Provided is a method for hopping frequencies of an OFDM (orthogonal-frequency-division-multiplexing) symbol, including: receiving an OFDM symbol comprising mapping information as to a type of disposing sub-carriers of the OFDM symbol, a frequency hopping pattern, and positions of pilots; and mapping the type, the frequency hopping pattern, and the positions of the pilots based on the mapping information.

1. Field of the Invention
Methods consistent with the present invention relate to hopping frequencies of an orthogonal-frequency-division-multiplexing (OFDM) symbol, and more particularly, to mapping a method of grouping sub-carriers and setting of positions of pilots with reference to reserved bits in a physical (PHY) layer header before transmitting data using an OFDM modulation method so as to hop frequencies of an OFDM symbol.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, an OFDM system transforms symbols input in series into parallel symbols having predetermined sizes, multiplex the parallel symbols into orthogonal sub-carrier frequencies, and transmit the parallel symbols over the orthogonal sub-carrier frequencies.
A multi-band (MB)-OFDM method is characterized in that a plurality of frequency bands of an OFDM symbol is hopped in a unit of a symbol to transmit a signal. For example, the MB-OFDM method is modulation technology used in a specific wireless communication system such as an ultra wide band (UWB) system. OFDM modulation technology and frequency hopping technology are combined into MB-OFDM modulation technology.
An MB-OFDM system divides a predetermined frequency band into a plurality of sub-bands. The MB-OFDM system can transmit data (a symbol) using the plurality of sub-bands so as to transmit or receive a large amount of data per unit time. A UWB system selects one of the plurality of sub-bands and uses the selected sub-band according to set regulations so as to improve security of data.
FIG. 1A is a view illustrating a plurality of sub-bands to be used in an MB-OFDM system. As shown in FIG. 1A, a center frequency of a frequency band of the MB-OFDM system ranges from 3432 MHz to 10296 MHz. The frequency band of the MB-OFDM system is broadly divided into five groups. Each of first through fourth groups of the five groups includes three sub-bands, and a fifth group includes two sub-bands.
Center frequencies of the three sub-bands of the first group are 3432 MHz, 3960 MHz, and 4488 MHz, respectively, and center frequencies of the three sub-bands of the second group are 5016 MHz, 5544 MHz, and 6072 MHz, respectively. Center frequencies of the three sub-bands of the third group are 6600 MHz, 7128 MHz, and 7656 MHz, respectively, and center frequencies of the three sub-bands of the fourth group are 8184 MHz, 8712 MHz, and 9240 MHz, respectively. Center frequencies of the two sub-bands of the fifth group are 9768 MHz and 10296 MHz, respectively.
Table 1 below shows a method of transmitting payloads according to a transmission rate in the MB-OFDM system.
TABLE 1TransmissionModulationEncodingSpreadingRateMethodRateConjugateTSFGain53.3QPSK⅓∘2480QPSK½∘24106.67QPSK⅓x22160QPSK½x22200QPSK⅝x22320DCM½x11400DCM⅝x11480DCM¾x11
In a case where the transmission rate ranges from 53.3 Mbps to 200 Mbps, the MB-OFDM system uses a quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) method. In a case where the transmission rate ranges from 320 Mbps to 480 Mbps, the MB-OFDM system uses a dual carrier modulation (DCM) method.
In a case where the transmission rate ranges from 53.3 Mbps to 80 Mbps, the MB-OFDM system transmits a conjugate symbol. Thus, the spreading gain is "4." In other words, in a case where the transmission rate ranges from 53.3 Mbps to 80 Mbps, a time spreading factor (TSF) is "2." Thus, one symbol is transmitted four times, including a conjugate symbol.
Table 2 below shows an example of transmitting a symbol in an MB-OFDM system having a transmission rate ranging from 53.3 Mbps to 80 Mbps.
TABLE 2DataMapping DataD0C0D1C1. . .. . .D49C49D49*C50. . .. . .D1*C98D0*C99
Referring to Table 2, one data is transmitted two times, including a conjugate data. In other words, a transmitter transmits data D0 through D49 together with conjugate data D0* through D49*. In general, if the QPSK method is used, the transmitter divides one data into real and imaginary components and transmits the real and imaginary components.
The MB-OFDM system operating as described above is used in a method of modulating a UWB signal for fast short-distance communications. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) limits power emission for UWB communications to −41.3 dBm/MHz and limits levels to reduce interference among different frequency bands. According to IEEE 802.15.3a, power consumption is required to be 110 mW or less at a transmission rate of 110 Mbps, and 250 mW or less at a transmission rate of 200 Mbps.
Thus, an OFDM symbol must be transmitted at low power to use an MB-OFDM modulation method for UWB communications. Thus, technology for lowering a transmission power of an OFDM symbol is required. Also, low power UWB technology is required to apply UWB technology to mobile devices.

