A channel sounding system employs orthogonal sequences to meet the Cramer-Rao bound in estimating the channel and achieves considerable simplification of the structure necessary to perform the channel sounding. These advantages are achieved by developing orthogonal sequences of substantially arbitrary length as a function of first and second existing orthogonal sequences and using such orthogonal sequences for channel sounding in lieu of M-sequences. The techniques of the invention are especially suited to systems that use multiple antennas at the transmitter and multiple antennas at the receiver, so called multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems.

Channel sounding is the process of measuring the characteristics of a channel so as to design a communication system that best takes advantage of the determined characteristics of the channel. This is typically done by having a transmitter transmit a signal that is made up of a repeating known training sequence and then processing the signal after it has passed through the channel at a receiver to develop an estimate of the channel characteristics. It is well known in the art that the Cramer-Rao bound is the limit to which channel characteristics may be estimated using linear channel sounding techniques. One method of estimating the channel characteristics is to employ the so-called "least squares method". Doing so, gives conditions that the training sequence must meet in order to achieve the Cramer-Rao bound.
One condition that, if met, will yield a channel estimate at the Cramer-Rao bound is that the training sequence be orthogonal. However, the art was typically only aware of orthogonal sequences that were very short, e.g., no greater than 16 symbols, or several sequences that were much longer, at lengths of (2n)2, where n in an integer. The use of the known short sequences was of no value, because they cannot be used to measure channels with large delay spread, such as is required for wideband communication. The use of the known long sequences was also of no value, because they require complicated modulation schemes that are not practical to implement. Thus orthogonal sequences were not used in the art and no practical study was devoted to the use of orthogonal sequences for channel sounding.
Instead, so-called "M-sequences", which are pseudo-orthogonal sequences, have become the pervasive sequences that are employed for channel sounding. These M-sequences have been extensively studied, with much literature being devoted to them and their use in channel sounding. Thus, the entire mindset of the art was to not employ orthogonal sequences, which were dismissed as impractical.
The signals conveyed in data transmission systems generally are not periodic and occupy infinite bandwidth. In order to limit the occupied bandwidth, the transmitted signals are filtered by a channel or pulse shaping filter. Channel filters are also referred to by those of skill in the art as pulse shaping filters.
Because M-sequences are not actually orthogonal, it is common practice in the art to apply a channel filter similar to those applied to data transmission systems when using M-sequences for channel sounding applications. Disadvantageously, this adds to the cost of the system.
As described therein an orthogonal training sequence can be developed for a channel that is described as a finite impulse response (FIR) filter .having a length Mnew from the already existing orthogonal training sequences for at least two channels that have respective lengths Mold1 and Mold2 each that is less than Mnew such that the product of Mold1 and Mold2 is equal to Mnew when Mold1 and Mold2 have no common prime number factor. More specifically, a set of initial existing orthogonal training sequences is found, e.g., using those that were known in the prior art or by performing a computer search over known symbol constellations given a channel of length M. Thereafter, an orthogonal training sequence of length Mnew is developed, where the product of Mold1 and Mold2 is equal to Mnew by repeating the training sequence old1 Mold2 number of times to form a first concatenated sequence and repeating the training sequence old2 Mold1 number of times to form a second concatenated sequence, so that both the first concatenated sequence and the second concatenated sequence have the same length. Each term of the first concatenated sequence is multiplied by the correspondingly located term in the second concatenated sequence which is placed in the same location in a new sequence made up of the resulting Mnew products. This new sequence is an orthogonal sequence of length Mnew. If there is more than one existing orthogonal sequence for a particular length channel, e.g., there may be different orthogonal sequences for different modulation schemes for the same length channel, the implementer may choose which ever orthogonal sequence gives the results desired. Often, for practical applications, the result that yields the modulation scheme that is most suitable for use with the actual channel, which may yield the highest speeds, or the result that yields the smallest alphabet, which would reduce the hardware required for implementation, is desirable.
A popular channel filter that is often used as the channel filter in channel sounding systems that employ M-sequences is the raised cosine filter, a filter that is usually applied in matched pairs, i.e., one at the transmitter and one at the receiver, for various well known technical reasons. In practice these channel filters can only be approximated, and thus the ultimate performance of the communication system is limited.
Channel filtering should not be confused with the reconstruction filtering which takes place when discrete time signals, e.g., digital signals, are converted to continuous time, e.g., analog, signals. The reconstruction filter eliminates the spectral replicas appearing in the continuous time reconstruction of a discrete time signal. The technical requirements placed on the reconstruction filter, e.g., cut off rate and ultimate attenuation can be quite severe. Therefore it is common practice to interpolate the discrete time signal to ease the requirements on the reconstruction filter.
Clearly then, in general, it is the role of the channel filter to define the signal bandwidth while the reconstruction filter assists in the digital to analog conversion process.


This invention relates to methods for neuroprotection, promoting survival of motor neurons and the treatment of motor neuron diseases by preventing cell signaling through the classic prostaglandin D2 receptor DP1.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis ("ALS"), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by the loss of upper and lower motor neurons, culminating in muscle wasting and death from respiratory failure (Boillee, S., Vande Velde, C. & Cleveland, D. W. ALS: a disease of motor neurons and their nonneuronal neighbors. Neuron 52, 39-59, 2006). The majority of ALS cases are apparently sporadic, with 90% of patients presenting disease symptoms without a family history of ALS. The remaining 10% of ALS patients are diagnosed with familial ALS (Boillee et al., 1996; Brown, R. H., Jr. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Insights from genetics. Arch Neurol 54, 1246-50, 1997; Cole, N. & Siddique, T. Genetic disorders of motor neurons. Semin Neurol 19, 407-18, 1999). Approximately 25% of the familial cases of ALS are caused by dominant mutations in the gene encoding super oxide dismutase (SOD1) (Rosen, D. R. et al. Mutations in Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase gene are associated with familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Nature 362, 59-62, 1993). Identification of pathogenic alleles of SOD1 has led to the production of transgenic mouse and rat models for the study of ALS (Gurney, M. E. et al. Motor neuron degeneration in mice that express a human Cu, Zn superoxide dismutase mutation. Science 264, 1772-5, 1994; Nagai, M. et al. Rats expressing human cytosolic copper-zinc superoxide dismutase transgenes with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: associated mutations develop motor neuron disease. J. Neurosci. 21, 9246-54, 2001; Bruijn, L. I. et al. ALS-linked SOD1 mutant G85R mediates damage to astrocytes and promotes rapidly progressive disease with SOD1-containing inclusions. Neuron 18, 327-38, 1997; Wong, P. C. et al. An adverse property of a familial ALS-linked SOD1 mutation causes motor neuron disease characterized by vacuolar degeneration of mitochondria. Neuron 14, 1105-16, 1995). Overproduction of pathogenic human SOD1 protein in mice and rats leads to late onset, progressive neurodegenerative disease (Gurney et al., 1994; Bruijn et al., 1997; Wong et al., 1995). Studies of the SOD1 animal models have led to the identification and study of intrinsic pathogenic characteristics of ALS motor neurons including the formation of protein aggregates, cytoskeletal abnormalities, proteosome dysfunction and increased sensitivity to cell death signals (Boillee et al., 2006; Bruijn, L. I., Miller, T. M. & Cleveland, D. W. Unraveling the mechanisms involved in motor neuron degeneration in ALS. Annu Rev Neurosci 27, 723-49, 2004).
Studies of chimeric mice suggest that non-cell autonomous processes contribute to motor neuron death in ALS (Clement, A. M. et al. Wild-type nonneuronal cells extend survival of SOD1 mutant motor neurons in ALS mice. Science 302, 113-7, 2003). In animals bearing both wild-type cells and cells harboring the SOD1G93A transgene, wild-type neurons surrounded by transgenic non-neuronal cells acquired cellular phenotypes characteristic of ALS (Clement et al., 2003). Conversely, transgenic neurons associated with wild-type non-neuronal cells were increasingly spared. However, these animal studies did not identify which cells were involved in the pathological interactions with motor neurons due to the complex cellular milieu of both the spinal chord and the muscle. Conditional mutagenesis experiments in which the SOD1 transgene was specifically removed from motor neurons and microglial cells led to an increase in animal lifespan, again suggesting the SOD1 protein can have both cell autonomous and non-cell autonomous affects in the disease (Boillee, S. et al. Onset and progression in inherited ALS determined by motor neurons and microglia. Science 312, 1389-92, 2006). However, these experiments could not address the direct effect of cellular interactions with motor neurons in the disease because of the use of death as an endpoint.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Neurodegenerative diseases and methods of modeling

PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE


A projection system emits light pulses in a field of view and measures properties of reflections. Properties may include time of flight and return amplitude. Foreground objects and background surfaces are distinguished, distances between foreground objects and background surfaces are determined based on reflections that are occluded by the foreground objects and other properties of the projection system.

Various methods and apparatus have been proposed to allow user interaction with projected content. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 8,497,841 "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR A VIRTUAL KEYBOARD" issued to Sze et al. (hereafter referred to as "Sze") discloses an infrared (IR) light plane projected just above and parallel to a projection surface. The apparatus disclosed by Sze detects objects when they break the IR light plane, so they are only detected when very near that plane. Mid-air gestures are not recognized because they are above the IR light plane. Furthermore, the apparatus of Sze is sensitive to anomalies in the projection surface that could break or distort the IR light plane.
Optical time-of-flight (ToF) measurement is a proven method of range sensing that works by measuring the flight time of an emitted light signal which reflects off a point in the field of view. Pulses of light can be scanned out in a two dimensional pattern and collected into a point cloud that represents distance to objects in the scanned field. See e.g., US 2013/0107000 "SCANNING LASER TIME OF FLIGHT 3D IMAGING" by Xue et al.
ToF provides an appealingly compact solution for medium-long range depth imaging, but is limited in resolution at close distances due to limitations in the electronic circuitry to accurately and inexpensively measure short time scales and compensate for changes in the returned pulse amplitude.


