A touch panel 30 of the present invention comprises: a light-emitting sided-optical waveguide 33; a light-receiving sided-optical waveguide 34; and an electromagnetic induction-type digitizer 36. In the touch panel of the present invention, a position coordinate is recognized using an electronic pen by an electromagnetic induction-type digitizer 36 when high resolution is required. A position coordinate is recognized using a finger by the optical waveguides 33 and 34 when high resolution is not required. This makes it possible to materialize the touch panel 30 having a high resolution and a lower power consumption regardless of its narrow frame.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a touch panel and more particularly, to a touch panel with optical waveguides and an electromagnetic induction-type digitizer.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, touch panels with optical waveguides are known (For example, JP 2008-203431 A). Since optical waveguides are light-weight and capable of carrying out a high-speed signal transmission, such optical waveguides have been expected to be utilized for various kinds of electronic devices, more particularly, optical touch panels in the future.
Conventional touch panels, however, needed to increase the core density by making the core width of optical waveguides narrower and increasing the number of cores to increase resolution so that irrespective of input may be possible by a thin substance (for example, a pen) or a thick substance (for example, a finger). Therefore, such conventional touch panels had a problem that the "frame" around a display unit was wide due to large sized optical waveguides.


A class structure of an object-oriented program system is optimized for hardware and implemented as a hardware system in an object-oriented processor. For example, a class structure derived from a Java Virtual Machine software system is optimized for hardware and implemented as a hardware Java object-oriented processor. A processor is implemented by defining a data structure and an object-oriented instruction set for executing in the object-oriented operating environment, and generating a hardware implementation of the processor enforcing the logical relationships of the instruction set as defined by the data structure. The data structure includes a class structure. The class structure and the instruction set describe the processor operations. A processor includes an execution engine based on a class structure to execute instructions of an object-oriented instruction set. The instruction set uses pointers for indexing through data structures to define an object method for execution. At the top of the data structure is a class structure for selecting the static class for creating objects. Once the class is found by indexing through the class structure, a constant pool is accessed to supply information to further describe the data structures that are used for creating an object and executing an object method. A processor includes an execution unit and a memory. The memory stores a data structure including a class structure. Classifiers are selected by a program and loaded. The class structure directs the instantiation of the loaded classifiers into objects. The execution unit executes object methods directed by the class structure.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to processors and computer systems. More specifically, the present invention relates to an object-oriented processor architecture and operating method.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional central processing unit (CPU) of a processor functions in a sequential manner, repeatedly fetching and executing instructions in a predefined order. This sequential operation is typical of a von Neumann-architecture computer.
Software technologies have evolved to advantageously employ a concept of object-oriented computing in which program operations are organized as cooperative collections of objects, each representing an instance of some class. The classes are members of a hierarchy of classes that are united by inheritance relationships. In the object-oriented structure, classes are generally viewed as static while objects have a dynamic nature. Object-oriented approaches have led to improved productivity in program production, improved program reliability and reduction of programming errors, and improved performance in complex programs. Object-oriented approaches are universally applied as software constructs such as purely C++ type data structures that are suitable for software execution and implementation at the very high application level.
The conventional CPU does not implement the concept of a data structure or of object-oriented computing. Instead, data structures and object-oriented computing are imposed at a high architectural level such as the operating system level and translated into conventional instructions that are executed by the CPU using conventional sequential execution of primitive instructions.
Object-oriented approaches are currently attained only by high level software operating systems and high level software applications. Accordingly, object-oriented approaches are only available with the activation of a software system disadvantageously incurring software overhead that reduces processor performance.
What is needed is a processor and associated operating method that achieves object-oriented functionality without incurring software overhead and degraded performance.

Object-oriented processor architecture and operating method


First and second encoders are fixed to a drive plate and a clutch cover of which the center portions are connected to each other via a connection shaft and which are disposed between, in a transfer path for torque outputted from an engine, a damper and a connecting/disconnecting part of a clutch mechanism of a transmission. At the same time, detection units of first and second sensors are opposed to portions to be detected of the first and second encoders, respectively.

At present, in order to promote high efficiency and low fuel consumption of an automobile, it is required to measure the magnitude of an output torque of an engine to perform optimum output control of the engine (including output control synchronized with a motor in a hybrid car). As a method of measuring the magnitude of the output torque of the engine, for example, a method of measuring magnitude of torque transmitted by a torque transmission member present at a downstream side of the engine is conceivable.
Conventionally, as the method of measuring magnitude of torque transmitted by a torque transmission member, there has been known a method of converting an elastic twist deformation amount of the torque transmission member into a phase difference between output signals of a pair of sensors and measuring the magnitude of torque based on the phase difference.
As an application example of such a method, Patent Document 1 describes a device for converting an elastic twist deformation amount of any one of torque transmission shafts (input shaft, countershaft, and the like) constituting a transmission mechanism of an automobile in a clutch mechanism and the transmission mechanism constituting a transmission of an automobile into a phase difference between output signals of a pair of sensors and measuring the magnitude of the torque transmitted by the torque transmission shaft based on the phase difference.
However, in such a conventional structure, since a pair of encoders and sensors for measuring torque are installed in a transmission case where a large number of components constituting the transmission mechanism are densely stored, there is a case where a degree of freedom of installation of the pair of encoders and sensors is low and design of the transmission is difficult. In a case where the transmission is a dual clutch transmission (DCT), a transmission path of torque inside the transmission mechanism is changed by a speed stage during traveling (first speed, second speed, or the like), and a transmission path of torque is branched inside the transmission mechanism when a speed stage during traveling is changed (shift change). Therefore, it is difficult to accurately determine the magnitude of the output torque of the engine only by measuring the magnitude of the torque transmitted by any one of the torque transmission shafts.

Rotation transfer apparatus provided with torque measuring device


The present invention relates to a process for producing an .alpha.-olefin oligomer by subjecting .alpha.-olefin to oligomerization in a reaction zone in the presence of a reaction solution containing a chromium-based catalyst, which comprises,. continuously conducting said oligomerization of .alpha.-olefin by using said chromium-based catalyst comprising at least a chromium compound (a), a nitrogen-containing compound (b) selected from the group consisting of amines, amides and imides, and an alkyl aluminum compound (c) while maintaining a molar ratio of the .alpha.-olefin oligomer to .alpha.-olefin in the range of 0.05 to 1.00.

The present invention relates to a process for producing an .alpha.-olefin oligomer, and more particularly relates to a process for producing an .alpha.-olefin oligomer comprising mainly of 1-hexene, from ethylene with a high yield and a high selectivity in an industrially useful manner.
It is hitherto known that a oligomerization of .alpha.-olefin such as ethylene is carried out in the presence of a chromium-based catalyst comprising a chromium compound and an organoaluminum compound in combination. For instance, Japanese Patent Publication (KOKOKU) No. 43-18707 discloses a production method of 1-hexene and polyethylene from ethylene by using a catalyst comprising a 6-Group transition metal such as chromium and polyhydrocarbyl-aluminum-oxide.
Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (KOKAI) No. 3-128904 discloses a trimerization method of an .alpha.-olefin by using a catalyst obtained by previously reacting a chromium-containing compound having a chromium-pyrrolyl bond with metal alkyl or a Lewis acid. Furthermore, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (KOKAI) No. 6-239920 discloses a oligomerization method of an .alpha.-olefin by using a catalyst obtained by mixing a chromium compound, a pyrrole-containing compound, a metal alkyl compound and a halide source with each other in a common solvent.
In addition, the present inventors have recently proposed, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (KOKAI) No. 8-3216, an oligomerization method of an .alpha.-olefin by using a chromium-based catalyst comprising a chromium-containing compound, a pyrrole ring-containing compound, a metal alkyl compound and a halide source in combination in such a manner that the chromium-containing compound and the metal alkyl compound are kept in non-contact with each other until these compounds are brought into contact with an .alpha.-olefin. According to the afore-mentioned method, 1-hexene can be produced by subjecting .alpha.-olefin, particularly ethylene, to oligomerization in the presence of the catalyst having a high catalytic activity.
However, in any of these methods, a considerable amount of polymer as by-product have been inevitably produced. Such a production of the polymer as by-product causes problems such as adhesion of the polymer to an apparatus used, necessity of removing the polymer from a solution containing a reaction product, or the like. For these reasons, when it is intended to conduct the oligomerization of .alpha.-olefin in an industrially effective manner, it is important to reduce an amount of the by-product to as low a level as possible.
Further, in the method described in Japanese Patent Publication (KOKOKU) No. 43-18707, a large amount of polyethylene is produced simultaneously with the production of 1-hexene. In the case where the reaction condition is adjusted so as to reduce the amount of polyethylene as a by-product, there is caused a problem that a catalytic activity of the catalyst in the reaction system is deteriorated. In the method described in Japanese Patent Publication (KOKOKU) No. 3-128904, there arises a problem that an amount of the high-molecular weight polymer produced can be limited to a small level but a catalytic activity thereof is insufficient.
In addition, in the method described in the Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (KOKAI) No. 6-239920, the catalytic activity is also insufficient from a standpoint of industrial-scale oligomerization of .alpha.-olefin, though the method exhibits a high selectivity for 1-hexene. Whereas, in the method described in the Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (KOKAI) No. 8-3216, the selectivity for 1-hexene is insufficient, though the catalyst used in the method exhibits a sufficient catalytic activity to carry out the industrial-scale oligomerization of .alpha.-olefin.
As a results of the present inventors' earnest studies for solving the above problems, it has been found that by using the chromium-based catalyst formed from at least a chromium compound (a), a nitrogen-containing compound (b) selected from the group consisting of amines, amides and imides, and an alkyl aluminum compound (c) while maintaining a molar ratio of the .alpha.-olefin oligomer to .alpha.-olefin in the range of 0.05 to 1.00, an .alpha.-olefin oligomer such as 1-hexene can be produced with a high yield and high selectivity while extremely reducing an amount of polymer as by-product. The present invention has been based on this finding.

