Methods and apparatus provide for forming a semiconductor-on-insulator (SOI) structure, including subjecting a implantation surface of a donor semiconductor wafer to an ion implantation step to create a weakened slice in cross-section defining an exfoliation layer of the donor semiconductor wafer; and subjecting the donor semiconductor wafer to a spatial variation step, either before, during or after the ion implantation step, such that at least one parameter of the weakened slice varies spatially across the weakened slice in at least one of X- and Y-axial directions.

Semiconductor on insulator devices are becoming more desirable as market demands continue to increase. SOI technology is becoming increasingly important for high performance thin film transistors (TFTs), solar cells, and displays, such as, active matrix displays, organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays, liquid crystal displays (LCDs), integrated circuits, photovoltaic devices, etc. SOI structures may include a thin layer of semiconductor material, such as silicon, on an insulating material.
Various ways of obtaining SOI structures include epitaxial growth of silicon (Si) on lattice matched substrates, and bonding a single crystal silicon wafer to another silicon wafer. Further methods include ion-implantation techniques in which either hydrogen or oxygen ions are implanted either to form a buried oxide layer in the silicon wafer topped by Si in the case of oxygen ion implantation or to separate (exfoliate) a thin Si layer to bond to another Si wafer with an oxide layer as in the case of hydrogen ion implantation.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,176,528 discloses a process that produces an SOG (semiconductor on glass) structure using an exfoliation technique. The steps include: (i) exposing a silicon wafer surface to hydrogen ion implantation to create a bonding surface; (ii) bringing the bonding surface of the wafer into contact with a glass substrate; (iii) applying pressure, temperature and voltage to the wafer and the glass substrate to facilitate bonding therebetween; and (iv) separating the glass substrate and a thin layer of silicon from the silicon wafer.
The above approach is susceptible to an undesirable effect under some circumstance and/or when employed in certain applications. With reference to FIGS. 1A-1D, a semiconductor wafer 20 is implanted with ions, e.g., hydrogen ions, through a surface 21, such that the implantation dose is uniform in terms of density and depth across the semiconductor wafer 20.
With reference to FIG. 1A, when a semiconductor material, such as silicon, is implanted with ions, such as H-ions, damage sites are created. The layer of damage sites define an exfoliation layer 22. Some of these damage sites nucleate into platelets with very high aspect ratios (they have a very large effective diameter and almost no height). Gas resulting from the implanted ions, such as H2, diffuses into the platelets to form bubbles of comparably high aspect ratios. The gas pressure in these bubbles can be extremely high and has been estimated to be as high as about 10 kbar.
As illustrated by the bi-directional arrows in FIG. 1B, the platelets or bubbles grow in effective diameter until they get close enough to each other that the remaining silicon is too weak to resist the high pressure of the gas. As there is no preferential point for a separation front to start, the multiple separating fronts are randomly created and the multiple cracks propagate through the semiconductor wafer 20.
Near the edges of the semiconductor wafer 20, a larger share of implanted hydrogen may escape from the hydrogen rich plane. This is so because of the proximity of sinks (i.e., the side walls of the wafer 20). More particularly, during implantation, the ions (e.g., hydrogen protons) decelerate through the lattice structure of the semiconductor wafer 20 (e.g., silicon) and displace some silicon atoms from their lattice sites, creating the plane of defects. As the hydrogen ions lose their kinetic energy, they become atomic hydrogen and define a further, atomic hydrogen plane. Both the defect plane and the atomic hydrogen plane are not stable in the silicon lattice at room temperature. Thus, the defects (vacancies) and the atomic hydrogen move toward one another and form thermally stable vacancy-hydrogen species. Multiple species collectively create a hydrogen rich plane. (Upon heating, the silicon lattice cleaves generally along the hydrogen rich plane.)
Not all vacancies and hydrogen undergo collapse into hydrogen-vacancy species. Some atomic hydrogen species diffuse away from the vacancy plane and eventually leave the silicon wafer 20. Thus, some of the atomic hydrogen does not contribute to cleavage of the exfoliation layer 22. Near the edges of the silicon wafer 20, the hydrogen atoms have an additional path to escape from the lattice. Therefore, the edge areas of the silicon wafer 20 may be lower in hydrogen concentration. The lower concentration of hydrogen results in the need for a higher temperature or longer time to develop enough force to support separation.
Therefore, during the separation process, a tent-like structure 24 is created with edges that are not separated. At a critical pressure, fracture of the remaining semiconductor material occurs along relatively weak planes, such as {111} planes (FIG. 1C) and the separation of the exfoliation layer 22 from the semiconductor wafer 20 is complete (FIG. 1D). The edges 22A, 22B, however, are out of a major cleavage plane defined by the damage sites. This non-planar cleavage is not desirable. Other characteristics of the separation include that the exfoliated layer 22 can be described as having "mesas", where the platelets or bubbles were, surrounded by "canyons", where the fracture occurred. It is noted that these mesas and canyons are not accurately shown in FIG. 1D as such details are beyond the capabilities of reproduction at the illustrated scale.
Without limiting the invention to any theory of operation, the inventors of the instant application believe that the time from the onset of separation to completed separation is on the order of 10's of micro-seconds using the techniques described above. In other words, the random onset and propagation of the separation is on the order of about 3000 meters/sec. Again, without limiting the invention to any theory of operation, the inventors of the instant application believe that this rate of separation contributes to the undesirable characteristic of the cleaved surface of the exfoliation layer 22 described above (FIG. 1D).
U.S. Pat. No. 6,010,579 describes a technique of uniform ion implantation into a semiconductor substrate 10 to a uniform depth Z0, taking the wafer to a temperature below that which would initiate the onset of separation, and then introducing multiple impulses of energy to the edge of the substrate 10 in the vicinity of the implant depth Z0 in order to achieve a "controlled cleave front". U.S. Pat. No. 6,010,579 states that the above approach is an improvement over so-called "random" cleavage at least as to surface roughness. The instant invention takes a directed separation approach that is significantly different from the "controlled cleave front" approach of U.S. Pat. No. 6,010,579 and different from the "random" cleaving approach.
The challenges associated with the separation of the exfoliation layer 22 from the semiconductor wafer 20 discussed above are exacerbated as the size of the SOI structure increases, and particularly when the shape of the semiconductor wafer is rectangular. Such rectangular semiconductor wafers may be used in applications where multiple semiconductor tiles are coupled to an insulator substrate. Further details regarding the manufacturing of a tiled SOI structure may be found in U.S. Application Publication No. 2007/0117354, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

Methods and apparatus for producing semiconductor on insulator structures using directed exfoliation


A cascade scanning optical system which includes a plurality of laser scanning optical systems each emitting a laser beam to scan a surface of a member, and a beam splitter positioned in an optical path between the plurality of laser scanning optical systems and the member such that a first laser beam which has passed through the beam splitter and a second laser beam which has been reflected by the beam splitter proceed to the surface on a common line thereon in respective ranges of the common line. Each of the plurality of laser scanning optical systems is desinged as a telecentric system.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cascade scanning optical system having a plurality of laser scanning optical systems which are arranged along the main scanning direction and controlled to operate in synchronization with each other so as to realize a wide scanning line.
2. Description of the Related Art
A cascade scanning optical system having a plurality of laser scanning optical systems arranged along the main scanning direction to realize a wide scanning line is known. Such a scanning optical system is disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 61-11720, published on Jan. 20, 1986. This publication discloses a cascade scanning optical system having a pair of laser scanning optical systems each having a laser beam emitter, a polygon mirror serving as a deflecting device, an f.theta. lens, etc The pair of laser scanning optical systems are synchronously driven to emit respective scanning laser beams to a photoconductive surface (scanning surface) of a photoconductive drum on a common line thereon extending in parallel to the axial direction of the photoconductive drum. The pair of scanning laser beams respectively scan two adjacent ranges of the common line on the photoconductive surface so as to scan the photoconductive surface of the photoconductive drum in the main scanning direction in a wide range.
There is a fundamental problem to be overcome in such a cascade scanning optical system. Namely, how can a scanning line, made on the photoconductive drum by the scanning laser beam emitted from one laser scanning optical system of the cascade scanning optical system, be accurately combined with another scanning line, made on the photoconductive drum by the scanning laser beam emitted from another laser scanning optical system of the cascade scanning optical system, so as not to be apart from each other or overlap each other in either the main scanning direction or the sub-scanning direction, i.e., so as to form a straight and continuous scanning line using a combination of the separate scanning lines.
In the case where each laser scanning optical system of the cascade scanning optical system is designed as a non-telecentric system through which the incident angle of a scanning laser beam relative to the photoconductive surface of the photoconductive drum varies in accordance with a variation in the position of a scanning spot of the scanning laser beam on the photoconductive surface in the main scanning direction, a scanning line made through one laser scanning optical system will not be precisely combined with another scanning line made through another laser scanning optical system on the photoconductive surface of the photoconductive drum, i.e., those scanning lines will be apart from each other or overlap each other by a certain amount in the main scanning direction if the photoconductive surface deviates from its original position even by a slight amount.
In the case where each laser scanning optical system of the cascade scanning optical system is designed as a telecentric system through which the scanning laser beam of each laser scanning optical system is always incident on the photoconductive surface in a direction perpendicular to an axial direction of the photoconductive drum, specifically in a direction orthogonal to generatrices of the photoconductive drum, the aforementioned problem in the case of the non-telecentric system will not occur, but it is necessary for each laser scanning optical system to be arranged at different positions in the sub-scanning direction to differentiate the angles of respective laser beams relative to the photoconductive surface, in order to prevent the respective laser beams from interfering with each other. However, with such an arrangement, if the photoconductive surface deviates from its original position even by a slight amount, a scanning line made through one laser scanning optical system and another scanning line made through another laser scanning optical system on the photoconductive drum will deviate from each other in the sub-scanning direction, and accordingly the former and latter scanning lines will not be combined with each other in the main scanning direction, so that a wide scanning line made by a combination of those scanning lines which extend in the main scanning direction across the photoconductive surface of the drum cannot be formed.