Method for hopping frequency of orthogonal-frequency-division-multiplexing symbol


A semiconductor component and method of testing a semiconductor component is disclosed. The invention relates to the parallel testing of semiconductor memory components having a fully functional memory area, which are classified as all good memory, and of semiconductor memory components having a restricted memory area, which are classified as partial good memory. For testing semiconductor memory components classified as partial good memory, the result, independently of the result of the comparison for those test addresses which are assigned to a memory area outside the functional memory area of the semiconductor memory component classified as partial good memory, is overwritten with an error free signal and a semiconductor memory component classified as all good memory is simulated. The testing of semiconductor memory components classified as partial good memory is accelerated and simplified.

A known semiconductor memory component is described in the patent specification U.S. Pat. No. 6,546,503.
Commercially conventional semiconductor memory components such as SRAMs, DRAMs and MRAMs are manufactured with regard to the address space and the extent of the smallest addressable memory unit, the data word width. A 512 Mbit DRAM in 32 Mbit×16 organization comprises an address space of 225 bits or 32 Mbits, data words having a length of 16 data bits being addressed in each case. The DRAM then has 16 I/O data line connections and also 225 individually selectable addressing lines. In the simplest case, the addressing lines are selected by means of two binary address decoders each having 13 inputs. The two address decoders are driven via an internal address bus having 13 internal address lines and are loaded successively from an address register. The address register is connected to 13 external address connections of the DRAM via which in each case two address words each having 13 address bits are read successively into the address register.
The semiconductor memory components are provided with surplus, redundant memory cells. Functional memory cells are activated or nonfunctional memory cells are deactivated depending on the result of a functional test of the memory cells, so that an error-free memory cell array of the respectively manufactured size is produced given sufficient resources.
If the functional memory area includes the area which can be completely addressed and evaluated by means of the internal addressing and data lines, then the respective semiconductor memory component is fully functional. The semiconductor memory component is consequently classified as "all good memory" and sorted and treated further as such.
If the redundancy provided in the semiconductor memory component does not suffice to classify a fully functional memory cell array in the above sense, then the respective semiconductor memory component can be configured as such with a restricted memory area. The functional memory area of such a semiconductor memory component is smaller than would be available, that is to say addressable and evaluatable, by means of the internal addressing lines or data lines. A semiconductor memory component having a functional memory area which is smaller than could be made available by means of the addressing lines and data lines is generally classified as "partial good memory" and is consequently sorted and treated further as such.
In the case of a 512 Mbit DRAM classified as a "half good memory," only half of the memory area available in accordance with the design is functional and either half of the data lines or one of the individual registers of one of the address decoders do not function. Such a half good memory differs from a 256 Mbit DRAM of the same technology which is classified as all good memory by virtue of the total number of memory cells.
A 512 Mbit DRAM downgraded to a half good memory (downgraded DRAM) can functionally replace a 256 Mbit DRAM given corresponding wiring of the address and data line connections.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,810,492 describes memory modules on which in each case a plurality of partial good RDRAMs simulate and replace one or a plurality of fully functional RDRAMs.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,841,957 describes a programmable decoding device for connection of semiconductor memory components having a restricted I/O data area, which are classified as partial good memory, to a standard memory bus.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,668,763 relates to an internal circuit supplementation for DRAMs for increasing the yield of semiconductor memory components which can in each case be classified as partial good memory.
Components classified as partial good memory are used in a multiplicity of applications for which, for instance, the dimensions or the full functionality of the semiconductor memory component are insignificant.
