An alkali resistant glass composition having improved durability to withstand highly alkali environments at elevated temperatures, such as curing of cementitious products in an autoclave, is conveniently formed from economical and abundant materials. The glass composition includes increased levels of calcium and iron, and relatively low levels of alkali metals, as compared to many other alkali resistant glass products, and comprises essentially of, by weight, >35% Si2O3, 1-25% CaO, 1-15% Fe2O3, 1-10% R2O, and an amount of Al2O3 such that the ratio of Si2O3:Al2O3 is greater than or equal to 1. Alkali resistance can be improved by forming a passivity layer on the surface of glass articles by treating the articles hydrothermally in a basic environment. Optionally zirconia and/or titania may be added to the composition to further improve alkali resistance.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of glass compositions, and more particularly, to alkaline resistant glass compositions suitable as fillers and modifiers.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is well known that introducing glass fibers improves the mechanical properties of many materials, such as cementitious products and various polymers. In particular, glass fibers improve the tensile strength of the composite cementitious or polymeric products. Similarly, expanded glass microparticles can be used to impart low density to cementitious and polymeric composites. Such microparticles may also have other beneficial effects, such as reducing moisture movement, thermal movement, improving thermal insulation value or improving workability. However, in a strong alkaline environment, silicate glasses are subject to rapid corrosive attack. This phenomenon has severely limited the use of glass in reinforcing concrete, which exhibits strong alkalinity during curing. For example, during the hydration of Portland cement, calcium hydroxide is formed as a reaction byproduct. In addition, alkali metal impurities are solubilized in the form of hydroxides.
Several approaches have been used to retard alkaline attack on glass in cement environments. One approach is to polymer coat the glass which, while somewhat effective at protecting the glass from corrosive attack, results in a weak mechanical bond to the surrounding cement matrix.
Another approach is to develop better alkaline resistant glass (AR glass) by altering its chemical composition. Common commercially available glass compositions that have been used for this purpose include E-glass which typically consists essentially of 54% SiO2, 14% Al2O3.0.3 Fe2O3, 17.5% CaO, 4.5% MgO, 10% B2O3, and C-glass, which consists essentially of 65.6% SiO2, 4% Al2O3.Fe2O3, 14% CaO, 3% MgO, 8% Na2O.K2O, 5.5% B2O3 and 0.5% K2O, (Kirk-Othmer, Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, 2nd Edition, Volume 10, 1966.) However, these glasses are susceptive to alkaline dissolution at high pH levels and are therefore not suitable as additives in many cementitious compositions. Accordingly, their use as a material enhancing additives has been primarily limited to less aggressive polymers.
Currently, alkali resistant glasses are made by adding refractory oxides such as zirconia and titania. One group of alkali resistant glasses is those containing appreciable amounts of zirconia (ZrO2). Zirconia Alkali resistant (ZAR) glass compositions generally have high zirconia content, oftentimes in the range of 15-20 wt. % or more. One example of such a commercially available glass is sold under the trade name CEM-FIL® by Vetrotex Cem-Fil S.L. in Alcalá de Henares, Spain for use as a reinforcing fiber in cement. However, the addition of zirconia raises the melting temperature of the glass composition, which greatly increases the processing cost. To counteract the negative effects of ZrO2, alkali oxides are typically added to reduce the melting temperature to a more workable level. In many cases, more than 10 wt. % alkali oxides are added to reduce the melting temperature to a more workable level of the zirconia silicate system.
The good performance of ZAR glasses in high alkaline environments is believed to be due to the relatively low solubility of Zr—O—Zr species. In some applications, titania may be added to further improve the durability of the glass. However, the addition of titania presents additional drawbacks, such as further increases in melting temperature, which increases the processing cost, and additionally increases the susceptibility of the glass to divitrification. Therefore, while the addition of titania may provide some benefits, there are associated costs in terms of materials and processing.
While available ZAR glasses have been used in fiber cement products with some success, both zirconia and titania are very expensive when compared with the cost of other raw glass materials, and therefore, the material cost prohibits this type of glass from widespread use in the cement industry. Moreover, even the expensive ZAR glasses are subject to corrosion damage in harsh alkaline solution environments, such as hydrating cement.
While tests have shown that ZAR glass exhibits improved corrosion resistance over other glass types, the corrosive effects of an alkaline solution on glass are exacerbated as the temperature is increased. The majority of accelerated durability tests on glass compositions for use in alkaline environments have been carried out at temperatures around or below 100° C., e.g. 90° C. in strong alkaline solutions. For example, ASTM C 1203-91 specifies a test method for quantitative determination of alkali resistance of ceramic-glass enamel based on the weight loss in 10 wt. % NaOH in water. The test duration is 2 hours and the temperature is 95° C. The international tests ISO 695-1991 and DIN 52322 both make use of a mixture of equal volumes of 1 M NaOH and 0.5 M Na2CO3 at a temperature of 102.5° C. for 3 hours.
However, certain cementitious products are rapidly cured at temperatures well beyond 100° C. In fact, curing temperatures of high performance fiber cement products can be as high as 180° C., or even higher under high temperature hydrothermal conditions. It has been noted that in strong alkaline solutions, the rate of corrosion attack commonly doubles for each 10° K increase in temperature.
Harsh curing conditions are normally experienced when green cement products are cured in an autoclave, and cement inclusions are exposed to pH levels typically within the range of 12.5 to 14, and temperatures can reach as high as 180° C. or higher. In such an aggressive alkali environment, the glassy materials must possess even higher chemical durability in order to withstand excessive dissolution in the high temperature cementitious matrix. Dissolution is not desirable, since it not only degrades the mechanical integrity of the composite where the glassy materials form the inclusions, but it may change the chemistry of the cementitious region in the immediate vicinity of the glassy materials. Both of these results reduce the quality of the cementitious composites.
Further, polymeric materials are known to be reinforced with glass fiber or glass mesh and exposed to alkaline environments. While the polymers themselves may resist corrosive attack, the embedded glass materials may still be susceptible to corrosive attack.
Accordingly, there remains a need for an improved glass which is highly resistant to the corrosive effects of basic environments, including but not limited to alkaline environments. Further, there is a need for an improved glass that is highly resistant to an alkaline environment at elevated temperatures beyond 100° C. Additionally, the amount of fibers typically used to reinforce cement and polymers is quite large, even reaching 20% or more of the total cement or polymer composite by weight. Therefore, it is particularly important that glass fibers or materials made for cementitious and polymeric applications are manufactured economically.


A transistor-based fuse structure is realized in a semiconductor device having a semiconductor substrate, transistor devices formed on the semiconductor substrate, and the transistor-based fuse structure formed on the semiconductor substrate. The transistor-based fuse structure includes a plurality of transistor-based fuses, and the method begins by selecting, from the plurality of transistor-based fuses, a first target fuse to be programmed for operation in a low-resistance/high-current state, the first target fuse having a first source, a first gate, a first drain, and a first gate insulator layer between the first gate and the semiconductor substrate. The method applies a first set of program voltages to the first source, the first gate, and the first drain to cause breakdown of the first gate insulator layer such that current can flow from the first source to the first gate through the first gate insulator layer, and from the first gate to the first drain through the first gate insulator layer.

The prior art is replete with semiconductor devices and circuits that have selectable, switchable, and/or configurable operating states, features, devices, or elements. In many implementations, different components or circuit elements can be inserted or removed as necessary using one-time programmable (OTP) fuses. For example, OTP fuses are typically used to implement cache redundancy in SRAM devices. Such OTP fuses can be used to remove a bad column or row of memory cells and to replace the bad memory cells with a redundant column or row.
In accordance with one known technique, OTP fuses for semiconductor devices are fabricated using silicided polysilicon. These prior art OTP fuses require relatively high voltages during programming, and the high voltage programming procedure generates excess heat that can potentially damage surrounding circuit elements or components. These prior art OTP fuses may also require high programming voltages that are not otherwise available on the semiconductor device. In other words, a different supply voltage devoted to fuse programming may need to be implemented to support such OTP fuses. Moreover, these prior art OTP fuses require additional (or customized) semiconductor fabrication processes above and beyond that required to manufacture the operating devices, transistors, and circuits of the host semiconductor device itself.