A gangable electrical box includes a U-shaped box member having a generally rectangular back wall including opposed back wall ends. An end wall extends from each of the back wall ends. Each of the end walls has opposed longitudinal edges. The gangable box further includes a pair of generally rectangular side walls where each side wall has opposed side wall ends. The side wall ends are attachable to the U-shaped box member to define an open ended box interior. The longitudinal edges of the end walls and the opposite ends of the side walls include interfitting snap fit connection for toolless attachment of the side walls to the box member.

Electrical boxes are commonly used to accommodate and protect various electrical components such as electrical outlets, switches and other accessories. Quite often, these boxes must be provided in differing sizes to accommodate the number and size of such components. The need for multiple sizes of electrical boxes increases the cost of an electrical installation in that different size boxes must be manufactured and inventoried to meet the desired needs.


An electric gas lighter for generating sparks at one or more burners of a cooking range, and including a transformer having a primary winding, and a secondary winding divided into a number of coils, each having output terminals, and which are wound on respective axially adjacent portions of a substantially cylindrically symmetrical drum forming part of a supporting member made of insulating material and formed in one piece with supports projecting tangentially with respect to the drum and each supporting a respective terminal defined by a blade contact; the coils are connected electrically to one another in series to form one secondary winding, which has been obtained by winding continuously, i.e. without making cuts, an insulated electrically conducting wire onto the drum to form the coils; the wire being wound alternately onto the drum in an opposite direction for each coil; and the winding direction being inverted upon the wire engaging each terminal located axially between two adjacent coils.

Currently marketed lighters all have an even number of output terminals, each for supplying high voltage to a spark plug for lighting a burner on a cooking range. In the case of a cooking range with an odd number of burners, therefore, a lighter with the nearest number of even terminals must be used, and the extra terminal must be earthed by an earth wire to neutralize its action without impairing operation of the lighter.
This is due to known lighters comprising as the main component a transformer, the secondary winding of which is defined by a number of electrically separate coils, each supplying voltage at the opposite ends to two respective terminals.
When assembling the cooking range, an additional earth wire (in addition to the one prescribed by regulations) must therefore be used, thus increasing assembly cost, time, and difficulty (in view of the normally confined space involved). A certain amount of energy is also wasted by being earthed by a wire or various connections. This continuity between the secondary winding wire and earth may even prove damaging in the event of a loss of insulation between the primary and secondary wires (e.g. as a result of a damaged winding or insulation).
Generators with odd numbers of output terminals are also marketed, though, in actual fact, these are identical to the former, except that the extra output terminal is earthed by internal connection to the earth on the printed circuit of the lighter, or to the earth contact on the casing. The problem of energy waste therefore remains unsolved, and the advantage in terms of assembly is normally achieved at the expense of higher production cost.

Electric gas lighter which can be produced with any number of output terminals, and relative production method


Rows of rectangular bins for crop storage have open tops along which an overhead shuttle carriage moves for filling the bins one at a time. An auger on the carriage removes the contents from the incoming conveyor belt for deposit in an assigned bin. An array of declined baffles positioned in the path of the falling product buffers the fall. A product support over the discharge auger minimizes the product bridging effect between the vertical walls of the bin.

Creating food products in large quantities at a commercial processing facility requires usually the storage of large volumes of the unprocessed or raw food product. In the case of products produced from potatoes, turnips, sugar beets, onions or certain fruits, the raw materials are delivered by trailer truck or rail car for inspection and reception into the plant's raw product storage area. Many plant owners wish to maintain the various batch loads of products segregated in the storage facility so that the particular characteristics of each batch of product, such as age, water or sugar content, may be monitored so that the ongoing processing may be adjusted, if necessary, to give the desired optimum end product. Commonly, the raw product in truck load batches is deposited in storage bins and data is taken from each batch, where necessary, so that where possible, each differing batch of incoming raw product may be stored in a dedicated bin.
The above-mentioned vegetables and fruits are harvested mechanically for the most part by equipment moving through the growing field or orchard. Irrespective of the steps taken to harvest these crops in as clean a condition as possible, it is nevertheless found that wet soil, stones, twigs, stems and branches and other vegetable matter are entrained with the crop when delivered to the processing plant. This debris, in many instances, clogs the handling equipment requiring maintenance personnel to use high pressure water for clearing the equipment. Further, handling these crops which have become soft from aging or other conditions sometimes produce a "mush" in the storage facilities and in the related handling equipment where the soft products are squashed, rendering a significant portion of the batch unusable for processing. This results in waste to be discarded.
In the case of handling potatoes for temporary storage prior to processing these products are frequently held in batches deposited in bins of generally a rectilinear plan shape, but with at least one inclined wall where incoming potatoes may roll down to reduce bruising and breakage which would otherwise occur from a vertical free fall. The inclined wall extends out over the base of the bin and, thus a substantial portion of the bin occupies a considerable amount of valuable plant area. "Bridging" of potatoes in a bin frequently occurs where the potatoes will not descend into the withdrawal or discharge mechanism but remain lodged in an arch-like configuration between the sidewalls of the bin. In this instance, a worker must enter the bin with a probe to break up the bridge or arch of potatoes so that the bin may be further emptied and its contents carried through to the processing line. This phenomenon is seen with other products. It is very desirable that the raw product handling system be operated from the plant floor without requiring frequent attention by operators or maintenance personnel to climb a ladder for operational adjustment, especially during the normal bin loading and unloading cycle.

Bin loading and emptying of crops having a rounded rollable mass


A method for obtaining a selectively non-carburized powdered metal part. The steps include compacting, sintering, removing, forging and cooling. A metal powder is compacted to form a preform having at least one first surface in which a forged part is required to have a case depth and at least one second surface in which a carburized portion is required to be removed prior to forging. The preform is then sintered and carburized. After carburizing the at least one second surface of the preform is removed and subsequently forged and cooled. The forged part has at least one second surface having improved post forging properties and at least one first surface having improved performance features. A part made from the present method is also provided.

There is continuing demand for manufacturing processes that may lessen the cost, time or steps in producing a part. More often than not, the benefits resultantly associated with improving the manufacturing process are necessitated in the first instance by customer requirements to develop and improve products to have superior dimensional, mechanical and/or performance properties. For instances a typical differential side gear may have any or all of the following performance requirements such as: the spline area requiring dimensional precision, high shear strength and brinnelling resistance; the hub and thrust faces requiring dimensional precision, surface finish and case compatibility; the gear geometry requiring dimensional precision, surface finish and optimised profile; and the tooth and core strength may require impact resistance, wear resistance, spalling resistance, and different surface and core metallurgies. Different non-compatible manufacturing processes, i.e. casting, steel forging or powder metal forging, obtain different performance requirements for the same part, advantageously or otherwise.
Referring to FIG. 1, in order to meet some of these performance requirements, a gear 10 is made by forging a powder metal 14 and then case carburizing the gear to achieve a nearly constant effective case depth 16. The constant effective case depth 16 for each gear tooth 12 is shown in the partial cross-sectional view of FIG. 1. The parameters to be controlled to achieve nearly constant carburization of a fully dense part of specific hardness, case depth and carbon gradient are generally known. However, a nearly constant case depth does not necessarily achieve desired mechanical or machining properties desired in a post forged product. It would be advantageous to achieve a better-controlled balance of these performance requirements in the final product, uncompromised by the manufacturing process thereby saving time, processing or cost.
A manufacturing process to improve the performance requirements of powder metal parts in a process known as "sint-carb" is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,992,763 titled "Method of Making Powdered Metal Parts." The process teaches carburization during or subsequent to sintering, and prior to forging, to enhance the case depth at a critical wall of the final forged product, eliminating the need for subsequent heat treating processes for achieving a case hardness. U.S. Pat. No. 4,002,471 titled "Method of Making a Through-Hardened Scale-Free Forged Powdered Metal Article Without Heat Treatment After Forging", discloses a method of making forged powder iron base metal articles of high Rc hardness without need for further machining, surface treatment or heat treatment after quenching.
Also, U.S. Pat. No. 4,165,243 titled "Method of Making Selectively Carburized Forged Powder Metal Parts" discloses a process requiring additional steps of masking a part before sintering and removal of the masking after carburizing and before forging to obtain selected carburized surfaces on the part.
However, the above mentioned patents do not teach or suggest any processes in which removal of a carburized surface prior to forging may be used to achieve specific material requirements in a final forged product while providing improved dimensional precision, performance features or improved manufacturing of both carburized and noncarburized surfaces of the part. Moreover, the above mentioned patents do not teach or suggest the strategic and uncomplicated control afforded by a removal process.
Therefore, there is a need for a manufacturing process for removal of a carburized surface of a part prior to forging thereby leaving select carburized and noncarburized surfaces in the final forged part. Moreover, there is a need for a process that strategically removes a carburized portion of a part prior to forging and quenching thereby permitting improved post-forging operations upon the noncarburized portion of the part such that tighter tolerances, improved spline classification or improved shear resistance properties may be achieved while maintaining the beneficial forged carburized portion of the part. There is also a need for a part having improved dimensional precision or performance features.

