This invention intends to provide a polar modulating circuit, a polar modulating method, an integrated circuit and a radio transmission device capable of compensating for a delay difference between paths of a phase signal and an amplitude signal while suppressing an increase in the circuit scale in a polar modulating system. In a delay quantity determining unit 102, delay quantity information relative to the amplitude value of the amplitude signal or transmission level information S1, based on the step response characteristic of a power amplifying unit 105 are previously stored as table data. Thus, by executing delay adjustment using, as a reference signal, the amplitude signal or transmission level information S1, the delay difference between paths of a phase signal and an amplitude signal can be compensated for while suppressing an increase in the circuit scale.

In the cellular phone service in recent years, since a demand for data communication as well as voice communication has been expanded, improvement of a communication speed is important. For example, in the GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) which has become widespread in mainly European and Asian regions, conventionally, voice communication has been executed in GMSK modulation which shifts the phase of a carrier wave according to transmitted data. Further, an EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution) system has been proposed in which data communication is made by 3π/8rotating8-PSK modulation (hereinafter abbreviated as 8-PSK modulation) in which bit information for one symbol is enhanced three-times as large as in the GMSK modulation by shifting the phase and amplitude of the carrier wave according to the transmitted data.
In the linear modulating system which gives amplitude changes like the 8-PSK modulation, the requirement of linearity for a power amplifying unit of a radio transmitter is strict. In addition, the power efficiency in a linear operating point of the power amplifying unit is lower than that in a saturated operating point. Therefore, if a convention orthogonal modulating system is applied to a linear modulating system, it was difficult to realize the high efficiency in the power efficiency.
In order to obviate such an inconvenience, there is a previously known system in which a transmitted signal is separated into a constant-amplitude phase signal and an amplitude signal, and a signal is phase-modulated on the basis of the constant-amplitude phase signal by a phase modulator and the constant-amplitude phase-modulated signal having a level at which a power amplifying unit operates in saturation is input to the power amplifying unit and a control voltage of the power amplifying unit is driven at a high speed and the phase modulation is combined with the amplitude modulation. This system is called an EER method (Envelope Elimination & Restoration) or polar modulation system (polar modulation, polar modulating system) which can realize the high efficiency of the power amplifying unit through the linear modulating system) (for example, see Non-Patent Reference 1). In order to clarify that this system is a modulating system different from the orthogonal modulating system, it is called the polar modulating system.
FIG. 11 is a graph in which the amplitude signal in 8-PSK modulation in the range of 200 to 400 [μs] extracted from one time slot (577 [μs]) of GSM is plotted. In FIG. 11, the abscissa represents a passage time from start of the time slot; and the ordinate represents an amplitude of the amplitude signal. In the polar modulating system, the constant-amplitude phase modulated signal is supplied to the power amplifying unit so that the power amplifying unit can be used at the saturation operating point. This is advantageous in the power efficiency.
However, in order to express the amplitude signal in which there is a flexing point between a maximum value and a minimum value within 2 [μs] as in FIG. 11, the control voltage for the power amplifying unit must be driven at a high speed. So, the output response in the power amplifying unit to changes in the input control voltage requires an improving technique (distortion compensating technique).
Further, the polar modulating system is a system in which the transmitted signal is once separated into the amplitude signal and the phase signal and thereafter composed again. Therefore, if synchronization is lost between the amplitude signal and the phase signal until they are recomposed after separated, the transmitted signal cannot be expressed exactly at the time of recomposing. Accordingly, a synchronizing technique for acquiring the synchronization between the amplitude signal and the phase signal is required.
An explanation will be given of prior arts of two techniques required by the polar modulating system hitherto explained.
First, there is a prior art on the distortion compensation and synchronization in the polar modulating system in which in the power amplifying unit in a saturating operation type at a predetermined input high frequency amplitude, the output signal amplitude characteristic (AM-AM: Amplitude Modulation to Amplitude Modulation conversion) and passing phase characteristic (AM-PM: Amplitude Modulation to Phase Modulation conversion) for the control voltage are stored in a memory. In this prior art, the distortion compensation in a pre-distortion system is executed referring to the memory. In addition, after the transmitted signal has been separated into the amplitude signal and the phase signal, a delay adjusting unit is arranged in a path of the amplitude signal or the phase signal to assure the synchronization between both signals (see, for example, Patent Reference 1).
FIG. 12 is a block diagram of a prior art transmission device described in Patent Reference 1. As seen from FIG. 12, this transmission device includes a power amplifying unit (PA) 900, a polar coordinate converting unit 901, a delay adjusting unit 902, a memory 903, an amplitude controller unit 906 having an amplitude information correcting unit 904 and an amplitude modulating unit 905, and a phase modulating signal generator 909 having a phase information correcting unit 907 and a phase modulating unit 908.
The polar coordinate converting unit 901 separates I/Q signals (I, Q) supplied from a baseband signal generating unit not shown into an amplitude signal r and a phase signal θ with a constant amplitude. The delay adjusting unit 902 gives prescribed delays to the input amplitude signal r and phase signal θ, respectively, thereby assuring synchronization between the amplitude signal r2 and phase signal θ2 which are to be outputted. With a predetermined input high frequency signal amplitude being applied to the power amplifying unit 900, the memory 903 stores the AM-AM characteristic and AM-PM characteristic for a control signal to be inputted to the power amplifying unit 900. According to the input amplitude signal r2, the memory 903 also produces an amplitude correction signal and a phase correction signal which provide characteristics reverse to the power amplifying unit 900.
The amplitude information correcting unit 904 makes a correction to the input amplitude signal on the basis of the amplitude correction signal supplied from the memory 903. The amplitude modulating unit 905 drives the control voltage for the power amplifying unit 900 at a high speed on the basis of the output signal from the amplitude information correcting unit 904. The phase information correcting unit 907 makes a correction for the input phase signal on the basis of the phase correction signal supplied from the memory 903. The phase modulating unit 908 makes a phase modulation on the basis of the output signal from the phase information correcting unit 907.
In this way, the amplitude modulated signal and phase modulated signal previously distorted considering the reverse characteristic of the output characteristic for the input control signal to the power amplifying unit 900 are affected by actual distortion in the amplitude and phase generated in the power amplifying unit 900 to provide a desired output amplitude and phase. Thus, the output response (linearity) for the input control voltage can be improved. Further, since synchronization between the amplitude signal and the phase signal can be assured by the delay adjusting unit 902, the transmitted signal can be expressed exactly.
Patent Reference 1, however, does not disclose concrete techniques of distortion compensation and synchronization. Therefore, the technique disclosed in Patent Reference 1 cannot deal with the case where the synchronization between the amplitude signal and the phase signal is lost by any cause.
FIG. 13 is a plotted graph of passing phase characteristics when the control voltage gradually changing (monotonous increase or monotonous decrease) for time passage is applied to the power amplifying unit. In FIG. 13, the abscissa represents a normalized control voltage and the ordinate represents a passing phase rotation with reference to the normalized control voltage of 1. In this figure, the solid line represents the passing phase characteristic when the normalized control voltage is gradually changed from a low voltage (0) to a high voltage (1) in the monotonous increase (ascent-characteristic). Further, the dotted line represents the passing phase characteristic when the normalized control voltage is gradually changed from the high voltage (1) to the low voltage (0) in the monotonous decrease (descent-characteristic). Incidentally, both slid line and dotted line represent the cases where the power amplifying unit is supplied with the input high frequency signal amplitude (same value) in the predetermined level of its saturating operation.
In the polar modulating system, since the control voltage for the power amplifying unit is driven at a high speed, a difference occurs between the charging time and the discharging time of the capacitor (inclusive of a parasitic capacitor) in the unit for supplying the control voltage to the power amplifying unit. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 13, even with the change widths being equal, the quantity of phase change differs between the case where the condition of applying the control voltage changes from the low voltage to the high voltage and the case where it changes from the high voltage to the low voltage. Namely, the phase characteristic changes at a signal changing point. This means that synchronization between the amplitude signal and the phase signal is lost.
Next, an explanation will be given of a prior art of synchronization at the signal changing point in the polar modulating system. As such a prior art, there is a technique of detecting the output signal amplitude in the power amplifying unit and differentiating the detected signal thereby acquiring the signal changing point. In this prior art, after the signal changing point has been acquired, a delay from a reference clock to be supplied to a digital-analog conversion circuit (hereinafter referred to as a DA converter) for converting the amplitude signal and the phase signal from a digital format into an analog format is adjusted. Further, the synchronizing timing at the signal changing point is adjusted (for example, see Patent Reference 2).
FIG. 14 is a block diagram of a prior art transmission device disclosed in Patent Reference 2. As seen from FIG. 14, this transmission device includes a power amplifying unit 900, an amplitude modulating unit 905, a phase modulating unit 908, DA converters 1101, 1102 and a reference clock 1103, a changing point detecting circuit 1104 and a delaying unit 1105.
The DA converter 1101 converts I/Q signals (I,Q) in the digital format supplied from a baseband signal generating unit (not shown) into the I/Q signals in the analog format. The DA converter 1102 converts an amplitude signal (r) extracted from the I/Q signals (I, Q) in the digital signal by a polar coordinate converting unit (not shown) into the amplitude signal in the analog format. The reference clock 1103 supplies a clock which is a reference to the converting operation to the DA converters 1101, 1102.
The amplitude modulating unit 905 drives a power supply voltage to the power amplifying unit 900 at a high speed. The phase modulating unit 908 generates a phase modulated signal on the basis of the I/Q signals in the analog format, which is sent to the power amplifying unit 900. The changing point detecting circuit 1104 differentiates the output signal from the power amplifying unit 900 and thereafter detects the signal changing point according to whether the differentiated value is positive or negative. At the signal changing point detected by the changing point detecting circuit 1104, the delaying unit 1105 adjusts the converting timings in the DA converters 1101 and 1102, i.e. the synchronization between the amplitude signal and phase signal extracted from the I/Q signals. In this configuration, the signal changing point can be detected and the synchronization between the amplitude signal and the phase signal can be assured at the signal changing point detected.
Patent Reference 1: JP (Tokuhyou) 2004-501527 (FIG. 11)
Patent Reference 2: JP (Tokuhyou) 2002-530992 (FIG. 2)
Non-Patent Reference 1: Kenington, Peter B, "High-Linearity RF Amplifier Design", Artech House Publishers (p 162, FIGS. 4, 18)