Process for producing .alpha.-olefin oligomer


A coaxial cable distributor, wherein three or more junction plugs (2) are fitted to the surface of a casing (1) having a hollow therein, the external contacts of the junction plugs (2) are electrically connected to each other through the casing (1), the center contacts of the junction plugs (2) are electrically connected to each other in the hollow of the casing (1), and at least two of the junction plugs (2) are rotated about the rotating axis in a direction orthogonal to the projected direction thereof from the surface of the casing (1) while maintaining the electrical connection between the external contacts and between the center contacts.

Heretofore, when a coaxial terminal such as a TV terminal provided on a wall surface and the like and plural TV receivers are connected by a coaxial cable, a distributor or an appliance called as a turnout is used.
In general, the distributor is fitted with three or more coaxial cable connecting terminals (hereinafter referred to as junction plug) comprising center contacts and cylindrical external contacts concentrically provided with the center contacts on a casing having a hollow therein. At this time, the casing is made of metal, and the external contacts of each junction plug are electrically connected to each other by the casing. Further, the center contacts are electrically connected to each other by printed circuit board and the like provided inside the hollow of the casing.
When the distributor is used, for example, one of the junction plugs and the TV terminal provided on the wall surface are connected by the coaxial cable, and the other junction plug provided in the distributor and the input terminal of the TV receiver are connected by the other coaxial cable. At this time, if the junction plugs provided in the distributor are three, since one junction plug is connected to the TV terminal on the wall surface, the remaining two junction plugs can be connected to two TV receivers.
Further, the turnout is also the same as the distributor, and is provided with several turnout point (output) junction plugs in addition to a pair of input junction plugs and output junction plugs.
The number of TV terminals provided on the wall surface and the like of the house is usually from one to several pieces for each room. Hence, when each TV terminal is connected to the terminal of each TV receiver, TV pictures can be watched only by the same number of TV receivers provided on the wall surface. On the contrary, in case a large number of TV receivers are installed in a room, the number of TV terminals on the wall surface must be increased according to the number of TV receivers installed.
Further, when the position of the TV terminal on the wall surface and the installation position of the TV receiver are kept away from each other, the laying of the coaxial cable tends to be complicated.
Hence, by using the coaxial distributor or the turnout, a large number of TV receivers can be installed. Further, by using the distributor or the turnout, the input terminals of plural TV receivers can be connected to the TV terminals in the vicinity, and the laying of the coaxial cable can be simplified.
Further, in addition to the case where an appliance such as the distributor or the turnout is used indoor as when the TV terminals and plural TV receivers are connected, the appliance is also used, for example, when the coaxial cable installed outdoor is led into plural rooms inside a building. At this time, the distributor or the turnout is, for example, fitted to the inside of a ceiling or the rear surface of the wall or the like, and one of the junction plugs is connected to the coaxial cable led from outdoor, and the coaxial cable connected to the remaining junction plugs is led to the walls of each room so as to be connected to the TV terminal fitted to each wall surface.
However, the junction plug of such a distributor fixes the external contact and the casing by screws and the like. That is, since the conventional distributor or the turnout is fixed in a leading direction of the connected coaxial cable, the distributor or the turnout matching with the leading direction of the coaxial cable must be selected. Hence, there has been a problem in that the conventional distributor or the turnout lacks a degree of freedom of the installation place, that is, versatility.
Further, when the coaxial cable is connected to the distributor or the turnout, it is usually after the distributor or the turnout are fitted to the wall surface, the floor surface, the ceiling, and the like that the coaxial cable is connected to the distributor or the turnout. At this time, when the junction plug provided in the distributor is protruded in parallel with the wall surface, there has been a problem in that operability is poor at the time of connecting the coaxial cable to the junction plug. Further, in case plural junction plugs come into line, when the interval between the junction plugs is narrow, there has been a problem in that operability is poor at the time of connecting the coaxial cable to the junction plug in the vicinity of the center.
Further, since the conventional distributor or turnout has the junction plug fixed to the casing, the leading direction of the connected coaxial cable is constant, and it is often the case that extreme bending is required for the laying of the cable. When the coaxial cable is extremely bent, however, there has been a problem in that noises tend to be generated due to change of characteristic impedance or central conductor and outer conductor become easily disconnected.
Consequently, an object of the present invention is to provide a technology capable of enhancing versatility of the coaxial cable distributor or the turnout.
Further, an object of the present invention is to provide a technology, which can enhance operability at the time of connecting the coaxial cable to the junction plug of the coaxial cable or the turnout.
Further, an object of the present invention is to provide a technology capable of preventing noises and the breaking of the coaxial cable due to extreme bending of the coaxial cable connected to the distributor or the turnout.


Endpoint determination of a wafer removal process, in-situ, is afforded by the use of a Kalman filter known to be useful in celestial navigation. The use of line variable displacement transducers provides position error correction for the Kalman filter and the Preston equation provides the initial calibration for the endpoint determination. Accuracies of fifty angstrom are achieved.

The necessity for obtaining smooth and planar surfaces for the various layers in the production of multi-layer semiconductor wafers is well documented. Such layers are polished to the desired surface characteristics by a variety of different techniques. Chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) is presently the technique of choice.
CMP employs a disk-shaped rotating platen, with a polishing pad, which rotates about an axis. In copending application serial numbers YUEH-1 filed Jan. 29, 1997 for the inventor of the present application, an annular-shaped platen with a non-rotating center core is disclosed. In either case, a wafer is secured to a sensor motor which rotates the wafer about its own axes and advances the wafer into contact with the pad. Thus, both the wafer and the platen are rotating and are in contact at a pressure determined by the actuator. The frequency at which the wafer rotates and the pressure on the wafer will be seen to be important parameters herein. A slurry is introduced between the wafer and the pad to aid in the polishing operation.
It is important to remove a sufficient amount of material to provide a smooth surface without removing an excessive amount of underlying materials. Consequently, it is important to monitor the removal rate or the wafer thickness variations and to ascertain when the end point of the polishing,, process has occurred.
There are many patents directed at techniques for determining that end point. U.S. Pat. No. 5,240,552, issued Aug. 31, 1993 describes an acoustic technique for determining such an end point. U.S. Pat. No. 5,413,941, issued May 9, 1995 describes a laser technique for determining the end point. U.S. Pat. No. 5,433,651 describes an optical technique using reflectance of light directed at the wafer through an aperture in the platen. All such techniques require sophisticated monitoring and control apparatus and achieve, at best, end point termination accuracy of about five hundred angstroms.

