A method is disclosed for providing process-based security in a special purpose computer system, comprising the steps of: configuring the special purpose computer with an operating system and at least one application for operation as a computer appliance; associating a resource access table with the at least one application, addressable by the at least one application, containing statements corresponding to predetermined requests for access to at least a one specified resource during running of the at least one application wherein the resource access table statements include information defining an execution path for the at least one application; interpreting the resource access table statements upon a request for the specified resource by the at least one application, wherein at least one of the statements in the resource access table provides for performing a security check prior to granting access to the specified resource; and causing the execution of the at least one application, upon granting access to the requested resource, including the use of the requested resource according to the execution path statements in the resource access table.

Data processing systems have, as of recent, seen a large increase in the use thereof. For small users, such as home users, a typical system will run multiple programs that will allow access to various stored data files, allow the user to access resources such as disk drives, modems, faxes, etc. Access to these types of systems is typically what is referred to as "unrestricted", i.e., any one possessing the required knowledge to access a given program can access it on any unrestricted computer. However, for a larger data processing system that may contain confidential information, the user may be provided access to resources that are billed on a time-use, etc., these systems usually requiring restricted access.
In restricted access systems, a user is typically given an I.D. to the system. A system administrator can then configure a system, via a network or even a stand-alone system, to define the user's access to the system, once the user has logged in to the system. For example, in the network environment, there are a plurality of network drives, network resources such as printers, faxes and mailboxes, etc. The user has a configuration file that defines what access the user has. Upon logging in, the network will then access the configuration table and allow that user access to the given system resources. The user can then execute a program and utilize the program to access the resources through something as simple as a disk operating system (DOS). The disadvantage to this type of access is that the user now has full access to resources for any purpose, other than the purpose for which the user was given access.
As an example, a user may need access to a modem for the purpose of running database searching software. This database searching software allows the user to dial up a provider with the modem to perform predefined searching. In order for a prior restricted system to utilize the modem, the user must be granted access to a given serial port. However, the user need not run the database searching software in order to have access to the modem. This allows the user to run other programs that can gain access to the system. The disadvantages to this is that, although the database searching software may have certain restrictions that are inherent in the software itself, a user can bypass this system to utilize the modem for other purposes. This can also be the case with respect to data files, wherein a word processing program has the ability to read and write files and gain access to printers through the word processing software. However, this access must be granted in a global manner, such that the user can access the files and printers via any other means, once logged into the system.
As another example, consider a database that allows access to databases such as payroll, criminal records, etc., which a user has been given access. With current operating system security, the user can certainly go outside of a given program that is utilized with a specific database to copy, delete or even change files in the database outside of the program. As such, there exists a problem in that security for current operating systems provides that resources are allocated based on users or the groups to which the users belong. This therefore allows the user access to those resources even though the process that needs those resources is not being run. These rights will in turn allow the user to use the resource outside of its intended use.
In a general purpose computer system operating with a wide assortment of applications or processes, usually as part of a bundled package, security is based on the control of user access which allows access to all of the resources on the system whether they are needed or not. A disadvantage of this system is that it is not very secure and is prone to break-in or misuse of resources, some of which contain very sensitive information, primarily because of the unrestricted access to resources. All that is required to enter such a system is a user ID and a password. One solution, implementing process-based access to a general purpose computer system, where the access to each resource is controlled in addition to the entry of a user ID and password, would provide an additional level of access control. However, in a general purpose system running many applications with numerous resources, such a solution would be very cumbersome to implement and use as well as very inefficient in the use of system resources.

Method and apparatus for implementing process-based security in a computer system

Systems Advisory Group Enterprises, Inc.


A method (60; 70) for processing data packets allows the same hardware that is used in a traffic-forwarding path to add timestamps to the data, which allow accurate measurements to be taken. By adding this function in the forwarding equipment itself, the measurements can be taken in a true operational network, i.e., under actual usage conditions. Moreover, if multiple systems in the traffic path support this functionality, the value of the measurements is enhanced to enable end-to-end path guarantees. One exemplary embodiment (10) of the present invention uses synchronized clocks to provide timestamps for use in performance monitoring within an operational system. Synchronized clock signals can be used to accurately time stamp incoming and outgoing packets to provide performance measurement of traffic through the system under actual operating conditions.

Packet based data communications (e.g., IP traffic) is evolving from a best effort delivery system to a system for supporting applications that require a defined quality of service, at least in terms of latency and jitter. Currently, it is not possible to measure latency and jitter for actual user traffic in an operational packet forwarder, such as an IP switch or router.
Existing switches and routers do not support such measurements by injecting measurement information, such as timestamps. Test equipment vendors can provide accurate timestamps only by connecting test equipment to the interfaces under test and injecting test traffic. This requires expensive external equipment, is invasive in nature and is not an operational measurement as interfaces must be disconnected from the network and connected to the test equipment. Moreover, such a test configuration can only test the equipment under test—not a path through a network.
The present invention is therefore directed to the problem of developing a method and apparatus for enabling performance testing and measurement of individual network equipment, as well as a network path, in a true operational fashion.

Use of synchronized clocks to provide input and output time stamps for performance measurement of traffic within a communications system


According to this invention, a liquid coolant circulating system includes a cooling tank, a discharge pump, a recovery pump, a heat exchanger, a detector, and a controller. The cooling tank is filled with a liquid coolant for immersing an object to be cooled. The discharge pump is arranged on an inlet side of the cooling tank and supplies a liquid coolant to the cooling tank at a predetermined flow rate. The recovery pump is arranged on an outlet side of the cooling tank and recovers a liquid coolant from the cooling tank. The heat exchanger is arranged on an outlet side of the recovery pump and cools a heated liquid coolant to a predetermined temperature and supplies a cooled liquid coolant to the discharge pump. The detector detects a value related to a pressure in the cooling tank. The controller controls the ability of the recovery pump in response to a detection signal from the detector.

The present invention relates to an immersion cooling system and, more particularly, to a liquid coolant circulating system thereof.
FIG. 11 shows a conventional coolant circulating system. This is a system for circulating and supplying a liquid coolant to an object to be cooled such as a liquid-cooled electronic part. In FIG. 11, reference numeral 1 denotes a buffer tank for absorbing a variation in volume of a coolant 2 caused by a change in temperature; 3, a discharge pump for supplying the coolant 2 in the buffer tank 1 to an object 5 to be cooled such as an electronic part through a pipe 4; 6, a heat exchanger for cooling the coolant 2 which is heated by cooling the object 5 such as an electronic part to a predetermined temperature and returning the coolant to the buffer tank 1; and 7a, a cooling tank in which the object 5 is incorporated. Note that a constant flow rate valve for obtaining a liquid coolant having a predetermined flow rate may be arranged on the outlet side of the discharge pump 3 as needed.
An operation of the coolant circulating system will be described below. The coolant 2 in the buffer tank 1 is supplied to the cooling tank 7a by a discharge pressure of the discharge pump 3 through the pipe 4 to cool the object 5. Thereafter, the coolant 2 is cooled to a predetermined temperature by the heat exchanger 6 and returned to the buffer tank 1.
FIG. 12 shows another conventional coolant circulating system. In FIG. 12, reference numeral 7b denotes a cooling tank filled with an insulating liquid coolant 2. In the coolant circulating system with this arrangement, an object 5 to be cooled, such as an electronic part, is immersed in the insulating liquid coolant 2 and cooled by boiling the coolant 2. Although this insulating liquid coolant 2 is circulated from the buffer tank 1 to the buffer tank 1 through a pipe 4, the cooling tank 7b, and a heat exchanger 6, by the discharge pressure of a discharge pump 3, the insulating liquid coolant 2, the temperature of which rises, can be cooled to a predetermined temperature by the heat exchanger 6. Note that a cooling scheme using a nucleate boiling scheme is used as a cooling scheme in the cooling tank 7b to increase a cooling efficiency.
In the conventional liquid coolant circulating system described above, however, since only the discharge pump 3 is used as a means for circulating the coolant 2, the discharge pump 3 having a high discharge pressure must be used.
In the coolant circulating system shown in FIG. 12, a circulating system consists of only the discharge pump 3. For this reason, a so-called return pressure of a coolant path extending from the outlet of the coolant tank 7b to the buffer tank 1 through the heat exchanger 6 is charged on the coolant in the coolant tank 7b. As a result, since the boiling point of a coolant in the cooling tank 7b rises, boiling is not promoted, and a sufficient cooling effect cannot be obtained. In addition, since a pressure charged on the flow path is also increased, the withstanding pressure of the cooling tank 7a, the heat exchanger 6 and the like constituting the flow path must be excessively increased.