Polar modulating circuit, polar coordinate modulating method, integrated circuit and radio transmission device


A connecting element includes a tapered head, a shaft, and a neck portion connected between the head and the shaft. A circumference of the head decreases towards the neck portion to form a slanted guiding portion functioning as a slanted guiding portion. The shaft includes a resisting portion facing and connecting with the neck portion. The guiding portion, the neck portion, and the resisting portion corporately form a slot.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to connecting elements and, particularly, to a connecting element utilized for connecting two objects.
2. Description of Related Art
Generally, a connecting element is often used to joint two objects each defining a through hole. The connecting element generally includes a head and a shaft. A U-shaped slot is defined in the shaft adjacent the head. Two sides of the slot are parallel to the head and a free end of the shaft. In use, the shaft of the connecting element is inserted into the through hole of one of the objects. The head of the connecting element is punched into the through hole, with a part bounding the through hole of the object deforming to be squeezed into the slot. Thus, the head of the connecting element is fixed to the object. The shaft of the connecting member is engaged in the through hole of the other object to join the two objects together. However, the object fixing the connecting element may be damaged when the object is overly deformable. Moreover, great stress may be formed in the slot, resulting in rupturing the connecting element from the slot.

Hong Fu Jin Precision Industry (ShenZhen) Co., Ltd.


Tris(pentafluorophenyl)borane complexes having the general formula (C.sub.6 F.sub.5).sub.3 B.(YXH).sub.q wherein X is oxygen, or sulfur; q is 1 to 3; Y is a hydrogen atom, R.sup.1 --, (R.sup.2).sub.3 Si--, or (R.sup.3 ).sub.2 C.dbd.N--; R.sup.1 is a hydrocarbyl group containing 1 to 500 carbon atoms, and may contain a divalent oxygen and further may be a fluorine-containing hydrocarbyl group; R.sup.2 is independently a linear or branched alkyl group containing 1 to 25 carbon atoms, or a phenyl group, further R.sup.2 may contain a SiO-- group; and R.sup.3 is independently a hydrocarbyl group containing 1 to 25 carbon atoms, R.sup.3 may be a hydrogen atom provided both R.sup.3 groups selected are not hydrogen atoms; and to complexes containing the borane complexes with an organometallic compound, either as a neutral compound or as an acidic salt that are useful as catalysts for polymerization and copolymerization of olefins and to polymeric products prepared using these catalysts.

Use of soluble Ziegler-Natta type catalyst systems in the polymerization of olefins, in particular polymerization of ethylene to polyethylene is known in the art. In general, traditional Ziegler-Natta type systems comprise a transition metal halide activated to form a catalyst species by reaction with a metal alkyl cocatalyst, particularly aluminum alkyl cocatalysts. However, aluminum alkyl cocatalysts are often used in large excess, see U.S. Pat. No. 4,404,344. This is disadvantageous because the aluminum compounds must be removed from the resultant polymers. These traditional Ziegler-Natta catalysts often contain a variety of different active sites, each of which has its own rate of initiation, propagation, and termination. As a consequence of this non-uniformity of active sites, the linear polyethylene has a broad molecular weight distribution. See for example, Comprehensive Organometallic Chemistry; Wilkinson, G., Ed.; Pergamon Press: Oxford, 1982; Vol. 3, Chapter 22.5, p 475; Transition Metals and Organometallics as Catalysts for Olefin Polymerization; Kaminsky, W. and Sinn, H., Eds.; Springer-Verlag: New York, 1988, and Transition Metal Catalyzed Polymetizations: Alkenes and Dienes; Quirk, R. P., Ed.; Harwood: New York 1983.
Recently, catalysts have been reported that rely on boron rather than on aluminum-containing compounds. Boron-based catalysts, in contrast, to the aluminum-based catalysts are often stoichiometric in boron. That is, they contain one mole of boron-containing component per mole of transition metal. Furthermore, it is usually unnecessary to remove the small amount of boron from the polymer, unlike the aluminum-based catalysts, mentioned above.
Tris(pentafluorophenyl)borane (C.sub.6 F.sub.5).sub.3 B forms 1:1 complexes with Lewis bases such as ether, amines, and phosphines. The compound is hygroscopic and, presumably forms a monohydrate but neither the composition, that is stoichiometry of this hydrate nor its properties have been disclosed. No uses for these donor-acceptor complexes have been taught, see Massey et al. J. Organomet. Chem. 1964, 2, 245. Hygroscopic (C.sub.6 F.sub.5).sub.3 B.Et.sub.2 O was reported by Pohlman et al. Z. Nat. 1965, 20b, 5.
Hlatky et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1989, 111, 2728 described zwitterionic catalysts such as (Me.sub.5 CP).sub.2 Zr[(m-C.sub.6 H.sub.4)BPh.sub.3 ]. EPO 0 277 004 describes catalysts prepared by reacting, (Me.sub.5 CP).sub.2 ZrMe.sub.2 with B.sub.9 C.sub.2 H.sub.13, [Bu.sub.3 NH][(B.sub.9 C.sub.2 H.sub.11).sub.2 CO] or [Bu.sub.3 NH][B.sub.9 C.sub.2 H.sub.12 [. Alternatively, ammonium salts of B(C.sub.6 F.sub.5).sub.4.sup.- may be used, WO 91 02,012; Chem. Abstr. 1991, 114, 247980u.
Similarly, EPO 0 418044 describes monocyclopentadienyl complex catalysts containing a non-coordinating, compatible anion such as (C.sub.6 F.sub.5).sub.4 B.sup.-. More recently, homogeneous catalysts exemplified by [Cp.sub.2 ZrMe][MeB(C.sub.6 F.sub.5).sub.3 ] have been synthesized from the reaction of Cp.sub.2 ZrMe.sub.2 and (C.sub.6 F.sub.5).sub.3 B see X. Yang et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc'y 1991, 113, 3623.
Furthermore, the above described catalysts are sparingly soluble in toluene. The catalysts are even less soluble in normally liquid .alpha.-olefins such as 1-hexene or in mixtures of such olefins and non-reactive solvents, such as hexane, toluene or xylene. These catalysts generally separate as oils from toluene or toluene-hexane mixtures. Even though catalysis still proceeds, phase separation is undesirable for several reasons, for example contact between monomer and catalyst is less efficient when the catalyst is only partially soluble. When the catalyst is incompletely soluble, catalyzed polymerization typically takes place at different rates either in solution or at the solid-liquid interface, thus tending to lead to a broad distribution of polymer molecular weights. Furthermore, catalyst:monomer ratio in solution is generally difficult to control when the catalyst is only partially soluble.
It is further known that a soluble or molecularly dispersed catalyst typically permits more ready access of the substrate to the active sites. As a result, more efficient use of the catalyst is possible. It is also recognized that the molecular weight of a polymer is proportional to the concentration of monomer in the reaction mixture in which it is synthesized. Generally, high molecular weight is desirable in applications such as glues and adhesives, as well as in the construction of rigid objects such as gaskets, insulators and packaging materials.
Catalytic polymerization of lower olefins, in particular ethylene and propylene is relatively easy. On the other hand polymerization of longer chain .alpha.-olefins tends to be slower and the products are often oligomers rather than high polymers, see Skupinska Chem. Rev. 1991, 91, 635. Heterogeneous catalysts such as TiCl.sub.3 /AlEt.sub.3, which produce higher molecular weight polymers from long-chain .alpha.-olefins, lead to a broad range of molecular weights (high polydispersity index).

Tris(pentafluorophenyl)borane complexes and catalysts derived therefrom

Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company


The present disclosure relates to tissue engineering, and more particularly to a method for treating or repairing rotator cuff or other tendon tears or damage using scaffold-free 3-dimensional engineered tendon constructs.

A tendon is a fibrous connective tissue that attaches muscle to bone. A tendon serves to move the bone or structure to which it is attached (Vorvick et al. Medline Plus, U.S. NLM, 2014).
Rotator cuff (RC) tears are one of the most common orthopedic disorders in the US with over 75,000 repair procedures performed annually (Vitale et al., J. Shoulder and Elbow Surg 16(2):181-197 (2007) and a health care cost estimated at $30 billion dollars annually. Healing RC tears with current suture or augmented scaffold techniques fails to regenerate the native tendon bone interface and instead forms a weaker fibrovascular scar that is prone to failure. The regeneration of this interface is critical to improving clinical outcomes.
To date, the standard for rotator cuff repair is single or double row suture technique. Repair of RC with suture techniques fails 20-57% of the time due to the lack of regeneration of the native tendon to bone interface or "enthesis" (Montgomery et al., Clin Sports Med. 31(4):693-712, 2012; Montgomery et al., Curr Rev Musculoskelet Med. 4(4):221-30, 2011; Zhang et al., Arthroscopy 30(4):436-43, 2014; Zhang et al., Arthroscopy 29(4):623-29, 2013). Currently, 42% of the RC repairs (30,000/year) are mechanically reinforced with biological or synthetic patches. The efficacy of the commonly used biological patches, is dismal with re-tear rates near 91% (Ratcliffe et al., Ann Biomed Eng. 43(3):819-31, 2015). The regeneration of the enthesis is critical to improving clinical outcomes.

Engineered tendon graft for rotator cuff repair

THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN


A cassette stores varying lengths of excess optical fiber defined during the installation of optical fiber cable. The cassette has two spools and numerous pathways for winding and storing excess optical fiber, while maintaining the minimum bend radius. Retainers hold the optical fiber in the pathways and on the spools. Two splice receptacles releasably retain splice connections. A tension wire tie-down is provided, having a variety of options for placement and direction, to clamp the optical fiber cable, and electrically ground the tension wires. Tabs are provided for releasably locking the hinged cover in the open and closed positions.