Forged carburized powder metal part and method


Disclosed is a precasted wall/column module including a hollow body formed from a four-side outer frame and an inscribed round pipe. The outer frame has an upper end forming a first axially projected flange extending along an inner edge of the upper end and a lowered outer edge extending around the first flange, and a lower end forming a second axially projected flange extending along an outer edge of the lower end and a lowered inner edge extending along an inner side of the second flange. Axially extended insertion holes are correspondingly formed at every corners of the upper and lower ends to receive insertion bars for connecting the modules to one another. A thinned area can be selectively provided on either side of the outer frame. Two semicircular openings are separately formed at upper and lower edges of each thinned area and a plurality of round holes are spaced between the two semicircular openings.

The present invention relates to a precasted wall/column module, and more particularly to a precasted hollow module with preformed holes to provide passages for mounting conduits and other construction materials to simplify and speed the construction of walls and columns.
There are two conventional ways for constructing a wall or column. The first way is by laying bricks. After the brick wall or column is completed, the wall or column might need to be locally bored or knocked off to mount conduits and then be repaired with primary cement grout and be screeded. After the primary cement grout has become dried, the wall or column is finished with fine cement grout or other construction materials, such as tiles, marble slabs, or metal panels. The second way is by grouting concrete. In this way, bar reinforcement and templates must be erected before grouting. After the concrete is set, the templates must be removed and the wall or column must be finished with fine cement grout or other construction materials, just as in the case of brick wall and column. The conventional way of constructing a wall or column by laying bricks includes complicated and time-consuming steps while the water and electric wire conduits can not be easily mounted in the wall. And, the conventional way of constructing a wall or column by grouting also includes complicate steps and difficult subsequent works to finish fissures and scars caused by templates. Any negligence will cause uneven wall surface. It is therefore tried by the inventor to develop a precasted wall/column module to avoid disadvantages of the conventional ways of constructing walls and columns.


A bookmark for making a page and line in a book. The bookmark includes an elongated planar body having an upper terminal portion that provides a relatively large flat surface for the display of matter such as decorative and whimsical designs each of which includes a dominant design element. The bookmark further includes a finger engaging indicator piece that substantially corresponds in size and shape with the dominant design element of the imprinted design and is slidably movable along a slit provided in the body from a first position overlying the design element to a second line marking position.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to bookmarks. More particularly, the invention concerns speciality bookmarks of novel appearance which return the reader to the exact page and line where the reader finished reading.
2. Discussion of the Invention
A great number of bookmark constructions have been suggested in the past. Many of these constructions embody some type of line indicator element which is movable along the length of the bookmark for use in indicating a particular line of print located on a selected page of the book. Some of the line indicator elements are of relatively complex construction and involve rotatable arrows and the like. Exemplary of this type of construction is that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,081,948 issued to Walsh.
Another prior art construction disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,901,665 issued to Carlin includes a slidable indicator element that is provided with index means viewable from both sides of the body for alignment with the line of interest.
A slight variation in the theme is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,630,777 issued to Johnson. The bookmark of this patent comprises a body portion provided with parallel slits which define tracks along which a line indicator element travels. The indicator element comprises oppositely extending pointers that override the tracks. A somewhat similar type of bookmark construction is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,008,481 issued to Lopes.
The bookmark of the present invention is of a substantially simpler construction than those of the prior art and also provides whimsical and decorative design indicia of which the line indicator uniquely forms a part. More particularly, the line indicator element of the bookmark corresponds in size, shape and color to one of the features of the design indicia that is imprinted upon the upper terminal portion of the bookmark. Initially, the line indicator element overlies the printed design feature to which it corresponds, but can readily be moved downwardly along a track-defining slit to a second line indicating position when the bookmark is in use. A different, or corresponding design indicia can also be imprinted on the lower terminal portion with which the indicator element can interact. The simplicity and decorative nature of the bookmark of the invention makes it highly commercially attractive and yet simple and inexpensive to manufacture.


A semiconductor device with a test circuit disconnected from a power supply connection to reduce leakage current, and a method of manufacture thereof. The test circuit may be used to test functional circuits on the semiconductor device, and after the tests are completed, the test circuit is disconnected from the power supply connection. The test circuit is powered by contacting a test pad with a probe that supplies power to the test circuit, in one embodiment. In another embodiment, the test circuit is disconnected from the power supply using a laser to blow a fuse in the path of the power supply connection for the test circuit. Optional features include a bleeder device coupled to the power supply input of the test circuit, and logic circuitry for setting the outputs of the test circuit to a predetermined state coupled to the outputs of the test circuit.

Semiconductor devices are used in a variety of electronic applications, such as computers, cellular phones, personal computing devices, and many other applications. Home, industrial, and automotive devices that in the past comprised only mechanical components now have electronic parts that require semiconductor devices, for example.
Semiconductor devices typically include several layers of insulating, conductive and semiconductive materials that are patterned to form integrated circuits. There may be a plurality of transistors, memory devices, switches, conductive lines, diodes, capacitors, logic circuits, and other electronic components formed on a single die or chip. Semiconductor technology has seen a trend towards miniaturization, to meet the demands of product size reduction, improved device performance, and reduced power requirements in the end applications that semiconductors are used in, for example.
Semiconductor devices are typically subjected to many tests throughout the manufacturing process to ensure that their performance meets the device requirements, before shipping them to the end customer. Some tests may be extreme, in order to weed out devices with early life failures. Tests in the industry include wafer sort, wafer acceptance test (WAT), and burn-in tests (BIT), for example. In a wafer sort, intact wafers are tested to determine which of their die are functional. Those that fail the test are marked with a drop of ink and are eventually discarded. In some applications, additional tests are required to ensure operation of the devices at high temperatures and extreme conditions (e.g., in automotive, military, or space applications).
One method of performing the tests on semiconductor devices is by using external circuits in test equipment to tests the integrated circuits. The tests may be performed by contacting the leads of the device after packaging, e.g., by plugging the packaged integrated circuits into specially designed burn-in and test sockets, or by making electrical contact to probe points, contact pads, or bond pads of the semiconductor devices before and/or after die singulation from the wafer and before or after packaging, as examples.
Some recent semiconductor device designs include on-chip test circuits that are used to perform tests. These on-chip test circuits may be used exclusively or in conjunction with external test circuits to perform a variety of tests on the semiconductor devices before either shipping to an end customer, and/or before packaging the devices, for example.
A problem with on-chip test circuits is that because they are connected to the power supply of the functional circuits on the chip, and because they include transistors and other electronic components that have leakage current when connected to a power source, they cause increased leakage current of the semiconductor device even when the on-chip test circuits are not in use, thus resulting in increased power consumption for the semiconductor device.
What is needed in the art is a method of forming an on-chip test circuit that does not increase the leakage current of semiconductor devices, and a structure thereof.

Semiconductor device with test circuit disconnected from power supply connection


This disclosure is directed to optical-to-electrical receiver and transceiver integrated circuits that can be used to send and receive multiple optical signal data streams using at least one optical bus. In one aspect, a fan-in integrated circuit of a node includes an arbiter/multiplexer, and at least one receiver. Each receiver is electronically connected to the arbiter/multiplexer. Each receiver receives at least one optical signal over an optical broadcast bus and converts the optical signals into a data stream encoded in electronic signals. The arbiter/multiplexer selects one receiver at a time to send an electronic signal to the arbiter/multiplexer and outputs the electronic signal to the node for processing.

Organizations that maintain and manufacture data centers face increasing bandwidth demands. In particular, the bandwidth requirement for routing switches is increasing dramatically due to the growth in data center size and due to the shift to higher bandwidth link standards, such as 10 Gb, 40 Gb, and 100 Gb Ethernet standards. However, simply scaling up the bandwidth of existing electronic switch designs can be problematic. The scope for increasing the data rate of electronic signals is often limited by signal integrity considerations. Also, increasing the bandwidth of electrical signal paths incurs a substantial penalty in both cost and power which may be impractical. The energy efficiency of the switching infrastructure in a modern data center has become an important consideration. As data rates increase, a greater proportion of the power consumed by network switches can be attributed to electronic interconnects. The result is that switch manufacturers and users continue to seek interconnect solutions that provide for several generations of bandwidth scaling at reduced interconnect power, without increasing the overall system cost.