Semiconductor device with transistor-based fuses and related programming method


Methods and apparatus for emulating font cartridges with virtual cartridges. Virtual cartridges may be loaded onto a data storage device, and desired virtual cartridges may be selected for use from those stored.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of printers and more specifically to printers capable of printing in more than one font.
2. Description of Related Art
Early printers were originally based upon the technology of typewriters. As typewriter technology developed, so too did printer technology. However, these early printers and typewriters were typically limited to a single typeface having fixed attributes including spacing, height, pitch, style, stroke weight, symbol set, and orientation. Special capabilities, such as underlining or bolding, often could only be performed by the printer by backing up and restriking. In more advanced typewriters, the typeface could be changed by physically removing a component, usually a ball or a wheel, that bore every printable character.
Later printers, e.g. laser printers, diverged from typewriter technology. These printers did not have a set typeface, but could print a variety of typefaces having a range of attributes. The computer attached to a printer must be able to communicate to the printer as to how the printer should print. These printer instructions typically identify a "font" which is a set of characters that have similar attributes. A font has an assigned name, typeface, and is described by its format (bitmap or scalable), spacing (fixed or proportional), height, pitch, style (e.g. italic), stroke weight (e.g. bold), symbol set (e.g. English, mathematical), and orientation (e.g. portrait, landscape).
Typically, when a computer instructs an attached printer to print a document, the computer communicates to the printer which font to use and the information to be printed. In a popular application, the computer communicates, not a font's name, but the desired font's attributes. Next, the printer selects the appropriate font having the desired attributes from those it has available. To make the selection, the printer has a data processor (e.g. microprocessor) that utilizes a set of instructions called printer logic. The data processor also performs other functions, including printer initialization, output synthesis, and error handling.
Fonts are typically available to the data processor from a Font List which is usually a predetermined memory address space in which the fonts are located. The font that will be used by the printer is selected from the Font List by the data processor by finding the best fit based upon the attributes that are sent from the computer. Of course, printing of the document as requested by the computer requires that the printer have the desired font available. Also, more than one font in the Font List may have the desired attributes. However, only one font may be selected at a time. It is the data processor that makes the selection.
Printers generally have fonts available from three sources-resident, downloaded or cartridges. Resident fonts, also known as internal fonts, are fonts which are manufactured into the printer. Typically, resident fonts are stored in read-only memory (ROM). ROMs are well known to those skilled in the art. Downloaded fonts are fonts which are transferred into the printer's user random access memory (RAM) from the host computer. RAM is well known to those skilled in the art. A font cartridge is a removable media containing multiple fonts that, like resident fonts, are typically stored in ROM. When a cartridge is plugged into a slot in a printer, the printer has access to the fonts contained in the cartridge. A printer may have more than one slot for cartridges.
As discussed, resident fonts typically are stored in ROM. However, resident fonts may also be stored in the printer on a hard disk or other non-volatile rewritable storage device. Generally, when the printer is first powered on the data processor performs an initialization routine that includes transferring the resident fonts from the hard disk to the Font List in memory. In this case, the resident fonts are transferred to printer RAM at predefined memory addresses.
Previously, printers have often resolved font selection conflicts by assigning priority to the source of the fonts. Font selection conflicts arise when more than one font in the Font List matches the attributes sent by the host computer. Downloaded fonts generally have the highest priority, next cartridge fonts, last resident fonts. If there is more than one slot in the printer for cartridges, the slots are given separate priorities. The user controls the font selection by providing downloadable fonts and/or installing cartridges into the slots.
Printers typically have initialization procedures. The printer initializes whenever the power is cycled, or may initialize in response to a front panel control or external command. Initialization procedures typically include procedures for recognizing resident and cartridge fonts. Typically, after power has been cycled or during printer initialization, downloaded fonts are removed. It is also possible to selectively delete downloaded fonts from printer memory through special initialization commands. When resident fonts are stored on a hard disk in the printer, initialization generally includes loading of the resident fonts into memory.
Cartridges have many drawbacks. They are generally expensive. Repeated insertion and removal can deteriorate the electrical connections between a cartridge and its socket in the printer. Typically, a printer will have only one or two cartridge slots. This means that there is little versatility in the sizes and varieties of fonts that can be used.
Downloadable fonts also have disadvantages. A downloadable font is typically downloaded each time the printer needs it. Downloading a font from a computer to the printer is time consuming. Downloadable fonts occupy substantial computer storage space, and more importantly, substantial printer storage and memory space. If the printer is connected to a computer network, it is desirable that every computer on the network be able to download the desired fonts. Downloadable fonts also can be difficult to update, since every computer must be updated, and each computer may have downloadable fonts in different directories.
Resident fonts also have disadvantages. Resident fonts stored in ROM may only be changed by removing the ROM chips and replacing them. Generally, ROMs are fragile, and removal and replacement may damage the ROMs or the printer. Furthermore, such removal and replacement can be inconvenient, and may require a skilled technician. Even when resident fonts are stored on a hard disk in the printer, updates are difficult to perform.


Embodiments are disclosed that reduce gouging during multi-patterning processes using thermal decomposition materials. For one embodiment, gouging is reduced or suppressed by using thermal decomposition materials as cores during multiple patterning processes. For one embodiment, gouging is reduced or suppressed by using thermal decomposition materials as a gap fill material during multiple patterning processes. By using thermal decomposition material, gouging of an underlying layer, such as a hard mask layer, can be reduced or suppressed for patterned structures being formed using the self-aligned multi-patterning processes because more destructive etch processes, such as plasma etch processes, are not required to remove the thermal decomposition materials.

The present disclosure relates to methods for the manufacture of microelectronic workpieces including the formation of patterned structures on microelectronic workpieces.
Device formation within microelectronic workpieces typically involves a series of manufacturing techniques related to the formation, patterning, and removal of a number of layers of material on a substrate. To meet the physical and electrical specifications of current and next generation semiconductor devices, processing flows are being requested to reduce feature size while maintaining structure integrity for various patterning processes.
Self-aligned multiple patterning (SAMP) processes, such as self-aligned double patterning (SADP) processes and self-aligned quadruple patterning (SAQP), have been developed to reduce feature sizes beyond what is directly achievable by lithography processes.
For some SAMP processes and particularly for SADP processes, spacers are typically formed as side wall structures adjacent cores on a substrate being processed, and the core material is later removed. For example, an organic film such as an organic planarizing layer (OPL) or an organic dielectric layer (ODL) is often used as a material for the cores, and oxide (SiO2) is often used as a material to form spacers adjacent the ODL/OPL cores. The ODL/OPL core material is then removed after an etch back of the spacer material is used to form the spacers as side wall structures adjacent the cores. This core removal process is typically called a mandrel pull and is often performed by a plasma etch process such as a reactive ion etch (RIE) process. These etch processes, however, can cause undesired gouging when exposed portions of an underlying layer, such as a hard mask layer, are not evenly etched during the etch process (e.g., RIE process). As one example, the gouging amount for a hard mask layer under the cores can differ from the gouging for the hard mask layer that is exposed within gaps between the cores and spacers. These differences in gouging can cause problems in later process steps. For example, these gouging differences can cause pitch-walking during subsequent wiring formation process and/or cause other subsequent processing defects for the microelectronic workpieces being manufactured.
For other SAMP processes and particularly for SAQP processes, amorphous silicon (a-Si) is used as the core material that is later removed in a mandrel pull process. A spacer material is deposited on this core material and an etch back of spacer material is then performed to form spacers adjacent the cores. The cores are then removed in the mandrel pull process. However, when an underlying layer such as a hard mask layer is exposed during the mandrel pull process, differences in gouging can occur. For example, gouging of exposed portions of a hard mask layer during the etch process for the mandrel pull can differ from gouging associated with portions of the hard mask layer under the core material (e.g., a-Si). As indicated above, these differences in gouging can cause problems in later process steps. For example, these gouging differences can cause pitch-walking during subsequent wiring formation process and/or cause other subsequent processing defects for the microelectronic workpieces being manufactured.
FIGS. 1A-1E (Prior Art) and FIGS. 2A-D (Prior Art) provide background information for prior solutions where undesired gouging occurs during SAMP processes such as during mandrel pull processes and/or during subsequent etch processes.
Looking first to FIGS. 1A-E (Prior Art), cross-section views are shown for an example where gouging occurs for prior solutions during an etch process (e.g., dry etch) applied for a mandrel pull process where an organic dielectric layer (ODL) is used for the SAMP core material.
FIG. 1A (Prior Art) provides cross-section views of an example embodiment 100 where stacked layers have been formed on a substrate (not shown) including an anti-reflective layer 110, an ODL planarization layer 120, and a hard mask layer 130 (e.g., SiN). In addition, a photoresist layer 140 has been deposited and patterned, for example, using lithography and etch processes.
FIG. 1B (Prior Art) provides a cross-section view of an example embodiment 101 after the photoresist (PR) pattern is transferred to underlying layers above the hard mask layer 130. For example, one or more etch processes can be used to transfer the pattern formed in the PR layer 140 to underlying layers 110/120 and to form cores 150.
FIG. 1C (Prior Art) provides a cross-section view of an example embodiment 102 after a spacer material layer 155 has been deposited. As shown, the spacer material layer 155, such as an oxide layer, is deposited over the cores 150. The cores 150 still include the anti-reflective layer 110 and the ODL layer 120.
FIG. 1D (Prior Art) provides a cross-section view of an example embodiment 103 after an etch back process has been performed. For example, an etch back process is performed to etch back the spacer layer 155 and form spacers 160 along the side walls of the cores 150. This etch back process can also remove the anti-reflective layer 110 shown in FIG. 1C thereby leaving only the ODL layer 120 for the cores 150.
FIG. 1E (Prior Art) provides a cross-section view of an example embodiment 104 after a mandrel pull process has been performed. As shown, the mandrel pull process, such as an ash process, is used to remove the cores 150 shown in FIG. 1D. This mandrel pull process, however, introduces gouging 170 in the hard mask layer 130 where it is exposed in the gaps between the cores 150 and spacers 160 shown in FIG. 1D. This gouging 170 causes deterioration of etching uniformity in the etching process of subsequent patterns formed through the SAMP process.
FIGS. 2A-2C (Prior Art) provide cross-section views for an example where gouging occurs for prior solutions during an etch process (e.g., dry etch) applied for a mandrel pull process where another material, such as amorphous silicon (a-Si), is used for the core material.
Looking first to FIG. 2A (Prior Art), an example embodiment 200 is shown where a spacer material layer 255, such as an oxide spacer layer, is deposited over cores 250 made from amorphous silicon. The cores 250 have been previously formed over a substrate (not shown), for example, using one or more patterning, etch, and deposition processes. The spacer material layer 255 and the cores 250 have been formed on a hard mask layer 230.
FIG. 2B (Prior Art) provides a cross-section view of an example embodiment 201 after an etch back process has been performed. For example, an etch back process is performed to etch back the spacer material layer 255 and form spacers 260 along the side walls of the cores 250. For example, an oxide etch back can be used where an oxide spacer material is used.
FIG. 2C (Prior Art) provides a cross-section view of an example embodiment 202 after a mandrel pull process has been performed. As shown, the mandrel pull process, such as silicon etch process, is used to remove the a-Si cores 250 shown in FIG. 2B. This mandrel pull process, however, introduces gouging 270 in the hard mask layer 230 where it is exposed in the gaps between the cores 250 and spacers 260 shown in FIG. 2B. This gouging 270 causes deterioration of etching uniformity in the etching process of subsequent patterns formed through the SAMP process.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Methods to reduce gouging for core removal processes using thermal decomposition materials