This invention relates to the field of fiber optics, and more particularly to a cassette for storing varying lengths of excess optical fiber during the installation of optical fiber cable.
There are many applications that utilize an optical fiber network to establish optical communications between a host digital terminal (HDT) at a central office and an optical network unit (ONU) at a remote location. Typically, each ONU installation will have a unique optical fiber cable routing. Each strand of optical fiber cable follows a different path between the HDT and the ONU, and will have an excess length of optical fiber that must be stored.
The optical fiber cable consists of the optical fiber and two electrically conducting tension wires. The optical fiber itself is extremely fine, on the order of 0.25 mm (0.0098 inches) in diameter. In order that the optical fiber not become kinked, which will degrade the quality of light pulses traveling through it, the optical fiber must not be bent sharply anywhere along its path. The two tension wires accompanying the optical fiber are referred to as tension lines, as they provide mechanical resistance to stretching when the optical fiber cable is under tension. Since optical fiber cable, and in turn the tension lines, may be subject to lightening strikes, the tension lines must be grounded at tie-down points.
The joining together of two fibers end-to-end to carry a signal of light pulses is called a splice connection. The splice connection must be held in place securely.
As cutting optical fibers is a delicate process, special tools and small jigs are used to perform the whole cleaving operation. For most applications, the ends are cut close to perpendicular to the optical fiber axis. Cleanly cleaved optical fiber ends are needed for low loss fusion splices. For high-performance optical connectors and mechanical splices, the cut tip of the fiber is ground and polished. Cables that are field installed are often terminated before installation to approximately the length needed, resulting in an excess length of optical fiber that must be stored.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided an optical fiber cassette, for use in connection with an optical domain network to store excess optical fiber cable. The optical fiber cable includes an optical fiber and a tension wire. The optical fiber cassette comprises a chassis having at least one spool for winding and storing excess optical fiber, the spool having a wall with a radius of at least a minimum bend radius.
A method is also disclosed.


Use of ginseng extracts designated CVT-E002, PQ2, PQ2A, PQ2B, PQ2C, PQ2D, and PQ223 in the preparation of a pharmaceutical composition suitable for treating an autoimmune disease.

Acquired immune responses are initiated by antigen presentation by antigen presenting cells (APC) and are regulated by T helper (TH) lymphocytes. TH1 cells are induced to develop by APC production of IL-12, produce IFNγ and IL-2 and are necessary for acquired cell-mediated responses. TH2 cells are thought to develop by APC production of IL-10 or PGE2, produce IL-4, IL-5, IL-6 and IL-10 and are necessary for acquired antibody immune responses. TNFα is produced by both TH1 and TH2 cells, although the largest source are macrophages, and appears to have an important role in delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) responses, an arm of cell-mediated immunity. Its production and effect in cell-mediated immunity is largely a function of the concomitant presence of IFNγ.
Antigen-specific immune responses in adults are thought to be almost entirely mediated by memory cells. Every arm of the adaptive immune system has associated memory cells: antibody-specific B lymphocytes, CTL and T helper lymphocytes that are essential to the development of antibody production and CTL activation. Memory cell-based responses are faster and larger than naïve responses (e.g., a strong response in five days compared with a weak response in ten days).
The effect of patient treatment on acquired immune responses are conveniently evaluated in an in vitro culture model of peripheral blood leukocytes (PBL). Treatment is given to a randomized population, blood is taken before and after treatment and antigen-specific immune responses measured in PBL cultured in the presence and absence of a memory antigen. The memory antigens chosen in the present invention were three live influenza viruses that the patient population would almost surely have encountered in the past two years. The inventors chose as indicators of immune response production of the cytokines IFNγ, IL-12, IL-10 and TNFα, plus production of the cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) and natural killer (NK) cell granule product GrB, a cysteine protease that initiates apoptosis in killer cell targets. IFNγ, IL-2, IL-12 and GrB are measures of cell-mediated immune responses, while IL-10 is a measure of antibody-mediated immune responses. TNFα participates in cell-mediated immune responses but is more a measure of the innate defense (mostly macrophage) component of immune responses.
Many autoimmune diseases involve aberrant acquired cell-mediated immune responses to self antigens. Examples are Crohn's disease (a debilitating inflammatory bowel disease), the early stages of rheumatoid arthritis, Multiple Sclerosis and autoimmune diabetes (IDDM). In general, any treatment or condition that increases cell-mediated immune responses induces the flare of disease, while conditions suppressing cell-mediated immunity alleviate disease. For example, symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis are reduced by pregnancy, a condition that mutes cell-mediated immune responses. The symptoms flare again after delivery, when the immune system is thought to rebound toward its original balance of cell- and antibody-mediated immunity.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Treatment of autoimmune diseases with American ginseng extract


A disclosed semiconductor device provided with a power MOSFET includes: a semiconductor substrate constituting a drain; a trench formed on a surface of the semiconductor substrate; a gate electrode in the trench; a body diffusion layer on a surface side of the semiconductor substrate, the body diffusion layer being positioned adjacently to the trench and formed shallower than the trench; a source diffusion layer on the surface of the semiconductor substrate; a first interlayer insulating film formed on the gate electrode; and a source electrode film made of a metallic material and formed on the semiconductor substrate. A top surface of the gate electrode and a top surface of the first interlayer insulating film are formed in a recessed manner in the trench relative to the surface of the semiconductor substrate, and a surface portion of the semiconductor substrate for the trench is formed into a tapered shape.

1. Technical Field
This disclosure generally relates to a semiconductor device and a manufacturing method thereof and more particularly to a semiconductor device and a manufacturing method thereof in which the semiconductor device is provided with a power MOSFET including a semiconductor substrate constituting a drain, a trench formed on a surface of the semiconductor substrate, a gate electrode in the trench, the gate electrode being made of polysilicon and formed via a gate insulating film, a body diffusion layer on a surface side of the semiconductor substrate, the body diffusion layer being positioned adjacently to the trench and formed shallower than the trench, a source diffusion layer on the surface of the semiconductor substrate, the source diffusion layer being positioned adjacently to the trench and the body diffusion layer and formed shallower than the body diffusion layer, a first interlayer insulating film formed on the gate electrode, and a source electrode film made of a metallic material and formed on the semiconductor substrate, the source electrode film being insulated from the gate electrode and electrically connected to the body diffusion layer and the source diffusion layer.
2. Description of the Related Art
Power MOSFETs are used in the field of power electronics involving high current and high voltage. In recent years, there have been increasing demands for low Ron as power management of batteries for mobile communication devices and trench-gate type power MOSFETs have attracted attention.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a cell portion of a conventional power MOSFET.
An N-type epitaxial layer (N−) 3 formed by epitaxial growth is formed on a surface of an N-type single-crystal silicone substrate (N+) 1. The N-type single-crystal silicone substrate 1 and the N-type epitaxial layer 3 constitute a drain. A gate insulating film 7 is formed on an inner wall of a trench 5 formed on a surface of the N-type epitaxial layer 3. A gate electrode 9 made of polysilicon is formed in the trench 5 via the gate insulating film 7.
A P-type body diffusion layer (P−) 11 is formed adjacently to the trench 5 on a surface side of the N-type epitaxial layer 3. An N-type source diffusion layer 13 is formed adjacently to the trench 5 on a surface side of the P-type body diffusion layer 11. A P-type contact diffusion layer (P+) 15 is formed on a surface of the N-type epitaxial layer 3 with a certain distance from the trench 5 and such a depth as to reach the P-type body diffusion layer 11.
A first interlayer insulating film 18 made of a silicon oxide film, for example, is formed on the gate electrode 9. The first interlayer insulating film 18 is formed in a protrusion manner relative to the surface of the N-type epitaxial layer 3 and covers a portion of the N-type source diffusion layer 13 adjacent to the trench 5. A source electrode film 19 is formed on the N-type source diffusion layer 13, the P-type contact diffusion layer 15, and the first interlayer insulating film 18.
Such a power MOSFET is disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example.
In the power MOSFET shown in FIG. 1, the first interlayer insulating film 18 for insulation between the gate electrode 9 and the source electrode film 19 must be patterned by a photoengraving technique and an etching technique, so that it is necessary to have a pattern width larger than a width of the trench 5 taking into consideration a shift of mask positioning upon performing photoengraving. Thus, it is impossible to reduce a mesa width (trench-to-trench distance) to a certain limit or less and miniaturization of the device is hindered.
In view of this, there has been disclosed a structure in which the first interlayer insulating film between the gate electrode and the source electrode film is left only in a width of the trench (refer to Patent Document 2).
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a cell portion of other conventional power MOSFET.
As shown in FIG. 2, the first interlayer insulating film 18 is formed only in the trench 5. A top surface of the first interlayer insulating film 18 is formed in a recessed manner relative to the surface of the N-type epitaxial layer 3.
In this structure, even if the mesa width (trench-to-trench distance) is reduced, it is possible to secure a larger contact area in comparison with the case of the structure shown in FIG. 1, the contact area being positioned between the source diffusion layer 13 and the source electrode film 19.
However, this structure poses a problem in that it is difficult to process a film thickness of the first interlayer insulating film 18 in a well-controlled manner. Taking into consideration a change of the film thickness of the first interlayer insulating film 18, it is necessary to have a surface of the gate electrode 9 lower than the surface of the epitaxial layer 3 in accordance with the change of the film thickness. Accordingly, depths of the body diffusion layer 11, the source diffusion layer 13, and the trench 5 are required to be larger, so that longer manufacturing time is necessary and manufacturing of a low volume power MOSFET is hindered.
Moreover, in the conventional techniques shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, unevenness of the surface of the N-type epitaxial layer 3 in the vicinity of the trench 5 is large, coverage of the source electrode film 19 is deteriorated, and failure such as a void 49 is generated in the source electrode film 19 as shown in FIG. 3.
In accordance with this failure, there have been problems in which a flow of current of the source electrode film 19 is hindered and impact upon wirebonding is not absorbed.
Further, when the source electrode film 19 is plated for bump connection, if the coverage of the source electrode film 19 is not good, a thin portion of the source electrode film 19 is damaged upon plating and the N-type source diffusion layer 13 and the P-type body diffusion layer 11 below the source electrode film 19 are also damaged. In accordance with this, failure of a short circuit between the source electrode film 19 and the N-type epitaxial layer 3 is likely to be generated.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2002-26324
Patent Document 2: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2001-85685
Due to the above-mentioned reasons, preferably, a lower structure of the source electrode film is made flat.