A perpendicular magnetic recording media is disclosed which employs inexpensive materials in the intermediate layer of the high-recording density media while exhibiting magnetic characteristics comparable or superior to those of media using Ru or Re. A perpendicular magnetic recording apparatus employing this perpendicular magnetic recording media also is disclosed. The perpendicular magnetic recording media has a nonmagnetic substrate, a soft magnetic backing layer formed on the nonmagnetic substrate, a seed layer formed on the soft magnetic backing layer, an intermediate layer formed on the seed layer, a magnetic layer formed on the intermediate layer, and a protective layer formed on the magnetic layer. The intermediate layer comprises an alloy with the hcp structure containing 55 at % or more Zn, the magnetic layer comprises an alloy with the hcp structure containing Co, and the Δθ50 value of the orientation plane (0002) of the magnetic layer is between 1.5° and 4°.

A. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to perpendicular magnetic recording media. More specifically, this invention relates to perpendicular magnetic recording media which is inexpensive and has excellent magnetic characteristics. This invention also relates to a perpendicular magnetic recording apparatus comprising such perpendicular magnetic recording media.
B. Description of the Related Art
Perpendicular magnetic recording media generally have a structure in which a substrate, backing layer, seed layer, intermediate layer, magnetic layer, and protective layer are deposited in order. Given such a structure, various research and development is being performed relating not only to the magnetic layer, but also to the intermediate layer positioned immediately below this magnetic layer, in order to improve the various characteristics desired of perpendicular magnetic recording media, such as the magnetic characteristics and the read/write characteristics.
For example, when using an alloy the principal component of which is Co as the magnetic layer, efforts are being made to use various materials in the intermediate layer in order to control the crystal orientation, crystal grain diameters, segregation structure, and similar of the magnetic layer. In representative cases, Ru or an alloy of Ru is used as the intermediate layer material, and the following technologies have been disclosed for such magnetic recording media.
In T. Oikawa, M. Nakamura, H. Uwazumi, T. Shimatsu, and H. Muraoka, members IEEE, and Y. Nakamura, fellow, IEEE: IEEE Transactions on Magnetics, Vol. 38, No. 5, September 2002, perpendicular magnetic recording media are disclosed in which a magnetic layer with SiO2 added to Co alloy (CoPtCr) is grown epitaxially on a Ru underlayer (intermediate layer).
In Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2001-283428, perpendicular magnetic recording media are disclosed in which the magnetic film comprises an alloy, the main component of which is Co, and the intermediate layer is an alloy, the main components of which are Ru and a material having a body-centered cubic structure, which comprises 60 at % or higher Ru.
Thus in the technologies disclosed in the report of T. Oikawa et al. and in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2001-283428, Ru is used in the intermediate layer positioned directly below the magnetic layer (film). Ru is an extremely expensive material, but until now there has been almost no material appropriate for use in an intermediate layer, the magnetic characteristics of which have surpassed those of Ru or a Ru alloy. Hence the manufacturing cost of intermediate-layer materials in perpendicular magnetic recording media has been high.
Re is known as a substitute material for Ru in intermediate layers, but the cost of the intermediate-layer material also remains high when Re is used, and so there has been a need to develop technology for application of inexpensive materials in intermediate layers in place of Ru and Re.
In light of these circumstances, the following has been disclosed as specific technology for formation of an intermediate layer without using Ru or Re.
Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2003-123245, corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 6,682,826, discloses magnetic recording media, employing, as an orientation control film equivalent to an intermediate layer, Ge, Cu, Ni, Au, Pd, or similar, as substitutes in addition to cases in which Ru or Re is used, and in which the difference between Δθ50 for the intermediate layer and the magnetic layer is within a specified range (from 1 to 8 degrees). Formation of crystal grain boundaries in the initial magnetic layer growth period is promoted by means of this media, and magnetic characteristics can be improved.
However, when Ru or Re is not used in the intermediate layer, if the magnetic layer thickness is reduced in order to increase the recording density, orientation of the intermediate layer and magnetic layer declines as a result, and media noise is increased. Hence there has been a need to develop magnetic recording media for high-density recording which employs inexpensive materials yet exhibits magnetic characteristics comparable to or surpassing those achieved using Ru or Re.
As described above, various perpendicular magnetic recording media have been disclosed, but there remain demands for perpendicular magnetic recording media which exhibit excellent high-density recording and other magnetic characteristics, while employing an intermediate layer formed by inexpensive means. The present invention is directed to overcoming or at least reducing the effects of one or more of the problems set forth above.

Perpendicular magnetic recording media and perpendicular magnetic recording apparatus


In a motor drive injection unit and a motor drive injection method, which can obtain an injection speed suitable for a molding material having fast solidifying speed as well as can securely carry out pressure keeping for a predetermined period of time while making a position of an injection piston unmovable after injection and filling are completed, a molding material in a cylinder is injected into a metal mold by converting a rotational motion of an electric servo motor into a reciprocating motion of an injection piston in the cylinder through a plunger with a ball screw, a surge pressure control means is provided for placing the injection piston in the cylinder in an unmovable state when at least a predetermined amount of a load is applied to the injection piston by the molding material in the cylinder, the surge pressure control means includes a combination of rotation control means of the electric servo motor and an upward movement suppression mechanism of the injection piston, and further, an injection speed of the injection piston is increased by providing a time difference between initial motions of the plunger and the injection piston.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an injection unit for making it possible to execute a high speed injection using an electric motor as well as to securely keep pressure after a metal mold is filled with a molding material, a die cast machine provided with the unit, and a motor drive injection method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, in a die cast machine for injecting a molten metal material such as aluminum and zinc into a metal mold and molding it, an injection piston is ordinarily driven by hydraulic pressure because of a reason that the injection piston can be actuated at high speed and a structure is simple, and the like. For example, in a die cast machine disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open (JP-U) No. 3-4349 (patent document 1), an injection piston is also driven using a hydraulic cylinder. However, the hydraulic cylinder is used in the die cast machine in order to prevent a situation that an apparatus is deformed or damaged since when a heating by a heater is stopped upon molding a molding material (molten material), which is expanded by cooling, the molten material in a holding furnace is solidified as well as the molten material in an injection cylinder is also solidified and expanded and an excessive force is applied to an injection piston in the injection cylinder. Accordingly, it is intended only to avoid a deformation or a damage of the apparatus but not to particularly exclude a disadvantage resulting from the use of the hydraulic cylinder.
That is, in the patent document 1, the hydraulic cylinder is disposed at a position just above the injection cylinder in the holding furnace through a frame, an attachment plate is fixedly provided at a lower end of a piston rod of the hydraulic cylinder, and a guide cylinder, in which a stepped hollow portion is formed, is fixed to a lower portion of the attachment plate, the stepped portion having a large diameter upper portion and a small diameter lower portion. An upper end flange portion of the injection piston rod is accommodated in the stepped hollow portion such that the upper end flange portion can move in the large diameter hollow portion thereof upward and downward, and a piston at the lower end of the injection piston rod is inserted into the injection cylinder such that the piston can move therein upward and downward. Further, a compression spring, which has repulsive force larger than an output of the hydraulic cylinder, is elastically interposed between the flange accommodated in the large diameter portion of the stepped hollow portion and the attachment plate. When the heating by the heater in the holding furnace is stopped on the way of molding, the molten material is solidified in the holding furnace, and the molten material in the injection cylinder is also solidified and expanded, the injection piston is moved upward against the repulsive force of the compression spring by the expansion pressure of the molten material. Since the upward movement of the injection piston at this time is buffered by the compression spring, the injection piston does not move abruptly and the apparatus is not damaged.
In contrast, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 6-835 (patent document 2), for example, discloses a transfer molding apparatus for manufacturing a molded product by injecting a thermosetting resin material into a metal mold by reciprocating an injection piston using an electric servo motor. The transfer molding apparatus is specifically configured such that a ball nut is directly coupled with a rotor of a servo motor so that it can be rotated thereby through a bearing with respect to a base member. A ball screw is threaded into the ball nut through balls. Further, the upper end of the ball screw is caused to pass through the servo motor, a spline groove is cut to the ball screw, and a spline nut unrotatably and fixedly disposed to a base member is threadingly attached to the spline groove. A plunger is coupled with the lower end of the ball screw through a load sensor. A fixed plate having a pot, in which a resin material is accommodated, is disposed below the plunger, and the lower end of the plunger is inserted into the pot so as to fit together with it and to be able to move upward and downward therein. A metal mold is disposed in confrontation with the fixed plate, and a movable plate moves to and from the metal mold.
According to the patent document 2, the rotation of the servo motor is converted into the reciprocating motion of the injection piston through the balls charged into a spiral groove without using a speed reduction mechanism. Accordingly, since a resin material can be accurately injected into the metal mold, and thrust force generated in a plunger is detected and fed back to the servo motor, no unreasonable force is applied to the resin material, no stress remains in the interior of a molded product, and no bubble is mixed with the molded product, and a resin has uniform orientation. Further, since the plunger is directly coupled with the servo motor without the speed reduction mechanism, the apparatus can be reduced in size, and the manufacturing cost thereof can be also reduced.
Incidentally, when a material having high solidifying speed is handled as particularly in die cast machines, an injection operation must be executed in a short time to prevent the material from solidifying on the way of injection, different from an ordinary synthetic resin material. For this purpose, the injecting motion of an injection piston for injecting an injection material into a metal mold must be executed as fast as possible. To obtain the high injection speed, a hydraulic drive system is employed in many cases because the injection piston can be actuated at high speed, in addition to that hydraulic drive system is simple in structure. Incidentally, when a case, in which an injection piston is directly reciprocated by an electric motor, is compared with a case, in which it is driven by hydraulic pressure, an injection time required by the former case is at least three times that required by the latter case. This is because since rotation acceleration is constant when the injection piston is driven by the electric motor different from the hydraulic drive, a considerable time is required until a desired injection speed is obtained after the electric servo motor starts rotation. As a result, conventionally, electric motors are not used to the injection drive of die cast machines and are only employed in special molding machines such as transfer molding machines for a synthetic resin material having a relatively slow solidifying speed as disclosed in the patent document 2.
In contrast, in the hydraulic drive system, although a required injection speed can be obtained promptly as described above, drive force cannot be accurately transmitted in many cases due to a change of viscosity of oil caused by a change of temperature thereof when, for example, an injection piston is driven, and further a working environment may be deteriorated by the oil. To cope with the above problems, it is strongly desired to drive an injection piston by an electric motor even in die cast machines. This is because the electric motor can actuate the injection piston promptly by securely transmitting the drive force thereof to the injection piston, and, at the same time, can accurately control the stroke of the injection piston, and can easily obtain an excellent working environment.

