A cell 100 includes three wiring layers (a gate electrode layer, a source/drain electrode layer and a terminal layer) on a semiconductor substrate including transistors formed thereon. One of the wiring layers (the terminal layer) in which input terminals 151 and output terminals 152 for connecting the cell to another cell are formed includes a power supply line passing region 153 through which a power supply line for supplying a power supply voltage and a ground voltage from an external power supply to the transistors in the cell can be provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and a cell.
2. Description of the Background Art
Along with recent advancements in the miniaturization techniques, the degree of integration of integrated circuits (semiconductor devices) is increasing. FIG. 12 is a partially cutaway plan view showing a conventional semiconductor device 1200 as disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2002-261245. The semiconductor device 1200 includes a plurality of cells 1201, a power supply line 1203b, a ground line 1203a, a strap power supply line 1202b and a strap ground line 1202a. Each cell 1201, being a circuit component forming a circuit together with other cells, may be, for example, a basic cell that implements an AND gate or a NAND gate, or a cell including a plurality of gates such as AND gates. An intended integrated circuit can be realized by combining a plurality of such cells together.
The power supply line 1203b is electrically connected to a power supply pad (not shown) provided in the I/O region around the semiconductor device 1200. The ground line 1203a is electrically connected to a ground pad (not shown) provided in the I/O region around the semiconductor device 1200. The power supply line 1203b and the ground line 1203a extend parallel to each other. Although not shown in FIG. 12, the supply line 1203b and the ground line 1203a alternate with each other. Moreover, the power supply line 1203b and the ground line 1203a are formed in the same wiring layer.
The strap power supply line 1202b extending perpendicular to the power supply line 1203b is formed in the same wiring layer as the power supply line 1203b, and is electrically connected to the power supply line 1203b. The strap ground line 1202a extending perpendicular to the ground line 1203a is electrically connected to the ground line 1203a. The strap power supply line 1202b and the strap ground line 1202a alternate with each other with an interval therebetween that is dictated by the height of the cell 1201. The cells 1201 in each horizontal row 1201X as shown in FIG. 12 are supplied with a power supply voltage from the power supply line 1203b via the strap power supply line 1202b and a ground voltage from the strap ground line 1202a via the strap ground line 1202a. The input terminal of each cell 1201 is connected to the output terminal of another cell via signal lines 1206, 1207, etc.
If the degree of circuit integration is increased without changing the power supply voltage, the power consumption of the circuit increases. In view of this, the power supply voltage is conventionally decreased as the degree of circuit integration is increased. As the power supply voltage is decreased, the absolute value of the threshold voltage of each transistor formed in a cell is also decreased. The lower the threshold voltage is, the more likely it is that a transistor may malfunction because of voltage fluctuations due to noise. Therefore, a stable power supply voltage with no variations should be supplied to the cells.
In order to suppress variations among power supply voltages to the cells, the line resistance should be suppressed. The line resistance can be suppressed by increasing the number of power supply lines connected in parallel to one another to reduce the resistance of each power supply line, or by increasing the width of each power supply line.
However, if the number of power supply lines or the width thereof is increased, the area of the region in which the power supply line or the ground line is formed increases, thereby increasing the overall size of the semiconductor device. A larger size of a semiconductor device means a smaller number of semiconductor chips per wafer and a lower production yield, which both increase the production cost.
If the width of the power supply line is increased, the space in which signal lines can be provided is decreased, and the signal lines connecting cells together may need to be routed around, making it more difficult to meet the signal timing constraints. If there is a signal line that does not meet the timing constraints, it is necessary to reexamine the HDL design (design using a hardware description language) or to modify the layout design until the timing constraints are met, thereby increasing the number of design steps and the overall design period. Thus, there should be a sufficient space for placing signal lines without much routing around.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


The present invention relates to isolated polypeptides having xylanase activity and isolated polynucleotides encoding the polypeptides. The invention also relates to nucleic acid constructs, vectors, and host cells comprising the polynucleotides as well as methods of producing and using the polypeptides.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to polypeptides having xylanase activity and polynucleotides encoding the polypeptides. The invention also relates to nucleic acid constructs, vectors, and host cells comprising the polynucleotides as well as methods of producing and using the polypeptides.
2. Description of the Related Art
Cellulose is a polymer of the simple sugar glucose linked by beta-1,4 bonds. Many microorganisms produce enzymes that hydrolyze beta-linked glucans. These enzymes include endoglucanases, cellobiohydrolases, and beta-glucosidases. Endoglucanases digest the cellulose polymer at random locations, opening it to attack by cellobiohydrolases. Cellobiohydrolases sequentially release molecules of cellobiose from the ends of the cellulose polymer. Cellobiose is a water-soluble beta-1,4-linked dimer of glucose. Beta-glucosidases hydrolyze cellobiose to glucose.
Lignocellulose, the world's largest renewable biomass resource, is composed mainly of lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose, of which the large part of the latter is xylan. Xylanases (e.g., endo-1,4-beta-xylanase, EC 22.214.171.124) hydrolyze internal β-1,4-xylosidic linkages in xylan to produce smaller molecular weight xylose and xylo-oligomers. Xylans are polysaccharides formed from 1,4-β-glycoside-linked D-xylopyranoses.
The conversion of lignocellulosic feedstocks into ethanol has the advantages of the ready availability of large amounts of feedstock, the desirability of avoiding burning or land filling the materials, and the cleanliness of the ethanol fuel. Wood, agricultural residues, herbaceous crops, and municipal solid wastes have been considered as feedstocks for ethanol production. These materials primarily consist of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. Once the cellulose and hemicelluloase are converted to glucose and xylose, the glucose and xylose can be fermented by yeast into ethanol.
There is a need in the art to improve cellulolytic enzyme compositions through supplementation with additional enzymes to increase efficiency and to provide cost-effective enzyme solutions for degradation of lignocellulose.
The present invention provides polypeptides having xylanase activity and polynucleotides encoding the polypeptides.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Polypeptides having xylanase activity and polynucleotides encoding same


The present invention provides a determination method of determining exposure conditions of an exposure apparatus including an illumination optical system which illuminates a mask, and a projection optical system which projects a pattern of the mask onto a substrate, the method including a step of setting an illumination parameter for a light intensity distribution formed on a pupil plane of the illumination optical system, and an aberration parameter for an aberration of the projection optical system, and a step of determining a value of the illumination parameter and a value of the aberration parameter so that an image performance of an optical image of the pattern of the mask satisfies an evaluation criterion set for a target pattern to be formed on an image plane of the projection optical system.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a determination method of determining the exposure conditions of an exposure apparatus, a storage medium, and an information processing apparatus.
Description of the Related Art
An exposure apparatus which projects and transfers the pattern of a mask (reticle) onto a substrate (for example, a wafer) via a projection optical system is employed to fabricate a semiconductor device using a photolithography technique. In recent years, with miniaturization of semiconductor devices (that is, with a reduction in circuit line width), a demand has arisen for a technique which further improves the resolution of the exposure apparatus.
The exposure apparatus is required to transfer the pattern (its image) of a mask to a desired position on a substrate in a desired shape. However, due to some error factors during exposure, the mask pattern is often transferred to a position deviated from the desired position in a shape deviated from the desired shape. Examples of the error factors include the amount of exposure and the focus position in exposing the substrate. Note that examples of factors which cause the amount of exposure to deviate from an ideal state include instability of a light source and nonuniformity of the illuminance distribution in the illumination region. Examples of factors which cause the focus position to deviate from an ideal state include instability of the position at which the substrate is held, and unevenness of the substrate.
Also, the aberration of the projection optical system is one of the above-mentioned error factors. The projection optical system includes an aberration adjusting mechanism for adjusting (correcting) its aberration, as disclosed in International Publication WO 02/054036. International Publication WO 02/054036 discloses an aberration adjusting mechanism for adjusting the aberration of the projection optical system by driving an optical element, which forms the projection optical system, in an amount corresponding to the wavefront aberration of light having passed through the projection optical system. Such an aberration adjusting mechanism mainly has a function of adjusting low-order aberrations and is used to suppress generation of low-order aberrations and compensate for a temporal change in aberration. The aberration adjusting mechanism is also sometimes used to suppress the differences in image performance among individual image heights because the aberration exhibits different characteristics for each image height of the projection optical system. However, the capability of the aberration adjusting mechanism has a given limit, so the projection optical system generally has residual aberrations. Also, the amount of residual aberrations and the amount of fluctuation in aberration (that is, the amount of fluctuation in residual aberration due, for example, to exposure heat) during exposure vary in each individual exposure apparatus.
On the other hand, to further improve the resolution of an exposure apparatus, Japanese Patent No. 4606732 proposes a technique of optimizing (determining) the exposure conditions of the exposure apparatus. As an example of this technique, a technique (called the "SMO technique") of optimizing both the mask pattern (its dimension and shape) and the effective light source shape (the light intensity distribution formed on the pupil plane of an illumination optical system) is available. In the general SMO technique, the mask pattern and the effective light source shape are adjusted to satisfy a reference value (target value) for the image performance such as the line width. Japanese Patent No. 4606732 also discloses a technique of optimizing the effective light source shape after setting a specific value (a nonzero value such as a value corresponding to residual aberrations) to the aberration of the projection optical system. As described above, the SMO technique of optimizing the effective light source shape and the mask pattern in consideration of the aberration of the projection optical system is available.
However, the conventional SMO technique which takes into consideration of the aberration of the projection optical system simply optimizes the effective light source shape and the mask pattern so as to compensate for the influence that the aberration of the projection optical system exerts on the image performance. Therefore, if simply adjusting the effective light source shape and the mask pattern is insufficient to compensate for the influence that the aberration of the projection optical system exerts on the image performance, it is impossible to determine the effective light source shape and the mask pattern so that the image performance satisfies the reference value. Since such a problem becomes conspicuous as miniaturization of semiconductor devices progresses, the conventional SMO technique is becoming insufficient to optimize the exposure conditions.