The power management unit supplies first power that is continuous power to the second sensor when the power switch is on, supplies second power that is intermittent power having a voltage lower than the first power to the second sensor when the power switch is off, and outputs rotation number information representing a rotation number of the motor rotation shaft based on the second sensor signal. The power management unit includes a comparator that operates using the second power as the power source when the power switch is off and compare the second sensor signal and the reference voltage, and a counter that detects the rotation number of the motor rotation shaft by counting the output of the comparators.

Conventionally, a sensor for detecting a rotation angle of a motor rotation shaft is proposed. In addition, a technology for monitoring a rotation number of a rotation shaft of a motor while a power switch is off is proposed.
For example, the following PTL 1 describes a steering system that is made redundant by mounting two Magnetic Resistance (MR) sensors that detect an angular position of the electric motor and two counting units that process the output signal of the sensors, and counts a rotation number of the electric motor by the two counting units based on a sine-wave signal and a cosine-wave signal that are output by two MR sensors respectively while the ignition key is off.

Rotation angle detection device, electric power steering device and method of controlling electric power steering device


Embodiments of the present invention provide a system, method, and program product for recommending a digital publication. A computing device identifies a time interval for consuming a digital publication, based on schedule information in an electronic calendar. The computing device determines, based on characteristics of the time interval and a criteria, a digital publication, from a plurality of digital publications, for human consumption within the identified time interval.

Digital publications, such as electronic books (ebooks), magazines, and journals, are popular formats for individuals to download content to a computing device, such as a mobile device, and read while the individual is on the go. In some cases, the individual has already begun reading an ebook and desires to continue reading the ebook selection. Mobile individuals in transition that desire additional electronic literature typically spend additional time manually searching for additional electronic content.
Ebooks are typically downloaded from an online website and stored locally on the computing device for subsequent viewing. An electronic reader (ereader) is required to view and or manipulate an ebook.

Recommending electronic content based upon user availability

Lenovo Enterprise Solutions (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.


The invention is a method for removing organic and other contaminants, such as photo-resist, from semi-conductor dies and micro-lenses by placing the dies in a solution of two parts ethylene, diamine tetra-acetic-acid (EDTA) to one part peroxide at a temperature of between 30.degree. and 55.degree. C., and preferably between 40.degree. and 44.degree. C., for a period of 1-30 minutes, and preferably between 2 and 10 minutes.

During the fabrication of semi-conductor chips, organic materials, such as photo-resist commonly are used to coat the surface of the chip. The process of patterning a silicon wafer or other microelectronic substrate involves coating the substrate with photo-resist, and shining UV radiation through a mask that defines the pattern of interest onto the wafer. In the case of positive photo-resist, the portion of the photo-resist that was exposed to the radiation through the mask is then stripped away in a solution that dissolves the exposed photo-resist while not significantly affecting the unexposed photo-resist. With the mask shape so etched in the photo-resist material, the particular material to be implanted, etched or deposited on the wafer in the pattern dictated by the mask can be so implanted, etched or deposited.
After the material is on the wafer, the remaining photo-resist is removed in a different solution that is effective for stripping unexposed photo-resist. Many such solutions for stripping exposed photo-resist off of a wafer are known, including acetone and isopropyl alcohol.
Throughout an entire fabrication process for a semiconductor chip, photo-resist may be deposited and stripped a way many times using many different masks. As a wafer moves through the fabrication process, having more and more of its features embedded therein (e.g., dopants, metallizations, bond pads, protective coatings, etc.), the solution used for washing away progressive photo-resist layers must be more and more carefully selected. Particularly, as more materials become part of the chip, the photo-resist stripping solution must be carefully selected so as not to adversely affect any of the materials which have been incorporated into the chip.
For instance, in a silicon optical bench sub-assembly chip (SiOB chip) such as illustrated in FIG. 1, near the end of the fabrication process, the die contains a number of exposed materials. For instance, FIG. 1 illustrates the exposed materials on a particular SiOB die manufactured by Lucent Technologies, Inc. (see e.g., U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/764,960 filed Dec. 22, 1995). This die is the optical bench die used in the Laser 2000 series of products offered by Lucent Technologies, Inc. of Murray Hill, N.J., the assignee of the present invention. As shown, the silicon is coated with, at least, (1) aluminum, (2) a sandwich of titanium, platinum and gold (Ti/Pt/Au), and (3) silicon dioxide (SiO.sub.2).
At the end of wafer production, the wafer is separated (or diced) into the separate dies. In the case of the die for the aforementioned SiOB chip of Lucent Technologies as well as many other dies, a final coating of photo-resist is applied over the entire wafer (with no mask) in order to protect it during the sawing operation. In particular, a common way of dicing a wafer is to cut it into the individual dies with a water cooled, diamond tipped, precision saw. This final layer of photo-resist is applied without mask so that it completely coats the wafer. The purpose of this final layer of photo-resist is to protect the surface of the dies from the water and/or silicon dust which will be thrown up during the sawing operation.
After the sawing operation, the photo-resist must be removed from the individual dies completely and without harming any of the components and features on the die.
Residual photo-resist that was not completely removed from the die can lead to several problems. One of the most notable is that residual photo-resist can lead to leakage currents or short circuits between electrical contact paths on the surface of the substrate which should be electrically isolated from each other. Residual photo-resist is particularly problematic when it is subjected to heat and becomes charred (carbonized). When carbonized, the electrical impedance of the photo-resist decreases, thus increasing the severity of leakage currents and shorts. Accordingly, residual photo-resist can substantially reduce chip yields.
Many chips are fabricated for opto-electronic applications. As the name implies, optical bench dies are basic building blocks of such opto-electronic chips. Optical bench dies are fabricated with various features to allow them to have multiple potential uses in the optical or opto-electronic applications depending on the components mounted thereon. For instance, an optical bench die may include a micro-machined cavity for placement of a micro-lens for focusing laser light. It also may be provided with mounting pads for mounting a laser diode and/or a photo detector. One such exemplary silicon optical bench die is the die use in the Laser 2000 series of products offered by Lucent Technologies, Inc., the assignee of the present application. That die, for example, has a micro-machined cavity designed to accept a micro-lens for focusing the light of a laser diode which can be mounted on a particular mounting pad on the surface of the die. The lens is bonded to an exposed aluminum layer deposited on the chip in the lens cavity. The lens itself may be made of several possible materials. One example of such material is Spinnel.TM.. The lens is bonded to the aluminum layer via a silicon dioxide coating on the lens in a process that is commonly termed AlO (aluminum oxide) bonding. Particularly, during fabrication, a chemical reaction is caused to occur that bonds the silicon dioxide layer on the lens to the aluminum on the die thus fixing the lens in the cavity (see e.g., Coucoulas, et al., 43rd ECTC Proceeding, 471-481 (1993).
During fabrication of the lens itself, various contaminants may come to be attached to the surface of the silicon dioxide layer on the lens. Such contaminants may include organic polymers such as photo-resist, oils, carbon particles, and airborne particles, among other things. While contaminants during fabrication of micro-electronic or micro-optical devices are always undesirable, they are particularly troublesome with respect to micro-lenses. Specifically, any contaminant on the surface of the silicon dioxide of the lens will reduce the efficacy of the bonding of the lens to the aluminum layer in the cavity. Accordingly, it is desirable to wash the lens just prior to bonding on the cavity in a solution which will remove the potential contaminants without affecting the silicon dioxide layer on the lens. Similarly, contaminants on the aluminum surface will also reduce the efficacy of the lens to aluminum bond.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a safe and efficient method for removing the photo-resist from semi-conductors.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a safe and efficient method of cleaning micro-optical lenses.