Receivers and transceivers for optical multibus systems

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


An apparatus for processing a two-dimensional image obtained by scanning sensor arrays of image detectors perpendicular thereto, the apparatus including an image memory for storing pixel data output by the image detector as a two-dimensional image, a first read-out unit for reading the stored pixel data about a particular detector in a particular array, a second read-out unit for reading pixel data in the neighborhood of the pixel data read by the first read-out unit, a first arithmetic unit for measuring the magnitude of difference in sensitivity between the detector whose pixel data is read by the first read-out unit and the detector whose pixel data is read by the second read-out unit, and a second arithmetic unit for compensating for the deficiency of sensitivity on the basis of the output of the first arithmetic unit.

The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus used in association with image detecting apparatus, such as X-ray image detecting apparatus, for medical and industrial use.
Latest type of X-ray image detecting apparatus are provided with one-dimensional sensor arrays each of which includes a plurality of image detectors of semiconductor. The sensor arrays are scanned perpendicular thereto so as to obtain a two-dimensional image. In addition, a memory is provided for storing the two-dimensional image by arranging pixel data output by the image detectors in a predetermined pattern.
This type of image detecting apparatus has a problem in that if any sensor array includes a defective image detector having a reduced sensitivity, the image produced by the defective detector is spoiled by a line noise.
If the defective image detector amounts to be more than one, or alternatively, if the extent of unequal sensitivity depends upon temperature, it is difficult to adjust all the image detectors so as to have equal sensitivity.


A printing system includes a printhead, a movable transport surface opposite the printhead and configured to transport a print medium relative to the printhead, and a cleaning medium in contact with the transport surface while at least one of the cleaning medium and the transport surface are moved relative to one another.

The present invention relates generally to ink-jet printing and, more specifically to a method and mechanism for cleaning a belt used in the transport of print media through a printing zone.
The art of ink-jet technology is relatively well developed. Commercial products such as computer printers, graphics plotters, copiers, and facsimile machines employ ink-jet technology for producing hard copy. The basics of this technology are disclosed, for example, in various articles in the Hewlett-Packard Journal, Vol. 36, No. 5 (May 1985), Vol. 39, No. 4 (August 1988), Vol. 39, No. 5 (October 1988), Vol. 43, No. 4 (August 1992), Vol. 43, No. 6 (December 1992) and Vol. 45, No. 1 (February 1994) editions. Ink-jet devices are also described by W. J. Lloyd and H. T. Taub in Output Hardcopy [sic] Devices, chapter 13 (Ed. R. C. Durbeck and S. Sherr, Academic Press, San Diego, 1988).
FIG. 1 (Prior Art) is a schematic depiction of an ink-jet hard copy apparatus 10. A writing instrument 12 is provided with a printhead 14 having drop generators including nozzles for ejecting ink droplets onto an adjacently positioned print medium, e.g., a sheet of paper 16, in the apparatus' printing zone 34. An endless-loop belt 32 is one type of known manner printing zone input-output paper transport. A motor 33 having a drive shaft 30 is used to drive a gear train 35 coupled to a belt pulley 38 mounted on an fixed axle 39. A biased idler wheel 40 provides appropriate tensioning of the belt 32. The belt rides over a platen 36 in the print zone 34; the platen is described in detail hereinafter, but is associated with a known manner vacuum induction system 37. The paper sheet 16 is picked from an input supply (not shown) and its leading edge 54 is delivered to a guide 50, 52 where a pinch wheel 42 in contact with the belt 32 takes over and acts to transport the paper sheet 16 through the printing zone 34 (the paper path is represented by arrow 31). Downstream of the printing zone 34, an output roller 44 in contact with the belt 32 receives the leading edge 54 of the paper sheet 16 and continues the paper transport until the trailing edge 55 of the now printed page is released. The carriage scanning axis is conventionally designated the x-axis, the print media transit axis is designated the y-axis, and the printhead firing direction is designated the z-axis. For convenience in describing the art and the present invention, all types of ink-jet hard copy apparatus are sometimes hereinafter referred to as "printers;" all types, sizes, and compositions of print media—including non-traditional printing media such as polymeric transparencies, cloth fabric, mylar, and the like—are also referred to simply as "paper;" all compositions of colorants are sometimes referred to as "ink;" and all embodiments of an ink-jet writing instruments are simply referred to as a "pen;" no limitation on the scope of the invention is intended nor should any be implied.
During printing operations, ink deposits or aerosol mixtures of ink and paper dust collect on the belt and platen. Once on the belt, ink begins transferring onto subsequent sheets as well as internal components of the print mechanism. This can cause print defects and unattractive splotches on the reverse side of the print. Thus, there is a need for paper transport belt cleaning mechanisms.

Cleaning medium for ink-jet hard copy apparatus


The process removes hydrogen sulfide from hydrotreated gas by TSA. Hydrogen sulfide adsorbs on the adsorbent while allowing hydrogen in the hydrotreated gas to pass the adsorbent to provide a desulfided hydrogen gas stream and a sulfided adsorbent. A regenerant gas stream can be contacted with the sulfided adsorbent at a swing temperature to desorb hydrogen sulfide from the adsorbent into the regenerant gas stream. The regenerant gas stream can then be recycled to a hydrotreating reactor for processing biorenewable feed to provide hydrogen sulfide to the reactor. The desulfided gas stream can be purified to remove impurities such as carbon oxides and recycled to the hydrotreating reactor and/or used as the regenerant gas stream.

As the demand for fuel increases worldwide, there is increasing interest in producing fuels and blending components from sources other than crude oil. Often referred to as a biorenewable source, these sources include, but are not limited to, plant oils such as corn, rapeseed, canola, soybean, microbial oils such as algal oils, animal fats such as inedible tallow, fish oils and various waste streams such as yellow and brown greases and sewage sludge. A common feature of these sources is that they are composed of glycerides and free fatty acids (FFA). Both triglycerides and the FFAs contain aliphatic carbon chains having from about 8 to about 24 carbon atoms. The aliphatic carbon chains in triglycerides or FFAs can be fully saturated, or mono, di or poly-unsaturated.
Hydroprocessing can include processes which convert hydrocarbons in the presence of hydroprocessing catalyst and hydrogen to more valuable products. Hydrotreating is a process in which hydrogen is contacted with hydrocarbons in the presence of hydrotreating catalysts which are primarily active for the removal of heteroatoms, such as sulfur, nitrogen, oxygen and metals from the hydrocarbon feedstock. In hydrotreating, hydrocarbons with double and triple bonds such as olefins may be saturated.
The production of hydrocarbon products in the diesel boiling range can be achieved by hydrotreating a biorenewable feedstock. A biorenewable feedstock can be hydroprocessed by hydrotreating to remove metals and deoxygenate oxygenated hydrocarbons followed by hydroisomerization to improve cold flow properties of product diesel. Hydroisomerization or hydrodewaxing is a hydroprocessing process that increases the alkyl branching on a hydrocarbon backbone in the presence of hydrogen and hydroisomerization catalyst to improve cold flow properties of the hydrocarbon. Hydroisomerization includes hydrodewaxing herein.
The hydrotreatment of biorenewable feedstock deoxygenates the oxygenated hydrocarbons resulting in production of H2O, CO2 and CO in the hydrotreated effluent. Carbon dioxide may be removed from recycle hydrogen gas in an amine recycle gas scrubber. However, reducing carbon monoxide concentration requires other means such as purging or the water gas shift reaction which forms carbon dioxide. Carbon monoxide is poisonous to hydrotreating catalyst and must therefore be removed to avoid buildup of a deactivating concentration of carbon monoxide.
Biorenewable feedstock contains less sulfurous hydrocarbons than mineral feedstock. Thus, relatively less hydrogen sulfide is produced in the hydrotreatment of biorenewable feedstocks. Hydrotreating catalyst requires sulfidation to ensure the catalyst is activated.
In a two-stage hydrotreating unit for biorenewable feedstock, hydrogen sulfide generated in the hydrodemetallization, and hydrodeoxygenation reactions are typically removed from an interstage hydrotreated stream, so the hydroiso-dewaxing, hydroisomerization, or hydrocracking reactions occur in a sweet environment. "Sweet" denotes that sulfur has been removed from the environment; whereas, "sour" denotes that sulfur is present in the environment. In a single stage unit, the hydrogen sulfide remains present in a sour environment for the downstream hydroiso-dewaxing, hydroisomerization, or hydrocracking reactions.
The base metal hydrotreating catalysts for hydrodeoxygenation and hydrodemetallization are sulfided to be catalytically active. These hydrotreating reactions produce water and carbon oxides. The reducing hydrogen environment tends to strip sulfur from the hydrotreating catalyst causing deactivation. Since the biorenewable feeds do not have much sulfur content, sulfur is injected into the fresh feed in the form of dimethyl disulfide, polysulfides, disulfide oils, or a refinery sour gas containing hydrogen sulfide to maintain catalyst activity.
An acid gas treating system is needed to remove carbon dioxide to maintain hydrogen purity. Additionally, the produced carbon monoxide is a catalyst poison that inhibits hydrotreating catalyst activity. Carbon monoxide converts to carbon dioxide via the water gas shift reaction, so removal of the carbon dioxide via an amine solvent absorption column also helps to keep the carbon monoxide concentration low. Traditionally, an amine acid gas treating system is installed on the recycle gas circuit by which both carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide are removed because hydrogen sulfide is a stronger acid than carbon dioxide.
Temperature swing adsorption (TSA) is a process used in a variety of industries to remove contaminants from fluids, such as liquids and gas streams. TSA is a batch-wise process consisting of two basic steps: adsorption and regeneration. In the adsorption step, contaminants or other impurities are removed from the fluid by adsorption onto a solid adsorbent material and then the treated stream leaves the process with lowered contaminant levels. In the regeneration step, the adsorbed contaminants are desorbed from the solid adsorbent material by means of a regeneration stream which is typically a gas stream.
It would be desirable to provide a process and apparatus for the production of distillate hydrocarbons from a biorenewable feedstock that assures sufficient sulfidation of hydrotreating catalyst.

