A semiconductor device includes a first metal foil, an insulating sheet mounted on an upper surface of the first metal foil main, at least one second metal foil mounted on the insulating sheet, at least one solder layer mounted on the at least one second metal foil, and at least one semiconductor element mounted on the at least one second metal foil through the at least one solder layer. The at least one semiconductor has a thickness of 50 μm or greater and less than 100 μm.

This invention relates to a semiconductor device equipped with a power semiconductor element.
In inverter devices, uninterruptible power supply devices, machining equipments, industrial robots, and other equipments, semiconductor modules which are independent of the main unit of the equipment (general-use modules) are employed.
As semiconductor devices, for example, a metal base plate of prescribed thickness is used as a foundation, and a package equipped with power semiconductor devices is provided on the metal base plate (see Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2003-289130). FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a semiconductor device employing a metal base plate as a foundation.
This semiconductor device 100 employs a metal base plate 101 with several millimeters in thickness as a foundation; onto the metal base plate 101 is mounted a metal foil 103 through a solder layer 102. Onto the metal foil 103 is mounted an insulating sheet 104, and onto the insulating sheet 104 are mounted metal foils 105, 106. Further, on the metal foils 105, 106 are mounted semiconductor devices 109, 110 through solder layers 107, 108. Here, the semiconductor devices 109, 110 are, for example, IGBTs (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors), FWDs (Free Wheeling Diodes), or other devices. Furthermore, onto the semiconductor devices 109, 110 are mounted heat spreaders 113, 114 through solder layers 111, 112. A resin case 115, molded so as to surround the semiconductor devices 109, 110 and similar, is fixed onto the upper edge of the metal base plate 101. In a hole 117 of the resin case 115, is provided a reinforcement metal ring 118.
Although not shown, metal wires, lead frames, and similar are arranged on the periphery of the semiconductor devices 109 and 110; for example, terminals of the semiconductor devices 109, 110 are electrically bonded to a circuit pattern formed on the insulating sheet 104, or, electrical connections are formed between terminals of the semiconductor devices 109, 110.
Further, the interior of the resin case 115 is filled with a gel 116 comprising a silicone material in order to prevent contact between metal wires and similar, and to protect the semiconductor devices 109, 110, and similar from moisture, humidity, and dust.
Recently, a small-size semiconductor device has been disclosed which does not employ a metal base plate 101 as a foundation (see, for example, Japanese Non-patent Document 1: Komatsu, Soutome and Ikawa, "Small Capacity IGBT Module", Fuji Jihou, Vol. 78, No. 4, 2005, p. 260 to 263).
FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of a semiconductor device which does not employ a metal base plate.
In this semiconductor device 200, an insulating sheet 104, metal foil 103 formed on the lower face of the insulating sheet 104, and metal foils 105, 106 formed on the upper face of the insulating sheet 104 serve as the foundation. Semiconductor devices 109, 110 are mounted onto the metal foils 105, 106 through solder layers 107, 108.
In the semiconductor device 200, a resin case 115, molded so as to surround the semiconductor devices 109, 110 and similar, is fixed onto the upper edge of the insulating sheet 104. The interior of the resin case 115 is similarly filled with a gel 116 comprising a silicone material.
By means of such a semiconductor device 200, because a thick metal base plate is not used as a foundation, the semiconductor device can be made lighter in weight, smaller in size, and lower in cost.
Further, as the semiconductor elements 109, 110 mounted within the semiconductor device 100, 200, recently, thin semiconductor elements with reduced turn-off losses have been used (see, for example, Japanese Non-patent Document 2: Miyashita, "U series IGBT modules"), Fuji Jiho, Vol. 77, No. 5, 2004, p. 313 to 316).
For example, conventionally, PT (Punch Through) type semiconductor elements, having a thickness of approximately 350 μm and fabricated using epitaxial silicon substrates, have been mainly used. Recently, however, the use of NPT (Non-Punch Through) semiconductor elements having a thickness of approximately 100 μm and fabricated using FZ (Floating Zone) substrates has become popular.
However, if the semiconductor devices 100, 200 described above are repeatedly operated, because the thickness of the mounted semiconductor elements 109, 110 is 100 μm or greater, heat generation and dissipation by the semiconductor elements 109, 110 causes substantially expansion of the semiconductor elements 109, 110. As a result, excessive amount of stress repeatedly occurs between the semiconductor elements 109, 110 and the solder layers 107, 108 below the semiconductor elements 109, 110.
If such semiconductor devices 100, 200 are operated over extended periods of time, the adhesive forces between the semiconductor elements 109, 110 and the solder layers 107, 108 cannot withstand the stress, and peeling occurs at the interface between the semiconductor elements 109, 110 and the solder layers 107, 108 to cause wire breakage. Consequently, there is a problem that reliability of the semiconductor device is undermined.
This invention has been made in light of the above circumstances, and has as an object to provide a semiconductor device with excellent reliability even when used over extended period of time, as well as a method for manufacturing such a semiconductor device.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the invention.

Semiconductor device and method for manufacturing semiconductor device


An electrically controlled pump (20) for dispersing a volatile substance into a local environment includes an enclosure defining a volume, a moveable member (52) separating the enclosure into first (54) and second (56) chambers (the second chamber containing non-solid composition which includes a volatile substance), an electrochemical cell (48) for generating gas. The electrochemical cell is associated with the enclosure, and is in fluid communication with the first chamber. A port preferably communicates the second chamber with a medium for dispersing the volatile substance into the local environment. Also, a case (58) may encase the pump and hold it in an upright position with respect to a surface upon which the case is positioned.

Various methods have been used to mask or "freshen" the air in an enclosed environment (e.g. a room or automobile). For freshening the air in a room, methods used have included burning scented candles or incense or using electrical devices such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,849,606 to Martens et al. (Jul. 18, 1989). Martens et al. discloses a tamper resistant container used to hold a volatile material for slow diffusion. U.S. Pat. No. 5,373,581 to Smith et al. (Dec. 13, 1994) discloses a device somewhat similar to that of Marens et al. for use in an automobile.
Another fragrance emitting system for use in automobiles is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,171,485 to Ryan (Dec. 15, 1992). The Ryan device consists of a plastic reservoir which houses liquid fragrance, and a pump that extracts the fragrance from the reservoir and transports it to a holder mounted in an air vent. While fine for certain applications, the device is not integrated into a single unit, and evidently relies on an external power source to power the pump.

Electrochemical device for delivery of volatile substances


There are disclosed a reductase having good heat stability, which resulted in decrease in reaction time and improvement of reaction efficiency. Specifically, disclosed is an enzyme having an amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1 in which at least one of the amino acids of the positions 245 and 271 of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1 is replaced with another amino acid(s); a polynucleotide having a nucleotide sequence that encodes the amino acid sequence of said reductase; a vector containing said polynucleotide; a transformant containing said polynucleotide or said vector, and the like.

Reductases reduce unsaturated organic compounds, and have been used recently in an organic synthesis reaction for producing compounds that are used as active ingredients of medicaments or agrochemicals or intermediates thereof, especially for the production of optically active compounds.
According to the present invention, there is provided a modified reductase comprising an amino acid substitution(s) at certain amino acid residue(s) in a wild-type reductase amino acid sequence, thereby heat stability of the reductase is improved.
The present invention provides:                1) a reductase comprising                    i)an amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1 having a substitution at amino acid position 245 or 271 or at both of the amino acid positions 245 and 271, or            ii)an amino acid sequence as defined in i) having further substitution, deletion, or addition of an amino acid or acids;                        2) a reductase according to 1) above, which comprises an amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1 having a substitution at amino acid position 245 or 271 or at both of the amino acid positions 245 and 271;        3) a reductase according to 1) or 2) above, wherein said substitution is a single amino acid substitution at amino acid position 245 of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1;        4) a reductase according to 1) or 2) above, wherein said substitution is a single amino acid substitution at amino acid position 271 of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1;        5) a reductase according to 1) or 2) above, wherein the amino acids at positions 245 and 271 of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1 are substituted with a same amino acid or different amino acids;        6) a reductase according to 3) or 5) above, wherein the amino acid at amino acid position 245 is substituted with arginine;        7) a reductase according to 4) or 5) above, wherein the amino acid at amino acid position 271 is substituted with aspartic acid;        8) a reductase according to 1) above, wherein the amino acid at amino acid position 245 of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1 is substituted with arginine, and the amino acid at amino acid position 271 of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1 is substituted with aspartic acid;        9) a polynucleotide sequence comprising a polynucleotide sequence encoding an amino acid sequence of the reductase of 1) or 2) above;        10) a vector comprising the polynucleotide of 9) above;        11) a transformant comprising the polynucleotide sequence of 9) above or the vector of 10) above;        12) a vector according to 10) above, which further comprises a polynucleotide sequence encoding an amino acid sequence of a protein capable of converting an NADP or an NAD into NADPH or NADH respectively;        13) a transformant of 11) above, which further comprises a polynucleotide sequence encoding the amino acid sequence of a protein capable of converting an NADP or NAD into NADPH or NADH respectively;        14) a method for producing (S)-halo-3-hydroxybutyrate ester, which comprises reacting 4-halo-3-oxobutyrate ester with the transformant of 11) or 13) above or a treated material thereof;        15) a method for modifying an enzyme, which comprises replacing at least one of the amino acids at positions 245 and 271 of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1 respectively with another amino acid(s), thereby heat stability of said enzyme in the reduction reaction is improved; and        16) a method for producing a modified enzyme gene, which comprises replacing at least one codon corresponding to the amino acids at positions 245 and 271 of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1, with another codon or codons corresponding to an amino acid(s), in a nucleotide sequence encoding the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1.


