to a radiation image capturing apparatus in which radiation detecting elements are aligned two dimensionally.
Description of Related Art
Various radiation image capturing apparatuses are developed. In such radiation image capturing apparatuses, charge is generated in a detecting element according to dose of radiation of irradiated X-ray, etc. and the generated charge is read out as image data. Such type of radiation image capturing apparatus is known as an FPD (Flat Panel Detector), and conventionally such apparatus was configured as a dedicated apparatus type (fixed type) formed as one with a supporting base, etc. Lately, a portable type (cassette type) radiation image capturing apparatus where the detecting element, etc. is stored in a case so that it can be carried is developed and being implemented.
Similar to a CR (Computed Radiography) cassette used in conventional radiation image capturing, such portable radiation image capturing apparatuses can be used for capturing in a state loaded on a bucky apparatus (see later described FIG. 4), held directly against a patient's body, or with the patient laid on the apparatus. The above features are features which dedicated apparatus type radiation image capturing apparatuses do not have.
However, when the radiation image capturing apparatus is used as described above in a state held directly against the patient's body or with the patient laid on the radiation image capturing apparatus, urine, blood, etc. of the patient may be attached to the radiation image capturing apparatus. When the urine, blood, etc. attached to the radiation image capturing apparatus infiltrates into the case of the apparatus, problems may occur such as a short circuit may occur or components may be damaged or broken in a sensor panel provided with electronic components, etc. (see later described SP of FIG. 2) in the case due to the infiltrated urine.
Therefore, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2012-181044 discloses a radiation image capturing apparatus configured to be provided with a waterproof member in a portion where a lid is fitted to a main body portion of a case so that the case includes a waterproof function.
When the waterproof performance of the radiation image capturing apparatus is enhanced by providing packing or a rubber or resin sealing member in a portion where a gap is formed in the case, hermetic performance of the case is also enhanced. However, when the highly airtight radiation image capturing apparatus is in an environment where outside pressure is low such as when used in facilities such as hospitals in highlands or when transported flying highly above in the air by aircraft, there is a difference between the pressure in the case (1 atmospheric pressure) and outside pressure (less than 1 atmospheric pressure).
When the case is strong enough to stand the pressure difference, expansion of the case can be suppressed. However, radiation image capturing apparatuses are usually thin, and the weight cannot be made heavy limitlessly. Therefore, in practice, it is difficult to make the case strong enough to stand the pressure difference. Therefore, the case of the radiation image capturing apparatus expands.
When the case of the radiation image capturing apparatus expands, the following problems may occur, such as, the packing, sealing, etc. provided to prevent the patient's urine, blood, etc. from infiltrating into the case of the radiation image capturing apparatus is removed or damaged, and the patient's urine, etc. is able to infiltrate into the case or the member in the apparatus is damaged or does not function properly due to the expansion of the case.
When the case of the radiation image capturing apparatus expands, the radiation image capturing apparatus cannot be loaded on the bucky apparatus, and capturing in a state loaded on the bucky apparatus may not be performed properly. Further, when the case of the radiation image capturing apparatus is used in an expanded state, the distance between the radiation detecting elements provided on the sensor panel in the case and the body of the patient which is the subject becomes far in the center portion of the radiation entering face (see later described R shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2) of the case expanded and rising and close in the periphery portion of the radiation entering face. Therefore, the image of the captured subject becomes an image with a blurred center portion, and the image cannot be suitably captured.