Determination method, storage medium and information processing apparatus


A battery pack case adapted to enclose a protective circuit module and a bare cell includes at least one small opening arranged on a side to expose an external terminal of the protective circuit module and a large opening arranged in the opposite direction to the small opening to expose a surface of the bare cell. Since a bare cell and a protective circuit module are contained within an integral case, the bare cell is prevented from escaping out of the protective circuit module and no separate resin is necessary to fill the gap between the bare cell and the protective circuit module. In addition, the battery pack case has gates, through which a resin is injected, which are properly arrayed in such a manner during resin injection that the case has no unshaped part.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a battery pack case, and more particularly to a battery pack case having a protective circuit module adapted to avoid escaping out of a bare cell and gates properly arrayed in such a manner that, when forming the case, it has no unshaped part.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a battery pack includes a chargeable/dischargeable bare cell, a protective circuit module electrically connected to the bare cell to control charging/discharging and to interrupt the current in case of overcharging/over-discharging, a resin filling a gap between the bare cell and the protective circuit module to prevent the protective circuit module from detaching from the bare cell, and a case containing the bare cell, the protective circuit module, and the resin therein.
A method of manufacturing a battery pack includes: electrically connecting a lead to the positive electrode of the bare cell and electrically connecting a PTC thermistor to the negative electrode thereof. The protective circuit module is again electrically connected to the lead and the PTC thermistor. A gap between the protective circuit module and the bare cell is filled with a resin to mechanically attach them so that the protective circuit module does not detach from the bare cell. The bare cell, the protective circuit module, and the like are contained within a case. The case is integrally molded using another resin together with the bare cell, the protective circuit module, and the resin. Alternatively, upper and lower cases are separately provided and, after placing the bare cell and the protective circuit module between them, are attached together.
However, such a battery pack has a problem in that, since a gap can be created between the bare cell and the protective circuit module even after placing them within the case or since they can detach from each other, a resin must be used to fill the gap between the bare cell and the protective circuit module in a difficult process to attach them to each other. During the resin filling process, various electronic components on the protective circuit module can be easily damaged and the lead and the PTC thermistor, which have previously been connected to each other, can detach from each other.
The PTC thermistor increases its resistance value when the temperature reaches about 70-80° C. and interrupts the current flowing through the circuit. Once it is actuated, its resistance value does not drop to the exact original value or the device characteristics degrade, even when the temperature returns to a normal range. Since the resin has a temperature of about 150° C. when filling the gap between the bare cell and the protective circuit module, the PTC thermistor is very likely to be actuated and degrade its characteristics.
In order to solve this problem, the PTC thermistor can be arranged on the outer periphery of the bare cell rather than between the bare cell and the protective circuit module. Then, the PTC thermistor is exposed to the danger of colliding with other objects and being damaged by them during manufacturing processes. The thickness of the PTC thermistor must also be taken into account when manufacturing the case. This makes the manufacturing processes complicated and increases cost.
In addition, a separate mold is necessary to fill the gap between the protective circuit module and the bare cell with a resin. This further increases the manufacturing cost of the battery pack and, as the processes become more complicated, the defect ratio increases.


Apparatus, and an associated method, for facilitating communication of data in a packet radio communication system to effectuate a packet communication service in which packet data is communicated at a variable, selectable rate. A detector embodied at an RLP layer detects channel allocations and channel reaollcations, granted to the mobile station to effectuate the data communication service. A report is generated at the RLP layer and forwarded to the TCP layer. At the TCP layer, selection is made of the TCP window to match the rate at which data is provided to the RLP layer to the rate, based upon the channel allocations provided to the mobile station, at which the data is communicated therefrom.

The need to communicate is a regular aspect of many facets of modem society. Access to communication systems through which data is communicated is needed by many to provide and to receive conventional communication services. And, as advancements in communication technologies continue, new communication services, effectuated by improved communication systems, are likely to become available.
A communication system is formed of a set of communication stations including at least one sending station and at least one receiving station that are interconnected by way of a communication channel. Data sourced at a sending station is communicated upon a communication channel to a receiving station. If necessary, the sending station converts the data into a form to permit its communication upon the communication channel, and the receiving station converts the data received thereat into a form to permit the recovery of the informational content thereof.
A radio communication system is an exemplary type of communication system. The communication channel utilized upon which to communicate data between sending and receiving stations of a radio communication system is formed of a radio channel defined upon a radio air interface, a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. Communication channels are otherwise generally defined in other communication systems upon conductive paths, i.e., wirelines, that interconnect the communication stations. By utilizing radio channels rather than channels formed upon wirelines, the wirelines that are otherwise required to interconnect the communication stations are obviated.
Because a wireline connection is not required to interconnect communication stations to communicate data therebetween, communication services are effectuable by way of a radio communication system when wireline connections interconnecting the locations at which the communication stations are positioned is not possible. Additionally, a radio communication system is available for implementation as a mobile communication system in which one or more of the communication stations is permitted mobility.
A cellular communication system is a mobile communication system. The networks of various cellular communication systems have been installed throughout significant portions of the populated areas of the world. Cellular communication systems are used to communicate telephonically to effectuate both voice and data communication services.
A user communicates by way of a cellular communication system through use of a mobile station. A mobile station is a radio transceiver that transceives data-containing communication signals with fixed-site transceivers that form parts of the network of the communication system. More generally, a mobile station, sometimes in conjunction with an additional device, is referred to as user equipment (UE). The fixed-site transceivers are referred to as base stations. The base stations are installed at spaced-apart locations throughout the geographical areas encompassed by the network of the communication system. The base stations each define a cell that represents a coverage area encompassed by the base station that defines the cell.
Communications by a mobile station, when positioned within a cell defined by a particular base station, generally communicates with that base station. Due to the inherent mobility of a mobile station, the mobile station might travel between cells defined by successive ones of the base stations. Continued communications with the mobile station are permitted through the effectuation of communication handoffs between successive ones of the base stations associated with the cells through which the mobile station passes.
First-installed cellular communication systems, referred to as first-generation systems, utilize analog communication techniques. So-called second-generation communication systems utilize digital communication techniques and provide limited data communication services. And, third-generation systems, are presently undergoing deployment. Third-generation systems provide for high-speed, variable rate data communication services.
An exemplary third-generation cellular communication system operates pursuant to the operating protocol set forth in a CDMA2000 operating specification. Packet-based communication services, and the operating protocols for effectuating such services, are set forth in the operating specification.
Various technology proposals by which to effectuate communication of packet data at high data rates in a CDMA2000 system have been proposed. The 1×EV-DV data communication service is one such proposal. Other data communication services are also proposed. Channels defined in a CDMA2000 system, as well as other code-division, multiple-access systems, are based upon codes by which communication data is coded. The code forms a spreading code that spreads data that is to be communicated from a low data rate to a spreading rate of 1.2288 Mcps. Codes assigned to communicate different concurrently-communicated data are orthogonal to one another to provide channel separation.
High data rate channels permit data to be communicated at high data rates and use proportionally more power for their transmission. Generally, this is achieved through the assignation of multiple orthogonal codes to a single communication session so that the throughput is the sum of all the related orthogonal channels assigned to the communication session. The number of orthogonal codes that are available by which to code data is limited. As the number of communication sessions increases, assignment of the codes must be controlled to allocate communication resources in a desired manner. Assignment of multiple orthogonal codes maps to so-called, 2×, 4×, 8×, or 16× supplemental channel assignments upon which high data rate communication services are effectuated.
When a cell is relatively unloaded, a communication allocation can be granted to a mobile station to effectuate the communication service at a high rate, such as through allocation of a 16× supplemental channel upon which to communicate the data to effectuate the communication service. When such a grant is made, an RLP (Radio Link Protocol) logical layer is permitted to send increased amounts of data on the radio air interface extending between the mobile station and the base station. And, accordingly, the TCP-layer (Transport Control Protocol-layer) window size is correspondingly sized.
However, in the event that loading conditions in the cell increase, i.e., the 16× supplemental channel assignment is reduced, e.g., to a 2× supplemental channel assignment. Reduced amount of data is communicated at the RLP layer. However, conventionally, the TCP layer is not made aware of the changed allocation. And, the TCP layer remains at a correspondingly large window size, and TCP-layer data is attempted to be communicated at the higher rate. TCP layer timeouts occur as a result. But, such timeouts are essentially spurious as the data is not actually sent out at the RLP layer. Analogous problems occur as a result of changing FER (Frame Error Rate) conditions that result in lower supplemental channel assignments. The spurious timeouts adversely affect the efficiency at which the data is communicated and the time period required to complete the communication service.
If a manner could be provided by which to reduce the occurrence of spurious timeouts, as a result of changes in loading conditions, improved communications would result.
It is in light of this background information related to communications in a packet radio communication system that the significant improvements of the present invention have evolved.