A server may support an aggregation service for a multitenant system. The service may support a method for data processing that includes determining that a plurality of tenants of a multitenant database system correspond to a common entity, where each tenant is associated with a respective instance of a cloud platform that services data from a corresponding database instance. The method may further include provisioning a new database instance for the common entity, generating a connector that is configured to access data of the corresponding database instance, generating a schema for the new database instance that aggregates the data of each database instance accessed by the connector, and instantiating a new cloud platform instance that is configured to access the schema of the new database instance, where the new cloud platform instance is configured to serve data queried from the schema of the new database instance via a client application.

A cloud platform (i.e., a computing platform for cloud computing) may be employed by many users to store, manage, and process data using a shared network of remote servers. Users may develop applications on the cloud platform to handle the storage, management, and processing of data. In some cases, the cloud platform may utilize a multi-tenant database system. Users may access the cloud platform using various user devices (e.g., desktop computers, laptops, smartphones, tablets, or other computing systems, etc.).
In one example, the cloud platform may support customer relationship management (CRM) solutions. This may include support for sales, service, marketing, community, analytics, applications, and the Internet of Things. A user may utilize the cloud platform to help manage contacts of the user. For example, managing contacts of the user may include analyzing data, storing and preparing communications, and tracking opportunities and sales.
A cloud platform may be implemented on a multitenant system, such that each tenant may correspond to an instance of the cloud platform on the multitenant system. The multitenant system may maintain a separate database for each tenant and support various services for each tenant via the respective cloud platform. In some cases, multiple tenants of a multitenant system may correspond do the same entity, such as an organization.

Multitenant database instance view aggregation


To provide a detergent composition which has little corrosion to a wiring material and is excellent in cleaning ability of a semiconductor substrate or semiconductor device on which the fine particles and the metal impurities are deposited. A detergent composition comprising a reducing agent, wherein the detergent composition has an oxidation-reduction potential at 25° C. of +0.2 V or less, and a pH at 25° C. of from 3 to 12; and a cleaning process of a semiconductor substrate or a semiconductor device using the detergent composition.

The semiconductor device represented by a silicon semiconductor is highly integrated, and the minimum dimension of a circuit pattern (design rule) in the memory device and logic device is thinned, in order to meet the needs of the market for higher speed and miniaturized scale in its performances. In order to satisfy the demand for fine semiconductor devices, there has been employed a technique for flattening a device surface, such as a CMP method in which the device surface is polished using fine particles of silicon oxide, aluminum oxide, serium oxide, or the like.
For instance, in order to satisfy a multi-layered structure of a circuit pattern, there is a metal CMP method represented by damascene method in which a groove is provided in an interlayer insulation film formed between an upper layer circuit and a lower layer circuit, and a line metal (copper, aluminum, tungsten or the like) is filled into the grooves, and thereafter an excessive metal film is polished.
However, in these steps using CMP method (hereinafter CMP step), there are generated deposition and residues of polishing particles and device-derived inorganic fine particles, and further metal impurities such as iron, copper, aluminum and tungsten derived from a line material on a device, so that these deposited residues cause lattice defects of a substrate, or troubles such as insulation failure and lamination defects of an oxidized film, or breakage of line, or short-circuiting or leakage due to the fine particles entering between the lines, whereby causing quality failure and lowering in production yield. Therefore, a cleaning process is essential.
The tendency described above is more strongly exhibited when the integration degree of the semiconductor device increases and the circuit pattern becomes finer. Therefore, in order to suppress quality worsening or lowering in yield of a manufactured article caused by the finer formation of the circuit patterns, RCA cleaning process has been most widely used as a cleaning process. The RCA cleaning process is roughly divided into two steps depending upon the objects to be removed: The removal of fine particles includes a process using ammonia and an aqueous hydrogen peroxide (SC-1 process); and the removal of metal impurities includes a process using hydrochloric acid and an aqueous hydrogen peroxide (SC-2 process). A cleaning process such as ultrasonic wave (megasonic) in mega-Hertz region, with cleaning with a diluted aqueous hydrofluoric acid, or brush-scrub is also carried out between each of the steps.
However, there arise some problems in the cleaning with hydrofluoric acid used in each step such that since the corrosion to a line metal (copper, tungsten or the like) or the like is large, the film thickness and the line thickness fluctuate, so that a pattern shape of a designed size cannot be obtained, whereby causing wrong influences to properties and qualities such electric properties of the semiconductor device with advanced fineness and thinning. In addition, recently, the fine particles to be removed have become very fine, thereby resulting in difficulty in the removal of the fine particles. Furthermore, the required level of the removal of the metal impurities has become high, so that its required level cannot be satisfactorily met by the above-mentioned RCA cleaning process.
Also, in order to meet the problem of corrosion of line mentioned above and improve the required level of the removal of the metal impurities, a detergent using an organic acid such as oxalic acid or citric acid has been newly developed. However, the above-mentioned problems have not yet been solved thereby.
Further, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 11-251280 reports a detergent using a reducing agent and an acid. However, this detergent has a pH of less than 3.0, so that the line metal (especially copper) is corroded. Likewise, the above-mentioned problems have not yet been solved thereby.

Semiconductor cleaner comprising a reducing agent, dispersant, and phosphonic acid-based chelant


The disclosure relates to a tool arrangement, comprising a tool holder, a tool, and at least one locking device for detachably locking the tool with the tool holder, wherein a counter-tool is provided and the tool holder includes a compressed-air duct. The locking device is designed such that it unlocks as soon as a given pressure has been reached in the compressed-air duct. The disclosure is distinguished by a vent hole which is in fluid connection with the compressed-air duct and is arranged in such a manner that it is not closed until the tool rests upon the counter-tool.

In packaging machines, tools or tool parts often have to be changed or replaced. While packaging machine tool wear is comparatively low, it is the main purpose of tool changes in packaging machines not to change worn-out tools but to take out a tool for cleaning purposes or to change a tool of a first format by a tool of another format. After such format change, packages of a varying form can be produced.
For this purpose, DE 20 2004 016 538 U1 reveals a sealing station of a deep-drawing packaging machine for changing or replacing a sealing cassette. To this end, such sealing cassette is a manageable unit. The sealing cassette can be detached or released by an operator from an upper sealing part via bolted connections and can be changed by further sealing cassettes so as to facilitate the retrofitting of the tools for alternating packaging forms. However, such format change is comparatively labor-intensive.
A tray sealing machine according to DE 10 2008 032 306 A1 comprises a lifting and sealing means, the movable sealing tool thereof being retractable from an upper chamber part. To this end, the lifting spindle arranged above the sealing tool is moved out of its rotatable spindle nut at the upper chamber part and can be replaced by another sealing tool.
DE 20 2011 002 723.6 and DE 10 2010 056 318.8 which both had not yet been published at the date of the present application each describe a packaging machine with changeable tool. To this end, a locking device is provided in order to release or unlock the tool plate to be replaced from the tool with no tools required. The locking device may comprise a locking bolt which is movable by means of compressed so as to be unlocked.

