A hybrid integrated circuit device has a magnetic sensor formed directly on a substrate by photolithography. Alternatively, a flip chip type magnetic sensor is mounted on a substrate by fusion. The magnetic sensor can be mounted on the substrate with high positional precision.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hybrid integrated circuit device, and particularly to a hybrid integrated circuit device using a magnetic sensor, for example, a magnetic resistor element.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram showing a conventional hybrid integrated circuit device, and FIG. 8 is a side view of the same device. In FIG. 8, IC (integrated circuit) is not shown. In the drawings, a magnetic sensor, e.g., a resin-molded magnetic resistor element 2, is mounted on a substrate, e.g., a thick substrate 1, with solder 3. An IC 4 serving as a control circuit for the magnetic resistor element 2 is also provided on the thick substrate 1, the magnetic resistor element 2 and the IC 4 being electrically connected to each other by wiring conductors 5.
The conventional hybrid integrated circuit device is configured as described above, and a non-contact type potentiometer or the like uses the magnetic resistor element 2 which changes its resistance value in accordance with the amount of magnetic flux intersecting it from outside. Such a non-contact type potentiometer has a movable section having an extremely small sliding resistance and is thus widely employed in the detection section of precision, equipment for detecting and measuring small displacements.
In the above hybrid integrated circuit device, since the magnetic resistor element 2 is mounted on the thick substrate 1 by soldering, the magnetic resistor element 2 cannot be positioned with respect to the thick substrate 1 with high precision, so that a small displacement cannot be precisely detected and measured. Namely, since deviations occur in the direction and angle of the magnetic field generated in the magnetic resistor element 2, which are due to positional deviations caused by soldering of the magnetic resistor element 2 and the thick substrate 1 through leads, the conventional device has the problem that a small displacement cannot be precisely detected.

Hybrid ferromagnetic integrated circuit device


The invention creates a method for transmitting an analog data stream in which secondary minima are prevented during an equalization of the analog data stream at the receiving end when approximating the channel transfer function of a transmission channel, wherein the analog data stream is received via the transmission channel, the received analog data stream is converted into a digital data stream in an analog/digital converter, the digital data stream is decimated in a decimation device in order to obtain a decimated digital data stream, a control signal is derived from either the digital data stream or the decimated digital data stream in accordance with a predeterminable adjustment of a switching device, the derived control signal is supplied to a coefficient determining device and wherein equalization coefficients are provided, together with an information item provided by the reference signal, for the equalizer for equalization of the decimated digital data stream in the time domain in the coefficient determining device via the channel transfer function of the transmission channel.

Usually, a multitone method (DMT—discrete multitone) is used for asymmetric data stream transmission via normal telephone lines, normal telephone lines usually being constructed as asymmetric digital subscriber lines (ADSL).
An essential advantage of ADSL transmission techniques consists in being able to use conventional cable networks for a transmission, twisted copper conductors normally being used.
High-speed digital subscriber lines of the prior art are described, for example, in the publication "High-speed digital subscriber lines, IEEE Journal Sel. Ar. In Comm., Vol. 9, No. 6, August 1991".
Among the transmission methods with a high data rate, which are based on digital subscriber lines (DSL), a number of VDSL (Very High Data Rate DSL) arrangements are known and, for example, methods such as carrierless amplitude/phase (CAP), discrete wavelet multitone (DWMT), single line code (SLC) and discrete multitone (DMT) can be used for these. In the DMT method, the transmit signal is provided from multiple sinusoidal or cosinusoidal signals, where both the amplitude and the phase can be modulated of each individual sinusoidal or cosinusoidal signal. The multiple modulated signals thus obtained are provided as quadrature-amplitude modulated (QAM) signals.
FIG. 4 shows a conventional data stream receiver for receiving an analog data stream 101 which contains multitone signals. The multitone signals are provided by a data stream transmitter and transmitted via a transmission channel as will be described in greater detail below. After the analog data stream 101 has been received in a preprocessing device 301, a preprocessed digital data stream 302 is provided for further processing.
The preprocessing device 301 contains in conventional manner an analog/digital converter 104 by means of which the analog data stream 101 is converted into a digital data stream 103. The digital data stream 103 is then converted in conventional manner into a filtered data stream by means of a first filtering device 401, the first filtering device 401 providing a decimation of the incoming digital data stream 103.
The data thus decimated and filtered by the first filtering device 401 are provided to a second filtering device 402 in which a time domain equalization is carried out. The second filtering device 402 is constructed as an adaptive transversal filter which operates at a symbol sampling rate Fs which is, for example, 276 kHz with ADSL at a switching center. The signal equalized by the second filtering device 402 is supplied as a preprocessed digital data stream 302 to a transformation device 110 in which, for example, a fast Fourier transformation (FFT) is carried out.
The transformation signals 111a–111n formed as a complex number which is defined, for example, in accordance with amount and phase, are then supplied to a correction device 112 in which a correction of a transfer characteristic of the transmission channel is provided. The corrected transformation signals 113a–113n are also supplied to a determining device 116 in which pairs of amount signals 114 and phase signals 115 are determined in accordance with the multitone signals in the analog data stream 101. The pairs of amount signals 114 and phase signals 115 are supplied to a decoding device 117 in which the pairs of amount signals and phase signals are decoded in a decoder data stream 118. The decoded data stream 118 is then output via a data output device 119.
The frequencies of the multitone signal contained in the analog data stream 101 to be transmitted are usually equidistantly distributed and become calculable in accordance with the following formula:
            f      l        =                            i          ·                      1            T                                                                    i            =      1        ,  2  ,      …                                N      /      2      where T is a period and N is a number of samples of a DMT symbol.
For example, conventional DMT methods use 256 tones which can be modulated in amount and phase in each case as sinusoidal tones. The fundamental frequency is 4.3 kHz and the frequency spacing between successive tones is also 4.3 kHz. Thus, a frequency spectrum from 4.3 kHz (fundamental frequency) to (4.3 kHz+256×4.3 kHz)=1.1 MHz is transmitted. Each DMT symbol is thus represented by a sinusoidal tone which can be modulated in amount and phase, a maximum of 15 bits per symbol usually being represented as complex number. During the transmission of a multitone signal of this type, the problem occurs, however, that transient effects are produced by the transmission channel which, for example, can be constructed as a twisted copper dual wire, which effects have decayed after, for example, M samples.
In the transmitter device, the last M samples of a DMT symbol are appended to a block start after an inverse fast Fourier transformation (IFFT), where the following relation applies: M<N. Due to this cyclic extension (cyclic prefix), a periodic signal can be simulated for the data stream receiver when the transient effect caused by the transmission channel has decayed after M samples and mutual interference between different DMT symbols, i.e. inter-symbol interference (ISI), can be avoided.
As a result, an equalization effort in an equalizer arranged in the data stream receiver can be considerably reduced in conventional methods since after demodulation of the received analog data stream 101 in the data stream receiver, only a simple correction with the inverse frequency response of the transmission channel must be performed in the correction device 112.
In methods according to the prior art, identification of a transmission channel is provided by a transfer function which is given by the following equation:H(z)=B(z)/A(z).
An equalizer is conventionally adjusted in such a manner that a cascading of the channel transfer function of the transmission channel and of the transfer function of the equalizer provides a resultant transfer function Hr as follows:Hr=B(z).
It can be clearly seen that a length of a remaining impulse response is thus determined by the order of the numerator polynomial B(z).
In the known methods described above, the equalizer operates at a sampling rate Fs which is, for example, Fs=276 kHz. The order of the numerator polynomial B(z) is thus defined by the length of the cyclic prefix predetermined by the respective transmission standard, for example M=4.
An approximation of the channel transfer function, for example by means of a rational transfer function H(z) by using mathematical optimization methods, for example the method of least error squares, disadvantageously achieves a global optimum only if the order of the numerator polynomial B(z) and the order of the denominator polynomial A(z) can be selected to be sufficiently large.
In the method according to the prior art it is also disadvantageous that the order of the polynomials is restricted by the length of the cyclic prefix so that secondary minima occur when the channel transfer function of the transmission channel is approximated.

Method for transmitting an analog data stream with prevention of secondary minima, and circuit arrangement


This disclosure describes systems and methods for limiting the functionality of remote start systems within vehicles. Remote start operations may be limited, for example, in response to exceeding one or more remote start limits. Limiting the remote start operations may include either preventing the initiation of a remote start request or ending an already in-progress remote start operation.

Vehicle users may desire to pre-condition (i.e., heat or cool) the passenger cabin of the vehicle prior to entering and driving the vehicle. The pre-conditioning can be initiated via a remote start request while the user is located remotely from the vehicle. The vehicle must use energy that would otherwise be available for vehicle propulsion to power a vehicle climate control system in order to accomplish the pre-conditioning.

Systems and methods for limiting remote start functionality on vehicles


A patch cable management system for an optical waveguide distributing device includes a plurality of plus modules and/or splice modules mounted on a subrack. Each plus module and/or splice module is provided with a plurality of couplings for contact with optical waveguides on the front and rear. An electronic module provided with all the functions and componenty of a conventional backplane can be positioned at any desired location within the optical waveguide distributing device and connected to the plug moduels and/or splice modules to serve for the electronic addressing and localization of the plugged optical-fiber connections.