This invention addresses sound recording and mixing methods for 3-D audio rendering of multiple sound sources over headphones or loudspeaker playback systems. Economical techniques are provided, whereby directional panning and mixing of sounds are performed in a multi-channel encoding format which preserves interaural time difference information and does not contain head-related spectral information. Decoders are provided for converting the multi-channel encoded signal into signals for playback over headphones or various loudspeaker arrangements. These decoders ensure faithful reproduction of directional auditory information at the eardrums of the listener and can be adapted to the number and geometrical layout of the loudspeakers and the individual characteristics of the listener. A particular multi-channel encoding format is disclosed, which, in addition to the above advantages, is associated with a practical microphone technique for producing 3-D audio recordings compliant with the decoders described.

A well-known technique for artificially positioning a sound in a multi-channel loudspeaker playback system consists of weighting an audio signal by a set of amplifiers feeding each loudspeaker individually. This method, described e.g. in [Chowning71], is often referred to as "discrete amplitude panning" when only the loudspeakers closest to the target direction are assigned non-zero weights, as illustrated by the graph of panning functions in FIG. 1. Although FIG. 1 shows a two-dimensional loudspeaker layout, the method can be extended with no difficulty to three-dimensional loudspeaker layouts, as described e.g. in [Pulkki97]. A drawback of this technique is that it requires a high number of channels to provide a faithful reproduction of all directions. Another drawback is that the geometrical layout of the loudspeakers must be known at the encoding and mixing stage. An alternative approach, described in [Gerzon85], consists of producing a 'B-Format' multi-channel signal and reproducing this signal over loudspeakers via an 'Ambisonic' decoder, as illustrated in FIG. 2. Instead of discrete panning functions, the B Format uses real-valued spherical harmonics. The zero-order spherical harmonic function is named W, while the three first-order harmonics are denoted X, Y, and Z. These functions are defined as follows:W(σ,φ)=1X(σ,φ)=cos(φ)cos(σ)Y(σ,φ)=cos(φ)sin(σ)Z(σ,φ)=sin(φ)where σ and φ denote respectively the azimuth and elevation angles of the sound source with respect to the listener, expressed in radians. An advantage of this technique over the discrete panning method is that B Format encoding does not require knowledge of the loudspeaker layout, which is taken into account in the design of the decoder. A second advantage is that a real-world B-Format recording can be produced with practical microphone technology, known as the 'Soundfield Microphone' [Farrah79]. As illustrated in FIG. 2, this allows for combining microphone-encoded sounds with electronically encoded sounds to produce a single B-format recording. First-order Ambisonic decoders do not reconstruct the acoustic pressure information at the ears of the listener except at low frequencies (below about 700 Hz). As described e.g. in [Bamford95], the frequency range can be extended by increasing the order of spherical harmonics, but only at the expense of a higher number of encoding channels and loudspeakers.
3-D audio reproduction techniques which specifically aim at reproducing the acoustic pressure at the two ears of a listener are usually termed binaural techniques. This approach is illustrated in FIG. 3 and reviewed e.g. in [Jot95]. A binaural recording can be produced by inserting miniature microphones in the ear canals of an individual or dummy head. Binaural encoding of an audio signal (also called binaural synthesis) can be performed by applying to a sound signal a pair of left and right filters modeling the head-related transfer functions (HRTFs) measured on an individual or a dummy head for a given direction. As shown in FIG. 3, a HRTF can be modeled as a cascaded combination of a delaying element and a minimum-phase filter, for each of the left and right channels. A binaurally encoded or recorded signal is suitable for playback over headphones. For playback over loudspeakers, a cross-talk canceller is used, as described e.g. in [Gardner97].
Conventional binaural techniques can provide a more convincing 3-D audio reproduction, over headphones or loudspeakers, than the previously described techniques. However, they are not without their own drawbacks and difficulties.                Compared to discrete amplitude panning or B-Format encoding, binaural synthesis involves a significantly larger amount of computation for each sound source. An accurate finite impulse response (FIR) model of an HRTF typically requires a 1-ms long response, i.e. approximately 100 additions and multiplies per sample period at a sample rate of 48 kHz, which amounts to 5 MIPS (million instructions per second).        The HRTF can only be measured at a set of discrete positions around the head. Designing a binaural synthesis system which can faithfully reproduce any direction and smooth dynamic movements of sounds is a challenging problem involving interpolation techniques and time-variant filters, implying an additional computational effort.        The binaurally recorded or encoded signal contains features related to the morphology of the torso, head, and pinnae. Therefore the fidelity of the reproduction is compromised if the listener's head is not identical to the head used in the recording or the HRTF measurements. In headphone playback, this can cause artifacts such as an artificial elevation of the sound, front-back confusions or inside-the-head localization.        In reproduction over two loudspeakers, the listener must be located at a specific position for lateral sound locations to be convincingly reproduced (beyond the azimuth of the loudspeakers), while rear or elevated sound locations cannot be reproduced reliably.
[Travis96] describes a method for reducing the computational cost of the binaural synthesis and addresses the interpolation and dynamic issues. This method consists of combining a panning technique designed for N-channel loudspeaker playback and a set of N static binaural synthesis filter pairs to simulate N fixed directions (or "virtual loudspeakers") for playback over headphones. This technique leads to the topology of FIG. 4a, where a bank of binaural synthesis filters is applied after panning and mixing of the source signals. An alternative approach, described in [Gehring96], consists of applying the binaural synthesis filters before panning and mixing, as illustrated in FIG. 4b. The filtered signals can be produced off-line and stored so that only the panning and mixing computations need to be performed in real time. In terms of reproduction fidelity, these two approaches are equivalent. Both suffer from the inherent limitations of the multi-channel positioning techniques. Namely, they require a large number of encoding channels to faithfully reproduce the localization and timbre of sound signals in any direction.
[Lowe95] describes a variation of the topology of FIG. 4a, in which the directional encoder generates a set of two-channel (left and right) audio signals, with a direction-dependent time delay introduced between the left and right channels, and each two-channel signal is panned between front, back and side "azimuth placement" filters. [Chen96] uses an analysis method known as principal component analysis (PCA) to model any set of HRTFs as a weighted sum of frequency-dependent functions weighted by functions of direction. The two sets of functions are listener-specific (uniquely associated to the head on which the HRTF were measured) and can be used to model the left filter and the right filter applied to the source signal in the directional encoder. [Abel97] also shows the topologies of FIGS. 4a and 4b and uses a singular value decomposition (SVD) technique to model a set of HRTFs in a manner essentially equivalent to the method described in [Chen96], resulting in the simultaneous solution for a set of filters and the directional panning functions.
There remains a need for a computationally efficient technique for high-fidelity 3-D audio encoding and mixing of multiple audio signals. It is desirable to provide an encoding technique that produces a non listener-specific format. There is a need for a practical recording technique and suitably designed decoders to provide faithful reproduction of the pressure signals at the ears of a listener over headphones or two-channel and multi-channel loudspeaker playback systems.

Method and apparatus for three-dimensional audio display


A positive locking keeper for use with an aircraft panel latch assembly having a hook for engaging the positive locking keeper includes a keeper housing having a central opening, and a coupling having a head and a shaft extending therefrom. The head engages the latch assembly and the shaft extends through the housing with the head disposed on the first side. A detent pin is disposed within an aperture of the keeper housing. The positive locking keeper also includes a nut positioned on the second side of the keeper housing. The shaft engaged the nut. The nut includes indentations on a peripheral edge to receive a portion of the detent pin. In a first position, the detent pin engages one of the indentations and prevents rotation of the nut. In a second position, the detent pin does not engage the indentations and the nut is able to rotate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a locking keeper, and more specifically to a positive locking keeper for use with aircraft panel latch assemblies.
2. Background
Latches are used on the exterior surfaces of aircraft, where it is important that the latch present a flush surface. Such latches are generally used with a keeper or locking pin on an opposing surface for engaging the latch. It is important that the latch and the keeper be tightly secured, particularly given the vibration and rattling to which the latch and keeper are exposed during travel. It is important that the keeper be adjustable when necessary, and when not engaging the latch, but that it not lose adjustment when the latch and keeper are engaged.