Semiconductor device and manufacturing method thereof


Compounds of formula I

Protein kinases regulate many different signaling processes by adding phosphate groups to proteins (Hunter, T., Cell 50 (1987) 823–829); particularly serine/threonine kinases phosphorylate proteins on the alcohol moiety of serine or threonine residues. The serine/threonine kinase family includes members that control cell growth, migration, differentiation, gene expression, muscle contraction, glucose metabolism, cellular protein synthesis, and regulation of the cell cycle.
The Aurora kinases are a family of serine/threonine kinases that are believed to play a key role in the protein phosphorylation events that are essential for the completion of essential mitotic events. The Aurora kinase family is made up of three key members: Aurora A, B and C (also known as Aurora-2, Aurora-1 and Aurora-3 respectively). Aurora-1 and Aurora-2 are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,207,401 of Sugen and in related patents and patent applications, e.g. EP 0 868 519 and EP 1 051 500.
For Aurora A there is increasing evidence that it is a novel proto-oncogene. Aurora A gene is amplified and transcript/protein is highly expressed in a majority of human tumor cell lines and primary colorectal, breast and other tumors. It has been shown that Aurora A overexpression leads to genetic instability shown by amplified centrosomes and significant increase in aneuploidy and transforms Rat1 fibroblasts and mouse NIH3T3 cells in vitro. Aurora A-transformed NIH3T3 cells grow as tumors in nude mice (Bischoff, J. R., and Plowman, G. D., Trends Cell Biol. 9 (1999) 454; Giet, R., and Prigent, C., J. Cell Sci. 112 (1999) 3591–3601; Nigg, E. A., Nat. Rev. Mol. Cell Biol. 2 (2001) 21–32; Adams, R. R., et al., Trends Cell Biol. 11 (2001) 49–54). Moreover, amplification of Aurora A is associated with aneuploidy and aggressive clinical behavior (Sen, S., et al., J. Natl. Cancer Inst. 94 (2002) 1320–1329) and amplification of its locus correlates with poor prognosis for patients with node-negative breast cancer (Isola, J. J., et al., Am. J. Pathol. 147 (1995) 905–911). For these reasons it is proposed that Aurora A overexpression contributes to cancer phenotype by being involved in chromosome segregation and mitotic checkpoint control.
Human tumor cell lines depleted of Aurora A transcripts arrest in mitosis. Accordingly, the specific inhibition of Aurora kinase by selective inhibitors is recognized to stop uncontrolled proliferation, re-establish mitotic checkpoint control and lead to apoptosis of tumor cells. In a xenograft model, an Aurora inhibitor therefore slows tumor growth and induces regression (Harrington, E. A., et al., Nat. Med. 10 (2004) 262–267).
Low molecular weight inhibitors for protein kinases are widely known in the state of the art: For Aurora inhibition such inhibitors are based on i.e. quinazoline derivatives as claimed in the following patents and patent applications: WO 00/44728; WO 00/47212; WO 01/21594; WO 01/21595; WO 01/21596; WO 01/21597; WO 01/77085; WO 01/55116; WO 95/19169; WO 95/23141; WO 97/42187; WO 99/06396; pyrazole and triazole derivatives as claimed in the following patents and patent applications: WO 02/22601; WO 02/22602; WO 02/22603; WO 02/22604; WO 02/22605; WO 02/22606; WO 02/22607; WO 02/22608; WO 02/50065; WO 02/50066; WO 02/057259; WO 02/059112; WO 02/059111; WO 02/062789; WO 02/066461; WO 02/068415; pyrimidine derivatives: WO 03/077921; WO 03/078423; WO 03/078426; WO 03/078427; WO 04/000833 or imidazole, oxazole and thiazole derivatives: WO 02/96905; WO 04/005283.
Some phthalazinones or related compounds are known as polymerase or phosphodiesterase inhibitors from WO 03/015785 and WO 00/05219.
However there remains a need for structural new compounds with improved therapeutic properties, such as enhanced activity, decreased toxicity, better solubility and improved pharmacokinetic profile, to name only a few.

Abstract: Compounds of formula I

Abstract: their pharmaceutically acceptable salts, enantiomeric forms, diastereoisomers and racemates are disclosed. Also disclosed are methods for the preparation of the above-mentioned compounds, pharmaceutical compositions containing them, as well as the use of the above-mentioned compounds in the treatment, control or prevention of illnesses such as cancer.


A flaps closing apparatus for closing full flap boxes is provided. The apparatus includes a flaps closing assembly with a first brake mechanism and closing bars with a second brake mechanism. The first brake mechanism controls the vertical motion of the flaps closing assembly with respect to the flaps closing apparatus. The second brake mechanism holds the closing bars in an angled configuration and at a first predetermined vertical position permits the bars to pivot to a horizontal configuration. A flap sealing assembly includes a pair of compression plates positioned outside the flaps closing assembly. A compression plate actuating mechanism draws the compression plates inwardly to urge side flaps of the full flap box into contact with sides of the full flap box at a second predetermined vertical position. A vertical movement mechanism lowers and raises the apparatus.

Packaging systems are an important aspect of manufacturing. A significant expense in manufacturing is the erecting a box from a blank, packing the box with product, and sealing the box after filling. Containers include, for example, boxes, cartons and similar packages made of paper, cardboard and similar materials. Until recent times, human hands have performed the tasks of assembling and packing containers.
While box-sealing mechanisms are well known in the art, the ability to change a packaging line to seal a different type or sized carton often requires the shutting down of the packaging line to adapt the sealing machinery to the new carton. This adaptation not only causes a pause in production, but may require both the time and expense of mechanics changing over the machinery and attaching different packaging machinery parts. In such a case, space is needed to store the different packaging machine parts and a system to keep track of the parts needed for various sized boxes, and adding to the overall cost of the packaging system.
Increasingly, automated systems are being developed to reduce the human and material resources needed to assemble, pack and seal different containers as well as reduce the time needed for adaptation to different packaging operations. It is well known that containers are available in a wide range of configurations, each configuration having specific closing and sealing requirements. For example, the Regular Slotted Container (RSC) has four flaps on the bottom and an identical number of flaps on the top, namely a pair of opposed minor flaps alternating with a pair of opposed major flaps. Numerous methods have been proposed which are used to seal RSC boxes.
Typically, the erecting and sealing of a regular slotted container proceeds along the following lines. A blank is assembled into a box-like configuration and glue is applied to specified surfaces of the bottom flaps. The bottom flaps are then folded and held in that position until the glue is set. This process can be carried out either manually or by machine and is not overly difficult since the case is empty at this stage and pressure can be applied from above and below so as to sandwich the bottom flaps in the closed position until it is assured that the glue is set. Machines specially adapted for erecting a folded blank into a box configuration, applying glue to the bottom flaps and folding the same, are known in the art.
As discussed above, the filling or packing of cases can be performed manually or, increasingly by mechanical means. Robotic packing machines are increasingly being used to fill cases with product.
The process of closing the case top is, however, not as easily accomplished. Equipment access from inside the erected case, to hold the top flaps sandwiched together in a closed position, is precluded. If the contents fill the erected case to the top, and if such contents are solid, external pressure from above alone may be effective to press the top flaps against such contents until the glue is sufficiently dried. Such an unpredictable arrangement is unacceptable for high-speed commercial sealing operations. Without predictable supporting during the gluing operations, the top flaps cannot be sealed effectively in that fashion. Machines specially adapted for closing case tops for RSC cases are exemplified by machinery described in for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,524,560.
Of course, different cases require different sealing strategies. Full flap or side sealed boxes, i.e., those cases having two top flaps with end portions which are glued to the sides of the box cannot be effectively closed using exactly the same case sealing mechanism as a RSC box. What is required is a mechanism that urges the two top flaps into a horizontal position and then urges the four end portions of the two top flaps into a vertical position against the pre-glued sides of the box.
There is a demand therefore for a mechanism that efficiently closes side seal boxes and is easily and quickly adaptable to different sized containers. The present invention satisfies the demand.


A method and apparatus for vaporizing liquid fuel. The apparatus includes at least one capillary flow passage, the at least one capillary flow passage having an inlet end and an outlet end; a fluid control valve for placing the inlet end of the at least one capillary flow passage in fluid communication with the liquid fuel source and introducing the liquid fuel in a substantially liquid state; a heat source arranged along the at least one capillary flow passage, the heat source operable to heat the liquid fuel in the at least one capillary flow passage to a level sufficient to change at least a portion thereof from the liquid state to a vapor state and deliver a stream of substantially vaporized fuel from the outlet end of the at least one capillary flow passage; and means for cleaning deposits formed during operation of the apparatus. The flow passage can be a capillary tube heated by a resistance heater or a section of a tube heated by passing electrical energy therethrough. The liquid fuel can be supplied to the flow passage at any desired pressure depending on the required mass flow rate for the application. The vaporized fuel can be mixed with air to form an aerosol having a mean droplet size of 25 μm or less to minimize ignition energy of the fuel-air mixture, promote fuel flow in an air stream, and combust the liquid fuel efficiently and cleanly.