Process for producing diesel fuel from a biorenewable feed with recycled sulfur from temperature swing adsorption regenerant


Method and apparatus of easily controlling the Z-position of the probe used in a microprobe analyzer. The apparatus has: (A) a holder, (B) a reference body having a reference surface that is at the same height as a surface of a sample, the reference body being placed on or in the holder, (C) a probe-positioning device for bringing the probe into contact with the reference surface, (D) a controller for controlling motion of the probe-positioning device in the Z-direction, (E) position-measuring apparatus for measuring the Z-coordinate of the probe at which it is in contact with the reference surface, (F) a memory for storing a positional coordinate outputted by the position-measuring apparatus, and (G) probe contact detection apparatus for detecting that the probe is in contact with the reference surface.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to method and apparatus for controlling the Z-position of a probe used in a microprobe analyzer.
2. Description of Related Art
In some microprobe analyzers, a mechanical probe is brought into contact with the surface of a sample, and a tiny piece of the sample including a certain region of the substrate of the sample is separated and extracted using an ion beam and the probe, thus preparing the sample piece for microanalysis. Other microprobe analyzers are used to measure the characteristics of a sample while a voltage is applied to the surface of the sample with a probe. Such a microprobe analyzer is equipped with a Z-drive for bringing the probe into contact with the surface of the sample.
In a related art apparatus of this kind, information about the height of the probe from the surface of the sample is obtained based either on a secondary electron image in which a shadow produced immediately before the probe touches the sample surface is observed or on variations in the positional relationship between a probe image formed when the ion beam is made to obliquely hit the sample and an image of the sample (see, for example, JP2002-40107).
The above-described microprobe analyzer is equipped with a microscope mechanism for recognizing the portion of the sample to be observed and a portion of the sample with which the probe should be brought into contact. Since the image created by the microscope mechanism is a two-dimensional image, positions along the height cannot be recognized. Therefore, the operator causes the probe to descend toward the sample while observing the sample, thus bringing the probe into contact with the surface of the sample.
However, these manipulations impose excessive stress to the operator. Furthermore, the probe may be struck against the sample surface, damaging the probe. Such cumbersome manipulations and damage to the probe will eventually lead to a decrease in the throughput.
The probe is normally made of a hard metal, such as tungsten, and so if such a probe comes into contact with a semiconductor sample of Si or the like, a Schottky barrier is created in the probe. As a result, it becomes difficult to electrically connect the probe with the sample.

Method and apparatus for controlling Z-position of probe


A computing device (110) has a body comprising a mechanised socket (170). The socket (170) is retractable within a volume (150) enclosed by the body of the computing device (110). Activation of a mechanism causes the socket to extend (140) beyond said volume (150) into an extended position (270), allowing user-access to said socket (170). Advantageously, during normal active usage, the socket (170) is retracted within the volume enclosed by the body of the computing device (110).

It is often necessary to add functionality to computing devices, either in software by downloading the required software application of data, or in hardware. The addition of hardware can mean adding an internal computer interface bus-enabled device, or an external device via a universal serial bus (USB)™/Firewire™ socket. This is a relatively simple exercise in a desk-top computer where, the environment is benign. However, industrial and portable computing devices often must operate in harsh environments. This creates a requirement for greater mechanical ruggedness, whilst maintaining substantially the same functionality.
Such computing devices may, in extreme cases, have to dispense with external interface sockets, e.g. serial interfaces/ports such as Ethernet or USB, which significantly reduces their usability.
In other cases, it may be impractical or impossible to utilise the serial interface whilst the computing device is in operation, due to legal restrictions involving safety functions. Such is the case, for example, with vehicle cab display computers in public service vehicles. This is due to the possibility that the serial interface device may interfere mechanically with other safety functions, such as the air bag. In such cases, the extra functionality provided by the serial interface, such as the option for reading a driver identification device via the serial port, are simply unusable.
Thus, a need exists for a mechanically robust mechanism that allows the use of the serial port sockets of mobile, industrial and/or vehicle-cab computing devices whilst alleviating the problems associated with existing solutions.

Computing device having socket and accessory device containment


A display device (10) includes a display section (20), a detector (30), and a controller (50). The display section (20) has a display surface (22). The display section (20) is configured to display an image (G). The detector (30) is capable of detecting a plurality of contact positions based on contact made on the display surface (22) by a detected object. The plurality of contact positions include a first contact position (P1), a second contact portion (P2), and a third contact position (P3). When the detector (30) detects the first contact position (P1) and subsequently detects the second contact position (P2) and the third contact position (P3), the controller (50) moves the image (G) so that the first contact position (P1) is positioned at a prescribed reference point (BP). When determining that a pinching operation has been performed based on a change in the distance between the second contact position (P2) and the third contact position (P3), the controller (50) performs an enlargement process or a reduction process on the image (G) with respect to the prescribed reference point (BP).

Conventionally, a display device that enlarges or reduces a displayed image as a result of a pinching operation performed by a user is known (for example, Patent Literature 1). A mobile terminal described in Patent Literature 1 enlarges an image as a result of a pinch-out operation performed by a user. Further, the mobile terminal described in Patent Literature 1 reduces an image as a result of a pinch-in operation performed by a user.

Using reference point to perform enlargement and reduction of displayed content


A system and method detects a crash of a motor vehicle. A parameter of the motor vehicle is sensed and a continuous signal is responsively generated. A crash is detected as a function of the continuous signal and a hidden Markov model operating in a continuous mode.

For many buyers of motor vehicles, safety features are an important factor in the purchasing decision, i.e., crash-worthiness of a motor vehicle plays an important role in establishing the quality of the motor vehicle, and thus, customer acceptance. Governmental regulations applicably to vehicle restraint systems requires robust restraint systems able to detect and protect a wide range of occupants in a variety of crash types. The automobile industry has come a long way in providing "smart" restraint systems. However, the current crash detection techniques are based on multi-stage sequential signal analysis algorithms and are generally tunes to detect specific types of crash events. The early detection of crash-events allows the parameters of vehicle restraint systems to be more accurately adjusted. Such parameters includes, but are not limited to, airbag inflation rates and pressures, and belt pre-tensioning systems.
The current crash sensing algorithms can be divided into two categories—speed dependent and crush dependent.
Speed dependent algorithms are based on variables related to speed, such as changes in speed (acceleration), jerk, speed, displacement, and/or energy.
Crush dependent algorithms use crush to predict the severity of the crash. Typically, there are one or more sensors mounted in the crush zone.
Furthermore, certain types of crashes pose other problems. For example, in the case of side impacts the space between the passenger(s) and side panels of the vehicles are much smaller and, thus, the required time to initiate the airbag are also much smaller.
To accommodate all of the different types of crashes, these algorithms are necessarily becoming more and more complex. Thus, the time involved in detecting a crash also increases which limits the effectiveness of the vehicle restraint system(s).
The present invention is aimed at one or more of the problems as set forth above.

System and method for detecting a collision using a continuous mode hidden Markov model


A charging device for transferring electrical charge between a variety of sources and clients comprising charging circuitry and electrical leads with magnetically attaching connectors is disclosed. The magnetically attachable leads are used to connect to external batteries or other sources or clients. The charging circuitry may be a buck, boost, or boost/buck switching ASIC or may be a micro-controller.