Motor drive injection unit, die cast machine having the unit, and motor drive injection method


Records stored in a database are reset on an as-accessed basis. A record in the database to receive new data is identified when new data arrives to be incorporated with existing data in a given field. A next reset date stored in the record is read and compared with the current date. If the current date is later than the next reset date, the existing data in the field is replaced with a predetermined default value prior to incorporating or incrementing the new data in the field. Additionally, another next reset date is calculated and substituted for the previous next reset date in the record.

This invention generally addresses the updating of records stored in a database and more specifically, addresses databases which contain records which must be periodically updated such as by resetting or clearing fields in a record.
A number of applications exist in which a database stores a plurality of records which require periodic updating. For example, a database in a telecommunication system may keep a record for each of its subscribers. The record may include a data field which functions as a counter that keeps a cumulative count of the approximate usage (in time or dollar value) by the subscriber over a time interval such as a billing period. Such records are updated on a periodic basis in order to reset the counter values to zero or to a predetermined default value at the beginning of an interval.
In one known approach for periodically resetting the records, a batch program is executed which searches all records to determine if periodic updating of the record is needed. Such processing consumes substantial computational resources in the searching, determining if an update is required, and the updating of each record at the beginning of every possible time interval. This technique also limits the accuracy of the records in that the updating of the records is limited to the frequency at which the batch program is executed and is incapable of performing the update at the exact time desired for each record.
Other applications also rely on databases which maintain records with cumulative counters to track corresponding events. For example, a tollway system may desire to maintain a running total of the tolls received from motorists. Desirably, the records are updated or reset, in this case to zero, on a periodic basis such as every 24 hours or every week in order to maintain statistics relating to the amount of tolls collected. This information can be utilized in a variety of ways including theft prevention and revenue forecasting.
The above-noted disadvantages associated with record updates by batch programs are exacerbated as the frequency of updates increases and as the number of records in the database increases. For a database, especially one containing a large number of records, these disadvantages give rise to a need for an improved technique for updating such records.


A system for continuous asset verification for at least one piece of well equipment using at least one radio frequency identification tag comprising: at least one radio frequency identification tag for removably attaching to at least one piece of well equipment; a first processor for storing information about the well equipment and for communicating the information to the radio frequency identification tag; a transportable data storage device for receiving and storing from the first processor the information; a controller comprising a second processor adapted to engage with the transportable data storage device, thereby forming a smart controller, wherein the smart controller is adapted for scanning for radio frequency identification tag at least one predefined interval to detect the information; a third processor for communicating with the transportable data storage device and storing the information.

A need exists for a system useable for verifying the safe transport of well equipment to a site that can detect changes in the contents of a shipment, deviations from a trip plan, movement of an item from beyond an electronic planned route, or "picket fence," and can reduce potential tampering of equipment, loss or destruction of equipment, and theft.
A further need exists for a system for verifying the safe storage of well equipment with an ability to detect loss or theft of one or more items using regular scanning or reading of radio frequency identification tags on well equipment.
A need exists for a system useable for continuous and automated asset verification, allowing items to be tracked at predefined intervals or continuously throughout transport and providing a report to at least one user during or at the completion of the transport.
A need exists for a system for continuous asset verification that utilizes a smart controller, able to quickly and efficiently verify and match information encoded into a removable data storage device.
The present embodiments meet these needs.
The present embodiments are detailed below with reference to the listed Figures.

System for continuous asset verification


A running survival pack system that may be used for hiking, trail-running, backpacking, biking, hunting, fishing, or other indoor or outdoor activities is disclosed. The running survival pack has a plurality of storage chambers that are worn over the user's shoulders and secured to the user with a plurality of attachments. Each chamber has an access that allows the user to store and remove items. On the back of the running survival pack, there is a hydration sack that may hold a fluid container. The fluid container may have an opening that allows for a tube to be connected to it. The user may drink the contents of the fluid container via the tube.

Running requires long, vigorous runs, usually on trails, footpaths, hills, mountains and valleys. This running of long distances requires a lot of sustained energy. Consequently, runners typically try to improve their efficiency by implementing techniques to travel faster and farther, conserve energy and reduce fatigue. Runners use techniques that result in a reduction and elimination of resistance to motion, an increase in stride to increase speed and endurance, an improvement in breathing for increased speed and alertness, and a reduction and elimination of energy wasting motion. Runners further improve their performance by reducing and eliminating resistance to efficient fluid motion in their clothing, footwear, packs and gear that resist efficient fluid motion or generate discomfort.
Weight reduction is another method runners use to increase their performance. To carry their affairs, runners typically use vest-packs and backpacks. Typically, a backpack is a storage container located on the back of an individual supported by shoulder straps. Water is typically the heaviest item hikers have to carry. Hikers often use hydration packs to carry water. A hydration pack is a fluid-carrying device used to carry water, a sports drink, coffee, or another consumable fluid during walking, backpacking, bicycling, hiking, trail-running, jogging, or other athletic activities. A hydration pack typically includes a bladder or other fluid reservoir that is attached to the associated person by open pockets, stored within or outside the backpack or attached by other means. A fluid delivery tube can be utilized extending from the fluid reservoir, such as a fluid bladder, fluid container, or so forth, and at the distal end includes a bite valve or other mechanism to selectively allow the person to drink. In some hydration packs, the bite valve or other delivery mechanism is readily accessed while performing rigorous activity. A typical hydration pack employs an elongated fluid reservoir positioned in a backpack substantially centered, on the spine of the back, with the fluid delivery tube connected at the bottom of the fluid reservoir. Such an arrangement promotes efficient and complete delivery of all fluid in the backpack, and also keeps weight centered on the spinal column. However, existing hydration packs are problematic in that they have a tendency to shift about during rigorous activity, which can tend to unbalance the wearer or in extreme cases cause a fall or other accident. In addition, many hydration packs do not allow for the efficient storage of other items that a hiker may wish to carry. Furthermore, many hydration packs stored within a backpack make it difficult to refill the hydration pack.
Further, existing running packs in which storage is provided in the straps tend to result in bulky straps located at inconvenient locations on a user's chest and shoulders such that loads contained therein are unbalanced and not centered on a user's body. Fluids located on or in shoulder straps create an unbalanced load when drinking from one side or the other side but not drinking from both. This is significant, because fluid is typically the heaviest item in such packs. Further, such packs tend to be long for carrying large capacity fluid packs, and space for sufficient gear, resulting in fluid packs extending to the hips of a wearer. Such packs are deep and wide causing side to side thrusting energy waste. Backpacks having a length down to a persons hips or longer eliminates their natural pace speed. Hip belts unless tightened below the navel limit natural breathing performance. Carrying a load of less than twenty pounds doesn't require a hip belt to transfer a portion of the load to the hips. Hip belts may include thrusted energy wasting side storage. Eliminating the hip belt for under 20 pound loads permits proper breathing and side storage if provided wastes energy due to side to side thrusting. Shoulder straps located too close to shoulder ends will cause lifting of the backpack wasting energy. Backpacks occupy the majority of a persons' rear torso surface area generating perspiration and related energy consuming fatigue during the major seasonal period for outdoor sports.
Vest-packs utilize a water bladder in the rear or water bottles of low capacity located in the front of the vest-pack. Bladders reduce the available storage capacity, are heavy compared to a typical water bottle, require hygienic maintenance, add a distinct taste to the fluid stored and are wide causing side to side thrusting of the vest-pack. Water bottles stored in front of a vest-pack normally have limited capacity and cause side to side thrusting wasting energy. Vest packs are usually long in front into the abdominal area that can cause reduced breathing when tied too tight and are dangerous having two release clips limiting quick removal of the vest-pack in an emergency. Rear storage of a vest-pack is usually small but occupies sufficient surface area to cause perspiration and related energy consuming fatigue during the major seasonal period for outdoor sports.
Therefore, there is a need for a more efficient, lighter, and wearable running pack for carrying fluid and items for trail-running, hiking, and biking, which eliminates the many bio-mechanical inefficiencies discussed herein.