A vehicle having a transfer case is provided with an overdrive unit including an input shaft, an output shaft drivingly connectable to the input shaft, a control means having a first position in which the input shaft drives the output shaft at a first relative rate of rotation and a second position in which the input shaft drives the output shaft at a second different relative rate of rotation, the input shaft and the output shaft being disposed on the same side of the overdrive unit.

This invention relates to an overdrive unit for vehicles.
Where a vehicle is provided with a limited range of gears, it is desirable to add a further high gear having a lower reduction ratio than that provided by the pre-existing highest gear. It is known to provide such a gear by means of an overdrive unit provided in the transmission of the vehicle.


A tubular metal ball bat including a tubular barrel having a hitting zone at the distal end thereof, a handle at a proximal end thereof and a tapered transition zone connecting the hitting zone to the handle and a method of making same. The transition zone is provided with a stiffening transverse wall generally at the junction between the hitting zone and transition zone. In one form , a hardenable material is poured into the distal end of the bat through an opening in the distal end after a sponge-like member of foam plastic or similar resilient foam material has been inserted through the opening and forced into the barrel generally to the junction between the hitting zone and transition zone. The sponge-like member is frictionally held in place initially by its resilient contact with the interior of the bat barrel to accurately orient the hardenable material and prevent the hardenable material from running downwardly to the handle end of the bat while the hardenable material hardens. When the hardenable material solidifies, it attaches to open cells in the sponge-like material and to the inner surface of the barrel to form a continuous transverse wall across the barrel interior. In another embodiment, a disk-like member is inserted through an open bat distal end before assembling the end cap and the disk-like member is glued in position to form the stiffening transverse wall.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a tubular metal ball bat, such as a baseball bat or a softball bat, which includes a tubular barrel having a hitting zone at the distal end, a handle at the proximal end and a tapered transition zone connecting the hitting zone to the handle, and to a method of making the same. More specifically, the present invention is directed to a tubular metal ball bat in which the transition zone is provided with a transverse wall or reinforcing element of a generally rigid material adjacent the juncture between the hitting zone and transition zone which tends to stiffen the proximal end of the hitting zone, isolate the hitting zone from the transition zone and handle, control the balance of the bat and its center of gravity and regulate the impact area of the bat hitting zone.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Hollow metal bats of aluminum or similar material have been developed and have been used when playing baseball, softball and the like for many years. Various improvements have been made in the construction of these hollow metal bats since their introduction. Included in such developments are the subjects of my U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,393,055 issued Feb. 28, 1995, 5,421,572 issued Jun. 6, 1995, and 5,494,280 issued Feb. 27, 1996. In addition, the distal end of such bats has traditionally been reinforced by various closure caps and constructions. Efforts have also been made to cushion and reinforce the bat by completely filling the interior of the bat with a foam material and by making other improvements. The following U.S. patents illustrate various developments in this field of endeavor:
______________________________________ 3,727,295 4,746,117 5,180,163 4,056,267 4,834,370 5,380,003 4,505,479 ______________________________________
The above patents disclose bats filled with foam to increase the strength of the bat. Additionally, the above patents disclose the addition of a weight member in the handle portion of the bat for weighting and balancing the bat handle.
The prior art does not disclose, however, a transverse wall or reinforcing segment at or near the juncture of the hitting zone and the transition zone of a tubular metal bat as contemplated by the present invention. Further, the prior art does not teach a method for forming such transverse wall or reinforcing segment which stiffens the proximal end of the hitting zone of the bat and serves to isolate the hitting zone from the transition zone and handle.

Hollow metal bat with stiffened transition zone and method of making same


A slope compensation circuit includes an oscillator for generating a first clock signal having a reference frequency, a ramp signal generator for generating a ramp signal having a duty ratio of about 50% or higher based on the first clock signal, and a slope compensation signal generator for outputting a slope compensation current based on the ramp signal.

A Direct Current-Direct Current (DC-DC) converter can operate by voltage mode control or current mode control depending on its feedback scheme. The current mode control scheme is one of switch mode power supply control systems that are usefully applied. Advantageously, the current mode control makes it possible to realize a simple system compensation circuit. For example, compensation can be implemented with a single compensation capacitor and resistor. Accordingly, system characteristics can be achieved to the same effect as operating as a system having one pole. Other advantages with the current mode control are excellent characteristics of line regulation that is the capability of maintaining a constant output voltage despite changes to an input voltage, and good noise immunity.
However, a system having a duty ratio exceeding 50% for a Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) signal needs a linear or non-linear circuit. This is called a slope compensation circuit. The additional use of a slope compensation circuit can prevent sub-harmonic oscillation.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of DC-DC converter 100 that operates in a current mode control scheme.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, DC-DC converter 100 includes slope compensation circuit 110 for slope compensation.
FIG. 2A illustrates an inductor (L) current in a DC-DC converter without a slope compensation circuit and FIG. 2B illustrates an inductor (L) current (IL) in a DC-DC converter with a slope compensation circuit. A solid line represents an ideal inductor current and a dotted line represents a real inductor current.
As illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the DC-DC converter with a slope compensation circuit demonstrates a stable inductor waveform.


An apparatus and method for processing a path management packet is provided, the method including determining whether a router for processing a received path management packet is a storing node, and when the router is determined to be a storing node, controlling the path management packet to be stored in a routing table, or when the router is determined to be a non-storing node, failing to store the path management packet in the routing table and controlling the path management packet to be transmitted to a subsequent node.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for processing a path management packet.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent times, research into a wireless ad-hoc network using a low power device is being conducted in earnest. A representative application of the wireless ad-hoc network using the low power device may include a wireless sensor network, a smart energy service, and the like. Such applications may perform regular collection, from a device, of a sensing value and an amount of power consumed. A general low power wireless ad-hoc network may generally adopt a data processing scheme in a tree structure in order to collect data, and use a tree routing scheme to collect and transfer data.
The tree routing scheme in a low power wireless network may be divided into a scheme in which a plurality of routers stores a routing table and transfers data using the information stored, and a source routing scheme in which a routing path is designated in a header.
The low power wireless network may fail to transfer data to a lower tree when a router using the two schemes is present in an identical single network. In general, the low power wireless network may use one of the two schemes selectively, and may not allow for interoperation of the two schemes.
In particular, two devices supporting the two schemes, respectively, may fail to communicate with one another although the two devices implement the same standard. Transitively, configuring a large network and establishing an actual environment may be difficult.
The low power wireless network may require a compatibility scheme between the two routing schemes to transmit and receive data between devices using the scheme using the routing table and the source routing scheme in configuring differing devices.

Apparatus and method for processing path management packet

ELECTRONICS AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS RESEARCH INSTITUTE


Methods and systems for intelligent signaling-router-based surveillance are disclosed. A surveillance and signaling router receives call signaling messages, identifies call signaling messages associated with users under surveillance and determines a surveillance type for the call signaling messages. If the surveillance type is content-related, the surveillance and signaling router forwards the message to a call server. The call server replaces parameters in the message and in subsequent messages so that the call is transparently set up through a media proxy server. The media proxy server copies the media stream to a delivery function. If the surveillance type is non-content-related, the surveillance and signaling router sends a copy of the message or information extracted from the message to an external device.