There are obtainable, as partial good memories, half good memories having half the memory capacity of a structurally identical all good memory, "quarter good memories" and "three-quarter good memories" having a quarter and three quarters, respectively, of the original memory area and also audio DRAMs (ADRAMs) for audio applications.
Partial good memories are already identified as such on the unseparated wafer and are subject to the same test cycles as all good memories.
The test cycle for a wafer having semiconductor memory components is illustrated in simplified fashion as a flow diagram in FIG. 1.
A wafer 10 having a multiplicity of semiconductor memory components of identical type, for instance DRAMs, is supplied to a test apparatus for testing the semiconductor memory components. After the beginning of the test 11, defective memory cells are determined in a first memory test 12 (prefuse memory test). It is apparent from the number and localization of the defective memory cells whether a sufficient, at least partial repair of the respective semiconductor memory component is possible. In the course of a repair 13, a functional memory area is in each case configured by blowing fuses in suitable data and addressing lines within the memory cell array and the semiconductor memory component is classified as all good memory or partial good memory. The functional memory area, for the case of an all good memory, corresponds to the maximum available memory area predefined by the internal construction and, for the case of a partial good memory, is a memory area restricted in extent compared with the functional memory area of an all good memory.
The repair 13 is followed by a second memory test 14 (postfuse memory test) on the same or a different test apparatus. During the postfuse memory test, a distinction is initially not made between all good memory and partial good memories. Each semiconductor memory component on the wafer is subjected to the same memory test.
Accordingly, the result of the postfuse memory test 14 is final initially only for the semiconductor memory components classified as all good memories 16 for which no error was ascertained in the entire nominal memory area during the second memory test 14. For semiconductor memory components classified as partial good memory, it is necessary to ascertain, in the course of an evaluation 15, whether the memory cell arrays ascertained during the postfuse memory test 14 were found within the functional memory cell area of the partial good memory or outside the functional memory area of the partial good memory.
The postfuse memory test 14 is carried out in a manner similar to the prefuse memory test 12. A linking of the result of the prefuse memory test 12 with regard to the configuration of the functional memory area of partial good memories with the sequence of the postfuse memory test 14 proves to be not very practicable in the test station for mass production. In order to simplify the sequences in the test station, preferably firstly all of the semiconductor memory components on the same wafer are subjected to the same postfuse memory test 14. In the course of the postfuse memory test 14, a generally compressed pass/fail information item is written to an error data memory (fail memory) of the test apparatus simultaneously for a multiplicity of semiconductor memory components.
Afterward, for semiconductor memory components classified as partial good memory, the error data memory is checked to the effect of whether the defective memory cells identified in the postfuse memory test 14 are within or outside the functional memory area of the partial good memory. If the errors identified are assigned only to the uncoupled, functionless memory area outside the functional memory area, then the respective semiconductor memory component is error free in the context of the classification or sorting as partial good memory.
Usually, on the basis of the prefuse sorting for the semiconductor memory components that are respectively tested in parallel, the error data memories of the test apparatus are partially overwritten successively in the course of the evaluation, an error free information item being entered into the error data memory in each case for the respective nonfunctional memory areas of the semiconductor memory components classified as partial good memory.
If an error is ascertained within the memory area of the partial good memory which is expected to be functional after the repair, then the respective semiconductor memory component is defective.
Such a subsequent evaluation of the defective memory areas of partial good memories is time-consuming. If, on the other hand, the postfuse memory test is dispensed with in order to save time, then all the semiconductor memory components on the semiconductor wafer are rated or classified with lower quality, since a high-quality rating or classification presupposes a test of the memory cells after repair.
Furthermore, higher costs arise since, after the repair, semiconductor memory components that are still defective are initially built up into complete, marketable memory components in a complicated manner before they fail in the final test and are rejected.
For these and other reasons, there is a need for the present invention.