With continued miniaturization of electronic components the range of portable devices continues to grow yearly. Media players for music and video are becoming common place, measurement devices such as laser measurement tools are becoming less expensive and common enough to find in retails stores, and devices that previously had been embodied in low technology, such as flashlights, are becoming highly complex devices with computer chips controlling bright white LED lamps allowing selection of brightness and higher power efficiency. This wide range of devices have widely differing power requirements and this has yielded a wide array of batteries to meet the needs of these portable devices.
One major difficulty with the advent of so many portable devices is the need to maintain their batteries. In many cases the batteries are simply removed and replaced with new batteries and the old ones discarded. This can be wasteful of resources as more devices require batteries and more batteries are disposed. Rechargeable batteries reduce the waste but require special battery chargers as the differing chemistries and sizes for the various kinds of batteries require different methods and connection methods for recharge. Therefore users with many portable devices often need several chargers; perhaps one for a mobile phone, another for a PDA (Portable Digital Assistant), another for a digital camera and yet another for a portable music or video player. Otherwise the user must carry replacement batteries for each portable device. Typically each of these devices uses a different battery due to their differing size and power requirements.
There are three well known methods of connecting to a battery under use or recharge. The first common method is by way of a metal tab or leaf spring. These can be seen in common portable devices where a bent metal tab presses against the battery when it is placed into its compartment. A second method, which is similar in application to the leaf spring contact, is the spiral spring contact. Again these are common in electronic devices where a battery is placed into a physical compartment and one or both ends are pressed against a spring for its electrical and physical contact to the rest of the circuit. In many cases a leaf spring and a spiral spring are used together. The leaf contacts the positive bump at one end of a standard battery and the spiral spring contacts the flat negative end at the other. This combination offers a certain amount of polarity protection helping to prevent the user from putting the battery in backwards and possibly damaging the device. In both of these previously noted cases the batteries are often not charged within the device. This is especially true when the batteries are of a standard size, such as A, AA, C or D since several chemistries exist for the same size of battery each requiring a different method of monitoring charge completion. Using the wrong method to charge a battery can cause damage to the battery which in turn can damage the device itself, possibly through leakage or even combustion of the battery.
The third common method applied is a contact pad and bent pin. This method is very common in mobile phones and devices where the battery is seldom if ever removed. When this method is employed the battery typically has a gold plated contact pad and the device typically has a gold plated bent pin contact. The battery is typically held against its contact by some form of spring latch or battery cover panel. In these cases the battery is of a known type, with its chemistry and charging needs known by the manufacturer and therefore its charging needs can be met quite easily by a dedicated internal or external charging circuit. For rechargeable devices that are intended to be used and charged repeatedly, this pin and pad method of connection is most common and a dedicated battery type is almost always used. In all of the above cases the compartment is sized for a specific battery type.
In some so called "universal battery chargers" a chamber that is long enough to accept the largest target battery is used and a spring loaded contact holds the smallest target battery in place but can be levered into place to receive the largest acceptable battery size.
In some few cases the battery may have a metal plate or magnet affixed to it so that it can be held into place with a magnet. This method is common in rechargeable phones where the phone and or cradle has a magnet and the phone, when rested in the cradle, comes into contact with charging pads that can then recharge the handset.
In all of the above stated examples the power is supplied from an external adapter that is plugged into an AC wall outlet. The supply is normally a DC power adapter for portable electronic devices, commonly called a "wall wart". The voltage supplied by the power adapter is fixed such that it meets the device's needs precisely for charging the battery. Internal circuitry, such as a buck or boost converter may be employed if the input voltage needs to be converted to a different value to match the needs of charging the battery.
Some designs employ magnets to improve electrical connectors, but rarely does the magnet itself make the electrical contact. For instance relays employ a magnet or electromagnetic device to pull a movable spring contact onto a fixed contact to close a circuit. Other similar devices move a rocker contact into position, telephone cross-bar switches once worked in this way. Examples of magnetically movable contacts in the prior art are U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,931,683 and 3,750,083 as well as British patent GB2414603.
Another common example of magnets employed for making electrical connections involves building a magnet into one or both sides of a connector pair, such that the connectors are attracted and make a stronger or better aligned connection. Examples of this include U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,786,391, 3,810,258, 4,917,612, 5,779,487, 6,030,229, 6,231,349, 6,528,746, and 6,875,035; Japanese patent applications JP2002-237354, JP2003-036933, JP2003-249317; and Japanese patent JP11027868.
A few items in the prior art connect to batteries, but are special quick disconnect devices, also in two parts requiring one half of the pair to be affixed to the battery, typically a vehicle battery, and the other end is attached to a cable end. Examples of this include U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,609,238 and 4,390,232.
Another example of magnets used to make quick disconnect possible include the U.S. patent for connecting a safety grounding strap, U.S. Pat. No. 5,004,425, "Magnetic Snap Assembly for Connecting Grounding Cord to Electrically Conductive Body Band" and the international patent application WO2004-095647A1 "Safety Wire Connector" which shows how to connect two wires together that can be quickly disconnected.
One category of methods for using magnets is to make electrical test connectors for examining circuits and electronic devices. British patent GB1181111, which corresponds with U.S. Pat. No. 3,512,116 shows a method of attaching leads via magnets to female connections on circuit boards. International patent WO0150140 "Test connector" offers "improved connectivity due to magnetization of tip" and U.S. Pat. No. 4,377,003 "Testing Device for Electronic Circuits" which is intended "Especially for Portable Radios" shows a method of tapping power off of the battery from the device under test to power the testing circuit with a fixture that includes a magnet for the electrical connection. A method of developing experimental circuits is discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,384,752 "Hook-up wires with magnetic connectors" where a post and socket combination are required to make the electrical connections.
Finally a number of patents cover aligning a battery or holding the battery or device in place while it is being charged but do not contact the battery terminals themselves. Examples of this include U.S. Pat. No. 6,007,363 "Magnetically Latchable Device for Electrically Coupling a Power Source to a Circuit" and U.S. Pat. No. 7,026,789 "Charging System for Electronic Devices" where in both cases a battery is mounted on the battery or in the cradle where the battery will be laid into for charging to assist in holding the battery in place or aligning it properly. In these cases the battery also acts to trigger a sensor that it is present.
What is lacking in all of the previously discussed patents and prior art is the ability to magnetically connect to a battery to facilitate charging it, and most especially making a universal lead that can be quickly attached and detached to a variety of batteries or charging sources for the purposes of giving or taking a charge to or from the battery without recourse to special connector pairs and custom fixtures. Furthermore none of the above mentioned inventions discuss using such a magnetically attachable lead for the purposes of charging small batteries for portable devices, nor do they teach adding such a feature to a portable device to enable it to extract a charge from an external battery.

Magnetically attachable battery recharging


A wirecut electrical discharge machining apparatus having silicon particles suspended in a dielectric solution that fills the machining gap. The silicon particles may be suspended in the dielectric solution prior to a machining operation or they may be mixed with the dielectric solution directly in the machining gap. Also, a silicon-coated electrode may be utilized. The silicon overcomes many of the limitations associated with conventional dielectric solutions, by allowing more uniformity of conductivity.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wirecut electrical discharge machine (EDM) for machining a workpiece using a wire electrode. In particular, the invention is a wirecut EDM utilizing a silicon powder in the dielectric to promote even electrical discharge so as to improve machining quality.
2. Description of the Related Art
Wirecut electrical discharge machines which employ a metal wire of approximately 0.05 to 0.3 mm in diameter as an electrode are well known. The electrode, which extends in a Z direction, is moved in X and Y directions relative to a workpiece so as to perform a machining operation on the workpiece due to electrical discharge energy generated between the electrode and the workpiece by a source of current.
In order to facilitate the electrical discharge, a dielectric fluid, such as water, is placed in a gap between the electrode and the workpiece. However, several disadvantages are present in such a system. Water becomes ionized when energy is passed through it by virtue of electrical discharge. Because of this ionization, arcs tend to be concentrated and not uniformly distributed across a workpiece. Also, a high conductivity sludge, consisting of particles machined from the workpiece, tends to collect around the area being machined. This phenomenon increases the conductivity of the dielectric where the sludge resides, and causes a greater proportion of the electrical discharge to occur at this location. The result is that more machining takes place midway through the workpiece in the thickness direction and a consistent cut or contour cannot be imparted to the workpiece. In addition, concentrated arcing tends to heat up the electrode at the portion thereof and increases the likelihood of breaking the electrode.
Kerosene and other petrochemicals have been utilized as a dielectric medium in an EDM process in an attempt to avoid ionization and create a more uniform distribution of electrical discharge along the workpiece. However, due to the relatively low conductivity of such media, the gap between the workpiece and the electrode must be very small. This introduces problems with breakage of the electrode due to contact with the workpiece as a result of vibrations and electric field forces inherent in the system. In addition, contact between the electrode and the workpiece adversely affects the quality of machining done to the workpiece.
Many conventional wirecut EDM systems utilize a single electrode for machining a number of identical workpieces that are arranged in parallel to each other. However, with such an arrangement, with water utilized as a dielectric, when an arc is developed at one workpiece, the voltage between the electrode and the other workpieces may be reduced to a point below the discharge voltage needed to accomplish machining, typically about 30 v. Accordingly, resistors are arranged in series with each workpiece so as to maintain an adequate voltage between each workpiece and the electrode. Since these resistors must have very high power ratings, such an arrangement adds considerable initial expense and maintenance costs to an EDM apparatus. Of course, if petroleum-based dielectrics are utilized, the above-mentioned limitations again become apparent, i.e., the low conductivity requires an undesirably small machining gap.
It is known that the use of silicon in the dielectric and electrode of EDM systems, other than the wirecut type, will increase surface hardness and corrosion resistance of a workpiece. Such a surface treatment is discussed in Progress of Electrical Discharge Machining, by Dr. Nagao Saito. However, it has not been previously proposed to utilize silicon in the dielectric of a wirecut EDM so as to facilitate the machining process.