Tool arrangement with detachable tool locking

MULTIVAC SEPP HAGGENMUELLER GMBH & CO. KG


A solid state code following track relay receives pulsating rail current from a railway code transmitter. The track relay includes first and second inputs structured to receive the rail current. Two Hall effect digital current sensors each have a coil and an output, which responds to current flowing through the coil. The coils of the current sensors are electrically connected in series between the first and second inputs and are structured to receive the rail current. The outputs of the current sensors are structured to turn on and off in response to the rail current. A circuit including dual one-shot multivibrators, which are triggered by positive and negative going edges from the respective current sensors, and a flip-flop, which is set and reset by the outputs of the respective multivibrators, determines that each of the current sensors is functional. Two solid state outputs are structured to follow the rail current.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention deals with railway control and, more particularly, to code following apparatus, such as code following track relays, for receiving pulsating rail current from a railway code transmitter.
2. Background Information
A conventional railroad track circuit typically includes a battery, a resistor, a track, and a relay. The feed or battery end and the relay end of the track circuit are electrically connected to the two rails of the track. Under conditions when a vehicle, such as a train, is not within the track circuit, the battery energizes the coil of the relay through the series combination of the-resistor, the first rail, the coil and the second rail. In turn, the normally open contact of the energized relay closes. The track circuit employs the shunting properties of the train""s wheels and axle (i.e., a train shunt) to sufficiently reduce the current in the relay coil and, thus, open the normally open contact, in order to indicate the presence of the train in the track circuit.
As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional code following railway track relay (TR) 2 is used in a railway track circuit 3 in which a low voltage battery source 4, at one end 6 of the circuit, is interrupted at a low frequency (e.g., generally less than about 3 Hz) by a conventional railway code transmitter 8. At the other end 10 of the track circuit 3, the code following track relay 2 responds to the pulsating current on the rails 12,14, thereby opening and closing its contacts 16. The series combination of a resistor 18, the low voltage battery source 4 and the railway code transmitter 8 are electrically connected to the rails 12,14 at the one circuit end 6. The series combination of a resistor 20 and the coil 22 of the track relay 2 are electrically connected to the rails 12,14 at the other circuit end 10.
Typically, the coil resistance of code following relays, such as TR 2, is typically in the order of about 0.5 xcexa9, with operating current being in the order of 0.5 A. Again, because code following relays are electro-mechanical devices and operate constantly, they are subject to wear. Particularly, the contacts, such as 16, pit and erode from constant electrical switching. For safety reasons, it is important for the relay operating current to remain relatively stable. If it were possible for the operating current to reduce significantly, then a broken rail could go undetected and, thus, jeopardize train safety. Periodic re-calibration to ensure consistency of the operating current is the process by which safety is assured.
As employed in railway signaling, the dynamic action of the code following relay indicates that the particular track circuit is not occupied. If the relay is not responding to the dynamic action of the rail current, then the particular track section is occupied. Hence, restrictive signals are displayed in order that a train has sufficient distance to stop.
In such railroad code following relays, the term xe2x80x9cBACKxe2x80x9d corresponds to relay contacts that are closed when the relay is de-energized. Similarly, the term xe2x80x9cFRONTxe2x80x9d corresponds to relay contacts that are closed when the relay is energized.
In general, electro-mechanical relays wear out after long periods of constant cycling. In particular, code following railway track relays suffer the same problem.
There is a need, therefore, for a circuit that improves the reliability of code following railway track relays after long periods of constant cycling.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,661,089 discloses a code reader for an automated vehicle, which moves along a path having a plurality of magnetic code elements located at sensing stages along the path. The code reader includes a plurality of Hall-effect devices. For each of the Hall-effect devices, a pulse driving circuit couples an actuating pulse of current through the device terminals responsive to a common pulse generator. A difference amplifier is coupled across the output electrodes of each of the Hall-effect devices. The difference amplifier produces a positive or negative potential output signal based upon the magnetic orientation of the magnetic code elements. Bipolar outputs provide a logic level xe2x80x9c1xe2x80x9d for respective positive and negative potential output signals, again based upon the magnetic orientation of the magnetic code elements. A downstream control system preferably includes error-detecting circuitry to detect the occurrence of two simultaneous logic level xe2x80x9c1xe2x80x9d output signals from the same sensing state.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,415,134 discloses a Hall effect track circuit-receiving element. Wires are connected to two track rails and are series-connected with a Hall effect cell through a switch. The Hall effect cell includes a coil forming a part of an electromagnetic device, which is located within the cell. A receiver receives its input from the Hall effect cell along output lines.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,498,650; and 4,451,018 disclose a toroid including a first conductor forming a winding, which is coupled to track rails via a switch. The MMF of one of two polarities is induced in the toroid depending on whether one of two check winding conductors is energized. An air gap in the core of the toroid has a Hall sensor located therein to respond to the MMF induced in the core as a result of current flowing in any of the conductors. In turn, the Hall sensor provides an output voltage.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,320,880 discloses an electronic track current switching relay system, which emulates the operation of a polar relay for applying coded pulses to railway tracks. A timer circuit includes a high-limit threshold circuit and a low-limit threshold circuit, which trigger a flip-flop or latch.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,935,698 discloses a dual-Hall integrated circuit (IC) including two essentially identical Hall elements, which are connected in series. In the IC, the outputs of the two Hall elements are differentially connected to the input of a differential amplifier, in order that the output voltage is a function of the difference between the magnetic fields at the Hall elements. The output of the amplifier is connected to the input of a Schmidt trigger circuit having an output connected to the IC output terminal. The IC and a magnet form a proximity sensor.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,737,710 discloses a Hall-effect position sensor apparatus, which senses the position of a moving body and provides an output signal indicative of the position of the moving body. The apparatus includes a predetermined number of Hall-effect sensors, which are positioned in a straight line and in operating proximity to a moving body made of a ferromagnetic material.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,694,038; and 6,232,768 disclose a Hall element having an output connected to the input of a Hall voltage amplifier. The Hall element may be mounted at a pole of a magnet, in order that when a ferrous article approaches, the Hall voltage and, thus, the amplified Hall voltage increase (or decrease depending on the polarity of the magnet pole).
The present invention employs a Hall effect digital current sensor, which has a Hall sensor in the gap of a toroid, in order to turn on and off in response to pulsating rail current. This provides electrical isolation of rail current to downstream solid state switching devices that function like the mechanical contacts of an electro-mechanical relay.
As one aspect of the invention, a code following apparatus for receiving pulsating rail current from a railway code transmitter comprises: first and second inputs structured to receive the pulsating rail current; two Hall effect digital current sensors, each of the Hall effect digital current sensors having a coil and an output, which responds to current flowing through the coil, the coils of the Hall effect digital current sensors being electrically connected in series between the first and second inputs and being structured to receive the pulsating rail current, the outputs of the Hall effect digital current sensors being structured to turn on and off in response to the pulsating rail current; means for determining that each of the Hall effect digital current sensors is functional; and at least one output structured to follow the pulsating rail current.
The output of the Hall effect digital current sensors may have a signal with a plurality of positive going edges and a plurality of negative going edges in response to the pulsating rail current. The means for determining may comprise first and second one-shot multivibrators, the one-shot multivibrators having an input, which is connected to a corresponding one of the outputs of the first and second Hall effect digital current sensors, the one-shot multivibrators further having an output, the output of the first one-shot multivibrator responding to the positive going edges of the first Hall effect digital current sensor, and the output of the second one-shot multivibrator responding to the negative going edges of the second Hall effect digital current sensor.
The means for determining may further comprise a flip-flop including a set input, a reset input and an output. The output of the first one-shot multivibrator may be electrically interconnected with the reset input of the flip-flop, and the output of the second one-shot multivibrator may be electrically interconnected with the set input of the flip-flop.
The output of the flip-flop may have an alternating signal with a set state and a reset state, the alternating signal indicating that the first and second Hall effect digital current sensors are functional.
The output of the flip-flop may have a static signal with one of a set state and a reset state, the static signal indicating that at least one of the first and second Hall effect digital current sensors is not functional.
As another aspect of the invention, a solid state code following track relay for receiving pulsating rail current from a railway code transmitter comprises: first and second inputs structured to receive the pulsating rail current; two Hall effect digital current sensors, each of the Hall effect digital current sensors having a coil and an output, which responds to current flowing through the coil, the coils of the Hall effect digital current sensors being electrically connected in series between the first and second inputs and being structured to receive the pulsating rail current, the outputs of the Hall effect digital current sensors being structured to turn on and off in response to the pulsating rail current; means for determining that each of the Hall effect digital current sensors is functional; and at least one solid state output structured to follow the pulsating rail current.
The output of the Hall effect digital current sensors may have a signal with a plurality of positive going edges and a plurality of negative going edges in response to the pulsating rail current. The means for determining may comprise first and second one-shot multivibrators, the one-shot multivibrators having an input, which is connected to a corresponding one of the outputs of the first and second Hall effect digital current sensors, the one-shot multivibrators further having an output, the output of the first one-shot multivibrator responding to the positive going edges of the first Hall effect digital current sensor, and the output of the second one-shot multivibrator responding to the negative going edges of the second Hall effect digital current sensor. The means for determining may further comprise a flip-flop including a set input, a reset input and an output. The output of the first one-shot multivibrator may be electrically interconnected with the reset input of the flip-flop, and the output of the second one-shot multivibrator may be electrically interconnected with the set input of the flip-flop.
The first and second output circuits may comprise means for outputting a first signal and means for outputting a second signal, which is a substantially inverted version of the first signal, respectively. The first and second output circuits may further comprise first and second FETs, respectively. The means for outputting a first signal and the means for outputting a second signal may include means for ensuring that at least one of the first and second FETs is turned off.
As a further aspect of the invention, a code following apparatus for a pulsating rail current from a railway code transmitter comprises: a first terminal structured to input the pulsating rail current; a second terminal structured to output the pulsating rail current; first means for responding to the pulsating rail current flowing from the first terminal and for outputting a corresponding first signal, which turns on and off in response to the pulsating rail current; second means for responding to the pulsating rail current flowing from the first means and toward the second terminal and for outputting a corresponding second signal, which turns on and off in response to the pulsating rail current; means for determining that each of the first and second means is functional based upon the first and second signals and for outputting a third signal, which follows the pulsating rail current; and at least one output structured to follow the third signal.