The present invention provides a production method of spherical oxide powder which includes a feeding step in which a granular powder composed of an oxide composition is fed into a combustion flame together with a carrier gas; a melting step in which said fed granular powder is melted in said combustion flame to obtain a melt; and a solidifying step in which said melt is solidified by being moved and placed outside said combustion flame.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a production method of spherical oxide powder and a production apparatus of spherical powder, and a composite dielectric material suitable for use in the high frequency region, a substrate and a production method of the substrate.
2. Background Art
A fine oxide powder can be obtained by mixing materials, drying the mixture obtained and subsequently calcinating the dried mixture, and then pulverizing the calcinated mixture with a pulverizing machine such as a ball mill, or the like.
Such oxide powders are used as powders of single material for the cases of dielectric materials and magnetic materials, and some other times used as pastes mixed with an organic vehicle and as composite materials combined with a resin material. An oxide powder which is used as a paste or a composite material is required to have dispersion properties and packing properties for an organic vehicle and a resin material (hereinafter, a generic term "a resin material" will be used) Here, the dispersion properties mean the degree of dispersion of an oxide powder in a resin material, and it is preferable that an oxide powder is dispersed in a resin material with a higher degree of uniformity. In addition, the packing properties signify the quantity of an oxide powder filling in a resin material, and it is preferable that a larger quantity of an oxide powder fills in a resin material. A factor for an oxide powder to acquire the dispersion properties and packing properties for resin materials is the particle size of the powder. In addition to the above described method, a precipitation method can produce oxide powders in which method oxide powders are produced from the liquid phase, but the particle size of the oxide powders thus produced is too fine to acquire the dispersion properties and packing properties for resin materials. On the other hand, an oxide powder obtained by pulverizing as mentioned above, and accordingly the particle shape is so irregular that the dispersion properties and packing properties for resin materials cannot be acquired. In other words, another factor for an oxide powder to acquire the dispersion properties and packing properties for resin materials is the particle shape. Incidentally, in the present specification, a powder signifies an ensemble of particles; when the substance concerned is judged to be appropriately referred to as a powder as being an ensemble of particles, the substance will be referred to as "powder", and when the substance concerned is judged to be appropriately referred to as particles as being units constituting a powder, the substance will be referred to as "particles." Since the powder and the particle share the common fundamental unit, needles to say there are sometimes no substantial differences between the powder and the particle. Accordingly, there are some cases where either the expression of "powder" or the expression of "particles" can be used.
For the purpose of acquiring the dispersion properties and packing properties for resin material, the particles constituting a powder are preferably spherical, and more preferably nearly of the true sphere. In addition, it is preferable that the particle size is uniform, that is, the width of the particle size distribution is small.
A variety of production methods of spherical oxide powders have hitherto been proposed, for example, as in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-107585, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-48560, and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-105502.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-107585 discloses a production method of spherical oxide powder in which a slurry is prepared by kneading an oxide powder with an appropriate binder, and the slurry is dripped on a high temperature heating body.
In addition, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-48560 discloses a production method of fine molded oxide spheres in which the oxide powder granules obtained by the spray granulation method are used as nuclei, in producing the fine molded oxide spheres which are produced by molding the oxide powder obtained by the stirring granulation method.
Furthermore, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-105502 discloses an injection molded material which contains the oxide spherical powder having the mean particle size of 7 μm or below and a binder resin.
The above described production method of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-107585 is, however, not suitable for the composite formation with resin materials, since the obtained powder is surely spherical, but the particle size is as large as 0.3 to 1.2 mm (300 to 1200 μm).
The method disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-48560 aims at obtaining powders having the size of 0.02 to 0.4 mm (20 to 400 μm) not suitable for composite formation with resin materials.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-105502 discloses an injection molded material containing an oxide spherical powder having the mean particle size of 7 μm or below and a binder resin, but does not disclose any specific techniques of obtaining spherical oxide powders.
As stated above, conventionally it has been difficult to obtain those spherical oxide powders having particle size and its distribution, which are suitable for composite formation with resin materials. In particular, no technique has been found for obtaining multicomponent oxides such as a composite oxide.
As a method of obtaining spherical oxide powders other than those described above, the plasma-flame method can be considered to be used. The method using plasma flame consumes an electric power of several hundred kW in addition to the consumption of a large volume of expensive argon gas as carrier gas, and hence there is a problem that the cost is high. Accordingly, the method using plasma flame is still in a position far way from the application to mass production.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a method capable of producing, without raising the cost, an oxide powder which has the particle size suitable for composite formation with resin materials, and is excellent in the dispersion properties and packing properties for resin material. Furthermore, the subject of the present invention is to provide an apparatus suitable for use in such a method of producing a spherical oxide powder. Another subject of the present invention is to provide, by using such spherical oxide powders, a composite dielectric material having a high dielectric constant ε and a low tan δ, and being suitable for use in the high frequency GHz band, and a substrate produced by using the composite dielectric material of the present invention.

Method of producing spherical oxide powder


Various embodiments for writing data in a tape medium having wraps by a tape drive are provided. The tape drive allocates the wraps in a shingled data band between two or more data partitions. A set of contiguous wraps is allocated to one data partition of the two or more data partitions. An additional set of contiguous wraps is allocated to an additional data partition of the two or more data partitions. A minimum buffer is retained between the set and the additional set of contiguous wraps of at least one wrap per direction written within at least one data band shared between the one and the additional data partitions such that the one and the additional data partitions may be written to by the tape drive independently of each other.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to computers, and more particularly to a method, system, and computer program product for lateral partitioning for a shingled tape format.
2. Description of the Related Art
Three prevalent tape storage technologies include a helical scan tape where data is stored along vertical or diagonal tracks on the tape, parallel tape where data is stored on longitudinal tracks in parallel during one scan on the tape, and serpentine tape where data is written in a forward and then reverse longitudinal direction in a serpentine pattern across bands or tracks on the magnetic tape medium. In serpentine tape drives, the bands extending the length of the tape may be divided longitudinally into segments, such as a housekeeping segment, calibration segment, user data segment, etc., where data is written in a serpentine manner within the bands of a longitudinal segment. A serpentine tape drive first read/writes a set of tracks in a forward direction within a segment of a band, referred to as a wrap, then read/writes the next set of tracks in a reverse direction, and so on, leading to a serpentine pattern for the data layout. In serpentine tape technology, a wrap comprises a set of tracks written for some length of one of the bands that extend the entire length of the tape and a wrap section comprises a wrap for the length of one segment.

Lateral partitioning for a shingled tape format

International Business Machines Corporation


Compression and decompression of numerical data utilizing single instruction, multiple data (SIMD) instructions is described. The numerical data includes integer and floating-point samples. Compression supports three encoding modes: lossless, fixed-rate, and fixed-quality. SIMD instructions for compression operations may include attenuation, derivative calculations, bit packing to form compressed packets, header generation for the packets, and packed array output operations. SIMD instructions for decompression may include packed array input operations, header recovery, decoder control, bit unpacking, integration, and amplification. Compression and decompression may be implemented in a microprocessor, digital signal processor, field-programmable gate array, application-specific integrated circuit, system-on-chip, or graphics processor, using SIMD instructions. Compression and decompression of numerical data can reduce memory, networking, and storage bottlenecks. This abstract does not limit the scope of the invention as described in the claims.

