A process is provided for disintegration and pure-sorted separation of different plastics of composite structural parts to be recycled, which parts consist of a support composed of thicker-walled hard plastic, an intermediate layer applied with firm adhesion to this support and composed of foam material, and a flexible foil adhering firmly to the outside of the intermediate layer and made thinner-walled than the support. The composite structural parts are first comminuted into approximately cuboid particles preferably of a granulation of approximately 20 mm and comprising still different plastics. Subsequently, the particles formed are disintegrated in a dry manner into their individual materials, and these are then separated in a pure-sorted manner. For this purpose, the less break-resistant foam material of the particles is selectively comminuted mechanically by an impact stressing of the particles to form substantially smaller crumbs than the remaining pieces of particles of more break-resistant plastic. The smaller foam crumbs are screened off from the coarser remaining particle pieces. These two operations are advantageously carried out in a batchwise operated hammer mill with an integrated screen plate. To produce cuboid particles, the composite structural parts are first cut into narrow strips in a twin-shaft cutter, and these are subsequently chopped into short parts in a knife mill. Where three-component structural parts are concerned, the initially remaining mixture of thick-walled hard-plastic fragments and of thin-walled foil chips is separated in a pure-sorted manner by a vertical low-turbulence wind sifter.

The present invention relates to a process for disintegration and pure-sorted separation of the different plastics of composite structural parts to be recycled as generally known, for example, from Japanese Patent Application of 21.06.1989 laid open under No. 077307/1991 on 31.01.1991, and more specifically, to parts containing a core of at least foam material and a flexible outer foil adhering firmly thereto and a support made thicker-walled than the outer foil and composed of a hard plastic, firmly adhered to the core in the form of an intermediate layer. Generally speaking, the present invention is directed to a process which includes the step of comminuting the composite structural parts into approximately cuboid particles comprising different plastics, disintegrating the particles into individual materials by selectively comminuting the foam of the particles mechanically into substantially smaller crumbs than the remaining pieces of the particles in a dry treatment and separating the particles in a pure-sorted manner by a grain-size-selective separation such that the smaller foam crumbs are screened off from the coarser remaining particle pieces. Selective comminution of the foam takes place by a impact stressing of the particles, and, after the removal of the foam fraction, the initially remaining mixture of thicker-walled hard-plastic particles and of thinner-walled foil chips is separated into a hard-plastic fraction and into a foil fraction by a vertical low-turbulence upwind sifter, an approximately vertically rising low-turbulence air stream flowing from below against the particles of the mixture which lie flat and individually without overlap, on an air-permeable approximately horizontal base, with only the foil chips being lifted and carried upwards, and the hard-plastic particles remaining being removed laterally at screen level.
In such plastic composite parts, which are used to a great extent in the interior fittings of motor vehicles, several problems arise as regards reusability. For example, the different materials are adhesively bonded with one another very firmly by foam and usually cannot be released from one another or not completely or clearly enough. However, the plastics cannot be reused as a material mixture, and therefore they can be deposited in unsorted form as refuse only at great expense and by causing environmental harm. Furthermore, as regards three-component composite structural parts having a support made of hard plastic, a foam intermediate layer and a foil as an outer skin, there is the further difficulty, where the hard-plastic particles and foil particles are concerned, that they have approximately the same specific gravity and cannot be separated by known separating processes. Even during the production of parts of this kind of composite alone, approximately 30% by weight occurs as stamping waste during the stamping out of perforations and during trimming and as occasional rejects. Moreover, the elimination of parts from old cars after they have been scrapped must also be considered. In view of the large amount of composite parts of this kind, therefore, the problem of how the materials could be removed from the refuse and nevertheless still be used as useful materials is desired to be solved in a way which can be implemented in practice.
The above-mentioned Japanese Preliminary Publication 077307/1991 describes a process for dividing and sorting the different plastics of composite structural parts, especially foil-covered foam parts, in which a coarse comminution in a granulation of 20 to 50 mm is first carried out. The heap of coarse particles is agitated intensively in a high-speed agitator unit having a propeller agitator which rotates in a plane lying horizontally and near the bottom of the agitating container. Shearing forces are exerted on the particles by the rotor blades of the agitator unit and the materials can be detached from one another. The longer the operation continues, the more detachment takes place. Depending on the plastic type of the plastics involved in the composite structural part, a varying fineness of the stock treated in this way is obtained. The ground stock is subsequently classified according to grain size, at least one fraction occurring in a sort purity suitable for reuse. On account of the varying wear resistance of the foam fraction, on the one hand, and of the remaining plastics, on the other hand, the foam material cannot only be finely crumbled by a mechanical fulling or agitation of the particle heap, but can also be rubbed off completely from the other plastic fragments in the region of the adhesive bond, so that these are left entirely free of foam. However, the known process is restricted only to two-component composite structural parts containing one foam component. Experience has demonstrated that the previously known process cannot be applied to all types of foam. Regardless of the type of foam, the known process also cannot be employed for all foam-containing composite structural parts which contain hard plastics reinforced by glass-fiber mats because these plastics, under a shearing or frictional stress on the particle heap, split up or delaminate into thinner sheet-like fragments which cannot be separated in a pure-sorted manner from foil chips of different material.
Furthermore, irrespective of the type of foam, foam-containing three-component composite structural parts having two different plastic components also cannot be separated in a pure-sorted manner in respect of the other two plastics by the known process, as long as the two plastics do not differ or differ only very slightly in terms of the usual classification criteria, such as absolute or specific weight or specific gravity or particle size, as happens in most cases.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,042,725 is also concerned with the problem of suitable treatment of composite structural parts of the type in question here to enable the individual materials to be reused. It describes a process which as a whole works under dry conditions and in which the composite structural parts are first granulated to approximately 10 mm and the particles are then sorted in a plurality of steps, specifically first according to grain size and thereafter according to weight. The weight sorting takes place on an apparently inclined vibrating table having an air-permeable table board through which air is blown upwards. The particles of higher mass collect on one longitudinal side of the table board and the parts of lower mass on the opposite side. An electrostatic charging of the foam particles is prevented or reduced by dampening or by spraying with an anti-static liquid.
It is assumed, of course, in the known process that the sorted-out smaller or lighter particles consist essentially of foam. The foam fraction obtained by the process described there is alleged to contain only approximately 2% by weight of foil in the foam and thus occur in reusable purity. The coarser or heavier fractions, for which no particular further processing is proposed, contain essentially the foil chips, but small pieces of foam apparently still adhere firmly to these, and they are consequently not obtained in the necessary purity for reuse. Other dividing and sorting processes for three-component composite structural parts are also mentioned, and these are likewise based on a granulation of the parts to be treated, but proceed with fundamentally different methods not relevant here. The process described in the above-mentioned U.S. patent is also restricted to only two-component composite structural parts with one foam component. Three-component composite structural parts having two further different plastic components also cannot be separated in a pure-sorted manner by this known process in respect of the other two plastics which are difficult to differentiate. Therefore, these plastics have to either be reused as a poor-grade mixture or disposed of, with all the adverse consequences in terms of cost and the environment.
EP-A 422,460 describes a process for dividing and sorting the different plastics of stamping waste from vehicle dashboards. Such waste occurs when installation orifices for instruments, radios, ventilation gratings or the like are stamped out. The stamping waste consists of a base layer of hydrophilic polyurethane foam and an outer skin of hydrophobic PVC foil connected thereto. The waste pieces are first comminuted into approximately 3 mm large cuboid particles and subsequently swirled in water in the ratio of granules to water of 1 to 7 by an agitator unit in order to separate and sort the different plastics, in the course of which the water-absorbing PU foam swells. The swelling foam detaches from the PVC foil which remains dimensionally stable. Inasmuch as foam particles detached from the foil particles cannot in any case, because of the residual gases still included, float up to the water surface automatically and be collected at a vessel overflow, a complete separation of the foam particles from the foil pieces can be brought about by a flotation operation. The foil pieces which have a substantially higher specific gravity than water can be collected on the bottom of the water vessel and pumped off at intervals. After a drying of the material particles separated in a pure-sorted manner, the materials can be reused.
It is questionable whether the above-described process leads at all to a practicable separation of the different plastic sorts in a reusable sort purity. In particular, in view of the elasticity and compressibility of the foam, the forces which can be exerted on the adhesive bond between the foam and foil as a result of a swelling of the foam residue on the particles are much too low to overcome the substantially higher adhesive forces in such a way that the foam residue can burst off from the foil chips. A detachment of the foam particles from the foil chips can be expected, at most, in regions of an extremely poor adhesive bond between foam and foil which are proportionately small and are not wanted or in the at most theoretically possible case of a subsequent adhesive bonding of a foam body and a formed outer skin by the use of a water-soluble adhesive. Moreover, this process is not workable with three-component composite structural parts having, in addition to foam fractions, also two further plastic components which, although different in terms of material, can nevertheless be differentiated with difficulty where conventional classifying processes ar concerned.
An object of the present invention is to improve the generally known process mentioned at the outset, such that three-component composite structural parts which have two plastic components, different in terms of material and differentiable with difficulty where conventional classifying processes have been concerned, can separate all the plastics involved in a sort purity which is practicable for reuse, without disposable mixed fractions of poor-grade or non-reusability being obtained and without causing variations on the useful materials which impair or make impossible their reusability.
Taking the known process as a starting point, the foregoing object has been achieved according to the present invention by, on one hand, the step of selective comminution of the foam by an impact stressing of the particles, and, after the removal of the foam fraction, the initially remaining mixture of thicker-walled hard-plastic particles and of thinner-walled foil chips is separated into a hard-plastic fraction and into a foil fraction by a vertical low-turbulence upwind sifter, an approximately vertically rising low-turbulence air stream flowing from below against the particles of the mixture which lie flat and individually without overlap, on an air-permeable approximately horizontal base, with only the foil chips being lifted and carried upwards, and the hard-plastic particles remaining being removed laterally at screen level.
Alternatively, the step of selective comminution of the foam can take place in accordance with the present invention by an impact stressing of the particles, and, after the removal of the foam fraction, the initially remaining mixture of thicker-walled hard-plastic particles and of thinner-walled foil chips is separated into a hard-plastic fraction and into a foil fraction by a vibrating-screen separation assisted by an upwardly directed air flow. A vibrating conveyor effect is exerted on the particles, which are dumped in a spread-out entangled state on a vibrating screen inclined relative to a horizontal line and a mesh width of which is markedly smaller than the particle size of the mixture, and is directed towards a higher edge of the vibrating screen. A bearing force of the particles on the vibrating screen and a drag force exerted on the particles as a result of friction relative to the screen are reduced by the upwardly directed air flow, such that the vibrating conveying effect exerted on the lighter foil chips is substantially lower than that on the hard-plastic particles, and only the hard-plastic particles are thereby conveyed to the higher edge of the vibrating screen, whereas the foil chips are discharged via a lower edge of the vibrating screen.
In the former process for carrying out the present invention, the initially remaining mixture of thick-walled hard-plastic fragments and thin-walled foil chips is separated in a pure-sorted manner by a vertical low-turbulence wind sifting which affords a high selectivity. In the latter solution for achieving the objects of the present invention, a procedure with a so-called air jig is used instead.
The advantages of the dividing and sorting process according to the present invention include:
1. A good mutual separation of the individual material fractions from the composite structure is achieved, i.e. the foil particles and the hard-plastic particles are completely free of foam. PA0 2. The individual non-foam particles survive the first treatment step unchanged and undamaged, so that they can still be sorted reliably. PA0 3. The particle mixture consisting of the individual material fractions can be sorted in a reusable purity such that each material is pure. PA0 4. It is possible to reuse the individual materials in an appropriate way usable only in highly sorted form. PA0 5. The amount of refuse is reduced. PA0 6. A commercially viable efficient process results in which components already proven elsewhere are employed. PA0 7. The parts to be treated remain dry during the entire process and can subsequently be reused directly, so that an energy-intensive drying can be avoided. PA0 8. The plastic foil involved and the hard plastic are treated with care and are comminuted into relatively coarse particles of a granulation of preferably approximately 10 to 20 mm which is important, especially with regard to fiber-reinforced hard plastics and their reusability because the included fibers can also be used in an appropriate way only when there is a coarse comminution of such materials; if there is a very fine granulation of fiber-reinforced plastics for the purpose of their reuse, the short fiber fragments act merely as a weighting filler.