When setting up optical-fiber cable networks, distribution devices such as for example distribution cabinets or distribution frames are required to ensure structured cabling. Generally a number of subracks are arranged within such optical waveguide distributing devices, each subrack preferably receiving up to twelve plug modules and/or splice modules.
A patch cable management system with electronic localization of the plugged optical-fiber connections, that is electronic patch cable localization, is known. In the case of this known system, the plug modules and/or the splice modules are pushed into the subrack—also known as a module rack. On the rear side of the subrack there is a rear wall—known as a backplane—which supplies power and connects the data lines to the plug modules and/or splice modules. In addition, hard wiring serves for the electronic addressing of the inserted plug modules. The use of such a rigid rear wall is disadvantageous, since it has to be made to match the type of construction of the subrack with regard to its dimensions and other properties, and the flexibility of the patch cable management system is restricted as a result.
Against this background, the present invention is based on the problem of providing a novel patch cable management system for an optical waveguide distributing device.
The fact that the rigid back wall is omitted means that the patch cable management system according to the invention is distinguished by great flexibility. Also, retrofitting of existing patch cable management systems can take place in a simple way.


The present embodiments may provide a technique of transmitting, by a terminal, channel state information with regard to one or more beams to a base station. The present embodiments provide a method and an apparatus for transmitting, by a terminal, channel state information with regard to one or more beams, the method comprising the steps of: receiving CSI reporting configuration information from a base station; determining whether or not group-based beams are to be reported on the basis of the CSI reporting configuration information; measuring RSRP with regard to CSI-RS received through one or more CSI-RS resources; and transmitting, to the base station, channel state information including values on a predetermined table on the basis of the group-based beam reporting and the CSI-RS RSRP measurement results.

As communication systems have been developed, various types of wireless terminals have been introduced to consumers such as companies and individuals.
Mobile communication systems employing technologies related to 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP), such as long term evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced, fifth generation (5G), or the like, have been designed for transmitting and receiving a large amount of various data, such as video data, radio data, etc. at a high speed, beyond voice-oriented communication.
After LTE-Advanced, technologies for next generation radio access networks have been developed for enabling a terminal such as a user equipment as in the 3GPP to transmit and receive a larger amount of data and provide a higher quality of service (QoS). For example, work on development of a so-called 5G network by the 3GPP is in progress.
In particular, in order to perform communication using a high frequency band and provide high rate data transmission and reception services to more terminals, the 5G network employs an analog beamforming technology. In the case of analog beamforming, a beam operation related technology is needed for forming an optimal beam pair between a base station and a terminal through beam sweeping transmission and beam repetition transmission of the base station and the terminal.
In this case, in order for a base station to identify a channel state of one or more beams, a terminal is needed to measure a channel transmitted in the form of multiple beams, and transmits measurement information on a result of the measurement to the base station. At this time, it should be noted that in a situation where multiple beams are operated, overhead of an associated system may increase due to the increase of signals needed to transmit measurement results for beams to the base station.
Accordingly, it is desired to provide a new method for enabling a terminal to transmit channel state information for one or more beams to a base station.

Method and apparatus for transmitting channel state information

IUCF-HYU (INDUSTRY-UNIVERSITY COOPERATION FOUNDATION HANYANG UNIVERSITY)


In one embodiment, a multi-carrier CDMA network grants radio link resources to a mobile station by maximizing soft handoff conditions, by preserving frequency continuity with the mobile station, or by load balancing across carrier frequencies in two or more cells, or by some combination thereof. The network identifies carrier frequencies having two or more CDMA channels for assignment to the mobile station. If one of those frequencies was used by the mobile station to request resources, it may be advantageous to select that frequency; otherwise or instead, the choice is narrowed to the carrier frequency or frequencies having the greatest number of available radio links. From that point, the choice may be further narrowed, for example, by selecting the carrier frequency having the most favorable CDMA channel loading across two or more cells. In another embodiment, such multi-carrier load balancing is the basis of carrier frequency selection.

The present invention generally relates to resource allocation in a wireless communication network, and particularly relates to efficient resource allocation for user admission, such as at call origination or at hard handoff.
Finite communication resources constrain the number of mobile stations and other wireless communication devices (users) that may be supported within a given service area. For example, within a defined service area (cell), the typical Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network uses at least one "CDMA channel." In this context, a CDMA channel represents the collection of forward and reverse communication links between the network and the users on a particular carrier frequency. Thus, the CDMA channel may be thought of as the "intersection" between a particular CDMA carrier and a particular cell.
On the forward link, the CDMA channel's capacity is constrained by, among other things, available transmit power and available spreading code resources. Users are added to the CDMA channel by allocating dynamically changing portions of the total forward link transmit power, and further by allocating one or more spreading codes to code-multiplex each user's individual traffic stream(s) onto the CDMA channel. Thus, the ability to allocate one or more "radio links" to a particular user on a particular CDMA channel depends on the availability of power and code resources for that channel.
Increasing the number of CDMA channels available within a particular cell substantially increases the number of users that can be supported within the cell. The use of multiple carrier frequencies enables the use of two or more CDMA channels within a particular cell. For example, the use of carrier frequencies F1 and F2 in a particular cell provides one CDMA channel in frequency F1 and another CDMA channel in frequency F2 for that cell. As a point of increased flexibility, not all cells necessarily offer multiple carrier frequencies. For example, certain cells, such as cells in a downtown urban area, may operate with two or more carrier frequencies, while outlying cells might operate with only one carrier frequency. Generally, the mix of single and multi-carrier cells within a plurality of cells may be tailored as needed or desired to meet capacity and connection reliability targets.
Even with the use of multiple carrier frequencies, the ability to efficiently utilize the added capacity and do so reliably from the perspective of network users requires a more intelligent approach to resource granting than exists in current multi-carrier networks. For example, conventional multi-carrier networks may perform limited inter-carrier load balancing such that users admitted into a particular cell are more or less assigned to the least loaded carrier frequency in that cell. However, since those users may be served in soft handoff from neighboring cells, the relative carrier frequency loading in that one cell may indicate little or nothing about the relative carrier frequency loading across the cells that will or might be used to support the mobile station.
Moreover, without considering the availability of radio links across multiple CDMA channels, the conventional networks forfeit the opportunity to increase service reliability by not granting resources on the carrier frequency that maximizes soft handoff for the mobile station or at least selecting the carrier frequency that satisfies a minimum soft handoff criterion. For these and other reasons that will become apparent, an improved method and apparatus are needed for granting resources to mobile stations in multi-carrier CDMA environments.

Resource granting in multi-carrier CDMA systems


A vibration wave actuator includes a vibrator, a driven element, and a magnet. The vibrator has at least an electro-mechanical energy conversion element and an elastic body to which the electro-mechanical energy conversion element is joined, the elastic body including a contact portion. The driven element is in pressure contact with the contact portion of the vibrator, and includes a magnetic substance. The magnet is arranged such that the vibrator is placed between the driven element and the magnet.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vibratory drive apparatus, such as a vibration wave actuator, and specifically relates to a vibratory drive apparatus that is favorable for use in, e.g., a mechanism that corrects blurring due to hand movements in an optical apparatus such as a camera or binoculars, or a drive mechanism for a table.
Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, vibration wave actuators, which are vibratory drive apparatuses that move a driven element in contact with a plurality of vibrators in a plurality of different directions (desired directions), are known. Among such vibration wave actuators, a pressure application-type vibration wave actuator in which a magnet is employed for a driven element is known (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-027769). Also, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-312519 proposes a vibratory drive apparatus in which a magnetic member is arranged in a space between a vibrator and a driven element. More specifically, the vibratory drive apparatus is configured so that projection portions that project from a first surface of a vibrator and are in contact with the driven element are formed, and a magnet is arranged between the first surface of the vibrator and the driven element to attract the driven element by means of a magnetic force. FIGS. 14A and 14B illustrate the configuration of a linear vibration wave actuator described in the Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-312519. In FIGS. 14A and 14B, a vibrator 52 is supported by a holding member 57 via an elastic supporting member 56 while preventing the hindering of vibration of the vibrator 52 by the elastic supporting member 56. Furthermore, a magnetic member 65 including a magnet is arranged on the holding member 57 and between projection portions 58 formed on an upper surface of the vibrator 52. The magnetic member 65 is held in a state in which the magnetic member 65 is not in contact with the vibrator 52 and a driven element 70, and generates a magnetic attraction force MF that attracts the vibrator 52 and the driven element 70 in a Z-direction. Pressure is applied by means of the magnetic attraction force.
Also, as another example of vibratory drive apparatuses driving a driven element by means of a vibrator, such as ultrasonic motors, there are ones using a vibrator obtained by integrating a vibration plate including, for example, an elastic metal member, and a piezoelectric element (electro-mechanical energy conversion element) by means of, e.g., adhesion. Among such vibrator-used vibratory drive apparatuses as described above, ones using magnetic force to generate pressure applied to a vibrator and a driven element have been proposed. U.S. Pat. No. 7,425,770 proposes a vibratory drive apparatus including a permanent magnet in at least a part of a vibrator. Also, U.S. Pat. No. 7,518,286 discloses a vibratory drive apparatus including a permanent magnet in at least a part of a driven element.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A semiconductor memory device includes a first memory cell block that has one end connected to the first bit line and the other end connected to a common node, the first memory cell block including a plurality of series-connected unit cells, and a second memory cell block that has one end connected to the second bit line which is complementary to the first bit line and the other end connected to the common node, the second memory cell block including a plurality of series-connected unit cells. When data is restored in a selected unit cell, a potential corresponding to the first bit line is applied to one end of the selected unit cell and a complementary potential corresponding to the second bit line is applied to the other end of the selected unit cell via the common node.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a semiconductor memory device, and more particularly to a ferroelectric random access memory (FeRAM).
2. Description of the Related Art
A ferroelectric random access memory (FeRAM) stores binary data in a nonvolatile state on the basis of magnitudes of two different polarization modes, making use of the fact that spontaneous polarization, which is one of features of a ferroelectric substance, exhibits a hysteresis characteristic. For instance, D. Takashima et al., "High-Density Chain Ferroelectric Random Memory (CFRAM)" in proc. VLSI Symp., June 1997, pp. 83–84, discloses, in FIG. 4(a), an example of a so-called 2T2C type TC parallel-unit series-connected ferroelectric memory.
As is illustrated in a timing chart of FIG. 4(b) of the above document, when a rewrite (i.e. restore) operation is executed in the FeRAM, the potentials of a pair of plate lines PL and /PL are changed to "H" level and "L" level at each time of data restore. Specifically, as regards a unit cell that stores "0" data, the plate line /PL is once turned off and then an "H" level potential is applied to the plate line PL. As regards a unit cell that stores "1" data, the plate line PL is once turned off, and then an "L" level potential needs to be applied once again to the plate line /PL. Consequently, voltages cannot be applied at a time to the unit cell that stores "0" data and the unit cell that stores "1" data, leading to an increase in restore time.