The technology described herein relates to encoding and decoding of numerical data, using specialized single instruction multiple data (SIMD) instructions for efficient storage and/or transfer of encoded data in a computing system.
In present high performance computing applications, it is often necessary to transfer vast amounts of numerical data among multiple processor cores or between processor cores and memory. The limited data transfer rates of interfaces among processor cores and between cores and memory devices can create bottlenecks for overall data processing speed and performance. In data rich applications, storage of numerical data challenges memory resources and storage devices. Reducing the demands on data transfer and storage capacity for numerical data can improve the efficiency, economy and performance of the computing system. Compression of numerical data may reduce these demands, however at the cost of additional computations. In applications having vast quantities of numerical data, it is especially important that the compression be computationally efficient in order to minimize demands on computing resources.
In present microprocessor architectures, single instruction, multiple data (SIMD) processing performs the same operation indicated by a single instruction on multiple data elements, or operands. A SIMD operation is performed in parallel on the multiple operands, rather than sequentially, thus accelerating computations. Advantages of SIMD implementations include reduced processing time over sequential processing, decreased numbers of instructions and greater processing efficiency. Implementations of SIMD technology are available from many companies, including:                Intel and AMD, whose SIMD instruction sets are commonly called MMX, SSE, and AVX,        Advanced RISC Machines (ARM), whose SIMD instruction set is called Neon,        IBM, Freescale, and Apple, whose SIMD instruction set is called AltiVec,
The previous list of SIMD implementations is not meant to be exhaustive, only illustrative that SIMD processing has been widely integrated into microprocessor architectures. Embodiments of the present invention utilize novel SIMD constructs, and defines functionality that may be implemented in new SIMD instructions, to accelerate the process of encoding and decoding a plurality of numerical samples per instruction.
Commonly owned patents and applications describe a variety of compression techniques applicable to fixed-point, or integer, representations of numerical data or signal samples. These include U.S. Pat. No. 5,839,100 (the '100 patent), entitled "Lossless and loss-limited Compression of Sampled Data Signals" by Wegener, issued Nov. 17, 1998. The commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 7,009,533, (the '533 patent) entitled "Adaptive Compression and Decompression of Bandlimited Signals," by Wegener, issued Mar. 7, 2006, incorporated herein by reference, describes compression algorithms that are configurable based on the signal data characteristic and measurement of pertinent signal characteristics for compression. The commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 8,301,803 (the '803 patent), entitled "Block Floating-point Compression of Signal Data," by Wegener, issued Apr. 28, 2011, incorporated herein by reference, describes a block-floating-point encoder and decoder for integer samples. The commonly owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/534,330 (the '330 application), filed Jun. 27, 2012, entitled "Computationally Efficient Compression of Floating-Point Data," by Wegener, incorporated herein by reference, describes algorithms for direct compression floating-point data by processing the exponent values and the mantissa values of the floating-point format. The commonly owned patent application Ser. No. 13/617,061 (the '061 application), filed Sep. 14, 2012, entitled "Conversion and Compression of Floating-Point and Integer Data," by Wegener, incorporated herein by reference, describes algorithms for converting floating-point data to integer data and compression of the integer data. At least a portion of the operations for compression and decompression described in these applications may be implemented using the SIMD technology described in the present specification.
The commonly owned patent application Ser. No. 12/891,312 (the '312 application), entitled "Enhanced Multi-processor Waveform Data Exchange Using Compression and Decompression," by Wegener, publication number 2011-0078222, published Mar. 31, 2011, incorporated by reference herein, describes configurable compression and decompression for fixed-point or integer numerical data types in computing systems having multi-core processors. In a multi-core processing environment, input, intermediate, and output waveform data are often exchanged among cores and between cores and memory devices. The '312 application describes a configurable compressor/decompressor at each core that can compress/decompress integer or numerical waveform data. The '312 application describes configurable compression/decompression at the memory controller to compress/decompress integer or numerical waveform data for transfer to/from off-chip memory in compressed packets. At least some operations of the configurable compressor and decompressor of the '312 application may be implemented using the SIMD technology described in the present specification.
The commonly owned patent application Ser. No. 13/617,205 (the '205 application), filed Sep. 14, 2012, entitled "Data Compression for Direct Memory Access Transfers," by Wegener, incorporated herein by reference, describes providing compression for direct memory access (DMA) transfers of data and parameters for compression via a DMA descriptor. The commonly owned patent application Ser. No. 13/616,898 (the '898 application), filed Sep. 14, 2012, entitled "Processing System and Method Including Data Compression API," by Wegener, incorporated herein by reference, describes an application programming interface (API), including operations and parameters for the operations, which provides for data compression and decompression in conjunction with processes for moving data between memory elements of a memory system. The SIMD instructions described herein may be implemented for the compression and decompression operations described in the '205 application and the '898 application.
In order to better meet the requirements of higher speed data transfer, reduced memory utilization and minimal computation in many computing applications, a need exists for computationally efficient compression and decompression of numerical data using SIMD technology.

Data compression and decompression using SIMD instructions


Disclosed are a computer implemented method, system and platform for improving the readability and/or coherency of a conversation transcript, which include the applying of a speech disfluency detection model to identify speech disfluencies in a text transcript and to provide a corrected and/or annotated version of the conversation transcript indicating the edits made vis-à-vis the inputted text transcript.

Automatic (non-human) speech recognition/transcription (AST) converts speech to text. However, very often the transcribed text is inaccurate and at times incoherent and difficult to read due to transcription mistakes, which may be a result of unclear speech, use of filler words, unusual names and, in particular, due to speech repair.
Accordingly, transcribed texts typically need re-writing by a human editor. However, such solution is expensive and non-scalable. Pattern matching has also proved inefficient, since the possibilities of language are endless and often the mistakes differ at least a bit in each transcribed text, even when the speaker is the same subject.
There therefore remains a need for a system and method that enables automated editing of transcribed texts which require little if any human input when applied and which do not rely on pattern identification.