In-situ endpoint control apparatus for semiconductor wafer polishing process


A heat-releasing printed circuit board and semiconductor chip package are disclosed. The heat-releasing printed circuit board includes an insulation layer, on a surface of which a circuit pattern is formed, and a solder resist, which is stacked on the insulation layer, where the solder resist contains carbon nanotubes. The heat-releasing printed circuit board allows the heat generated in a semiconductor chip to be dispersed in several directions of the board or package, to improve heat-releasing property.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a heat-releasing printed circuit board and a semiconductor chip package.
2. Description of the Related Art
The demands in current printed circuit boards are closely related to the trends of faster performance and higher densities in the electronics market, and to satisfy such demands, the printed circuit board faces several tasks, such as providing finer circuits, superior electrical properties, higher reliability, higher signal transfer speeds, and greater functionality, etc.
In particular, in a device such as a mobile phone, server, network, etc., which provides faster speeds and higher power consumption while being implemented in a higher density and smaller size, efficient heat release is becoming an important issue for improving product reliability and preventing malfunctions. This is because high temperatures in a semiconductor chip can be a major cause of errors such as malfunctioning and halting in a device.
Methods in the related art for lowering the temperature of a semiconductor chip include a method of installing a heat sink over the semiconductor chip that emits high levels of heat, and a method of operating a cooling fan to force out the large amounts of heat.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a semiconductor chip package according to the related art. Referring to FIG. 1, a semiconductor chip 104 is mounted on a printed circuit board 102 by way of solder bumps 106, etc., and an underfill is injected between the semiconductor chip 104 and the printed circuit board 102 to increase the adhesion between the semiconductor chip 104 and the printed circuit board 102. After the semiconductor chip 104 is mounted on the printed circuit board 102, a molding material 108 is coated on which encapsulates the semiconductor chip 104. Also, solder balls 110 are coupled on, and the semiconductor chip 104 package is mounted on the main board by a flip chip method, etc.
Looking at the path through which the heat generated in the semiconductor chip travels, in a semiconductor chip package according to the related art, heat is generated in the semiconductor chip due to the operation of the product in which the semiconductor chip package is equipped, and this heat travels through the solder bumps and the circuits of the board to the solder balls connected to the main board. This path of heat flow does not efficiently release the high levels of heat generated in the semiconductor chip and board. As such, in the related art, heat-releasing vias penetrating the printed circuit board are formed in the joint portions between the semiconductor chip and the printed circuit board to reduce the path of heat flow, or a metal core is inserted within the printed circuit board to release heat from the sides of the printed circuit board.
However, the insulation material of the printed circuit board is generally very low in thermal conductivity, and hence acts as a large resistance to the movement of heat, hindering efficient heat release.
Also, whereas effective heat release requires heat emission in all directions of the printed circuit board, the solder resist coated on the outermost layers of the printed circuit board is also low in thermal conductivity, making it difficult to efficiently release the heat generated in the board.
Moreover, the molding material encapsulating the semiconductor chip also has a low thermal conductivity, so that the heat generated in the semiconductor chip is released only through the printed circuit board, for inefficient heat release.

Heat-releasing printed circuit board and semiconductor chip package


Described is a method of depositing multilayers of semiconducting organic polymers. The method involves polymerising one layer by exposing an oxidising agent to a vapour containing the monomer and polymerising another layer of semiconducting organic polymer electrochemically.

This invention relates to a method of depositing multilayers of semiconducting organic polymers.
Gas sensors based on the use of chemically sensitive semiconducting organic polymers are well known. GB-2,203,553-B describes a class of gas sensor which consists of two electrodes and a layer of semi-conducting organic polymer deposited on and between the electrodes such as to effect a semiconducting electrical connection. The electrical properties of the semiconducting organic polymer are affected by the presence of a gas or volatile species, and therefore the presence of a gaseous species may be detected by monitoring the change in an electrical property on exposure of the gas sensor to the gas. GB-2,203,553-B discloses the application of an AC electric signal across the gas sensor and the detection of various impedance characteristics, such as conductance. Maisik et al (Maisik, JJ, Hooper, A and Tofield, BC) JCS Faraday Trans. 1, 1986, 82, 1117-26 discloses a gas sensor wherein a DC electric signal is applied, and the DC resistance is detected.
In previous reports of semiconducting organic polymer based gas sensors the polymer has been deposited by electrochemical polymerisation of a solution containing the monomer and a counter-ion.
A major problem with gas sensors which employ a single semiconducting organic polymer to bridge a pair of electrodes is a lack of sensitivity. In general, a large gap between the electrodes is desirable ("large" in this context being greater than ca. 100 um) since experimental evidence shows that a large surface area of polymer can result in enhanced sensitivity. A large surface area of polymer also results in a range of resistances that are easily measurable. However, in practice, the maximum spacing between the electrodes (determined essentially by the length of the polymeric chains) is typically between 1 and 5 um. Wider spacings may be achieved, but at the expense of sensor performance, since, as the electrode spacing increases much beyond the length of the polymeric chains, various mechanical properties worsen and the resistance of the polymer increases dramatically--sometimes prohibitively so. The poor mechanical properties are due to a "necking" effect in the polymer deposit. This effect is illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 by reference to a gas sensor with a large separation between the electrodes 10a and 10b. The electrodes are supported by a substrate 12, and the semiconducting organic polymer 14 has been deposited electrochemically in an uneven manner, with "necking" apparent, both in a plan and a cross-sectional view. Gas sensors of this type are often very brittle and production of the gas sensor suffers from poor reproducibility. Thus International Application No. 93/03355 limits the scope of the multiple gas sensor device claimed to one in which the electrodes are spaced up to 25 um apart, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,721,601 discloses a microelectronic device comprising at least two electrodes separated by less than 2 um.
International Application No. 86/01599 discloses the use of more than one semiconducting organic polymer in a single gas sensor, wherein polypyrrole is employed as a substrate upon which another semiconducting organic polymer is deposited as a coating. Both of these semiconducting organic polymers are polymerised electrochemically. Using such a method, a gas sensor was produced which employed two platinum wire electrodes spaced 200 um apart. However, the electrochemical deposition of the polypyrrole substrate is now found to be not an optimal method, since irrespective of the design of the sensor, the polypyrrole tends to be polymerised as a globule. As a result, the sensor exhibits poor mechanical properties, such as poor adhesion between the polypyrrole and the electrodes, and between the polypyrrole and the second polymer coating. A lack of mechanical robustness is a considerable drawback, since a practical gas sensor should be able to withstand day-to-day usage, including changes in temperature and humidity. Additionally, the adsorption of gaseous species onto the polymer surface (the very process upon which gas detection depends) induces substantial conformational changes in the polymer which can lead to internal stressing.

Semiconducting organic polymers for gas sensors


A rotational angle detector includes a rotary element rotatable around a rotational axis line, the rotary element having a detected portion on an outer circumference, a detection element provided on a radially outside of the detected portion so as to face the detected portion, and a seat having a mounting surface on which the detection element can be mounted, the mounting surface extending around the rotational axis line. The seat is configured such that a distance between the mounting surface and the detected portion in a direction parallel to the rotational axis line varies along a circumferential direction of the seat.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rotational angle detector for detecting a rotational angle of a rotary element and a rotary machine including a rotational angle detector.
2. Description of the Related Art
A rotational angle detector is used to detect a rotational angle of a rotary machine such as an electric motor, or a rotational angle of a rotary element driven by a rotary machine. For example, JP 2006-010436 A discloses a magnetic rotational angle detector which includes a magnetic sensor for detecting the magnitude of a magnetic field varying in response to the rotational angel of a rotary element. This type of rotational angle detector includes a detected portion in the form of a gear provided on an outer circumferential face of the rotary element, and a magnetic sensor provided so as to be opposite to the detected portion.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating a rotational angle detector 100 according to related art. The rotational angle detector 100 includes a cylindrical rotary element 104 fixed to a rotational axis 102 rotatable around a rotational axis line 102a, and a detection element 108 fixed to a cylindrical seat 106. The rotary element 104 has a detected portion 104a on an outer circumferential face. The detection element 108 is positioned so as to be opposite to and close enough to the detected portion 104a of the rotary element 104.
In magnetic rotational angle detector, such as disclosed in JP 2006-010436 A, detection accuracy may be decreased when the positional relationship between the magnetic sensor incorporated in the detection element 108 and the detected portion 104a of the rotary element 104 is changed. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure that the detection element 108 is in a predetermined position relative to the detected portion 104a.
However, the position of the detection element 108 relative to the rotary element 104 may be changed, due to accumulated dimensional tolerances of the rotational axis 102, the rotary element 104, the seat 106 and other structures, which are not shown in the drawing, or an assembly error. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, a spacer 110 is provided between the detection element 108 and a mounting surface 106a of the seat 106 in order to adjust the position of the detection element 108 relative to the detected portion 104a in a direction parallel to the rotational axis line 102a.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view illustrating a rotational angle detector 100 according to another related art. In this related art, a seat 106′ having a larger thickness is used, instead of the spacer 110. For comparison, the position of the mounting surface 106a of the seat 106 having a thickness T1 as shown in FIG. 7 is shown by dashed line. The seat 106′ has a larger thickness T2 than the thickness T1. As a result, the mounting surface 106a′ of the seat 106′ and the detection element 108 fixed on the mounting surface 106a′ are at a higher position by the difference in thicknesses. By selectively adopting a plurality of seats having different thicknesses from one another, the position of the detection element 108 relative to the detected portion 104a in a direction parallel to the rotational axis line 102a can be adjusted.
However, according to these methods, in which spacers or seats having different thicknesses are selectively used to adjust the position of the detection element, it is necessary to prepare a plurality of different spaces or seats for assembly of the rotary machine. In addition, since a different spacer or seat may be required every time the rotary machine or the rotational angle detector is disassembled for repair and inspection, operational efficiency is decreased. Further, the management cost of parts is increased.
Therefore, there is a need for a rotational angle detector which ensures a predetermined positional relationship between the detected portion and the detection element, without a plurality of different spacers or seats.