FeRAM capable of restoring “0” data and “1” data at a time


An apparatus to determine the three-dimensional shape of an array under water using a CCD camera with a field-of-view directed towards the array and a plurality of LED light sources attached to the array which emit light near the attenuation minimum of the water and towards the camera. The camera obtains images of each light source individually from which the x and y co-ordinates of the images of each light source can be determined. Pressure sensors on each light source and camera determine the difference in depth between the camera and the light sources and, with the x and y co-ordinates, the apparatus determines the three-dimensional position of each light source.

Oceanographic measurements made with moorings are often plagued by the action of ocean currents upon the cables or ropes used to secure instruments at a depth. These cables, ropes or harness assemblies drift and/or strum in response to water flowing by them. Hydrophone arrays used to measure sound propagation in the ocean are extremely sensitive to the effects of strumming and angular deflections caused by the action of currents. This is largely because the measurement of the sound propagation vectors is obtained from the serial excitation of hydrophones along a linear or predefined spatial vector. Deviations from the assumed orientation and location of hydrophones in the array introduce errors directly into the estimation of the propagation vectors and can even inhibit the excitation of certain hydrophones. Strumming of a mooring or array can also introduce acoustic noise directly into the signal.
Depth sensors can be used to correct some of the errors but only a time varied three dimensional map of an array's shape will be able to determine all the anticipated shape variations. This can, in principal, be derived by the use of an array of tilt sensors attached to the mooring and along the array but practice has shown that this approach is plagued by a number of hidden problems. These types of sensors are generally large and expensive and the data from the sensors require data processing to generate a Cartesian map of the array. Acoustic beacons could also be used to provide the needed information but such an approach goes against the covert nature of the hydrophone array.

Computer interfaced video positioning system module

Her Majesty the Queen in right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of National Defence of Her Majesty's Canadian Government


An apparatus is provided for moulding a polymeric foam into a bun in a longitudinally-extending, channel shaped mould by a mobile vessel and fall plate which are progressively transported from one end to the other of the mould to lay down partially-expanded foam over the bottom of the mould. The apparatus includes a mould for receiving a polymeric foam and including a longitudinally-extending, channel-shaped enclosed mould through which a mobile vessel and fall plate are progressively transported from one end to the other of the mould to lay down partially-expanded foam over the bottom of the mould while the mould is in a moulding position. Gas is vented from the interior of the mould and the mould is moved from the moulding position to a curing position remote from the moulding position where the bun cures in the mould.

This invention relates to a method of and apparatus for the manufacture of slab-stock polymeric foam, such as polyurethane foam of the type used in seats, cushions and the like.
In the production of polyurethane foam reactants, in particular surfactants, catalysts, blowing agents and modifiers, are thoroughly mixed and deposited into a mold. The reactants are polyol, isocyanate, for example toluene di-isocyanate (TDI), and water. Polyol reacts with the TDI to form urethane linkages that build the polymer. TDI reacts with water to produce carbon dioxide which blows the foam. Additional water lowers the density of the foam and also increases exothermic heat output. This heat limits water blown foams to a density of 19.2 Kg/m.sup.3 at an atmospheric pressure of 1 bar.
At this density temperatures inside large foam buns will reach or exceed 177 degrees C. and remains high for several hours--the foam acting as its own insulation. These high temperatures create the possibility of auto oxidation leading to scorching or even fire.
Inert blowing agents such as CFC-11 (also known as chlorofluorocarbon-11 or fluorotrichloromethane) or methylene chloride are used to produce lower density and softer foams. These materials soften the foam by reducing the number of hard segments of the polymer caused by water for any given density. The other active ingredients are a silicone surfactant which stabilizes the gas bubbles and permits efficient use of the foam blowing gases, a polymer building catalyst such as stannous octoate, a gas producing catalyst that catalyzes the isocyanatewater reaction such as an amine compound, and various modifiers such as colours, anti-static agents and combustion modifiers.
The mould into which the expanding foam is introduced takes the form of a channel with stationary or moving sidewalls 122 cm. to 152 cm. high and a bottom conveyor usually about 244 cm. wide. One or both the sidewalls may be adjustable so that variable width foam buns can be made.
Foam is deposited onto the bottom of the channel by means of a lay-down assembly including a trough having a volume of approximately 100 litres. As the foam expands, it spills out of the trough into the channel.
Foam expansion takes approximately 75 to 180 seconds depending on the foam formulation. The foam rises freely in the production channel until it reaches maximum height. As the foam cells break open they release the gases of expansion which are hot from the exothermic reaction heat. These gases are mainly carbon dioxide and the inert blowing agents CFC-11 and methylene chloride. These hot gases pull small amounts of TDI vapours and possibly some of the other components with them. TDI is a dangerous respiratory irritant and regulations in the USA at least require a maximum exposure of 0.02 parts per million in the workplace.
To meet this requirement and to minimize CFC-11 and methylene chloride vapours, foam plants typically have extensive high capacity ventilation systems that expel large volumes of air from the foam production areas. It is difficult to get all of these chemical vapours out of the plant so that workers are exposed to acceptable levels of these chemical vapours. Even so, exhausting these chemicals into the atmosphere is now suspected of causing injury to the environment, for example by damaging the ozone layer of the atmosphere, and by causing smog.


The implantable electrode system of the preferred embodiments includes a conductor, an interconnect coupled to the conductor, an insulator that insulates the interconnect, and an anchor that is connected to both the conductor and the insulating element. The anchor is mechanically interlocked with at least one of the conductor and the insulator.

The adhesion of metals to polymers in conventional microfabrication techniques can be quite poor. Excellent adhesion, however, is critical for biomedical electrodes, which are implanted in tissue and are exposed to harsh environments. In such environments, poorly connected elements can lead to irreversible chemical reactions and possible device failure. The irreversible chemical reactions can include: 1) electrolysis of water, with consequent pH changes and gas formation, 2) electrode dissolution due to oxide formation of soluble metal complexes, and 3) corrosion or breakdown of passivity. In conventional electrodes, uneven charging across the electrode site is often seen. As an example, a much higher current density is typically seen in the perimeter of the electrode site than seen in the center, thus when the electrode is placed onto the tissue of the patient, the uneven charging may lead to unpredictable stimulation of the tissue of the patient. Uneven charging across the electrode site also leads to additional irreversible chemical reactions. In the case of higher current density along the perimeter than seen in the center, a relatively high potential difference between the perimeter of the electrode and the center of the electrode develops, leading to a higher chance of irreversible chemical reactions at the edge of the electrode site. This invention provides an improved and useful system and method for connecting layers within an electrode, increasing the reliability of an electrode, and decreasing the chance of irreversible chemical reactions within an electrode.

Implantable electrode and method of making the same


A lock cylinder apparatus includes first and second lock cylinder assemblies rigidly fixed to a lock case and coupled to an internal locking mechanism contained in the lock case. The first lock cylinder assembly includes a lock body and an adaptor ring around the lock body. The adaptor ring is sized to fit into a cylinder assembly mounting hole in the lock case. A threaded member extends through the lock case and interconnects the second lock cylinder assembly to the adaptor ring of the first lock cylinder assembly. Illustratively, a hidden setscrew in the first lock cylinder assembly can be moved to engage the adaptor ring and anchor the lock body in a non-rotatable position in the adaptor ring.