An apparatus for regulating a substrate voltage in a semiconductor device having a substrate voltage regulator for controlling generation of a substrate voltage so as to supply a pre-set substrate voltage to a substrate, including: a stack of a plurality of resistors being connected in series with each other and a plurality of switches being connected in parallel to corresponding resistors other than a resistor connected to a power supply voltage for decreasing an external voltage applied to one end thereof to a predetermined level; a first transistor having a first electrode connected to another end of the stack of the plurality of the resistors, a gate connected to ground and a second electrode connected to the substrate, for being controlled by a substrate voltage of the substrate; and a second transistor having a gate to which the inverse of a signal outputted from a connecting point between the other end of the stack of the plurality of the resistors and the first transistor is applied, and first and second electrodes selectively connected to the resistors other than the first resistor connected to the power supply voltage, for adjusting a resistance value of the stack of the plurality of the resistors accordingly as the first and second electrodes of the first transistor are selectively connected to the resistors other than the first resistor connected to the power supply voltage, by which a substrate voltage is maintained constant regardless of an unstable variation of a power supply voltage applied from an external source so as to prevent a threshold voltage variation and an operation point variation of the device, thereby obtaining an accurate circuit operation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for generating a substrate voltage in a semiconductor device, and more particularly to an apparatus for controlling a substrate voltage in a semiconductor device capable of obtaining an accurate circuit operation in a manner that a substrate voltage is maintained constant regardless of an unstable variation of a power supply voltage applied from an external source so as to prevent a threshold voltage variation and an operation point variation in a device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In order to improve the performance of a DRAM, a negative substrate voltage V.sub.BB is necessary, for which in some cases in the past, a negative voltage was applied from an external source. However, it requires an additional power supply, resulting in that a power supply unit became complicated.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a conventional substrate voltage circuit for avoiding any necessity of the external power supply, which includes a substrate 103; a substrate voltage detector 100 for outputting a signal to control a substrate voltage applied to the substrate 103; an oscillator 101 for being oscillated in response to the signal inputted from the substrate voltage detector 100; and a substrate voltage generator 102 for generating a substrate voltage in accordance with the output signal of the oscillator 101 and supplying it to the substrate 103.
The substrate voltage applied to the substrate 103 is generated as the oscillator 100 and the substrate voltage generator 102 are sequentially controlled by the substrate voltage detector 100.
FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram of the substrate voltage detector 100 with a relationship to adjacent circuits of FIG. 1, which includes a PMOS transistor 104 having a source to which a power supply voltage Vcc is applied, and with its gate connected to ground; an NMOS transistor 105 having its drain connected to the drain of the PMOS transistor 104 and having its gate connected to ground; a voltage dropping unit 106 being connected to the source of the NMOS transistor 105 for decreasing an output signal level of the source of the NMOS transistor 105 to a predetermined voltage level and applying the output signal to a substrate voltage terminal (not shown); a PMOS transistor 107 having a source to which the power supply voltage Vcc is applied and having its drain connected to the drain of the PMOS transistor 104; an inverter 108 having an output terminal to which a gate of the PMOS transistor 107 is connected, for inverting the signal commonly outputted from the respective drains of the PMOS transistors 104 and 107; the oscillator 101 being oscillated in response to a control signal from the inverter 108; and the substrate voltage generator 102 for generating a substrate voltage upon receipt of the output signal of the oscillator 101 and applying the generated substrate voltage to the substrate.
The voltage dropping unit 106 has an NMOS transistor 109 with the signal outputted from the source of the NMOS transistor 105 being commonly applied to the gate and to the drain thereof and applying the output voltage thereof to the substrate voltage terminal (not shown).
The operation of the conventional regulator as constructed above will now be described.
When the power supply voltage Vcc is applied to the source of the PMOS transistor 104, the PMOS transistor 104 is turned on while the NMOS transistor 105 is turned off, so that a voltage V.sub.OUT appears at a node N.sub.D without any drop) of voltage and accordingly the potential at the node N.sub.D becomes a high potential.
When the voltage of high potential at the node N.sub.D is applied to an input terminal of the inverter 108, the inverter 108 inverts it to output a low potential voltage.
When the low potential voltage outputted from the inverter 108 is applied to the oscillator 101, the oscillator 101 is oscillated and the voltage generator 102 is controlled by the output signal of the oscillator 101, to output a negative substrate voltage.
When the negative substrate voltage V.sub.BB is applied to the substrate 103 of FIG. 1, a potential difference between the gate and the source of the NMOS transistor 105 is increased over a threshold voltage, so that the NMOS transistor 105 is operated to be turned on.
Accordingly, a current path, namely, a discharge loop, is formed between the substrate and the node N.sub.D.
Immediately when the current path is formed, discharging occurs from the node N.sub.D to the substrate, so that the potential at the node N.sub.D is changed from a high potential to a low potential.
Accordingly, the low potential signal at the node N.sub.D is applied to the input terminal of the inverter 108 and the inverted output becomes a high potential.
The high potential signal, that is, the output inverted by the inverter 108, acts as a control signal to stop the operation of the oscillator 101, so that the operation of the substrate voltage generator 102 is stopped and the substrate voltage is not supplied any longer.
However, in the operation of the DRAM, when a voltage difference between the substrate voltage and the gate of the NMOS transistor 105 is reduced below a threshold voltage as the substrate voltage is increased due to several factors, the NMOS transistor 105 is turned off, so that the voltage V.sub.OUT at the node N.sub.D is converted to a high potential according to the power supply voltage, and then this high potential voltage is again converted to a low potential voltage by the inverter 108. Thus, the oscillator 101 and the substrate voltage generator 102 are operated again so as to generate an originally stable substrate voltage.
Accordingly, the increased substrate voltage is changed to an originally stable substrate voltage value to thereby stabilize the operation of the semiconductor device.
The PMOS transistor 107 is adapted for use as a hysteresis control loop and prevents a malfunction of the oscillator 101 and the substrate voltage generator 102 in a transient state, at the very moment that a voltage level outputted from the inverter 108 is converted.
The operation of the substrate voltage detector of the semiconductor device will now be described by equations.
When the substrate voltage detector 100 is operated and a substrate voltage at a normal level is generated, the PMOS transistor 104 and the NMOS transistor 105 are operated at their saturation region.
Accordingly, the source-drain current I.sub.DSP of the PMOS transistor 104 is expressed by equation (1) below, while the source-drain current I.sub.DSN of the NMOS transistor 105 is expressed by equation (2) below where Vss equals about 0 volts. EQU I.sub.DSP =K.sub.P (V.sub.cc -V.sub.TP).sup.2 ( 1) EQU I.sub.DSN =K.sub.N (v.sub.BB +V.sub.TN).sup.2 ( 2)
V.sub.TP and V.sub.TN are threshold voltages of the PMOS transistor 104 and the NMOS transistor 105, respectively, and K.sub.P and K.sub.N are constants of the PMOS transistor 104 and the NMOS transistor 105, respectively.
From the equations (1) and (2), since the values of I.sub.DSP and I.sub.DSN are the same to each other, the equation (3) below is obtained for the substrate voltage V.sub.BD. ##EQU1##
Therefore, the substrate voltage is considered to be proportional to the power supply voltage. In this respect, it should be noted that the substrate voltage is linearly proportional to the power supply voltage as shown in FIG. 4.
An optimal substrate voltage should be maintained at a constant value as shown by the dotted line in FIG. 4, even though the power supply voltage is increased.
However, the regulator having the above construction of the PMOS transistor 104 and the NMOS transistor 105 as described above has a problem in that the substrate voltage is linearly increased as the power supply voltage is increased as shown in equation (3). Thus, the variation of the substrate voltage renders the threshold voltage of each device to be varied and also varies the operational point of a circuit, causing a disadvantage that an accurate circuit operation as desired can not be obtained.

Apparatus for regulating substrate voltage in semiconductor device


An encapsulated toner composition comprised of a core comprised of a polymer binder and pigment, encapsulated in a shell derived from the polycondensation of a polyisocyanate and amino acid with an amide or hydroxy functionality.