Apparatus, and associated method, for facilitating communication of packet data in a packet radio communication system using interactions between mid-stack and upper-level layers


Embodiments of the present invention pertain to methods of forming patterned features on a substrate having an increased density (i.e. reduced pitch) as compared to what is possible using standard photolithography processing techniques using a single high-resolution photomask while also allowing both the width of the patterned features and spacing (trench width) between the patterned features to vary within an integrated circuit.

The application relates generally to substrate processing methods and particularly to process sequences which increase the density of features on the substrate.
Shrinking integrated circuits (ICs) may result in improved performance, increased capacity and/or reduced cost. Each device shrink requires more sophisticated techniques to form the features. Photolithography is commonly used to pattern features on a substrate. An exemplary feature is a line of a material which may be a metal, semiconductor or insulator. Linewidth is the width of the line and the spacing is the distance between adjacent lines. Pitch is defined as the distance between a same point on two neighboring lines. The pitch is equal to the sum of the linewidth and the spacing. Due to factors such as optics and light or radiation wavelength, however, photolithography techniques have a minimum pitch below which a particular photolithographic technique may not reliably form features. Thus, the minimum pitch of a photolithographic technique can limit feature size reduction.
Self-aligned double patterning (SADP) is one method for extending the capabilities of photolithographic techniques beyond their supposed minimum pitch. Such a method is illustrated in FIGS. 1A-H. With reference to FIG. 1A, photolithography is used to produce a pattern of lines 114 in a photoresist layer on a sacrificial structural layer 105 formed on a substrate 100. As shown in FIG. 1B, the pattern is then transferred into sacrificial structural layer 105 using an etching process to form features referred to as placeholders, mandrels or cores 106. The photoresist lines 114 are then stripped (FIG. 1C), and conformal layer 120 of material is subsequently deposited over cores 106, as shown in FIG. 1D. Spacers 121 are then formed on the sides of cores 106 by preferentially etching the conformal material from the horizontal surfaces with an anisotropic spacer etch. The resulting structure is shown in FIG. 1E. Cores 106 may then be removed, leaving behind spacers 121 (FIG. 1F). At this point the spacers 121 may be used as an etch mask for patterning the substrate, as shown in FIG. 1G, and subsequently removed (FIG. 1H). Thus, where a given pitch of the patterned photoresist 114 included one feature, the same width now includes two features. With no change in lithographic linewidth, the pitch has been reduced.
The SADP method described above allows the spacing between adjacent lines or features to be varied but typically produces features of only a single width for a given thickness of the original conformal layer 120. Other SADP techniques, for example a negative tone version of the process of the SADP method described in FIGS. 1A-1H, allow variable width features that are spaced apart from each other by only one spacing distance.
Many integrated circuits employ features of different widths and spacing distances (spacings). Thus, some SADP techniques have been developed that employ multiple high-resolution photomasks to fabricate features of different widths and/or allow different spacings between adjacent features. Employing multiple high-resolution photomasks present alignment challenges and increase manufacturing costs.

Integral patterning of large features along with array using spacer mask patterning process flow


A spark plug includes an insulating insulator and a metal shell. The metal shell includes a caulking portion, a seat portion with a tapering surface, a thread portion with a thread size equal to or less than M12, and a protrusion. The insulating insulator includes a lock portion locked to the protrusion, and is secured to the metal shell in a state held between the caulking portion and the protrusion.

A spark plug is assembled to a combustion apparatus such as an internal combustion engine (an engine), and is used to ignite an air-fuel mixture or the like. Generally, the spark plug includes an insulator having an axial hole, a center electrode, and a metal shell main body. The axial hole extends in an axial direction. The center electrode is inserted into the tip end side of the axial hole. The metal shell main body is provided on the outer periphery of the insulator. A thread portion and a flange seat portion are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the metal shell. The thread portion is threadably mounted on a mounting hole of the combustion apparatus. The seat portion is positioned at a rear end side with respect to the thread portion, and projects radially outward.
Furthermore, a protrusion is formed on an inner peripheral surface of the metal shell at the tip end side with respect to the seat portion. The protrusion projects toward the inner peripheral side. A lock portion is disposed on the outer periphery of the insulator. The lock portion is locked on a locked surface of the protrusion directly or indirectly via a sheet packing and similar member. Additionally, at a rear end portion of the metal shell, a caulking portion is formed to be bent toward the inner peripheral side. The insulator is secured to the metal shell in a state held between the protrusion and the caulking portion (that is, in a state where an axial force is applied from the metal shell). Accordingly, the axial force applied to the insulator provides a sufficiently large contact pressure between the locked surface and the lock portion. As a result, this ensures good air tightness between the metal shell and the insulator.
In order to ensure excellent air tightness within the combustion chamber, a known technique includes a ring-shaped gasket disposed at a thread root, which is disposed at the rear end side of the thread portion. When the spark plug is mounted on the combustion apparatus, the gasket contacts the seating portion of the combustion apparatus. Additionally, one spark plug (what is called a conical seat type) is proposed to further improve the air tightness (for example, see JP-A-2011-103276). In this spark plug, the gasket is not provided, and the seat portion includes a tip end face as a tapering surface that is tapered off toward the tip end side in the axial direction. The tapering surface directly contacts the seating portion.
Additionally, a process (a caulking process) for forming the caulking portion is performed as follows to secure the insulator to the metal shell. That is, in a state where the insulator is inserted into the metal shell, a tip end portion of the metal shell is inserted into an insertion hole of a predetermined receiving die, thus holding the metal shell at the receiving die. At this time, the tapering surface contacts a tapered receiving surface, which connects to with an opening of the insertion hole and has the same slanted angle as a slanted angle of the tapering surface. Subsequently, an annular pressing die is used to apply a load to the rear end portion of the metal shell along the axial direction. Accordingly, the caulking portion is formed in the rear end portion of the metal shell, and the metal shell and the insulator are secured to each other. Note that a bulge portion is formed together with the caulking portion in the caulking process. The bulge portion is formed by deformation of a relatively thin portion positioned between the caulking portion and the seat portion in the metal shell, and projects toward the outer peripheral side. The formation of the bulge portion allows more surely applying the axial force to the insulator from the metal shell.
Now, in the conical seat type spark plug, when a load is applied to the metal shell in the caulking process, the seat portion and the protrusion may be deformed excessively. If excessive deformation occurs at the seat portion and the protrusion, the axial force applied to the insulator from the metal shell may be extremely decreased. As a result, this may cause decrease in air tightness between the metal shell and the insulator.
Even if the decrease in axial force can be reduced, when an area of the locked surface is excessively large compared with the size of the axial force, the contact pressure between the locked surface and the lock portion becomes low. Eventually, this may cause decrease in air tightness.
The present invention has been conceived to solve the above-mentioned problems. An advantage of the invention is a spark plug that more surely prevents deformation of a seat portion and a protrusion in a caulking process so as to ensure good air tightness between a metal shell and an insulator