Rotational angle detector including seat and rotary machine including the detector


An electric motor includes a stator and a rotor including a permanent magnet and an electromagnetic steel sheet. The electromagnetic steel sheet includes a magnet insertion hole, a first outer peripheral surface including an inter-pole part of the rotor, a second outer peripheral surface including a magnetic pole center part of the rotor, a first slit elongated in a circumferential direction of the rotor, and a first portion formed between the first slit and the magnet insertion hole. A distance from the first outer peripheral surface to the stator is larger than a distance from the second outer peripheral surface to the stator. The electric motor satisfies θa<θb, where θa is a first angle formed by a first line and a second line and θb is a second angle formed by a third line and the second line.

A rotor generally used for an electric motor is a rotor including a magnetic pole center part having a maximum outer diameter and an inter-pole part having an outer diameter smaller than the outer diameter of the magnetic pole center part. In an electric motor using this rotor, the distance between an outer peripheral surface of the rotor including the magnetic pole center part and a stator is smaller than the distance between an outer peripheral surface of the rotor including the inter-pole part and the stator. As a result, the magnitude of the magnetic flux density in the circumferential direction of the rotor can approach a sine wave and consequently torque ripples can be reduced (see, for example, Patent Reference 1).

Electric motor, compressor, air blower, and air conditioner


For measuring a brain local activity, a predetermined frequency bandwidth wider than a frequency bandwidth of alpha waves of scalp potentials is divided into a predetermined number of frequency banks each having a fixed frequency width, data of each divided frequency bank is divided into segments of a predetermined duration on a time axis, a Z-score of the subject is determined from a first mean value of normalized power variances determined for the segments and a second mean value of normalized power variances predetermined in the same manner as the first mean value for a predetermined normal person group and a standard deviation of the normalized power variances in the group, and a mean value of the Z-scores determined over all of the frequency banks is mapped on a brain surface for each sensor, whereby a template of a specified brain disorder and likelihood of a subject to a specified brain disorder are calculated.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for measuring a brain local activity, and in particular to an apparatus for measuring or estimating a degree of neuronal impairment (diminishment) state in brain cortex such as a senile dementia disorder.
2. Description of the Related Art
With respect to senile dementia, it is statistically said that about 30% of nonagenarians are in dementia. This senile dementia is becoming a serious problem for the coming aging society.
Accordingly, such a dementia disorder should be preferably found as early as possible and treated before it results in a serious state. As an apparatus for measuring (estimating) a degree of the dementia disorder, an apparatus for measuring a brain local activity has been already proposed comprising: a plurality of sensors mounted on a head of a subject for measuring scalp potentials or magnetic fields of the subject; a computing unit for converting alpha wave components of output signals of the sensors into numerical data to determine a dipolarity at each sampling, for determining mean values of squared errors, within a fixed time interval, between a scalp potential or a magnetic field by an equivalent dipole at a dipolarity peak emergence time and the measured scalp potentials or magnetic fields or variances of the squared errors from the mean values for the sensors, and for mapping a contour concerning a distribution of the mean values or the variances on a scalp or a brain surface corresponding thereto; and an output unit for outputting a contour map (see e.g. patent document 1).
[Patent document 1] Japanese patent No. 3581361
The above-mentioned patent document 1 detects a functional impairment of neurons in some part of a brain by analyzing a scalp potential distribution of alpha waves, so that there have been following problems:    a) A large number of persons do not show alpha waves    b) The alpha waves are restrained in an eye-opening state, which is extremely unstable;    c) The alpha waves are highly affected by a state of mind;    d) Localization of a brain functional impairment degree only by the alpha waves does not properly coincide with a cerebral blood flow diminished part by SPECT (Single Photon Emission Computing Tomography).
Namely, since the patent document 1 consistently carries out a measurement based on the alpha waves, there have been problems that a functional impairment part of neurons can not be detected, a type and a degree of a brain disorder are unclear, and a part in which the neuronal function has recovered by various treatments is unclear.

Apparatus for measuring brain local activity


A circuit according to the present invention is used for driving a photoflash diode and comprises a current sink, a feedback circuit, and a DC-DC converter. The current sink is coupled to the photoflash diode for controlling the current through the photoflash diode. The feedback circuit receives a feedback signal indicative of the electrical condition of said first current regulator. The DC-DC converter is coupled to an external power source and the feedback circuit for powering the photoflash diode so as to control the electrical condition of the current sink to a predetermined value.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of drivers for photoflash diodes, and more particularly to the field of drivers for photoflash diodes using current sink with low and fixed drop-out voltage. Specifically, the present invention relates to the circuits and control methods that are used for driving photoflash diodes in portable battery devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
Portable battery devices drive photoflash diodes using a controller to coordinate the use of the battery power. Existing solutions drive the photodiodes from a fixed voltage and then control the diode current through a controlled current sink or current source. However, at low diode current most of the power is wasted through the current sink.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a charging system or circuit which is able to overcome the above mentioned drawbacks.

Highly efficient driving of photoflash diodes using low and fixed voltage drop-out current sink


A technique for controlling memory access ordering in a multi-processing system in which a sequence of accesses to acquire, access and release a shared space of memory is strictly adhered to by use of two specialized instructions for controlling memory access. Two instructions noted as MFDA (Memory Fence Directional--Acquire)and MFDR (Memory Fence Directional--Release) are utilized to control the ordering. The MFDA instruction when encountered in a program operates to ensure that all previous accesses to the specified address (typically to a lock controlling access to the shared space) become visible to other processors before all future accesses are permitted. The MFDR instruction when encountered in a program operates to ensure that all previous accesses become visible to other processors before any future accesses to the specified address. The accesses to the shared space of memory are then located between the MFDA and MFDR instructions and made visible to the other processors in proper order with respect to accesses for acquiring and releasing the shared space.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of processors and, more particularly, to a technique for providing memory access ordering in a multiple processing environment.
2. Background of the Related Art
In an operation of a processor the order in which program instructions are executed is critical to the proper operation of the processor. Where earlier processors executed memory accessing operations in the order in which the instructions were executed by a program, more advanced processors have the capability of changing the order in which the accesses are made to memory, provided that the processor maintains a record of the proper order of the memory accesses. The technique of reordering memory accesses (such as read and write operations to memory) is especially desirable, since such reordering can enhance the speed of data processing. For example, if a particular access to memory is pending for a variety of reasons, the processor can continue with the next access if reordering is permitted. Otherwise, the processor must wait until the current access is completed, before proceeding with the next access. Thus, there is a significant advantage in performance if memory accesses can be performed in the order other than the order required by the program.
Accordingly, in more advanced processors, the ordering of "reads" and/or "writes" (also referred to as "loads" and "stores") from/to memory can be changed from the actual sequence provided by the execution of the program instructions. Again, the processor maintains the necessary control so that the final order of the various results of the accesses is consistent with the program instructions. This is also true, where cache memory or memories are used in conjunction with main memory storage. In that instance, the memory access ordering control is complicated by the maintaining of the location of the valid data, but the overall concept is the same.
However, when multiple processors (or devices capable of accessing memory) are utilized in which a given memory or a portion of a memory is shared by more than one processor, an added constraint is placed on the multiple processor computer system to ensure that the ordering of memory accesses from one processor is made visible to the other processors, according to the order of the program instructions, at least as to the shared memory space. That is, where each individual processor can maintain a record of reordering memory accesses it generates, the other processor(s) may not know that this reordering has occurred. Accordingly, an access to a shared memory location generated by a processor in the system must be observed by (made visible to) the other processor(s) in the same order as noted in the program, unless a mechanism is in place to permit reordering. Otherwise, there exists a possibility that the data obtained by one processor may not be the valid data as required by the program.
One mechanism for controlling accesses to a memory area shared by multiple processors is the use of a semaphore (or flag) as a "key" for obtaining entry into the shared space. In this scheme, a processor can obtain entry into the shared memory area only if it gains access to the "lock" controlling the shared memory area. Only one processor is permitted to gain control of the lock at any one time. Once a processor gains entry into the shared memory area by acquiring the lock, it must then set the semaphore so as to prevent any other processor from gaining entry into the shared space until the lock is released. Typically, a particular address location is designated as the lock and values written to this address location determine the states of the semaphore.
By utilizing the above described locking scheme, reordering of accesses is a concern when accesses are made to acquire or release the lock to the shared memory space. Each processor is generally free to reorder accesses to its non-shared memory space, since this space is not accessed by the other processor(s) and such accesses to non-shared memory space need not be made visible to the other processor(s) in the proper order. It is appreciated that other devices, such as input/output devices, may also require such access ordering control. The access ordering control is important where two accesses must be done in order. Thus, access ordering is not limited to the access of memory only.
Visibility of an access is defined for a read and a write as follows. A read to an address A by a processor P1 is considered visible from the point of view of a second processor P2, if a write to address A issued by P2 cannot change the value read by P1. Likewise, a write to an address A by processor P1 is considered visible from the point of view of a second processor P2, if a read from address A issued by the program cannot return the value of A prior to the write by P1.
The use of semaphores to control accesses to the shared memory space can provide adequate controls once a processor gains entry into the shared space. However, a problem still resides in properly ordering the accesses for acquiring and releasing the lock. Since memory accesses are needed for acquiring and releasing the lock, it is possible for a processor to reorder these accesses in reference to its other memory accesses, including memory accesses to the shared memory space. Since the lock location is shared by the other processor(s) in the system, the accesses to acquire and release the lock may not be visible to the other processors in the proper sequence relative to the accesses to the shared area of memory. Thus, some mechanism is still needed to maintain ordering for memory accesses for acquiring and releasing the lock in order to make these accesses visible.
Accordingly, the present invention provides for a technique of controlling memory access ordering in a system that has multiple memory accessing devices and in which more than one such device is permitted access to a shared location in memory. Furthermore, the technique of the present invention provides memory access ordering through instruction support, but without requiring modifications to existing load and store instructions which are used to access the memory.