System and method for editing transcriptions with improved readability and correctness


The present invention relates to a modular multiplication device for information security which needs only the hardware almost half as much as required in a conventional modular multiplication device wherein multiplication and division circuits are separately used, by performing a dual function of multiplication and division with a binary adder. The modular multiplication device for information security in accordance with the present invention comprises binary addition means for performing a binary addition operation; two bit processing means for processing the output of the binary addition means; least significant two bit register means for sequentially storing least significant two bits; signed digit decoding means for generating a signed digit for a multiplier; result register means for storing a result value of the binary addition means; comparison means for comparing a result value of the result register with a modular value; decimal processing means for processing an output value for the modular value; multiplexing means for selecting output values of the decimal processing means and the signed digit decoding means; inverter means for inverting the multiplication/division selection signal; first AND gate means; second AND gate means; and third AND gate means.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a modular multiplication device used for technique of information security, and more particularly, to a modular multiplication device for information security which needs only the hardware almost half as much as required in a conventional modular multiplication device wherein multiplication and division circuits are separately used, by performing a dual function of multiplication and division with a binary adder.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, the implementation of the hardware directed to an information security algorithm with one chip has become a major issue. Particularly, the secrecy level of algorithms tends to be stressed in an attempt to enhance the function of information security as a result of the advance of the cryptanalysis technology. In order to enhance a secrecy level, it is becoming generalized to design algorithms by using a modular exponentiation calculation with a large amount of calculations. Since the calculation of a modular exponentiation consists of many modular multiplications, the implementation of a modular multiplication for enhancing the processing speed of an information security algorithm is becoming important. The modular multiplication needs a division function as well as a general multiplication function. With the conventional technique for implementing a modular multiplication, the required hardware was implemented so as to perform a modular multiplication function by combining the conventional multiplication and division circuits. According to this implementation method, the problem arises that an one-chip implementation is not viable because the hardware for implementing the information security algorithm with a key having a large amount of bits becomes bulky.
The conventional technique has been using a multiplication circuit for multiplying a multiplicand and a multiplier, and a division circuit for obtaining a modular value. This kind of multiplication method increases the amount of hardware. Thus, the amount of hardware is becoming large in applications such as an information security technique with the key having a large amount of bits. Further, since a costly semiconductor fabrication process, which results a high integration density, must be used to implement with one chip, the cost required for manufacturing is expensive. The reliability is degraded due to the parasitic effect of the narrow-Channel process in implementing a large number of circuits on one chip.

Modular multiplication device for information security

Electronics And Telecommunications Research Institute


The present invention provides a process for preparing lithium manganate having lithium-in cell stability by utilizing manganese oxides having lower oxidation states in the furnacing step and by using stoichiometric amounts of lithium hydroxide monohydrate and a manganese oxide in water as a starting mixture. Cr, Ni, Mg, AL oxides are optionally added.

As lightweight and high capacity batteries for use in portable electronic and telecommunication devices and the like such as compact video cameras, cellular phones, and portable personal computers, recently put into practical use are lithium secondary batteries employing a carbon material capable of intercalating and deintercalating lithium ions as the anode active material and a lithium-containing transition metal oxide such as a lithium-containing cobalt oxide (LiCoO2) or a lithium-containing nickel oxide (LiNiO2) as the cathode active material.
However, although lithium-containing transition metal oxides such as lithium-containing cobalt oxide (LiCoO2), lithium-containing nickel oxide (LiNiO2), and the like possess a high battery capacity, they suffered a problem that they have low thermal stability even in a fully charged state due to 50% lithium remaining in the cathode. Moreover, cobalt and nickel, which are the raw materials, are expensive, and their supply is limited. Accordingly, there is proposed a lithium secondary battery using a lithium-containing manganese oxide (LiMn2O4) having spinel type crystal structure as the cathode active material. The lithium-containing manganese oxide (LiMn2O4) is one of the promising materials for use as the cathode active material for a lithium secondary battery, in that manganese used for the raw material is abundant in resources and is inexpensive, and that it yields a high thermal stability in the charged state, such that it can increase the safety of the battery since no lithium is left in the cathode when the battery is fully charged.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,680,143 to Thackeray et al, which is herewith incorporated by reference, discloses the preparation of xLiMO2 (1−X) Li2M1O3 compounds in which M is manganese and M is a tetravalent ion by a hydrothermal process under basic conditions.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,682,850 to Numata et al which is herein incorporated by reference discloses a nonaqueous electrolyte solution secondary battery using lithium-manganese composite oxide for the positive electrode. The lithium-manganese composite oxide is prepared by mixing the Li source and Mn source having a desired particle size at a mole ratio of Li/Mn which matches the lithium-manganese composite oxide and baking in an oxygen atmosphere.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,790,560 to Wakihara et al which is herein incorporated by reference, discloses a positive electrode for a lithium secondary battery which includes a lithium manganese oxide having a spinel structure including a third metal which can be chromium that is prepared by a series of heating at elevated temperatures including heating in air for three days and then calcinating under control oxygen partial pressure.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,818,351 to Sunagawa et al, which is herein incorporated by reference, discloses a positive electrode for a lithium secondary battery using a combination of a lithium containing manganese oxide having a spinel type crystal structure and lithium containing cobalt oxide.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,964,830 to Takahashi, which is herein incorporated by reference, discloses a lithium secondary lithium battery wherein lithium manganate is used as a positive active material represented by LiMn2O4. The manganate is produced by firing a mixture of salt and oxide of the respective elements in an oxidation atmosphere at 650 to 1000° C. for 5 to 50 hours.