Semiconductor memory component and method for testing semiconductor memory components


A hydraulic drive is described for displacing an actuator (7) between two predetermined end positions, comprising a piston unit (4) which can be pressurized in a cylinder unit (3) in opposite directions by way of hydraulic springs and a control device for alternating pressurization in opposite directions of the piston unit (4). In order to provide advantageous constructional conditions it is proposed that the cylinder unit (3) comprises an end section (10) of smaller cross section than the remaining cylinder space (9) and receives in a sealing manner the respective face side (12) of the piston unit (4) in the associated end position, that the end sections (10) connected via a throttle (13) to a return line (14) for the hydraulic medium are delimited by a control edge (11) each relative to the remaining cylinder space (9), and that the control device consists of an actuating drive (28) for an axial relative movement of the control edge (11) relative to the face side (12) of the piston. (FIG. 1)

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a hydraulic drive for displacing an actuator between two predetermined end positions, comprising a piston unit which can be pressurized in a cylinder unit in opposite directions by way of hydraulic springs and a control device for alternating pressurization in opposite directions of the piston unit.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In order to enable the use of the energy applied via a hydraulic drive for opening a valve of an internal combustion engine also for closing the valve it is known (EP 1 215 369 A2) to use the compressibility of the hydraulic medium for forming two hydraulic springs for a pressurization in opposite directions of a piston, so that the energy applied via a hydraulic spring onto the piston is stored in the other hydraulic spring apart from frictional and leakage losses in order to be available for pressurizing the piston in opposite directions. The piston with the valve body to be driven thus forms a free oscillator in combination with the two hydraulic springs, which oscillator is held back or released in the two reversing positions by a control device. For this purpose, a control valve is used in a pressurization line joining the hydraulic spring with a pressure accumulator. The control valve is closed in the two end positions of the piston in order to move the piston, during the opening, via the respectively tensioned hydraulic spring under a tension of the other hydraulic spring to the opposite end position where the control valve is closed again for holding back the piston. Although actuators can be displaced with a comparatively low energy input between two end positions at high speed with the help of this known hydraulic drive, since it is merely necessary to compensate frictional and leakage losses, the movement of the actuator also depends on the switching speed of the control valve. Moreover, a separate control intervention is necessary for holding back the piston in the two reversing positions.
The invention is thus based on the object of improving a hydraulic drive of the kind mentioned above with simple constructional means in such a way that a movement of the actuator can be ensured which is independent of the actuating speed of the control device, and that for holding back the piston unit in the reversing positions no separate control intervention is required.

Hydraulic drive for displacing an actuator


A droplet ejection head comprises: a substrate having first through-holes forming reservoir chambers, a second through-hole forming a supply chamber, and a bonding film on one surface; a nozzle plate having nozzles for ejecting ejection liquid and one surface contacting the bonding film, the nozzle plate is bonded to the substrate through the bonding film to cover the first through-holes and the second through-hole; a sealing plate on another surface of the substrate covering the first through-holes, one surface of the sealing plate contacting the substrate's another surface; and piezoelectric means on another surface of the sealing plate for driving the droplet ejection head. The bonding film containing an Si-skeleton constituted of constituent atoms containing silicon atoms, with siloxane (Si—O) bonds and elimination groups bonded to the silicon atoms, the constituent atoms being randomly bonded together, and the elimination groups existing near a surface of the bonding film.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a droplet ejection head and a droplet ejection apparatus, more particularly, to a droplet ejection head and a droplet ejection apparatus provided with such a droplet ejection head.
2. Related Art
In a droplet ejection apparatus such as an ink jet printer, a droplet ejection head is provided for an ejecting droplet. It is known to public that such a droplet ejection head is provided with ink chambers (cavities) which store an ink therein and are communicated with nozzles for ejecting the ink as droplets, and piezoelectric elements which deform wall surfaces of the ink chambers.
In such a droplet ejection head, a part of the ink chambers (vibration plate) is deformed by expanding and contracting the piezoelectric elements for driving. By doing so, volumes of the ink chambers are changed, so that the droplets of the ink are ejected from the nozzles.
In the meantime, such a droplet ejection head is produced by bonding between a nozzle plate in which nozzles are formed and a substrate in which ink chambers are formed with a photosensitive adhesive agent or an elastic adhesive agent. JP-A-5-155017 is an example of the related art.
However, when an adhesive agent is supplied between a nozzle plate and a substrate, it is difficult to strictly control a supply amount of the adhesive agent. Therefore, it is impossible to uniform the supply amount of the adhesive agent, thereby forming an uneven distance between the nozzle plate and the substrate. This makes it possible to form ink chambers each having an ununiformity volume in a droplet ejection head.
Further, a distance between the nozzle plate of the droplet ejection head and a print medium such as a print sheet becomes uneven. Furthermore, there is a possibility that the adhesive agent is run out from a bonded part (between the nozzle plate and the substrate). These problems make it possible to reduce dimensional accuracy of the droplet ejection heard and quality of prints printed by the ink jet printer.
Additionally, the adhesive agent is exposed to an ink stored in the ink chambers for a long period of time. By exposing the adhesive agent to the ink for a long period of time, the adhesive agent changes properties thereof and is altered or deteriorated by organic components contained in the ink. For these reasons, there are possibilities that liquid-tight property of the ink chambers is lowered and components contained in the adhesive agent are dissolved in the ink.
On the other hand, it is known that respective parts constituting a droplet ejection head are bonded by a solid bonding method. The solid bonding method is a method in which these parts are directly bonded to each other without use of an adhesive layer constituted of an adhesive agent or the like. Examples of such a solid bonding method include a direct bonding method with silicon, a bonding method by using a cathode and the like.
However, the solid bonding method has the following problems: (A) constituent materials to be bonded are limited to specific kinds, (B) a heat treatment using a high temperature (e.g., about 700 to 800° C.) must be carried out in a bonding process, (C) an atmosphere in the bonding process is limited to a reduced atmosphere, (D) a part of regions between the parts of the droplet ejection head can not be partially bonded, and the like.