Process for disintegration and pure-sorted separation of recyclable different plastics of composite structural parts


A resonance-based DC-DC converter for converting a DC input voltage to a first DC output voltage (VOUT1) on a output conductor (9) includes an inductor (L) having a first terminal connected to a source (2) of a DC input voltage (VIN) and a second terminal coupled to a first conductor (4) and a capacitor (CRES) having a first terminal coupled to the first conductor. A first switch (SW1) is coupled between the resonance conductor and the output conductor to conduct inductor current (IL) into the output conductor during a first phase (Phase1). A second switch (SW2) is coupled between a second terminal of the capacitor and the output conductor to conduct inductor current through the capacitor into the output conductor (9) during a second phase (Phase2). A third switch (SW3) is coupled between the second terminal (31) of the capacitor and a first reference voltage (GND) to conduct inductor current from a source of the first reference voltage through the capacitor to the input voltage (VIN) during a third phase (Phase3).

The present invention relates generally to DC-DC converters, and more particularly to circuitry and methods which substantially increase the conversion efficiency and reduce costs of SIMO (single inductor multiple output) DC-DC converters.
It should be understood that DC-DC converter technology has improved relatively slowly, but the advent of large, powerful computing devices on a single integrated circuit chip and the need to reduce their power consumption (especially in mobile devices) has led to the need for multiple on-chip power sources to provide a range of relatively high power supply voltages to various faster, higher-performance portions of the chip and a range of relatively low power supply voltages to various slower, lower performance portions of the chip. For example, circuitry in one part of the chip may need to operate very fast, and this may be accomplished by increasing the power supply voltage for that part of the chip while the power supply voltage or voltages are much lower on slower parts of the chip. Unfortunately, adding a large number of DC-DC converters to provide different power supply voltages in various parts of the chip usually is not practical because that has required adding a corresponding number of external inductors and capacitors and associated package leads, which is very costly.
Consequently, and as a practical matter at the present state-of-the-art, only seven or eight separate power supply voltages ordinarily are provided on a relatively large chip, and only one or two separate power supply voltage circuits are provided on a relatively small chip because of the high cost of the external inductors required for each DC-DC voltage converter. Although the cost of using larger and more complex high-performance integrated circuits that require many individually controllable DC-DC converters is very high, if the energy efficiency of the DC-DC converter circuitry could be substantially improved then the power efficiency of entire on-chip systems could be correspondingly improved.
One approach to accomplishing this goal has been to provide SIMO (Single Input, Multiple Output) DC-DC converters which require only one external inductor but nevertheless can provide multiple individually controllable power supply voltages by "sharing" the single inductor. Unfortunately, the best SIMO DC-DC converters presently available have a number of drawbacks, including lower power efficiency and higher cost than using an equivalent number of SISO (Single Input, Single Output) DC-DC converters. This is because of various complex problems associated with sharing power supply energy produced at a single output among a number of outputs.
Referring to "Prior Art" FIG. 1A, a simplified schematic of a prior SIMO (Single Inductor, Multiple Output) DC-DC converter 1 includes an input switch circuit 3A,3B receiving an input voltage VIN, which typically is the output of a battery. An input switch 3A is connected between VIN and a conductor 4 which is connected to one terminal of an inductor L. Inductor L typically is an external power inductor. Also, an input switch 3B is connected between conductor 4 and ground. The other terminal of inductor L is connected to one terminal of each of multiple output switches 6-1, 6-2, . . . 6-N. The other terminals of output switches 6-1, 6-2, . . . 6-N produce output voltages VOUT1, 2, . . . 5 on one terminal of each of load capacitances CL1, 2, . . . N, respectively. Another terminal of each of load capacitances CL1, 2, . . . N is connected to ground.
FIG. 1B shows a pictorial diagram of a large "charge reservoir" 2 representing battery 2 of FIG. 1A, which holds a large amount of charge. Underneath reservoir 2 is a relatively large "bucket" 7 which represents inductor L in FIG. 1A. Bucket 7 is filled precisely to capacity with charge through a controlled valve S. Bucket 7 then is sequentially passed, as indicated by reference numerals 7-1, 2 . . . N, over various smaller buckets representing output capacitors CL1, 2, . . . N, respectively, to precisely fill each of the smaller buckets CL1, 2, . . . N. However, if bucket 7 is over-filled (i.e., inductor L is overcharged), there is a loss or waste of energy. Or, if bucket 7 is under-filled (i.e., inductor L is under-charged), then at least one of the output buckets CL1, 2, . . . N will not receive enough charge. The phenomenon of under-filling or under-charging the inductor and not being able to supply enough charge to each of the outputs during a given cycle is called "cross regulation", and this is a basic problem for SIMOs. (Cross regulation is defined as the change in output voltage of one output caused by a change in voltage of or current in another output. The term "load regulation" refers to change of an output due to changes in the load current delivered to or drawn by a load connected to that output.) Load regulation problems may prevent accurate voltage regulation of at least some of the output power supply voltages VOUT1, 2, . . . 5. The parallel horizontal dashed lines extending from bucket 7 in FIG. 1B represent an amount of intentional overcharging or undercharging of inductor L to ensure that there is enough charge/current for all of the buckets or output capacitors 7-1, 7-2 . . . 7-N.
Prior SIMO DC-DC converters have lower power efficiency than SISO DC-DC converters when the inductor L is "overcharged". There are a number of reasons why a SIMO converter has lower power efficiency than a SISO converter. One reason is the charge sharing from the single inductor to the multiple outputs, wherein the single inductor may be either overcharged or undercharged. A SIMO converter needs to deal with the sharing of charge/current from the single inductor and that reduces the DC-DC converter efficiency. Another problem of prior SIMO DC-DC converters is that they include an additional input switch that inherently reduces power efficiency, because each input switch is coupled in series between the input and the multiple outputs, respectively, of the output of the SIMO DC-DC converter. That adds both conductive power loss and switching power loss for each output switch transistor, and also increases EMI (electromagnetic interference) due to operating the various switch transistors.
Prior Art FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a SIMO DC-DC converter 10 configured as a buck converter, as shown in the article "Near-Independently Regulated 5-Output Single-Inductor DC-DC Buck Converter Delivering 1.2 W/mm2 in 65 nm CMOS", by Chien-Wei Kuan and Hung-Chih Lin, pp. 274-276, 2012 IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference/Session 16/Switching Power Control Techniques. This SIMO DC-DC converter generally indicates the present state-of-the-art for SIMO DC-DC converters. In FIG. 2, SIMO DC-DC converter 10 includes an input switch circuit coupled by conductor 2A to receive the battery voltage VBAT. The input switching circuitry includes P-channel input transistor MP and N-channel input switch transistor MN having their drains coupled by conductor 4 to external inductor L. SIMO DC-DC converter 10 also includes an "adaptive energy recovery control circuit 11, control circuitry 14, output switch circuit 6 including output transistors MS1, 2, . . . 5, and a current sensing circuit 12. Individually controllable DC output voltages VOUT1, 2, . . . 5 are generated on 5 separate capacitive loads (which are each modeled as a capacitor in parallel with a current source).
Adaptive energy recovery circuit 11 includes P-channel transistor MDR having its source connected to VBAT and the source of input transistor MP. The drains of input transistors MP and MN are connected by conductor to one terminal of external inductor L, the other terminal of which is connected by conductor 5 to the sources of the output switch transistors MS1, 2, . . . 5 and to an input of current sensing circuit 12. The drain of transistor MDR is connected to conductor 5. Switch transistor MDR provides a path from ground to the battery (not shown) which supplies VIN, through which any excess charge/current in inductor L is returned back to the battery. Switching transistor MDR allows overcharge current in inductor L to be returned to the battery with almost no loss. Switch transistor MDR in FIG. 2 also allows deliberate overcharging of inductor L so that extra load current is available to be supplied to any of the loads, including capacitors CL1, 2, . . . 5 and current sources I0, 1, 2 . . . 5, that need additional load current. That avoids cross regulation problems because if one output load changes and "steals" too much load current, it does not occur at the expense of another output load, and any overcharge current remaining in inductor L at the end of the present cycle is returned to the battery through switch transistor MDR.