A satellite attitude control system is usable in the absence of any inertial yaw attitude reference, such as a gyroscope, and in the absence of a pitch bias momentum. Both the roll-yaw rigid body dynamics and the roll-yaw orbit kinematics are modelled. Pitch and roll attitude control are conventional. The model receives inputs from a roll sensor, and roll and yaw torques from reaction wheel monitors. The model produces estimated yaw which controls the spacecraft yaw attitude. The model further produces estimates of the constant component of the disturbance torques for compensation thereof.

This invention relates to attitude control systems generally, and more particulary to disturbance torque compensation for attitude control systems for stabilizing 3-axis zero-momentum satellites in the absence of attitude reference information from yaw and/or roll inertail references such as gyroscopes.
Modern satellites are widely used for communications and Earth sensing applications. All such satellite applications require control of the satellite's orientation in space so that sensors and antennas may be pointed in appropriate directions. Satellites orbiting the Earth, or other heavenly body (hereinafter Earth), do not maintain a single face directed toward that body without additional control. This control is normally termed attitude control. One type of attitude control includes the use of one or more momentum wheels, which stabilize attitude by providing momentum bias or gyroscopic stiffness. A momentum bias can only indirectly stabilize satellite axes lying in a plane orthogonal to the bias axis, but direct control is not provided. To satisfy the more stringent orientation requirements associated with modern satellite missions, direct control of the satellite axes of rotation is required. Three axes are commonly used: the yaw axis is oriented toward the Earth, the pitch axis is aligned with the satellite's orbit normal, and the roll axis completes the right-handed orthogonal axis set. Those skilled in the art know that other non-orthogonal sets can be used, and that simple transformations relate such sets to the orthogonal set.
The manufacture and launch of satellites is very capital intensive. Consequently, to keep the unit cost of satellite services low, the satellite must be operated for a long time. For this reason, satellite reliability is a major concern requiring such strong measures as redundancy, qualification and pre-launch test.
Typical three axis stabilized satellite attitude control is accomplished by directly sensing the three orthogonal attitudes: Yaw(x), Roll(y), and Pitch(z), and commanding corrective control torques through reaction wheel actuators, or other torque generators. Such control often uses a Earth Sensor Assembly (ESA) to provide roll and pitch attitude information. A gyroscope is used to provide the inertial yaw axis attitude information, because yaw errors (the yaw degree of freedom) are not observable with the ESA. Pitch and roll gyros are often used in ascent and Earth acquisition phases of the satellite's launch. Once the Earth has been acquired, however, the roll and pitch attitude information is derived from the ESA rather than from the gyros.
The ESA assembly can be fabricated without moving parts, and consequently may be very reliable. Even so, redundancy assures availability roll and pitch attitude information throughout the satellite's lifespan. However the yaw gyro is a mechanical device that is prone to failure. Direct redundancy is not normally used because of the gyro's high cost. One additional skew gyro provides the only redundancy for the three orthogonal gyros.
If the yaw gyro fails, redundant skew gyro could be used to provide yaw attitude information, but information derived solely from the skew gyro is contaminated with pitch and roll information. In order to derive yaw attitude information, from the skew gyro, the roll and pitch gyros are enabled to provide corrective signals. If, however, one of the roll or pitch gyros (or both) should also fail, no useful yaw information is available and the satellite attitude becomes uncontrolled. In addition, the satellite pointing error is worsened by environmental disturbance torques.
In low cost satellites in which precision pointing is not required, the cost of the ESA and gyros may be excessive, and other inertial references may not be available. An improved attitude control system is desired.

Disturbance torque compensated three axis yaw control system


A decorative sheet for injection-molding and decorating a resin simultaneously, the decorative sheet containing two resin sheets laminated on each other with at least one patterned layer intervening therebetween, and the two resin sheets having a difference in linear expansion coefficient of 4×10−5/° C. (41 to 50° C.) or less. Even after subjecting to three-dimensional processing, such as vacuum molding, the decorative sheet suffers no warpage, and can be easily released from a mold for the three-dimensional processing, and even when the decorative sheet is set in a mold for injection molding, the decorative sheet does not fall off from the mold, a resin injected does not permeate a gap between the outer surface of the decorative sheet and the mold, and the decorative sheet suffers no peeling between the sheets constituting the decorative sheet.

As a conventional process for producing an injection-molded article with a decorative sheet, it has been known that before placing a decorative sheet inside a mold for injection molding, the sheet is three-dimensionally processed by vacuum molding or the like, punched into a desired shape, and then interfit within a depression or the like in the mold for injection molding, followed by cramping the mold, and a molding resin is injected into the cavity to adhere integrally the simultaneous molding-decorative sheet to the surface of the molding resin. As another process, it has been known that a simultaneous molding-decorative sheet is placed inside a mold for injection molding, and then three-dimensionally processed by vacuum molding or the like to follow the depression of the mold for injection molding, and after cramping the mold, a molding resin is injected into the cavity to adhere integrally the simultaneous molding-decorative sheet to the surface of the molding resin (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Various products have been proposed as the simultaneous molding-decorative sheet, and for example, a product having plural resin sheets laminated and a patterned layer has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 2).    Patent Document 1: JP-A-2000-238070    Patent Document 2: JP-A-2000-280283

Decorative sheet, process for producing the same, and injection-molded article with decorative sheet


Optical receiver modules are used for receiving high-speed optical data signals. Unfortunately, these optical receiver modules are often tested for the first time after they are packaged in a housing. Thus significant costs are associated with those packaged devices that fail to meet predetermined criteria. An integrated optical receiver module is proposed that has an optical detector direct attached, or flip-chipped or bumped, onto an integrated circuit having an amplifier circuit. The direct attach process is performed when the integrated circuits still reside on a semiconductor wafer prior to dicing thereof. Thus, high speed optical testing of the optical receiver module is possible on a wafer level to determine actual performance characteristics thereof prior to dicing.