Droplet ejection head and droplet ejection apparatus


A three-in-one high-pressure gas cylinder magazine. A high-pressure gas cylinder is installed within a holding cavity, and held firmly using a fine tuning knob and securing cover. A spring mount and a securing seat are disposed within a pellet guide cavity defined parallel to the holding cavity. When the pellets are decreasing, the inner securing seat upwardly pushes the pellets within the pellet guide cavity and secures them within a securing ring in a ready state for propelling out a model pistol. When a gastight valve within a cylinder is full of gas, then an inner piston rod is put in a pneumatic state, and the cylinder and a slide cover are simultaneously driven backward as soon as the piston rod is driven by the gas, thereby fixing a hammer in a rear position, thus achieving simplification, automatic operating functionality, and succeeding in simulating a real pistol.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved structure for a three-in-one high-pressure gas cylinder magazine, and more particularly to a high-pressure gas cylinder that is installed within a holding cavity, and to a fine tuning knob and securing cover that are disposed at a bottom portion of the holding cavity and used to firmly hold the high-pressure gas cylinder within the holding cavity.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
The majority of model pistols adopt an internal hammer mechanism for shooting plastic pellets, while some adopt an external connected high-pressure gas cylinder that connects to the model pistol by means of a connecting tube; the high-pressure gas cylinder being used to propel plastic pellets, thereby enabling a user to experience the feeling of exhilaration that comes from shooting a pistol.
However, regardless of whether the model pistol adopts a hammer mechanism or a high-pressure gas cylinder mechanism, every time the model pistol is shot, the plastic pellet must pass through an internal structure. Moreover, when using such mechanisms, not only do they not provide a realistic simulation of real pistol shooting, but also the connecting tube and the high-pressure gas cylinder externally connected to the model pistol cause inconvenience to a user when moving.
Hence, the inventor of the present invention proposes to resolve and surmount existent technical difficulties to eliminate the aforementioned shortcomings and provide an improved structure for a three-in-one high-pressure gas cylinder magazine.

Three-in-one high-pressure gas cylinder magazine


A variety of methods of playing games using dice or other indicia and apparatus for implementing the games are disclosed. In one embodiment, the game involves the step of accepting a wager, displaying indicia such as images of the sides of dice and determining if identical indicia are connected. Winning combinations of indicia comprise two or more indicia located in adjoining or connecting relationship within the matrix. In one embodiment, a player's bet determines how many indicia are displayed in the matrix. In one embodiment a bonus or separate game comprises using the existing displayed indicia or displaying a new set of indicia and determining the maximum number of identical indicia. If the maximum number exceeds a predetermined number, the outcome is a winning outcome.

Traditional slot machine play typically involves wagering on the spin of a mechanical or video-simulated reel. No decision making is involved, other than the decision to play. No skill is involved where the outcome of such gaming is based upon chance.
The interconnection of multiple gaming machines to facilitate a gaming system with progressive jackpots is in use today. Although such wide area links involve progressive jackpots, they do not take full advantage of the potential created by the interconnection of a plurality of gaming machines. Wide area links of gaming machines typically involve traditional computer-controlled slot machines, which, although popular, do not involve a substantial skill element. Furthermore, traditional slot machines facilitate a limited persistence of play. After any given spin, a player is likely to leave the computer-controlled slot machine, because each spin is a completed cycle rather than part of an ongoing game. A game in which each spin or turn is a part of an ongoing game would be advantageous because such a system would encourage a player to continue playing in order to complete a game in progress.
Additionally, traditional slot machine play is a solitary activity. Players compete only against the house, in an introverted process in which they interact not with each other, but only with the gaming machines. With the advent of wide area links of gaming machines, a tremendous potential exists to facilitate multiple player tournaments, in which players would not only compete for the same progressive jackpots, but actually compete against each other in real time. Such multiple player gaming would be more socially interactive, and would facilitate a fun gaming dynamic.
Also, traditional slot machines are not equipped to permit a player to take a break, and to later resume game play. If a player physically leaves an individual slot machine, that player may never revisit the specific game state which the player left behind. Because players like to take short and long term breaks for a variety of reasons, a method to allow a player to save a game state and later restore the saved game would be advantageous. Players would like to be able to take breaks of any length and later resume a saved game at the same or another physical location.