A method for disintegrating a hydrate polymer characterized by disintegrating a hydrate polymer having a solid content in the range of 50-70 wt. % with a screw extruder while supplying 0.1-30 parts by weight of water per 100 parts by weight of the polymer to the extruder. Since the product of disintegration is prevented from inducing mutual adhesion, it does not form masses of conglomeration when it is dried.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method for disintegrating a hydrate polymer and a method for producing a water-absorbent resin while using a disintegrating step as part of the procedure thereof. More particularly, this invention relates to a method for disintegrating a hydrate polymer which, while disintegrating a hydrate polymer by using a screw extruder, executes the disintegration with water fed to the device, prevents the device from generating a kneading motion during the course of disintegration, and allows the product of the disintegrating to be arranged in a uniform thickness in a dryer, and a method for producing a water-absorbent resin while using a disintegrating step as part of the procedure thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
The water-absorbent resin possesses the property of absorbing a large volume of water and has been used as materials for forming such sanitary articles as disposable diapers, sanitary napkins, and incontinence pants, a water retaining agent for soil, and drip absorbing sheets for foodstuffs. For use particularly in such sanitary articles as disposable diapers, the development of a water-absorbent resin having a high ratio of absorption capacity under high pressure has been yearned for allowing a decrease in the thickness of the product.
The water-absorbent resin of this kind is produced by polymerizing a monomer solution including acrylic acid or sodium acrylate etc. in the presence of a cross-linking agent and thereafter disintegrating the resultant polymer into a proper size.
Since the hydrate polymer contains water, the hydrate polymer is dried and pulverized in a target size after the drying process generally. Furthermore prior to the drying process, it is necessary for the hydrate polymer to be disintegrated so as to secure large surface of the polymer for the purpose of heightening the efficiency of drying. As means to disintegrate a hydrate gel-like polymer having a water content in the range of 50-80 wt. %, methods directed toward continuing a disintegration while supplying proper additives to the site of disintegrating such as, for example, a method which comprises supplying a detackifying agent having a boiling point in the range of 200-400° C. together with a gel to an extruding device (JP-B-1991-73576), a method which comprises supplying such an anti-adhesion agent as silicone oil to the contact surface of a cutting blade (JP-A-1998-87842), and a method which comprises supplying such a hydrophilic organic solvent as alcohol as a lubricant to the neighborhood of a rotary blade (JP-A-1999-35691) have been available. A method which comprises extruding a hydrate polymer in a thickness in the range of 1-20 mm through a perforated plate having a pore diameter in the range of 3-20 mm in due consideration of such factors as the friction between the wall surface of an extruding device and the hydrate gel-like polymer and disintegrating the resultant gel having a small water-soluble component and containing a small amount of a residual monomer (JP-A-1994-41319) and a method which comprises heating a hydrate polymer to a temperature in the range of 45-90° C. and extruding the hot hydrate polymer through a perforated plate having a pore diameter in the range of 6.5-18 mm (JP Patent No. 3145461) have been available. Further, as means to confer improvements on the devices, a method which comprises disintegrating a hydrate polymer while keeping this polymer nipped between opposed helical rotary blades having different feed rates (JP-A-1999-188727) and a method which comprises disintegrating a hydrate polymer by the use of a device provided near the extruding port thereof with a reverse-proofing member for the purpose of preventing the gel from flowing back (JP-A-2000-63527) have been available. They concern techniques for preventing the disintegrated hydrate polymer from adhering to the device or forming a conglomerate due to self-adhesion of the fact that a hydrate polymer having a water content in the range of 50-80 wt. % manifests stickiness and also concern techniques for preventing the hydrate gel-like polymer disintegrated with a meat chopper or a kneader from giving rise to a kneading motion. When the hydrate polymer during the course of disintegration is compressed by kneading, the resultant hydrate gel-like polymer is affected by such a powerful external mechanical force as to suffer breakage of the cross-linked polymer chain or increase the amount of a water-soluble component. The product of this disintegration possibly yields to self-adhesion and, during the course of drying, undergoes conglomeration and entails a decrease in the drying efficiency.
Meanwhile, the hydrate polymer having a water content in the range of 30-50wt. %, namely containing a solid component at a concentration in the range of 50-70 wt. %, is so difficult to handle because of its property that any attempt to disintegrate it to an extent of being directly dried in its unmodified form on a commercial scale has been made only in vain. Example 1 of JP-B-1991-73576 was barely capable of disintegrating a gel having a solid content of 33 wt. %, Example 1 of JP-A-1998-87842 a solid content of 25 wt. %, Example 1 of JP-A-1999-35691 a solid content of 30 wt. %, Example 1 of JP-A-1994-41319 a solid content 38 wt. %, Example 1 of JP Patent No. 3145461 a solid content of 38 wt. %, JP-A-1999-188727 succeeded in disintegrating a hydrate polymer having a water content of 39 wt. % but required use of an expensive device, and JP-A-2000-63527 used a gel having a solid component of 35 wt. %. Incidentally, when the solid content exceeds 82 wt. %, the hydrate polymer can be disintegrated by an ordinary shock type pulverizer similarly to a dried polymer.
When the monomer component which is a raw material compound for a water-absorbent resin is subjected to aqueous solution polymerization and the resultant polymer is deprived of the water contained therein, this removal of water necessitates time and thermal energy and rise the unit cost of production. Thus, attempts to develop a technique of producing a hydrate polymer of a high solid content and reducing this hydrate polymer to a finished commercial product have been continued. For example, a method for disintegrating a hydrate polymer having a high solid content in the range of 55-82 wt. % (water content 18-45 wt. %) as compared with the conventional hydrate polymer has been developed and a method for effecting expected disintegrating by the use of a vertical pulverizing device provided with a screen (JP-A-2002-212204). The method consist in increasing by not less than 2 points the solid content of the hydrate polymer having a solid content in the range of 55-82 wt. % by the use of the device mentioned above and/or disintegrating the hydrate polymer by passing a gas, preferably dry air, through the interior of the disintegrating device. The steam generated in the device tends to condense in the device and induce the hydrate polymer to adhere to and block the interior of the device but the ventilation serves to repress these adverse effects of the steam. None of the patent publications mentioned above report a case of disintegrating a hydrate polymer having a solid content in the range of 50-70 wt. % by the use of a screw extruder.
Among the group of disintegrating machines, a screw extruder is an inexpensive and compact machine. It may be readily adopted when it is capable of disintegrating a hydrate polymer having a solid content in the range of 50-70 wt. %. When this device is simply used for disintegrating the hydrate polymer, the product of disintegrating possibly undergo adhesion on the screw in motion. Once the adhesion between the product of disintegrating occurs, it will not be easily dispersed in a uniform thickness and will form a cause for degrading the efficiency of drying at the subsequent drying step. Further, when the particles resulting from the drying are mutually bound to form masses, these masses necessitate a pulverizing step and they possibly undergo pulverization to give rise to a fine powder. The occurrence of this fine powder results in degrading the quality of the product and increasing the loss of product.
When the hydrate polymer is disintegrated while it is kneaded and compressed during the course of disintegration, the hydrate polymer is exposed to a powerful mechanical force, with the result that it will cause breakage of the cross-linked polymer chain and increase the amount of the water-soluble component. Particularly when the hydrate polymer has been obtained by polymerizing a water-soluble ethylenically unsaturated monomer in the presence of a cross-linking agent so as to contain bubbles therein, the resultant water-absorbent resin possibly suffers the property thereof degraded because the bubbles contained therein are crushed by the kneading motion.
The water-absorbent resin is required to retain a prescribed absorption capacity and keep the contents of the residual monomer and water-soluble component below prescribed levels, depending on the kind of use and from the standpoint of the feeling of use. It is well known that the property of the water-absorbent resin is varied by the method for disintegrating. The development of a disintegration method which is capable of producing a hydrate polymer of high quality is yearned for.
This invention, therefore, is aimed at providing a method for disintegrating a hydrate polymer having a solid content in the range of 50-70 wt. %, which method, while executing the disintegrating by the use of a screw extruder, induces generation of a kneading motion and entails mutual adhesion of the product of disintegration only meagerly and enables this product to be dispersed in a uniform thickness in a dryer.