The capacitive load coupled to the drain of output switch transistor MS1 includes capacitor CL1 and current source IO1; the loads coupled to the drains of the remaining output switch transistors are modeled similarly. The gates of output switch transistors MS1, 2, . . . 5 are coupled to the control signals VS1, 2, . . . 5, respectively, that are generated by block 22. Control circuit 14 includes internal voltage circuitry 15 which generates regulated voltages equal to 2.8 V and VIN −2.8 V from its input voltage VIN. Control circuit 14 also includes voltage selection circuit 17, which performs the functions of generating the signals VHP and VHN which then are utilized in block 21 to set the desired level shift of voltages to be applied to the drivers in blocks 22 and 24. Control circuit 14 also includes an analog controller circuit 18 which receives the output signals VOUT1, 2, . . . 5, associated reference voltages VREF1, 2, . . . 5, current sensing output signal ILSEN, and VAR which is generated by the circuitry in blocks 18 (which includes comparators), 20, and 22 in response to feedback from the outputs VOUT1, 2, . . . 5. The output of analog controller circuit 18 is provided as an input to switch control logic 20, the outputs of which are provided as inputs to level shifter circuits 21 which receive the signals VHP, VHN. The outputs of level shifter circuits 21 are applied to inputs of gate driver circuits 22 and 24, and VIN −2.8 V. Gate driver circuitry 22 generates the signals VS1, 2, . . . 5, VP, and VDR the output of gate driver circuit 24 generates the signal VN.
The SIMO DC-DC converter 10 of Prior Art FIG. 2 is much smaller than earlier SIMO DC-DC converters, and includes two transistor switches, including input switch transistor MP coupled in series with any selected one of output switch transistors MS1, 2 . . . , 5 through a path from the converter input VIN to any of the its outputs VOUT1, 2, . . . 5. Both input switch MP and the selected output switch dissipate a significant amount of power. The output capacitors CL1, 2, . . . N are relatively large, which is undesirable because they add substantially to the total system cost.
Prior Art FIG. 3A illustrates a basic "resonant" SISO DC-DC converter, similar to FIG. 1 of the article "Family of Soft-Switching Resonant DC-DC Converters" by M. Jabbari et al., pp. 113-124, IET Power Electronics, 2009, Vol. 2, Issue 2, incorporated herein by reference. The working modes of this resonant DC-DC converter include a full resonance mode, a partial resonance mode, a linear current mode, and a dead time mode, as fully described in the Jabbari et al. article. Phase 1 includes charging the inductor L and output capacitor CL. The inductor current IL is positive and increasing. In FIG. 3A, with VRES precharged to 2×VIN and switch SW3 OFF, switch SW1 is turned ON in a "ZCS" (zero current switching) mode, but not in a ZVS (zero voltage switching) mode. Current flows from the node VRES or ground to VOUT1 via resonant capacitor CRES, inductor L, and switch SW1 while VRES is greater than VOUT1. Phase 2 includes discharging inductor L and charging output capacitor CL. Inductor current IL is positive but decreasing. In FIG. 3A, while 0<VRES<VOUT1, current flows from the node VRES or ground through resonant capacitor CRES, inductor L, and switch SW1. When VRES is less than or equal to 0, current flows from ground to VOUT1 via switch SWR, inductor L, and switch SW1. Phase 3 is referred to as the "resonant mode" phase, during which the direction of inductor current IL is negative. In FIG. 3A, current flows from ground to VIN via switch SW3 when both switches SW1 and SWR are OFF, to allow the charge associated with VRES to return to a voltage level equal to 2×VIN.
Prior Art FIG. 3B illustrates a basic "resonant" two-output SIMO buck DC-DC converter similar to the one shown in FIG. 1 of the article "Simulation and Implementation of a New Topology in Multi-Output DC-DC Resonant Converters Based on SWRC Converters" by S. H. Shahalami et al., pp. 75-80, IEEE 2011 2nd Power Electronics, Drive Systems and Technologies Conference. The resonant 2-output SIMO buck converter of Prior Art FIG. 3B is quite similar to the resonant single output SISO buck converter of Prior Art FIG. 3A. The difference between the two is in using two (or more) output switch transistors, rather than one. Input switch transistor Q0 is used to connect the DC input source voltage VIN to the resonator tank circuit L,CRES and the 2 output switch transistors Q1 and Q2 are used to connect the resonator L,CRES to 2 output load capacitors CL1 and CL2, respectively. The working modes include a full resonance mode, a partial resonance mode, a linear current mode, and a dead time mode, as fully described in the above mentioned Shahalami et al. paper. State waveforms for the DC-DC converter of FIG. 3B are shown in FIG. 3C, and are the same as in FIG. 2 of the Shahalami et al. reference.
In a conventional non-resonant DC-DC converter, the inductor current IL flows unidirectionaly relative to the inductor. For example, there is only "positive inductor" current from VIN to Vout for a conventional buck converter. In contrast, in "resonant" DC-DC converters the current flow IL in inductor L and the capacitor CRES that form the resonator have both "positive" and "negative" values. The resonant architecture shown in FIG. 3A, with resonant capacitor CRES and also including a resonant diode DRES, allows both positive and negative current flow through inductor, which also true for the resonant architecture of the SIMO DC-DC converter shown in FIG. 3B.
Resonant DC-DC converters have lower or zero dynamic losses and lower EMI than non-resonant converters, due to the "soft switching" techniques for turning switch transistors on and off such that there is zero voltage across or zero current through the switch transistors while they are being switched.
To summarize, current state-of-the-art resonant DC-DC converters can be used to provide "soft-switching" and higher efficiency SIMO DC-DC converters. (The term "soft switching" refers to switching using ZVS (zero voltage switching) and/or ZCS (zero current switching) techniques.) Most of current state of the art switch-based resonant converters have several drawbacks that make them less desirable than standard DC-DC converters. These drawbacks include higher RMS current in the inductor, higher voltage seen by power switches (sometimes more than double the input voltage seen by the power switches), and limited power density output. The SIMO (Single Inductor Multiple Output) DC-DC converter has recently been used frequently due to its ability to utilize the full energy storage capacity of a single inductor shared by multiple output loads to avoid the need to provide multiple LDO (low drop out) voltage regulators. The use of SIMO DC-DC converters therefore potentially allows higher system power efficiency and reduced system cost, but unfortunately, the cost of present state-of-the-art SIMO DC-DC converters is high. They also generate high EMI (electromagnetic interference) have cross-regulation problems.
Thus, there is an unmet need for a resonant DC-DC converter having lower RMS current and reduced voltages across the power switches than is the case in prior DC-DC converters having somewhat comparable performance.
There also is an unmet need for a resonant DC-DC converter which allows higher system power efficiency and lower system cost than is the case in prior DC-DC converters having somewhat comparable performance.
There also is an unmet need for a resonant SIMO DC-DC converter which allows higher system power efficiency and lower system cost than is the case in prior SIMO DC-DC converters having somewhat comparable performance.
There also is an unmet need for a resonant SIMO DC-DC converter which has lower cross-regulation, higher power efficiency for a given integrated circuit package volume, and lower cost than prior SIMO DC-DC converters having somewhat comparable performance and than prior SISO DC-DC converters having somewhat comparable performance.
There also is an unmet need for a resonant SIMO DC-DC converter which has a less limited range of input and output voltages than prior SIMO DC-DC converters having somewhat comparable performance.
There also is an unmet need for a resonant SIMO DC-DC converter which generates less electromagnetic interference than prior SIMO DC-DC converters having somewhat comparable performance.
There also is an unmet need for a resonant SIMO DC-DC converter which makes it possible to use a relatively large number of low-voltage transistors in a high voltage DC-DC converter.