Controlling shared memory access ordering in a multi-processing system using an acquire/release consistency model


A phase locked loop (PLL) control system includes a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) circuit including an inductor and a plurality of capacitors arranged in parallel with the inductor. Digitally enabling or disabling the capacitors in a thermometer coded manner via switches creates tuning states that provide additional frequency range, and each has a limited range of VCO frequency tuning. Slowly ramping the switched capacitance, by implementing the capacitor as a varactor, from one thermal code to the next, provides a wider continuous VCO frequency tuning range for use in the PLL. The slow transition between tuning states allows the PLL to remain in lock, useful under changing operating conditions. Specifically, under changing operating conditions, digital logic detects the PLL tuning control voltage approaching the edge of a VCO band and will add/reduce VCO capacitance effectively transitioning into the adjacent VCO band while the PLL maintains lock via its normal feedback loop.

A voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) is an electronic circuit that produces a periodic, oscillating electronic signal, such as a sine wave or a square wave. The oscillation frequency of a VCO is controlled by a direct current (DC) tuning control voltage input. When a VCO is used in a PLL control system, the tuning control voltage input of the VCO can be varied to provide the desired output phase and frequency of the VCO. However, the output phase of the VCO has a tendency to drift away from the desired phase, necessitating a compensatory adjustment to the tuning control voltage. In this scenario, the PLL control system includes a phase detector that compares the phase of the PLL's divided VCO output with the phase of the PLL reference input and adjusts the VCO to keep the input and output phases in lock step (within a threshold number of degrees of each other). Non-trivial issues associated with maintaining a phase locked loop signal remain due to the limitations of existing designs, particularly with respect to PLL systems subjected to varying environmental factors (e.g., temperature).

Continuous tuning of digitally switched voltage-controlled oscillator frequency bands

BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc.


The present invention discloses a ratchet wrench comprising a head (1) having a driving aperture (2) for engaging a drive means (4) rotatable therein. A handle (3) mounted for tilting movement in relation to said head (1), providing a first state where the drive means (4) is allowed to freely rotate and a second state where said drive means is engaged by said ratchet wrench for driving of the drive means. Said handle (3) is movable, into and out from a mounting position in the longitudinally direction of the handle (3). One end of said handle (3) is moveable through a first aperture (6) and further through a second aperture (7) of the head (1), said first and second apertures (6, 7) extending laterally relative the longitudinal axis of the driving aperture (2).

Ratchet wrenches are used to turn a tool, screw or other component. This kind of hand tool is often used in mechanical engineering, in different environments and hence there are many different developed ratchet wrenches. Usually a ratchet wrench is equipped with some kind of lever for change of the rotational direction, this makes the tool complex and requests many parts.
There are a number of different ratchet wrenches on the market, generally they are difficult to dismount and/or comprises many parts, complex design or long narrow bore, which make washing/cleaning/sterilization time consuming or more even impossible. Washing/cleaning/sterilization is important for the function of a tool, but also of great importance when used in a clean environment, for example at surgery when a tool is used in an sensitive environment.
For example the tool described in US 2005/0268751 is not designed for disassembly and has further a number of narrow gaps and lose parts which makes cleaning very difficult.
Also the ratchet wrench described in GB 250127 is difficult to clean since it is designed with for example a fixed joint.
Both tools described in the documents mentioned above (US 2005/0268751, GB 250127) are dependent on the friction for their operation.


A semiconductor laser is provided with a heat radiating component for radiating or dissipating heat which is generated in operation. In this heat radiating component, a polycrystalline diamond layer (3) synthesized by vapor deposition is formed on an upper surface of a stem (4). A semiconductor laser element (1) is bonded, e.g. by brazing to the surface of the vapor-deposited polycrystalline diamond layer (3) through a brazing filler metal (2). The heat radiating component has a thermal expansion coefficient which is the same as that of an LSI chip to be mounted thereon to provide an excellent heat radiating property.

In general, heat radiating components for dissipating heat which is generated by a semiconductor element such as a semiconductor laser element or an LSI chip, are well known. For example, the range of application of a semiconductor laser is rapidly widening in the field of optical communication, optical memories and the like. As a result, efforts have been made to increase the output or reduce the wavelength of such a semiconductor laser. Under such circumstances, the heat generating value of a semiconductor laser element is apt to be increased, whereby the reliability of the semiconductor laser element is disadvantageously deteriorated and its life is reduced. To avoid these problems, there has been developed a semiconductor laser which is provided with a heat radiating component of a heat conductive material, in order to dissipate heat generated by the semiconductor laser element.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a conventional semiconductor laser which is provided with a heat radiating component. Referring to FIG. 1, the conventional semiconductor laser comprises a stem 4, a submount 5 which is mounted on a prescribed upper surface region of the stem 4 through a brazing filler metal 6, and a semiconductor laser element 1 which is mounted on a prescribed upper surface region of the submount 5 through another brazing filler metal 2. The brazing filler metal 6 is adapted to bond the submount 5 to the stem 4, while the other brazing filler metal 2 is adapted to bond the semiconductor laser element 1 to submount 5. Table 1 shows materials and shapes of the semiconductor laser element 1, the submount 5, the brazing filler metals 2 and 6, and the stem 4 respectively.
TABLE 1 ______________________________________ Element 1 Material: Compound Semiconductor Composed of Ga, As, In, P, Al or the like Shape: up to 0.5 mm square Submount 5 Material: Si, AlN, BeO, Cu--W Alloy, Cu--Mo Alloy, SiC, cBN polycrystalline Substance or Single-Crystalline Diamond Shape: up to 1 mm square, 0.2 to 0.5 mm thick Brazing Element Side Au--Sn Alloy, Pb--Sn Filler (2): Alloy or In Metals 2 & 6 Stem Side (6): Au--Si Alloy or Pb--Sn Alloy Stem 4 Material: Cu, Cu--W Alloy, Cu--Mo Alloy or Cu--W--Mo Alloy Shape: 5 to 15 mm square ______________________________________
In operation, heat which is generated by the semiconductor laser element 1 is transmitted to the stem 4 through the submount 5 for dissipation. The submount 5 is adapted to efficiently transmit the heat generated from the semiconductor laser element 1 to the stem 4. Therefore, the submount 5 is made of a material having a high thermal conductivity, such as a Cu-W alloy, a polycrystalline substance of cBN (cubic boron nitride) or single-crystalline diamond shown in Table 1, for example.
In the conventional semiconductor laser, however, the brazing filler metal 6 is interposed between the submount 5 and the stem 4, to inevitably resist against the thermal conduction from the submount 5 to the stem 4. In the conventional semiconductor laser, therefore, it has been difficult to attain an efficient heat radiation or dissipation due to such interposition of the brazing filler metal 6.
When the submount 5 is made of high-priced single-crystalline diamond or the like, its size is considerably reduced as compared with the upper surface of the stem 4. Consequently, the thermal conduction surfaces of the submount 5 and the stem 4 are so reduced that thermal diffusion mainly progresses vertically along the direction of depth of the stem 4 and no sufficient thermal diffusion is attained in the transverse direction. Also when the submount 5 is made of single-crystalline diamond, it is difficult to attain a sufficient heat radiation efficiency.
On the other hand, the brazing filler metal 2 which is interposed between the submount 5 and the semiconductor laser element 1 is made of an Au-Sn alloy, a Pb-Sn alloy or the like. However, such a material has a high thermal expansion coefficient. When the temperature of the semiconductor laser element 1 is increased during operation, the semiconductor laser element 1 is extremely distorted by heat. Such heat distortion leads to an abnormal operation of the semiconductor laser element 1 or to a reduction of its operational life.
In general, therefore, it has been difficult to provide a heat radiating component which has an excellent radiation effect and a semiconductor laser which has excellent operation characteristics. Further, it has been difficult to effectively prevent the heat distortion of a semiconductor element such as a semiconductor laser element or an LSI chip, which is bonded by a brazing filler metal having a high thermal expansion coefficient.