This invention relates to locks, and particularly to apparatus for attaching a lock cylinder to a lock case. More particularly, this invention relates to an apparatus for mounting a lock body to a mortise lock case so that an interchangeable lock core in the lock body can be used to operate the mortise lock and for protecting the lock body and core from damage during an attack on the security of the lockset.
Lock cylinders are typically mounted in a lock case to prevent removal by unauthorized persons. It is known to use hidden setscrews to anchor a lock cylinder in a lock case as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,633,690 to Foshee. Advantageously, the security associated with such mortise locks is high because the hidden setscrews of the type disclosed in the Foshee '690 patent are only accessible to those persons authorized and able to remove the interchangeable FIG. 8 lock core from its home in the lock body to gain access to the hidden setscrews.
One problem with conventional mortise locks has been anchoring a lock cylinder that is different than the original equipment lock cylinder in the cylinder lock mounting hole provided in the mortise lock case. Many times, the owner of a mortise lock will decide to replace the lock cylinder that came with the mortise lock with a higher quality and higher security lock cylinder. For example, to increase the security of a mortise lockset, it would be desirable to replace a lock cylinder that is anchored to a lock case by means of an exposed setscrew with a higher security lock cylinder that is configured to be anchored to the same lock case by means of a hidden setscrew. The problem has been that, throughout the world and particularly outside the United States, conventional lock cylinders having hidden anchoring setscrews are not adapted to be mounted in many conventional mortise lock cases. Accordingly, a cylinder lock that could be retrofitted easily into a wide variety of lock cases and anchored in place in the lock case using hidden anchoring means would be a welcomed improvement.
According to the present invention, a lock cylinder apparatus is provided and configured to be mounted in a lock case having first and second exterior side walls arranged in spaced-apart parallel relation. The lock cylinder apparatus includes a first lock cylinder assembly mounted on the first exterior side wall of the lock case, a second lock cylinder assembly mounted on the second exterior side wall of the lock case, and means for coupling the first lock cylinder assembly to the second lock cylinder assembly to trap the lock case therebetween so that the first and second lock cylinders are rigidly fixed to the lock case and positioned to engage and operate an internal locking mechanism contained in the lock case.
The first lock cylinder assembly includes a first lock body formed to include a cavity for the reception of an interchangeable lock core and a first adaptor ring around the first lock body. The first adaptor ring includes an inner annular end wall engaging the first exterior side wall. The first adaptor ring is formed to include a central aperture receiving the first lock body therein and means for threadedly engaging the first lock body to fix the first lock body in the central aperture of the first adaptor ring. The coupling means includes a threaded member extending through the lock case and having a first end connected to the first adaptor ring and a second end connected to the second lock cylinder assembly.
In preferred embodiments, the first lock body includes an exterior side wall and is formed to include a bore extending between the cavity in the first lock body and the exterior side wall to define a hidden setscrew-receiving opening in the exterior side wall. The first adaptor ring includes an outer annular end wall facing away from the first exterior side wall of the lock case and surrounding the first lock body. The outer annular end wall is formed to include a radially outwardly extending channel. The first lock cylinder assembly further includes a hidden setscrew that is located in the bore and is movable therein to engage the radially outwardly extending channel formed in the first adaptor ring and anchor the first lock body in a non-rotatable mounted position to the first adaptor ring.
The first lock body includes an outer end away from the first adaptor ring and an annular lip on the outer end. The first lock cylinder assembly further includes a tubular cylinder ring surrounding the first lock body and having an inner end abutting the outer annular end wall of the first adaptor ring and an outer end lying in close proximity to the annular lip formed on the outer end of the first lock body. This tubular cylinder ring protects the lock from attack. Spring means is provided for yieldably urging the tubular cylinder ring toward the first adaptor ring to load the inner end of the tubular cylinder ring against the outer annular end wall of the first adaptor ring so that the tubular cylinder ring is restrained from movement relative to the first adaptor ring and the first lock body to minimize rattling. Illustratively, the spring means engages the annular lip and the outer end of the tubular cylinder ring.
The second lock cylinder assembly includes a second lock body formed to include a cavity for the reception of another interchangeable lock core and a second adaptor ring around the second lock body and the second end of the threaded member engages the second adaptor ring. Illustratively, the threaded member is arranged to interconnect the first and second adaptor rings.
The coupling means further includes a mounting pin appended to the inner annular end wall of the first adaptor ring and arranged to engage the second adaptor ring to set a minimum standoff spacing between the first and second adaptor rings to prevent deformation of the lock case during coupling of the first and second lock cylinders to one another using the coupling means. Illustratively, two mounting pins are used and arranged to lie on either side of the threaded members. In a preferred embodiment, the mounting pin is arranged to extend into a blind hole formed in the second adaptor ring. The first exterior side wall of the lock case is formed to include a notch and a border edge around the notch and the coupling means is situated to place the mounting pin in the notch and in engagement with the border edge around the notch to block rotation of the first lock cylinder about a longitudinal axis of the first lock cylinder and relative to the first exterior side wall of the lock case.
Additional objects, features, and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the invention as presently perceived.

Protective lock cylinder mounting assembly


The invention relates to a coupling device (1) between a sports shoe (2) and sports device (3), with a toe piece (5) and a heel piece (6) and a brake device (7) mounted between the latter for the sports device (3), with a longitudinal guide (9, 10) mounted on the surface (8) of the sports device (3) for the heel piece (6), in which the heel piece (6) is guided laterally and vertically in dimensions perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. The brake device (7) is provided with guiding elements (14, 15) that can engage in the guiding track (12, 13) of the longitudinal guide (9, 10) and between the brake device (7) and the heel piece (6), a longitudinal coupling device (19) is arranged for mobile connection with the heel piece (6) and the brake device (7) is guided in a play-free manner exclusively by the guiding track (12, 13) in all dimensions running perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the guiding track (12, 13).

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a coupling device between a sports shoe and a sports device, as described in the preamble of claim 1.
2. Prior Art
Ski bindings are already known, which consist of several, separate individual parts securable to the ski, such in a toe piece, heel piece, rear piece and a brake device arranged between the latter with pivotable brake arms. Whereas in many of these ski bindings, the individual binding parts are secured independently of one another by screws onto the sports device, in particular to the ski, a different category of ski binding is designed such that the toe and heel pieces are mounted displaceably, preferably independently of one another or at least relative to one another in guiding tracks secured to the ski in longitudinal direction of the guiding track on the ski. The brake device is here secured independently onto the ski between the toe and heel piece. To adjust the relative position or the relative spacing between the toe and heel pieces in order to adjust to different shoe sizes, the toe and heel piece are mostly adjustable by means of spacing bands, which are engaged in various different relative positions and fixed. Here the position of the toe and heel piece changes over the length of the longitudinal guide tracks depending on the respective shoe size. It is a disadvantage in this case that the force required to pivot the brake arms of the brake device when climbing into the ski binding on using the coupling device varies and also the function of the brake device cannot be ensured in all cases.


An emission microscope system includes in various embodiments a catadioptric optical microscope and/or a computer automated optical dispensing system and/or a cryogenically cooled back thinned CCD camera. The system also includes a computer controlled data acquisition system with specially tailored software.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to emission microscopy and, more particularly, to integrated circuit inspection systems.
2. Description of Related Art
In the design of semiconductor devices, including integrated circuits (IC's) and the like, it is often desired to analyze current flow through various circuits. Such analysis can, for example, be undertaken to isolate points of potential failure.
Several types of analysis of current flow through circuits take advantage of the electroluminescent characteristics of silicon. It is well known, for example, that a semiconductor device will, under excitation, emit a small amount of light. Whole electron pairs associated with various defects recombine, and in that process emit photons. Avalanche breakdown, in particular, can be analyzed by observing emitted light. Light emission in an avalanche breakdown situation enables the detection and location of areas of current flow. Oxide defects also can be detected by observing the light emitted upon application of current. By observing the emitted light, the points of failure of a damaged product can be determined, and an analysis of design flaws and/or processing flaws can be undertaken.
All of the foregoing is discussed in greater detail in U.S. Pat. No. 4,680,635. Also discussed in that patent is the use of light emissions to determine the profile and detailed effects of an ESD (electrostatic discharge) event in an integrated circuit. During ESD, p-n junctions become forward biased or even go into avalanche breakdown. Light is emitted in either case. By capturing details regarding the emitted light pattern, aspects of the ESD event can be observed and the area of dissipation of the ESD energy determined.
Study of light emitted by semiconductor devices is rendered somewhat difficult because of the small amounts of light involved. Only about 0.01% of the whole electron pairs in silicon recombine by emitting a photon. Thus, hundreds of milliamperes of current must be applied to a silicon device in avalanche breakdown to view light emitted with the naked, human eye. As application of such high currents is generally not feasible, or ultimately productive, other methods of capturing information regarding emitted light have been developed. Heretofore, for example, light emitted from integrated circuits has been recorded with time exposure photography. A shortcoming of this method, discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,680,635, is inability to isolate time as a factor in the light emission. That is to say, steady state conditions, but not transient conditions, can be observed by this method. Accordingly, failure mechanisms that can only be observed in the transient state, such as the hot electron effect in inverters, cannot be observed.
Also in the past light emissions from integrated circuits have been observed using infrared or optical microscopes. Shortcomings of such microscopes for this use are inability to resolve time varying effects (as discussed in the immediately preceding paragraph) and inability to detect faint and/or subtle contrasts in light emissions.
A third past method for observing light emission involves emission microscopes. Prior art details regarding such microscopes, as well as further information regarding the other analysis techniques discussed above in this description of related art section, may be found in the related case, as well as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,680,635, 4,755,874, and 4,811,090.
Prior art emission microscope systems, like the other past methods for analyzing circuits based upon light emissions, have a number of shortcomings and deficiencies. For example, the standard grade optical microscopes within prior art systems are not able to transmit light from the near ultraviolet to the infrared without a more than minimal loss of intensity. Although prior systems generally include filter wheels, these filter wheels are not automated and thus are not capable of "stepping through" each filter sequentially to accumulate a spectral graph. Prior art systems also suffer because of poor signal to noise ratios. The combination of an image intensifier and an electronically cooled CCD camera in prior art systems does not have the best quantum efficiency over a broad range of wavelengths presently attainable. Additionally, such a combination has a relatively poor signal to noise ratio. A number of other shortcomings of prior art systems are discussed in the related case.
Based upon all of the foregoing, it should be appreciated that prior art circuit inspection systems, even those incorporating state of the art emission microscopes, have a number of shortcomings and deficiencies that reduce their usefulness.