In October 1994, Congress took action to protect public safety and national security by enacting the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (CALEA) Pub. L. No. 103–414,108 Stat. 4279. CALEA further defines the existing statutory obligation of telecommunications carriers to assist law enforcement in executing electronic surveillance pursuant to court order or other lawful authorization. In response to CALEA, the Telecommunications Industry Association produced a standard, referred to as J-STD-25 or J Standard to specify CALEA requirements for telecommunications service providers
In response to CALEA and the J Standard, telecommunications service providers have developed systems that allow surveillance of users. However, one problem with such systems is that they are typically switch based, meaning that the systems are implemented at customer access points, such as end offices or mobile switching centers. One problem with providing surveillance capabilities at a customer access point is that such surveillance capabilities must be provided at every customer access point in a service provider's network in order to be effective. In addition, because access points or switches typically handle non-surveillance calls and surveillance calls, performing surveillance at these nodes can lead to processing bottlenecks and does not provide a scalable solution.
Moreover, some IP-based telephony protocols, such as the session initiation protocol (SIP), may not require an end office. In such protocols, calls may be routed through a softswitch or a feature server. Since softswitchs and feature servers typically handle non-surveillance as well as surveillance calls, like conventional switch-based solutions, performing surveillance at these nodes can lead to processing bottlenecks and does not provide a scalable solution.
Another problem associated with efficiently performing surveillance in today's communications networks is that many different protocols may be used. For example, a call that a government agency desires to monitor may be initiated from a SIP client to an H.323 client. The signaling messages used to set up the call may include both SIP and H.323 messages. Conventional surveillance techniques are typically directed to a single protocol and are incapable of monitoring messages in multiple protocols for a single call.
Yet another problem associated with conventional surveillance techniques is that there is no ability to identify and optimize the surveillance being performed based on the type of surveillance required by the law enforcement agency. For example, CALEA defines three types of surveillance. These types are pen register surveillance, trap and trace, and interception. Each of these types of surveillance requires different resources in order to be performed. However, conventional switch or call-server-based wire tapping techniques are incapable of automatically distinguishing between the type of surveillance required and optimizing the use of network nodes, such as call servers, based on the surveillance type.
Accordingly, there exists a need for improved methods and systems for intelligent surveillance or users or user equipment in a communications network.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and systems for intelligent signaling router-based surveillance


A hand-held vacuum cleaner comprises first and second portions which can be pivotally separated in order to allow the filter mechanism to be cleared of debris. The two portions are pivotally connected via a hinge such that on separation, the portion moves to a position below the other portion and provides a chute for guidance of the debris which is then emptied from the filter.

The present invention relates to a hand-held vacuum cleaner of the type which comprises a housing for accommodating an electric motor operable to drive a fan, which fan, when driven, causes an influx of air to the vacuum cleaner through a first opening in the housing, via a filter means, to a second opening in the housing for efflux from the housing; wherein the housing includes first and second pivotally connected portions which may be pivotally separated in order to remove debris from the filter means.
A vacuum cleaner of the above kind is known, for example, from U.S. Pat. No. 4,745,654. This document shows a cleaner having a removable debris (or dust) bag which sits in a housing of the cleaner. During use of the cleaner, debris collects in this filter bag and makes operation of the cleaner less and less efficient as more and more debris collects therein. This is because filtering of the influx air is caused by passing this dirt-laden air through the filter which is formed from a woven fibrous material. As the dirt-laden air is forced through the filter, debris is caught by the fibres and so clean air is passed out of the cleaner via the housing on the other side of the filter to where the debris is caught. It is clearly desirable, therefore to allow the user of the cleaner to have easy access to the filter bag in order to be able to remove it from its seat and periodically clear it of debris.
In the above document, removal of the filter bag is achieved by firstly lifting a portion of the housing of the vacuum cleaner away form the rest of the housing to expose a dust case. The dust case is seated in a recess formed in inside of the housing and itself comprises a pivotal lid below which is the filter. The filter comprises a sheet of cloth-like material held in a semi-rigid framework. The pivotal lid of the dust case is then lifted up to expose the filter which can then be removed and turned upside down to allow the debris therewithin to fall out.
Whilst the above operation functions efficaciously, there are at least four separate movements necessary to empty the filter of debris. Also, both the portion of the housing and the lid of the dust case which need to be moved before the filter may be emptied, are lifted upwards and then stand vertically proud of the vacuum cleaner. The user of the vacuum cleaner thus has to hold the entire unit upright and steady in order to be able to perform the above tasks to empty the debris from the filter. Clearly this does not make for a particularly easily achieved and easily operable filter cleaning process.
It is an object of the present invention to reduce or substantially obviate the abovementioned disadvantages.


Compiled language code is specified in line with markup language code. A parsing component parses the code to extract the compiled language code and a compiler compiles it into binary form. The compiled code and the markup language code are provided to a runtime system.

Computer systems are currently in wide use. Computer systems often include user interface displays with user input mechanisms. A user interacts with the user-input mechanisms on the user interface displays to control or manipulate an underlying computer system or application.
Current user interface frameworks allow developers to specify code to run in a number of different ways. One way of specifying code to run is by using an interpreted script language that is specified in line with a user interface markup language, such as HTML. Another way of specifying code to run is by using a native compiled code language that is specified separately from the user interface markup language.
Both of these frameworks have disadvantages. The interpreted script language is often interpreted at runtime on a client machine. However, this type of runtime interpretation uses processing overhead and increases memory usage. The native compiled language code is separated from the user interface markup code. Therefore, a developer normally needs to maintain a mental memory of where that code exists, in order to update or change that code. For instance, if a developer were to change a button on a UI element, the developer may also wish to update the code that the UI element triggers. If that code exists in another file, the developer needs to remember where that file exists, and switch to it to perform the update.
The discussion above is merely provided for general background information and is not intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

Specifying compiled language code in line with markup language code


According to the present invention, a shift amount Sj−1 of the previous frame is held in a shift amount buffer of an integer signal coder. At least as many last sample values in the previous frame as the number of an order P used in linear predictive analysis are held in a sample buffer of the integer signal coder. The last P sample values in the previous frame held in the sample buffer of the integer signal coder are corrected in an interframe correction section by Sj-Sj−1 on the basis of the shift amount Sj of the current frame and the shift amount Sj−1 of the previous frame determined by a shift amount determining section.