The ability to produce finely atomized fluid sprays benefits many diverse applications including the manufacture of substrates for industry, the fueling of combustion systems, including the fueling of internal and external combustion engines, the formation of uniform-sized particles for the production of pharmaceutical products, the production of small particles for use as test standards and various applications in the electronics industry, in which thin-film deposition techniques are often employed to form resistors, capacitors and other components.
In general, the completeness and cleanliness of liquid fuel combustion depends upon the fuel/air ratio, the combustion chamber mechanical and aerodynamic design, the fuel type, the fuel injector design and the fuel droplet size distribution. A primary driver in combustion system design in recent years has been the reduction of combustion-generated emissions. This has applied across a broad range of applications, from residential heating equipment to automotive internal combustion engines to gas turbines to industrial and utility furnaces. The liquid fuel preparation method has a very significant impact on the resultant emissions, particularly emissions of carbon monoxide (CO), unburned hydrocarbons (HC) and soot. Thus in the drive to continuously reduce emissions from liquid fuel burning devices, there has been much effort directed at developing simple and cost-effective methods for achieving delivery of either vaporized fuel or very fine fuel droplets.
In any given liquid fuel combustion application, reduction of the droplet size can provide several benefits, including improved ignition characteristics, reduced droplet impingement on chamber walls, more rapid evaporation of the liquid droplets, reduced CO, HC and soot emissions, and the ability to operate with lower volatility (or heavier) liquid fuels. Though a fuel may be delivered to a combustion chamber in liquid droplet form, the liquid must evaporate before the fuel constituents can react with the oxygen in the combustion air. Large droplets evaporate slowly and may not have time to fully evaporate and react before exiting the combustion chamber, thereby resulting in higher emissions.
In particular, in the case of very small-scale combustion systems (less than, say, 10 kW heat release), the importance of achieving small droplet sizes is made all the more critical, especially for lower volatility fuels such as diesel or jet fuel. In addition, these small-scale systems require simple fuel delivery systems that do not use large amounts of power to prepare the fuel. Thus many of the conventional fuel delivery approaches (e.g. pressure atomization, twin-fluid or duplex atomization, ultrasonic atomization) cannot be applied to small-scale systems: flow rates are too high; droplets are too large, required supply pressures are too high or an additional atomizing fluid is required. Thus many small-scale combustion systems are limited to gaseous fuels.
A number of approaches to reduce the size of delivered fuel sprays have been proposed. For example, a combustion device wherein fuel is atomized by an ultrasonic atomizing device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,127,822. According to this patent, atomizers have been proposed wherein fuel is supplied to a combustion chamber in fine droplets to accelerate vaporization of the fuel and reduce the time needed for steady combustion of the fuel.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,127,822 describes an arrangement wherein fuel is intended to be supplied at 5 cc/min and the fuel said to be atomized into droplets having a Sauter Mean Diameter (SMD) of 40 μm. Other atomizing techniques are proposed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,095,436 and 6,102,687. An ultrasonic atomizer intended for supplying fuel to an internal combustion engine is proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,986,248.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,013,396 proposes a fuel aerosolization apparatus wherein a hydrocarbon fuel (e.g., gasoline, fuel oil, kerosene, etc.) is to be dispensed into a condensation area to form an aerosol fuel said to exhibit relatively even sized droplets less than 1 μm in diameter. The aerosolized fuel is intended to be mixed with air to provide a desired air-fuel ratio and combusted in the combustion area of a burner. A heat exchanger is proposed to transfer heat from the combusted fuel to a heat-carrying medium such as air, gas, or liquid.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,472,645, a fuel-vaporizing device is proposed to address certain problems associated with incomplete combustion of fuel aerosols in internal combustion engines. According to U.S. Pat. No. 5,472,645, because aerosol fuel droplets do not ignite and combust completely in internal combustion engines, unburned fuel residues are exhausted from the engine as pollutants such as hydrocarbons (HC), carbon monoxide (CO), and aldehydes with concomitant production of oxides of nitrogen (NOx). U.S. Pat. No. 5,472,645 proposes to improve combustion of aerosol fuels by breaking liquid fuel down into an air and fluid stream of vaporized or gas-phase elements. These elements are said to contain some non-vaporized aerosols of higher molecular weight hydrocarbons, with the lighter fuel components said to quickly evaporate to the gas phase, mix with air and fed to an internal combustion engine. The heavier fuel portions are said to be transformed into a gas-phase-vaporized state before they can exit a cyclone vortex device and enter the intake manifold of the engine.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,344,404 proposes an apparatus for supplying aerosolized fuel droplets mixed with air to an internal combustion engine or burner, the fuel droplets said to have sizes of 0.5 to 1.5 μm. The liquid fuel in aerosol form is mixed with air in an air-fuel ratio of about 18:1, with the goal of reducing the levels of CO, HC and NOx emissions from the engine.
Several patents disclose techniques for vaporizing a liquid. For example: commonly assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,743,251 and 6,234,167 disclose aerosol generators which vaporize a liquid in a heated capillary tube; U.S. Pat. No. 6,155,268 issued to Takeuchi discloses liquid flavoring supplied by capillary action through a flow passage to a heater disposed on an end of the flow passage to vaporize the liquid flavoring; U.S. Pat. No. 5,870,525 issued to Young discloses that liquid from a reservoir can be fed through a supply wick by capillary action to a boiler wick in which the liquid is heated and boiled to a vapor; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,195,504 issued to Horie et al. discloses heating a liquid in a flow passage to produce a vapor.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,716,416 discloses a fuel-metering device intended for use in a fuel cell system. The fuel cell system is intended to be self-regulating, producing power at a predetermined level. The proposed fuel metering system includes a capillary flow control device for throttling the fuel flow in response to the power output of the fuel cell, rather than to provide improved fuel preparation for subsequent combustion. Instead, the fuel is intended to be fed to the fuel cell for conversion to H2. In a preferred embodiment, the capillary tubes are made of metal and the capillary itself is used as a resistor, which is in electrical contact with the power output of the fuel cell. Because the flow resistance of a vapor is greater than that of a liquid, the flow is throttled as the power output increases. The fuels suggested for use include any fluid that is easily transformed from a liquid to a vapor phase by applying heat and flows freely through a capillary. Vaporization appears to be achieved in the manner that vapor lock occurs in automotive engines.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,276,347 proposes a supercritical or near-supercritical atomizer and method for achieving atomization or vaporization of a liquid. The supercritical atomizer of U.S. Pat. No. 6,276,347 is said to enable the use of heavy fuels to fire small, light weight, low compression ratio, spark-ignition piston engines that typically burn gasoline. The atomizer is intended to create a spray of fine droplets from liquid, or liquid-like fuels, by moving the fuels toward their supercritical temperature and releasing the fuels into a region of lower pressure on the gas stability field in the phase diagram associated with the fuels, causing a fine atomization or vaporization of the fuel. Utility is disclosed for applications such as combustion engines, scientific equipment, chemical processing, waste disposal control, cleaning, etching, insect control, surface modification, humidification and vaporization.
To minimize decomposition, U.S. Pat. No. 6,276,347 proposes keeping the fuel below the supercritical temperature until passing the distal end of a restrictor for atomization. For certain applications, heating just the tip of the restrictor is desired to minimize the potential for chemical reactions or precipitations. This is said to reduce problems associated with impurities, reactants or materials in the fuel stream which otherwise tend to be driven out of solution, clogging lines and filters. Working at or near supercritical pressure suggests that the fuel supply system operate in the range of 300 to 800 psig. While the use of supercritical pressures and temperatures might reduce clogging of the atomizer, it appears to require the use of a relatively more expensive fuel pump, as well as fuel lines, fittings and the like that are capable of operating at these elevated pressures.

Apparatus and method for preparing and delivering fuel


A semiconductor device for a test mode setup is disclosed, which allows an SDRAM user to prevent an unwanted test mode from being set up. The semiconductor device for a test mode setup includes a command decoder for outputting a first address signal through a plurality of input signals, a shift register for outputting a second address signal, a logic part for outputting a test register setup signal by combining the first address signal with the second address signal, a test register for storing the test register setup signal, and a test decoder for outputting a test mode signal in response to the test register setup signal stored in the test register.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a test mode setup, and more particularly, to a semiconductor device for a test mode setup which allows a synchronous DRAM (SDRAM) user to prevent an unwanted test mode from being set up.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
A conventional semiconductor device for a test mode setup will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a conventional semiconductor device for a test mode setup. FIG. 2 is a timing chart illustrating a setup operation of a conventional semiconductor device for a test mode setup.
As shown in FIG. 1, the conventional semiconductor device for a test mode setup includes a command decoder 1, a test register 2, and a test decoder 3. The command decoder 1 decodes external input signals, i.e., a clock (CLK) signal, a row address strobe bar (RASB) signal, a column address strobe bar (CASB) signal, a chip select bar (CSB) signal, a write enable bar (WEB) signal, and a seventh address (A<7>) signal. The test register 2 stores a logic value of test decoding address TDA<i:j> signal of K-bit in response to a test register setup (TRS) signal decoded from the command decoder 1, and outputs a TDG<i:j> signal to the test decoder 3. The test decoder 3 outputs a test mode signal corresponding to the output TDG<i:j> of the test register 2.
The setup operation of the conventional semiconductor device for a test mode setup will be described below.
As shown in FIG. 2, the test mode is set up when the CLK signal repeats low and high in turn, a clock enable (CKE) signal is high in n-1 clock period, the A<7> signal is high in n clock period, the CSB signal, the RASB signal, the CASB signal and the WEB signal are low in n clock period, and the TDA<i:j> has a given logic value. In other words, the test mode setup is performed in such a manner that a test mode is operated if a logic value of the A<7> signal input during setting the test register is "1", while a normal mode is operated if the logic value is "0".
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the command decoder 1 outputs the TRS signal of high level to the test register 2 when the inputs CLK, RASB, CASB, CSB, WEB, and A<7> of the command decoder 1 have the logic values as described above. When the TRS signal is high, the logic value of the TDA<i:j> signal of K bit is stored in the test register 2. There is the probability of 1/2.sup.5 that the command decoder 1 outputs the TRS signal of high level.
As aforementioned, the logic value of the TDA<i:j> signal is stored in the test register 2 when the TRS signal is high. The TRS signal is maintained at high pulse for a certain time period and then becomes low. When the TRS signal is low, the logic value previously stored in the test register 2 is maintained as it is even though the logic value of the TDA<i:j> signal is varied.
After the logic value of the TDA<i:j> signal is stored in the test register 2, the test register 2 outputs the TDG<i:j> signal to the test decoder 3. The test decoder 3 outputs the test mode signal corresponding to the logic value input thereto. At this time, the test mode signal is high.
The conventional semiconductor device for a test mode setup has a problem that an unwanted test mode setup may occur because the command decoder has the same logic values as those of a mode register set (MRS) which is one of combinations of synchronous DRAM commands, except for the logic value of the A<7>.