A gas turbine compressor presents a first fixed stage having a plurality of first adjustable vanes and a further fixed stage, which has an inner ring extending about a first axis; an outer ring arranged about the inner ring and coaxial with the inner ring; and a plurality of second adjustable vanes, each of which extends along a second axis in an essentially radial direction with respect to the first axis between the inner ring and the outer ring; and it is adjustable about the corresponding second axis independently from the first adjustable vanes.

Generally, a gas turbine compressor of the type identified above comprises a plurality of stages including a first fixed stage comprising a plurality of first adjustable vanes and a further fixed stage, which comprises an inner ring extending about a first axis; an outer ring arranged about the inner ring and coaxial with the inner ring; and a plurality of second adjustable vanes, each of which extends about a second axis in essentially radial direction with respect to the first axis between the inner ring and the outer ring.
A gas turbine compressor is crossed by a flow of air in axial direction: the function of the first fixed stage is to convey and orient the flow of air so as to optimise the action of the flow of air on a first impeller arranged directly downstream of the first fixed stage. Similarly, the function of the further fixed stage is to convey and orient the flow of air so as to optimise the action of the flow of air on a further impeller arranged directly downstream of the further fixed stage.
The orientation of the flow of air is obtained by adjusting the orientation of the first vanes in the first fixed stage and the orientation of the second vanes in the further fixed stage.
For this purpose, a gas turbine compressor of the known type is equipped with an adjusting device which allows to simultaneously adjust the orientation of the first vanes and of the second vanes.
This adjusting device has been proven inadequate because it requires the identification of a half-measure adjustment position: in other words, an optimal orientation of the first vanes does not correspond to an optimal orientation of the second vanes. For this reason, the functions of the compressor, and consequently of the gas turbine, cannot be optimised.
Furthermore, the adjusting device of the known type requires to adapt the shape and dimensions of the further fixed stage to the structure of the adjustment device.


A method and apparatus are provided for selecting transmission parameters for multiple transmit antenna arrays. In one embodiment, the invention includes receiving a signal from a remote radio, measuring the transmit coherency of the received signal, selecting, based on the transmit coherency, whether to apply coherent combining to signals transmitted to the remote radio using each of two transmit antenna arrays to each form a beam to coherently combine with each other beam upon receipt by the remote radio, selecting, based on the transmit coherency, whether to apply transmit diversity to signals transmitted to the remote radio using each of the two transmit antenna arrays as diversity antennas. The embodiment further includes determining signal transmission parameters to apply to the two antenna arrays for transmissions to the remote radio based on the selections, and transmitting a signal to the remote radio from the two transmit antenna arrays by applying the determined signal transmission parameters to the two transmit antenna arrays.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to the field of digital radio signal communications. More particularly, the invention relates to measuring signals received at different antenna arrays to determine transmit parameters for multiple transmit antenna arrays.
2. Description of the Related Art
Radio communications are sensitive to the environment in which the radio signals are transmitted and received. Communications can be lost or degraded when the environment is not favorable to the type of signals being transmitted. One particular environmental problem is fading due to scattering. This problem can cause multipath interference or completely prevent reception of a transmitted signal. One known way to mitigate fading due to scattering is to use receive or transmit diversity. Spatial receive diversity typically uses two receive antennas spaced a distance from each other. The receiver will either choose the antenna that receives the strongest signal or combine the signals from both antennas.
Delay receive diversity uses a single antenna and searches for multipath copies of a signal delayed in time. A RAKE receiver or an equalizer then combines the two or more signals to resolve the original single signal. Many digital cellular telephones are required to have receivers that can resolve signals with a number of chips or symbols of delay spread depending on the system.
Transmit diversity works much like receive diversity in reverse. Signals can be transmitted from spaced apart antennas. Transmit diversity schemes can enhance reception significantly under certain circumstances. However, they increase the complexity of the transmitter and the receiver. Also, for some environmental conditions, diversity transmission can reduce the quality of the received signal.

Beam forming and transmit diversity in a multiple array radio communications system


A cord management system operable to reduce or eliminate various forces exerted on a vacuum cleaner power cord. The system includes a swiveling strain relief incorporated into the vacuum handle and collars, used to connect sections of dirty air conduit, having exterior portions that enable the power cord to be retained in a secure manner.

Many contemporary cleaning devices are electrically powered. Such devices include vacuums, buffers, extractors, steam cleaners and other similar devices. Electrical power is typically supplied to the cleaning device through a power cord. The cord is routed from the power supply to a switch provided in the handle of the cleaning device for controlling the flow of electricity to a motor in the cleaning device. For this purpose, a first power cord adapted to be plugged into a wall outlet, is routed through the handle to the switch, and a second power cord is extended from the handle and into the head of the vacuum cleaner to power the vacuum cleaner motor. Although the routing scheme described above has many benefits, it does possess some inherent drawbacks that affect the ease-of-use and reliability of the cleaning device.
One drawback to the prior art routing scheme is the attachment between the first power cord and the handle of the cleaning device. Typically, the power cord enters a void formed in the handle and attaches to a power switch. In order to protect the connection between the first power cord and the switch from being pulled apart during use, the cord is tied down before a small extension or loop formed in the first power cord. When strain is placed on the power cord during use, the tie-down resists any tugging or pulling that would separate the cord from the switch. However, this design does little to protect the cord at the handle interface. The forces exerted upon the cord during use can come from various directions. For example, if the power cord is caught under the foot of an operator the forces exerted on the cord are in a downward direction thus resulting in the power cord being pulled outward and downward from the handle. Over time, repetition of this bending results in a sustained connection between the power cord and the switch but a degradation in the outer jacket of the power cord. Degradation of the power cord can result in breach of the cord insulation and possible shorts resulting in lower product life.
Another drawback to the prior art routing scheme is the attachment between the second power cord and the handle. The prior art scheme incorporates a plug in the handle that is used to supply power from the switch to the second power cord. The second power cord is inserted into the handle plug on one end and wired to the vacuum motor on the other end. The drawback to this design is the handle plug attachment. When in use, the second power cord is subjected to various forces that can pull the second power cord from the handle plug, resulting in power interruption.
Still another drawback with the second power cord is the necessity to supply cord clips to keep the second power cord routed close to the vacuum handle. The cord clips are metal or plastic circular pieces that mount on the upper and lower sections of the vacuum handle and secure the cord against pulling or tugging free when the vacuum is in use. However these cord clips are easily damaged and require additional maintenance and expense for the user.


An apparatus for forming a weld between first and second thermoplastic materials in which the softening temperature of the second thermoplastic material is lower than that of the first thermoplastic material. The apparatus includes a supplier for supplying the first thermoplastic material and the second thermoplastic material to the same weld position with the second thermoplastic material at a first side of the first thermoplastic material, and a projector for projecting a laser beam to the weld position from a second side of the first thermoplastic material.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to an apparatus for welding thermoplastic material with a laser. More particularly, the apparatus is for affixing an interlocking fastener at a predesignated position (for example, at the open end or folded end of a folded, extruded thermoplastic material, or between two separate sheets of thermoplastic material) in the manufacture of a resealable plastic bag.
2. Description of the Related Art
To fabricate products from sheets of thermoplastic material, it is often necessary to seal the thermoplastic material to itself or to similar material. Such materials are heat fusible, and it is therefore possible to form the seals (or welds) by the application of thermal energy.
As is known, the temperature to which the thermoplastic sheet is raised to form the weld must be carefully controlled. If the temperature is raised too far, the thermoplastic material melts and simply separates. On the other hand, if the temperature is not raised far enough, no weld is formed. Therefore, in forming a weld, it is necessary to raise the temperature of the thermoplastic material to a point between its softening temperature and the melting point thereof.
Conventional techniques for raising the temperature include steps such as mechanically pressing two sheets of thermoplastic film together between heated sealing bars, applying radio-frequency or ultrasonic energy, or applying heated compressed air blown through opposed nozzles to seal the material together. Such techniques, however, have significant drawbacks, primarily in the speed at which the thermoplastic material may be welded.
In view of this shortcoming, it has been recognized to use a laser to form a weld in sheets of thermoplastic material. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,560,291 and 3,769,117 describe bonding of thermoplastic resin films using radiation from a laser source by focusing the laser beam to a point and scanning or moving the laser beam relative to the thermoplastic material. Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 4,069,080 describes welding thermoplastic sheets together by focusing a laser beam into a line, thereby eliminating the need for relative movement between the laser beam and the thermoplastic sheet.
While these patents describe systems which are advantageous from the perspective of utilizing a laser beam to form the weld rather than mechanical heating means, the state of the art is still not acceptable.
For example, the welds formed by such systems are often incomplete due to various combinations of improper registration between the sheets, improper coordination of laser power, improper conveying speed of the sheet, and incorrect sealing pressure. Incomplete welds (sometimes called "peel welds") are also caused by absorption of the laser power by the first layer of thermoplastic material, thereby reducing the amount of laser power available to heat the second layer of plastic material. This problem is particularly acute in devices where more than two layers of thermoplastic material must be welded, thereby precluding the simple solution of projecting laser power from both sides of the weld. Furthermore, incomplete welds may be caused by an improper distribution of the laser power within the profile of the layers of thermoplastic material.