Compressive coding art are used in transmitting audio signal data or image information data over communication lines or recording such data on recording media in these years. Lossless compression of floating-point data which can be readily edited and processed is also important and such coding techniques are disclosed in Non-patent literature 1 and patent literature 1, for example. In these coding methods a sequence of multiple floating-point data samples are grouped for every plural samples into a frame. A bit shift amount is determined for each individual frame so that the largest amplitude value in the frame is the maximum value in a range of amplitudes that can be represented in an integer format of a given number of bits. The bit shift amount thus determined is used to separate each sample into an integer signal and an error signal, each of which is then coded, frame by frame.
Although not shown in patent literature 1, a functional configuration for coding that can be implemented according to the art disclosed therein is shown in FIG. 1. A coding apparatus 800 includes a frame buffer 810, a sift amount calculating section 820, an integer signal/error signal separator 830, an integer signal coder 840, an error signal coder 850, and a multiplexer 860.
The concept of the coding is shown in FIG. 2. Each frame includes multiple sample values, each being formed by a bit stream containing a finite number of significant digits. FIG. 2 shows floating-point notation in which a mantissa is represented by a predetermined number of quantized bits, for example 32 bits, excluding the sign bit. Each string of bits running horizontally represents one sample. Each of the shaded bits in the representation in FIG. 2, which are significant digits in floating-point form that correspond to the predetermined most significant digits in floating-point notation and the digits represented by the mantissa in floating-point notation, contains a 0 or 1; the other bits which do not correspond to significant digits contain 0s. To encode sample values frame by frame, the sample values in the frame are separated into an integer part and an error part (all or part of an input signal excluding the integer part). The dashed-line boxes in FIG. 2 indicate integer parts. An integer part is determined by shifting all samples in a frame by the same number of bits in the same direction so that the largest amplitude value in the frame is the maximum value that can be represented by the integer part. The separated integer part and error part are separately coded and are then combined into coded data.
The concept shown in FIG. 2 can be applied to integer representations as well as floating-point representations. The same method can be applied to any representation in which only a bit string starting from the most significant bit (MSB), which represents the amplitude, to the least significant bit (LSB) a finite number of bits away from the MSB can contain 0s or 1s and the other bits are all 0s. For example, a 32-bit or 64-bit integer representation of each sample may include particular 24 bits each containing a 0 or 1 and the other bits containing 0s.
A typical floating-point representation is the IEEE 754 32-bit floating-point format. The floating-point is represented as
[Equation 1](−1)S×1·M×2E-E0  (1)where S denotes a sign part, M denotes a mantissa, and E denotes an exponent. According to IEEE 754, the sign part S is represented by 1 bit, the mantissa M by 23 bits, and the exponent E by 8 bits. Any value is represented by a total of 32 bits of the floating-point format represents, where E0=27−1=127. Accordingly, E−E0 in Equation 1 can take any integer value in the range −127≦E−E0≦128. If E−E0=−127, the binary representation of the sample value is all 0s; if E−E0=128, the binary representation of the sample value is all 1s. That is, in this floating-point notation, a sample value is normalized so that that decimal place is between the most significant bit of the binary representation of the sample value that contains 1 and the next significant bit and the 23 bits after the decimal place excluding the MSB containing 1 are represented by the M. The number of digits of the integer part of the binary representation of the sample value is equal to E−E0 plus 1.
The sample with the largest amplitude in a frame can be made the maximum value that can be represented by an integer part consisting of Q quantized bits through bit shift by normalizing the sample value by shifting the sample value ΔEmax bits toward the LSB so that the MSB is in the one's place and then shifting Q−1 bits toward the MSB, where ΔEmax is the exponent of the sample with the largest amplitude and ΔEmax=E−E0. The result is that the sample value is bit-shifted by Q−1−ΔEmax. Since the number of quantized bits Q is a predetermined fixed value, ΔEmax=Sj is referred to as the bit-shift amount of a frame j for convenience. In the following description, an example will be described in which the number of quantized bits Q of the signal of an integer part is 24, including the sign bit, all sample values in a frame are shifted by the same number of bits, and the signal of the integer part (hereinafter referred to as the "integer signal") and the signal of the error part (hereinafter referred to as the "error signal") are separately coded.
FIG. 3 shows a possible processing flow in the coding apparatus 800 shown in FIG. 1. The frame buffer 810 temporarily stores digital input signal sample values and forms a frame with NF sample values Xi (i=1, . . . , NF) (S810). The shift amount calculating section 820 determines a shift amount Sj for each frame by using the method described with reference to FIG. 2 (S820). The integer signal/error signal separator 830 uses the shift amount Sj to separate each of the NF samples in the frame input signal into an integer part and an error part (S830). The integer signal coder 840 encodes the integer signal separated in the integer signal/error signal separator 830 by using linear predictive coding (S840). The error signal coder 850 encodes the error signal separated in the integer signal/error signal separator 830 (S850). The multiplexer 860 combines the code representing the coded integer signal, the code representing the error signal, and the shift amount to provide coded data (S860). Because the number of quantized bits Q of the integer part is predetermined, (Q−1−Sj) can be obtained from the shift amount Sj received at a decoding end.
FIG. 4 shows details of a possible exemplary processing flow (step S820 of FIG. 3) in the shift amount calculating section 820 in FIG. 1. In the exemplary processing, a sample value is represented in the IEEE 754 32-bit floating-point format. A similar processing flow is described in patent literature 1. The shift amount calculating section 820 first reads all samples (NF samples) in a frame input signal (S8201). Then, an initial value of 1 is set in a variable i and −127 (=E0) is set in ΔEmax (S8202). The exponent E−E0, that is, Ei−127, of the i-th sample in the current frame is calculated and assigned to variable ΔEi (S8203). Decision is made as to whether ΔEi>ΔEmax (S8204). If this is true, ΔEi is set as ΔEmax (S8205).
Then decision is made as to whether i<NF (S8206). If i<NF, then i+1 is assigned to i (S8207) and the process returns to step S8203; otherwise, decision is made as to whether ΔEmax>−127 (S8208). If ΔEmax>−127, then ΔEmax is obtained as the shift amount Sj (S8209) and the process will end. If ΔEmax≦−127, all samples in the frame are 0 and therefore the shift amount Sj is set to 0(S8210). This processing is equivalent to determining the bit shift amount Sj, specifically (Q−1−Sj), such that the largest amplitude of the sample in the frame is assigned to the largest amplitude in the range between the maximum value and the minimum value that can be represented by the integer part by bit-shifting the sample values.
FIG. 5 shows a variation (step S820′) of the possible processing flow at the shift amount calculation step (step S820) of FIG. 3. A sample represented in the 32-bit floating-point format of the IEEE 754 contains a special value such as a NaN (Not a Number) or an unnormalized number if E−E0 is 128 or −127. This variation differs from the processing shown in FIG. 4 in that only the values within the range −127<E−E0<128 among the samples in a frame are used to calculate the shift amount in determining the largest amplitude. Furthermore, in analysis of the i-th sample, the decimal point of the i-th sample is moved by using ΔEmax obtained so far and decision is made as to whether the value after the place shift is in the range that can be represented by a given number of quantized bits Q. If the value exceeds the range that can be represented by the given number of quantized bits Q as a result of the place shift, then 1 is added to ΔEmax so that the value does not exceed the range, which is another difference from the processing of FIG. 4.
Specifically, the processing flow differs as follows. Step S8221 is added between steps S8202 and S8203, where decision is made as to whether −127<Ei−127<128 (S8221). If this is true, the process proceeds to step S8203; otherwise the step proceeds to step S8206. Furthermore, step 8220 is added between steps S8205 and S8206. At step S8220, first Xi multiplied by 2 to the power of (Q−1−ΔEmax) (that is, the value of Xi shifted by Q−1−ΔEmax bits) is assigned to X′i (S8222). Decision is made as to whether X′i>2Q−1−1 or whether X′i<−2Q−1 (S8223). If step S8223 is true, 1 is added to ΔEmax (S8224); otherwise the process proceeds to step S8206.
FIG. 6 shows a detailed possible procedure for separating an input signal Xi into an integer signal Yi and an error signal Zi using the shift amount Sj obtained at step S830 of FIG. 3. The following process is sequentially performed for each of NF samples Xi. NF samples are taken from the frame buffer into the inside memory (S8301). An initial value of 1 is assigned to i which indicates the number of a sample (S8302). Decision is made as to whether the exponent (Ei−127) of the input sample Xi is greater than −127 and less than 128 (S8303). If it is determined at step S8303 that the exponent is out of the range given above, the i-th sample has the value 0 or a special value such as an unnormalized value or NaN. Therefore, 0 is assigned to the integer part Yi of the sample after digit alignment and Xi is assigned to the error part Zi (S8309).
On the other hand, if it is determined at step S8303 that the exponent value is within the range, Xi is multiplied by 2 to the power of (Q−1−Sj) to obtain X′i (S8304). This means that if (Q−1−Sj) is positive, Xi is shifted by (Q−1−Sj) bits to the left and if (Q−1−Sj) is negative, Xi is shifted by (Q−1−Sj) bits toward the LSB. Alternatively, E′i in the exponent value (E′i−127) of X′i is obtained from the exponent part Ei of sample Xi as E′i=Ei+(Q−1−Sj). This processing is equivalent to shifting all samples by (Q−1−Sj) bits to align decimal points so that the sample with the largest amplitude in the frame does not exceed the maximum amplitude that can be represented by the number of quantized bits Q of the integer part, by multiplying each of the samples in the frame by 2 to the power of (Q−1−Sj) which is common to all the samples.
Decision is made as to whether the obtained exponent value of X′i; (E′i−127) is greater than −127 and less than 128 (S8305). If the exponent part is out of the range, 0 is assigned to the integer part Yi (S8309). If the exponent value is within the range, decision is made as to whether X′i is positive (S8306). If X′i is positive, the digits after the decimal point of X′i is discarded and the rounded value is set as the integer part Yi (S8307). If X′i is negative, the digits after the decimal point of X′i are rounded up and the rounded value is set as the integer part Yi (S8308). If Yi is not zero, the decimal portion of X′i is set as the error part Zi (S8307 and S8308). Decision is made as to whether i is less than NF (S8310). If i is less than NF, i+1 is assigned to i (S8311). If i is greater than or equal to NF, the process will end. Separation between the integer signal and the error signal is not limited to the procedure described above, a number of separation methods are described in patent literature 1.
FIG. 7 shows a possible functional configuration of the integer signal coder 840 shown in FIG. 1. The integer signal coder 840 includes a segmentation section 8401, a linear prediction analyzing section 8402, a linear prediction coefficient coder 8403, a linear prediction coefficient decoder 8404, an inverse filter 8407, a sample buffer 8408, a residue signal coder 8409, and a multiplexer 8410. The segmentation section 8401 subdivides a frame of digital sampling value strings of an input integer signal into subframes. If frames are not to be subdivided, the segmentation section 8401 can be omitted. Hereinafter, division into frames and division into subframes are collectively referred to as framing.
The linear prediction analyzing section 8402 performs linear prediction analysis of a framed input integer signal (hereinafter referred to as an "input integer signal") and outputs linear prediction coefficients. The order of the linear prediction coefficient is denoted by P. The linear prediction coefficient coder 8403 encodes the linear prediction coefficients provided by the linear prediction analyzing section 8402 and outputs a linear prediction coefficient code. The linear prediction coefficient decoder 8404 decodes the output from the linear prediction coefficient coder 8403 and outputs P-order quantized linear prediction coefficients. In this example, the output from the linear prediction coefficient coder 8403 is decoded by the linear prediction coefficient decoder 8403 to obtain quantized linear prediction coefficients. However, the linear prediction coefficient decoder 8404 may be omitted and a linear prediction coefficient code and its corresponding quantized linear prediction coefficients may be obtained from the linear prediction coefficient coder 8403.
The inverse filter 8407 restores a signal transmitted as a linear prediction coefficient code by using the P-order quantized linear prediction coefficients outputted from the linear prediction coefficient decoder 8404 and sample values in the previous frame held in the sample buffer 8408 and sample values in the current frame. The inverse filter 8407 also subtracts the signal transmitted as the linear prediction coefficient code restored from the input integer signal to output a residue signal. At least last P samples of the sample values in the current frame are held in the sample buffer 8408. The residue signal coder 8409 codes the residue signal outputted from the inverse filter 8407 and outputs a residue code. A multiplexer 8410 combines the linear prediction coefficient code outputted from the linear prediction coefficient coder 8403 with the residue code outputted from the residue signal coder 8409 and outputs the combined result as an integer signal code. The linear prediction analyzing section 8402 may also use the last P samples in the previous frame for linear prediction analysis. In this case, the linear prediction analyzing section 8402 receives the last P samples of the previous frame from the sample buffer 8408 as indicated by the dashed line and box in FIG. 7.
FIG. 8 shows a possible functional configuration of a decoding apparatus corresponding to the coding apparatus 800 shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 9 shows a processing flow in the decoding apparatus 900. The decoding apparatus 900 includes a demultiplexer 910, an integer signal decoder 920, an error signal decoder 930, an integer/error signal combiner 940. The integer/error signal combiner 940 includes a reverse shifter 950 and an error component adder 960. The demultiplexer 910 stores and demultiplexes coded data (S910). The integer signal decoder 920 decodes the integer signal (S920). The error signal decoder 930 decodes an error signal (S930). The reverse shifter 950 of the integer/error signal combiner 940 reversely shifts (shifting opposite in direction to the shift in coding) the decoded integer signal in accordance with a shift amount outputted from the demultiplexer (S950). The error component adder 960 of the integer/error signal combiner 940 combines the reversely shifted integer signal with the error signal (S960).
FIG. 10 shows a possible exemplary functional configuration of the integer signal decoder 920 in FIG. 8. The integer signal decoder 920 includes a demultiplexer 9201, a linear prediction coefficient decoder 9202, a residue signal decoder 9203, a sample buffer 9206, and a synthesis filter 9207. Coded data is received and stored at the demultiplexer 9201, where it is demultiplexed into a linear prediction coefficient code and a residue code. The linear prediction coefficient decoder 9202 decodes the linear prediction coefficient code and outputs linear prediction coefficients. The residue signal decoder 9203 decodes the residue code and outputs a residue signal. The synthesis filter 9207 uses the linear prediction coefficients outputted from the linear prediction coefficient decoder 9202 and the sample vales in the previous frame held in the sample buffer 9206 and the sample values in the current frame to synthesize a signal. The synthesis filter 9207 also adds the restored signal and the residue signal together to obtain an integer signal.
An input signal in integer form can be losslessly coded by performing linear prediction, for example, and applying lossless coding to linear prediction coefficients and linear prediction residues separately as described in Non-patent literature 2. In the coding method described in Non-patent literature 2, linear prediction coefficients are obtained for each frame of input data sample value strings in integer form, then the linear prediction coefficients are coded, an inverse filter (also called an analysis filter) is formed by using the linear prediction coefficients quantified in the coding process, a linear prediction residue signal is obtained, and the linear prediction residue signal is coded.
Non-patent literature 1: Dai Yang and Takehiro Moriya, "Lossless Compression for Audio Data in the IEEE Floating-Point Format," AES Convention Paper 5987, AES115th Convention, New York, N.Y., USA, 2003 Oct. 10-13
Non-patent literature 2: Tilman Liebchen and Yuriy A. Reznik, "MPEG-4 ALS: An Emerging Standard for Lossless Audio Coding," Proceedings of the Data Compression Conference (DCC '04), pp. 1068-0314/04, 2004
Patent literature 1: Brochure of WO2004/114527