Optical receiver modules used for receiving high speed—GHz-optical data signals propagating along an optical fiber are known to those of skill in the art. Typically within these optical receiver modules there is an optical detector electrically coupled to an amplifier circuit in such a manner that light from the optical fiber illuminates the optical detector, the optical detector generates photocurrent in response thereto, and the amplifier circuit amplifies this photocurrent. The optical qualities of the optical detector are typically determined at least in part by the material structure of the optical detector. For some ranges of wavelengths, the materials of choice for the optical detector are costly, and as such, semiconductor materials used for manufacturing the amplifier circuit and the optical detector are typically not the same. Thus, the prior art optical detectors must be electrically wired to the amplifier circuits using wires in order to conduct the photo current.
Typically, the amplifier circuit and the optical detector are purchased from third party vendors prior to assembly. Thereafter, the optical detector, the amplifier circuit, decoupling capacitors, and a module housing are assembled to form an optical receiver. Typically, the housing is designed for easy coupling to an optical fiber. Unfortunately, since these modules are used for receiving high speed optical data, the length of bond wires used to connect the optical detector to the amplifier is critical. These wires exhibit inductance and as such, when photocurrent levels are extremely small in the order or microamperes, variations in intensity of the high speed optical data may not be representative of the actual data transmitted due to the effects of these bond wires. Thus, the module may be more or less sensitive depending on an exact configuration and manufacture.
In manufacturing, manufacturers typically are unable consistently to achieve optimal optical operating characteristics for the assembled receiver modules because the wires coupling the detector to the amplifier circuit play an important role in the performance of the receiver module and are known to vary significantly in manufacture.
Furthermore, isolated testing of the amplifier circuit is not economical or effective without the optical receiver coupled thereto due to the frequency range of operation of the device. Thus, even when optimally assembled, the module may fail to meet desired performance characteristics due to amplifier shortcomings.
Finally, the performance of the module or some subset of the entire assembly will also be dependent upon the value, position, and performance of the power supply decoupling capacitors. These capacitors are often integrated into the module by the manufacturer and contribute to the difficulty of designing a manufacturable module.
As a result a need therefore exists to manufacture the receiver module in such a manner that facilitates testing of the receiver module as a complete system in order to eliminate effects that yield undesirable performance prior to selling thereof. Unfortunately, due to the costly nature of many of the optical receiver semiconductor materials, integration of the module into an integrated circuit format is not considered practicable. For example, different material processing systems commonly rely on wafers having different sizes. Thus, a same wafer mask is not usable with the different processes. This greatly increases the design and manufacture costs for implementing a fully integrated or monolithic photodetector with amplifying circuit.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an optical receiver module and method of testing thereof that provides improved performance and performance consistency of the optical receiver module finished product.

Direct attach optical receiver module and method of testing


An enclosed workplace support for temporary, immovable installation below and on each side of a bridge or other existing structure while performing work on bridge substructure. Double rows of upper and lower outriggers are installed to extend outwardly from each lateral side of the bridge and cables are attached to the outer ends of each row of outriggers. Additional cables are attached at opposite ends to bearings or other bridge substructure and extend parallel to the bridge centerline for an entire span. The cables support a high-strength flooring, preferably or rubber-coated chain link fencing. A nylon tarp is laid over the fencing below the bridge and extends around each side, attached to the outrigger cables, and is sealed to the bridge curbs. An exhaust blower maintains the interior of the enclosed workplace at subatmospheric pressure.

The present invention relates to suspended, enclosed structures providing a workplace beneath bridges, and the like. More specifically, the invention relates to a combination of elements which are temporarily mounted upon bridges or other structures while work is performed on substructure thereof to provide a thoroughly safe support for workmen, as well as a cost-effective, environmentally acceptable workplace.
In performing tasks such as sandblasting, painting, structural repairs, etc. upon substructure of existing bridges and other structures, it is necessary to provide a platform of some type to support the persons performing the task. Traditionally, such platforms have been provided by temporarily erected scaffolding or other such structure supported on the ground, etc. beneath the bridge, or suspended in some fashion from the bridge. Provisions must be made, of course, to enhance the safety of such workplace supports, which may require workmen to wear safety belts or tethers and the provision of suitable guard railings, as well as ensuring adequate load-bearing capabilities and structural stability of the supports.
More recently, environmental protection standards have been imposed on the performance of some types of work associated with renovation and repair of bridges, viaducts, elevated highways, etc. These standards may require, for example, that potentially harmful or toxic substances generated during performance of the work be prevented from entering the atmosphere, leaching into the soil, or being deposited in surface or ground water or upon other objects. Meeting such standards often involves constructing a complete enclosure about the workplace, and maintaining the interior of such enclosure at a subatmospheric pressure.
Recent examples of enclosed workplace supports for use in such applications include those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,854,419, issued Aug. 8, 1989 to Lyras et al, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,011,710, issued Apr. 30, 1991 to Harrison. The structures of both of these patents are in the nature of enclosed modules suspended by trolley systems for movement laterally and/or longitudinally of the bridge substructure as work progresses. Government regulations and/or laws require that workmen wear suitable safety belts while positioned on mobile workplace supports. This adds to the time and cost of the job, as well as hampering freedom of movement. Also, construction of these mobile supports requires fabrication of many specialized components and/or substantial modification of existing elements. Furthermore, the supports can be mounted only upon certain types of existing bridge structures. Substantial time and costs are involved in erecting and removing these workplace supports.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a support for workmen performing tasks on substructure of an existing bridge, or the like, which effectively eliminates the possibility of a workman falling while positioned on the support.
It is another object to provide an improved, fully enclosed workplace support which complies with all current environmental protection standards regarding emission and containment of toxic or otherwise prohibited substances.
A further object is to provide an enclosed workplace support for temporary installation in fixed relation to existing structures such as bridges which is relatively fast and economical to install and remove.
Still another object is to provide an enclosed, suspended workplace support for performing tasks on substructures of bridges, and the like, which has a high load-bearing capacity, yet adds little wind load to the structure to which it is attached.
A still further object is to provide a support system for workmen which is comprised of a combination of elements most of which are readily commercially available, without substantial modification.
An additional object is to provide an enclosed workplace having a relatively small volume compared to the available work area.
In a more general sense, the object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved, fully enclosed, suspended workplace for installation upon and removal from bridges and other such structures.