Resonance-based single inductor output-driven DC-DC converter and method


A recording apparatus has a development unit for depositing a toner on an electrostatic latent image on the outer surface of a photosensitive drum while attractively collecting a residual toner on the surface of the photosensitive drum, a transfer charger device for transferring the toner image to a transfer sheet, a conductive brush for uniformalizing a residual toner distribution on the photosensitive drum, after a transfer step has been carried out, and at the same time charging the surface of the photosensitive drum, and a scorotron charger located on the downstream side of the conductive brush, but on the upstream side of the exposure device, and assisting the charging of the drum surface by the conductive brush. The surface of the drum charged by the scorotron charger is exposed by a light beam to provide an electrostatic latent image thereon.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a recording apparatus for performing an image recording utilizing an electrophotographic system for use in a laser printer, a copying machine, etc.
2. Description of the Related Art
A recording apparatus for performing an image recording utilizing an electrophotographic system has an electrostatic latent image carrier comprised of, for example, a photosensitive drum. The electrostatic latent image carrier has a photosensitive surface on its outer periphery. A charger device, an exposure device, a developing unit and a transfer charger device are arranged around the outer periphery of the electostatic latent image carrier.
As the electrostatic latent image carrier is rotated, the photosensitive surface of the drum is first charged by the charger device. Then the outer surface of the drum is exposed by the exposure device to form an electrostatic latent image on the outer surface of the drum. The electrostatic latent image on the outer surface of the drum is deposited, by the development unit, with a toner to provide a visual toner image. The toner image thus deposited is transferred by a transfer charger device to a transfer sheet.
After transfer has been made, a remaining toner (hereinafter referred to merely as a residual toner) on the photosensitive surface of the electrostatic latent image carrier is normally cleaned by a cleaning device, setting the recording apparatus in a ready state for next cycle.
Published Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Nos. 59-133573 and 59-157661 disclose a cleanerless recording apparatus, that is, an apparatus which, instead of cleaning a residual toner on the outer surface of a photosensitive drum, can collect the residual toner into a development unit simultaneously with the development of a latent image by the development unit and obtain substantially the same effect as that achievable by a cleaning step. Such a recording apparatus obviates the necessity of providing a cleaning device and hence can advantageously be made compact.
The aforementioned Japanese Patent Applications disclose a basic concept for a cleanerless recording apparatus, a summary of which is as follows:
The electrophotographic printer typically represented by a laser printer often employs a known reversal development. An ordinary recording apparatus using the reversal development method uses toner particles 2 charged with the same polarity as that on the charged surface of a photosensitive drum 1, the major arrangement being shown in FIG. 7. The electrostatic latent image is formed as a visual image such that the toner particles 2 are deposited on that non-charged area (or a less charged area) on the photosensitive surface of the drum 1, not on a fully charged area on the photosensitive surface of the drum.
In order to achieve such toner deposition, it is necessary that a voltage Vb (.vertline.V1.vertline.<.vertline.Vb.vertline.<.vertline.V0.vertline.) between a potential V0 on the charged area and a potential V1 on the non-charged area on the photosensitive surface of the photosensitive drum 1 be applied to a toner carrier 4 in the development unit 3.
The toner particles 2 deposited on the photosensitive surface of the photosensitive drum 1 is transferred to a transfer sheet 6 by a well known transfer charger device 5. At the transfer step, all the toner is normally not transferred from the photosensitive surface of the photosensitive drum 1, that is, some toner is left as a residual toner on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 after the transfer step has been made. The residual toner 2' is collected by a cleaning device 7 and then charges on the photosensitive surface of the photosensitive drum are eliminated by a discharge lamp 8, followed by an electrostatic latent image forming step (a uniformly charging step by a charger device and an exposing step by an exposure device using a light beam 10).
In the cleanerless recording device, after a transfer step any residual toner 2' is left as it is, without using any cleaning device 7, until the developing step is reached. Simultaneously with the developing step, the residual toner 2' is collected into the development unit 3. Of the latent image formed through exposure by the light beam 10, a residual toner 2' after the transfer step, that is, a residual toner 2' present at a charged area (an unexposed area or a non-imaged area) is positively charged, by a charger device 9, with the same polarity as that on the electrostatic latent image. For this reason, the residual toner 2' is transferred to the toner carrier 4 by an electric field corresponding to a potential difference between V0 and Vb, that is, an electric field for suppressing the transfer of the toner particles 2 from the toner carrier 4 to the photosensitive drum 1. At the same time, the residual toner after the transfer step, that is, a residual toner on a non-charged area (an exposed area or an imaged area) receives a force acting from the toner carrier 4 toward the photosensitive drum 1 and stays deposited on the photosensitive surface of the photosensitive drum 1. A fresh toner 2 is transferred from the toner carrier 4 to the non-charged area on the surface of the photosensitive drum. In this way, cleaning is carried out simultaneously with the developing step.
Such a cleanerless recording apparatus eliminates the need for providing the cleaning device 7 and a spent toner box for storing a cleaned or a spent toner. It is thus easy to manufacture a simple and compact recording apparatus. Further, since the residual toner 2' following the transfer step is collected for reuse, the toner can be used efficiently and economically.
In the cleanerless recording apparatus, however, a ghost image sometimes emerges for the reason as will be set out below.
First, under a high humidity situation, the transfer sheet 6 normally absorbs moisture and becomes low-ohmic. As a result, there is a tendency that a larger amount of toner will be left on the photosensitive surface of the photosensitive drum 1. Any excessive amount of toner after the transfer step ensures no subsequent adequate cleaning. As a result, the toner 2' after the transfer step stays deposited on the non-imaged area and a positive ghost emerges against a white background of a transferred image. The ghost is called a "positive ghost" or a "positive memory".
Second, when any excessive residual amount of toner is involved after a transfer step has been carried out, an inadequate decline in the surface potential of the photosensitive drum 1 occurs due to the shielding of the light beam 10 by the residual toner, that is, the surface potential of the photosensitive drum 1 becomes a level (V1') intermediate between the potential V0 and the potential V1. In such a potential area, the development voltage becomes a level Vb-V1', a value smaller than a development voltage level Vb-V1 on the surrounding exposed area. Since, therefore, less amount of toner is transferred from the toner carrier 4 to the photosensitive drum 1, a white image emerges on an imaged area of a transferred image, the white image corresponding to a residual toner after the transfer step and being called a "negative ghost" or a "negative memory". This phenomenon prominently emerges in the case of a halftone image constituted by a set of dots and lines.
Published Unexamined Japanese Patent Application No. 62-203183 discloses a cleanerless recording apparatus having an arrangement as shown in FIG. 8. The apparatus is equipped with a conductive brush 12. The conductive brush 12, upon the application of a DC voltage by a DC power source 13, attracts a toner remaining after a transfer step from a deposited area under a coulomb force involved. This largely decreases an amount of toner remaining after the transfer step, thus preventing emergence of a ghost.
Since, however, the conductive brush 12 is set in contact with the toner remaining after the transfer step, it is difficult to uniformly charge the remaining toner, thus leaving a residual toner in an inadequately charged state after the transfer step has been carried out. This situation has been prominently encountered when more such residual toner is involved in particular. If this is the case, then a defect, such as a "ghost" or "memory", is liable to occur.

Recording apparatus with two charging units for achieving uniform after-transfer zones distribution


A hard disk drive includes a base including a plurality of internal parts related to reading and writing of information. The hard disk drive also includes a cover which shields an upper surface of the base. The hard disk drive also includes a ground rib which provides at least a partial contact area between the upper surface of the base and a lower surface of the cover and which connects the base and cover at a predetermined position. The hard disk drive also includes a plurality of screws which couple the cover to the base by passing through the ground rib.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a hard disk drive and, more particularly, to a hard disk drive including a mechanism that reduces electric magnetic interference (EMI) in the hard disk drive.
This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 from Korean Patent Application No. 10-2005-0125038, filed on Dec. 19, 2005, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
2. Description of Related Art
Hard disk drives (HDDs) are memory devices that are used to record and reproduce data by converting digital electric pulses to a magnetic field. This conversion of data from a digital form to a magnetic field makes the data more permanent. HDDs include various electronic and mechanical components to perform the functions of recording and reproducing data. While HDDs have many applications, HDDs are, widely used as auxiliary memory devices of computer systems because of their ability to provide quick access to large amounts of data.
With the recent increase in TPI (tracks per inch) and BPI (bits per inch), the capacity of HDDs has increased. This increase in capacity has increased the fields in which HDDs may be used. For example, a compact HDD having a diameter of 0.85 inches, i.e., a size similar to that of a coin, has been developed recently and is expected to be used in mobile phones in the future. While a HDD has various uses, the HDD is more susceptible to vibrations and shocks compared to other memory devices. Various efforts have been directed towards studying and remedying this problem.
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional HDD. Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional HDD includes a base 110 and a cover 130. The cover 130 is used to shield an upper opening portion of the base 110. A plurality of internal parts related to reading and writing of information are installed on the base 110, which will be described later. For example, a disk 112 for recording and storing data and a head stack assembly (HSA) 116 for reading or writing information on the disk 112 while moving across the disk 112 are installed on the base 110.
The base 110 includes many internal parts. Furthermore these internal parts operate based on predetermined signals. Therefore, these internal parts produce electromagnetic waves. These electromagnetic waves may be transmitted as electromagnetic energy to other devices that are located near the internal parts. In particular, the electromagnetic energy may be transferred to the other devices by means such as, for example, conduction and radiation. Furthermore, this electromagnetic energy, which is also known as electromagnetic interference (EMI) may damage the other devices and thus affect the performance of the apparatus that includes the HDD and these other devices. The apparatus may include electronic equipment such as, for example, a computer and a notebook.
As shown in FIG. 1, a cover 130 is coupled to the upper surface of the base 110 to protect the internal parts. Specifically, the cover 130 is coupled to the base 110 using six screws 138. Because of the coupling of the cover 130 to the base 110, an electromagnetic wave generated by the internal parts is shielded. Generally, as shown in FIG. 1, the cover 130 is coupled to the base 110 using a total of the six screws 138. Specifically, three screws each are used along each, of the longer side of the cover 130.
However, when the cover 130 is coupled to the base 110 using the six screws 138 as shown in FIG. 1, the effect of preventing the EMI is low. In particular, an electromagnetic wave is generally emitted from a preamplifier 126 installed on the HSA 116 or a flexible printed circuit (FPC) 128 connecting the preamplifier 126 to a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) 125. The effect of shielding the electromagnetic wave generated in the vicinity of the HSA 116 using the six screws 138 is relatively low.
To solve the above-mentioned problem, according to another conventional HDD, as shown in FIG. 2, an additional screw 138a is further provided in the center area of a short side of the cover 130. This is the area where the HSA 116, which is the most sensitive portion of the HDD, is located. Thus, a total of seven screws—138 and 138a, are used to fix the cover 130 to the base 110.
However, the conventional HDD has a number of shortcomings. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, when the number of the screws 138 and 138a for a single HDD increase, the cost of assembling the HDD rises. Furthermore, the time taken to couple the cover 130 to the base 110 increases. Furthermore, because a gasket (not shown) is also installed between the base 110 and the cover 130 as a means to closely combine the cover 130 and the base 110, when the screw 138a is also used as shown in FIG. 2, the shape and structure of the gasket needs to be changed. This modification of the gasket may increase the complication of the HDD assembly process because of an increase in the time and effort required to install the gasket.