Method for disintegrating hydrate polymer and method for production of water-absorbent resin


A fiber structure for reinforcing a composite material part is obtained by multilayer weaving between a plurality of layers of warp yarns and a plurality of layers of weft yarns. The fiber structure includes fastener elements on at least one of its faces, each fastener element including a body placed under yarns present on a face of the fiber structure, and fastener portions situated over the yarns.

The present invention relates to making composite material parts, and more particularly parts fitted with attachment or fastener means, in particular for supporting pieces of equipment.
A field of application of the invention is more particularly making parts out of structural composite material, i.e. structural parts having fiber reinforcement densified by a matrix. Composite materials make it possible to make parts of overall weight that is less than the weight those same parts would have if they were made of a metal material. The fiber reinforcement of composite material parts of standard shapes, such as shrouds or panels, is generally made as a single piece by multilayer weaving between layers of warp yarns and layers of weft yarns. Once the reinforcement has been densified by a matrix, it provides a good distribution of local mechanical forces over the entire part, thereby giving the part good structural characteristics and high mechanical strength.
With parts made of metal material, pieces of equipment or supports for use in fastening such pieces of equipment are fastened directly to the part, in particular by welding, or by means of holes drilled in the part and suitable for passing fastener members such as bolts or rivets.
Nevertheless, with a composite material part, it is not possible to weld supports or pieces of equipment directly onto the part. Furthermore, drilling holes weakens the part mechanically, since holes create gaps in the paths along which forces are transmitted. For parts that are for use in aviation, such as turboprop casings, holes are not allowed in the zone for retaining the part.

Composite material part comprising fixing means


A temporary adhesive material for a wafer includes a first temporary adhesive layer of a silicone-containing polymer layer containing a photo base generator and a second temporary adhesive layer of a silicone-containing polymer layer which is laminated on the first temporary adhesive layer, does not contain the photo base generator, and is different from the polymer layer. Thereby, there can be formed a temporary adhesive layer having high thickness uniformity, even on a wafer having a step. Because of the thickness uniformity, a thin wafer having a uniform thickness of 50 μm or less can be easily obtained. When a thin wafer is produced and then delaminated from a support, the wafer can be delaminated from the support by exposure at a low exposure dose without stress. Therefore, a brittle thin wafer can be easily handled without causing damage, and a thin wafer can be easily produced.

Three-dimensional semiconductor mounting has become essential for further higher density, higher capacity, higher speed, and low power consumption. A three-dimensional semiconductor mounting technique is a semiconductor production technique by thinning a semiconductor chip, and connecting the chip to another chip using a through silicon via (TSV) to form a multilayer. In order to realize this technique, a step of grinding a surface without a circuit (also referred to as "back surface") of a substrate on which a semiconductor circuit is formed to thin the substrate, and forming an electrode including a TSV on the back surface is required.
Conventionally, in a step of grinding the back surface of a silicon substrate, a protective tape is attached to a surface opposite to a surface to be ground to prevent breakage of a wafer during grinding. However, in this tape, an organic resin film is used as a base material. Therefore, the tape has flexibility, but inadequate strength and heat resistance. The tape is not suited to a step of forming a TSV and a step of forming a wiring layer on a back surface.
For this reason, a system has been proposed in which a semiconductor substrate is bonded to a support of silicon, glass, or the like, through an adhesive layer to sufficiently withstand steps of grinding the back surface and forming a TSV and an electrode on the back surface. In this system, the adhesive layer used in bonding the substrate to the support is important. The substrate can be bonded to the support without gaps using the adhesive layer, and the adhesive layer needs durability enough to withstand a latter step. Further, it is necessary that a thin wafer be easily delaminated from the support finally. The adhesive layer is referred herein to as "temporary adhesive layer" since it is finally delaminated.
As known temporary adhesive layer and delaminating method, a technique in which a silicone pressure sensitive adhesive is used for a temporary adhesive layer (PATENT LITERATURE 1), and a technique in which bonding and delaminating is carried out using a heat-melting hydrocarbon-based compound for an adhesive material in a heat molten state (PATENT LITERATURE 2) have been proposed. In the former technique, a substrate is bonded to a support using an addition-curable silicone pressure sensitive adhesive, and during delaminating, the substrate is immersed in a chemical agent which is capable of dissolving or decomposing a silicone resin, and then detached from the support. This technique requires a very long time for delaminating, so that application of this technique to an actual production process is difficult. The latter technique is simple because of control only by heating, but does not have sufficient heat stability at a high temperature higher than 200° C. Therefore, the applicable range is narrow.
Further, a technique in which an adhesive material containing a light-absorbing substance is irradiated with high-intensity light to decompose a temporary adhesive layer, and as a result, a thin wafer is delaminated from a support has been proposed (PATENT LITERATURE 3). This technique requires an expensive apparatus such as a laser, and also suffers from a problem in which a processing time per substrate is extended.

Temporary adhesive material for wafer, film for temporary adhesion using same, wafer processing laminate, and method for producing thin wafer using same


An antenna apparatus is provided with two parabolic antennas which are attached to an X-axis and adapted to independently rotate about the X-axis. The X-axis is supported between both ends of a support rail in the shape of a semicircular arc to pass through the center of the arc. The support rail is adapted to slide and is thereby permitted to rotate about the central axis of the arc as a Y-axis. The support rail is placed on a rotating base 13 adapted to rotate about a Z-axis. The entire apparatus is covered with a radome. Each of the parabolic antennas is therefore permitted to rotate about each of the X, Y and Z-axes. By controlling each axis driving mechanism according to the locations and orbits of two satellites, each of the parabolic antennas is permitted to track a respective one of the satellites.