A device for facilitating creation of foxholes, and method for making the same, include a tool with a bucket auger having a hollow elongated body with openings along its length. Cutting blades are formed or attached at a distal end of the body and a connection means is formed or attached at proximal end of the body. A quick release connection for attachment of a handle used or extensions used for rotating the auger in the ground is provided. The method of making the auger includes the forming of the body out of a minimum number of pieces of material and forming the blades and the body with smooth and generally seamless connections. The method facilitates economical and mass production of the augers in a light weight but strong and durable form.

A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to creating fox holes in the ground, and in particular, to a device for digging a small diameter hole several feet into soil or ground into which can be placed an explosive charge that when detonated, creates a foxhole. The device is versatile and durable for most uses, but is light weight, quickly and easily assembled, portable and manually operated for making the relatively small diameter bores into the ground. The invention also relates to methods of making such a device.
B. Problems in the Art
Foxholes, for military purposes, offer soldiers some protection from enemy fire. Historically and conventionally, the foxholes are created by soldiers using shovels to manually dig in the ground. To create a hole big enough for one or more soldiers is laborious and time consuming. The need for a quicker and easier way to produce foxholes has long existed.
The use of explosives was developed as an alternative. Explosives can quickly and without any human labor, create a substantial hole in the ground. The primary problem is that for best results, the explosive charge needs to initially be several feet beneath the surface of the ground. The state of the art to accomplish the placement of the explosives was to use mechanically powered machines to drill or bore a relatively small diameter wide hole several feet deep in the ground. The explosive is then placed in the bottom of the bore and detonated to create the foxhole.
The primary problem with such a system is that it requires utilization of the machine. Some of the machines are carried on and/or attached to automotive vehicles. Other machines may be separable from vehicle but are not portable in the sense that they can easily be carried by the foot soldier for substantial distances, and are not compact and light weight. Therefore, while the use of explosives represented an improvement over manually digging the foxhole, it still had certain disadvantages.
The concept was then developed of a portable manually operated soil digging device to create the bore for the explosive. Although this general concept exists, there is presently not known any satisfactory tool which can satisfy the need for a lightweight, high strength, compact and portable tool with quick assembly and disassembly, which is effective for many soil conditions. There is also not known any device which can be economically and efficiently manufactured.
Bucket augers used in soil sampling applications can bore small-diameter holes in the ground. They are generally fairly heavy for strength reasons and made from multiple parts which does not lend them to efficient and economical mass production. Their prime function is to grab and retain a sample of soil for examination.
Hand-operated bucket augers are known in the art and have been used for a number of years for obtaining soil samples from below ground surface. The basic form of a bucket auger is an elongated cylindrical member having a hollow interior. The distal or outer end includes cutting blades or teeth for not only cutting into the soil, but also breaking it up. As the bucket auger is worked downwardly in the soil, the hollow body receives the soil which has been cut and loosened. The cutting blades and the re-compaction of the soil in the bucket auger body allows the tool to be withdrawn with the soil intact. Normally either openings exist along the sides of the body or removable covers exist to allow soil inside the hollow body to be removed. The bucket auger is then reinserted into the bore and digging continues to a desired depth. For relatively deep bores, handle extensions can be utilized. The basic operation of the bucket auger is to utilize a handle to advance the body manually by exerting downward and rotary force to produce a cutting and screwing action into the soil to create the bore. The cutting blades, are configured to work on the principle of a rotating inclined plane.
Generally the use of bucket augers is to bore a hole to a certain depth to then extract a soil sample for analyzation. To accomplish this, either the bucket auger is used, which retains the soil in generally the same vertical sequence as it existed in the soil or since the bucket auger disturbs the soil, other times more specialized soil sampling tools are utilized to obtain the soil sample.
Bucket augers are used in many environments and soil conditions. Therefore, they tend to need to be made of very strong and durable materials. For example, such materials need to resist breakage if used in very hard soil or rocky soil. Moreover, because substantial stress and force are exerted on the bucket auger, and every connection to the handle which is used to rotate the auger in the soil, all those parts also need to be made of strong durable materials. Conventionally, bucket augers tend to be made of a number of different pieces which are connected to one another. There also tends to be substantial discontinuities in the surfaces, such as weld lines, square edges, etc., which impede smooth movement of the auger through the soil or soil into the auger. Bucket augers are not effective, however, in dry or fluid sands or in soil that includes stones that are substantial in size compared to the diameter of the bucket auger.
Therefore, most bucket augers are relatively heavy because of these needs. Also, the joints and connections between the bucket auger and any extensions and handle are generally made to be very strong, further adding to the weight. This also usually adds to the complexity and time needed to assemble and disassemble the tool.
Furthermore, because such specialized ground working tools have these needs, they are generally fairly laborious to make and involve a significant amount of expense and time to manufacture from the standpoint of materials used, labor to shape, form and assemble parts, and other manufacturing steps.
Still further, the nature of these conventional bucket auger tools does not lend themselves to easy and portable transport and quick and easy setup and disassembly.
The problems faced by soldiers is that conditions surrounding the soldier, for example in warfare, are not ideal. If the soldier is under fire, time is particularly of the essence to create the bore in the soil and then to detonate the explosive to create the foxhole. If in nighttime, it is particularly critical to allow easy and quick assembly of the tool, even with minimal vision capabilities.
There is therefore a real need in the art for a device which improves over the problems and deficiencies in the art. It is therefore a principle object of the present invention to provide a device for facilitating the creation of foxholes with explosives and method for making the same which represents an improvement in the art.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a device as above described and method of making the same which is easy to mass produce.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a device as above described and method of making the same which can be made to be light but of substantial strength.
A still further object of the present invention is to a provide a device as above described and method of making the same which is economical to manufacture.
Still further object of the present invention is to provide a device as above described and method of making the same which can be made with efficient use of materials.
Still further object of the present invention is to provide a device as above described and method of making the same which is better adaptable for portable and compact transport and easy and quick set up and disassembly in less than ideal environmental conditions without the need or requirement of additional devices or tools.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a device as above described and method of making the same which allows for easy portable transport and then quick and easy boring of a relatively small diameter hole up to several feet in the ground.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a device as above described and method of making the same which is strong, durable, and economical.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a device as above described and method of making the same which produces a ground working body which has a minimum number of seams or surface discontinuities.
These and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent with reference to the accompanying specification and claims.