The present invention is generally directed to toner compositions, and more specifically to encapsulated toner compositions. In one embodiment, the present invention relates to encapsulated toner compositions comprised of a core comprised of a polymer binder and pigments, including color pigments, dyes, or mixtures thereof, and a polymeric microcapsule shell thereover prepared, for example, by interfacial polymerization. Another embodiment of the present invention relates to shell formation by interfacial polycondensation of a polyisocyanate such as a diisocyanate, triisocyanate, or the like with an amino acid. In embodiments, the present invention provides encapsulated toner compositions whose shells are derived from the reaction of a polyisocyanate and an amino acid which contains an amide or hydroxy functionality. The core polymer can be generated by addition polymerization of vinyl monomers after microcapsule shell formation. The microcapsule shell of the present invention is highly polar in nature, and is very effective in containing the relatively nonpolar core polymer. Effective containment of core components can be of importance for encapsulated toners which contain soft core components such as core polymers of low glass transition temperatures, and diffusible or liquid components such as dye molecules and solvents, which may leach or diffuse out of the shell, and can therefore in many instances give rise to undesirable problems such as toner agglomeration and blocking, and toner smearing. These and other disadvantages are eliminated or minimized with the toners of the present invention. In embodiments, the present invention is directed to pressure fixable encapsulated toner compositions which provide high initial and final image fix under low pressure fixing conditions, and which toners are comprised of a core of polymer binders and colorants including magnetic pigments such as magnetites, encapsulated thereover with a microcapsule shell derived from the polycondensation of a diisocyanate, a triisocyanate or mixtures thereof with an amino acid which possesses an amide or hydroxy function. The image fix level of developed images of an encapsulated toner under pressure fixing conditions is generally dependent on the rate of the diffusion of its core components, primarily the core polymer binder, out of the ruptured toner to fix onto paper; the image fix level is therefore a function of time, and the optimum fix is usually achieved within about several hours to 24 hours after the toner is ruptured. The initial fix, that is the fix level after 1 or 2 minutes of toner rupture, of a number of pressure fixable toners at low fixing pressure of, for example, about 2,000 psi is usually from about 5 to 30 percent. This marginal initial fix may not be sufficient for duplex imaging and printing applications since the low initial fix may cause image offset to the pressure roll or severe image smear during these processes. Accordingly, in embodiments of the present invention there are provided encapsulated toner compositions which also offer high initial fix of, for example, in excess of 40 percent, and which toners are obtained by encapsulating a core composition of a polymer binder and a colorant with a microcapsule shell derived from the interfacial polycondensation of a polyisocyanate and an amino acid such as glutamine. The aforementioned relatively high initial fix level is believed to be sufficient to overcome the image offset and image smear problems in duplex imaging and printing. The aforementioned toners possess a number of advantages as illustrated herein including the high initial fix of developed images to paper of about 50 percent within, for example, from about 1 to about 2 minutes after fixing, and a final fix of over 85 to 95 percent at low fixing pressure of, for example, 2,000 psi in embodiments thereby enabling duplex imaging and printing processes to be properly accomplished; preventing or minimizing leaching or loss of the core components especially the core polymer binder; avoidance or minimization of agglomeration; elimination and/or the minimization of image ghosting; and acceptable powder flow characteristics and surface release properties. In another embodiment of the present invention, the toner compositions obtained can include thereon an electroconductive material thereby permitting compositions with a controlled and stable volume resistivity such as, for example, from about 10.sup.3 to about 10.sup.8 ohm-cm, and preferably from about 10.sup.4 to about 10.sup.7 ohm-cm, which toners are particularly useful for inductive single component development processes. The toner compositions of the present invention also provide a shell with substantially improved mechanical properties, and which shell does not rupture prematurely causing the core component comprised, for example, of a polymer binder and magnetite, or other color pigment to become exposed, and thereafter contaminating the image development subsystem surfaces or forming undesirable agglomerates. The toners of the present invention also provide for the complete or substantially complete transfer of the developed images to a paper substrate during the development process. The toner compositions of the present invention can be selected for a variety of known reprographic imaging processes including electrophotographic and ionographic processes. In embodiments, the toner compositions of the present invention are selected for pressure fixing processes for ionographic printing wherein dielectric receivers, such as silicon carbide, are utilized, reference U.S. Pat. No. 4,885,220, the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference. Specifically, the toner compositions of the present invention can be selected for image development in commercial Delphax printers such as the Delphax S9000.TM., S6000.TM., S4500.TM., S3000.TM., and Xerox Corporation printers such as the 4060 and 4075 wherein, for example, transfixing is utilized, that is fixing of the developed image is accomplished by simultaneously transferring and fixing the developed images to a paper substrate with pressure. Another application of the toner compositions of the present invention resides in their use for two component development systems wherein, for example, the image toning and transfer are accomplished electrostatically, and the fixing of the transferred image is achieved by application of pressure with or without the assistance of thermal energy.
The toner compositions of the present invention can, in embodiments, be prepared by a shell forming interfacial polycondensation, followed by a core polymer binder forming free radical polymerization of a vinyl monomer or monomers initiated by thermal decomposition of a free radical initiator. One embodiment of the present invention is directed to a process for the simple and economical preparation of pressure fixable encapsulated toner compositions by a chemical microencapsulation method involving an interfacial polycondensation and a free radical polymerization, and wherein there are selected, for example, acrylates, methacrylates or styryl derivatives as core monomers, color pigments or dyes as colorants, and polyisocyanates and an amino acid such as glutamine as shell precursors to provide an encapsulated toner. Further, in another process aspect of the present invention the encapsulated toners can be prepared in the absence of flammable organic solvents, thus eliminating explosion hazards associated therewith; and furthermore, these processes do not require costly and hazardous solvent separation and recovery steps. Moreover, with the process of the present invention there can be obtained in some instances improved yields of toner products since, for example, the extraneous solvent component can be replaced by liquid shell and core precursors.
A number of encapsulated toners are known, including those wherein the shell is comprised of the reaction product of a diisocyanate and an amine component, reference for example U.S. Pat. No. 5,023,159; 5,045,422; 5,013,630; 5,045,428 and 4,877,706, see columns 6 and 7 for example. Also, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,082,757, the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, there are illustrated encapsulated toners with a core comprised of a polymer binder, pigment or dye, and thereover a hydroxylated polyurethane shell, and which shell has the ability to effectively contain the core binder and prevent its loss through diffusion and leaching processes. Specifically, there are illustrated in this patent encapsulated toners comprised of a core containing a polymer binder, pigment or dye particles, and thereover a hydroxylated polyurethane shell derived from the polycondensation of a polyisocyanate and a water-soluble carbohydrate, such as a monosaccharide, a disaccharide or their derivatives, with the polycondensation being accomplished by known interfacial polymerization methods. According to U.S. Pat. No. 5,082,757, the encapsulated toner compositions are mechanically stable and possess acceptable shelf life stability in most, if not all, embodiments thereof. For example, they do not suffer from premature rupture, and are nonblocking and nonagglomerating, however, such shells do not usually provide complete shell coverage because of the low reactivity of the precursor monomers selected. The shell materials are considered robust and display a low degree of shell permeability to the core components, and in particular to the core polymer binder. In addition, the toner compositions of this patent enable the achievement of a relatively high initial fix of, for example, 50 percent thereby permitting the toner compositions to be utilized in duplex printing and imaging systems without undue complications such as image offset or image smear. Furthermore, the toner compositions of this patent offer in some embodiments very high final image fix of 85 to 95 percent, thereby ensuring excellent image permanence characteristics for high quality printing. The present invention provides unique encapsulated toner compositions which offer stable toner performance irrespective of extreme environmental conditions, such as from about 15 to 85 percent relative humidity at temperatures ranging from ambient to about 50.degree. or 60.degree. C., excellent powder flow characteristics, and comparatively long shelf life of over two years, in addition to achieving all the above mentioned benefits. Also, with the toner compositions of the present invention, advantages in embodiments thereof include: (1) high fixing, and both high initial and high final image fix levels under low pressure fixing conditions; (2) utilization of relatively robust, yet pressure-rupturable, shells derived from the polycondensation of readily available nontoxic amino acids, particularly those that contain an amide function such as glutamine, and polyisocyanates; and (3) highly polar shell materials which are able to effectively suppress or inhibit the diffusion and leaching of the relatively nonpolar core polymer binder.
Also mentioned are U.S. Pat. No. 4,442,194 which discloses encapsulated toners with shells comprised of substances (A) and (B), see column 3 for example, wherein (A) can be an isocyanate and (B) can be an active hydrogen containing compound, see column 4, such as polyols, water, and the like, see column 5; a similar teaching is present in U.S. Pat. No. 4,699,866; U.S. Pat. No. 3,898,171 which discloses an electroscopic powder formulated with sucrose benzoate and a thermoplastic resin, see for example column 2; and U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,465,755 and 4,592,957.
With further specific reference to the prior art, there are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,307,169, the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, microcapsular electrostatic marking particles containing a pressure fixable core, and an encapsulating substance comprised of a pressure rupturable shell, wherein the shell is formed by an interfacial polymerization. One shell prepared in accordance with the teachings of this patent is a polyamide obtained by interfacial polymerization. Furthermore, there are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,407,922 pressure sensitive toner compositions comprised of a blend of two immiscible polymers selected from the group consisting of certain polymers as a hard component, and polyoctyldecylvinylether-co-maleic anhydride as a soft component. Interfacial polymerization processes are also selected for the preparation of the toners of this patent.
Illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,758,506, the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, are single component cold pressure fixable toner compositions, wherein the shell selected can be prepared by an interfacial polymerization process. Further, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,043,240, the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, there are illustrated encapsulated toners with a core comprised of a polymer binder, pigment or dye, and thereover a polymeric shell, which contains a soft and flexible component, permitting, for example, proper packing of shell materials resulting in the formation of a high density shell structure, which can effectively contain the core binder and prevent its loss through diffusion and leaching processes. The soft and flexible component in one embodiment is comprised of a polyether function. Specifically, in one embodiment there are disclosed in the above-mentioned patent encapsulated toners comprised of a core containing a polymer binder, pigment or dye particles, and thereover a shell preferably obtained by interfacial polymerization, which shell has incorporated therein a polyether structural moiety. Another specific embodiment of this patent is directed to encapsulated toners comprised of a core of polymer binder, pigment, dye or mixtures thereof, and a polymeric shell of a polyether-incorporated polymer, such as a poly(ether urea), a poly(ether amide), a poly(ether ester), a poly(ether urethane), mixtures thereof, and the like.
There is a need for encapsulated toner compositions with many, and in some embodiments substantially, if not all, the advantages illustrated herein. More specifically, there is a need for encapsulated toners with shells that effectively eliminate or minimize the loss of core components such as the core polymer binder. Also, there is a need for encapsulated toners wherein images with excellent resolution and superior initial and final image fix levels can be obtained. Moreover, there is a need for encapsulated toners, including colored toners, wherein image ghosting and smearing, toner offsetting, and undesirable leaching of core components and the like are avoided or minimized. Additionally, there is a need for encapsulated toners, including colored toners with, in some instances, excellent surface release characteristics enabling efficient image transfer during image development and fixing processes. Furthermore, there is a need for encapsulated toners which have been surface treated with additives such as carbon blacks, graphite or the like to render them conductive to a volume resistivity level of preferably from about 10.sup.3 to about 10.sup.8 ohm-cm, and to enable their use in single component inductive development systems. Moreover, there is a need for pressure fixable encapsulated toners that can be utilized in transfix development systems under low pressure fixing conditions. There is also a need for processes for the preparation of encapsulated toners with the advantages mentioned herein. Furthermore, there is a need for toners and improved processes thereof that will enable the preparation of encapsulated toner compositions whose properties, such as shell strength, core binder molecular weight and the nature of core binder crosslinking, can be desirably controlled. A further need resides in the provision of encapsulated toners whose performance is insensitive to environmental extremes such as high and low humidity conditions. Another need is to provide encapsulated toners which can be obtained from readily accessible, nontoxic, and economical precursors such as amino acids.