Method for removing thin, organic materials from semiconductor dies and micro-lenses


An automatic sewing apparatus is disclosed for sewing together a pair of first edges of two overlapped bodies by a cross seam, each of the bodies being formed by sewing together a pair of second edges of two pieces of overlapped cloth, wherein the two bodies are layered with the margins to the seam of the second edges facing away from each other, and the apparatus comprising a sewing device for sewing the overlapped bodies together, a table for supporting the bodies to be sewn, and a sewn edge fold-down device for folding down the margin of one of the bodies in the direction to feed the cloth, and the margin of the other body in the opposite direction before sewing the first edges.

(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an automatic sewing apparatus for sewing the crotch of unfinished trousers and the like. In the sewing of such trousers, the crotch and both sides are each combined by a cross seam, with a front body into which a right front body and a left front body are formed being overlapped with a back body into which a right back body and a left back body are formed.
(2) Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 shows a pair of unfinished trousers 99 as an example of sewn products. Right and left front bodies 100a/100b are formed into a front body 100 by stitching a line .alpha., and a right and left back bodies 101a/101b are formed into a back body 101 by stitching a line .beta.. Both lines .alpha./.beta. are formed by a plain seam (Federal Standard No. 751a Seam Type SSa). The front and back bodies have been combined by seaming both sides, only the crotch .gamma. being left unsewn.
Conventional auto sewing apparatuses for sewing the crotch .gamma. of a pair of unfinished trousers comprise a table 102, a sewing mechanism unit 103, a first hand 104, a second hand 105, and a third hand 106 as shown in FIG. 2 (Refer to Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 2-277491 and Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model No. 3-7374).
The sewing mechanism unit 103, like an ordinary sewing machine, comprises a needle, a presser foot, a cloth feed mechanism unit, and a thread cutter.
The first hand 104 includes a guide mechanism unit having a guide edge having a certain angle. The hand 104 guides the trousers 99 to the sewing mechanism unit 103 by holding the bottom of a leg of the trousers 99 on the table 102, with a pair of edges extending from the bottom of one leg to the center of the crotch being overlapped.
The second hand 105 includes a hold mechanism unit for holding the crotch, with the above-mentioned a pair of the edges including the ends A/B of the stitching lines .alpha./.beta. being overlapped, as well as a follow mechanism unit for following the trousers 99 transferred by the sewing operation of the sewing mechanism unit 103. The hold mechanism unit keeps holding the trousers 99 until the second hand 105 moves to a position just before the sewing mechanism unit 103 in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 3. The hand 105 includes a guide mechanism, as the first hand 104, which guides the trousers 99 to the sewing mechanism unit 103 by holding the bottom of the other leg of the trousers 99, with a pair of edges extending from the center of the crotch to the bottom of the other leg being overlapped.
The third hand 106 having almost the same construction as the second hand 105 holds the bottom of the other leg of the trousers 99 and follows the trousers 99 transferred in the direction of the arrow by the sewing operation of the sewing mechanism unit 103.
However, such conventional auto sewing apparatuses have some problems: when such trousers are sewn, a total of six layers of cloth should be sewn together in the intersecting portion of the line .alpha., the line .beta., and the crotch .gamma., which often damages the apparatus or deteriorates the quality of finished products.
As shown in FIG. 4, the above six layers of cloth results from the standing end A of the right/left front bodies 100a/100b being folded down in the same direction as the end B of the right/left back bodies 101a/101b by a presser foot 110.
Although the stitching line over the six-layered cloth is rather short, it may still damage the sewing mechanism unit 103 because the load applied on it is suddenly increased by the tripled thickness, compared to the other portions.
Furthermore, after the end A is folded down, if the transfer of the cloth is checked by the force of the presser foot 110, the ends A and B slip from each other in the sewing direction. Consequently, in a pair of finished trousers, as shown in FIG. 5, the stitching line .alpha. of the front body and the line .beta. of the back body do not overlap, resulting in bad appearance and uncomfortable fitting.
The hold mechanism unit of the second hand 105 is useless to prevent such cloth slipping because it holds the trousers 99 only until the ends A/B are transferred to just before the sewing mechanism unit 103 as previously mentioned.
The slipping may be prevented by intensifying the cloth transfer force of the upper feed dog 111 of the sewing mechanism unit 103 more than the resistance of the presser foot 110. However, this can not be carried out to prevent cloth from being spoiled.


The present invention relates to a self-propelled forage harvester (1) that is equipped with a front attachment (3) and includes a rigid axle (5), a transmission (10) and two wheel gears (9), which are installed upstream of the drive wheels (7) and are coupled with the transmission (10) in a driving manner, the drive axle (5) being composed of a center part (31) and axle carrier units (28) rigidly flange-connected on the right and left sides of the center part (31), each axle carrier unit (28) including wheel gears (9) that extend forward, in the direction toward the front attachment (3).

The present invention relates to a self-propelled forage harvester. Every self-propelled forage harvester is built on a ground drive, which is composed of a machine frame. The machine frame serves as a carrier for individual components. The location of the components on the machine frame plays an essential role in terms of the efficiency of the forage harvester. The components located underneath the frame are the front axle and the rear axle, each of which includes wheels. The drive wheels, wheel gears, and a transmission are installed on the front axle. The steering wheels are installed on the rear axle. Together with the front wheels, the rear axle supports the frame on the ground. The upper components are installed above the frame, i.e., the driver's cab, machine housing, and devices for processing and conveying the crop material, and the drive unit, which is supported on the machine frame. One or more containers for storing a combustible fluid are located between the frame. The location of the components relative to each other determines the weight distribution and, therefore, the center of gravity of the forage harvester. The center of gravity is also determined by the front attachment, which is located in front of the front axle, and it influences the permissible axle load.
Self-propelled agricultural harvesting machines, in particular forage harvesters and combine harvesters with a large overall mass, a heavy front attachment, and a rigid axle are adequately known from the related art. The center of gravity is determined by the design. When different front attachments are used, e.g., a combine harvester header, a corn header, or a pick-up, the center of gravity may shift, which is unfavorable.
To solve this problem, publication DD 75 665 discloses a ground drive for a forage harvester that is composed of three independent subassemblies. The assemblies are a frame, a drive axle, and a steering axle, which are interconnected via detachable connecting elements. By displacing the connecting elements, it is possible to displace the three subassemblies, thereby making it possible to shift the center of gravity of the machine.
In contrast, publication EP 1 151 655 A1 provides that all components of the harvesting machine are located relative to each other such that the center of gravity of the ready-to-operate harvesting machine with the front attachment installed is located at an exactly defined distance behind the front axle and at an exactly defined height above the ground.
The designs described in publications DD 75 665 and EP 1 151 655 A1 have the disadvantage, however, that a complex design is required in order to realize an optimal center of gravity of the machine. When front attachments are replaced often, it is therefore necessary to install additional ballast weights or to displace the connecting elements in order to optimize the center of gravity of the harvesting machine and, therefore, to control the vehicle. Harvesting machines of this type are capable of reaching driving speeds of up to 40 km/h on the road. Due to the high overall mass of the harvesting machine itself and the front attachment that is installed, it is not possible to drive the harvesting machine on the road with good control without additional ballast weights.

CLAAS Selbstfahrende Erntemaschinen GmbH


A sealing assembly for sealing between two relatively rotatable cylindrical surfaces. The assembly comprises two seal parts (46, 48) disposed in a groove (40) in one of the surfaces so that one of said parts is disposed radially outwardly of the other. One (46) of the parts is movable axially relative to the other (48) to effect setting of the sealing assembly and the groove (40) and parts (46, 48) are so dimensioned that they become compressed between the surfaces during setting of the assembly. Adjacent surfaces of the seal parts (46, 48) may have inter-engaging profiles (55) which permit relative movement for setting the assembly, but resist movement in the opposite direction.

This invention relates to sealing assemblies for use in sealing between cylindrical surfaces and has particular application to situations where seals are required to carry out a sealing function after they have undergone some rotation. The present sealing assembly has been designed particularly for use in subsea equipment, but its application is by no means limited to that application.
In subsea drilling equipment resilient sealing assemblies are often required at some stage during installation of the equipment to undergo rotation and then subsequently carry out an effective sealing function. An example of this requirement arises with what is known as an external tieback connector which is used to connect tieback equipment to a subsea wellhead assembly. The tieback connector includes a rotatable sleeve which is used to drive an external ring to actuate locking dogs for connecting the tieback connector to the wellhead housing. Seals are provided between the rotatable sleeve and the body of the tieback connector and these seals need to carry out an effective sealing function, both before and after rotation of the sleeve. Typically the seals need to be able to seal against pressures of the order of 10,000 psi. It has been customary to provide resilient seals of the "O" ring or lip seal type, but there have been problems in providing seals which can meet the requirement referred to above. The present invention is concerned with a sealing assembly which has been designed in order to at least alleviate these problems.