Signal encoder, signal decoder, signal encoding method, signal decoding method, program, recording medium and signal codec method

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation


The present invention provides a method and apparatus for charging hot direct reduced iron (HDRI) from hot transport vessels (HTVs) into a melter or finisher. In general, the apparatus includes a charging stand including a plurality of bays for receiving and supporting a plurality of HTVs. Each HTV includes at least an outlet port. This outlet port is configured to engage an inlet port of one of the plurality of bays of the charging stand via a telescoping seal that provides a substantially air-tight seal. A feed device is provided that moves the HDRI disposed within the HTVs from the outlet port/inlet port interface to a melter or finisher, such as an electric arc furnace (EAF) or the like. The charging stand also includes one or more load cells operable for weighing the HTVs and the HDRI disposed therein, such that a computer or other logic may be used to control the feed rate of the HDRI charged into the melter or finisher.

Direct reduced iron (DRI), and specifically HDRI—which is still hot from the metallization process, is used as a charge material in the making of steel. Many direct reduction (DR) plants are located in large steelmaking complexes in which HDRI is used on site in a nearby melter or finisher, such as an electric arc furnace (EAF) or the like. The use of HDRI, at a temperature greater than the ambient temperature, is preferable as compared to the use of DRI, at a temperature equal to or less than the ambient temperature, because the sensible heat of HDRI obviates the need to add additional energy, such as electrical energy in the case of an EAF, at the melter or finisher. In addition, HDRI has a lower moisture content than DRI, which is advantageous. When melting or finishing HDRI as compared to DRI, energy consumption is reduced; in the case of an EAF, electrode consumption is reduced; and productivity and yield are increased. Thus, there is a growing trend to charge HDRI to the melter or finisher, as opposed to DRI.
Typically, a DR plant is located in a large steelmaking complex that includes a meltshop. These steelmakers prefer to use HDRI directly from the DR plant. However, it is often not practical to locate the DR plant directly adjacent to the meltshop (i.e. within about 100 meters). Thus, the HDRI must be charged into the EAF using a hot transport vessel (HTV). In fact, some steelmakers simply prefer this procedure to gravity feeding HDRI into the EAF or using other types of mechanical hot conveyors. Existing HTV procedures are non-optimal for several reasons: 1) the feed rate of the HDRI charged into the EAF may not be accurately controlled; and 2) an EAF charge crane must be used to hold the HTV in position while charging the HDRI into the EAF, thereby limiting the annual volume of HDRI that may be charged into the EAF. Thus, existing HTV procedures are crude "crane-and-dump" procedures.
In all of these HTV procedures, the HTV utilized includes a relatively flat bottom, a plurality of trunions for lifting and turning the HTV, and a conical top including a port that serves as both an inlet and an outlet. Typically, the HTV is on rails. Other suitable transport procedures include mechanical hot conveyors, pneumatic hot conveyors, etc. One exemplary HTV is disclosed in commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,214,086 to Montague et al., issued on Apr. 10, 2001, and entitled "Direct Reduced Iron Discharge System and Method."
What are still needed in the art, however, are methods and apparatuses for charging HDRI from HTVs into a melter or finisher wherein the feed rate of the HDRI charged is known and controllable—by computer, for example; the feed rate of the HDRI charged may be substantially continuous; both heat loss and dust emissions are minimized; re-oxidation is minimized; existing meltshop equipment may be accommodated, such as EAF charge cranes, etc.; both existing and novel HTVs may be accommodated; and other materials may be charged, such as slag formers and reductants. Preferably, these methods and apparatuses would be robust and reliable, and would maximize the annual volume of HDRI that may be charged.

Method and apparatus for charging hot direct reduced iron from hot transport vessels into a melter or finisher


A CaSiO.sub.3 :Pb,Mn phosphor is synthesized using a colloidal silica suspension wherein a cationic species is added to the suspension to form a well-mixed, easily-filtered, raw blend which reduces the filtering and calcining times required to produce a commercial quality phosphor.

Lead and manganese co-activated calcium metasilicate phosphor (CaSiO.sub.3 :Pb,Mn) is a broad-band orange-red emitting phosphor used in fluorescent sign tubing and as a component in multi-phosphor blends for fluorescent lamps. Its preparation and use have been described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,472,636, 5,207,948, 2,542,349, 2,542,322, 2,525,028, 2,497,140, 2,474,193, and 2,299,510. The general method of preparation uses silicic acid or silica gel as the source of SiO.sub.2 and dry-blending the SiO.sub.2 with other raw materials (e.g., CaCO.sub.3, PbF.sub.2, and MnCO.sub.3). The raw blend is fired subsequently at times and temperatures sufficient to form crystalline CaSiO.sub.3 :Pb,Mn. The relatively coarse nature of the silica sources, typically 5 to 12 .mu.m, requires that long firing times, 12-20 hours, be used to form the finished CaSiO.sub.3 :Pb,Mn phosphor.
The use of fine silica in the form of a colloidal suspension as a raw material for the synthesis of silicate phosphors is also known (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,234,625, 5,472,636, 5,611,961). These methods of preparation involve the mixing of a dispersion of the raw materials with the SiO2 suspension at temperatures of 50-90.degree. C., followed by filtering of the resulting precipitate. This step is required for the flocculation and particle growth of the fine SiO.sub.2 so that it can be filtered out of solution. However, the flocculation is dependent not only upon the degree of heating of the suspension, but is also sensitive to the surface charge and solubility of the materials being added to the suspension (carbonates, oxides, etc.), as well as to the intrinsic size of the fine silica being utilized. In the synthesis of CaSiO.sub.3 :Pb,Mn from colloidal silica, a filterable mixture cannot be obtained simply by adding the preferred starting materials to the suspension and then heating. That is, the fine silica does not flocculate, and therefore cannot be mechanically separated from solution. Even in cases where the raw mixture does filter, long times, more than 5 hours, are often required for this step because the filter is blinded by the fine particles. The formation of a homogeneous mixture of the raw materials (including silica) is not optimum under these conditions, because the fine SiO.sub.2 tends to separate from the other materials during the long filtering step. Thus, even longer firing times, 15-30 hours, are required to prepare CaSiO.sub.3 :Pb,Mn phosphor according to these methods. In addition, it is sometimes necessary to utilize multiple firing steps with the addition of reaction aids between steps.
The long filtering and firing times and possible additional steps dictated by the prior art methods increase the manufacturing cost of the CaSiO.sub.3 :Pb,Mn phosphor. Thus, it would be an advantage to have a single step firing method which substantially reduced the filtering and firing times needed to produce the CaSiO.sub.3 :Pb,Mn phosphor.