Hard disc drive including ground rib to connect cover and base


An apparatus for cold-forming a workpiece having a substantially round cross-section and an elongate body into a tube having a main portion with a substantially tetragonal cross-section and a reinforced end. The apparatus includes a die in which a received portion of the body of the workpiece is receivable and from which a preselected portion of the body extends, and a first punch adapted to bend the preselected portion radially outwardly to form a curled end. The apparatus also includes a second punch to form the curled end into a round reinforced end, and a die subassembly for forming the received portion of the body of the workpiece into the main portion of the tube having the substantially tetragonal cross-section and for forming the round reinforced end into the reinforced end of the tube.

Tubes with substantially tetragonal (e.g., rectangular or square) cross-sections and reinforced ends are used in many applications, e.g., trailer hitch-receiving tubes mounted at a back end of a vehicle. As is well known in the art, a trailer hitch assembly typically includes a frame portion which is attached to the vehicle's chassis, and the hitch-receiving tube is attached to the frame portion.
In the prior art, the reinforced end may be formed by welding a ring to a tube with a tetragonal cross-section. The ring is rectangular or square, as required to fit onto the tube, and is sized accordingly. However, a reinforced end formed in this way (i.e., one including a ring welded to the tube) is particularly susceptible to corrosion, due to salt and water off the roadway. Also, the welded ring tends to be less aesthetically appealing. A tube 10 with a tetragonal cross-section and a reinforced end 11 formed in this way are shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B.
A particular method of cold-forming the reinforced end is known, and is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,408,672 (Roe et al.). In this method, an end of a tube which is tetragonal in cross-section is cold-formed into a reinforced end. However, because the tube is tetragonal in cross-section, extreme pressure is required to cause material at the end of the tube to buckle and form as required in accordance with the invention disclosed in Roe et al. A tube 12 with a tetragonal cross-section and a reinforced end 13 formed in this way are shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B. (As will be described, the remainder of the drawings illustrate the present invention.) This prior art method has some obvious disadvantages, e.g., a very large press is required in order to exert the very high pressures needed, and the extreme pressure also causes excessive wear and breakage at the tooling surfaces in contact with the deformed area.

Apparatus and method for forming a tube with a tetragonal cross-section, having a reinforced end


A liquid crystal projector device of the present invention includes an optical system for receiving light from a lamp unit. The optical system is provided with a polarization beam splitter for extracting only an S wave out of P and S waves of the light emitted from the lamp unit, and also provided with a latter stage slit plate in contact with a light incidence surface of the polarization beam splitter. The latter stage slit plate is provided with a plurality of slits for allowing light incidence on the polarization beam splitter. A former stage slit plate is arranged in a position spaced apart from the latter stage slit plate along the optical axis toward the lamp unit. The former stage slit plate is provided with a plurality of slits overlapping in the optical axis direction with the respective slits of the latter stage slit plate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a projector device adapted to guide light from a light source to an optical system to generate image light for magnification projection on a forward screen.
2. Description of Related Art
A conventional projector device of this type includes a casing having disposed therein a lamp for serving as a light source, and an optical system including a polarization beam splitter, a polarizing plate, liquid crystal panels, a projection lens, etc. (see JP 10-274752, A). The polarization beam splitter has a function of extracting only one component wave out of P- and S-waves of light, which allows a liquid crystal panel to be irradiated with light polarized in the same direction.
FIG. 6 shows a polarization beam splitter 25 in a liquid crystal projector device of the present invention. Because the polarization beam splitter 25 has the same configuration also in the conventional liquid crystal projector, a conventional polarization beam splitter 25 will be described below with reference to the same drawing. As shown in FIG. 6, the polarization beam splitter 25 includes a polarizing plate 25a and a half-wavelength plate 25b with slits joined to a light emergence surface thereof. Inside the polarizing plate 25a, first interfaces 125 for passing therethrough a P-wave of light incident on the polarizing plate 25a and reflecting an S-wave, and second interfaces 126 for reflecting the S-wave are alternately formed with an inclination angle of 45 degrees relative to the surface of the polarizing plate 25a.
The P-wave of the light incident on the first interfaces 125 passes through the first interfaces 125 to reach the half-wavelength plate 25b. The P-wave has a phase thereof inversed by passing through the half-wavelength plate 25b, and emerges as an S-wave. On the other hand, the S-wave reflected by the first interfaces 125 reaches the second interfaces 126, and is reflected by the second interfaces 126 to emerge from each slit 25c of the half-wavelength plate 25b. Thus, only the S-waves emerge from the polarization beam splitter 25.
An aluminum slit plate 24 is placed at a light incidence side of the polarizing plate 25a because the polarization function of the polarization beam splitter 25 degrades if light is incident on the second interfaces 126 in the polarization beam splitter 25. Each slit 24a of the slit plate 24 is provided in a position that allows light incidence on the first interfaces 125, but light incidence on the second interfaces 126 is prevented by the slit plate 24. The slit plate 24 is placed in contact with a light incidence surface of the polarization beam splitter 25, or in a position close to the surface, in order to maintain relative position accuracy between the first interfaces 125 of the polarization beam splitter 25 and a plurality of slits 24a provided in the slit plate 24.
The polarization beam splitter 25 significantly degrades the polarization function upon exceeding a limit temperature, and therefore needs to be used in a range within the limit temperature. However, heat is transmitted to the polarization beam splitter 25 from the slit plate 24, which could have a high temperature upon receipt of the light from the light source, because the slit plate 24 is placed in contact with the surface of the polarization beam splitter 25, or in a position close to the surface. This has caused a problem of the polarization beam splitter 25 having a high temperature exceeding a limit temperature.


In one aspect, the invention provides a method for separating a mixture of polynucleotides, such as DNA or RNA, including (a) applying the mixture to a polymeric separation medium having non-polar surfaces, wherein the surfaces are characterized by being substantially free from multivalent cations, such as metal ions, which are free to interfere with polynucleotide separation, and (b) eluting the mixture with a mobile phase containing organic solvent and counter ion agent. In the separation of single-stranded polynucleotides, improved separation is obtained at a temperature effective to fully denature secondary structure within the polynucleotides.

Separations of polynucleotides such as DNA have been traditionally performed using slab gel electrophoresis or capillary electrophoresis. However, liquid chromatographic separations of polynucleotides are becoming more important because of the ability to automate the analysis and to collect fractions after they have been separated. Therefore, columns for polynucleotide separation by liquid chromatography (LC) are becoming more important.
High quality materials for double stranded DNA separations previously have been based on polymeric substrates disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,585,236, to Bonn, et al. (1996), which showed that double-stranded DNA can be separated on the basis of size with selectivity and performance similar to gel electrophoresis using a process characterized as reverse phase ion pairing chromatography (RPIPC). However, the chromatographic material described was limited to nonporous beads substituted with alkyl groups having at least 3 carbons because Bonn, et al. were unsuccessful in obtaining separations using polymer beads lacking this substitution. Additionally, the polymer beads were limited to a small group of vinyl aromatic monomers, and Bonn et al. were unable to effect DNA separations with other materials.
A need continues to exist for chromatographic methods for separating polynucleotides with improved separation efficiency and resolution.