The computer disk label that forms the basis for the present invention comprises a sheet of flexible material including three portions. The first portion at one edge of the sheet has sections that are selectively removed or retained to form a first side of a tab. The second adjacent portion has sections that fold over the outer edge of a disk and adhere to one side of the disk if aligned with the removed sections of the first portions. Otherwise, sections of the second portion extend from the outer edge of the disk to form a side of the tab if aligned with retained sections of the first portion. The third portion of the sheet is disposed to engage and adhere to the opposite side of the disk from the folded sections of the second portion. The first side of the tab is folded down to contact and adhere to the second side of the tab thereby forming a tab that extends out from the outer edge of the disk. The tab protruding from the edge of the disk allows the indicia on the disk to be easily read even when it is in a disk drive or in a storage box.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of computer accessories, and more particularly to a computer disk label.
2. Description of Related Art
As can be seen by reference to the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,119,933; 5,209,353; 5,413,215; 5,449,066; and 5,480,024, the prior art is replete with myriad and diverse computer disk identification devices.
While all of the aforementioned prior art constructions are more than adequate for the basic purpose and function for which they have been specifically designed, they are uniformly deficient with respect to their failure to provide a simple, efficient, and practical system for readily identifying a computer disk and in recognizing the presence of a computer disk while it is in a disk drive or storage box.
As a consequence of the foregoing situation, there has existed a longstanding need for a new and improved computer disk label and the provision of such a construction is a stated objective of the present invention.


A laser material processing system comprises: a housing defining an engraving chamber, an xy laser beam steering system, and a non-telescoping sliding focus mechanism. The housing includes a removable bottom panel that allows processing of workpieces that exceed dimensions of the engraving chamber and allows stacking of the system on modular attachments for specialized functions. The focus mechanism includes a carriage mirror subassembly attached to the x-axis carriage, a sliding member moveably attached to the carriage mirror subassembly, and a focusing lens subassembly attached perpendicularly to the lower end of the sliding member. The carriage mirror subassembly and the focusing lens subassembly are configured to receive and focus a laser beam to a focal point. The focusing lens subassembly is adjusted along a z-axis by disengaging the locking component and vertically sliding the sliding member and is locked into a position by engaging the locking component with the sliding member.