Device to facilitate creating foxholes with explosives and method of making the same


The invention relates to a single-phase induction motor comprising a main winding, an auxiliary winding which is arranged so that an electrical angle of the auxiliary winding is different from that of the main winding, a plurality of driving capacitors which are connected to the auxiliary winding, a relay for controlling on/off of the driving capacitor in response to the driving load, and a rotor having apertures on the gap side of the slots. The invention further relates to a rotor assembling apparatus comprising a bush to which a rotor core assembly is inserted for die-casting, wherein a clearance between said bush and said rotor core assembly is narrower to the extent that said rotor core assembly can be taken out after die casting; and a core band having a clearance between the core band and the bush in the circumferential direction of said bush, said core band is engaged into said bush so that movement in the axis direction is restricted. The present invention can prevent a generation of the electromagnetic noise even during a high-load and high torque operation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a single-phase induction motor in a hermetic compressor used in a refrigerator or an air conditioner.
2. Description of the Prior Art
FIG. 11 is a cross sectional view of a rotor 9 of a conventional single-phase induction motor disclosed in the Japanese Laid-open Utility Model publication No. 58-172015. In FIG. 11, the rotor 9 comprises a circumference 9a of the rotor 9, slot portions 12 filled with die-cast aluminum, which constitutes a closed space in the rotor 9, teeth 13 between each slot portion 12, and bridges 14 for connecting each tooth 13 on the rotor circumference 9a side, respectively.
FIG. 12 is a cross sectional view of a rotor 9 of a conventional single-phase induction motor disclosed in the Japanese Laid-open Patent No. 60-39352. In FIG. 12, the rotor 9 comprises a circumference 9a of the rotor 9, slot opening portions 12a, and teeth 13, respectively.
In the rotor 9 in FIG. 11, the slot portion 12 constitutes a closed space in the rotor 9. The inside of the closed space is filled with the die-cast aluminum. Since the shape of the slot portion 12 is closed, it is generally referred to as a closed slot. In other words, the bridges 14 are laid between the rotor circumference 9a and the respective slot portions 12 to connect each tooth 13. The efficiency of a motor is improved, if the width of the bridge 14 is made narrower. However, a narrower bridge 14 tends to generate magnetic saturation and causes electromagnetic noise. A large electromagnetic noise is generated particularly during a high-torque operation when a capacitance of a driving capacitor is large.
The rotor 9 in FIG. 12 shows an example of open slots, having slot apertures 12a instead of the bridges 14 connecting each tooth 13 between the slot portion 12 and the rotor circumference 9a. However, the rotor circumferences 9a have to be cut off or buffed up after die-casting process which is carried out after a core laminating process, because aluminum spouts out of the slot aperture 12a toward the circumference during the aluminum die-casting process.
A conventional single-phase induction motor constructed in the above-mentioned way has following problems.
(1) The rotor 9 having closed slots tends to generate magnetic saturation due to narrow bridges 14 during a high torque operation when a capacitance of a driving capacitor is large, and generates a electromagnetic noise which makes a large noise during operation. PA1 (2) The rotor 9 having open slots needs cutting-off or buffing-up of the rotor circumference 9a after die-casting, because aluminum spouts out of the slot apertures 12a toward the circumference during the aluminum die-casting process.
It is an object of the present invention is to provide a single-phase induction motor which can suppress the generation of electromagnetic noise even during a high torque operation when a capacitance of a driving capacitor is large.
It is another object of the invention is to provide a rotor assembling apparatus which eliminates the need of cutting-off or buffing-up the surface of the rotor circumference after die-casting if a rotor having open slots is used, by preventing aluminum from spouting out of the slot apertures during the aluminum die-casting.

Single-phase induction motor and rotor assembling apparatus


A lubricant pump of the gerotor type is mounted concentrically over the output shaft of the leading axle in a tandem drive axle arrangement having in inter-axle power dividing differential. The outer rotor of the pump is connected by an annular drive band to the differential carrier to assure full time pump operation. Passages are provided for flow through an externally mounted filter.

The present invention relates to drive axles and particularly drive axles arranged in tandem to receive power from a common power input or propeller shaft, and with a power divider for providing shared power from the propeller shaft to the tandem drive axles. In particular, the invention relates to tandem drive axles operating from a common propeller shaft and employing a power divider comprising an in inter-axle differential. Tandem drive axles having an inter-axle differential are widely used in heavy duty trucks for on- and off-road service. Furthermore, it is known to employ an inter-axle differential in tandem drive axles with a shiftable mechanism for locking the inter-axle differential to provide positive drive to the leading and trailing tandem axles.
In such drive axles it is common to have a supply of lubricant in the housing and to provide positive lubricant pressure to the input and output shaft journals and the inter-axle differential which are disposed above the level of lubricant in the housing.
Heretofore, a gear driven lubricant has been employed which has been driven through an idler gear from the input shaft and which directed a spray to the inter-axle differential.
Thus it has been desired to provide a low-cost and convenient way to incorporate a lubricant pump for providing positive flow of lubricant to the input and output shaft journals in the driving axles.


A control device (7) of a cylinder direct injection type internal combustion engine (1) controls a fuel injection device (4) and an ignition device (5), executes injection of the fuel and ignition over multiple times, and executes a control of varying an interval between a timing of the injection of the fuel and a timing of the ignition, at the time of an ignition start in which the fuel is injected into a combustion chamber (3) in an expansion stroke with rotation of an output shaft (6) is stopped state and the fuel is ignited to start the rotation of the output shaft (6). The control device (7) varies the interval between the timing of the injection of the fuel and the timing of the ignition by adjusting a correlation of a pitch of the injection of the fuel over multiple times and a pitch of the ignition over multiple times. Therefore, the internal combustion engine (1) and the control device (7) have an effect of being able to enhance the starting property.

As a control device of a conventional internal combustion engine mounted on a vehicle, patent literature 1 describes, for example, a starting device of the internal combustion engine that can start the internal combustion engine by igniting fuel supplied to a cylinder in an expansion stroke. The starting device of the internal combustion engine predicts an operation state of a crank of when ignition is carried out on the cylinder in the expansion stroke while a starter is not operating, and determines whether or not to operate the starter based on the predicted operation state of the crank. If determined that a piston of a cylinder following the cylinder in the expansion stroke does not exceed a compression top dead center with only an initial explosion, for example, the starting device of the internal combustion engine starts a starter motor after the crank is operated by the initial explosion.

Internal combustion engine and control device of internal combustion engine


A data processing system includes a microprocessor, memory, and an instruction substitution filter. The microprocessor has separate data and instruction caches. The filter includes configuration memory that occupies memory mapped I/O space. Configuration data indicating instruction types to be deimplemented is entered into the filter during a boot sequence. Once configured, the filter substitutes call instructions for the deimplemented instructions. When executed, the call instructions activate a substitution routine that determines the address of the deimplemented instruction and then performs a data read of the unfiltered deimplemented instructions and then implements the function that the deimplemented function was intended to implement (but, due to microprocessor defects, does not). Accordingly, the present invention allows a microprocessor with defectively implemented instructions to be used as intended with minimal performance penalties.