Liquid chromatographic separation of polynucleotides


An image forming apparatus includes an electrophotographic process part for image formation provided for an image carrying medium for each color; a non-end moving part moving images transferred thereto from the respective image carrying media for the respective colors; and an image detecting part detecting an image formed on the non-end moving part. The respective electrophotographic process parts are disposed in sequence along the non-end moving part, and form positional error detection marks on the non-end moving part; the image detecting part detects the thus-formed positional error detection marks; and positional error correction is performed based on a result of detection thus performed by the image detecting part. The apparatus comprises a control part having at least two modes in the positional error correction; and the control part performs control such that one of the at least two modes is selected according to a positional error amount detected by the image detecting part.

The present application is based on the Japanese Priority Application No. 2003-194584, filed on Jul. 9, 2003, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus forming a color image such as a copier, a printer, a facsimile machine or such in an electrophotographic type or an electrostatic recording type, a program applicable to such an image forming apparatus, and a positional error correction method applicable to such an image forming apparatus.
2. Description of the Relate Art
In the related art, a method for avoiding positional error which is error in mutual position in images of respective colors which should agree with each other to create a proper color image as a combination thereof otherwise causing color drift in a full-color image forming apparatus, is known. Specifically, for example, as one method, a series of toner marks are formed especially for the purpose of positional error detection.
Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 9-204087 discloses a method in which a plurality of types of marks for the detection are formed, by which information of periodic rotational variation of color registration drift is obtained. In this method, a plurality of sampling periods are prepared for the marks for the detection.
Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 11-102098 proposed by the present applicant discloses a configuration in which a detecting unit detecting positional error detection marks including lines along a main scan direction and those oblique with respect thereto includes slits in parallel to the respective marks, a light source part and a light receiving part.

Image forming apparatus, program and positional error correction method


A substrate including therein a plurality of conductor layers laminated via insulating layers, the substrate mounting at least one semiconductor integrated circuit, wherein the substrate includes a first electrode terminal connected to the semiconductor integrated circuit, a second electrode terminal connected to a terminal on an upper substrate arranged in a layer over the substrate, and on at least part of the perimeter of the first and second electrode terminals, a third electrode terminal located outside the outer edge of the upper substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a substrate, a semiconductor device using the same, a method for inspecting semiconductor device, and a method for manufacturing semiconductor device, and in particular to terminal arrangement on a substrate.
2. Description of the Related Art
With a demand for ever-shrinking electronic components, it is necessary to mount a large number of integrated circuit chips and circuit components on a semiconductor device mounting a semiconductor integrated circuit and circuit components. There is a growing demand for efficient use of a wiring space and a component mounting space.
There is proposed for example a laminated semiconductor device that has improved the conforming product rate with reduced mounting area per function or memory capacity (Patent Reference 1).
On this semiconductor device, a semiconductor chip is mounted face down on the main surface of a first substrate including a bonding pad arranged along the edge of the main surface of the substrate so as to expose the first bonding pad. A test is conducted using the first bonding pad to determine whether the semiconductor device is non-defective. Further, a second substrate mounting a second semiconductor chip having a similarly formed second bonding pad is mounted on the first substrate so as to expose the first bonding pad. The first and second semiconductor chips are connected to the outside by using the first and second bonding pads.
As such a semiconductor device becomes highly integrated, the number of pins goes on rising increasingly. These first and second bonding pads are not sufficient for connection. Surface mounting has been proposed using a so-called solder ball whereby substrates are interconnected via a surface contact.
For example, as shown in FIG. 11, a so-called Package on Package (PoP) has been proposed that is formed by laminating an SoC 1010 formed by horizontal mounting on a mounting substrate and a memory device 1020 as shown in FIG. 12.
Such a laminated semiconductor device reduces the mounting area as the signal wiring length. This accordingly reduces the signal wiring capacity and possible noise.
In recent years, a system design called System on Chip (SoC) has been in widespread use that integrates complicated functional macros into a single LSI. Here, the "functional macro" is a concept mainly used in the functional design stage of LSI. The functional macro refers to a single cell (block) as aggregation of circuits to implement a predetermined function and is registered in a library in the form of an IP (design resource). To form a laminated semiconductor device using such a high-integration LSI, in particular, interconnection between the first semiconductor chip mounted on the first substrate and the second semiconductor chip mounted on the second substrate is required although there arises a problem that interconnection via the first or second substrate results in failure to measure signals.
In particular, a system on chop using a high-frequency LSI used in a frequency band over 100 MHz is intended for high-speed transmission so that waveform rounding is strictly unacceptable. A delay attributable the wiring length on a substrate or wiring length to a test circuit as well as attenuation or problem with matching caused by a connection terminal such as an electrode pad are serious. Measures have been taken so that the wiring length will be minimized and the wiring capacity will be reduced. Under these circumstances, a downsized and lower-profile substrate and reduction of the number of pins and the number of conductor layers present major problems.
There are many cases where it is necessary to mount a filter component or a bypass capacitor. In case such an external component is mounted on a mounting substrate, a wiring resistance caused by the length of wiring is serious.
In this way, with a substrate that mounts semiconductor integrated circuit chips in a laminated layer structure, routing of wiring must be minimized and the impedance caused by the wiring itself must be reduced.
Each of the functional macros has a separate circuit scale and operation as well as the number of test patters required for testing. The result is a heavy load on an LSI tester. It is an important challenge to efficiently conduct the test of each functional macro.
In this way, it is one of the important challenges to efficiently conduct the test of each functional macro. With the related art laminated semiconductor device shown in FIG. 12, the second semiconductor chip is connected to the outside via the second and first substrates. This may trigger a drop in the efficiency of the test of the entire LSI including the other functional macros.    Patent Reference 1: JP-A-2005-302871

Substrate, semiconductor device using the same, method for inspecting semiconductor device, and method for manufacturing semiconductor device


A method for controlling the viscosity of molten polymers, such as polycarbonate, takes place prior to a molding operation such as injection molding, extrusion, thermoforming or blow molding. When a significant reduction of viscosity is desirable, the plastic melt is submitted, at constant temperature, to the action of a vigorous mechanical extensional shear vibration, with minimum or no external pressure, at a constant amplitude and frequency, causing the melt to become highly elastic, and simultaneously it is fatigued, for a certain time at that temperature, maintaining this high elastic state, until the macromolecules have partially or totally disentangled, in a controllable manner, at which stage the melt is ready for a molding operation such as a simple quenching operation or an extrusion process followed by quenching to produce pellets or compounds with a better mix or a lower viscosity when remelted, or an injection molding operation where the melt viscosity has been greatly reduced allowing a better processability of the injected part, for instance allowing the use of a lower temperature of injection, a lower pressure of injection or both.