Wirecut electrical discharge machine utilizing silicon powder suspended in a dielectric material


A lubrication system for an attritable engine includes a bearing chamber, a fluid filtering inlet configured to receive a fluid, and a fluid filtering outlet located downstream of the fluid filtering inlet and configured to deliver the fluid to the bearing chamber. The lubrication system also includes a lattice, integral and conformal with the attritable engine, configured to filter the fluid, and located between the fluid filtering inlet and the fluid filtering outlet. The lubrication system also includes a metering port, configured to meter the fluid and located downstream of the lattice and upstream of the fluid filtering outlet.

The present disclosure relates generally to attritable aircraft engines. More specifically, this disclosure relates to a fluid dispensing system within an attritable aircraft engine.
Attritable aircraft can include, for example, Unpiloted (or Unmanned) Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and expendable turbojet systems for guided munitions, missiles, and decoys. Attritable aircraft are generally designed as a limited lifetime vehicle, which can be as short as a single use or single mission vehicle. As such, many components and features common in traditional piloted aircraft are unnecessary, such as, a fluid dispensing system within a traditional aircraft engine. The fluid dispensing system can have 5 or more individual parts, each requiring assembly, which can be expensive and time consuming.
Filters are an important part of the lubrication system because they remove foreign particles that may be in the lubricating fluid. This is particularly important in gas turbines as very high engine speeds are attained; the antifriction types of ball and roller bearings would become damaged quite rapidly if lubricated with contaminated fluids. Also, there are usually numerous drilled or core passages leading to various points of lubrication. Since these passages are usually rather small, they are easily clogged.
Additionally, metering the lubrication fluid is important. On the one hand, enough lubrication fluid needs to be provided such that sufficient cooling of the bearings are achieved under all working conditions of the gas turbine engine. On the other hand, too much lubrication fluid may require larger fluid pumps and piping system than necessary, increasing the footprint of the lubrication system. Also, pumping unnecessary lubrication fluid through the system uses energy that could be used elsewhere in the gas turbine engine. As such, providing too much lubrication fluid results in a less efficient gas turbine engine compared to a gas turbine engine provided with a proper amount of lubrication fluid.

Integrated lubricating fluid filtering and metering device


A virtual ground NROM array has a matrix of NROM cells in which during an erase operation the non-erasing side of NROM cells are connected to a common node for enhancing the erase uniformity of the NROM array. If an operation requests erasing on the left side of NROM cells, a positive voltage is supplied from an internal power supply to the left side for each of the NROM cells, and the right side for each of the NROM cells is discharged to a common node. If an operation requests erasing the right side of NROM cells, a positive voltage is supplied from the internal power supply to the right side for each of the NROM cells, and the right side for each of the NROM cells is connected to the common node. The voltage level of the common mode is selected to be sufficiently high in order to prevent from punch through while at the same time sufficiently low to maintain the lateral electric field for erase operation to function optimally. In an alternative embodiment, non-erasing sides of NROM cells in the NROM array are connected to a current source during an erase operation for enhancing the erase uniformity of the NROM array. If an operation requests erasing the left side of NROM cells, a positive voltage is supplied from an internal power supply to the left side for each of the NROM cells, and the right side for each of the NROM cells is discharged to a current source. If an operation requests erasing the right side of NROM cells, a positive voltage is supplied from the internal power supply to the right side for each of the NROM cells, and the right side for each of the NROM cells is connected to the current source.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to non-volatile memory devices, and in particular to improve erase uniformity of flash Nitride Read-Only Memory (NROM) cells.
2. Description of Related Art
Electrically programmable and erasable non-volatile memory technologies based on charge storage structures known as Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM) and flash memory are used in a variety of modern applications. A flash memory is designed with an array of memory cells that can be independently programmed and read. Sense amplifiers in a flash memory are used to determine the data value or values stored in a non-volatile memory. In a typical sensing scheme, an electrical current through the memory cell being sensed is compared to a reference current by a current sense amplifier.
A number of memory cell structures are used for EEPROM and flash memory. As the dimensions of integrated circuits shrink, greater interest is arising for memory cell structures based on charge trapping dielectric layers, because of the scalability and simplicity of the manufacturing processes. Memory cell structures based on charge trapping dielectric layers include structures known by the industry names Nitride Read-Only Memory (NROM), SONOS, and PHINES, for example. These memory cell structures store data by trapping charge in a charge trapping dielectric layer, such as silicon nitride. As negative charge is trapped, the threshold voltage of the memory cell increases. The threshold voltage of the memory cell is reduced by removing negative charge from the charge trapping layer.
NROM devices use a relatively thick bottom oxide, e.g. greater than 3 nanometers, and typically about 5 to 9 nanometers, to prevent charge loss. Instead of direct tunneling, band-to-band tunneling induced hot hole injection BTBTHH can be used to erase the cell. However, the hot hole injection causes oxide damage, leading to charge loss in the high threshold cell and charge gain in the low threshold cell. Moreover, the erase time must be increased gradually during program and erase cycling due to the hard-to-erase accumulation of charge in the charge trapping structure. This accumulation of charge occurs because the hole injection point and electron injection point do not coincide with each other, and some electrons remain after the erase pulse. In addition, during the sector erase of an NROM flash memory device, the erase speed for each cell is different because of process variations (such as channel length variation). This difference in erase speed results in a large Vt distribution of the erase state, where some of the cells become hard to erase and some of them are over-erased. Thus the target threshold Vt window is closed after many program and erase cycles and poor endurance is observed. This phenomenon will become more serious when the technology keeps scaling down.
A typical flash memory cell structure positions a tunnel oxide layer between a conducting polysilicon tunnel oxide layer and a crystalline silicon semiconductor substrate. The substrate refers to a source region and a drain region separated by an underlying channel region. A flash memory read can be executed by a drain sensing or a source sensing. For source side sensing, one or more source lines are coupled to source regions of memory cells for reading current from a particular memory cell in a memory array.
A traditional floating gate device stores 1 bit of charge in a conductive floating gate. The advent of NROM cells in which each NROM cell provides 2 bits of flash cells that store charge in an Oxide-Nitride-Oxide (ONO) dielectric. In a typical structure of a NROM memory cell, a nitride layer is used as a trapping material positioned between a top oxide layer and a bottom oxide layer. The ONO layer structure effectively replaces the gate dielectric in floating gate devices. The charge in the ONO dielectric with a nitrite layer may be either trapped on the left side or the right side 103 of a NROM cell.
A circuit diagram in FIG. 2 illustrates one conventional memory cell structure of a NROM 100 with a single side erase in which the non-erasing side is left floating. The band-to-band hot hole injection is used to conduct a single side erase to the NROM cell 100. The NROM cell 100 comprises three nodes or terminals, a first node 101, a second node 102, and a third node 103. The first node 101 refers to a gate terminal. Because the NROM 100 operates with a virtual ground, the second node 102 could function either as a source node or a drain while the third node 103 could function either as a drain node or a source node. During an erase operation to the node 102, which refers to the left side of the NROM cell 100, the node 101 is connected to a negative voltage supplied by a negative pump circuit, the node 102 is connected to a positive voltage supplied by a positive pump circuit, and the node 103 is left floating. The node 103 in the NROM cell 100 may be coupled to a voltage level that is uncertain, e.g. 1 volt or 4 volts, which could cause a variation in the erase of memory cells in a memory array. A similar type of concern exists when erasing the node 103. During an erase operation of the node 103, the node 101 is connected to a negative voltage supplied by a negative pump circuit, the node 102 is left floating, and the node 103 is connected to a positive voltage supplied by a positive pump circuit. In this instance, the node 102 in the NROM cell 100 may be coupled to a voltage level that is uncertain, e.g. 1 volt or 4 volts, which could cause a variation in the erase of memory cells in a memory array.
In FIG. 2, there is shown a circuit diagram illustrating another conventional memory cell structure of a NROM cell 200 with a single side erase in which the non-erasing side is connected to ground. The NROM cell 200 comprises three nodes, a first node 201, a second node 202, and a third node 203. During an erase operation to the node 202, the node 201 is connected to a negative voltage supplied by a negative pump circuit, the node 202 is connected to a positive voltage supplied by a positive pump circuit, and the node 203 is connected ground. The risk in this configuration is that if the voltage level on the node 202 exceeds the punch-through voltage of the NROM cell 200, a positive pump circuit may crash, which leads to the erase function to fail. A similar type or problem exists when erasing the node 203. During an erase operation to the node 203, the node 201 is connected to a negative voltage supplied by a negative pump circuit, the node 202 is connected to ground, and the node 203 is connected to a positive voltage supplied by a positive pump circuit. A punch-through scenario could occur if the node 203 exceeds the punch-through voltage of the NROM cell 200. The positive pump circuit may crash, which leads to the erase function to fail.
A frequently used technique to program NROM cells in an NROM array is the hot hole electron injection method. During a erase operation, a common technique used to erase memory cells is called the band-to-band hot hole injection where the erase ability is highly dependent on the lateral electric field. The other side potential, from the side that is being erased, of a NROM cell is likely to have a lateral electric field effect on the erase ability. Evaluating the endurance and retention of a NROM array, the lack of uniformity in erase ability causes a margin loss due to cycling and baking. The other side of NROM cells are left floating (or connected to ground) which may be coupled to an uncertain voltage level (e.g. 1 volt or 4 volts), which causes an variation of the erase threshold of array cells. This in turn causes Vt distribution after an erase operation to be wider. The variation of uncertain voltage level may result in over-erasing. On the other hand, if the other side is connected to ground, a punch-through may cause the pump circuit to crash when the bit line bias is over the punch-through voltage. Consequently, during an erase operation of a block, the NROM cells where some of the nodes are left floating may cause lack of uniformity in voltage level applied for erase the NROM cells in a NROM array.
Therefore, there is a need to design a NROM array that enhances the erase uniformity of single-side erase among NROM cells in an NROM array.