The present invention relates to microprocessor systems and, more particularly, to a system and method for preventing execution of selected implemented instructions on a microprocessor. A major objective of the present invention is to provide for effective utilization of a defectively designed microprocessor.
More of modern progress is associated with advances in computer performance. Recent computers typically use one or more microprocessors to execute desired operations. Each microprocessor design is characterized by the set of "implemented" instructions it can recognize and execute. The instructions have a respective instruction format.
In many cases, the format can provide for "unimplemented" instructions that the microprocessor is not designed to execute. These unimplemented instructions are of two types: 1) defined but omitted; and 2) undefined (or "reserved"). Many processors are members of processor families that can include more and less sophisticated versions; some instructions that are implemented (and thus defined) on the more sophisticated versions are omitted on the less sophisticated versions. For example, floating-point instructions are defined but omitted on versions of microprocessors with nonfunctional or omitted floating-point units (Intel 486SX, Motorola 68LC040). "Undefined" instructions are not defined for any processor, but remain "reserved" for processors yet to be designed.
Microprocessors typically include some means for handling unimplemented instructions. For example, upon detection of an unimplemented instruction in a running application program, a microprocessor can access a software exception handler. The handler can retrieve the unimplemented instruction from memory and determine a suitable course of action. (For example, a floating-point operation can be executed in software if the microprocessor does not have a floating-point unit.) The exception handler can also store as much of the microprocessor's state as necessary for proper restoration before the interrupted application program resumes.
Because they are so widely used in critical as well as non-critical applications, microprocessor designs are extensively tested. However, as integrated circuit density has grown exponentially, so has the number of implemented logic functions. Design testing, using both simulation and prototypes, has also developed to permit more sophisticated confirmation of logic designs. However, the ability to implement functions in an integrated circuit is expanding faster than the ability to test the designs. Accordingly, it has become inevitable that a popular microprocessor would appear with a significant logic design error.
The inevitable became the actual in 1994 when a user identified a design defect in the Pentium processor from Intel Corporation. In some cases, a floating-point divide instruction yielded an erroneous result. As more complex processors are designed, such logic design defects can be expected to recur. Given that they are inevitable, the challenge becomes how to handle them once they are discovered.
Intel tried several approaches to addressing the Pentium defect. The first approach was to keep the defect secret while they worked on a redesign. While economical from a manufacturer's standpoint, this approach has proved unpopular with users that had to discard months of work due to uncertainties that arose once the defect was disclosed. The second approach was to offer a limited exchange only for those users who could demonstrate that the defect would affect them. This limited exchange approach was also unpopular because it placed a burden of proof on users, and threatened to leave other good faith purchasers to rely on a processor known to be defective.
A more popular approach was an open exchange of a defective processor with a corrected version of the processor. However, this is potentially a very costly solution as two processors are shipped for the price of one. The economics of the exchange can be much worse where the updated processor turns out to have subsequently discovered defects that require a further exchange.
There are also software-based solutions. For example, a software monitor program can examine an instruction stream in real time to detect for problematic instructions. This software approach is problematic because the instructions of the monitor must be executed for each program instruction, exacting a substantial performance penalty even for programs that do not use the problematic instructions. In addition, there is a significant potential for incompatibility with available software.
The performance penalty could be eliminated largely by recompiling programs to eliminate the offending instruction. The recompiling could be done "off-line". Intel provided such a solution involving multiplying dividends and divisors by 15/16. The software manufacturers would have to recompile commercial programs, but then there is the cost and difficulty of reaching the consumers with the recompiled program. Moreover, a performance penalty would be suffered (relative to the unrecompiled program) when the processor was upgraded or the program transferred to another computer system with a different but related processor.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/390,195 discloses a microprocessor with an instruction trap that can be configured to deimplement instructions. The built-in hardware trap imposes minimal performance penalties. However, this approach requires that the microprocessor be designed with provisions for instruction deimplementation. The trap approach is not well suited as a "retrofit", especially where the microprocessor has a built in cache or a closely coupled external cache.
What is needed is a better approach to dealing with logic design defects in installed microprocessors that do not provide for instruction deimplementation internally. This approach should preserve user expectations for the processor as well as the financial expectations of the manufacturer and distributors. Recompiling should not be required; performance penalties and software incompatibility should be minimized.

Data processor system with instruction substitution filter for deimplementing instructions


Provided is a fuel cell catalyst layer which has a catalytic performance equivalent to or higher than fuel cell catalyst layers containing platinum alone and which is inexpensive. The fuel cell catalyst layer of the present invention includes a metal oxycarbonitride-containing layer (I) and a platinum-containing layer (II). It is preferable that the mass ratio per unit area of the metal oxycarbonitride in the layer (I) to platinum in the layer (II) (metal oxycarbonitride/platinum) is 2 to 500. It is preferable that the mass per unit area of platinum in the layer (II) is 0.005 to 0.2 mg/cm2.

Fuel cells are classified into several types according to types of electrolytes or electrodes. Typical types are alkaline types, phosphoric acid types, molten carbonate types, solid electrolyte types and polymer electrolyte types. Of these, polymer electrolyte fuel cells that can operate at temperatures ranging from low temperatures (about −40° C.) to about 120° C. have been attracting attention and have been recently developed and practically used as power sources for low pollution automobiles.
The polymer electrolyte fuel cells are expected to be used as automobile drive sources or stationary power sources. The use in these applications requires long-term durability.
The polymer electrolyte fuel cell has a structure in which a solid polymer electrolyte is sandwiched between an anode and a cathode, and a fuel is fed to the anode, and oxygen or air is supplied to the cathode, whereby oxygen is reduced at the cathode to produce electricity. The fuel is primarily hydrogen, methanol or the like.
Conventionally, to increase the reaction rate in fuel cells and enhance the energy conversion efficiency of fuel cells, a layer containing a catalyst (hereinafter, also referred to as a "fuel cell catalyst layer") is formed on the surface of a cathode (an air electrode) or an anode (a fuel electrode) of fuel cells.
As this catalyst, noble metals are generally used. Of noble metals, platinum has been primarily used, which is stable at high potential and has high activity. However, since platinum is expensive and exists in a limited amount, the development of alternative fuel cell catalysts has been desired.
As a catalyst alternative to platinum, materials containing nonmetals such as carbon, nitrogen and boron have been recently attracting attention. The materials containing these nonmetals are more inexpensive and are abundant compared with noble metals such as platinum.
Non-Patent Document 1 reports that zirconium-based ZrOxN compounds show oxygen reducing activity.
Patent Document 1 discloses, as platinum-alternative materials, oxygen-reducing electrode materials containing a nitride of one or more elements selected from Groups 4, 5 and 14 in the long periodic table.
However, the materials containing these nonmetals do not provide sufficient oxygen reducing activity for practical use as catalysts.
Patent Document 2 studies the possibility of using oxides having a perovskite structure containing two or more kinds of metals as platinum-alternative catalysts. However, as shown in its examples, the performance of the oxide does not exceed the performance of a carrier supplementing platinum, and thus sufficient activity is not achieved.

Fuel cell catalyst layer and uses thereof


A composter capable of being formed from a number of moulded components which allows top filling and bottom removal of materials to be composted and composted materials respectively. A feature of the invention is the provision in major components of a ledge or the like form which supports the material to be composted at a variety of different heights in the assembly and which allows the serial cascading down of the materials as more material is loaded and/or as the material composts. Provision is made for closing the top and bottom of the component assembly. The major components are preferably rotationally moulded in a suitable plastics material and the arrangement is such that a full set of components are preferably compactable into a nested form.

A typical garden composter or compost bin comprises a receptacle into which food scraps, grass clippings and the like are placed to enable the composting cycle to take place. A problem with such constructions is that in general the older material is at the bottom of the composter and therefore cannot be used until at least a substantial amount of the material in the compost bin is ready for use. There exists a need therefore for a composter which will enable the older material to be removed before newer material.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a composter which will go at least some distance to meeting the foregoing requirement or which will at least provide the public with a useful choice.


Methods and associated structures of forming microelectronic devices are described. Those methods may include forming a magnetic material on a substrate, wherein the magnetic material comprises rhenium, cobalt, iron and phosphorus, and annealing the magnetic material at a temperature below about 330 degrees Celsius, wherein the coercivity of the annealed magnetic material is below about 1 Oersted.

Magnetic materials may be used to fabricate microelectronic devices, such as inductor and transformer devices. Inductors and transformer structures may be used in microelectronic circuits such as voltage converters, on-chip and on-package voltage converters, RF high-frequency circuits, radar applications and EMI noise reduction circuits. To obtain the maximum inductance when operating at high frequencies, for example, magnetic flux loss should be minimized.

Forming electroplated inductor structures for integrated circuits


Friction plug welding methods and systems plug a hole extending through a component part from front and back faces thereof. A sacrificial plate having an opening therethrough may be positioned against the back face of the component part with assistance from a restraint part (which is also preferably provided with a space of sufficient dept to receive a terminal end of the male plug) so that the opening is coaxially aligned with the hole to be plugged. Upon advancing a male plug of a plug rod into the hole under friction plug welding conditions, a friction weld region will therefore be formed between the male plug and defining surfaces of both the hole extending through the component part and the opening extending through the sacrificial plate. The plug rod may include an annular shoulder flange which defines a plane parallel to the front face of the component part so that flash flow from the friction welding will be displaced laterally of the hole. The male plug may be frustroconically shaped. An annular arcuate surface may also be provided which joins the male plug to the shoulder flange.