A linear thruster is disclosed in which a load beam is linearly moved relative to a guide beam by fluid power. One or both of the beams are multisided in cross-section to substantially increase the linear bearing area between the beams and substantially increase the strength of the linear thruster against side forces as well as moments while permitting a substantial reduction in the volumetric space consumed by the linear thruster. The fluid power and the energy inputs to the linear thruster may all be positioned at one end of the guide beam.

The present invention is directed to linear thrusters and, more particularly, to fluid operated linear thrusters which are significantly stronger yet more compact than the prior linear thrusters.
A wide variety of fluid operated linear thrusters have been available in the past. These have been employed for example for the positioning of work pieces or tools on production lines. These prior linear thrusters typically are non-rotatable and include a fluid operated piston and cylinder which moves a tool plate back and forth in a linear reciprocating fashion, and a pair of spaced shafts which are supported by linear slide bearings, and which stabilize the thruster against rotation and strengthen it against side forces and moments during operation. Although the prior linear thrusters have performed adequately well in the many applications in which they have been used, their usefulness is somewhat limited by the maximum side loads, moments and deflection to which they may be subjected during use, particularly at their maximum stroke. The maximum loads and moments that can be accommodated by the prior linear thrusters rapidly decrease in magnitude as the stroke length of the linear thrusters increases. Thus, either the loads, moments and/or deflections must be limited for a given sized and stroke linear thruster, and if greater loads, moments or deflections must be accommodated, the size, bulkiness and volumetric space requirements of the prior linear thrusters must also be substantially increased.
It has been discovered that deflection can be substantially decreased and maximum side loads and moments can be substantially increased simply and easily by a linear thruster incorporating the principles of the present invention, while at the same time reducing the complexity and expense of the linear thrusters of the present invention. Moreover, "pinch points" which frequently existed in the typical prior linear thruster constructions, i.e. locations between which human body parts may be caught or pinched as the parts of the thruster move relative to each other, can be essentially eliminated in the linear thrusters incorporating the principles of the present invention. Significantly, the volumetric space requirements of the linear thrusters of the present invention also may be substantially and considerably reduced over the requirements of the prior linear thrusters, thereby permitting substantial miniaturization and increased compactness of systems incorporating the linear thrusters of the present invention. The linear thrusters of the invention are also receptive to the internal placement of many of the components which were previously mounted externally of the thruster, and all of the fittings for the operating fluid as well as for introducing energy to the tool or tools on the distal end of the thruster may be positioned at one end of the thruster to further facilitate increased volumetric space efficiency and compactness. Moreover, the linear thruster incorporating the principles of the invention may be readily adapted for clean room applications.
In one principal aspect of the present invention, a fluid operated linear thruster comprises a guide beam having an elongate passage therein defined by internal walls in the guide beam, and a load beam positioned in the passage of the guide beam for reciprocation therein. The load beam has an outer wall which is sized and shaped so as to be supported and guided at least at two spaced locations on the internal walls of the guide beam during reciprocation of the load beam in the passage of the guide beam, and at least one of the aforementioned passage of the load beam and/or outer wall of the load beam is multisided in cross-section. A mounting is located on the load beam to mount a load on the load beam for movement with the reciprocating load beam. A piston is located in the load beam and a fluid inlet communicates a source of fluid under pressure to at least one side of the piston to urge the load beam to reciprocally move in the passage between a first position and a second position while being supported and guided by the aforementioned at least two spaced locations.
In another principal aspect of the present invention, both the passage in the guide beam and the outer wall of the load beam are multisided in cross-section, and preferably square in cross-section.
In still another principal aspect of the present invention, the passage in the guide beam is multisided in cross-section, and the outer wall of the load beam is substantially circular cross-section.
In still another principal aspect of the present invention, the load beam is located substantially within the guide beam when it is in its first position, the guide beam has first and second opposite ends, and the load beam extends from the first end of the guide beam when the load beam is in its aforementioned second position.
In still another principal aspect of the present invention, a cylinder is positioned in the load beam, and the cylinder has the aforementioned piston therein and is mounted to the second end of the guide beam, and a piston rod is on the piston and mounted to the load beam to move the load beam between the first and second positions.
In still another principal aspect of the present invention, the fluid inlet includes at least first and second fluid inlets to communicate a source of fluid under pressure to opposite sides of the piston to urge the load beam in opposite directions, and both the first and second fluid inlets are positioned on the guide beam adjacent the second end of the guide beam.
In still another principal aspect of the present invention, an energy input is located on the guide beam adjacent its second end, and the energy is communicated between the energy input and the aforementioned mounting and within the passage of the guide beam to communicate the energy from the energy input to the mounting when the load beam is in its second position and in which it is extended from the guide beam.
In still another principal aspect of the present invention, the aforementioned energy may be fluid under pressure and/or electrical.
In still another principal aspect of the present invention, at least one channel may be formed on the exterior of the guide beam, and a fastening may engage the channel for mounting the linear thruster to a base.
In still another principal aspect of the present invention, the guide beam includes a vent to vent the passage of the guide beam to the exterior of the guide beam, and the vent may be a vacuum line.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood through a consideration of the following detailed description.


Methods, systems, and media for presenting notifications indicating recommended content are provided. In some implementations, a method for presenting notifications of recommended content is provided, the method comprising: receiving an indication that a user device has initiated a casting session with at least one display device, wherein the indication includes an identifier of media content presented on the at least one display device during the casting session; storing the indication in a log in association with an identifier of the user device; receiving, from the user device, a request for recommended content to be presented on the at least one display device associated with the user device; in response to receiving the request, identifying a group of media content items based on at least one media content item that has been previously selected by a user account associated with the user device and based on an identifier of the at least one display device; generating a notification that includes an indication of the identified group of media content items and a selectable input that, when selected, causes the identified group of media content items to begin being presented on the at least one display device; and transmitting the notification to the user device, wherein transmitting the notification to the user device causes the notification to be presented on the user device.

Users frequently want to cast media content from a user device, such as a laptop computer, a tablet computer, or a mobile phone, to a presentation device, such as a television or speakers. For example, a user may want to select a media content item on a mobile phone and have the presentation of the media content item occur on a television. However, it can often be difficult for the user to identify content that the user may prefer to view on a particular presentation device at a convenient time.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide methods, systems, and media for presenting notifications indicating recommended content.


A receptacle connector includes an insulative housing, a number of conductive contacts, and a retainer seat. The insulative housing includes a mating face for mating with a plug connector and a mounting face opposite to the mating face. The insulative housing defines a number of contact-receiving passages penetrating from the mating face to the mounting face and a mounting recess recessed from the mounting face toward the mating face a certain distance. The conductive contacts are respectively received in the contact-receiving passages. Each conductive contact includes a contacting portion for electrically contacting the plug connector, a termination portion for electrically connecting with a Printed Circuit Board, and an intermediate portion connecting the contacting portion with the termination portion. The retainer seat is fixedly received in the mounting recess of the insulative housing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connector, more particularly to a receptacle connector mounted on a Printed Circuit Board.
2. Description of Related Art
With the rapid development of electronic technology, electrical connectors are widely used in electric products for exchanging information, data etc. with periphery devices. An electrical connector generally comprises an insulative housing and a plurality of conductive contacts received in the insulative housing. Solder feet of the conductive contacts extend beyond the insulative housing for being soldered to a Printed Circuit Board (PCB).
To satisfy the requirements of stable signal transmission, and high transmission efficiency of the electric products, it is necessary to assure high mating stability of the electrical connectors. However, the retention force between receptacle contacts and a receptacle housing of a conventional receptacle connector is not strong enough. Hence, when the receptacle connector mates with a corresponding plug connector, if unplug force is relative high from the plug connector, the receptacle contacts of the receptacle connector are prone to being pulled to escape from the receptacle housing, further influencing the signal transmission.
Hence, it is necessary to improve the conventional receptacle connector to address problems mentioned above.

Receptacle connector with high retention force


The invention relates to an energy and media connection module for coating installations. Said module serves for supplying with cooling water, compressed air, process gases, signal, control and cathode power. It can be moved from one coating chamber to another coating chamber along a coating line by a single person in a short time. Further, it is possible to separate the energy connection module from a coating chamber for maintenance or displacement purposes without mechanically demounting all connections.

Coating installations, for example for glass, often comprise a cathode and an anode, between which a voltage generating a plasma obtains. With the aid of this plasma certain substances are deposited on the glass, be that by sputtering or another method. During sputtering, the cathode is strongly heated since positively charged particles impinge out of the plasma onto a target connected with the cathode and knock atoms or molecules out of it, which subsequently become deposited on the glass.
To keep the heating of the cathode within limits, it is cooled and specifically, as a rule, with a fluid medium, for example water. For this purpose special water supply lines are required. Apart from these water supply lines, power supply lines are also required in order to be able to apply a specific voltage between cathode and anode. Moreover, gas supply lines are required in order to provide gases for generating the plasma or for a chemical reaction.
In conventional coating installations the different energy and media connections are tailored to the particular coatings to be produced. Consequently, cooling pipe supply lines and voltage supply lines are provided, which are laid out for the particular cathode utilized.
Similarly, special gas supply lines for reactive or non-reactive sputtering are disposed on the particular coating installation.
As a rule, a coating installation is comprised of several coating chambers, which are disposed adjacent to one another. If a sputter cathode is to be moved from one coating chamber into another coating chamber, the special supply lines must again be disposed on the new coating chamber by welding, etc. This adaptation of a coating chamber to a new cathode entails very high expenditures.
The invention therefore addresses the problem of providing an energy and media connection for coating installations, which does not require individual adaptation to the particular coating chamber.
This problem is solved according to the present invention.
The advantage attained with the invention comprises in particular that the time expenditure for the reconfiguration of coating installations is considerably reduced. In addition, mobile energy and media connection modules can be moved from one coating chamber to another coating chamber by a single person in a short time and without major auxiliary resources. The maintenance of a coating chamber is also simplified, since the connection modules can be displaced away from this coating chamber.
An embodiment example of the invention is shown in the drawing and will be explained in the following in further detail.