Heat radiating component and semiconductor device provided with the same


A metal wiring for a semiconductor device and a method for forming the same are provided. The metal wiring includes a first insulating layer and a second insulating layer; an interlayer insulating film formed between the first and second insulating layers, wherein the interlayer insulating film is provided with holes having a designated shape; a barrier metal layer, a copper seed layer, and a copper layer sequentially formed in the holes of the interlayer insulating film; and a capping layer formed between the interlayer insulating film and the second insulating layer. The capping layer formed between the interlayer insulating film and the second insulating layer may be made of a negatively charged insulating material, thereby improving electro-migration characteristics at an interface between the capping layer and the copper layers.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a metal wiring for a semiconductor device, and more particularly to a metal wiring for a semiconductor device having improved electro-migration characteristics and a method for forming the same.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Metal wirings for semiconductor devices are primarily made of aluminum due to its high electrical conductivity, its excellent adhesion to an oxide film, and its malleability. However, aluminum has several problems, such as a difficulty in electric migration, hillocks, and spikes, and therefore is limited in its use.
Accordingly, materials of the metal wirings having high conductivity, such as copper (Cu), gold (Au), silver (Ag), cobalt (Co), chrome (Cr), and nickel (Ni), have been researched. Among the above materials, copper (Cu) has low specific resistance, excellent reliability, and low production costs and is therefore widely used.
However, since copper cannot be easily patterned, it is difficult to form a metal wiring made of copper using a conventional method. Accordingly, a damascene structure in which a metal wiring is produced by forming trenches in an insulating film and filling the trenches with copper is employed. Particularly, a dual damascene structure in which the trenches and via holes are simultaneously formed in the insulating film is employed. A conventional metal wiring structure having a dual damascene structure is shown FIG. 1.
As shown in FIG. 1, an interlayer insulating film 20 is formed on a first insulating layer 10. Via holes and trenches having a width larger than that of the via holes are formed in the interlayer insulating film 20. A barrier metal layer 30, a copper seed layer 32, and a copper layer 34 are sequentially formed in the via holes and the trenches of the interlayer insulating film 20. A capping layer 40 is formed on the overall surface of the interlayer insulating film 20, and a second insulating layer 50 is formed on the capping layer 40. The capping layer 40 is made of an insulating film, such as an oxide film or a nitride film.
In the above metal wiring structure having the damascene structure, resistance at an interface point B, between the capping layer 40 and the copper layers 32 and 34, is higher than resistance at an interface point A, between the barrier metal layer 30 and the copper layers 32 and 34. Accordingly, there is a current flow difference, and electro-migration characteristics at the interface between the capping layer 40 and the copper layers 32 and 34 are deteriorated.

Metal wiring for semiconductor device and method for forming the same


A method or apparatus of identifying for repair a signal leak in an HFC network, wherein a base transceiver station in the vicinity of the HFC network transmits a BTS signal over-the-air. The method comprises or apparatus performs the steps of: (a) identifying a location of the signal leak; (b) in the vicinity of the signal leak, detecting the BTS signal; (c) determining a level of the BTS signal; (d) defining a threshold level; (e) with the use of a processor, determining whether the level of the BTS signal meets or exceeds the threshold level; and (f) indicating for repair the signal leak if the level of the BTS signal meets or exceeds the threshold level.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to detecting, locating and repairing signal leaks in a hybrid fiber-coax (HFC) network, and more particularly to a system and method of prioritizing the repair of such signal leaks.
2. Background Art
The advent of wireless Long Term Evolution (LTE) 4G technology has required the cable television industry to re-evaluate the signal leakage detection processes and to include detection of leaking QAM channel signals at frequencies at or near the LTE band. Since the 1980's, the FCC has defined monitoring requirements and allowable cumulative signal leakage limits for all cable television networks carrying channels in the aeronautical band. As a result of required compliance efforts, as well as good construction, management, and workmanship practices, cable networks have had relatively high signal integrity at the aeronautic frequencies. But, detection of signal leakage in the aeronautical band may have little correlation with signal leakage in the LTE band, and leak mitigation efforts in the aeronautical bands may not have a corresponding benefit in mitigating leaks in the LTE band. Until recently, technology that allowed cable network operators to detect and measure leaking QAM channels at or near LTE frequencies was not available. Thus, cable operators had minimal visibility of these higher frequency leaks. As a result, there are numerous leaks that exist at the LTE band. Generally, there may be an average of one LTE leak per cable plant mile. It is unrealistic to attempt to repair all such leaks.
With the existence of so many higher frequency leaks in the cable network, there is a need to have an intelligent method of prioritizing such leaks, in order to focus on those that are most likely to adversely affect the cable network (i.e., be "network affecting") or an LTE network in the vicinity of the cable network (i.e., by way of egress). Egress of QAM signals from the cable network can adversely affect the LTE base transceiver station (BTS) performance by raising the BTS receiver noise floor and effectively decreasing the coverage area. Ingress of LTE signals (from BTS transmitters) entering the cable network through the leak can adversely affect the quality of signal transmission of the QAM channels downstream of the leak. Thus, from a quality of service and customer satisfaction perspective it is important to quickly react to repair these leaks.
Basing repair decisions solely upon the amplitude of the detected leak may not result in the most network, affecting leaks being identified. The LTE signal strength at the leak location should also be considered. For example, a leak that is located relatively far from a LTE BTS transmitter, where the LTE level at the leak is very low or non-existent, should have a relatively low priority to repair. This is so because it is unlikely that egress from that distant leak location will affect the LTE BTS performance or that the LTE signal ingress will affect the quality of the QAM signals in the network. Comparing this to a leak of the same amplitude in close proximity to the LTE BTS, where the LTE signal strength is very high, the likelihood of both ingress and egress-related impairments is high. Therefore, this leak should have a relatively high priority.

Prioritizing repair of signal leakage in an HFC network


Method of and device for recording information on a record carrier having a recording layer by scanning the recording layer with a radiation beam whose power has a pulsatory variation, including radiation pulses of high power, each having decreasing power, relative to and alternating with radiation intervals of low power, each having increasing power. As a result of the heat produced by the radiation pulses, the recording layer undergoes an optically detectable change. A write signal generating circuit converts an information signal into a write signal having a pulsatory pattern, including pulses of high signal values relative to and alternating with intervals of low signal values. A control circuit sets the power of the radiation beam to values fixed by the signal values of the write signal. The signal values of each of the pulses of the write signal decrease and the signal values of each of the intervals of the write signal increase. As a result, the power of the radiation beam decreases during the radiation pulses and increases during the radiation intervals, and the influence exerted by previous radiation pulses on the temperature at the scanning area is taken into account.

The invention relates to a method of recording information on a record carrier having a recording layer in which an optically detectable change can be realized by heating the recording layer. In accordance with the recording layer is scanned by means of a radiation beam whose power is modulated in a pulse pattern related to the information to be recorded, the pulse pattern having radiation pulse which have high power alternating with intervals which have a low power level, the power within each radiation pulse decreasing in order to compensate for the temperature rise caused by the power applied to the recording layer during the previous part of that radiation pulse.
The invention also relates to a device for recording information on a record carrier having a recording layer in which an optically detectable change can be realized by heating the recording layer. The device comprises a radiation source for generating a radiation beam, a scanner for scanning the recording layer by means of the radiation beam, a write signal generating circuit for converting an information signal to be recorded into a write signal having a pulse pattern, the pulse pattern having pulses which have high signal levels (i.e., values) alternating with intervals which have a low signal level (i.e., values) the signal levels (i.e., values) within each pulse decreasing, and a control circuit for setting the instantaneous value of the power of the radiation beam at each instant to a value which is fixed by the instantaneous signal level (i.e., value) of the write signal.
A method and device of the type described in the opening paragraphs are known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,894,816. In the known method and device, the recording layer is scanned by means of a radiation beam in the form of a laser beam whose power is modulated in a pulsatory manner. During each radiation pulse, the recording layer is heated above a write temperature above which the recording layer undergoes an optically detectable change. During the intervals, the temperature in the recording layer drops below the write temperature. Thus, an information pattern of areas having changed optical properties is obtained. The initial value of each radiation pulse is exponentially dependent on the length of the previous interval. Within the radiation pulse itself the power decreases exponentially as a function of time. Thus during the formation of areas having changed properties, the temperature in the scanned portion of the recording layer is maintained at substantially the same level, which means that the dimensions of the areas provided are well defined. The jitter in the read signal during reading of an information pattern which consists of such areas with optically detectable changes is then small, which renders a high information density on the record carrier possible. In the known method the power of the radiation pulse is constant during the intervals.

Method of and device for recording information on a record carrier having a recording layer which, when heated, undergoes an optically detectable change


An automatic transmission that includes a case; and a range shift device that includes: a housing with an opening portion on one side, a motor that produces a driving force based on a signal from a manually operated shift operating device, and a mechanical transmission that transmits the driving force of the motor to a manual valve, wherein the range shift device shifts a running range in accordance with a shift position of the manual valve, and the case has a joining portion that closes the opening portion of the housing.