Friction plug welding is a well known technique whereby through holes in component parts (especially metal parts) may be filled with a similar material so as to retain substantially the mechanical characteristics of the part. For example, in U.S. Patent Application Publication 2006/0131364 published on Jun. 22, 2006 (the entire content of which is expressly incorporated hereinto by reference), a friction plug welding technique is disclosed which employs a restraint part which defines a blind cavity axially aligned with the hole to be plugged so as to receive a terminal end of the male plug during the welding operation. The bottom surface of the cavity serves as a limit stop for the maleF plug and receives a flash flow of weld mix material exiting the hole at the back face of the component part that is generated during welding. Excessive flash flow may also be generated at the front face of the component part. Such flash flow can be undesirable as it may lead to annular weld defects at the front and back faces of the component part.
It would therefore be desirable if friction plug welding techniques could be provided which minimize (if not eliminate entirely) such annular weld defects. It is towards providing such solutions that the present invention is directed.
A friction plug welding methods and systems are provided so as to plug a hole extending through a component part from front and back faces thereof. In some embodiments a sacrificial plate having an opening therethrough will be positioned against the back face of the component part so that the opening is coaxially aligned with the hole to be plugged. Upon advancing a male plug of a plug rod into the hole under friction plug welding conditions, a friction weld region will therefore be formed between the male plug and defining surfaces of both the hole extending through the component part and the opening extending through the sacrificial plate.
In certain advantageous embodiments, a plug rod is provided with an annular shoulder flange which defines a plane parallel to the front face of the component part. Thus, advancement of the male plug of the plug rod into the hole will cause the annular shoulder flange to be adjacent to a corresponding region of the front face surrounding the hole. As such, flash flow from the friction welding will be displaced laterally of the hole. The male plug is preferably tapered, that is having a frustroconical shape. An annular arcuate surface may also be provided which joins the male plug to the shoulder flange.
According to some embodiments, the sacrificial plate will be positioned against the back face of the component part with a restraint part. The restraint part may be provided with a recessed region which is open adjacent to the back face of the component part and which is sized and configured to receive the sacrificial plate therein. The restraint part may also be provided with a space (e.g., a through hole or recessed cavity) of sufficient depth for receiving a terminal end portion of the male plug therein during the friction plug welding.
It is usually preferred that the male plug and the sacrificial plate are each formed of the same or a compatibly similar material as that of the component part.
Following a friction plug welding operation, the plug rod and the sacrificial plate may be removed from the component part along respective planes coincident with the front and back faces thereof. When removed, therefore, a segment of the male plug will be positioned as a plug within the hole and is welded to the component part. A new hole may thus be formed through the remaining segment of the male plug.
These and other aspects and advantages will become more apparent after careful consideration is given to the following detailed description of the preferred exemplary embodiments thereof.

Embraer-Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica S.A.


A bus bar includes a bus bar body and a spacer provided on the bus bar body, the spacer being an insulator. The bus bar body includes a through hole portion that allows a part of a fixing member for fixing the bus bar body to be inserted therethrough. The spacer includes a head portion and a body portion extending therefrom. When the spacer is provided on the bus bar body, the head portion covers at least part of a peripheral edge region of an end opening of the through hole and the body portion covers an inner peripheral surface of the through hole portion. An outer peripheral surface of the body portion of the spacer is fixedly adhered to the inner peripheral surface of the through hole portion so that resistance occurs when the spacer moves toward the head portion side relative to the bus bar body.

The present invention generally relates to a bus bar and an electronic device including the bus bar.
Conventionally, in hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles and the like, electronic devices such as, for example, DC-DC converter units are used. Such electronic devices (in particular, for example, power supply units including a power supply circuit) include a bus bar that conducts electric power. Since a large current flows in the bus bar, the bus bar generates a large amount of heat and emits heat. The bus bar is attached to, for example, the inside of a chassis of the electronic device.
As techniques relating to bus bars, for example, the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2011-114193 is known. According to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2011-114193, in a bus bar assembly including a first bus bar and a second bus bar, at least part of the first bus bar is included in a resin molded body and the second bus bar is positioned using a part of the resin molded body.
Also, as techniques for attaching a component to the chassis, for example, the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-74921 is known. According to Laid-Open No. 2006-74921, an upper chassis and a lower chassis are provided, a circuit component is pressed against a bottom plate of the lower chassis via a holding member, and an extremity of the holding member is formed in a stepped shape.


Methods and systems for discovering and exploring feature knowledge included in large corpora are disclosed. The described systems and methods may include the application of in-memory analytics to records, where the analytic methods applied to the records and the level of precision of the methods may be dynamically selected by a user.

Traditional search engines allow users to find just pieces of information that are relevant to an entity, and while millions or billions of documents may describe that entity the documents are generally not linked together. In most cases, it may not be viable to try to discover a complete set of documents about a particular feature. Additionally, methods that pre-link data are limited to a single method of linking and are fed by many entity extraction methods that are ambiguous and are not accurate. These systems may not be able to use live feeds of data; they may not perform these processes on the fly. As a consequence the latest information is not used in the linking process.
There is therefore a need for a dynamic and accurate method of discovering and navigating through feature knowledge that allows the user to tune how things are linked, depending on specific requirements.

Method of discovering and exploring feature knowledge


Floating gate memories such as EEPROM and flash EEPROM have the memory state of a memory cell thereof determined by sensing the conduction current of the cell. Inherent noise fluctuations in the conduction current during sensing are canceled out by averaging the sensing over a predetermined period of time. In one embodiment, as an integral part of the averaging process, the averaged conduction current is obtained directly as a digital memory state. Accuracy in sensing is therefore greatly improved by avoiding sensing noise with the current and avoiding having to resolve its memory state in the analog domain by comparison with another noisy reference current. In another embodiment, conventional sensing techniques are improved when sensing is made by comparison with a reference current by means of a symmetric, switched or non-switched capacitor differential amplifier.