A method of manufacturing a light emitting device includes: providing a wiring substrate on which a light emitting element and a frame body surrounding the light emitting element are disposed; forming a support column member in contact with at least one of an inner peripheral surface and a top surface of a corresponding portion of the frame body, an outermost edge of the support column member being positioned at a same position or inwardly of an outermost edge of the frame body in a top plan view; and forming a light-transmissive member at least partially in contact with the frame body and the support column member with at least a part of the light-transmissive member being positioned above the frame body and the support column member.

The present disclosure relates to a method of manufacturing a light emitting device, and a light emitting device.
Potting of a light-transmissive material that forms a light-transmissive member has been utilized as a method of forming a light-transmissive member that covers a light emitting element in a light emitting device. To prevent or alleviate lateral spread of the light-transmissive member in those light emitting devices, a concave or convex dam is disposed (See Japanese Patent Publication No. 2013-008941 and Japanese Patent Publication No. 2013-207230, for example).

Method of manufacturing light emitting device, and light emitting device


An apparatus comprises a switching circuit, an error amplifier circuit, a current threshold circuit, and an over-current detection circuit. The switching circuit provides a switching duty cycle that includes a charge portion and a discharge portion. The error amplifier circuit generates an error signal representative of a difference between a target voltage value and a voltage at an output of the voltage regulator circuit. The switching circuit adjusts the switching duty cycle to regulate the voltage at the output using the error signal and a reference waveform signal. The current threshold circuit generates an adaptive peak current limit threshold. The over-current detection circuit generates an over-current signal when the reference waveform signal satisfies the adaptive peak current limit threshold during the charging portion of the switching cycle. The switching circuit interrupts one or more switching cycles when the reference waveform signal satisfies the adaptive peak current limit threshold.

Switching regulators are useful for voltage conversion applications such as direct current to direct current (DC-DC) voltage conversion or alternating current to DC (AC-DC) voltage conversion. The DC-DC voltage conversion can provide a regulated voltage that is higher than the input voltage of the regulator, lower than the input voltage, or inverted from the input voltage. The regulation is typically achieved by recurrently charging an inductor from an energy source and then discharging the energy of the inductor to drive a load. The charging and discharging can be accomplished using electronic switches that include transistors. The switches and other electronics of the switches may be damaged if an over current condition or an over voltage condition occurs. The present inventor has recognized a need for improvement of monitoring of switching regulators.

Emulated peak current limit scheme for switching regulator


An object of the present invention is to provide a filament showing improved conversion efficiency with a simple configuration. According to the present invention, surface of a filament material processed into a predetermined shape is processed into a mirror surface by mechanical polishing, and surface roughness (center line average roughness Ra) thereof is thereby made to be 1 μm or smaller. Reflectance of the filament can be thereby improved, and emissivity of the filament for lights of the infrared wavelength region can be suppressed.

There are widely used incandescent light bulbs which produce light with a filament such as tungsten filament heated by flowing an electric current through it. Incandescent light bulbs have various advantages, for example, (a) they are inexpensive, (b) they show superior color rendering properties, (c) they can be used with any operating voltage (they can work with either alternating current or direct current), (d) they can be lightened with a simple lighting implement, (e) they are used worldwide, and so forth. However, efficiency of incandescent light bulbs for conversion from electric power to visible light is about 15 lm/W, which is lower than that of fluorescent lamps (conversion efficiency is 90 lm/W), and therefore they impose larger environmental loads.
Patent document 1 discloses that multiple microcavities (holes) are formed on the surface of filament to prevent radiation of lights having a wavelength of 700 nm or longer and control luminous intensity distribution, in order to enhance the conversion efficiency into visible light.
Further, Non-patent document 1 discloses a microstructure formed on the surface of filament, and the physical effects of the microstructure, i.e., radiation-enhancing and radiation-suppressing effects for a part of infrared lights.

Incandescent bulb, filament, and method for manufacturing filament


An array substrate device has a color filter-on-thin film transistor (COT) structure for use in a liquid crystal display device. The array substrate device includes a gate line disposed in a first direction on a substrate; a data line disposed over the substrate in a second direction, the data line perpendicularly crossing the gate line to define a pixel region; a thin film transistor near a crossing of the gate and data lines, the thin film transistor including a gate electrode, a semiconductor layer, a source electrode and a drain electrode; a capacitor electrode overlapping the gate line; a color filter having an island pattern corresponding to the pixel region, the color filter exposing portions of the drain electrode and the capacitor electrode; and a pixel electrode disposed over the cover filter, corresponding to the pixel region, and contacting the portions of the drain electrode and the capacitor electrode.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention pertains to a liquid crystal display device, and more particularly, to an array substrate having a color filter on a thin film transistor structure and a method for fabricating the same. Although the invention is suitable for a wide range of applications, it is particularly suitable for increasing the aperture ratio and simplifying the fabrication process.
2. Description of the Related Art
Flat panel display devices are thin, light weight, and have low power consumption, and they have been used for portable display devices. Among the various types of flat panel display devices, liquid crystal display (LCD) devices find wide use in laptop computers and desktop computer monitors because of their superiority in resolution, color image display, and display quality.
Optical anisotropy and polarization characteristics of liquid crystal molecules are utilized to generate desirable images. Liquid crystal molecules have specific alignment directions that result from their own peculiar characteristics. The specific alignment directions can be modified by electric or magnetic fields that are applied to the liquid crystal molecules. In other words, an electric fields applied upon the liquid crystal molecules can change the alignment of the liquid crystal molecules. Due to the optical anisotropy, the incident light is refracted according to the alignment of the liquid crystal molecules.
Specifically, the LCD devices include upper and lower substrates having electrodes that are spaced apart and face into each other. A liquid crystal material is interposed between the substrates. Accordingly, when a voltage is applied to the liquid crystal material through the electrodes of each substrate, the alignment direction of the liquid crystal molecules is changed in accordance with the applied voltage, thereby displaying images. By controlling the applied voltage, the LCD device varies the light transmittances to display image data.
Liquid crystal display (LCD) devices find wide applications in office automation (OA) and video equipment due to their characteristics such as light weight, slim design, and low power consumption. Among different types of LCD devices, active matrix LCDs (AM-LCDs) having thin film transistors and pixel electrodes arranged in a matrix form provide high resolution and superior moving images. A typical LCD panel has an upper substrate, a lower substrate, and a liquid crystal layer interposed between the substrates. The upper substrate (referred to as a color filter substrate) includes a common electrode and color filters. The lower substrate (referred to as an array substrate) includes thin film transistors (TFT's), such as switching elements, and pixel electrodes.
As previously described, an LCD device operates on the principle that the alignment direction of liquid crystal molecules varies with applied electric fields between the common electrode and the pixel electrode. Accordingly, the liquid crystal molecules function as an optical modulation element having variable optical characteristics that depend upon the polarity of the applied voltage.
FIG. 1 shows an expanded perspective view illustrating a related art active matrix liquid crystal display device. As shown in FIG. 1, the LCD device 11 includes an upper substrate 5 (referred to as a color filter substrate) and a lower substrate 22 (referred to as an array substrate) sandwiching a liquid crystal layer 14. On the upper substrate 5, a black matrix 6 and a color filter layer 8 form an array matrix including multiple red (R), green (G), and blue (B) color filters surrounded by the black matrix 6. Additionally, a common electrode 18 is formed on the upper substrate 5 and covers the color filter layer 8 and the black matrix 6.
On the lower substrate 22, thin film transistors T are formed in an array matrix corresponding to the color filter layer 8. Gate lines 13 and data lines 15 perpendicularly cross one another such that each TFT T has a location adjacent to each intersection of the gate lines 13 and the data lines 15. Furthermore, pixel electrodes 17 are formed on a pixel region P defined by the gate lines 13 and the data lines 15 of the lower substrate 22. A transparent conductive material having high transmissivity, such as indium tin oxide (ITO) or indium zinc oxide (IZO), forms the pixel electrode 17.
FIG. 1 also shows a storage capacitor C disposed to correspond to each pixel P and connected in parallel to each pixel electrode 17. The storage capacitor C includes a portion of the gate line 13 as a first capacitor electrode, a storage metal layer 30 as a second capacitor electrode, and an interposed insulator (shown as reference numeral 16 of FIG. 2). Since the storage metal layer 30 connects to the pixel electrode 17 through a contact hole, the storage capacitor C electrically contacts the pixel electrode 17.
The related art LCD device shown in FIG. 1 operates by applying a scanning signal to the gate electrode of the thin film transistor T through the gate line 13, and a data signal is applied to the source electrode of the thin film transistor T through the data line 15. As a result, the liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal material layer 14 align and arrange by the operation of the thin film transistor T, and this alignment controls the incident light passing through the liquid crystal layer 14 to display an image. Namely, the electric fields induced between the pixel and common electrodes 17 and 18 re-arrange the liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal material layer 14 so that the incident light can accordingly be converted into the desired images.
When fabricating the LCD device 11 of FIG. 1, the upper substrate 5 is aligned with and attached to the lower substrate 22. In this process, the upper substrate 5 may misalign with respect to the lower substrate 22, and light leakage may occur in the completed LCD device 11 due to a marginal error in attaching the upper and lower substrates 5 and 22.
FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG. 1, illustrating a pixel of the related art liquid crystal display device.
As shown in FIG. 2, the related art LCD device includes the upper substrate 5, the lower substrate 22, and the liquid crystal layer 14. The upper and lower substrates 5 and 22 are spaced apart from each other, and the liquid crystal layer 14 is interposed between the substrates. The upper and lower substrates 5 and 22 are often referred to as a color filter substrate and an array substrate, respectively, because the color filter layer 8 is formed upon the upper substrate, and array elements, such as TFT and pixel electrodes, are formed on the lower substrate 22.
In FIG. 2, the thin film transistor T is formed on the front surface of the lower substrate 22. The thin film transistor T includes a gate electrode 32, an active layer 34, a source electrode 36, and a drain electrode 38. Between the gate electrode 32 and the active layer 34, a gate insulation layer 16 protects the gate electrode 32 and the gate line 13. As shown in FIG. 1, the gate electrode 32 extends from the gate line 13 and the source electrode 36 extends from the data line 15. All of the gate, source, and drain electrodes 32, 36, and 38 are formed of a metallic material while the active layer 34 is formed of silicon. A passivation layer 40 protects the thin film transistor T. In the pixel region P, the pixel electrode 17 formed of a transparent conductive material is disposed on the passivation layer 40 and contacts the drain electrode 38 and the storage metal layer 30.
Meanwhile, as mentioned above, the gate electrode 13 acts as a first electrode of the storage capacitor C and the storage metal layer 30 acts as a second electrode of the storage capacitor C. The gate electrode 13 and the storage metal layer 30 thus constitute the storage capacitor C along with the interposed gate insulation layer 16.
FIG. 2 also shows the upper substrate 5 that is spaced apart from the lower substrate 22 and is also over the thin film transistor T. On the rear surface of the upper substrate 5, a black matrix 6 is disposed in a position corresponding to the thin film transistor T, the gate line 13 and the data line 15. The black matrix 6 is formed on the entire surface of the upper substrate 5 and has openings corresponding to the pixel electrode 17 of the lower substrate 22, as shown in FIG. 1. The black matrix 6 prevents a light leakage in the LCD panel except for the portion for the pixel electrode 17. The black matrix 6 protects the thin film transistor T from the light in order to prevent generation of a photo-current in the thin film transistor T. The color filter layer 8, which is formed on the rear surface of the upper substrate 5, covers the black matrix 6. Each of the color filters 8 has one of the red 8a, green 8b, and blue 8b colors and corresponds to one pixel region P where the pixel electrode 17 is located. A common electrode 18 formed of a transparent conductive material is disposed on the color filter layer 8 over the upper substrate 5.
In the related art LCD panel discussed above, the pixel electrode 17 has a one-to-one correspondence with one of the color filters. Furthermore, in order to prevent cross-talk between the pixel electrode 17 and the gate and data lines 13 and 15, the pixel electrode 17 is spaced apart from the data line 15 by a distance A and from the gate line 13 by a distance B, as shown in FIG. 2. The open spaces A and B between the pixel electrode 17 and the data and gate line 15 and 13 cause malfunctions such as light leakage in the LCD device. Namely, the light leakage mainly occurs in the open spaces A and B so that the black matrix 6 formed on the upper substrate 5 should cover the open spaces A and B. However, when the upper substrate 5 is arranged with the lower substrate 22 or vice versa, a misalignment may occur between the upper substrate 5 and the lower substrate 22. Therefore, the black matrix 6 is extended to completely cover the open spaces A and B. That is, the black matrix 6 is designed to provide an aligning margin to prevent a light leakage. However, when extending the black matrix, the aperture ratio of a liquid crystal panel reduces as much as the aligning margin of the black matrix 6. Moreover, if there are errors in the aligning margin of the black matrix 6, light leakage still occurs in the open spaces A and B, and deteriorates the image quality of an LCD device.