FIG. 1 provides the viscosity curves (plotted on a Log scale) as a function of temperature for three polycarbonate grades having different molecular weight and molecular weight distribution (polydispersity). The viscosity measured is the complex viscosity ETA*, obtained with a parallel plate rheometer (Rheometrics RDAII), at constant oscillation frequency (10 rad/sec). Grade 1 is a high flow resin for compact disks and thin-wall molding applications; its molecular weight is the lowest of the three grades. Its mechanical performance is also the worst. Grade 2 is a general purpose polycarbonate with a molecular weight average above the critical molecular weight for entanglements, and Grade 3 is a branched polymer with high melt elasticity used in blow molding. One sees, in first approximation, that the viscosity at any given temperature is shifted by an amount scaled by the respective glass transition temperature,Tg, of the grades. By blending these three grades in any specific proportion, controlled by the Tg of the mix, one has the possibility to "custom fit" the viscosity curve for a given application. This clearly illustrates how the resin suppliers have succeeded in providing the plastic industry with means to lower the viscosity to ease up processing or increase melt elasticity by blending manipulation. The melt index is larger for resins which flow better. The molecular weight of the higher melt index resins is reduced, which explains the lower viscosity. The problem with that solution is that the mechanical performance of the lower molecular weight polymers is also severely reduced, a compromise for better processability which processors have to pay.
The industry would welcome a process which allows the decrease of viscosity of plastic melts without the need to change the molecular weight of the resins, with the added advantage of a reduction of the number of grades a resin manufacturer has to offer.
Shear thinning of plastic materials is well known and is used practically to lower the viscosity of melts during the filling stage of injection molding by increasing the speed of the injecting piston. This is particularly useful in the case of thin wall injection molding where considerable forces are required to fill the mold when the viscosity of the melt remains quasi-Newtonian. Rheologists essentially use two types of instruments to characterize the flow behavior of fluids: capillary rheometers and rotational shear viscometers. In the latter, either a true rotational motion or an oscillation is imparted to the melt, leading to the knowledge of either the steady shear viscosity or the complex viscosity, ETA*. It is well known to rheologists that plots of the complex viscosity, ETA*, versus w, the angular frequency, are similar to plots of viscosity versus shear rate, the so-called Cox Merz's rule.
It is also well known that shear thinning can be obtained, at a given temperature, by either increasing the shear rate or the frequency of oscillation of the melt at constant amplitude of oscillation. For example, the viscosity of PMMA at 239.degree. C. can be reduced from 130,000 Poises to 20,000 Poises, more than 6 times, when the melt oscillates in shear at relatively low radial frequency, w=100 rad/s (16 Hz). In conclusion it is well known that the viscosity of a plastic melt can be reduced by shear thinning induced by vibration. The viscosity reduction is instantaneous and only prevails under vibration, i.e. it ceases if the vibration ceases. In other words, the viscosity reduction induced by shear thinning is not preserved and the melt is unaltered after the vibration ceases: after the melt oscillation has stopped, its Newtonian viscosity remains the same as for the initial-non vibrated melt. Therefore, the viscosity reduction induced by vibration-shear thinning is completely unstable and requires to be done while the material is injected or extruded, that is to say while the part is being shaped in a mold or a die. This implies the implementation of sophisticated vibration machinery added to traditional injection molding, blow molding or extrusion machines. Examples of such devices are described in other patents and applications (Refs 7a-7i). The same arguments can be said about the modification of the elasticity of a melt, which can be brought upon either by an increase of molecular weight or by melt vibration. The excess elasticity at a given temperature induced by the vibration condition ceases immediately at the interruption of the vibration.
In short, the use of vibration means to increase flow and modify in situ the viscosity of melts is well known. However, in order to clearly distinguish the differences between the present invention, which also uses vibration means to reduce viscosity, and the prior art, we summarize below the prior art as follows:
There are three categories of patented processes using vibration to modify the molding process and/or the properties of molded materials:
1. The common practical feature among the patents of the first category is their use of mechanical shaking/oscillation or ultrasonic vibration devices to homogenize and increase the density of the material molded, either in the liquid stage or in the solidifying stage, either at a macroscopic or microscopic level 3-6!. These references do not directly concern the use of vibration to lower the viscosity of a melt to increase their processability during conversion, nor do they address the use of packing vibration to increase the melt elasticity. PA1 2. The second category of patents and processes using vibration is based on the fact that material rheology is a function of vibration frequency and amplitude in addition to temperature and pressure. This can be put to practical use to influence diffusion and rate sensitive processes which depend on viscosity and relaxation kinetics, such as nucleation and growth of crystals, blending and orientation 1-2, 7-11!. However, as said earlier, these references do not alter the viscosity of the melts in a way which preserves the viscosity reduction, and, the alteration is entirely dependent on the activation of the vibration means which create it, while the melt is cooled and vibrated. PA1 3. In a third category, vibration is essentially used to generate heat locally by internal friction 20! or to decrease surface stresses at the wall interface between the melt and the barrel or the die to increase throughputs 12-16, 17-20!. The heat generated locally by pressure pulsation can be significant enough, in injection molding, as to avoid the premature freezing of the gate, resulting in a significant reduction of the shrinkage in the final part 20!. The significant reduction at the wall interface of the friction coefficient increases the throughput of melt flow through vibrating dies 12-16! and reduces orientational birefringence. These processes do not try to modify the viscosity of the melt per se, in a way which would be similar to a reduction of the molecular weight average of the macromolecules.
The industry would welcome a process which allows the viscosity to be significantly reduced and to stay reduced, at least for the time it is processed into a shaped article, without altering the molecular weight of the polymer and the inevitable degradation of the mechanical characteristics that results from it. Likewise, the industry would welcome a process which allows the melt elasticity to be significantly increased and stayed increased, at least for the time it is processed into a shaped article, by blow-molding or thermoforming, without the need to increase the molecular weight of the polymer and the creation of a new grade for this resin, with the inevitable costs associated with the promotion and the manufacturing of such a new grade.
In short, the industry would welcome a non-chemical process allowing the simplification of their resin line without the need to modify the processability and melt strength by varying the molecular weight average and the polydispersity of the resin into various grades.
As will become evident by reading the following disclosure, the prior art does not describe a method and apparatus capable of modifying and controlling in a significant way the viscosity and the elasticity of plastics without the need to either modify the molecular weight of the macromolecules or the addition of plasticizers, lubricants etc.

Viscosity control for molten plastics prior to molding


A method of monitoring and inspecting an edge of strip metal includes providing at least one image producer having a field of view that substantially frames the edge, using the at least one image producer to form a first series of images of the edge after the edge has been formed by a knife; and analyzing in real time the first series of images to determine the shear angle and/or the burr height of the edge.

The present invention relates generally to metal strip edge and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for monitoring and inspecting in real time various characteristics of the strip edge.
Strip metal is a commodity that is commonly produced by the metals industry. Typically, various operations must be performed on the metal strip before the strip can be processed into one or more final products. Operations typically performed on metal strip include edge-trimming, slitting, shearing and stamping operations.
In a slitting operation, a wide, metal strip is cut into any suitable number of narrower strips. Likewise, in an edge-trimming operation, a metal strip of, usually, non-uniform width is trimmed to a desired width. Slitting and edge-trimming operations are typically performed by rotary cutting knives mounted, respectively, above and below the strip at a desired location for cutting or trimming same. In the above-noted operations, new edges for the metal strip are produced thereby.
It is important for a number of reasons to obtain high-quality strip edges from the above-noted operations. For example, low-quality edges may subsequently crack or rust, or cause subsequent coating or welding problems, or reduce the "fit and finish" of the strip, all of which results in increased processing costs and scrap rates.
In slitting and edge-trimming operations, the quality of the edge is usually dependent on the setting or positioning of the knives. For example, the upper knife can be adjusted vertically to create a desired amount of overlap with the lower knife. In addition, the lower knife can be adjusted horizontally to adjust the amount of clearance between the upper and lower knives.
Customarily, the knives are initially positioned and subsequently adjusted according to settings which, from empirical experience with strip of the same thickness and metallurgical composition, are thought to be correct. In addition, the edges of strip produced by the knives are periodically manually and visually inspected to determine whether the knives are properly set and otherwise in good working order (e.g., the knife edges are sharp and defect-free).
Because strip edge inspection has only been done periodically and not in real time, a number of strip metal coils may be processed before a problem with one or more of the knives is detected. This can lead to many of the strip metal coils being scrapped or reworked if the edge quality has become unacceptable.

Method and apparatus for monitoring and inspecting strip edge


An attachment (10) for operably mounting and supporting a ladder (12) comprises an angular frame (18, 20) adapted for receipt by a vehicular hitch (14). The frame (18, 20) includes crosspieces (26) adapted for receiving rungs of the ladder (12), which are releaseably connected together with fasteners (28). In the second embodiment, the fasteners (28′) are captured on the frame (18′, 20′).

Various types of portable ladders have been used heretofore to facilitate access to elevated locations for construction or maintenance purposes. Such ladders are either self-supporting, such as step ladders, or non-self-supporting, such as straight or extension ladders. Straight ladders are available in various fixed lengths. Extension ladders are also available in various, adjustable lengths. Straight and extension ladders are best suited for use in situations where both ends can be supported on and against suitable surfaces for stability and safety purposes. All such ladders are available with different duty ratings, depending upon their intended use.
Of course, regardless of the type of ladder being used, it is important to have it securely supported for stability and safety purposes. Self-supporting step ladders require secure support only at their lower ends. However, straight and extension ladders must be securely supported at both ends. Proper placement and support are critical, especially with long ladders and the higher up workers go on them. Serious injuries can and do result from falling off ladders that move or slip from not being securely supported.
Professional contractors and maintenance workers typically carry several types of fixed and extension ladders for use in different situations, although this tends be duplicative and thus expensive.
However, there are many applications where ladders simply cannot be used safely, if at all. For example, stringing outdoor lights in tall shrubbery or trees in a yard during the holidays can be difficult and unsafe when there is inadequate support for one or both ends of a ladder, or when it is either too high to reach from the ladder. Scaffolding is heavy and too expensive and time consuming to use in such situations. Aerial ladders and hydraulic lift buckets or 'cherry pickers' can sometimes be used in such situations, but they tend to be even more expensive and may not be able to access the desired location without damaging the surrounding yard.
A need has thus arisen for an attachment for operably mounting and securely supporting a ladder directly on a vehicle hitch to facilitate access to elevated locations which would otherwise be inaccessible without using expensive scaffolding, aerial ladders and/or cherry pickers.


The invention discloses a transmitter comprising a pulse encoder for creating pulses from the amplitude of an input signal to the transmitter, a compensation signal generator for cancelling quantization noise caused by the pulse encoder, a mixer or I/Q modulator for mixing an output of the pulse encoder with the phase of an input signal to the transmitter and an amplifier for creating an output signal from the transmitter. In the transmitter, a control signal (CA) for controlling a function of the amplifier comprises an output signal from the compensation signal generator, and an input signal to the amplifier comprises an output from the mixer having been modulated to a desired frequency.

A transmitter will normally comprise at least one amplifier, the efficiency of which can be enhanced by means of pulsed modulation, i.e. mapping of the modulated communication signal to the characteristics of a pulse train, such as, for example, duration, position or density. In such a transmitter, the pulses are used as input to the amplifier. The purpose of driving the amplifier with a pulse train is to make the amplifier operate more of the time at its high efficiency operating points. By using a pulse train, the power amplifier is only operated in one of two highly efficient regions; deep compression or completely off.
However, pulse modulation schemes such as the one described above will introduce undesired signal distortion caused by quantization noise when generating the pulses, which needs to be handled by means of a bandpass filter, a so called reconstruction filter. Due to the nature of the quantization noise, narrowband filters are needed in order to reconstruct the signal before transmitting. These types of filters have a large insertion loss at microwave frequencies, which leads to increased power dissipation in the filter, thus reducing the power efficiency of the transmitter.
Document WO 2006/110590 discloses a power control module which receives a dynamic power control signal, and generates a differential bias signal which is proportional to the dynamic power control signal.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Transmitter with quantization noise compensation


Some implementations provide a hinge that includes a first wing, a second wing, a coupling pin, and a locking pin. The first wing includes a first knuckle and a second knuckle. The first knuckle includes a first hole. The second knuckle includes a second hole and a first locking hole. The second wing includes a third knuckle and a fourth knuckle. The third knuckle includes a third hole. The fourth knuckle includes a fourth hole. The coupling pin is configured to couple the first wing to the second wing through the first, second, third and fourth knuckles. The locking pin configured to limit the hinge in a particular position when the locking pin is inserted into the first locking hole of the second knuckle. The locking pin configured to lock the hinge in a particular position when the locking pin is inserted into the locking hole of the second knuckle.