This invention relates generally to floating gate semiconductor memories such as electrically erasable programmable read-only memories (EEPROM) and flash EEPROM, and specifically to circuits and techniques for reading or sensing their memory states.
EEPROM and electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM) are typically used in digital circuits for non-volatile storage of data or program. They can be erased and have new data written or xe2x80x9cprogrammedxe2x80x9d into their memory cells.
An EPROM utilizes a floating (unconnected) conductive gate, in a field effect transistor structure, positioned over but insulated from a channel region in a semiconductor substrate, between source and drain regions. A control gate is then provided over the floating gate, but also insulated therefrom. The threshold voltage characteristic of the transistor is controlled by the amount of charge that is retained on the floating gate. That is, the minimum amount of voltage (threshold) that must be applied to the control gate before the transistor is turned xe2x80x9conxe2x80x9d to permit conduction between its source and drain regions is controlled by the level of charge on the floating gate.
The floating gate can hold a range of charge and therefore an EPROM memory cell can be programmed to any threshold voltage level within a threshold voltage window. The size of the threshold voltage window, delimited by the minimum and maximum threshold levels of the device, depends on the device""s characteristics, operating conditions and history. Each distinct, resolvable threshold voltage level within the window may, in principle, be used to designate a definite memory state of the cell.
In practice, the memory state of a cell is usually read by sensing the conduction current across the source and drain electrodes of the cell when a reference voltage is applied to the control gate. Thus, for each given charge on the floating gate of a cell, a corresponding threshold voltage may be detected, or equivalently, a corresponding conduction current with respect to a reference control gate voltage may be detected. Similarly, the range of charge programmable onto the floating gate defines a corresponding threshold voltage window or a corresponding conduction current window.
For EPROM memory, the transistor serving as a memory cell is typically programmed to one of two states by accelerating electrons from the substrate channel region, through a thin gate dielectric and onto the floating gate. The memory states are erasable by removing the charge on the floating gate by ultraviolet radiation.
An electrically erasable and programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) has a similar structure but additionally provides a mechanism for removing charge from its floating gate upon application of proper voltages.
An array of such EEPROM cells is referred to as a xe2x80x9cFlashxe2x80x9d EEPROM array when an entire array of cells, or significant group of cells of the array, is erased together (i.e., in a flash). Once erased, the group of cells can then be reprogrammed.
FIG. 1 illustrates schematically a typical array of non-volatile memory cells 10, such as EPROM, EEPROM or flash EEPROM, accessible by a series of bit lines 20, 22, 24, . . . , and word lines 30, 32, . . . Each memory cell 40 has a source 43, a drain 44, a control gate 46 and a floating gate 48.
A specific cell in a two-dimensional array of EPROM or EEPROM cells is addressed for reading typically by application of a source-drain voltage to a pair of source and drain lines in a column containing the cell being addressed, and application of a control gate voltage to a word line connected to the control gates in a row containing the cell being addressed.
FIG. 2 shows schematically an addressable array of non-volatile memory cells 10 with row and column decoding circuits 50, 52 and a read circuit 60.
Referring also to FIG. 1, when the cell 40 is addressed for programming or reading, appropriate programming or reading voltages (VCG, VS, VD) must be supplied respectively to the cell""s control gate 46, source 43 and drain 44. An address is applied to the row decoder 50 for connecting VCG to the word line 30 which in turn is connected to the control gate of the cell 40. The same address is also applied to the column decoder 52 for connecting VS to the source line 20 and VD to the drain line 22, which are respectively connected to the source and drain of the cell 40.
The memory state of the addressed memory cell 40 is read with the read circuit 60 placing the appropriate operating voltages across the cell""s source and drain, and then detecting the level of conduction current flowing between the source and drain.
In the usual two-state EEPROM cell, at least one current breakpoint level is established so as to partition the conduction window into two regions. When a cell is read, its source/drain current is resolved into a memory state by comparing with the breakpoint level (or reference current Iref). If the current read is higher than that of the breakpoint level or Iref, the cell is determined to be in one logical state (e.g., a xe2x80x9czeroxe2x80x9d state), while if the current is less than that of the breakpoint level, the cell is determined to be in the other logical state (e.g., a xe2x80x9conexe2x80x9d state). Thus, such a two-state cell stores one bit of digital information. A reference current source which may be externally programmable is often provided as part of a memory system to generate the breakpoint level current.
When a cell is programmed to a given state, it is subject to successive programming voltage pulses, each time adding incremental charge to the floating gate. In between pulses, the cell is read back or verified to determine its source drain current relative to the breakpoint level. Programming stops when the current state has been verified to be in a desired region of the partitioned conduction window.
For a multi-state or multi-level EEPROM memory cell, the conduction window is partitioned into more than two regions by more than one breakpoint such that each cell is capable of storing more than one bit of data. The information that a given EEPROM array can store is thus increased with the number of states that each cell can store. EEPROM or flash EEPROM with multi-state or multi-level memory cells have been described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,172,338.
FIG. 3A illustrates a chunk of memory cells 1 to k being read by a bank of sense amplifiers SA1, . . . , SAk, according to the prior art. Each sense amplifier senses the source-drain current of the cell it is connected to. To increase read performance, a plurality of cells is typically read in parallel chunk-by-chunk. Thus, cell 1, 2, . . . , k is respectively read by sense amplifier 1, 2, . . . k, and the outputs "PHgr"1, "PHgr"2, . . . , "PHgr"k are latched in a chunk shift register. When all bits of the chunk are stored in the chunk shift register, the chunk can be shifted out serially. In the example, the conduction window of each cell is partitioned by three breakpoints. Each sense amplifier senses the source-drain current of a cell in the chunk and resolves the current into a memory state by comparing it relative to three reference currents, Iref1, Iref2 and Iref3. Therefore, the three breakpoints can in principle partition the conduction window into four regions representing four possible memory states of the cell.
However, in practice, owing to the noises found in both the sensed current of a cell and the reference currents it is compared to, if the two currents are close together within their error margins, the memory state of the cell cannot be determined definitely. To offset this, a cell is usually programmed well into a partitioned region. In this way, even if the verification or read has an error due to noise, a margin of safety has been programmed to enable the programmed state of the cell to be read correctly. This is accomplished by setting up a margin or a guard band around each breakpoint or reference current. During program verification, the sensed cell current must clear such a margin in order to guarantee that it is programmed well within a desired conduction region of the partitioned window.
FIG. 3B(a) illustrates a reference clock in which a reading may be taken at each clock cycle. FIG. 3B(b) shows an initial setup period for read where the currents are irregular and not ready for read. After this setup period, the currents settle down to a stable and quiescent state and are ready for read (i.e., comparison of the cell""s current against a reference current). FIG. 3B(c) illustrates that if a reading is taken every clock cycle, the sensed cell current typically has a noise fluctuation which may be denoted by xcex94I.
FIG. 3C illustrates the use of breakpoint levels to partition the non-volatile memory""s conduction window into separate regions in order to allow multi-state storage, and the implementation of a guard band around each breakpoint level to allow for noise fluctuations. In the example, the conduction window is from about 1 xcexcA to about 50 xcexcA. Three breakpoints, Iref1, Iref2 and Iref3 (e.g., 6, 20 and 40 xcexcA) partition the source-drain range or window into four regions representing memory states xe2x80x9c3xe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9c2xe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9c1xe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9c0xe2x80x9d respectively. The reading is done with the control gate voltage set at 5V. The four solid I(t) versus VCG lines represent four possible charge levels that can be programmed on a floating gate of a memory cell, respectively corresponding to four possible memory states. In order to allow for the possible noise fluctuation xcex94I, a margin of xcex94I on either side of the breakpoint is set up when the cell is being programmed. Thus, a cell must be programmed with a charge that gives rise to a sensed current clearing the margins. In this way, when the cell is subsequently read, it will be read correctly even if there is an error of xcex94I associated with noise fluctuations.
As an example, the margin can be xc2x15 xcexcA around each breakpoint, forming a guard band 10 xcexcA wide. With three guard bands, they could take up 60 percent of the current window. Thus, it can be seen that the use of margins or guard bands will substantially consume valuable space in the conduction window of a memory cell and therefore significantly reduce the number of possible partitions. As a result, floating-gate memory devices in the past have been mostly two-state, and it has been difficult to increase the storage capacity of these devices significantly above two-state.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to improve the storing capacity of floating-gate memories where each cell can support memory states substantially greater than two.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide improved read and program circuits as part of an EPROM, EEPROM or flash EEPROM integrated circuit memory chip.
It is also an object of the invention to provide read and program circuits which are simpler, easier to manufacture and have improved accuracy and reliability over an extended period of use.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide Flash EEPROM semiconductor chips that can replace magnetic disk storage devices in computer systems.
These and additional objects are accomplished by improvements in EEPROM array read and write circuits and techniques where the range of charge programmable into the floating gate of a memory cell gives rise to a corresponding range of conduction states detectable by corresponding cell conduction currents across the source and drain of the cell, and where each resolvable conduction state is usable to represent a logical memory state, the improvement being a sense amplifier and method where the sensing accuracy of the cell current level is substantial improved by averaging the cell current over a predetermined period of time sufficient for noise fluctuations therein to cancel to a predetermined value, and in the process also resolves in the digital domain the noise-canceled current level directly into a memory state.
The improved sensing accuracy allows the range of conduction states (conduction window) of the cell to be finely partitioned to support higher density storage. In this way, it is possible to have two or substantially more distinct states within each memory cell over an extended lifetime of the memory cells, so that one or substantial more bits may be reliably stored in each cell.
A conventional sense amplifier is substantially less accurate because it senses a noisy cell current. The error is further compounded by having to resolve its memory state in the analog domain by comparing against yet another noisy reference current that is used to demarcate the states of the conduction windows. The input noise rejection of instantaneous sensing is low. There is also noise from output switching as well as poor rejection of power line noise. Margins have to be set up in the partitioning of the conduction window to offset the sensing and resolving errors. This prevents finer partitioning of the conduction window, resulting in lower density cell storage.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, the averaging of the cell current is accomplished by a current-to-frequency converter that outputs a wave train with a frequency proportional to the cell current. The converter operates over a predetermined integration time that is long compared to the noise fluctuation of the cell current and outputs a wave train segment in that time. The number of cycles in the wave train segment is counted by a counter and is proportional to the sensed, time-averaged current. A timer circuit provides the timing for the integration time.
In one embodiment of the counter for a n-bit cell, the counter comprises a series of at least n-cascading Divide-By-Two frequency dividers, that in combination output the count in the wave train segment as a memory state in binary format.
In the preferred embodiment, a group (chunk) of cells is sensed in parallel and the sensed states are shifted out by a shift register chunk-by-chunk. In this way, the longer time required to perform a time-averaged sensing for each cell is offset by the time saving when sensing a chunk of cells in parallel.
Thus, the invention provides much more accurate sensing by avoiding the convention methods of sensing cell currents with their noise fluctuations untreated, and avoiding having to determine the relative location of the sensed current in the conduction window by comparing it against another noisy reference current in the analog domain.
According to another embodiment of the invention, adaptation is made to existing sense amplifier architectures where the memory cell current is compared to a reference current. An integrating comparator is employed where the comparison between the two currents are made over the predetermined period of time sufficient for noise fluctuations therein to cancel to a predetermined value. Preferred embodiments of the integrating comparator include symmetric, switched or non-switched capacitor differential amplifier. The resulting advantage is that little modifications need be made to existing highly optimized circuits. In addition, conventional, and well known integrating amplifier techniques or switched capacitor differential amplifier can be employed. By the same token, these techniques are typically used in combination with other well established techniques such as filtering, analog-digital conversion, including offset cancellation and power supply or other noise rejections.
Additional objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be understood from the following description of its preferred embodiments, which description should be taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Non-volatile memory with improved sensing and method therefor