Array substrate having COT structure for use in liquid crystal display device and method of fabricating the same


A rotary piston machine includes a driving part driven by an electric motor, and a driven part that have mutually engaging end-face denticulation for delivering a medium, the driving part and the driven part being housed in a machine housing and connected to the machine housing via respective bottom bearings of the driving/driven parts, creating a unit.

The invention proceeds from a rotary piston machine having end-face denticulation in a driving part and in a driven part and having, disposed between the denticulation, working spaces that increase and decrease in size during the rotation producing the delivery action of the medium, is described in the (older) patent application 10 2004 044 297 A1, which was not pre-published.
The underlying object of the invention is to improve the rotary piston machine such that it can be produced in a particularly favorable manner without sacrificing the advantages described in the available, older application.


The present invention provides a method for manufacturing a backlight source. The method for manufacturing a backlight source according to the present invention forms a plurality of tin soldering pattern groups on a substrate. Each tin soldering pattern group includes tin soldering patterns spaced from one another, and the tin soldering patterns are in a closed ring shape. The Mini-LEDs are disposed on the tin soldering pattern groups respectively. The substrate is placed in the space having a varying magnetic field. The circuit of the tin soldering patterns in the tin soldering pattern groups generates the induced current for rapid heating and melting, to solder the Mini-LEDs on the substrate. The soldering speed is improved, the process efficiency is high, the process cost is low, and the light effect of the backlight source is effectively ensured.

With the development of display technology, flat display devices such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs) are widely used in various consumer electronic products such as mobile phones, televisions, personal digital assistants, digital cameras, notebook computers, and desktop computers due to the advantages of high image quality, power saving, thin bodies and wide application range, and have become mainstream in the display devices.
Most of the liquid crystal display devices on the market are backlight type liquid crystal display devices, and include a liquid crystal display panel and a backlight module. The working principle of the liquid crystal display panel is disposing liquid crystal molecules between two parallel glass substrates. There are many vertical and horizontal small wires between the two glass substrates. The direction of the liquid crystal molecules is controlled to be changed by energizing or not, and the light of the backlight module is refracted to produce a picture.
The liquid crystal display panel does not emit light per se, and an image needs to be displayed normally by a light source provided by the backlight module. Therefore, the backlight module becomes one of the key components of the liquid crystal display device. The backlight module is divided into a side-lit type backlight module and a direct-lit backlight module according to different incident positions of the light source. For the direct-lit type backlight module, the backlight source such as a cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) or a light-emitting diode (LED) light source is disposed behind the liquid crystal display panel, and the light is uniformized by a diffusion plate to form a surface light source to be supplied to the liquid crystal display panel.
The Mini-LED, also known as sub-millimeter light-emitting diode, is applied to the backlight module. Compared with the conventional side-lit backlight, a light guide plate is not required to be disposed, thinner and lighter effects are realized, the light-emitting efficiency is higher, the limitation of a mixing light distance is also solved, the phenomenon of a hotspot of the side-light-emitting backlight is not generated, and the suitability for a narrow-screen full-screen product is realized. Meanwhile, the Mini-LED can also achieve sub-area control of the backlight to achieve near-perfect dark state performances, the contrast ratio is higher, and the display quality is better.
However, there are still many defects in the preparing process of the Mini-LED. One of the defects is the problem about die bonding of a chip. Due to the cost, people prefer to use smaller chips for die bonding. However, in the traditional chip die-bonding reflow soldering process, since the melt flow time of solder paste is relatively long and the weight of the chip is light, the pull offset of the solder paste is easily caused, and thus the uneven brightness of the entire surface of the Mini-LED is caused, and the light effect is affected.

Manufacturing method for backlight source


A sensor and a method of detecting a target analyte are provided. The sensor includes a substrate; a layer comprising a plurality of through holes, wherein the layer is disposed above the substrate; a first element configured to detect a target analyte; a second element that can produce a detectable signal; wherein the first element and the second element are configured to couple the target analyte between the first element and the second element.

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) is a conventional method to measure binding stoichiometry, kinetics, and chemical affinity. The principle of SPR is based on the interaction between light and conductive electrons at a surface of a metal film including silver, gold, aluminum or copper. When a resonant condition is fulfilled and surface plasmon is generated on the surface of the metal film, the detected light shows a peak at the resonance wavelength (in spectral interrogation) or at the resonance angle (in angular interrogation). This resonance peak will shift according to the reflective index variation on the surface of the metal film caused by the analyte binding. Thus, it gives the real-time information of the binding events. The kinetics, the affinities and the concentrations of the analyte can be calculated as the dynamic process saturates with time.
However, conventional SPR sensors require apparatuses such as a prism to adjust the momentum of the light so as to match with the momentum of the electrons in the metal film to induce the plasmonic resonance. These conventional sensors are generally very bulky. It is difficult to develop such conventional sensors into a point-of-care sensing system.
Localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR), which utilizes the interaction between the light and the metal nanostructures, has also been used. LSPR has similar functions as SPR, and LSPR can be generated by directly illuminating the light at any angle onto a metal nanostructure with a dielectric interface. Thus, a portable LSPR biosensing system can be realized. However, it is difficult for LSPR sensors to detect a small molecule (in a nanometer range), as the small molecules cause very little peak shift.
FIG. 1a shows a graph 100 of optical power absorption against wavelength for prostate cancer biomarker prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in blood. Graph 100 shows an absorption spectrum of a gold nanohole array (without the PSA), and an absorption spectrum of the gold nanohole array with the PSA. The gold nanohole array has a thickness of about 100 nm and a pitch of about 400 nm. The diameter of each nanohole of the array is about 150 nm. The diameter of the PSA is about 1 nm.
FIGS. 1b and 1c show magnifications of portion 102 and portion 104 of graph 100. FIG. 1b shows a portion 106 of the absorption spectrum of the gold nanohole array (without the PSA), and a portion 108 of the absorption spectrum of the gold nanohole array with the PSA. FIG. 1c shows a portion 110 of the absorption spectrum of the gold nanohole array (without the PSA), and a portion 112 of the absorption spectrum of the gold nanohole array with the PSA. It can be observed from both FIGS. 1b and 1c that the PSA only causes a negligible resonant change in the absorption spectrum of the gold nanohole array, which needs a highly accurate spectrometer to discern the difference.