Energy and media connection for a coating installation comprising several chambers


A PLL device of a core logic chip includes a controlled delay circuit having a plurality of controlled delay lines interconnected in series and outputting therefrom a plurality of output clock signals in response to a reference clock signal; a phase detector for generating an adjusting signal according to a phase difference between the reference clock signal and the output clock signals; and a control circuit for asserting a plurality of control signals to the controlled delay lines, respectively, according to the adjusting signal in order to have the delay times of the output clock signals independently adjusted and outputted again by the controlled delay lines. The delay times of the output clock signals can be determined according to a distribution table and further tuned according to a circuitry and a layout of the core logic chip.

In a personal computer structure, in addition to the central unit processor (CPU), the core logic chip and the memory module have most effect on the data-processing performance. Please refer to FIG. 1A which is a schematic circuit block diagram showing the connection of a core logic chip and a memory module. With a double-date-rate (DDR) transmission specification, when the core logic chip 10 transmits a parallel data to the memory module 11, a strobe signal and a parallel data signal TX_D are transmitted to the memory module 11 simultaneously for facilitating the memory module 11 to read the data. The associated signals described as above is shown in FIG. 1B. Ideally, the rising edge or falling edge of each strobe signal is positioned right in the middle of a data bit of the parallel data signal TX_D, thereby assuring of correct data transmission.
In general, four output clock signals P0, P1, P2 and P3 with a phase difference of 90 degrees between every two adjacent signals, as shown in FIG. 2A, are required. A delay phase-locked loop (PLL) device can be used to achieve this purpose. Referring to FIG. 2B, the delay PLL device includes a controlled delay circuit 21, a phase detector 22 and a control circuit 23. The controlled delay circuit 21 consists of four delay lines 211, 212, 213 and 214, each of which comprises a plurality of delay units (not shown). A reference clock signal CLK is transmitted through and processed by the four controlled delay lines 211, 212, 213 and 214 to generate the four output clock signals P0, P1, P2 and P3. The four output clock signals have the phase difference of 90 degrees to each other. In order to keep in phase with the reference clock signal CLK, the output clock signal P0 is transmitted to the phase detector 22 along with the reference clock signal CLK. If the phase detector 22 detects an earlier phase of the reference clock signal CLK than the output clock signal P0, a counting-down adjusting signal is asserted. On the contrary, i.e. the phase of the reference clock signal CLK is later than that of the output clock signal P0, a counting-up adjusting signal is asserted. Once either of the adjusting signals is transmitted to the control circuit 23, a counted value CNT will be outputted to each of the controlled delay lines 211, 212, 213 and 214 by the control circuit 23 in response to the adjusting signal. The counted value represents the involving number n of delay units for each delay line. In other words, the delay time in each delay line can be controlled according to the counted value CNT.
For example, in the case that the phase of the reference clock signal CLK is earlier than that of the output clock signal P0, it means that the delay period effected by the controlled delay circuit 21 is too long. Thus the phase detector 22 asserts the counting-down adjusting signal, and the control circuit 23 outputs a counted value CNT=n−1 rather than CNT=n. In response to the reduced counted value, the delay period of each controlled delay line is simultaneously shortened, thereby adjusting the phase of the output clock signal.
The phases of the four output clock signals P0, P1, P2 and P3 are assured to be evenly distributed by 90-degree partition because the four controlled delay lines are imparted to the same counted value. Unfortunately, this will result in insufficient accuracy of signal delay because the phases are always adjusted by four delay units at one time. The insufficient accuracy may deteriorate the performance of the circuit particularly when the transmission rate is getting higher and higher. Further, in spite the parallel data signal TX_D initially generated by the source 101 according to the prior art is substantially perfect, the signals may be skewed or interfered to some extent when they have been outputted from the source 101 and forwarded to the I/O pad 102 via various transmission paths. Therefore, the strobe signal and parallel data signal outputted by the I/O pad 102 may have waveforms as shown in FIG. 2C rather than those shown FIG. 1B. That is, the rising edge and falling edge of the strobe signal may deviate from the middle position of the parallel data signal TX_D. Accordingly, errors may happen for the memory module 11 to receive data. This problem may be even serious when the transmission rate is getting higher and higher.

Delay phase-locked loop device and clock signal generating method


A tape cassette of this invention is equipped with a memory capable of accommodating management information. Where the tape cassette is used, a MIC mode switch is written to a predetermined area on the magnetic tape held in the cassette. That item of information specifies whether or not the use of the management information held in the memory is mandatory upon write or read operations to or from the magnetic tape. A check is made on the consistency between the MIC mode switch read from the magnetic tape on the one hand and a result of access to the memory on the other hand. If an inconsistency is detected, that is interpreted as something fraudulent having been committed on the tape cassette. In such a case, read and write operations on the illegitimate cassette are restricted. This improves security of a tape drive system running the tape cassette.

The present invention relates to a recording medium in the form of a tape cassette containing a magnetic tape, a tape drive apparatus capable of recording and/or reproducing information to and/or from the tape cassette, and a recording and/or reproducing method for use with the tape drive apparatus.
Tape streamer drives are a well-known drive apparatus for recording and reproducing digital data to and from a magnetic tape serving as a recording medium held in a tape cassette. Depending on the tape length of the tape cassette they use, some tape streamer drives can record large quantities of data amounting to tens to hundreds of gigabytes. Their mass storage capability allows the tape streamer drives to be utilized extensively in diverse applications including the backup of data recorded illustratively on hard discs in the computer body and the storage of picture data and other massive data.
In a data storage system made up of such a tape streamer drive and a tape cassette containing a magnetic tape, management information or the like is needed for the drive to manage appropriately its recording and/or reproduction of data to and/or from the magnetic tape. The management information includes information about diverse locations on the magnetic tape as well as a use history of the tape.
A management information area is located at the beginning of the magnetic tape or at the beginning of each of the partitions formed along the tape. Before writing or reproducing data to or from the magnetic tape, the tape streamer drive gains access to the management information area to read necessary management information therefrom. Based on the management information thus retrieved, the tape streamer drive performs various processes allowing subsequent recording or reproducing operations to proceed appropriately.
At the end of the data recording or reproduction of data, the tape streamer drive again accesses the management information area to update the relevant information therein in a manner reflecting any changes resulting from the preceding recording or reproducing operation. The updates are carried out to prepare for the next recording or reproducing operation. Thereafter, the tape cassette is unloaded and ejected from the tape streamer drive.
Where recording and/or reproduction is performed on the basis of such management information, the tape streamer drive is required twice to access the management information area at the beginning of the magnetic tape or of one of its partitions: first, before the operation is started, and later, when the operation has ended, so that the relevant data should be written to and read from the area each time. In other words, the tape cassette cannot be loaded or unloaded halfway through the recording or reproducing operation along the magnetic tape.
Upon access to the management information area, the tape streamer drive is required physically to feed the magnetic tape. That means it takes some time to access the beginning of the magnetic tape or one of its partitions. In particular, if the recording or reproducing operation on the magnetic tape ends at a considerable physical distance from the management information area, it takes a correspondingly long time to feed the tape before the target area can be reached.
As described, data storage systems that utilize tape cassettes as their recording media require a relatively long access time before a single write or read operation is completed, i.e., from the time the magnetic tape was loaded until it is unloaded. It is obviously preferable to minimize the time required for such a series of access-related operations.
For that purpose, techniques have been proposed whereby a nonvolatile memory is installed within a tape cassette enclosure so that the memory may accommodate management information (refer illustratively to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 9-237474).
The tape streamer drive for use with such a memory-equipped tape cassette incorporates an interface for writing and reading management information to and from the nonvolatile memory, i.e., information about the recording and reproduction of data to and from the magnetic tape.
The above arrangement eliminates the need illustratively to rewind the magnetic tape at the time of loading or unloading of the cassette. That is, the tape cassette may be loaded or unloaded halfway through the ongoing operation along the tape.
The above-mentioned nonvolatile memory was attached to the tape cassette initially as an auxiliary memory to gain advantages such as the shortened access time. Even if such a nonvolatile memory is not utilized, however, normal-use cassette tapes still permit writing and reading of data thereto and therefrom. If the nonvolatile memory is to be employed for more specific purposes, it is possible to conceive various types of tape cassettes for special uses.
The tape cassettes for one of such special purposes are illustratively those to which data are recorded only once. Once recorded on the tape, the data can only be read and not overwritten. This tape cassette feature is called WORM (Write Once Read Many). The WORM feature is also provided to disc type recording media, such as CD-Rs and DVD-Rs.
On a WORM tape cassette, data can only be read from the data-recorded areas and no data can be written thereto. History information about the read and other operations on the tape cannot be updated in a manner causing any management information area associated with the recorded areas to reflect the past changes. Such history information can only be written to the nonvolatile memory in the tape cassette. That is, where a WORM tape cassette is subject to the recording and/or reproduction of data, it is mandatory to use the management information held in the nonvolatile memory of the cassette, and not any management information recorded on the magnetic tape.
If the presence of a nonvolatile memory in a cassette is assumed as a prerequisite, it is possible to come up with tape cassettes for various special purposes that necessitate the mandatory use of that memory. In particular, special-use tape cassettes are suited for applications that require restricting the recording or reproduction of data to or from the magnetic tape. The data to be recorded on the magnetic tape housed in such special-use tape cassettes often demand much higher security than the data to be accommodated by normal-use tape cassettes.
Illustratively, WORM tape cassettes are actually utilized most often for the recording of important data that call for secure measures to maintain their high storage value, given the premise that recorded data can only be read and neither overwritten nor erased. Hence, the high levels of security that are demanded by and offered to the data accommodated by the WORM tape cassettes.
As described, special-use tape cassettes typified by the WORM tape cassette above serve their purposes when each is furnished with a nonvolatile memory. The memory is physically placed illustratively inside the tape cassette enclosure.
That structure raises the possibility of fraud: the nonvolatile memory within a special-use tape cassette could be replaced with an illegally procured memory, whereby the WORM feature could be disabled. This tampering could lead to falsification of data recorded on the magnetic tape.
Such an eventuality requires additional suitable measures to prevent the fraud illustratively involving illegal replacement of the nonvolatile memory, before the special-use tape cassettes can be actually marketed.