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from the prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-189938, filed Jun. 23, 2000, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an antenna capable of tracking a number of communication satellites simultaneously and a waveguide available to transmission of transmit and receive signals associated with the antenna.
2. Description of the Related Art
At present about 200 communication satellites travel around the earth in low earth orbits. Thus, it is possible to communicate with at lest several satellites at any point on the earth. Satellite-based communication systems include the IRIDIUM system and the SKY BRIDGE system.
As antennas for communication satellites, parabolic antennas and phased-array antennas have heretofore been used widely.
An example of a parabolic antenna system is illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. The parabolic antenna system of FIG. 1 includes a post 101 set upright on the ground or the floor of a building, a shaft of rotation 102 attached to the upper portion of the post 101 in parallel so that it can revolve around the post, a gear 103g mounted to the rotation shaft 102, and a gear 103 which engages with the gear 102g and is rotated by a motor not shown.
The upper portion of an electromagnetic-wave focusing unit (hereinafter referred to as the reflector unit) 120 is attached to the top of the shaft 102 through a bracket 111 so that it can rotate in the up-and-down direction. The lower portion of the reflector unit 120 is attached to the end of a rod 112a in a cylinder unit 112 mounted to the lower portion of the shaft 102. A feed 130 is placed at the point at which electromagnetic waves are focused.
The parabolic antenna 100 thus constructed allows the azimuth of the reflector unit 120 to be controlled by driving the motor to thereby cause the shaft 102 to revolve around the post 101 through the gears 103 and 102g. On the other hand, the angle of elevation of the reflector unit 120 can be controlled by driving the cylinder unit 112. In this manner, the parabolic antenna can orient its reflector unit 120 to a communication satellite to transmit or receive electromagnetic waves to or from the satellite under good conditions.
However, with the conventional parabolic antenna system, one feed 130 is associated with one reflector unit 120. If there are two satellites to be tracked, therefore, the same number of parabolic antenna systems are required.
Two parabolic antenna systems must be placed so that they do not interfere with each other. For example, when the reflector unit 120 has a circular shape and measures 45 cm in diameter, two reflector units must be placed on the horizontal plane at a distance of about 3 m apart from each other as shown in FIG. 2 in order to prevent one reflector unit from projecting its shadow on the other.
However, such an antenna system as shown in FIG. 2 requires a large space for installation and is therefore not suited for household use.
As described above, the conventional antenna apparatus capable of tracking two communication satellites simultaneously requires large space for installation. An antenna apparatus which is capable of tracking two communication satellites which is compact and requires less installation space is therefore in increasing demand.
With such an antenna apparatus, to make it compact, it is required to bend a waveguide used to couple a transmit-receive module and a primary radiator (feed) together. However, since two perpendicularly polarized waves of different frequencies are used for transmit and receive signals, it is required to prevent electrical characteristics from degrading in waveguide bends.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an antenna apparatus which is capable of tracking two satellites simultaneously which is so compact that it can be installed in relatively small space.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a waveguide which, in transmitting two perpendicularly polarized waves of different frequencies, prevents electrical characteristics from degrading in its bends.
To attain the first object, an antenna apparatus of the present invention comprises: a fixed base having a datum plane and fixed in an installation place; a rotating base placed on the fixed base and adapted to be rotatable about a Z axis perpendicular to the datum plane; a support rail in the shape of substantially a semicircular arc, the rail being placed over the rotating base and adapted to be rotatable about a Y axis perpendicular to the Z axis with its central point on the Z axis and the Y axis passing through the central point of the support rail; first and second rotating shafts provided between an end of the support rail and the central point and between the other end of the support rail and the central point, respectively, to form an X axis perpendicular to the Y axis and adapted to be rotatable about the X axis independently of each other; first and second antennas fixed to the first and second rotating shafts, respectively; a Z-axis rotating mechanism for allowing the fixed base to rotate about the Z axis; a Y-axis rotating mechanism for allowing the support rail to rotate about the Y axis; first and second X-axis driving mechanisms for rotating the first and second rotating shafts about the X axis independently of each other; and a radome placed on the fixed base for covering the entire apparatus.
The antenna apparatus thus constructed allows each of the first and second antennas to rotate about each of the three axes independently, allowing the tracking of low-earth orbit satellites.
To attain the second object, there is provided a bent waveguide for transmitting two signals of different frequencies in the form of two polarized waves perpendicular to each other, characterized in that the waveguide is rectangular in cross section and its height and width are determined according to the polarized waves and the frequencies of the two signals.
The waveguide thus constructed allows the generation of the higher mode and crosstalk to be suppressed in its bends.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out hereinafter.

Antenna apparatus and waveguide for use therewith


In a radio communication system (100), enhanced communication capability is provided while maintaining standard channel modulation compatibility. At a transmitter (110, 200, 600), a first information signal is generated from data according to a predefined standard modulation scheme (212, 613). A second information signal is generated from data that provides supplemental information to the standard modulated data (213, 616). For transmission, the first and second information signals are combined into a composite signal (214, 619) that represents the first information signal when interpreted according to the predefined standard modulation scheme.

Radio communication systems have been traditionally proprietary in nature, typically involving a single manufacturer, or a limited set of manufacturers, that provide infrastructure and other communication equipment. Recently, there has been a move toward more open systems in which multiple manufacturers provide various components of the communication system. In an open communications system, heterogeneous communication equipment must be interoperable to be effective. To facilitate such interoperability, standards are usually established and promoted which govern interface specifications, communication protocol, and the like. Strict adherence to such standards are ordinarily necessary in order to effectively operate an open communication system.
Standards are established in a variety of ways. For example, a de facto standard may be established by long-standing practice, or by the practices of a dominant market player. More recently, there has been a trend toward standards establishing bodies, which may comprise government regulators and industry participants. A standard once established reflects compromises with respect to the state of technology. Various standards have been developed, and others are under consideration for two way radio communications systems. One well known prior art standard is the global system for mobile communication (GSM) standard for mobile phones. Benefits of such standards include the potential of lower cost to consumers from wider participation of various vendors, and wider availability of options.
In wireless radio frequency (RF) communication applications, one desirable standard is that of channel modulation. A channel modulation standard enables heterogeneous communication equipment to participate in radio communications. Once a particular channel modulation technique is chosen, this necessarily affects channel bandwidth, and consequently the quantity of information that may be transmitted over a given communication channel. Depending on the application, tradeoffs are often necessary when apportioning the channel bandwidth among data, error protection information, control information, and the like. For example, some applications, such as voice communication, may be real time in nature and therefore have different requirements than data communication that is not real time. Consequently, a channel modulation scheme is usually selected after evaluation of suitability for the information likely to be trafficked across a communication channel. Once a modulation scheme is selected and accepted as a standard, communication equipment participating in the radio communications system must adhere to the standard in order to maintain compatibility. This impacts the ability to provide enhanced communication capabilities through an increase in bandwidth, or other manipulation of communication parameters.
While standards provide substantial benefits to the consumer through lower cost and greater options, standards inherently reflect compromises in technology. For specific applications, the established standards might not directly support certain performance needs. Notably, a standard channel modulation scheme has a tendency to fix channel bandwidth which limits the opportunities to use additional information to improve communication. Yet, it is the standard channel modulation scheme that enables heterogeneous communication equipment to operate compatibly. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a method and apparatus for enhanced communication capability while maintaining standard channel modulation compatibility.

Method and apparatus for enhanced communication capability while maintaining standard channel modulation compatibility


A control system includes a temperature determination module and a heater control module. The temperature determination module determines a temperature of an oxygen sensor in an exhaust system of an engine. The heater control module applies a heat cycle to combust deposits on the oxygen sensor by activating a heating element of the oxygen sensor to increase the temperature of the oxygen sensor to greater than 800 degrees Celsius.

The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
Internal combustion engines combust a mixture of air and fuel to produce torque. Exhaust gas resulting from the combustion is passed through an exhaust system before exiting to the atmosphere. Typically, the exhaust system includes an oxygen sensor that measures oxygen levels in the exhaust gas. An air/fuel (A/F) ratio of the engine is determined based on the oxygen levels, and the engine is controlled based on the A/F ratio.
Over time, particles from the exhaust gas may build up on an oxygen sensor, increasing the response time of the oxygen sensor. The response time of an oxygen sensor is the amount of time that elapses after a change in the A/F ratio before the oxygen sensor responds to the change in the A/F ratio. Eventually, deposits on the oxygen sensor may completely diminish the ability of the oxygen sensor to detect oxygen. The oxygen sensor may be replaced when the response time exceeds an acceptable limit or when the ability of the oxygen sensor to detect oxygen is completely diminished.

Control system and method for heating an oxygen sensor


Process for the preparation of the facial isomer of tris(8-oxoquinoline) aluminum(III) (Alq3), comprising the step of heating α-Alq3 in solid phase at a temperature equal to or higher than 350° C. but lower than 420° C., to obtain a mixture of γ-Alq3 and δ-Alq3.

The present invention relates to the isolation of the facial stereoisomer of the electroluminescent molecule tris(8-oxoquinoline)aluminum(III) (Alq3), its mass production and its characterization in solution and in the solid state.
The first highly efficient and low-voltage-driven organic electroluminescent devices (OLED), have been reported by Tang and Van Slyke (1), and were based on Alq3. Fifteen years later, Alq3 is still a key electroluminescent compound, widely used in commercial devices and has become the prototype of a whole class of materials used as active layers in electroluminescent devices. Recently, significant improvements in device efficiency and stability have been obtained (2–6), and many efforts have been spent in order to extend and modify the typical green emission of Alq3-based OLEDs, using multilayers structures and chemical doping (7–9).
Tris-chelated octahedral complexes (such as Alq3) can exist in the fac or mer isomeric forms. In the case of trisoxoquinoline complexes (Mq3), only mer stereoisomers have been reported and characterized. The only reported example of a non-mer isomer is the Sbq3 complex (10) which, however, is not octahedral, thanks to the presence of a stereochemically active lone pair.
In the Alq3 molecule, the possible existence of different geometrical isomers is still an unresolved issue. Despite of the many investigation efforts during several years (11–14), the facial stereoisomer of Alq3 has never been directly observed. Invariably, spectroscopic studies on matrix-isolated molecules, solutions and polymorphic crystal phases (13, 15) have evidenced the existence of the green-emitting mer isomer only. Curioni et al. have theoretically predicted through computational models (16) that the fac isomer is less stable (ΔE≈4 kcal/mol) than the mer isomer and that it possesses a 0.3 eV higher energy gap (HOMO-LUMO), with a dipolar moment of 7 Debye (16).
Mer-Alq3 crystallizes as α e β phases (and in a number of clathrates), whose optical properties are determined by the nature of the π-π intramolecular contacts (15). In addition, partial crystallographic information on two phases, generated at elevated temperatures, called γ e δ, has been reported (15, 17).