The present invention relates to an automatic transmission and a range shift device.
In general, a running range of a vehicle provided with an automatic transmission is set by a driver operating a shift lever that moves a manual valve and thus changes oil passage. A system known as a shift-by-wire system can be used for setting the running range selected by the driver through an electric signal, without relying on a mechanical wire or rod (see Japanese Patent Application Publication No. JP-A-2005-207570 for an example).
Furthermore, a range shift device for shifting the running range can also be used as described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. JP-A-2005-207570, for example. FIGS. 10A-10C show such a range shift device 201. The vehicular range shift device 201 includes a motor 204 for rotational driving based on an electric signal from a shift lever (not shown), which acts as manually operated shift operating driver; a mechanical transmission mechanism 260 for transmitting the rotation of the motor 204 to a manual valve (not shown); and a detent member (not shown). The mechanical transmission mechanism 260 includes a ball screw shaft 221, a ball nut 222, and an arm member 206. The rotational motion that has been output from the motor 204 is designed to convert back to a rotational motion following a conversion from rotational motion to linear motion. Also, the motor 204 is provided on an outer side of a housing 210 of the range shift device 201, and the mechanical transmission mechanism 260 is accommodated in the housing 210.
In addition, the range shift device 201 is provided in a case 262 of an automatic transmission. Inside the case 262, a speed change mechanism is provided for changing a speed of an engine, and a lubricant (i.e., oil) circulates.
Based on the electric signal generated by a manual operation of the shift lever, the range shift device 201 operates the manual valve (not shown), via the mechanical transmission mechanism 260 and the detent member, so as to shift the engine speed range in the automatic transmission.

Automatic transmission and running range switching device


A composite vehicular wheel having inner and outer sides, having a hub with a peripheral circumference, and a wheel rim having a tire attachment surface, and a recessed base with inner and outer ends and having a flange at its outer end at a substantially right angle to the base, the wheel rim being releasably attached along respective contact surfaces to the hub, and means on the outer side of the flange for attaching the wheel rim to the hub, the peripheral circumference of the hub conformingly matingly adjoins an axially disposed transitional surface on the inner side of the recessed base of the wheel rim, the transitional surface having a flat hump and extends from the inner side of the flange of the recessed base to an edge of the tire attachment surface.

Composite wheels are increasingly employed because of their weight and other advantageous shape conditions, wherein wheel rim and hub are separately produced by possibly different manufacturing methods, and then are connected to each other. A composite two-part wheel of this type is shown, for example, in FIG. 2 of British patent No. 1,316,954. This kind of composite wheel has a wheel rim with a recessed base as one part, and a hub as another part, and these are connected to each other by bolts welded to the outer side of the a flange on the recessed base. After the initial mounting of hub and wheel rim the bolt is passed through an opening in the outer edge of the hub and is then welded to the wheel rim. Finally the head is formed on the free end of the bolt and thus a tight connection is formed which cannot be loosened. The advantage of this structure is that the radial forces and a large part of the axial forces act on the connecting means and thus its load bearing ability is limited.
German published patent application 4,019,649 shows a similar construction of a composite wheel. This wheel has a wheel rim with a recessed base. The wheel rim in the area of the base has a radially inwardly extending flange with holes for bolts distributed throughout its circumference. The single part hub has in its outer peripheral circumference an area which mates the flange of the wheel rim, and also has bolt holes distributed over its circumference. Bolts are placed in the holes of the wheel rim and the hub, with nuts on them for a strong connection between the two parts. It is a disadvantage of this vehicular wheel that, it has a structural limitation in that the flange of the wheel rim can be produced only by casting or through complex forging operations with subsequent mechanical processing. A further disadvantage is that the wheel rim is a cast body which must be produced with thick walls for transferring the required forces, instead of a wheel rim produced by rolling or pressing. This is a unfavorable factor due to its large weight.
German utility model 9,014,530 shows a similarly constructed composite wheel. The wheel rim which has a well base is provided in the area of the well base with a ring shaped thickening of the material on the inner or outer surface of the wheel. A number of circumferential threaded bores are arranged around the circumference of this thickened portion, parallel to the axis of the wheel. The disk shaped hub has openings in the area of its outer circumference, which correspond to the threaded bores. These openings serve for passing the bolts through them so that a strong connection can be established between the wheel rim and the hub. This composite wheel can also not be considered to be optimal from the point of view of weight, since the required amount of material in the recessed base area of the wheel rim can be only obtained by casting and a complex forging procedure.
A composite vehicular wheel with a single part wheel rim and a hub attached to it by bolts, is shown in German published patent application 3,915,595. Similarly to the disclosure of the aforementioned German published patent application 4,019,694, the wheel rim has a radially inward flange on the inner side and this is bolted to the hub. The disadvantage of this structure is that the flange can be formed only by casting and complex forging thereafter. The alternative suggestion of welding such a flange on the wheel rim is also disadvantageous since the total forces pass through the weld and therefore subjects it to high loadings.


An integrated circuit device support tool which includes a device for providing a vacuum for holding an integrated circuit device to be soldered to a printed circuit board. The tool also includes a plurality of thin, pressure transferring members for pressing the leads of the integrated circuit device against a printed circuit board during soldering. The pressure transferring members are of a thin material so as not to provide a heat sink during the soldering operation.

The mechanized placement of integrated circuit devices on printed circuit boards for soldering has resulted in a decrease in the labor costs associated with assembling electronic devices. The placement of integrated circuit devices has typically involved what are generically referred to as "pick and place" methods. In these methods a tool is positioned over the integrated circuit device to be placed on the printed circuit board and "picked up". The tool then "places" the integrated circuit device at the correct position on the printed circuit. The integrated circuit device is then soldered in position. The pick and place tool typically relies upon the strength of the leads of the integrated circuit device to provide the proper contact between the integrated circuit device leads and the printed circuit board. This is, the pick and place tool, which is holding the body of the integrated circuit device lowers the integrated circuit device until the leads are pressed against the printed circuit board. The resilience of the leads causes the leads to make a good contact with the printed circuit board during soldering.
With the advent of thin or fragile lead integrated circuit devices, which have less resilience in their leads, the usual pick and place tools do not produce the proper contact between the integrated circuit device leads and the printed circuit board. Instead, the soldering devices themselves have been used to assure the proper contact during the soldering operation. Such devices are typically only used once and fabricate.
The present invention relates to a novel integrated circuit device support tool which provides the proper amount of contact between the fragile leads of an integrated circuit device and the printed circuit board, while permitting the device to be soldered using non-contact radiative or convective techniques.

Method of soldering an integrated circuit


A molded article retrieval apparatus in combination with a plastic article molding machine. The molding machine has at least a first mold portion and a second mold portion, at least one of the first and second mold portions being reciprocally movable with respect to the other mold portion, between a conjoined position, wherein a set of articles of plastic can be formed in a set of cavities defined by the conjoined first and second mold portions, and a spaced-apart position, wherein the set of articles of plastic can be released from the cavities into a gap formed between the first and second mold portions. The molded article retrieval apparatus includes an article carrier having at least two sets of article receivers, each set of article receivers being positionable at a different lateral alignment of the article carrier within the gap to receive an entire set of the articles of plastic, and a mover for moving the article carrier into and out of the gap. An alignment mechanism is provided for aligning the article carrier within the gap to permit engagement of the set of articles by any one the sets of article receivers carried by the article carrier. The alignment mechanism includes at least one pin fixed to one of the first and second mold portions and projecting into the gap, and at least one fork fixed to the article carrier. Each fork has two tines separated by a slot projecting from the article carrier toward the pin so that the pin is received in the slot when the article carrier is aligned in the gap with any of the sets of article receivers confronting the set of articles to be retrieved. The slot of at least one fork being dimensioned to engage the at least one pin over a range of different lateral alignments of the article carrier permitting any of the sets of article receivers to be employed to receive the set of molded articles.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to the field of machines for injection molding hollow plastic articles, and more particularly concerns machines for injection molding hollow plastic articles which are subsequently reheated and blow molded into containers such as oriented hollow plastic containers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Hollow plastic articles or preforms produced by injection molding generally have relatively thick walls and are molded at relatively high temperatures. After removal from the mold, the hollow plastic articles must be cooled sufficiently to prevent their deformation or adhesion to one another. However, their thick walls act as an insulator tending to trap heat inside the wall. A high rate of production is important in commercial operations, and the rate at which the injection molding cycle can produce preforms is limited by the time taken to cool the preforms sufficiently to allow post molding handling without damage to the preform. Molding cycles have been reduced to the point that there is insufficient time left for the molded articles to be completely cooled in a transporter before it is needed to retrieve the molded articles from the next molding cycle.
Cooling the articles in the mold by means of thermal contact with cooled mold surfaces quickly chills the inner and outer skins, but mold cooling removes the heat trapped within the wall only by keeping the articles in the mold for an extended period of time, which is economically undesirable. Initially cooling the skin of the molded articles may be sufficient to permit ejection from the mold without damage, but additional cooling is then immediately required to remove additional heat conducted to the skin. If the additional cooling were omitted, the skin temperature would rise and tend to cause the molded articles to stick together, to become prone to surface damage, to bend, or warp, and or to crystallize.
One plastic article molding machine capable of rapid cycling is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,721,452 and includes a carrier plate cooperating with an injection molding machine and having a plurality of sets of article receivers for cooling preforms, with the number of article receivers corresponding to a multiple of the number of preforms produced in an injection molding cycle. The molding machine further includes means for positioning one set at a time of the carrier plate cavities in juxtaposition with formed preforms, and means for transferring the preforms to selected article receivers. Unfortunately, during operation of the molding machine, the carrier plate tends to move out of properly aligned position within the gap between the first and second mold portions, with the preforms thereby subjected to undesired and perhaps damaging contact with the molding machine. Similar problems can also occur with other article receivers used in conjunction with molding machines such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,140,464; 4,690,633; 4,814,134; 4,915,611; 5,206,039; 5,338,172; 5,354,194; 5,443,360 and European Patent Publication EP 0 718 084 A2.