1. Field of Invention
At least one feature pertains to a modified door hinge with locking mechanism.
2. Background of Invention
A door is an entryway into a room. A door can pivot about a frame through one or more hinges, which allows the door to be opened and closed. FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a door. Specifically, FIG. 1 illustrates a door 100 that is coupled to a frame 108 through several hinges (e.g., first hinge 102, second hinge 104, and third hinge 106). As mentioned above, these hinges 102-106 allow the door 100 to pivot and thereby allow the door 100 to open and close. As shown in FIG. 1, the hinge 102 includes several components, including a first set of knuckles 110, a second set of knuckles 112 and a pin 114.
FIG. 2 illustrates a more detailed example of a conventional hinge used to couple a door to a frame (e.g., wall). As shown in FIG. 2, the hinge 200 includes a first wing 202, a second wing 204 and a pin 206. The first wing 202 includes several knuckles that have holes in them. The second wing 204 also includes several knuckles that have holes in them as well. The first wing 202 is a door wing that is coupled to the door. The second wing 204 is a frame wing that is coupled to the frame. The first wing 202 and the second wing 204 may be coupled together through the pin 206. When the first wing 202 and the second wing 204 are coupled together, the pin 206 traverses through the holes in the knuckles of the first and second wings 202-204.
The door can be locked into a closed positioned through the use of locks/bolts that are located at near the handle of the door. In some instances, it may be desirable to leave the door ajar and/or slightly open. For example, it may be desirable to leave a door slightly open so that a pet (e.g., dog) can go in and out of a room, while preventing another pet (e.g., another larger dog) from entering the room. Typically, to secure/lock the door in a slightly ajar position and/or open position (e.g., slightly ajar from the closed position), an object is typically placed at the base of the door. For example, a wedge may be positioned at the base of the door to lock the door in an ajar/open position. However, the use of a wedge is often unreliable as it can be easily moved/removed. In addition, a wedge is aesthetically unpleasant.
As such there is a need for a locking mechanism that allows a user to secure/lock a door in an open/ajar position. Ideally, such a locking mechanism allows for variable/multiple locking positions.

Modified door hinge comprising locking mechanism


The present invention relates to a method for delivering a nucleic acid sequence encoding neuropeptide Y, or a derivative or functional fragment thereof, to a mammalian nervous system target cell. The expression of exogenous NPY, or a derivative or a functional fragment thereof in the target cell(s) provides therapeutic benefit for subjects afflicted with a neurological disorder.

Several publications and patent documents are referenced in this application in order to more fully describe the state of the art to which this invention pertains. The disclosure of each of these publications and documents is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
In general, the invention relates to methods for treating a neurological disease. Neurological diseases/disorders often progress rapidly and can be disruptive of essentially all aspects of a patient's life. As such, these diseases present profound challenges for the patient, care givers, and attending physicians. Moreover, the progressive nature of these diseases makes the passage of time a crucial consideration in the treatment process. Treatment choices for neurological diseases, particularly those affecting cognitive function, can be complicated by the duration of time which is frequently required to determine the efficacy of a therapeutic regimen. Indeed, depending on the disease involved, a significant percent of the population of affected individuals can present with a form of intractable disease.
Methodology directed to human gene therapy renders feasible the treatment of numerous neurological disorders via delivery of nucleic acid sequences directly to the nervous system, wherein their expression can be manipulated in a therapeutically beneficial manner. This is a particularly valuable option for patients with intractable neurological disease, who may, for example, have a form of the disease that is not responsive to the available drugs or may not be able to tolerate the deleterious side effects associated with many therapeutic modalities. Gene transfer into the central nervous system (CNS) is, however, impeded by several features of the system, including the largely post-mitotic nature of most neurons in the brain, constraints related to accessibility into various brain regions, and obstacles pertaining to the blood-brain-barrier.
Retroviral vectors, which are routinely used for somatic cell gene transfer, are not generally useful for applications in post-mitotic neural cells because retrovirally mediated gene transfer requires at least one cell division for integration and expression. To address the challenges inherent to gene transfer into the CNS, a number of vectors and non-viral methods have been developed. A number of studies have achieved varying degrees of success for gene transfer into the CNS using either an ex vivo approach, involving transplantation of cells retrovirally-transduced in vitro, or an in vivo approach. Investigators have also utilized HSV-1 and adenoviral vectors, as well as non-viral methods including cationic lipid mediated transfection to achieve gene transfer into cells of the CNS (Wolff (1993) Curr. Opin. Biol. 3:743-748).
Groves et al., for example, used an ex vivo approach to infect oligodendrocytes with retroviral vectors, which were subsequently transplanted into a syngeneic rat model for a demyelinating disorder (Groves et al (1993) Nature 362:453-457). Non-neuronal cells, including fibroblasts and primary muscle cells, have also been used successfully to introduce exogenous nucleic acid sequences and their encoded products into the CNS (Horrelou et al (1990) Neuron 5:393-402; Jiao et al (1993) Nature 362:450-453).
In vivo approaches have been largely directed to the use of the neurotropic Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV-1) and a number of adenoviral vectors, which have been shown to drive persistent expression (i.e., two months) of marker genes in the rat brain (Davidson et al (1993) Nature Genetics 3:219-2223). In addition to viral vector approaches, other investigators have used direct injection of a cationic liposome:plasmid complex and have demonstrated low level and transient expression of a marker gene using this approach (Ono et al (1990) Neurosci. Lett. 117:259-263).
There have, however, been very few studies directed to introducing "therapeutic" genes into cells of the CNS. The majority of these studies used an ex vivo approach involving transduction of fibroblasts and muscle cells with the human tyrosine hydroxylase gene, which provided a source of L-dopa-secreting cells for use in models of Parkinson's Disease (e.g., Horrelou et al (1990) Neuron 5:393-402; Jiao et al (1993) Nature 362:450-453). HSV vectors have been used for a number of ill vivo approaches involving expression of β-glucuronidase (Wolfe et al (1992) Nature Genetics 1:379-384), glucose transporter (Ho et al (1993) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 90:6791-6795) and nerve growth factor (Federoff et al (1992) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 89:1636-1640). An adenoviral vector has also been used successfully to induce low level transient expression of human α1-antitrypsin (Bajoccchi et al (1993) 3:229-234).
Very few clinical studies documenting gene transfer into the brain have been reported. Of these, Culver et al. [(1992) Science 256:18550-18522] essentially cured rats following the intracerebral implantation of glioma cell lines infected with a retrovirus expressing the HSV-1 thymidine kinase (tk) gene, which were subsequently treated with ganciclovir. The success achieved in the animal model led to approval of a human protocol for glioblastoma multiforme using the retroviral tk vector—ganciclovir approach (Oldfield et al (1993) Human Gene Ther. 4:39-69).

Methods and compositions for the treatment of neurological disease


The present disclosure provides methods, devices, and computer-readable media for target acquisition in a three dimensional building display are described herein. One or more embodiments include extracting building information modeling semantic data of each of a number of modeled objects in a visual scene of a three dimensional building display, determining a semantic space for each of the number of modeled objects based, at least in part, on the building information modeling semantic data, adjusting a scale factor of the three dimensional building display based, at least in part, on the semantic space of each of the number of modeled objects, and acquiring a target of at least one of the modeled objects using the adjusted scale factor.

Three dimensional (3D) based applications can be used in many applications that traditional two dimensional (2D) applications are used. Further, stereoscopic 3D display device can allow observers to realize depth perception of objects so that they can appear in a natural way (e.g., more realistic than traditional 2D displays). In both 2D and 3D displays selection of objects (e.g., target acquisition) can be a fundamental task of interaction with the display.

Target aquisition in a three dimensional building display


A system and method for measuring near field information of a device under test (DUT) uses a reference probe and a measurement probe that are configured to sense a field. A probe calibration factor is used to determine corresponding field values for signals from the measurement probe at sampling locations about the DUT. The probe calibration factor is derived from measured signals about a conductive trace using a probe and simulated field information for the conductive trace when subjected to a simulated reference signal.

Electronic components of devices can be sources of electric and magnetic fields, which manifest as near field energies and far field energies. Near field energies, which are easier to measure than far field energies, can be used to design and test electrical and electronic devices so that performance requirements for the devices are satisfied, e.g., the performance of the devices conforms to established standards, such as IEEE C63.4.
Near field measurements can be used for various post processing operations, such as near field to far field transformation, the creation of Huygens surfaced models for intra-system coupling study and the reconstruction of electromagnetic sources.
In order to perform these post processing operations, very accurate near electric and near magnetic fields need to be measured. In principle, it is sufficient to measure only the near electric field or the near magnetic field. However, the post processing operations based on such measurements would become very sensitive to small measurement errors, such as, position errors, effects of probes on the fields, and magnitude errors. Thus, post processing operations based on conventional near field measurements may not be as accurate as desired.
In view of the above challenges, there is a need for a system and method for measuring near field energies of a device under test (DUT), and to more accurately perform post processing operations based on the near field measurements.

System and method for measuring near field information of device under test