Welding thermoplastic material with a laser


An electronic circuit in a package-in-package configuration and a production method is disclosed. One embodiment provides an arrangement enveloped by an encapsulation and composed of at least one semiconductor element on an element carrier, at least one leadframe with at least one inner contact-connection, at least one inner lead running within the encapsulation, and at least one outer contact-connection led out from the encapsulation. The inner lead has an exposed inner lead section which can be contact-connected from the outer side of the package-in-package configuration.

The invention relates to an electronic circuit in a package-in-package (PiP) configuration and to a production method for such a circuit.
Electronic circuits in a package-in-package configuration, referred to hereinafter as PiP configuration, include an encapsulated active electronic component, in particular a semiconductor element or a semiconductor chip with an integrated circuit, which is mechanically fixed and electrically contact-connected on an element carrier generally together with further electronic components. An inner contact-connection is led from the element carrier to a leadframe. The encapsulated active component, the element carrier, the inner contact-connection and the leadframe are in turn enclosed with one another into a housing, for example by using a molding compound.
The electronic linking of this encapsulated arrangement toward the outside is formed by an inner lead which leads from the encapsulated leadframe toward the outside, runs within the encapsulation and joins an outer contact-connection. The PiP configuration mentioned is finally anchored on a larger printed circuit board of a corresponding final product.
PiP configurations of this type are produced by applying a housed electronic component, where necessary also together with other components, to the internal element carrier and anchoring the component(s) there. The element carrier is then contact-connected, in particular bonded, to the leadframe. Afterward, the leadframe together with the element carrier and the electronic components situated thereon is encapsulated with the exception of the outer contact-connections, by molding compound being molded on.
FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a PiP configuration in a view from above. An active electronic component, in particular a semiconductor device 20, and a further component 30 are situated within an outer encapsulation 10, which is usually composed of a molding compound. In this case, the semiconductor element 20 is accommodated in a first encapsulation, which is not explicitly illustrated here, and is contact-connected onto an element carrier 40.
The element carrier is generally formed as an internal printed circuit card. The element carrier is surrounded by a leadframe 50 and electrically contact-connected thereto via inner contact-connections 51. That part of the leadframe which runs within the encapsulation forms an inner lead 60. The terminal parts of the leadframe which are led out from the encapsulation form a series of outer contact-connections 70 of the component, the conventional "pins", in the PiP configuration.
In this case, a sealing web 75 or a comparable means can be provided in the region of the outer contact-connections 70. It encloses the interfaces between the encapsulation 10 and the outer contact-connections 70 and tightly connects the outer contact-connections to the encapsulation. In the case of the example illustrated in FIG. 1, the inner passive electronic component 30 is contact-connected on the inner lead 60 and likewise encapsulated.
In the case of the example of FIG. 1, the semiconductor element 20, the passive component 30, the element carrier 40, the leadframe 50, the contact-connections 55 and the inner lead 60 are all concealed under the encapsulation 10. The only possibility for contact-connection of the PiP configuration is via the outer contact-connections 70, which are usually anchored on an outer printed circuit board or circuit board (likewise not illustrated here). In a corresponding manner, all required additional electronic components or circuits that are to be provided in supplementation to the PiP configuration are arranged on the outer printed circuit board and demand a corresponding space and a specific individual design of the printed circuit board. The design of the printed circuit board has to be planned anew in each case depending on the circuit to be realized.
Additional electronic individual components, in particular resistors, transistors, diodes or capacitors, have hitherto been arranged individually on a printed circuit board alongside the PiP configuration. This takes place even when they are in a direct circuitry relationship with the PiP configuration. The space taken up by the PiP configuration and the components on the printed circuit board is correspondingly large in this case. Since the (passive) individual components are anchored fixedly and separately on the printed circuit board, a prior functional test of the interaction of the components with the PiP configuration and an exchange that may be required are not possible, or are possible only with a very high outlay.
Depending on the required task of the PiP configuration, a given PiP configuration often has to be combined with different passive components. However, the rigid and separate arrangement of the passive components on the printed circuit board prevents a genuinely modular use of the PiP configuration and requires a complicated redesign of each printed circuit board on account of the different passive components in each case.
Recourse is also had variously to solutions using multichip modules. Embodiments of this type are expensive and have a series of disadvantages, in particular a loss of yield, i.e. a decrease in productivity, material and effectiveness, in the case of a negative functional test due to a loss of good electronic components.
For these and other reasons, there is a need for the present invention.

Electronic circuit in a package-in-package configuration and production method


An undesirable side effect of some processes that are used for forming dual gate devices is the formation of defects at the interface between the two oxide layers of different thickness. This problem has been solved by preceding the HF wet dip (that is used to thin out a selected area of oxide) with exposure of the photoresist to a low power plasma that includes some oxygen. This treatment removes unsaturated chemical bonds from the resist surface and prevents the formation of SiC based defects. Such defects could cause polysilicon lines to short or open, depending on their size.

The invention relates to the general field of integrated circuits with particular reference to photolithography.
It is often the case in current integrated circuit technology that there will be two field effect transistors (FETs) that are situated close to one another but, because they will be used to perform different functions (e.g. one might be part of a logic circuit while the other is part of a memory array) the thicknesses of their gate oxides will not be the same. There are several approaches to manufacturing such dual gate structures. The approach used as part of the present invention is to start with a substrate, such as a silicon wafer 11, as illustrated in FIG. 1, and form shallow isolation trenches 12 in the surface, the intent being to form one FET per inter-trench space.
Accordingly, oxide layer 13 is first formed on the surface following which those portions that are to be used for the thicker oxide devices are protected by photoresist mask 21 (FIG. 2). The next step is to then etch the unprotected portions of oxide layer 13 so as to reduce its thickness there. An important aspect of the process is that the step that follows, which is the routine removal of photoresist mask 21, is performed using a wet strip process instead of the more usual plasma dry ashing process. This is to prevent damage to the dual gate oxide by the high energy plasma that is part of the ashing process.
The intent of the of the above-described process is to form the structure shown in FIG. 3. Unfortunately, it has been found that there is often an undesirable side effect which we have illustrated schematically in FIG. 4. Shown there is defect 44 that appears at the interface between the two thicknesses of oxide, 23 and 13. 44 is a particle of silicon carbide (SiC) that can form due to unsaturated bonds on the photoresist surface, at the edge of the photoresist pattern, that will react with SiF6 during the wet etch process.
These SiC defects stay on the wafer surface after the wet strip process, and can cause shorts or opens of the poly lines, depending on their size. The present invention discloses a process for ensuring that said SiC defects do not form.
A routine search of the prior art was performed with the following references of interest being found:
A process for forming a dual gate dielectric is described by Fang et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,588,035. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,146,795, Huang et al. form two oxide layers of different thicknesses by first forming a single oxide layer all over, removing the oxide from one area, and then performing a second oxidation step all over. The problem to which they provide a solution is how to ensure that there is no residual photoresist left behind prior to initiating the second oxidation step. The process that they disclose is the use of a low power plasma etch done in combination with X-ray spectroscopy (to detect carbon) to ensure that all photoresist is removed while at the same time not damaging the oxide that has been left in place.
It has been an object of the present invention to provide a process for the formation of dual gate devices having different gate oxide thicknesses.
Another object of the invention has been that no defects get formed at the interface between the two different gate oxide thicknesses.
Still another object has been to remove unsaturated chemical bonds from the edge of the photoresist mask that is used in the process.
These objects have been achieved by preceding the HF wet dip (that is used to thin out the oxide) with exposure of the photoresist to a low power plasma that includes some oxygen. This treatment removes unsaturated chemical bonds from the resist surface and prevents the formation of SiC based defects. Such defects could cause polysilicon lines to short or open, depending on their size.

Prevention of defects formed in photoresist during wet etching

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company


A new and distinct variety of rose with long lasting, novel cream white flowers, and attractive foliage with good disease resistance. It exhibits compact growth with abundant flowers. The new variety propagates well from cuttings and by grafting. This new and distinct variety has shown to be uniform and stable in the resulting generations from asexual propagation.

The present discovery constitutes a new and distinct variety of a miniature rose plant which was discovered in a cultivated area in my nursery June 2010. The new rose variety resulted from a naturally occurring mutation of unknown causation on a branch of 'KORcarubo', a non-patented rose variety from the same inventor.
The new rose plant was asexually propagated for further evaluation. This new and distinctive miniature rose variety is named 'KORpot036'.

W. Kordes' Söhne Rosenschulen GmbH & Co KG


In an injection molding nozzle comprising a nozzle body including a passage with a nozzle opening, a thermoelement disposed in the nozzle body and a clamping sleeve disposed on the nozzle body and having an internal cavity with an access opening through which the thermoelement extends into the cavity, the cavity has a radially outer wall which is inclined so that by movement of the clamping sleeve relative to the thermoelement the thermoelement is firmly engaged with the nozzle body so as to establish a good heat transfer contact between the nozzle body and the thermoelement.