Semiconductor device for test mode setup


A cooling appliance is provided with a refrigeration compartment, a cold storage compartment and a freezer compartment, which are separated from one another by partition walls and by at least one door or flap. A cooling air passage is associated with the refrigeration compartment and in its run-in region a cooling fan is arranged which sucks cooling air from the refrigeration compartment and its run-out opens into the cold storage compartment. Sections of a single evaporate are associated with the freezer compartment and the cooling air passage. Openings and/or gaps are provided in and/or between the partition wall and/or door which separate the refrigeration compartment from the cold storage compartment. A control or regulating device controls the running time and/or the speed of the compressor and/or the switched-on time and/or the speed of the cooling fan.

The invention relates to a cooling appliance comprising a refrigeration compartment, a cold storage compartment and a freezer compartment which are separated from one another by partition walls and at least one door or flap.
A cooling appliance is known from EP 0 793 066 A2 comprising a refrigeration compartment and a cold storage compartment which are separated from one another by a horizontal partition wall and which are provided with at least one door or flap closing them. In this known refrigerator, a cooling fan is arranged in the upper region of the refrigeration compartment and a cooling air passage is separated off by a partition wall approximately parallel to the rear wall of the refrigeration compartment. An evaporator is disposed in said cooling air passage which opens into the cold storage compartment in the rear region of the partition wall. Openings or a gap are provided between the partition wall and the door in the front region of the partition wall through which the cold air enters into the refrigeration compartment. The coldness distribution in the refrigeration compartment and in the cold storage compartment is controlled by the running time of the compressor and/or by the switched-in time and/or the speed of the cooling fan.
Modern cooling appliances are usually additionally provided with a freezer compartment which is usually termed a four-star compartment.
Known appliances, which are additionally provided with a freezer compartment as well as a refrigeration compartment and a cold storage compartment, are provided with two or three evaporators and solenoid valves in order to control the different coldness requirements under the changing environmental conditions and conditions of use. To ensure a uniform temperature in the cold storage compartment, it is provided with a ventilator.

Refrigerating appliance comprising a refrigerating compartment, a cold storage compartment and a freezer compartment


An apparatus for automatic placement of gaskets on a housing includes a base, the second feeding mechanism, a first detecting member, a bearing mechanism, an assembly mechanism, and a controller. The first detecting member can detect the position of the gaskets relative to the preset position. The detected results are transmitted to the controller by the first detecting member. The controller controls the second feeding mechanism to accurately adjust the position of the gaskets to preset position. Therefore, a projection of the gasket is accurately engaged in a mounting hole of the housing by the assembly mechanism.

An assembling apparatus is a commonly used device for assembling a plurality of gaskets on a housing. The assembling apparatus includes a feeding mechanism and an assembly mechanism. The feeding mechanism can retrieve a gasket from a fastening fixture and carry the gasket to the assembly mechanism. The gasket is retrieved again and assembled on the housing by the assembly mechanism. At the same time, the projection of the gasket is engaged in a mounting hole of the housing.

Apparatus for automatic placement of gaskets on a housing

FU DING ELECTRONICAL TECHNOLOGY (JIASHAN) CO., LTD.


A method, system, apparatus and computer program product are provided for improved stereo coding. In particular, the method, system, apparatus and computer program product provide a technique for performing Mid-Side (M/S) stereo coding, in which an additional step is added to the coding process, whereby a parameter that is used in determining when the mid and side signals will be used instead of the left and right input signals is modified prior to making the selection between the signal pairs. In particular, the masking threshold associated with either the left or the right input signal may be modified based on a relationship between the energies of the two input signals. In addition, once the selection between the signal pairs has been made, the masking thresholds of the selected signals may be further modified, again based on a relationship between the energies of the left and right input signals.

In an audio encoding system an incoming time domain audio signal is compressed such that the bitrate needed to represent the signal is significantly reduced. Ideally, the bitrate of the encoded signal is such that it fits into the constraints of the transmission channel or minimizes the size of the encoded file. The former is typically being used in real-time communication and streaming services whereas the latter is being deployed more and more extensively when storing audio content locally or via downloading at high audio quality.
Typically the audio encoder aims to minimize the perceptual distortion at any given bitrate. However, the lower the bitrate, the more challenging it is to the encoder to satisfy the target bitrate and zero perceived distortion. Another encoding scenario is minimization of the encoded file size while keeping the perceptual distortion inaudible.
In both cases advanced encoding models and techniques need to be applied to maximize the end user experience. Typically it is the (encoding) performance with the worst-case signals (i.e., signals that are difficult to encode) that ultimately defines the overall performance of any encoding system. Another factor in defining the overall performance of any encoding system is the encoding speed and the resources needed in order for the given bitrate or audio quality level to be achieved. For commercial use, and especially for mobile use, encoding speed and memory requirements commonly play a significant role.
In an attempt to achieve lower bitrates without reducing the perceptual distortion, new audio coding methods should be explored and fully utilized. One of these methods that has been extensively used in state-of-the-art audio coding is efficient coding of stereo signals. Perceptual audio encoders encode the input signal in the frequency domain, as human auditory properties can be best described in the frequency domain. The spectral samples are typically quantized on a frequency band basis, and the quantizer shapes the quantization noise by either increasing or decreasing the corresponding quantizer step size until the noise is just below the auditory masking threshold.
On one hand, the introduced perceptual distortion is inaudible to the human ear. On the other hand, this limits the lowest possible bitrate. It is known from literature that coding of stereo signals can be best described and implemented by means of Mid-Side (M/S) and Intensity Stereo (IS) coding. In M/S stereo coding, the left and right (L/R) input channels are transformed into sum and difference signals. (See J. D. Johnston and A. J. Ferreira, "Sum-difference stereo transform coding", ICASSP-92 Conference Record, 1992, pp. 569-572 (hereinafter "Johnston"), the contents of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety). In particular, the mid channel is the average of the left and right channels, while the side channel is the difference between the two channels divided by two. The channel combination (i.e., L/R vs. M/S) requiring the lowest number of bits to achieve zero perceived distortion is then selected. For maximum coding efficiency this transformation is done both in a frequency and time dependant manner. M/S stereo coding is especially useful for high quality, high bitrate stereophonic coding.
In the attempt to achieve lower stereo bitrates, IS stereo coding has typically been used in combination with M/S coding. In IS coding, a portion of the spectra is coded only in mono mode and the stereo image is reconstructed by transmitting different scaling factors for the left and right channels. (See U.S. Pat. No. 5,539,829, entitled "Subband coded digital transmission system using some composite signal" to U.S. Philips Corporation, issued July 1996 (hereinafter "the '829 patent.") and U.S. Pat. No. 5,606,618, entitled "Subband coded digital transmission system using some composite signals" to U.S. Phillips Corporation, issued February, 1997 (hereinafter the '618 patent."), the contents of each of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety). However, it is well known that IS stereo performs poorly at low frequencies thus limiting the usable bitrate range.
At low bitrates (e.g., below 1.5 bps), the use of M/S stereo coding is typically not able to preserve the full spatial image due to a shortage of available bits. Spectral leakage, also known as cross talk, from one channel to the other often occurs. This kind of degradation will have significant impact on output quality. The degradation is especially disturbing when the spatial image is not equally distributed between the left and right channels.
A need, therefore exists, for improving encoding across a range of bitrates.

Method, system, apparatus and computer program product for stereo coding


An electrical connector is disclosed with a connector housing and a leadframe assembly received in the connector housing. The leadframe assembly may include a dielectric leadframe housing and first and second electrically-conductive contacts extending through the leadframe housing. Each of the contacts may define a respective broadside and a respective mating end. The leadframe housing may define a hinge between the mating ends of the first and second contacts. The leadframe housing may be folded along the hinge such that the broadside of the first contact is positioned along the broadside of the second contact. A method for manufacturing such an electrical connector may include stamping a leadframe from a sheet of electrically-conductive material, overmolding a hinged, leadframe housing onto the leadframe, folding the leadframe along the hinge such that a face of a first contact is positioned along a face of a second contact, and inserting the folded leadframe assembly into a connector housing such that the leadframe assembly is retained in the connector housing in a folded configuration.

Leadframe assemblies for electrical connectors are well-known. A typical leadframe assembly includes a dielectric leadframe housing and a leadframe comprising a plurality of electrical contacts extending therethrough. An insert-molded leadframe assembly (IMLA) may be manufactured according to a process wherein a leadframe is stamped from a sheet of electrically-conductive material, and a dielectric material is insert-molded over the leadframe.
Typically, the electrical contacts within a leadframe assembly are arranged into a linear array that extends along a direction along which the leadframe housing is elongated. The contacts may be arranged edge-to-edge along the direction along which the linear array extends. It may be desirable to form differential signal pairs wherein the contacts that form the pair are broadside-coupled (i.e., arranged in different planes such that the broadside of one contact faces the broadside of the other contact with which it forms the pair). Broadside coupling is often desirable as a mechanism to control (e.g., minimize or eliminate) skew between the contacts that form the differential signal pair.
Typically, such broadside-coupled signal pairs are formed in an electrical connector by placing two IMLAs side by side. Thus, a first contact in a first IMLA may be positioned adjacent to a first contact in a second IMLA such that respective broadsides of each contact face one another. An example of a split-IMLA configuration for broadside-coupled electrical contacts may be found in U.S. patent application Ser. No. (FCI-2735), the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
To manufacture such an electrical connector, a separate leadframe is typically stamped for each IMLA. Respective dielectric housings are then insert-molded separately onto each of the leadframes. The leadframe assembly/IMLAs may be connected to one another or separate from one another. The leadframe assemblies are then inserted into a connector housing that holds them in place.
It is usually desirable to maintain a desired impedance between the contacts the form a pair, and to maintain a constant differential impedance profile along the lengths of the contacts from their mating ends to their mounting ends. Accordingly, it is usually desirable to align the broadsides of the contacts as nearly as possible with one another, and to maintain the distance between the broadsides of the contacts to within as small a tolerance as possible. It would be desirable to increase the efficiency of such manufacturing process, thereby reducing cost, while improving tolerance control to improve signal integrity.