Sensor and method of detecting a target analyte

Agency for Science, Technology and Research


The wrist-mounted device to assist pilgrims is an electronic device worn on the wrist that provides functions to assist a pilgrim, particularly a pilgrim on a pilgrimage to a holy site. The device includes a heart rate monitor that alerts the user when his or her heart rate is too high, a GPS unit showing the location of holy sites of interest, a monitor for keeping a count of the number of perambulations around a holy site, e.g., when performing a Tawaf, an audio playback device that will play back a prayer or scripture, such as the Dua'a, and an annunciator for announcing prayer times.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a medical and tracking device, and particularly to a wrist-mounted device to assist pilgrims, especially pilgrims who come to Mecca (Makkah) to make the Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages.
2. Description of the Related Art
The most important concern for an Islamic individual in the performance of religious rituals, such as Hajj and Umrah during Ramadan and Hajj holy days, is to adhere to the rituals as prescribed in the individual's religious community. Some rituals require the individual or pilgrim to circle a holy site (e.g., the Kaaba or Ka'aba, the most sacred site in Islam, the circling being part of a ritual known as the Tawaf) a certain number of times and also chant or listen to a prayer devoted to their religious rites. The Hajj is usually performed in the twelfth month of the Islamic calendar, and should be performed at least once during an Islamic person's lifetime. The Umrah may be performed at any time of the year, but is often performed during the last ten days of Ramadan. The injunction for compliance with the requirements of the rituals is the same, whether the individual is young or elderly.
Thus, Mecca is often crowded with pilgrims who have come to perform the rites of their religion during the holy days of the Hajj and Ramadan. The congested conditions, together with the hot climate and the physical exertion of the rites, raises concerns about the health of the visitors, particularly the elderly, as well as directing the pilgrims to the sites where the rites are to be performed, and other matters relating to ensuring that the rites have been observed.
Thus, a wrist-mounted device to assist pilgrims solving the aforementioned problems is desired.


A method and device for transmitting a reference signal in a wireless communication system is provided. A base station maps each demodulation reference signal (DMRS) of each of a plurality of layers into a first resource element (RE) set and a second RE set including four REs over four orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols within a subframe, allocates first orthogonal cover codes (OCCs) having a length of 4 to each DMRS mapped into the first RE set, allocates second OCCs having a length of 4 to each DMRS mapped into the second resource element set and transmits each DMRS mapped into the first RE set and the second RE set. The subframe includes two slots and each slot includes six OFDM symbols. The second OCC are formed by swapping positions of bits that constitute the first OCCs.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to wireless communication and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for transmitting a reference signal in a wireless communication system.
2. Related Art
In wireless communication systems, it is necessary to estimate an uplink channel or a downlink channel for the purpose of the transmission and reception of data, the acquisition of system synchronization, and the feedback of channel information. In wireless communication system environments, fading is generated because of multi-path time latency. A process of restoring a transmit signal by compensating for the distortion of the signal resulting from a sudden change in the environment due to such fading is referred to as channel estimation. It is also necessary to measure the state of a channel for a cell to which a user equipment belongs or other cells. To estimate a channel or measure the state of a channel, a reference signal (RS) which is known to both a transmitter and a receiver can be used.
A subcarrier used to transmit the reference signal is referred to as a reference signal subcarrier, and a subcarrier used to transmit data is referred to as a data subcarrier. In an OFDM system, a method of assigning the reference signal includes a method of assigning the reference signal to all the subcarriers and a method of assigning the reference signal between data subcarriers. The method of assigning the reference signal to all the subcarriers is performed using a signal including only the reference signal, such as a preamble signal, in order to obtain the throughput of channel estimation. If this method is used, the performance of channel estimation can be improved as compared with the method of assigning the reference signal between data subcarriers because the density of reference signals is in general high. However, since the amount of transmitted data is small in the method of assigning the reference signal to all the subcarriers, the method of assigning the reference signal between data subcarriers is used in order to increase the amount of transmitted data. If the method of assigning the reference signal between data subcarriers is used, the performance of channel estimation can be deteriorated because the density of reference signals is low. Accordingly, the reference signals should be properly arranged in order to minimize such deterioration.
A receiver can estimate a channel by separating information about a reference signal from a received signal because it knows the information about a reference signal and can accurately estimate data, transmitted by a transmit stage, by compensating for an estimated channel value. Assuming that the reference signal transmitted by the transmitter is p, channel information experienced by the reference signal during transmission is h, thermal noise occurring in the receiver is n, and the signal received by the receiver is y, it can result in y=h·p+n. Here, since the receiver already knows the reference signal p, it can estimate a channel information value ĥ using Equation 1 in the case in which a Least Square (LS) method is used.ĥ=h+n/p=h+{circumflex over (n)}  [Equation 1]
The accuracy of the channel estimation value ĥ estimated using the reference signal p is determined by the value {circumflex over (n)}. To accurately estimate the value h, the value {circumflex over (n)} must converge on 0. To this end, the influence of the value {circumflex over (n)} has to be minimized by estimating a channel using a large number of reference signals. A variety of algorithms for a better channel estimation performance may exist.
A downlink RS may include a cell-specific RS (CRS), a multicast-broadcast single frequency network (MBSFN) RS, a UE-specific RS, a positioning RS (PRS), and a channel state information RS (CSI-RS). The UE-specific RS is an RS received by a specific UE or a specific UE group within a cell. The UE-specific RS is chiefly used for the data demodulation of a specific UE or a specific UE group and thus may be called a demodulation RS (DMRS).
Meanwhile, a plurality of DMRSs with respect to a plurality of layers may be transmitted. The plurality of DMRSs with respect to the plurality of layers may be mapped to resource elements (REs) of a resource block, and the DMRSs mapped to the resource elements may be transmitted via a plurality of antenna ports. The 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) long term evolution advanced LTE-A) supports a maximum of eight layers. The plurality of DMRSs of the plurality of layers may undergo precoding, or the like, and subsequently transmitted through a plurality of antenna ports.
In transmitting the plurality of DMRSs of the plurality of layers through the plurality of antenna ports, transmission power to be allocated to the plurality of antenna ports is required to be evenly distributed. Thus, a method for transmitting the precoded DMRSs with uniform transmission power may be proposed.

Method and device for transmitting reference signal in wireless communication system


A method for upgrading an oil stream containing naphthenic acid and sulfur contaminants is described. In this method, an oil stream with naphthenic acid and sulfur contaminants is upgraded by the following steps. First, the oil stream is mixed with an alkaline earth metal oxide in an amount effective to convert substantially all of the naphthenic acid contaminants to non-acidic compounds and alkaline earth metal carbonate and also to convert substantially all of the sulfur contaminants to alkaline earth metal sulfide. Then, the mixture is heated under a pressure sufficient to prevent vaporization of the mixture to a temperature sufficient and for a time sufficient to react the naphthenic acid contaminants with the alkaline earth oxide to form the corresponding non-acidic compounds and alkaline earth carbonates. In the meantime, substantially all of the sulfur contaminants react with the alkaline earth oxide to form the alkaline earth sulfide. After the desired reaction is complete, the alkaline earth carbonate and the alkaline earth sulfide is separated from the oil stream. Upgraded oil is thus obtained.

In the processing of crude oils, severe corrosion problems may be encountered when the crude contains noticeable amounts of organic acids, particularly naphthenic acids. Such problems are even worse when the crude oils as processed contain some salt water. Through acid exchange, salty crude oils which contain naphthenic acids may exhibit the severe corrosion characteristics of hydrochloric acid. When such oils are processed by normal distillation methods, the equipment used must be constructed of expensive corrosion resistant alloys. Conventional resolution of the naphthenic corrosion problem by neutralization with basic compounds such as sodium hydroxide, ammonia and calcium hydroxide, is not satisfactory because the neutralized acids are still corrosive and unstable, and often act as persistent emulsifying agents, giving rise to intractable emulsions, which give rise to more processing problems. Another problem for conventional refining processes is encountered when the crude oil contains appreciable amounts of sulfur and sulfur compounds which also leads to severe corrosion problems.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to decarboxylate the crude i.e., to convert the naphthenic acid contaminants found in the crude oil to non acidic compounds. Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for removing the sulfur found in the crude oil in the form of mercaptans, sulfides, hydrogen sulfide and cyclical compounds. Yet another object of the invention is to provide a continuous method and apparatus for removing acidic contaminants by decarboxylating the crude and also for removing the sulfur, and any solids, salts, water and other corrosive agents, to yield a clean, sweet oil eminently suitable for conventional refinery processes. Moreover, the present invention can effectively be used with any type of crude oil having oil-water emulsions stabilized by finely divided solid materials. These emulsions can be separated into an economically processable oil fraction which is low in both suspended solids, water, heavy metals, sulfur, naphthenic acids, salts and other contaminants, an ecologically acceptable waste water fraction, and, preferably, flocculated finely divided clean oil-free solids which can easily be disposed of.

Process to upgrade crude oils by destruction of naphthenic acids, removal of sulfur and removal of salts