The invention relates to an injection molding nozzle having a nozzle body with a flow passage with a nozzle opening and a mounting sleeve for a temperature sensor.
Such an injection molding nozzle, also called a "hot channel nozzle", is well-known in the art and has been manufactured and sold by the Applicant for some time.
In the known injection molding nozzle, a temperature sensor which is provided for measuring the nozzle temperature in the area of the nozzle opening, is inserted into a cavity extending in the area of the nozzle opening into the interior of the nozzle body.
The temperature sensor is generally arranged in a small tube through which also the connecting wires for the temperature sensor extend. Since a heating coil extends around the nozzle body, the temperature sensor or, respectively, the tube in which the temperature sensor is disposed and through which the connecting wires extend must not project from the nozzle body. Therefore, starting at the cavity, the nozzle body is provided with an axially extending groove in which the tube including the wires leading to the temperature sensor are accommodated.
Since the cavity extends into the interior of the nozzle body but the groove extends in axial direction of the nozzle body, the front end of the tube with the temperature sensor needs to be bent over. Since the temperature sensor should be in good contact with the nozzle body to provide for a good heat exchange therebetween, the bending angle and bending procedure must be very precise which requires an expensive procedure.
Furthermore, an unevenness of the heating coil disadvantageously affects the force with which the temperature sensor is biased in contact with the bottom wall of the cavity. Also, this force is not always the same which result in different heat transfer resistances between the temperature sensor and the nozzle body in different injection molding nozzles.
Different heat transfer resistances between the temperature sensors and the nozzle bodies result in measuring inaccuracies which is disadvantageous since, as a result, the temperature of a nozzle body as measured by the temperature sensor in areas of the nozzle opening does not provide the same value for every nozzle. This is particularly disadvantageous if an injection mold includes several injection nozzles since different temperatures result in different viscosities of the plastic material being injected. This results in a different constitution of different areas of the product being manufactured and consequently in a loss in a quality of the product.
It is the object of the present invention to provide an injection molding nozzle with a temperature sensor arranged in the area of the nozzle opening wherein the temperature sensor is disposed reliably in good heat transfer contact with the nozzle body in a simple manner.

Injection molding nozzle with mounting sleeve for temperature sensor


Interconnects for integrated circuit substrates are formed by forming a diffusion-barrier film on an integrated circuit substrate and amorphizing the diffusion-barrier film to create an amorphous diffusion-barrier film. A copper film is then formed on the amorphous diffusion-barrier film. Amorphizing may be performed by implanting ions into the diffusion-barrier film. The diffusion-barrier film can include Mo, W, Ti, Wn, TiW, TiN and the ions may be boron, nitrogen and silicon ions. Interconnect structures according to the invention include an amorphous conductive diffusion-barrier film on an integrated circuit substrate and a copper film on the amorphous conductive diffusion-barrier film. The amorphous conductive diffusion-barrier film preferably contains ions therein. The amorphous conductive diffusion-barrier film and the ions may be selected from materials as described above.

Interconnects are generally used in integrated circuits to connect the active devices thereof. For example, in an integrated circuit such a microprocessor or a memory device containing thousands or millions of transistors, interconnects are used to connect the transistors to one another in predetermined interconnection patterns to form an operational device. As the integration density of integrated circuit devices continues to increase, multiple levels of interconnects are used to form all the requisite connections between active devices in the integrated circuit. The interconnects are generally formed of metal such as aluminum or copper.
As the integration density of integrated circuit devices continues to increase, the performance of the interconnects may have a larger impact on the performance of the integrated circuit. In particular, the interconnect structure and fabrication process may have a significant impact on the operational speed, product yields and reliability of the integrated circuit devices.
In integrated circuits with low integration density, metal interconnects are generally formed of pure aluminum. However, since aluminum can absorb silicon atoms from a silicon substrate during high temperature processing, junction spiking may occur. Accordingly, an alloy of aluminum and one percent silicon, referred to as Al-1% Si may be used instead of pure aluminum. The Al-1% Si may be obtained by oversaturating aluminum with silicon.
Unfortunately, when Al-1% Si is used for an interconnect, silicon may precipitate from the interconnect during heat treatments at about 450.degree. C. and above, thus forming silicon residues. The silicon residues may epitaxially grow in a solid phase in a contact hole, thus forming a silicon nodule. These silicon nodules may undesirably increase the contact resistance of the metal interconnect.
In order to reduce or prevent aluminum spiking, silicon residues and/or silicon nodules which are caused by reactions between a metal interconnect and a silicon substrate, it is known to use a diffusion-barrier film between the metal interconnect layer and an underlying substrate or insulation layer. For example, titanium nitride (TiN) thin films may be used as a diffusion barrier.
Copper is now being increasingly investigated and used as an interconnect for high density integrated circuits, among other reasons because copper has a lower resistivity than aluminum. Unfortunately, since copper diffuses more rapidly in a diffusion-barrier film than aluminum, a conventional TiN diffusion-barrier film may lose its ability to function as a diffusion barrier at 600.degree. C. or above. The diffusion barrier effectiveness may be lost because a TiN film may not efficiently block copper diffused along the grain boundaries which are formed in the columnar structure of a TiN film. In addition, because the TiN film is generally formed by sputtering, the TiN film may be uneven and may have poor step coverage.

Methods of fabricating copper interconnects for integrated circuits


An imaging system for processing image data of an object containing a component. The imaging system includes an imaging device arranged to obtain image data and a processor. The processor is adapted to receive the image data from the imaging device, obtain a component model for the component, obtain an imaging device model for the imaging device, construct an unconstrained objective function based on the component model and the imaging device model, and construct a model of the object containing the component based on the unconstrained objective function and the image data, and a display device adapted to display an image for the object containing the component based on the model.

1. Field of Invention
The current invention relates to processing image data, and more particularly to model-based processing of image data.
2. Discussion of Related Art
The contents of all references, including articles, published patent applications and patents referred to anywhere in this specification are hereby incorporated by reference.
In tomographic imaging, there are many situations in which portions of the image volume are known a priori. Examples in orthopedics include a component for which exact knowledge may be known, for example, pedicle screws and rods for spine surgery, knee and hip implants for joint replacements, and plates and screws for fixation in trauma cases. In image-guided procedures, surgical tools are often placed within the imaging field. When these components are metallic, measurements whose projections contain those elements can suffer from reduced signal-to-noise ratio due to photon starvation. Similarly, since reconstruction of highly attenuating components involves mathematical inversion of near zero projection values, algorithms tend to be very sensitive to any biases (e.g., due to polyenergetic effects). Both of these effects tend to produce streak artifacts in the reconstructed images [B. De Man, et al., "Metal streak artifacts in X-ray computed tomography: A simulation study," IEEE Trans Nuclear Science, vol. 46, pp. 691-696, 1999; J. F. Barrett and N. Keat, "Artifacts in CT: recognition and avoidance," Radiographics, vol. 24, pp. 1679-91, November-December 2004].
Such artifacts tend to be particularly troublesome since it is often the region immediately surrounding the component that is of diagnostic interest, which is exactly where the artifacts tend to be most pronounced. Particular situations where image quality in the neighborhood of a metallic component is critical include the visualization around implants for indications of subsidence or osteolysis [S. D. Stulberg, et al., "Monitoring pelvic osteolysis following total hip replacement surgery: an algorithm for surveillance," J Bone Joint Surg Am, vol. 84-A Suppl 2, pp. 116-22, 2002], assessment of pedicle screw placement to avoid critical structures in the spine [L. T. Holly and K. T. Foley, "Three-dimensional fluoroscopy-guided percutaneous thoracolumbar pedicle screw placement. Technical note," J Neurosurg, vol. 99, pp. 324-9, October 2003; M. Y. Wang, et al., "Reliability of three-dimensional fluoroscopy for detecting pedicle screw violations in the thoracic and lumbar spine," Neurosurgery, vol. 54, pp. 1138-42; discussion 1142-3, May 2004], and biopsy needle guidance [B. Daly, et al., "Percutaneous abdominal and pelvic interventional procedures using CT fluoroscopy guidance," AJR Am J Roentgenol, vol. 173, pp. 637-44, September 1999].
Various approaches have been developed to mitigate metal streak artifacts [B. De Man, et al., "Reduction of metal steak artifacts in X-ray computed tomography using a transmission maximum a posteriori algorithm," IEEE Trans Nuclear Science, vol. 47, pp. 977-981, 2000 2000; G. H. Glover and N. J. Pelc, "An algorithm for the reduction of metal clip artifacts in CT reconstructions," Med Phys, vol. 8, pp. 799-807, November-December 1981; W. A. Kalender, et al., "Reduction of CT artifacts caused by metallic implants," Radiology, vol. 164, pp. 576-7, August 1987; H. Li, et al., "Metal artifact suppression from reformatted projections in multislice helical CT using dual-front active contours," Med Phys, vol. 37, pp. 5155-64, October 2010; D. D. Robertson, et al., "Total hip prosthesis metal-artifact suppression using iterative deblurring reconstruction," J Comput Assist Tomogr, vol. 21, pp. 293-8, March-April 1997; G. Wang, et al., "Iterative deblurring for CT metal artifact reduction," IEEE Trans Med Imaging, vol. 15, pp. 657-64, 1996; O. Watzke and W. A. Kalender, "A pragmatic approach to metal artifact reduction in CT: merging of metal artifact reduced images," Eur Radiol, vol. 14, pp. 849-56, May 2004; B. P. Medoff, et al., "Iterative Convolution Backprojection Algorithms for Image-Reconstruction from Limited Data," Journal of the Optical Society of America, vol. 73, pp. 1493-1500, 1983; J. Rinkel, et al., "Computed tomographic metal artifact reduction for the detection and quantitation of small features near large metallic implants: a comparison of published methods," J Comput Assist Tomogr, vol. 32, pp. 621-9, July-August 2008].
Many methods consider measurements through metal to be missing data. The missing data can simply be eliminated from the reconstruction algorithm [B. P. Medoff, et al., "Iterative Convolution Backprojection Algorithms for Image-Reconstruction from Limited Data," Journal of the Optical Society of America, vol. 73, pp. 1493-1500, 1983], or may be filled in using values based on the neighborhood of the missing data [G. H. Glover and N. J. Pelc, "An algorithm for the reduction of metal clip artifacts in CT reconstructions," Med Phys, vol. 8, pp. 799-807, November-December 1981; W. A. Kalender, et al., "Reduction of CT artifacts caused by metallic implants," Radiology, vol. 164, pp. 576-7, August 1987]. However, rarely is the exact knowledge of the metal component used.
Tomographic imaging generally benefits from the incorporation of prior knowledge into the reconstruction algorithm. This is particularly true for situations that involve under-sampling and low signal-to-noise. Methods that seek to correct for metal streak artifacts tend to require identification of spatial locations in the volume, or the locations in the projection image where the metal implant lies. This localization typically relies on knowledge that the metal components have a high attenuation coefficient. In effect, this is a relatively weak incorporation of prior knowledge.
In penalized-likelihood reconstruction schemes, general knowledge about the image can be included via Gibbs priors or penalty functions [K. Lange, "Convergence of EM image reconstruction algorithms with Gibbs smoothing," IEEE Trans Med Imaging, vol. 9, pp. 439-46, 1990; T. Hebert and R. Leahy, "A generalized EM algorithm for 3-D Bayesian reconstruction from Poisson data using Gibbs priors," IEEE Trans Med Imaging, vol. 8, pp. 194-202, 1989; J. B. Thibault, et al., "A three-dimensional statistical approach to improved image quality for multislice helical CT," Med Phys, vol. 34, pp. 4526-44, November 2007; J. Wang, et al., "Iterative image reconstruction for CBCT using edge-preserving prior," Med Phys, vol. 36, pp. 252-60, January 2009].
In more recent work, very specific image priors that incorporate prior scans of the anatomy have been used in algorithms like PICCS [G. H. Chen, et al., "Prior image constrained compressed sensing (PICCS): a method to accurately reconstruct dynamic CT images from highly undersampled projection data sets," Med Phys, vol. 35, pp. 660-3, February 2008] and modified penalized-likelihood approaches [J. Stayman, et al., "Penalized-likelihood reconstruction for sparse data acquisitions with unregistered prior images and compressed sensing penalties," in SPIE Medical Imaging, 2011]. However, these approaches still result in low imaging quality.
There is thus a need for improved processing of image data.