Hinged leadframe assembly for an electrical connector


A slipper having good draining functions and providing enhanced support, including an outsole having a top face provided with a pre-determined number of raised portions along its periphery, and a pre-determined number of water outlets each being located between two adjacent raised portions; an insole formed by a multiplicity of interwoven elastic filaments and having a pre-determined thickness and multiple gaps, the insole being disposed on the top face of the outsole and being surrounded by the raised portions; and an upper secured to the outsole such that it forms an arching receiving space adapted to receive a user's foot. The slipper allows water to drain away quickly, and the raised portions provide a stopping function to the toes of the user's foot when the user advances.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to footwear, and more particularly to a slipper that has good draining functions and that provides enhanced support to the user's feet.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
In additional to leather shoes, footwear includes leisure footwear or slippers for use at home, or during traveling or hiking. There are many types of slippers. There are two main types of soles for conventional slippers. In the first type, a covering is provided on the top face of the sole of the slipper. The covering may be made of leather of cloth, and in use, the user's foot steps on the covering. The cover provides softness and air ventilation so as to make the slipper comfortable to wear. In the second type, there is not provided a covering on the sole of the slipper, and the user's sole touches the top face of the slipper's sole in use.
However, the common problem of conventional slippers is that if the slipper is immersed in water when the user washes the bathroom or wade, across water, for example, water cannot easily drain away. For slippers with covering, the covering will absorb the water, which will not evaporate rear As for slippers without the covering, water will accumulate between the sole and the top face of the sole of the slipper and cannot evaporate readily.
For the user, it is very uncomfortable to wear wet slippers. Besides, germs may breed easily in a wet environment, which will affect the hygiene of the user's feet.
Furthermore, in conventional slippers, the user's soles are not completely enclosed and may be exposed on the outside. If the user stops suddenly in the midst of walking or running or walks down a slope, the user's feet have to bear the thrust of the user's body or support the user's body to prevent the user from sliding downwardly. However, conventional slippers cannot provide proper support to the user's feet.

Slipper having good draining functions and providing enhanced support

7F, No. 19-28, Chung Yung Rd., Nan Tun Area


A vehicle lamp assembly has an opaque housing portion and a light transmissive lens portion. The housing includes a peripheral channel for accepting a sealing adhesive and a complementary peripheral tongue on the lens portion. The bottom of the channel is characterized by a plurality of energy directors which contact the tongue and are locally upset by a ultrasonic weld apparatus to provide local welding between the lens and housing. The local welding provides fixtureless retention of the respective parts during the curing of the sealing adhesive.

One of a variety of external automotive lighting assemblies is generally characterized by two main parts including a molded opaque rear portion or housing and a permanently attached molded light-transmissive cover or lens. Depending upon the functional requirements such as for example a headlamp, the housing may include one or more reflectors such as by metalization of a parabolic or semi-parabolic surface. The housing further includes one or more bulb access apertures, typically keyed for twist-lock assembly of bulb and socket therethrough. Such lighting assemblies are typically sealed or substantially sealed with a certain degree of moisture permeability provided for by vapor membranes. In any case, a desired feature of such lighting assemblies is an impervious seal between the lens and housing and between the housing and bulb sockets. The latter is accomplished such as by conventional O-ring type seals. The former is accomplished generally by a sealing adhesive at the lens to housing interface.
Modern lighting designs are often driven by the styling and aerodynamic requirements which typically share the common objective of providing lighting assemblies which are flush with body panels. Such requirements often translate into lighting assemblies which wrap corners of the vehicle such as, for example, a combined headlight and side marker light assembly.
Often times the differences in material composition and or the geometric differences between a housing and a lens result in geometrical mismatch of the lens to housing interface due to creep of the parts away from the respective molded shapes as the parts cool or set. In a mass production environment, molded lenses and housings are desirably expeditiously moved through a series of stations including directly from mold to an assembly station whereat the lens and housing are joined by an adhesive. This undesirably may result in an unsealed assembly at one or more points about the interface of the lens and housing as creep sets in to the parts before the adhesive fully cures. Creeping of component parts may vary depending upon the materials and processes used in the manufacturing thereof and is generally due to material stresses introduced in the process and/or thereafter as the component part cools from a high process temperature. Therefore, for some time after the fabrication of component parts, it is common for the parts to relax into an equilibrium state or position which is dimensionally different from the process formed shape. Such component parts prior to substantial relaxation may be referred to as green parts or green components. Such relaxation phenomena generally are more prevalent in parts which turn a significant radius.
Proposals for addressing the general problems discussed herein include additional clamping of the lens and housing until the adhesive has attained a permanent set. Such solution is generally undesirable as additional manufacturing handling and complexity is introduced. Another proposed solution is to fixture the parts, again until such time as the adhesive sets. This too undesirably adds process handling and is extremely capital intensive requiring a multiplicity of fixturing apparatus. Another proposed solution is to drive anchor pins, screws or other intrusive fastener through the respective lens and housing material thus providing a mechanical fastening system between the two parts. This is generally undesirable in as much as such fasteners may require additional vehicle installation clearance, requires additional parts and handling and may be cosmetically unappealing.

Sealed vehicle lamp and assembly method therefor


A front body section of a vehicle which is provided with a front-side member and a crush box. The crush box includes a front section and a rear section, which are disposed in front of the front-side member so as to be axially aligned and connected thereto. An upper plate, a lower plate, an outer plate, and an inner plate, all of which form the front section, are prepared so as to provide a lower level of total plastic characteristic, when under load, than those plate members which form the rear section. The crush box thereby exhibits a total plastic characteristic, when under load, in two stages.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a front body structure for use in a vehicle, and more particularly, to a front body structure for use in a vehicle having an acceleration sensor.
2. Background Information
It is known that Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 2-6055 discloses one example of a conventional front body structure for use in a vehicle which includes an acceleration sensor.
FIG. 13 illustrates a front body structure, in which a front frame is provided at a front end portion of a vehicle body 110 in a transverse direction thereof, with a plurality of acceleration sensors 112 being disposed on the front frame. When sudden acceleration is imparted to the vehicle body 110, the acceleration sensors 112 activate an air bag device which is provided in an occupant's room.
As shown in FIG. 14, in the above-identified front body structure, one mounting member 116, which is disposed in the forward direction of the vehicle body 110, acquires higher rigidity than the other mounting member 118 that is disposed in the rearward direction thereof, these mounting members being used to fix the acceleration sensors 112 to a front frame 114. This structure thus prevents the acceleration sensors 112 from retarding.
However, in such a front body structure, accelerations which act on the acceleration sensors 112 may vary depending on the rigidity of the vehicle body 110 and the like. The acceleration sensors 112 operate over a wide range of accelerations imparted to the vehicle body 110. Accordingly, it is extremely difficult from a technical viewpoint to ensure that the acceleration sensors 112 operate at a speed that is approximate to the predetermined acceleration value.
Another type of front body structure is recently known, in which a crush body is disposed in front of a front-side member so as to absorb a load imparted from the front of a vehicle body when the load is lower than a predetermined value, thereby eliminating deformation of the front-side member. (For this structure, reference is made, for example, to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-175452.) Accordingly, it is preferable in this case that the acceleration sensors 112 operate while the crush box is in the process of deformation, thereby activating the air bag device.