Method of preparing a lead and manganese co-activated calcium metasilicate phosphor


A method of simultaneously measuring thermal conductivity and heat capacity of a fluid, using a heat conduction calorimeter having a reference fluid in a first cell and a sample fluid in a second cell includes the steps of calibrating the calorimeter using a standard fluid having known thermal conductivity and heat capacity over a range of temperatures and the reference fluid to determine a set of sensitivity parameters, {a.sub.n.sup.ij }, of the calorimeter, wherein the a.sub.n.sup.ij are functions of the calorimeter, temperature and the reference fluid; applying a square wave heat pulse to the calorimeter containing said sample fluid and said reference fluid; measuring the thermal response curve to the square wave heat pulse, wherein the thermal response curve is a function of time, temperature of the measurement, thermal properties of the sample fluid, and thermal properties of the reference fluid; reducing the response curve to a set of discrete characteristic parameters, {p.sub.n } wherein each pn is a function of time, temperature of the measurement, thermal properties of the sample fluid and thermal properties of the reference fluid; calculating the thermal conductivity and heat capacity of the sample fluid from the {p.sub.n } for the sample fluid and the {a.sub.n.sup.ij } for the calorimeter.

This invention relates to an apparatus for, and a method of, measuring thermal conductivity (.lambda.) and heat capacity (C) of fluids, and more particularly, to an excitation/relaxation calorimeter which measures thermal conductivity and heat capacity of a fluid simultaneously.
Measurement of the thermal properties, e.g. thermal conductivity, heat capacity and thermal diffusivity, of materials, including biomaterials, is essential to being able to understand and use them. For example, recent studies of the properties of phospholipid dispersions in water, indicate that a spontaneous transformation from the multilamellar liquid-crystal state to a suspension consisting only of large unilamellar vesicles will occur when the ambient temperature of the dispersion is increased to the transformation temperature. The unilamellar vesicles which form are considered to be a critical state and the thermodynamic properties of the critical unilamellar state indicate the transformation occurs without a latent heat. Such properties have been inferred primarily from measurements of the air/water surface films in equilibrium with the aqueous phospholipid dispersion. There is a need to measure the temperature dependence of the heat capacity of the lipid dispersions directly.
Differential scanning calorimeters, calorimeters which measure the temperature difference between a sample fluid and a reference fluid in response to a temperature scan, have been widely used to investigate the macroscopic properties of matter. However, commercial differential scanning calorimeters have been unable to make such measurements due to the additional constraints inherent in biomaterials in aqueous solutions. Such constraints include irreproducibility of the baseline, the small sample size available (e.g. milligram quantities of membrane materials), filling errors including artifacts from trapped air in the sample chamber, the chamber to sample mass ratio needed to maximize signal sensitivity and a measuring sensitivity of the order of, for example, 400 .mu.J/.degree. C..multidot.cm.sup.3.
C. P. Mudd et al., "A differential heat-conduction microcalorimeter for heat-capacity measurements of fluids," Journal of Biochemical and Biophysical Methods, 26 (1993) 149-171, describe a calorimeter with high sensitivity for measuring the specific heats of fluids. However, that calorimeter does not measure thermal conductivity and heat capacity simultaneously; rather it measures thermal diffusivity (thermal conductivity is known and approximately constant) and calculates heat capacity from the thermal diffusivity relationship: EQU .eta.=.lambda./C.sub.p,
where .eta. is thermal diffusivity, .lambda. is thermal diffusivity and C.sub.p is the volume heat capacity. Mudd et al.'s calorimeter was designed, in part, because of their discovery that the peak of the response to a brief thermal pulse was approximately four times more sensitive to heat capacity than the thermal conductivity of the aqueous lipid dispersions. By limiting their measurements to a narrow range of fluids, with heat capacities near that of the dilute lipid dispersions, and with similar diffusivities, they were able to circumvent approximating the effect of .lambda., which in principle may change independently of heat capacity.
Although Mudd et al. avoided measuring .lambda. in lipid dispersions, such an assumption cannot be made for all biomaterials. Furthermore, in addition to the relationship between thermal conductivity and heat capacity for a given material, the interplay between heat capacity and thermal conductivity in almost all thermal instruments is a well recognized problem which can affect measurements of the material's properties. Previous efforts in dealing with this problem involve two approaches. In the first approach, the effect of one of the properties is minimized, then the other property is measured. In the second approach, both properties are measured simultaneously. Examples of such approaches can be found in D. Bertolini et al., "A differential calorimetric technique for heat capacity and thermal conductivity measurements of liquids," Rev. Sci. Instrum. 61(9), September 1990, 2416-2419, A. Bernasccni et al., "Dynamic technique for measurement of the thermal conductivity and the specific heat: Application to silica aerogels," Rev. Sci. Instrum. 61(9), September 1990, 2420-2426 and N. Gershfeld et al., "Critical Temperature for Unilamellar Vesicle Formation in Dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine Dispersions from Specific Heat Measurements," Biophysical Journal, 65, September 1993, 1174-1179. Both approaches suffer from limitations of applicable materials, lack of precision or both.
Therefore, it is an object of the invention to provide a calorimeter which measures thermal conductivity and heat capacity simultaneously. It is another object of the invention to provide a calorimeter which minimizes the effects of the thermal conductivity and heat capacity of components of the measurement instrument.

Calorimeter and method for simultaneous measurement of thermal conductivity and specific heat of fluids

The United States of America as respresented by the Department of Health and Human Services


The preparation apparatus 4 determines the target distribution of the amount of polishing on the basis of the film thickness of the wafer 2 measured by the measuring apparatus 3. The preparation apparatus 4 assumes a control program for the purpose of controlling the polishing apparatus 1, and predicts the distribution of the amount of polishing that is obtained after the wafer 2 is polished by the polishing apparatus 1 in accordance with the assumed control program. In this case, the amount of polishing in individual partial regions of the polished surface of the wafer 2 is predicted using an indicator that indicates the height distribution of the polishing surface of the polishing pad 14 (when no pressure is applied to this polishing pad) as one parameter. The preparation apparatus 4 judges the acceptability of the assumed control program by comparing the predicted distribution of the amount of polishing and the target distribution of the amount of polishing. The polishing apparatus 1 polishes the wafer 2 in accordance with a control program that has been judged to be acceptable. As a result, the desired film thickness distribution on the side of the polished surface of the object of polishing can be simulated with good precision.