Blue emitting tris (8-oxoquinoline) aluminum (III) (Alq


Systems and methods for a multi-path purging ejector are disclosed. In one example approach, a dual path purge system for an engine comprises an ejector including a restriction, first and second inlets, and an outlet, at least one break-point at the restriction or inlets, and a shut-off valve coupled to the outlet.

An ejector or venturi may be used as a vacuum source in dual path purging systems in an engine for fuel vapor recovery. For example, an inlet of an ejector may be coupled to an engine intake upstream of a compressor via a hose or duct and an outlet of the ejector may be coupled to an intake of the engine downstream of the compressor via a hose or other conduit. Motive fluid through the ejector provides a vacuum at an ejector suction inlet which may be coupled to a fuel vapor canister to assist in purging the fuel vapor canister during boosted operation.
In some examples, the motive fluid may contain fuel vapors, untreated engine emissions, and/or engine crankcase vapors. If the ejector develops a leak or if one or more hoses or ducting coupled to the ejector becomes degraded, it may be possible for gases to escape to the atmosphere. For example, leaks may be manifested at the inlets of the ejector or at the outlet of the ejector, e.g., when the ejector is stressed causing breakage or degradation in the body of the ejector device. As another example, leaks may be manifested when hoses, conduits, or ducting coupled to the inlets or outlet of the ejector degrade, break, or decouple from the ejector.
Some approaches diagnose and detect leaks in ejector system components adjacent to the ejector inlets and/or upstream of the ejector inlets. For example, using a variety of sensors in an engine system, leaks may be detected in hoses, conduits, or ductwork coupled to the inlet of the ejector or at other locations in an ejector system upstream of the ejector outlet. However, such approaches fail to diagnose or detect leaks in an ejector system at or downstream of the ejector outlet. For example, a hose or other ducting may be used to couple the outlet of an ejector to an engine intake at a position upstream of a compressor. If such a hose degrades, or decouples from the ejector outlet, the resulting leak in the ejector system may remain undetected leading to increased emissions and degradation in engine operation.
The inventors herein have recognized the above-mentioned disadvantages and have developed a dual path purge system for an engine. In one example approach, a multi-path purge system, such as a dual-path system) for an engine comprises: an ejector including an orifice, first and second inlets, and an outlet hard-mounted to an intake of the engine, and at least one break-point at the orifice or inlets. As another example approach, a multi-path purge system for an engine comprises: an ejector including an orifice, first and second inlets, and an outlet, at least one break-point at the orifice or inlets, and a shut-off valve coupled to the outlet.
In this way, break-points in the ejector inlets or orifice may direct leaks away from the ejector outlet to the inlets of the ejector where they may be detected without additional sensors or logic. Further, a shut-off valve coupled to the ejector outlet may be closed in response to a detected leak in order to reduce unwanted emissions due to leaks in a tube coupling the ejector outlet to the engine intake. Further, by coupling the ejector outlet directly to the intake via a hard-mount, stresses applied to the ejector may cause the ejector to degrade along the specified break-points adjacent to the inlets so that the leak may be detected and mitigating actions may be performed. Specifically, the approach may reduce the need to monitor all sections of an ejector to diagnose the ejector for leaks. Further, the approach may reduce a number of sensors required to monitor an ejector for leaks. Further still, ejector leaks may be determined without adding any additional sensors to the vehicle system.
The above advantages and other advantages, and features of the present description will be readily apparent from the following Detailed Description when taken alone or in connection with the accompanying drawings.
It should be understood that the summary above is provided to introduce in simplified form a selection of concepts that are further described in the detailed description. It is not meant to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, the scope of which is defined uniquely by the claims that follow the detailed description. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any disadvantages noted above or in any part of this disclosure.


A compound of the formula (I) or salts thereof: ##STR1## wherein X, R.sup.1, Q.sup.1 and Q.sup.2 are as defined in the specification. The compounds have been found to be P2 7-TM G-protein receptor antagonists, especially to the P2 Y2 receptor, and are useful in therapy, for example as anti-inflammatory agents useful in the treatment of a number of inflammatory diseases such as asthma, inflammatory bowel disease, ARDS, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, myocardial ischaemia, COPD, cystic fibrosis, arthrosclerosis, restenosis, peridontal disease, septic shock, osteoarthritis and stroke.

ATP receptors have been shown to be present on a wide number of different cell types (Dubyak et al Am J Physiol (1993) 265, C577-C606). Neutrophils, monocytes and macrophages have been isolated from several species including humans and ATP and/or UTP have been shown to increase intracellular calcium levels. Activation of these receptors on leukocytes can either directly stimulate certain types of inflammatory response or can prime the effector cells to other inflammatory mediators in vivo. ATP can upregulate the expression of adhesion molecules (Freyer et al J Immun. (1988) 141, 580-586) which causes enhanced adhesion of circulating leukocytes to endothelial cells and their enhanced migration into the tissue space. ATP has also been shown to promote chemotaxis of both neutrophils and eosinophils (Verghese et al J. B. C. (1996) 271, 15597-15601 and Burders et al Blood (1993) 81, 49-55) which may promote an inflammatory response. ATP priming of neutrophils can also potentiate superoxide production (Seifert et al Eur J Biochem (1989) 181, 277-285). ATP receptors are also present on a number of other cell types such as chondrocytes, keratinocytes, microglia and goblet cells (Leong et al BBA (1994) 1201, 298-304; Pillai et al J Clin Invest (1992) 90, 42-51; Walz et al J Neuroscience (1993) 13, 4403-4411 and Abdullah et al Biochem J (1996) 316, 943-951). Stimulation of the receptors on these cells can stimulate or enhance inflammatory responses and antagonist of the receptor may therefore be of use in a number of inflammatory diseases such as asthma, inflammatory bowel disease, ARDS, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, myocardial ischaemia, COPD, cystic fibrosis, arthereosclerosis, restenosis, peridontal disease, septic shock, osteoarthritis and stroke. ATP receptors have also been reported on tumour cells (Dubyak et al J. Biol. Chem., (1985) 260, 10653-10661 and Wagner et al Gastroenterolgy, (1997), 112(4) suppl. page A1198) and may be involved in the development of cancer. Antagonists may therefore be useful in treatment of cancer.