A homogenizing fuel delivery system is provided for drawing fuel substantially equally from each layer of fuel in a vehicle fuel tank, and delivering this fuel to the vehicle's engine. In this manner, the composition of the fuel delivered to the engine approximates the average composition of fuel in the fuel tank.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for delivering fuel from a fuel tank to an engine in a motorized vehicle. More particularly, it relates to an apparatus for delivering fuel from a fuel tank to an engine in a motorized vehicle in such a manner that the fuel drawn from the vehicle's fuel tank approximates the average fuel composition of the fuel in the main fuel tank, even if the fuel is stratified.
It is well known that ever tighter emissions regulations and petroleum depletion have prompted research into the feasibility of using alternative fuels in motorized vehicle engines. Currently, ethanol/gasoline and methanol/gasoline mixtures are among the alternative fuel possibilities being considered.
Alternative fuel mixtures exhibit physical properties and performance characteristics which are different from pure gasoline, including dissimilar combustion burn rates, volumetric energy content, vapor pressures, octane ratings, and heats of vaporization. The operating parameters of vehicle engines utilizing alternative fuels must be adjusted to accommodate such differences in order for the engines to operate efficiently. The operating parameters which must be adjusted include the air bypass, fuel flow, spark timing, and air/fuel ratio.
The aforementioned adjustments can be made automatically by an engine control computer. Engine control computers are well known and are commonly used in vehicles. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,706,630 to Wineland et al. However, in order for an engine control computer to correctly make the requisite adjustments, the instantaneous composition of the fuel being burned in the engine must be known by the computer. To the extent that fuel composition information sent to the engine control computer differs from the actual composition of fuel being burned in the engine, adjustments made to the engine will be improper. Improper engine adjustments, in turn, can result in poor engine performance and excess emissions due to incomplete combustion. Thus, a close correlation between the composition of fuel actually being burned in an engine and that which is made known to the engine control computer is needed to facilitate the use of alternative fuel use in motorized vehicle engines.
Current means of drawing fuel from the fuel tank of a motorized vehicle involve devices which either draw fuel from the top layer of fuel in the fuel tank or from the bottom of the fuel tank. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,203,578 to Brooks discloses a delivery pipe attached at one end to a float and strainer combination for drawing fuel from the upper portion of fuel within a fuel tank. The float keeps the strainer at the top surface of fuel in the tank so that only fuel from the top surface is drawn through the strainer.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,390,698 to Carmichael et al. discloses a vehicle with an auxiliary fuel tank which receives fuel from the bottom of a main fuel tank. The auxiliary tank is provided with an outlet fuel line having small bores to restrict fuel flow to the vehicle's engine when the only fuel remaining in the vehicle is that contained within the auxiliary tank. As the fuel level in the auxiliary tank drops, the number of orifices available for fuel delivery to the engine become fewer and fewer so that the top speed of the vehicle becomes progressively lessened. In addition, the bores which are exposed above the fuel level in the auxiliary tank allow air to be ingested into the vehicle's engine which causes the engine to sputter. In this manner, the driver is reminded to refuel the vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,546,750 to Brunell et al. discloses a vehicle fuel tank which has a filter at the bottom thereof and a secondary reservoir disposed above the filter. Fuel is drawn from the interior of the filter. The secondary reservoir is filled by a fuel return line from the vehicle engine. An inertia responsive valve is provided between the reservoir and the filter to allow fuel to pass from the reservoir to the filter when the vehicle undergoes acceleration. In this manner, fuel starvation is prevented during acceleration.
Because such traditional fuel drawing devices draw fuel exclusively from the top layer of fuel in a fuel tank or from the bottom layer, only that layer of fuel from which the pickup device is drawing will be sent to the engine. In the event that the fuel consists entirely of one component, the portion of fuel sent to the engine will be representative of the fuel in the tank. In this instance, existing fuel drawing devices would be adequate. However, in other situations where the fuel either consists of multiple components, such as combinations of gasoline, methanol and ethanol, contains various fuel additives, or contains water, the composition of each layer of fuel in the fuel tank may differ. The condition in which the composition of each layer differs, known as stratification, generally occurs when the vehicle has been stationary for a period of time or after the vehicle has been refueled with a fuel having a different composition than the fuel initially in the tank. In this regard, the lower the temperature or the higher the water content in the fuel, the greater will be the likelihood that a condition of stratification will occur. During a condition of stratification, a fuel drawing device of the prior art will draw fuel from only one layer, thereby sending a portion of fuel to the engine which differs from the average fuel composition in the fuel tank.
For example, with a stratified fuel consisting of 85% methanol and 15% gasoline in a fuel tank, the higher density methanol will tend to settle towards the bottom of the tank while the gasoline will collect at the upper portion of the fuel in the tank. During the period of stratification, a surface-drawing fuel pickup device will send fuel consisting mostly of gasoline to the engine, while a bottom-drawing device will send a largely methanol-laden fuel. This situation can be problematic in several respects.
As is well known, in-line fuel sensors are commonly used to convey to a vehicle engine control computer the composition of fuel being sent to the vehicle's engine. Agitation of the fuel by vehicle motion or by action of the fuel pump will cause the composition of each layer of fuel to change over a period of time until the fuel is fully mixed. In addition, with a bottom drawing fuel pickup, fuel consumption will cause the composition of the bottom layer of fuel in the fuel tank to continuously change until full mixing occurs. Both of these events will result in continuously differing compositions of fuel being sent to the vehicle's engine. Due to the distance between the fuel sensor and the engine, the fuel composition information being sent to the engine control computer will differ from the composition of fuel actually being introduced into the engine. The result will be improper engine adjustments being made by the engine control computer during the period between stratification and full mixing.
A similar problem can occur due to the fact that, at startup, the composition of fuel in the fuel injector header and in the fuel lines between the fuel pump and the header will be different from the composition of fuel at the particular layer of fuel from which a surface or bottom drawing fuel pickup system will take fuel. Again, the composition of fuel being introduced into the engine will continuously vary and the distance between the fuel sensor and the engine may result in erroneous adjustments being made to the engine by the engine control computer.
As an alternative to using a fuel sensor, a vehicle engine control computer can be informed of the composition of fuel in a vehicle by providing means to manually specify to the vehicle's engine control computer the composition of fuel being added during each refueling. The engine control computer can be programmed to use this information, along with the total quantity of fuel added to the fuel tank and the composition and quantity of fuel existing in the fuel tank prior to refueling, if any, to calculate the average fuel composition in the fuel tank following refueling. Such means are disclosed in my commonly-assigned U.S. application Ser. No. 07/832,459, filed Feb. 7, 1992, entitled "Fuel Specifying Apparatus," the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. As with the use of fuel sensors, stratification of the fuel could result in erroneous engine adjustments being made by the vehicle engine control computer with the system disclosed in application Ser. No. 07/832,459 inasmuch as the composition of the layer of fuel being instantaneously drawn by a surface or bottom drawing fuel pickup device may differ from the average fuel composition in the vehicle fuel tank. Since the engine control computer will have adjusted the vehicle engine parameters based upon the average composition of the fuel in the fuel tank, the fuel actually being introduced into the engine may be inefficiently combusted due to the fact that the engine adjustments could be improper for that fuel.
Accordingly, it is seen that a need exists in the art for a system for delivering fuel from a vehicle fuel tank in such a manner that the fuel being withdrawn approximates the average composition of the fuel in the tank. Such a need, if fulfilled, would facilitate the use of multicomponent, alternative fuels in motorized vehicles by allowing engines to operate efficiently on such fuels, resulting in maximum engine performance and minimum pollution.


The present invention is concerned with a method of extracting oxidized lipids from a lipid solution, the method comprising (a) a derivatisation step, comprising contacting a derivatisation agent with the lipid solution such that aldehydic oxidized lipids and/or α,β-unsaturated oxidised lipids, if present in the lipid solution, are derivatised to include an anionic group, and (b) an oxidised lipid capture step, in which nanoparticles are contacted with the lipid solution, wherein the nanoparticles capture anionic-group containing oxidised lipids. The invention also includes a method of extracting aldehydic oxidized phospholipids from a lipid solution, the method comprising (a) a derivatisation step, comprising introduction of a anionic group to aldehydic oxidized lipids and/or α,β-unsaturated oxidised lipids in the lipid solution, and (b) an oxidised lipid capture step, in which nanoparticles are contacted with the lipid solution, wherein the nanoparticles bind anionic-group containing oxidised lipids.

Oxidized biomolecules are known to deteriorate the quality and increase the toxicity of food, pharmaceuticals and other industrial products. They are also known to contribute to some pathological processes, including for example, atherosclerosis, neurodegenerative disease, multiple sclerosis, diabetes and cancer. Oxidised phospholipids (OxPLs) and oxidised cholesterol esters (OxCEs) are known to play a role in oxidative stress, chronic inflammation and the formation of oxidized low-density lipoprotein (OxLDL) in vivo[1][2][3], which plays a crucial role in the onset and progression of atherosclerosis. OxPLs and OxCEs are essential components of modified human LDL[4] and HDL respectively[5].
Polyunsaturated fatty acid residues [for example, arachidonate (20:4) or linoleate (18:2)] in lipid molecules are typically the targets of reactive oxygen species in biological systems. Natural phospholipids typically comprise a phosphate-containing polar head group and two fatty acid residues esterified to a glycerol backbone. Natural cholesterol esters (CEs) comprise a neutral cholesteryl backbone and one esterified FA residue. Each can be oxidized by radical catalysed enzymatic and/or chemical mechanisms.
Consequently, due to the importance of lipid oxidation in biological processes "oxidative lipidomics" is now becoming an emerging field of interest. The development of novel assays allowing the sensitive detection, localization and quantification of the individual molecular species present in biological samples (e.g. plasma, tissues, etc.)[6] is key to this emerging field.
Soft ionisation mass spectrometry techniques are commonly used in biomolecule analysis. MALDI-MS has been used to analyse oxidized lipids extracted from biological samples[7], with speed of analysis, instrument robustness and excellent sensitivity all aiding in this analysis.
However, detection and quantification of oxidised lipids from crude biological samples (e.g. human plasma) is often compromised by (a) their low abundance in vivo, (b) the interference of more abundant isobaric compounds (e.g. non-oxidized lipids), (c) the lack of chromatographic selectivity, and (d) ionisation suppression during mass spec analysis.
To improve the detection of oxidised phospholipids from biological samples, fluorescence labelling combined with reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RPHPLC) separation has been used[5][9]. The structural characterisation of OxPLs has been improved by micro-derivatisation techniques using specific reagents as mass-tags, followed by RPHPLC and subsequent analysis by ESI-MS[10][11][12]. Further, other derivatisation strategies have been developed to improve the detection and extend the mass of lipid oxidisation products accessible for analysis by ESI[13] and MALDI-MS[14].
Numerous techniques have been proposed for the separation and enrichment of OxPLs from bulk lipids in biological samples (e.g. human plasma) followed by MALDI-MS analysis[7]. Such methods can be used for the screening of OxPLs from clinical samples[15]. However, the methods are typically complex, which can prevent their implementation in routine clinical applications.
The inventors recently disclosed a simple, robust and reproducible method for the extraction of OxPLs. The method uses metal oxide (MeO2) nanoparticles (e.g. SnO2, TiO2, and ZrO2) which were found to selectively bind carboxy group containing OxPCs) over other OxPL and PL species. Subsequent analysis of the OxPLs by MALDI-MS is then possible.
The high surface-to-volume ratio of nanoparticles allows extremely efficient extraction and concentration of oxidized phospholipids (OxPLs). The problems of direct analysis from crude biological samples (low abundance, and interference of other isobaric compounds) are no longer relevant.
However, since the MeO2 nanoparticles selectively bind to carboxy groups, the disclosed method can only be used to extract and analyse OxPLs which contain a carboxy group.