A cover operation mechanism includes a case, a cover rotatably coupled to the case, a positioning portion located on the case, and a driver engaged with the positioning portion. The case includes a receiving portion. The cover covers the receiving portion and includes a shaft slidable and mounted in the slot. The driver includes an elastic element. When the cover is covered on the receiving portion, the driver drives the shaft to make the elastic element generate an elastic force. When the cover is disengaged from the receiving portion by an external force, the elastic force drives the shaft to be moved from one end to an opposite end of the slot to open the cover.

In generally, cover mechanisms are widely applied to electronic devices to protect external ports of the electronic devices. The cover mechanism includes a cover and a latch engaging with the cover. When the cover is disengaged from the case by an external force, the cover is held open by a user, which is inconvenient for the user to use the ports.


In the context of a machine-vision system for inspecting a part, a method and apparatus to provide high-speed 3D (three-dimensional) inspection of manufactured parts. Parts are inspected to obtain dimensional and geometric information regarding such characteristics as sag or bow of subportions of the item, the angle of pitch, yaw, and or roll of one portion relative to another, heights of various formations on the part. In some embodiments, an array of height pixels is calculated, and regions of interest (ROIs) are located within the array, and the ROIs are used to determine characteristic geometries of the parts being measured. One measurement system includes a light source, an imager, and a computer. Light source provides projected patterned light on the object useful to obtain 3D geometric information about the object. The imager has a reception optical axis that intersects the object when the machine-vision system is in operation. In some embodiments, imager includes at least three rows of imaging pixels positioned to receive light shone onto the object by the light source. The computer system calculates three-dimensional object-geometry data of the object using signals from the imager, and computes at least a first characteristic plane and a second characteristic plane of the object from the calculated object-geometry data. The method provides a process for obtaining and manipulating image data (e.g., make calculations on ROI data within one or more arrays of height pixels) to determine characteristics of the parts.

This invention relates to the field of machine vision, and more specifically to a method and apparatus of obtaining three-dimensional inspection data for manufactured parts (such as disk-drive suspension assemblies) in a manufacturing environment.
A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever. The following notice applies to the software and data as described below and in the drawings hereto: Copyright (copyright) 1998-2000, PPT Vision, Inc., All Rights Reserved.
A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever. The following notice applies to the software and data as described below and in the drawings hereto: Copyright (copyright) 1998-1999, PPT Vision, Inc., All Rights Reserved.
There is a widespread need for inspection data for electronic parts in a manufacturing environment. One common inspection method uses a video camera to acquire two-dimensional images of a device-under-test.
Height distribution of a surface can be obtained by projecting a light-stripe pattern onto the surface and then re-imaging the light pattern that appears on the surface.
One technique for extracting this information based on taking multiple images (three or more) of the light pattern that appears on the surface while shifting the position (phase) of the projected light stripe pattern is referred to as phase shifting interferometry, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,641,972 and 4,212,073 (incorporated herein by reference).
The multiple images are usually taken using a CCD (charge-coupled device) video camera with the images being digitized and transferred to a computer where phase-shift analysis, based on images being used as xe2x80x9cbuckets,xe2x80x9d converts the information to a contour map (i.e., a three-dimensional representation) of the surface.
The techniques used to obtain the multiple images are based on methods that keep the camera and viewed surface stationary with respect to each other while moving the projected pattern.
One technique for capturing just one bucket image using a line scan camera is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,965,665 (incorporated herein by reference).
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,398,113 and 5,355,221 (incorporated herein by reference) disclose white-light interferometry systems which profile surfaces of objects.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,636,025 (incorporated herein by reference), an optical measuring system is disclosed which includes a light source, gratings, lenses, and camera. A mechanical translation device moves one of the gratings in a plane parallel to a reference surface to effect a phase shift of a projected image of the grating on the contoured surface to be measured. A second mechanical translation device moves one of the lenses to effect a change in the contour interval. A first phase of the points on the contoured surface is taken, via a four-bucket algorithm, at a first contour interval. A second phase of the points is taken at a second contour interval. A control system, including a computer, determines a coarse measurement using the difference between the first and second phases. The control system further determines a fine measurement using either the first or second phase. The displacement or distance, relative to the reference plane, of each point is determined, via the control system, using the fine and coarse measurements.
Current vision inspection systems have many problems. Among the problems are assorted problems associated with the mechanical translation devices used with the vision inspection systems to handle the devices under inspection. One problem is that vision systems typically take up a large amount of linear space on a manufacturing line. Typically small devices, such as disk-drive suspensions, are placed in standard trays, to facilitate the handling of the small devices. In other cases, the disk-drive suspensions are manufactured from a continuous strip of thin metal, wherein at least a portion of the strip is maintained, with other portions cut away to form the suspensions, thus leaving the suspensions attached to the remaining strip. The suspensions can bend at various angles relative to the strip they are attached to. This strip is then used to facilitate the handling of the suspensions, such as positioning the suspensions under a machine-vision head at an inspection station. The exact positioning of the suspensions in their trays, or their relative orientation to the strip can vary, putting demands on the machine-vision system to determine the orientation and angle of the parts relative to the machine-vision head.
To overcome the problems stated above as well as other problems, there is a need for an improved machine-vision system and more specifically for a mechanical apparatus and method for inspecting manufactured parts such as disk-drive suspensions, and for determining various heights, dimensions, and angles of the parts.
In the context of a machine-vision system for inspecting a part, this invention includes method and apparatus to provide high-speed 3D (three-dimensional) inspection of manufactured parts. In some embodiments, precision stamped, formed, and/or laser-cut metal parts are inspected to obtain dimensional and geometric information regarding such characteristics as sag or bow of subportions of the item, the angle of pitch, yaw, and/or roll of one portion relative to another, heights of various formations on the part.
One aspect of the present invention provides a machine-vision system for inspecting an object. This system includes a light source, an imager, and a computer. The light source provides projected patterned light on the object useful to obtain 3D geometric information about the object. The imager has a reception optical axis that intersects the object when the machine-vision system is in operation. In some embodiments, the imager includes at least three rows of imaging pixels positioned to receive light shone onto the object by the light source. Computer system calculates three-dimensional object-geometry data of the object using signals from the imager, and computes at least a first characteristic plane and a second characteristic plane of the object from the calculated object-geometry data.
In some embodiments, the machine-vision system further includes an inspection station that supports the object, a scanner mechanism, an isolation mount, and a machine base The scanner mechanism moves the imager relative to the object at the inspection station such that different portions of the object are successively imaged by the imager The machine base supports the inspection station and the scanner mechanism. The isolation mount is located between the machine base 410 and the inspection station to reduce coupling of vibration between the machine base and the inspection station. In some embodiments, the scanner mechanism 408 and the inspection station are affixed to one another more rigidly than either is to the machine base. In some embodiments, the isolation mount also provides vibration dampening.
Another aspect of the present invention provides a method of measuring a three-dimensional geometry of an object having at least one surface to be measured. The method includes receiving image signals representing a three-dimensional geometry of the object into a computer, calculating with the computer object-geometry data representing three-dimensional geometry of the object, and calculating with the computer values representing at least a first characteristic plane and a second characteristic plane of the object from the calculated object-geometry data.
Yet another aspect of the present invention provides a machine-vision system for inspecting an object that includes a light source that provides projected light on the object and an imager, wherein the imager generates signals from the light representative of three-dimensional object-geometry data of the object. In some embodiments, the system includes means for determining at least a first characteristic plane and a second characteristic plane of the object from the image signals. In other embodiments, system includes means for determining an angle between a first characteristic plane and a second characteristic plane of the object from the image signals. In other embodiments, system includes means for determining a distance between a first feature of the object and a first characteristic plane and the distance between a second feature of the object a second characteristic plane of the object from the image signals.

3D scanner and method for measuring heights and angles of manufactured parts