Phosphate compounds and their use as medicaments


A flip chip substrate comprises a substrate that is defined a chip connect zone which has a plurality of first conductive pads and passive component connect zone which has at least a second conductive pads. A first patterned insulating layer within opening that covers on the chip connect zone and exposed to the first conductive pads, a second patterned insulating layer within opening that covers on the passive component connect zone and exposed to the second conductive pads, to enhance the reliability of chip package.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a flip chip substrate, and more particularly, to a flip chip structure with two dielectric layers defining the chip conductive zone and passive component conductive zone on the surface of the substrate.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Accompanying the progress of movable electronic devices, several different types of packages, which are light, thin, and small, have been developed. The flip chip ball grid array (FCBGA) package is one example. The FCBGA package configuration differs from conventional ones particularly in that the semiconductor die is not connected to the package substrate through conductive pads and wire bonding, but is connected to the package substrate through solder bumps or conductive polymer bumps. Therefore, the flip chip package is capable of increasing the circuit layout density and increasing performance of circuitry.
The flip chip connection is an area array connection, so it is suitable for extremely dense configurations. It is easy to say that the flip chip connection is first forming the solder bumps on the electrode pad of the die, and then the die or the chip is put on the substrate. When the alignment of the conductive pad is correct. And then fabricating the reflow process, when the solder bumps are melted the solder bump due to their surface tension became balls shape. Finally, the chip and flip chip substrate are connected, which not only surmounts the conventional wire bonding method, but it also provides electrical efficiency due to shorter connection paths.
Please refer to FIG. 1 that is a schematic diagram of a flip chip ball grid array package configuration 10 according to the prior art. The FCBGA 10 includes a substrate 12 and a die 14, wherein the die 14 is connected on the conductive pads 21 of top-surface 16 of the substrate 12 by solder bumps 32. In addition, the FCBGA package configuration 10 further includes a plurality of surface mount pads 22 and a plurality of solder ball pads 24 deposited on the top-surface 16 and the bottom-surface 18 of the substrate 12 respectively, and two solder masks 26, 28 covering portions of the top-surface 16 and the bottom-surface 18 of the substrate 12 except the conductive pads 21, surface mount pads 22, and solder ball pads 24 respectively, for solder resist layers.
Furthermore, the surface of the die 14 has a plurality of electrode pads 30 deposited on corresponding conductive pads 21 of the substrate 12. A plurality of solder bumps 32 in the FCBGA package configuration 10 are deposited between the electrode pads 30 of the die 14 and the conductive pads 21 of the substrate 12, for forming the solder joint to fixing and electrically connecting to the die 14. An underfill layer 34 can be injected between the substrate 12 and the die 14, for protecting the FCBGA package configuration 10 from outside influences, and in-suit eliminating connection stress of the solder bumps 32.
After completing the FCBGA package configuration 10, the FCBGA package configuration 10 is mounted on the print circuit board (PCB) by a plurality of solder balls 36. Then the FCBGA package configuration 10 is electrically connected to the PCB.
Because a substrate is routed from a whole substrate plate according to the prior art, for enhancing the reliability and quality of connections of the substrate and die, the presolder must be added on each conductive pad of each substrate for connecting to each electrode pad of the die. However, when performing the presolder printing process, each substrate includes a variety of sizes and densities of conductive pads, such as first conductive pads formed on the chip conductive zone, and passive component conductive pads for the passive component conductive zone. Owing to said each substrate includes a variety of sizes and densities of conductive pads that the solder mask formed on the whole substrate plate is uneven or the substrate plate is warped. There are the reasons of the presolder printing process quality cannot be adequately controlled and causing different ball sizes, different quantities of presolders, solder ball falling off, and low process yield.

Surface structure of flip chip substrate

Phoenix Precision Technology Corporation


The present invention provides an optical receptacle capable of reducing the optical coupling loss with the connector plug to be mated with the receptacle, and an optical module installing the receptacle. The receptacle of the invention includes an optical waveguide, a stub, and a body. The stub includes a first bore, into which the waveguide is disposed, and a second bore. The waveguide may be made of same material as that constituting the core of the optical fiber, and may have a substantially same diameter as that of the cladding. Thus, the aperture for coupling the optical fiber may be expanded.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical receptacle with a stub that is capable of increasing the optical coupling efficiency with an optical fiber, and an optical module installing the optical receptacle.
2. Related Prior Art
As a conventional optical receptacle having the so-called co-axial shape, Japanese Patent published as H10-332988 has disclosed one typical configuration with a built-in ferrule securing an optical fiber therein. To mate an optical plug ferrule with the receptacle above may accomplish the optical coupling between the optical fiber and the optical device accompanied with the optical receptacle.
However, the conventional built-in ferrule provides a guide fiber, typically a single mode fiber, to guide light, which reduces coupling tolerance between the external fiber inserted into the receptacle and the guide fiber within the built-in ferrule. Accordingly, the optical coupling characteristic degrades by iterating the insertion/extraction of the external ferrule, or the optical coupling loss increases when an axial stress is applied to the receptacle that receives the external plug.
Therefore, the present invention is to provide an optical receptacle that enables to reduce the dispersion in the optical coupling efficiency when the receptacle receives the external optical plug, and to provide an optical module installing the optical receptacle.

Optical receptacle having stub capable of enhancing optical coupling efficiency and optical module installing the same


A clip, for example attachable to both a refreshment tube of a reservoir-based hydration system and to, for example, an article of clothing. The tube clip includes a tube attachment section to attach the tube clip to the refreshment tube, and a clip section and locking arm to releasably attach the tube clip to the article of clothing. A person engaged in an activity may thus affix the refreshment tube to a location on clothing by engaging the locking area while a portion of the clothing fabric is within a clipping area. The location of attachment on clothing can be selected to provide easy, quick, or "no-hands" access to the refreshment tube. The clip may be formed from molded plastic.

For persons who engage in strenuous exercise or other activities, it has been found important to keep properly hydrated and nourished in order to prevent fatigue, illness or injury. For example, persons who engage in outdoor activities in hot or dry environments need to keep hydrated in order to prevent dehydration and possible illness. Persons engaging in outdoor activities in isolated or deserted areas, or in activities of long duration, have a need to carry liquid refreshments with them in order to stay properly hydrated during their activities.
For persons engaging in those activities requiring extensive hydration and nourishment, the method of carrying necessary refreshment liquids may be important to the enjoyment of the activity. For example, a person engaged in skiing may find it cumbersome to carry and use a canteen or water bottle while skiing, thus detracting from the enjoyment of the activity. Recently, several products have been suggested to allow liquid refreshments to be carried easily and conveniently. One such product is a reservoir-based hydration system, which allows a liquid reservoir to be worn in a manner similar to a backpack. The reservoir is part of a carrying unit that includes straps to secure it to the person's back, and a tube is attached to the reservoir to allow access to the contents of the reservoir. The person can thus drink the liquid contents of the reservoir through the tube whenever a drink is desired. By carrying the liquid in a reservoir on the back and drinking through a tube, proper hydration during activities can be achieved.
The problem with such reservoir systems is that the tube that allows the wearer to drink the liquid in the reservoir may not be suspended in a location which is accessible by the wearer during the activity. Without such accessibility, the reservoir-based hydration system may still be cumbersome in use. For example, a person engaged in a biking activity may be required to remove his or her hand from the handlebars of the bicycle in order to locate the tube and place it in the mouth, thereby exposing the rider to possible injury. A need exists to allow the tube for such reservoir-and-tube systems to be attached to a wearer in a location on the body which allows quick, easy and even "no-hands" access to the tube. Optimally, such attachment should be as lightweight as possible and capable of maintaining a solid attachment when subjected to jerking forces (e.g. during body movements or tugging).


An article mounting assembly mounts an article to a horizontally extending ballast weight support of a utility vehicle. The mounting assembly includes a coupling member, a plate and a pair of brackets. The coupling member is attached to and spaced apart from the plate. Each bracket has a front end coupled to the coupling member and has a rear end coupled to the weight support. Each bracket is movably coupled to the coupling member so that the spacing between the brackets is adjustable. The article may be a container in which the plate forms a wall of the container, or the article may be a shelf or a component supported by the brackets.

Detachable articles, such as storage containers, are often externally mounted to utility vehicles. Such articles can be used as toolboxes, for storage of the tools necessary for maintenance of the vehicle, and for storage of tools for installation tasks and minor repairs. For example, it is known to mount a bracket near the steps of the John Deere 6400 series tractor, and to attach thereto a toolbox. Since these storage articles are attached to the exterior sides of the vehicle, and because of the small amount of available space, known toolboxes are relatively small and permit only a few tools to be stored. When the utility vehicle is away from where it is usually kept for extended periods, many items that should be brought along cannot be or must be accommodated elsewhere, since there is no room in the toolbox. Such items may include chains, attachment devices, spare parts, a large hammer, protective clothing, and rubber boots.
Modern agricultural tractors utilize most of the space that traditional tool boxes would normally mount. Customers demand a larger tool box to carry many tools and larger items like log chains. Certain forward mount tool box designs take the space that is normally reserved for suitcase weights. This limits the tractor operator's ability to ballast the tractor properly.
K & M Manufacturing provides a variety of weight or ballast boxes. Some K & M weight box models are mounted ahead of the ballast weights and are supported by brackets which are coupled to the ballast weights. Some K & M weight box models are mounted in place of the ballast weights and are supported by brackets which are hooked to the ballast weight support arm. In all these designs, the brackets are fixedly attached to the box and the separation between the boxes is not adjustable.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,595,397, issued in 2003 to Teich, and assigned to the assignee of the present application shows an article mounted in front of a ballast weight. A mounting bar projects from a rear wall of the article and into a forward opening recess formed in the ballast weight. The mounting bar is coupled to the ballast weight by a pin which extends vertically through bores in the ballast weight and a bore in the mounting bar. As a result, at least some of the ballast weights must be modified or adapted to receive and couple to the mounting bar.