Laser material processing systems or laser engraving machines are capable of directing a laser in a controlled pattern in order to etch and cut materials such as acrylic, or burn and mark materials such as wood or metal. They include a laser source, beam steering apparatus, beam focusing apparatus, a controller capable of directing the position of the laser output, and a surface or workspace into which objects can be placed for the laser engraving machine to act upon them.
The output from the laser produces heat energy at the point of focus. Depending on the power of the laser and the material being engraved, the laser's energy may vaporize portions of the material or cut completely through it. With other materials or at lower power settings, the top layer of the material may be burned or charred to produce patterns, images, or words. Common materials used in engraving are plastics, wood, leather, and some types of metal.
Laser material processing systems can be controlled by home or office computer systems in a similar method to traditional ink- and toner-based printers. Using various software and device drivers, laser material processing systems can be instructed to "print" patterns using a laser, including patterns such as images, text, or shapes. The controller positions the laser head at the appropriate x-axis and y-axis positions; some controllers are also able to control the distance between the laser and the material being engraved and thus adjust the z-axis (the engraving plane) as well. Thus, laser engraving machines can be used to cut shapes from a solid sheet of acrylic, to shape blocks of wood into jewelry, or to "print" by burning patterns onto wood or leather signs, belt buckles, or wallets.
Laser engraving machines can vary from very large, industrial machines with a large workspace (the size of which limits the size of the object that can be engraved), to home models of more limited dimensions and workspace capacities. These laser engraving machines are alternately known as laser cutters, and smaller units designed for homes or garages are commonly referred to as "hobby lasers."
Traditionally, the design of laser engraving machines includes a workspace that is enclosed to some degree. Within the workspace the output of the laser is controlled to move on x, y, and z axes. This design paradigm necessitates the size of the workspace—and hence the size of the object to be engraved—be limited by the overall size of the laser engraving machine itself. In order for the laser engraving machine to operate on an object to be engraved, that object would need to physically fit (in length, width, and height) within the confines of laser engraver. For example, a hobby laser engraving device might only be able to fit objects no more than 24 inches in length, 12 inches in width, and 6 inches deep; objects larger than these dimensions in any direction could not be engraved by a machine of such size. In the field of affordable, relatively compact, easy to ship "hobby lasers" for home use, such limitations meant that these systems could only be used for smaller projects and to engrave smaller objects.
It is standard practice within the industry to provide a method for varying the distance from the engraving plane to the focus optic in combination with a final turning mirror in order to allow a laser material processing system to process varying workpiece thicknesses. The methods used currently in the industry are either: (a) a focusing optic fixed in the vertical up-down direction (z-axis or z space) with an adjustable lower surface that moves the entire material vertically up or down in the z direction, or (b) a limited motion focusing optic in which the motion is constrained such that no part of the vertically moving mechanism can pass above the laser beam path.
The fixed focusing optic method that utilizes a lower surface that travels or moves vertically up and down (a "z table") is deficient due to the limited range of workpiece thicknesses that can be accommodated within the engraving chamber and remain in focus. The nature of a fixed optic and movable z table requires that the z table be actuated in some manner, leading to restrictions in the range of motion of the z table for a given work area envelope and laser material processing system size. This method requires raising the z table through motorized or manual turning of lead screws or belts. This creates problems due to the additional cost and complexity of the extra motorized or manual z table along with the cost and complexity to ensure the z table is perfectly flat, requiring the need for constant adjustments after transportation. Furthermore, the additional mechanical components required for actuating the entire z table often reduces the area that can be reached by the laser beam in the horizontal left-right direction (x-axis) and/or horizontal forward-backward direction (y-axis).
A limited motion focusing optic eliminates the disadvantages of the travelling z table design but suffers from limited focusing distance because no part of the vertically moving mechanism can pass above the laser beam path. One method for making the focusing optic movable involves a telescoping lens tube in which the lens is mounted to a tube of length A, and this tube slides inside another tube of length B. The problem with this design is that the stroke is limited to length A in cases where A is less than or equal to B; or the stroke is limited to length B in cases where B is less than or equal to A. For a given work cube depth z, the maximum material thickness is limited to the difference in distance between work cube depth z and the maximum stroke length. This design is also limited to a minimum material thickness if the bottom work surface is fixed.
Another method for creating a limited motion optic utilizes a sliding mirror that is still limited because, like with a telescopic lens tube, these methods place the vertical moving/focus mechanism in-line with the final beam-steering mirror leading to limitations in vertical motion such that no part of the sliding mechanism can pass above the laser beam path.
Due to the widespread application and the growth of low-power laser material processing systems for use by small businesses, individual hobbyists, and other non-industrial users, there is a need and demand for a transportable, versatile, and affordable laser engraving system that is able to perform the same functions and engrave materials of the same sizes as larger, more expensive systems. Many laser engraving machines are comprised of cumbersome, monolithic housings, yet still provide only limited functionality and versatility. For instance, some laser processing systems are made of heavy sheet metal that is manipulated into a solid volume shape such as a box or cube; the larger the box, the larger the size of the material that can be engraved. These laser engraving systems are not only difficult and expensive to ship and transport due to their weight and large footprints, but manufacturing and assembly costs are high for such solid volumes. Also, without major modification to the main laser engraving system, such systems are not easily versatile or modular, so as to allow a part to easily be interchanged and/or an attachment to easily be added to allow customized performance of the laser material processing system for particular use applications, including use on certain types of materials, and/or specific shaped materials such as a cylindrical bottle.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a modular, versatile, interchangeable, and easily transportable laser processing system that: (a) includes a focusing mechanism that can effectively vary the distance from the engraving plane to the focus optic to allow the processing of varying workpiece thicknesses; (b) allows the processing of materials and workpieces that exceed the dimensions of the processing system's engraving chamber and work area (including in the z-axis); and (c) allows the user to add a variety of specialized modular attachments to perform specialized functions or to process specific types and/or shapes of materials and allows the user to easily interchange parts of the invention for increased functionality and capabilities. A laser processing system that addresses the above-mentioned drawbacks in the art would not only provide a consumer with a wide array of options for materials and workpieces to be processed, but it would be more cost-efficient since (i) a separate laser processing system apparatus would not have to be purchased to cut and engrave specific types or shapes of materials and materials that exceed workspace dimensions, and (ii) the costs for two-dimensional manufacturing and assembly of parts using flat panels would cost less than the three-dimensional manufacturing and assembly of parts for solid, monolithic volume structures of other laser processing systems. Other advantages of the present invention will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art in light of the ensuing description of the present invention.

Infinite thickness laser processing system


A method for acquiring the surrounding environment of a motor vehicle. The motor vehicle has at least one ultrasound sensor. The ultrasound sensor includes an ultrasound transducer for sending, the ultrasound sensor receiving acoustic environmental signals, in particular audible environmental signals, in that the ultrasound sensor is controlled in its evaluation in such a way that sound waves having frequencies below a resonant frequency of the ultrasound transducer, in particular audible sound waves, of an environmental signal are acquired and evaluated. Environmental signals are understood as acoustic signals that are not produced by the ultrasound transducer itself, but rather by an external sound source that in particular differs from the motor vehicle. This can be for example the siren of a rescue vehicle or emergency vehicle, or the horn of some other motor vehicle.

Patent document DE 10 2006 043 995 A1 discusses a device for scaring off animals (e.g. martens) for motor vehicle. Here, for example ultrasound transducers are used as transmitters to scare off the martens or other animals. The acquisition of the presence of animals is explicitly described as done using a microphone, realized as a microphone separate from the ultrasound transducer.
Patent document DE 10 2011 007 777 A1 discusses a method for recognizing a rescue vehicle that is approaching a motor vehicle and that emits a specific sound. The specific sound may have ultrasound components. The surrounding environment of the motor vehicle is monitored with regard to external sound, and an evaluation is made of the external sound recognized by the monitoring in order to recognize the sound specific to the rescue vehicle, and, if warranted, a display is provided inside the motor vehicle indicating that a sound specific to the rescue vehicle has been recognized.

Method for acquiring the surrounding environment and system for acquiring the surrounding environment for a motor vehicle