An embodiment of the present invention relates to a composition containing a polymer oroligomer (A) having a repeating unit with hole transport properties and also having a thienylgroup which may have a substituent, and an initiator (B), wherein the solubility of the composition is capable of being changed by applying heat, light, or both heat and light.

Organic electronic elements are elements which perform electrical actions using organic matter. It is expected that organic electronic elements will be able to provide advantages such as energy conservation, low prices and superior flexibility, and they are attracting considerable attention as an alternative technology to conventional inorganic semiconductors based mainly on silicon.
Among organic electronic elements, organic EL elements are attracting attention, for example, as substitutes for incandescent lamps or gas-filled lamps in large-surface area solid state light source applications. Further, they are also attracting attention as the self-luminous display most likely to replace liquid crystal displays (LCD) in the field of flat panel displays (FPO), and commercialization of organic EL elements continues to progress.
Organic EL elements are broadly classified into two types depending on the organic material used, namely low-molecular weight organic EL elements and polymer organic EL elements. Low-molecular weight materials are used as the organic material for low-molecular weight organic EL elements, and polymer materials are used as the organic material for polymer organic EL elements. Compared with low-molecular weight organic EL elements, for which film formation is mainly performed in a vacuum system, polymer organic EL elements can employ simple film formation methods such as printing or inkjet application. Accordingly, it is expected that polymer organic EL elements will be indispensible elements for future large-screen organic EL displays.
Both low-molecular weight organic EL elements and polymer organic EL elements have already been researched intensively, but improving properties of the elements such as the luminous efficiency and the lifetime of the element remain problems. Using multiple layers for the organic layer that constitutes the organic EL element is used as one method of addressing these problems.
In a low-molecular weight organic EL element, because film formation is generally performed by a vapor deposition method, multilayering can be easily achieved by sequentially changing the compound used in the vapor deposition. On the other hand, multilayering is problematic in polymer organic EL elements. The reason for this problem is that, in polymer organic EL elements, because film formation is performed by a wet process such as printing or inkjet application, the previously formed lower layer dissolves during formation of the upper layer. In order to enable multilayering of a polymer organic EL element, a method is required in which the already formed lower layer does not change during formation of the upper layer.
In order to achieve multilayering, investigations have been conducted into the use of compounds having significantly different solubility levels. One typical example of this method is an element having a 2-layer structure consisting of a hole injection layer composed of polythiophene:polystyrene sulfonic acid {PEDOT:PSS) formed using a water dispersion, and a light-emitting layer formed using an aromatic organic solvent such as toluene. In this case, because the hole injection layer composed of PEDOT:PSS does not dissolve in the aromatic organic solvent, the 2-layer structure can be produced.
However, in this element, the removal of water is problematic, and water can cause a deterioration in the properties of the organic EL element. Further, because drying at a high temperature and/or for a long period of time is performed to remove the water, preparation of an organic EL element using a resin substrate is difficult. Furthermore, there are considerable limitations associated with processes in which reduced pressure conditions are required for the removal of water.
Another method for achieving multilayering that is being investigated utilizes reactions between compounds {for example, see Non-Patent Document 1, Patent Document 1, and Patent Document 2). These documents disclose methods of achieving multilayering by reacting a polymerizable substituent that has been introduced into a compound. For example, these methods include multilayering that uses the polymerization reaction of a silyl group, styryl group, oxetane group or acrylic group or the like, and multilayering that uses the dimerization of a trifluorovinyl ether group or a benzocyclobutene group or the like.

Composition capable of changing its solubility, hole transport material composition, and organic electronic element using the same


A motor monitoring and control circuit calculates a value parameter for a position of the motor at given instants. The same parameter (which may be position or speed of a rotor) is then measured at subsequent instants. These values are used to compute a future value of the parameter. The motor monitoring and control circuit is advantageous in that it can be used for any type of motor and can be easily and quickly fitted to a motor without the need for expensive and time consuming initial measurements and computations of characteristic properties of the motor in order to calibrate it. Similarly, automatic compensation is made during operation.

Many types of electric motors incorporate an electronic commutator which adjusts the winding excitation according to the instantaneous position of the rotor. The position of the rotor may be determined mechanically, but is advantageously deduced from the motor's current and voltage waveforms. Mechanical determination can involve complex and expensive equipment, and may detrimentally affect the rotor's inertia and friction characteristics.
A paper entitled "Application of stochastic filtering to a permanent magnet synchronous motor-drive system without electro-mechanical sensors", by Dhaouadi, R. et al. (Proc. ICEM, Boston, 1990) discloses a method of determining rotor position which involves detecting electrical characteristics (phase voltages and currents) of the motor at given instants and estimating rotor position from these characteristics using an extended Kalman filter algorithm. An initial estimate of rotor position is provided by solving the mechanical equation of motion for the rotor. Phase flux linkage, the value for which is utilised in the determination of rotor position, is modelled as being linearly dependent on phase current.
A paper entitled "A state observer for variable reluctance motors: analysis and experiments", by Lumsdaine, A. et al. (Proc. ASILOMAR Conference on Circuits, Systems and Computers, Pacific Grove, 1985) discloses a similar method in which rotor position is estimated from the electrical characteristics using a state observer model.
The disadvantages with these techniques are that they are limited to specific types of electric motor and that they are limited to specific operating condition ranges.
The present invention seeks to solve these problems. In its various aspects, the invention provides techniques which can be applied to virtually any type of motor having phase flux linkage varying with rotor position. Such motor types include switched and variable reluctance motors, hybrid stepping motors, permanent magnet synchronous motors, brushless alternating and direct current motors, and sinusoidal and trapezoidal permanent magnet motors. In particular, the invention can be applied to any motor which is controlled in dependence on rotor position (so called "rotor position switched drives"). Other arrangements are described below.
International Patent Application No. PCT/SE90/00498 describes an arrangement in which magnetic flux in a motor is compared with tabulated values of a non linear function of magnetic flux with respect to current.
IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications Vol. 27 No. 5 pages 1005-1011 describes a controller for use to control motor speed without the need for a sensor. Two line voltages and stator currents are employed to compute a flux linkage space vector. An indication of angular velocity is then computed using the phase angle of the vector and the rate of change of flux linkage.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,107,195 describes an apparatus and method which simultaneously senses phase current and phase flux, determines the reluctance of the stator-to-rotor air gap and evaluates the position of the rotor phase with respect to the stator pole tips.