Structures and methods for enhancing erase uniformity in an NROM array


A bridging clutch for a clutch apparatus which has a hydrodynamic circuit in a clutch housing. The bridging clutch may have a piston which is arranged on a hub and which is connected to a piston mount, which is mounted on the clutch housing, such that it can be moved axially via axial force stores. The piston mount has cutouts between radial extensions in the circumferential direction for projections which are provided on the piston and which pass through the piston mount. Axial force stores engage behind the piston mount on its side facing away from the piston and are attached to the piston at one connecting end and have lever ends which act on contact surfaces of the piston mount with predetermined prestressing in the direction of the piston.

A bridging clutch such as this is known, for example, from U.S. 2002/0134632 A1. The bridging clutch is held in a clutch housing of a hydrodynamic clutch apparatus, which is in the form of a torque converter and in consequence is provided with a pump wheel, a turbine wheel and a guide wheel to form a hydrodynamic circuit. The bridging clutch has a piston, which is mounted on a hub and is held via axial force stores on a piston mount such that they rotate together but can be moved axially. The piston mount is on the one hand attached to a housing cover of the clutch housing by means of spot welds, and on the other hand firmly holds the hub, to which the piston is fitted, likewise via spot welds. A clutch disk which is provided with two or more friction surfaces is provided axially between the piston and the housing cover and is connected by means of a holder to a turbine shell of the turbine wheel such that they rotate together.
Since the connection of the piston to the piston mount and hence to the housing cover such that they rotate together is provided by means of the axial force stores, it is possible for their respective deformation states to influence the readjustment of the rotation of the piston with respect to the clutch housing. On the other hand, when a torque is being transmitted via the bridging clutch, it is impossible to preclude any undesirable influence on any prestressing of the axial force stores which may occur. The axial movement of the piston is also limited with this design configuration by the axial force stores.

Bridging clutch for a clutch apparatus which has a hydrodynamic circuit in a clutch housing


A method for arranging 37 Mandarin Phonetic Symbols (MPS) on a keypad includes arranging the 37 symbols onto 12 keys of the keypad. With this particular arrangement, a maximum number of combinations of MPS generated by pressing three keys on the keypad is reduced from 48 to 16, making input of Chinese characters considerably faster and more convenient.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a language input method, and more specifically, to a method for inputting Mandarin Phonetic Symbols using a keypad.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Every written character in Chinese can be represented by a phonetic representation of the character. Of all Chinese dialects, Mandarin Chinese is most widely spoken. Accordingly, there are many phonetic systems available for representing Mandarin pronunciations of Chinese characters. One such phonetic system that is primarily used in Taiwan is called Mandarin Phonetic Symbols (MPS). The MPS phonetic system consists of 37 symbols that can be combined to represent every phonetic sound spoken in Mandarin.
When using electronic devices such as cellular phones or personal digital assistants (PDAs), the 37 symbols are usually mapped to keys on an input keypad. By clicking on appropriate keys, Chinese characters can be entered into the electronic device.
Please refer to FIG. 1A. FIG. 1A is an electronic device 10 with a keypad 13 used to input MPS according to the prior art. FIG. 1A shows 12 standard keys present on a normal telephone, namely "1-9", "*", "0", and "#". Notice, however, that only 10 of the 12 keys are used for mapping MPS. Each character in the Chinese language can be represented by the combination of one, two, or three Mandarin Phonetic Symbols. When three symbols are used to represent a Chinese character, a first, a middle, and a third symbol are used. Moreover, the middle symbol is always, "", "", or "", which are found on a "#" key 18 of FIG. 1A. The "" symbol is never used as a middle symbol, and is not considered as a possibility when the "#" key 18 is used to enter a middle symbol.
To enter a Chinese character that is represented by three symbols, three keys would have to be pressed. For example, the Chinese character "" would be entered using "", "", and "". To accomplish this, a "1" key 14, the "#" key 18, and a "9" key 16 of the keypad 13 would be pressed, respectively.
Unfortunately, mapping 37 symbols to only 10 keys of a keypad 13 creates many problems when entering Chinese characters. The problem results from each key having three or four symbols mapped to it. Because of this, many phonetic combinations are possible when keys on the keypad 13 are pressed. For example, when the Chinese character "" is entered by pressing the "1" key 14, the "#" key 18, and the "9" key 16 of the keypad 13, other combinations of symbols exist other than "", "", and "".
"1" key 14: "", "", "", and ""
4 possibilities;
"#" key 18: "", "", and ""
3 possibilities; and
"9" key 16:"", "", "", and ""
4 possibilities.
As shown above, pressing the "1" key 14, the "#" key 18, and the "9" key 16 generates 4×3×4=48 combinations. This means that a user of the electronic device 10 would then have to choose the correct combination of symbols out of the 48 combinations generated. Clearly this is not desirable, as inputting Chinese characters is severely delayed by the enormous amount of combinations to choose from. Moreover, it is difficult to efficiently display 48 combinations on a screen of the electronic device.
Please refer to FIG. 1B. FIG. 1B is another electronic device 20 with a keypad 22 used to input MPS according to the prior art. The only difference between FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B is the symbols "", "", "", and "" are located on a "0" key 24 on FIG. 1B instead of the "#" key 18 on FIG. 1A. Unfortunately, the arrangement of keys on FIG. 1B contains the same problem as that of FIG. 1A. That is, pressing three keys can generate a maximum of 48 combinations of symbols. Thus, a poor mapping of Mandarin Phonetic Symbols to keys on each of the keypads 13 and 22 limits the ease in which Chinese characters can be inputted using MPS.

Method for arranging Mandarin phonetic symbols on a keypad


An object-focused workflow system for processing a received object in accordance with a declarative workflow specification. The specification includes modules and attributes, where module execution results in the evaluation of attributes, and may include the initiation of a side-effect action performed by an external component. Whether modules are to be executed for a particular received object is determined by associated enabling conditions. Attributes may be evaluated in accordance with computation rules and a combining policy, where the computation rules specify how values are to be contributed to an attribute, and the combining policy indicates how those contributed values are combined in order to assign a value to the attribute. Tasks in the workflow system may be executed eagerly in order to improve the performance of the workflow system. The eager evaluation of tasks includes the determination of whether such tasks are eligible for eager evaluation, and whether the tasks are unneeded or necessary for the processing of the received event. Workflows which satisfy described design properties allow for improved algorithms for the determination of the whether tasks are eligible, eager, and/or necessary. A graphical user interface is provided for displaying a representation of the evaluation status of the modules and attributes during workflow execution.

In order to improve the performance of computer systems which execute multiple tasks during processing, it is known to execute tasks in an eager fashion. That is, the computer system will use available computing resources to execute tasks prior to fully determining whether the execution of those tasks is required for processing. Such eager execution generally improves the performance of the system by reducing response time (i.e., the time it takes to process inputs to the system) because computing resources are more fully utilized. Of course, one result of eager execution is that certain tasks will be executed unnecessarily because it may be eventually determined that an eagerly executed task was not necessary for processing. However, overall performance is generally improved by the technique of eager execution.
A workflow system processes objects in accordance with a workflow specification. Such objects may be, for example, incoming calls to a call center, insurance claims arriving at a claim center, requests for information from an Internet web site, etc. The workflow specification describes how agents (humans) and/or components (software and hardware) interact to accomplish specific goals. Such components generally include components which are external to the workflow system.
Workflow systems of the type further described herein below execute tasks in order to process a received object. Therefore, such workflow systems would benefit from the eager execution of tasks. However, as described in further detail below, workflow systems which control external components in order to process objects introduce additional considerations into the determination of which tasks may be executed eagerly.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,809,212 entitled Conditional Transition Networks and Computational Processes for Use Interactive Computer-Based Systems, is directed to a conditional transition network for representing a domain of knowledge in a computer system. That system utilizes eager execution to evaluate conditions which indicate whether certain tasks will be executed in order to improve its response time to requests for stored information. Although the system utilizes eager execution for condition evaluation, it does not utilize eager execution of tasks. Further, the system is not a workflow system, and as such, the system does not control external components. Therefore, the system does not take into account the additional considerations resulting from the control of external components.

Eager evaluation of tasks in a workflow system