Tape drive apparatus, recording and/or reproducing method, and recording medium


This invention relates to the catalytic cracking of a hydrocarbon feed. In particular, this invention relates to an apparatus and process utilizing a catalyst stripper section of a fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) reactor with chordal trays designed to provide improved stripping of hydrocarbons from spent FCC catalyst in an FCC reactor stripping zone.

Conversion of high molecular weight petroleum feeds to more valuable products is important to petroleum processes such as fluidized catalytic cracking (FCC) and coking. In the FCC process, high molecular weight feeds are contacted with fluidized catalyst particles in the riser reactor of the FCC unit. The contacting between feed and catalyst is controlled according to the type of product desired. In catalytic cracking of the feed, reactor conditions such as temperature and contact time are controlled to maximize the products desired and minimize the formation of less desirable products such as light gases and coke.
Miscellaneous FCC riser and reactor designs have been utilized. However, with the advance of zeolitic cracking catalysts with greatly improved cracking activity, most modern FCC reactors utilize a short-contact time cracking configuration in which the amount of time that the catalyst and the FCC feedstream are in contact is limited in order to minimize the amount of excessive cracking which results in the increased production of less valued products such as light hydrocarbon gases as well as increased coking deposition on the cracking catalysts. Most short-contact time FCC configurations utilize a riser cracking configuration wherein the catalyst is contacted with the FCC reactor hydrocarbon feedstock in a riser and the catalyst and the hydrocarbon reaction products are separated shortly after the catalyst and hydrocarbon mixture leaves the riser and enters the reactor. Although there are many different FCC reactor designs in use, most use mechanical cyclones internal to the reactor to separate the catalyst from the hydrocarbon reactor products as quickly and efficiently as possible. This rapid separation process has the benefits of both minimizing post-riser reactions between the catalyst and the hydrocarbons as well as providing a physical means for separating the products to be sent for further processing from the spent catalyst which is sent to a regenerator stage prior to reintroducing as regenerated catalyst back into the reaction process.
This improved catalyst technology has led to the ability for existing FCC units to improve throughput in the reactor section of existing equipment. However, this improved reaction section performance has resulted in shifting process rate bottlenecks to other existing FCC equipment which may prevent the reactor section from operating at improved or maximum rates. Non-limiting examples of equipment that are the focus of rate improvement modifications are the FCC reactor stripping section and the FCC regenerator section.
The FCC reactor stripping section, in particular, is important to maximizing the throughput of the FCC reaction/regenerator section. The FCC stripper utilizes a stripping medium, usually steam, to strip hydrocarbons from the spent FCC catalyst prior to the catalyst being sent to the FCC regenerator. In the FCC regenerator, the spent catalyst is subjected to temperatures from about 1100 to about 1400° F. (593 to 760° C.) in order to regenerate the catalyst activity by burning the residual hydrocarbons and coke deposits from the catalyst prior to sending catalyst, in its regenerated state, back to the reaction stage of the FCC process. Whatever hydrocarbons are not effectively stripped off of the catalyst in the stripping section are sent to the regenerator zone resulting in an increased combustion load on the FCC regenerator as well as having several other adverse impacts to an FCC unit. If the particular FCC process is regenerator rate limited, insufficient stripping of hydrocarbons in the FCC stripper can be a direct cause of loss in overall unit throughput.
The efficiency of the stripping section of the process is therefore very important to the overall throughput of the FCC process as well as to the efficiency and environmental performance of an FCC unit. In addition to the rate limiting aspect of improper or inefficient hydrocarbon stripping mentioned above, inefficient FCC stripping can also result in loss of product, increased emissions, increased steam usage, and related detrimental affects. Any residual hydrocarbon product that is not removed from the spent catalyst in the FCC stripper becomes lost product. If the hydrocarbon residue is not stripped prior to leaving the stripper section, it is combusted in the FCC reactor section. Besides the corresponding loss of product, this additional combustion is undesired as it increases contaminant concentrations in the regenerator flue gas and/or increases the regenerator flue gas rate resulting in increased air pollutant emissions from the FCC unit. Additionally, an inefficiently designed FCC stripping section will result in the use of an excess amount of stream in the FCC stripper and reactor. This excess steam can result in a decrease overall hydrocarbon processing capacity in the associated FCC fractionator tower as well as increasing the amount of water that must be removed from the hydrocarbon product and subsequently treated prior to disposal or reuse.
There have been apparatus designs intended to improve the catalyst/stripping gas contact in the FCC stripper. Many "disc and donut" stripper tray designs have been proposed to improve the stripping process associated with the "annular riser" FCC reactors. An FCC annular riser reactor has the riser section entering through the bottom of the reactor and rising up through the center axis of the FCC reactor. Examples of annular tray designs can be seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,531,884, and 6,248,298. In contrast with the riser configuration of the FCC axial riser design, an external riser FCC reactor configuration is designed where the main feed/catalyst riser or risers does not enter axially through the bottom of the FCC reactor, but instead is external to the FCC reactor until it enters the reactor, usually in the side of the reactor, somewhere in the upper section of the FCC reactor. An additional, somewhat hybrid design is what is termed herein and described more fully as an FCC "S" riser reactor design.
In addition to the various tray designs, packing designs have been proposed to increase the stripping efficiency of an FCC stripper. U.S. Pat. No. 5,716,585 and United States Publication Number US 2005/0205467 illustrate the use of packing configurations in an FCC stripper. While these designs may be theoretically efficient, packing in an FCC stripper service can have several significant disadvantages as compared to stripper tray or shed designs. The packing can be prone to plugging, resulting in capacity restrictions, or bypassing and channeling, which can result in poor long-term stripping efficiencies, especially when considering that an average FCC unit is designed to run from 3 to 6 years between reactor maintenance downtime cycles. In addition, grid packing can be expensive and difficult to install as compared to tray or shed designs, as well as being an obstruction to internal access of the reactor during maintenance cycles requiring removal, cleaning, and reassembly or replacement during periodic FCC reactor maintenance cycles.
Therefore, there exists in the industry a need for an improved stripper section design for an external riser FCC reactor that is simple to install and maintain, is not prone to plugging or channeling, and has improved hydrocarbon/catalyst separation efficiencies.

ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company


A multi-layer wick structure of the heat pipe, comprising a hollow heat pipe body and a weave mesh of the wick structure provided on the internal surface of the heat pipe body, wherein the weave mesh of the wick structure is subjected to at least one folding such that the periphery thereof is curled into a circle. By folding the weave mesh of the wick structure, it can be formed into a multi-layer structure. Then, after inserting the multi-layer wick structure and by the shrinking process of the heat pipe body, the wick structure can be tightly attached to the internal surface of the heat pipe body, thereby to increase the capillary force of the heat pipe and the amount of liquid to be delivered.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multi-layer wick structure of a heat pipe, and more particularly, to a wick structure of a heat pipe having multiple wick layers.
2. Description of Related Art
The heat pipe has been applied in various types of electronics products for delivering large amount of heat without consuming significant power because of the characteristics of high thermal transmission capacity, high thermal transmission speed, high thermal conduction efficiency, light weight, none mobile element, simple structure and versatile applications. The conventional heat pipe includes a wick structure attached to an interior surface of a heat-pipe body. The wick structure includes a weaving mesh that has capillary effect, such that a working fluid filled in the heat pipe can be delivered by using the capillary effect of the wick structure. Further, in order to improve the capillary force, the wick structure has been formed into multiple layers, thereby to increase the amount of the working fluid to be delivered.
As shown in FIG. 1, the weaving mesh of a wick structure 1a in a conventional heat pipe is curled into a multi-layer structure. When the curled wick structure 1a is inserted into the heat pipe body 2a, a sintering process is required to attach the curled wick structure 1a to the internal surface of the heat pipe body 2a. However, during the sintering process, since the weaving mesh of the wick structure 1a is too soft, and the tightness between the superimposed portion A of the wick structure 1a and the internal surface is insufficient, the wick structure 1a will be softened and collapsed during the high-temperature annealing process, such that the wick structure 1a cannot be completely attached to the internal surface of the heat pipe body 2a.


A movement vector detection apparatus having a binary coding section for converting an input image signal into a two-value signal, a calculation section for calculating a correlation between images by using the two-value signal output from the binary coding section, a detection section for detecting a movement vector by using correlation values calculated by the calculation section, an evaluation section for evaluating a plurality of movement vectors detected by the detection section on the basis of correlation values calculated by the calculation section, and a determination section for determining a particular movement vector from the plurality of movement vectors evaluated by the evaluation section. Also, an image processor having an input section for inputting an image signal, a memory section for storing the image signal, a separation section for separating a luminance signal from the image signal, a binary coding section for converting the luminance signal separated by the separation section into a two-value signal, an image shake detection section for detecting a shake of the input image signal by using the two-value signal output from the binary coding section, and a read section for reading an image from the memory section according to an output from the image shake detection section.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to image processors and, more particularly, to an image processor capable of correcting shaking of an image.
2. Description of the Related Art
A correlation method based on correlation calculation and a block matching method are known for use as a movement vector detection method that is necessary for an image coding apparatus or an apparatus for correcting image shaking (movement).
In a block matching method, an input image signal is divided with respect to a plurality of blocks of a suitable size (e.g., 8 pixels.times.8 lines), differences from pixels in a certain area of the preceding field (or frame) are calculated with respect to each block, and a block in the preceding field for which the sum of absolute values of the differences is at a minimum is searched for. The relative shift between the related blocks is expressed as a movement vector.
A conventional image shaking correction apparatus which detects a movement vector of an image by using the block matching method and corrects shaking of the image by using the movement vector will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a conventional image shaking correction apparatus.
A block 1 represents an A/D converter for converting an input analog image signal into a digital signal.
A block 2 represents a Y/C separation circuit for extracting only a Y (luminance) signal from the digital signal converted from the input image signal.
A block 3 represents a memory for storing the Y signal output from the Y/C separation circuit 2.
A block 4 represents a movement vector detection circuit 4 for detecting the amount of movement of a vector by comparing the Y signal of a preceding frame stored in the memory and the Y signal of the present frame output from the Y/C separation circuit 2.
A block 5 represents a memory read control circuit for determining an image portion to be read from an image stored in the memory 3 by receiving movement vector information from the movement vector detection circuit 4.
A block 6 represents a memory for storing an output signal from the A/D converter 1.
A block 7 represents an interpolation/enlargement circuit for interpolation and enlargement processing of an image signal obtained by reading a portion of the picture stored in the memory 6. Through the circuit 7, an image signal presenting an image enlarged to a predetermined picture size is output.
A block 8 represents a D/A converter for converting a digital signal into an analog signal.
In the conventional image shaking correction apparatus arranged as described above, an image signal representing a shaking image is converted into a digital signal by the A/D converter 1 and distributed to two lines.
Through one of these lines, the digital signal is sent to the Y/C separation circuit 2, and only the Y signal is extracted and input to the memory 3 and the movement vector detection circuit 4.
In the movement vector detection circuit 4, a movement vector is detected by comparing signal data of the present and preceding fields with respect to each of a plurality of blocks in accordance with the block matching method. More specifically, a correlation between the present and preceding fields is calculated with respect to each block, and a block of the preceding field at which the result of correlation calculation, i.e., a correlation value, is at a minimum is searched for. The relative shift of the block thereby found is set as a movement vector.
On the basis of the detected movement vector detected by the movement vector detection circuit 4, the memory read control circuit 5 changes addresses at which the image signal stored in the memory is read out, thereby changing the image position.
The operation of this apparatus will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 2. Certain frames of an input image, such as frames F1, F2 . . . shown in FIG. 2, are extracted. One of such frames has been translated in an entire picture on the basis of a movement vector A so that shaking of the picture is cancelled out. The position of the extracted frame is shifted by changing the read addresses.
In this case, it is necessary to enlarge the size of the image output from the memory 6, since image shaking correction is performed by extracting certain frames within the normal picture size. Therefore, the image output from the memory 6 undergoes interpolation/enlargement processing in the interpolation/enlargement circuit 7.
The image signal processed for interpolation/enlargement is converted into an analog signal by the D/A converter circuit 8 before it is output.
The conventional movement vector detection processing is performed in the above-described manner. However, it is natural that when a movement vector is detected by the movement vector detection means with respect to each block, the detected movement vector depends largely upon the image state (pattern) of blocks as processing objects.
The influence of image patterns will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 3 shows an ordinary image. FIGS. 4(a) through 4(d) are graphs of variations in correlation values depending upon image states (patterns).
It can be understood that if the above-described block matching is performed with respect to an ordinary image pattern, e.g., a portion a shown in FIG. 3, a strong correlation is exhibited at one point by correlation calculation, as shown in FIG. 4(a), and that a movement vector can be detected with high reliability in such a case.
However, if block matching is performed with respect to a portion b shown in FIG. 3 (e.g., a low-contrast pattern, such as an image of a sky or a white wall), a sufficiently strong correlation cannot be obtained by correlation calculation, as shown in FIG. 4(b), and there is a possibility that a movement vector with a large error will be detected.
Similarly, if block matching is performed with respect to a portion c shown in FIG. 3 (e.g., a reiterative pattern, such as an image of a brick wall or a wire net, consisting of congruent figures), a strong correlation is exhibited at a plurality of points by correlation calculation, as shown in FIG. 4(c), and there is a possibility that a movement vector with a large error will be detected.
Further, if block matching is performed with respect to a portion d shown in FIG. 3 (e.g., an image pattern of a roof or blind slats having a strong correlation in one direction but substantially no correlation in other directions), a strong correlation is exhibited at a plurality of points by correlation calculation, as shown in FIG. 4(d), and there is also a possibility that a movement vector with a large error will be detected.

Movement vector detection apparatus and image processor using the detection apparatus


A complex type cleaner includes: a cleaner body having at least one of a dust collecting container for storing dust or foreign materials and a water collecting container for storing contaminated water; and a suction head having a dust suction opening disposed at a lower portion of the cleaner body and sucking dust when the cleaner performs a vacuum cleaning and a suction head having a suction nozzle for sucking contaminated water when the cleaner performs a water cleaning. By implementing both vacuum cleaning function for sucking dust and water cleaning function in one cleaner, a cost can be reduced, users' convenience can be improved, and the cleaner can be conveniently kept in storage.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a complex type cleaner and, more particularly, to a complex type cleaner capable of selectively performing a vacuum cleaning and a water cleaning.
2. Description of the Background Art
In general, an up-right type vacuum cleaner includes a cleaner body disposed in a vertically standing state; a suction fan installed in the cleaner body and generating a suction force; a filter container having a filter for collecting dust or dirt sucked by the suction force generated by the suction fan; a suction head disposed at a lower side of the cleaner body and sucking dust or dirt at a floor; and a brush rotatably installed at the suction head and brushing up dust or dirt at the floor.
The up-right type vacuum cleaner generates a suction force when the suction fan is driven. Dust and foreign materials on a floor or a carpet are sucked through the suction head by virtue of the suction force, filtered by the filter and collected in the filter container.
Meanwhile, a general extractor includes a water supply container holding a cleansing solution; a pump for pumping the cleansing solution held in the water supply container; a spray nozzle for spraying the cleansing solution pumped by the pump to a cleaning portion; a suction nozzle for sucking the contaminated water and dust at the cleansing solution-sprayed cleaning portion; a water collecting container for storing contaminated water sucked through the suction nozzle; and a suction fan for generating a suction force to suck contaminated water through the suction nozzle.
In the extractor, when the pump is driven, the cleansing solution stored in the water supply container is sprayed onto the carpet or the like through the spray nozzle, a brush brushes the portion while being rotated, contaminated water is sucked through the suction nozzle and collected in the water collecting container, and air is discharged outwardly.
Thus, as for the conventional cleaner, a vacuum cleaner is needed to vacuum-clean dust and foreign materials and the extractor is needed to water-clean the carpet or the like, increasing a cost. In addition, since the two cleaners take much space, it is inconvenient to keep them in storage.

Multi-functional cleaner selectively performing vacuum cleaning and water cleaning