The increase in the density of semiconductor devices has continued to expand without showing any limits, and the development of various techniques and methods has been pursued in order to realize such a high density. One of these techniques is multi-layer wiring; technical problems that accompany this technique include global flattening of the device surface (i.e., flattening over a relatively large area) and wiring between upper and lower layers.
Considering the shortening of the focal depth during exposure that has accompanied the shortening of the wavelengths used in lithography, there is a great requirement for precision in the flattening of inter-layer layers at least in the range of the exposed area. Furthermore, the requirement for so-called inlay (plug, damascene) which is the embedding of metal electrode layers has also increased for the realization of multi-layer wiring; in this case, the removal of excess metal layers and flattening following lamination must be performed. Chemical mechanical polishing has attracted attention as an efficient flattening technique for such large (die size level) areas. This is a polishing process called CMP (chemical mechanical polishing or planarization). CMP is a process which removes the surface layers of wafers by using a chemical action in combination with physical polishing, and is the strongest candidate for global flattening and electrode formation techniques.
In concrete terms, a polishing agent called a slurry is used in which abrasive grains (generally silica, alumina, cerium oxide or the like) are dispersed in a solvent such as an acid, alkali or oxidizing agent, etc., that can dissolve the object of polishing; furthermore, a polishing tool is used which has an appropriate polishing body (polishing body such as a polishing pad) and a substrate such as a polishing platen that supports the surface of this polishing body on the side opposite the polishing surface so that the wafer surface is pressed by the above-mentioned polishing body, and polishing is caused to proceed by rubbing through a relative motion.
As the use of the above-mentioned polishing body progresses, the polishing capacity drops as a result of clogging of the polishing surface of the polishing body, etc. Conventionally, therefore, dressing of the polishing body has been performed either simultaneously with the polishing process or separately from the polishing process, so that the polishing surface of the polishing body is planed away.
In order to improve the process efficiency of such a CMP polishing process, and in order to improve the precision of the flatness, it is extremely important to predict the amount of polishing with good precision, and to achieve efficient optimization of the polishing conditions (control parameters of the polishing apparatus, etc.) on the basis of the results of this prediction. Accordingly, a simulation relating to CMP has been proposed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,599,423.
Furthermore, in polishing other than CMP as well, e.g., in general polishing such as the polishing of optical members (lenses, etc.) and the grinding of wafers, the importance of simulations relating to polishing has been recognized, and various simulation methods have been proposed.
In simulations relating to polishing, the prediction of the amount of polishing is fundamental. Furthermore, in the case of various simulations relating to polishing that have been proposed in the past, the prediction of the amount of polishing has been accomplished according to the equation of Preston expressed by equation (1) shown below. In equation (1), h is the amount by which the object of polishing (polished object) is polished (i.e., the amount of polishing), η is the Preston constant, P is the load (pressure applied to the object of polishing), V is the contact relative velocity between the polishing body and the object of polishing (i.e., the contact relative velocity in the partial region where the amount of polishing is to be determined), and t is the polishing time.h=ηPVt  (1)
This equation of Preston is an empirical rule; however, it is considered that this equation allows the determination of the amount of polishing with extremely good precision, and this equation is treated as a fundamental principle, forming the foundation of all simulations relating to polishing.
When the equation of Preston is applied in conventional simulations relating to polishing, the load P is given with the assumption being made that the polishing surface of the polishing body of the polishing tool is always maintained in a flat state with a high degree of precision.
However, as polishing progresses, the polishing body of the polishing tool is very gradually worn away. In addition, as the dressing process progresses, the polishing body of the polishing tool is worn away by a relatively large amount. Furthermore, such wearing processes of the polishing body are not always uniform in all parts of the polishing surface; there is some variation between respective parts of the polishing body. Accordingly, as the use of the polishing body progresses, the thickness of various parts of the polishing body gradually decreases; moreover, indentations and protrusions are generated in the polishing surface of the polishing body. As a result, because of such variations in thickness and generation of indentations and protrusions, the load that is actually applied between individual partial regions of the polished surface of the object of polishing and the polishing surface of the polishing body differs from the load that is applied in a case where the polishing surface of the polishing body is maintained in a flat state with a high degree of precision.
Accordingly, in the case of the above-mentioned conventional simulations relating to polishing, since the load P is given with the assumption being made that the polishing surface of the polishing body of the polishing tool is always maintained in a flat state with a high degree of precision when the equation of Preston is applied, the precision of the simulation of the amount of polishing drops as a result of being affected by the generation of indentations and protrusions in the polishing surface of the polishing body and the like. Specifically, since the effects of the generation of indentations and protrusions in the polishing surface of the polishing body and the like are not taken into account in the above-mentioned conventional simulations relating to polishing, the precision of the simulation of the amount of polishing drops. When the precision of the simulation of the amount of polishing thus drops, it becomes difficult to optimize the polishing conditions (control parameters of the polishing apparatus, etc.) with good efficiency; as a result, it becomes impossible to increase the process efficiency of the CMP polishing process, and the precision of the flatness drops.
The situations described above apply not only to CMP, but also to other types of polishing, e.g., the polishing of optical members such as lenses.

Method and device for simulation, method and device for polishing, method and device for preparing control parameters or control program, polishing system, recording medium, and method of manufacturing semiconductor device


A ribbon cable with desirable properties including mechanical integrity, resistance to propagation of a flame, and a compact structure is provided. The ribbon cable may be formed by wrapping a flexible layer around a plurality of parallel cable cores. The flexible layer may be adhered to itself and may conform to the outer surfaces of the cores. The flexible layer may, at its edges, overlap such that the edges may be readily adhered to each other. Some or all of the cable cores may be individually shielded. The cable may also include metal foil adjacent one or two sides of the cable cores or, in some instances, encircling the cable cores.

This patent application relates generally to electrical cables used to transmit signals inside of electronic devices, such as servers and routers.
As electronics packaging densities and data rates increase, traditional PC board materials carrying signals from one internal system device to another such as solid state drives and drive controllers have been demonstrated to have too much electrical loss to successfully carry high frequency signals with acceptable signal integrity. As an alternative to PC boards, known cable designs have been demonstrated to successfully carry these signals much longer distance at lower loss.
A cable provides signal paths with high signal integrity, particularly for high frequency signals, such as those above 25 Gbps using an NRZ protocol. Each cable has one or more signal conductors, which is surrounded by a dielectric material, which in turn is surrounded by a conductive layer. A protective jacket, often made of plastic, may surround these components.
The signal conductor, dielectric and conductive layer are flexible, giving rise to a desirable property of cables. The flexibility enables uniform cable properties to be maintained even if the cable is folded with many bends, promoting signal transmission with high integrity.
One type of cable, referred to as a "twinax cable," is constructed to support transmission of a differential signal and has a balanced pair of signal wires, which are embedded in a dielectric, and encircled by a conductive layer. In addition to uniform dimensions of the signal wires over the length of the cable, the spacing of the wires relative to each other and to the conductive layer is maintained over the length of the cable because those components are positioned by the dielectric. Such a cable may be formed by extruding the dielectric around the signal wires and then holding the signal wires and the conductive layer in an integrated structure.
The conductive layer is usually formed using foil, such as aluminized polyester, or wire braid wrapped around the surface of the dielectric. Characteristic impedance in the cable is influenced by, among other things, the conductive layer, which also provides shielding that reduces crosstalk between signal conductors in twinax cables that may be routed together as a cable bundle and forms the cable ground reference.
A twinax cable can also have a drain wire. Unlike a signal wire, which is generally coated with a dielectric to prevent electrical contact with other conductors in the cable, the drain wire may be uncoated so that it contacts the conductive layer at multiple points over the length of the cable. At an end of the cable, where the cable is to be terminated to a connector or other terminating structure, the protective jacket, dielectric and the foil may be removed, leaving portions of the signal wires and the drain wire exposed at the end of the cable. These wires may be attached to a terminating structure, such as a connector. The signal wires may be attached to conductive elements serving as mating contacts in the connector structure. The drain wire may be attached to a ground conductor in the terminating structure. In this way, any ground return path may be continued from the cable to the terminating structure.
In many electronic systems, multiple electrical signals must be routed between various subsystem components within a system enclosure, such as solid state disk drives and storage controllers in a server. In such scenarios, multiple cable strands, each designed for carrying one signal, are held in a group that can be handled together as a single cable. The individual cable strands are sometimes called cable "cores." For cables that connect boxes, a common form factor is a round cable bundle, containing multiple twinax or other cable cores extruded with an insulative jacket. For use inside a box, ribbon cables are common. In a ribbon cable, multiple cable cores are held together in parallel by a polymer web.
Frequently, the cable jacket of a round cable is made of PVC or other flame resistant material, so that if a fire occurs in one box it will not spread over a cable to another box. For cables intended for use inside a box, the web holding the cable cores may be polyester, because flame spread tests are less severe for cables intended to be contained within an electronics box designed to prevent the spread of fire.


A method may include responding to a query to retrieve data from a database by identifying a plurality of query execution plans. An overall robustness value may be determined for each query execution plan. The overall robustness value of a query execution plan may correspond to a sum of individual robustness values for each operator included in the query execution plan. Each operator may have an individual robustness value that corresponds to a first change in a total cost of a query execution plan including the operator relative to a second change in an output cardinality of the operator. One of the plurality of query execution plans may be selected based on the overall robustness value of each of the plurality of query execution plans. The query may be executed by performing a sequence of operators included in the selected one of the plurality of query execution plan.

A database may be configured to store a plurality of data records. For example, in a relational database, the data records may be stored as rows in one or more database tables. The database may be coupled with a database management system (DBMS) configured to handle requests to access the data records stored in the database. For instance, the database management system may support queries to retrieve data from the database including, for example, structured query language (SQL) statement and/or the like. The database management system may respond to a query by operating on the data records stored in the database including by, for example, selecting, joining, updating, inserting, and/or deleting one or more corresponding rows in the database tables.

Robustness metrics for optimization of query execution plans