A digital decimation filter includes a set of cascaded integrator stages for generating a first signal comprised of bit words including a first number of bits as well as a set of cascaded derivative stages for receiving said first signal and generating therefrom an output comprised of bit words including a second number of bits. The second number of bits is smaller than said first number of bits and a bit discarding unit is located downstream of the integrator stages and upstream of the derivative stages for discarding a given number of least significant bits from the bit words of the first signal before this is received by the derivative stages. Said given number is defined as the difference between said first and said second number of bits.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to digital filters and more specifically to digital decimation filters of the type currently referred to as Sinc-type digital decimation filters.
Such filters are currently used for performing a decimation action of the oversampled signal output from an analog/digital converter of the Sigma/Delta type.
Such a filter represents an optimal solution for decimation of such a signal due to its intrinsic simplicity and its low-pass filtering effect of the quantization noise in the signal. The designation xe2x80x9cSincxe2x80x9d derives from its transfer function in the frequency domain which is a power of the order N (N being the order the filter) of the function sinc(f)=sin(f)/f.
2. Description of the Related Art
A general review of decimation within the contest of Sigma/Delta modulation can be found in xe2x80x9cDecimation for Sigma/Delta Modulationxe2x80x9d by James C. Candy, IEEE Trans. Commun., vol. COM-34, pp. 72-76, January 1986.
The general layout of decimation digital filter of the Sinc type provides for N integrators operating at the sampling frequency of the input signal fs being arranged in a cascade followed by N derivative units operating at the decimation frequency fd=fs/M. N is designated the order of the Sinc filter while M is the decimation factor.
In FIG. 1 a block diagram is shown of a Sinc digital filter of order N=3, where the integrator and derivative stages are designated I and D, respectively.
There, blocks labeled zxe2x88x921 (in practice registers) represent delays of one sample, while each summation block implements a modulus arithmetic function (that is in the case of overflow the result is the remainder of the true value.
The transfer function Hp of a digital Sinc filter of order N and decimation factor M at the frequency fs simply derived from the transfer functions HI of integrators I and the transfer functions HD of derivative units D.
HI(z)=zxe2x88x921/(1xe2x88x92zxe2x88x921)
HD(z)=1xe2x88x92zxe2x88x92M
HP(z)=HINxc2x7HDN=zxe2x88x92Nxc2x7[(1xe2x88x92zxe2x88x92M)/(1xe2x88x92zxe2x88x921)]N
Specifically, the maximum gain of the transfer function HP occurs for de values and is equal to MN.
Properly implementing the structure shown in FIG. 1 requires the word length of each stage to be adequately selected in order to avoid overflow phenomena which would have a disruptive effect on the signal. Consequently, if b denotes the word length at the filter input, the required bit number does not need to be greater than:
n=b+┌Nxc2x7log2(M)┐
Using n bit words in all the stages of the filter ensures that no overflow will take place and that, similarly, no quantization noise will be introduced in addition to the quantization noise in the input signal.
However, the fact has to be taken into account that the number of bits bu in the output words from the filter (i.e., the output word length) is specific to the general design and is usually less than n: bu=nxe2x88x92k. Therefore, the output word from the filter must be diminished of the k least significant bits. This can be done either by implementing all the filter stages with n bit words while subsequently diminishing the output word or (with the main aim of reducing the chip area requirements) by diminishing the signal word also at intermediate points within the filter. This is usually done with a variable criterion by adopting error-minimizing criteria in such a way to obtain bu bit word at the output of the filter.
A simple solution known in the art provides for the 2N integration and derivative stages of the Sinc filter to be implemented by resorting to n bit words by effecting truncation or rounding-off to the bu bits of the output word by simply discarding the k least significant bits from the filter output or, alternatively, by using them for rounding-off the output word. In such a way the filter does not introduce any intermediate truncation or rounding error, while a truncation error q less than 2xe2x88x92(nxe2x88x92k) or rounding error q less than 2xe2x88x92(nxe2x88x92k+1) is introduced at the filter output.
Articles such as xe2x80x9cAn Economical Class of Digital Filters for Decimation and Interpolationxe2x80x9d by Eugene B. Hogenauer, IEEE Trans. on Acoustics, Speech and Signal Processing, vol. ASSP-29, no. 2, pp. 155-162, April 1981 or xe2x80x9cMultirate Filter Designs Using Comb Filtersxe2x80x9d by Shuni Chu et al., IEEE Trans. Circuits and Sys., vol. CS-31, pp. 913-924, November 1984 disclose methods which rely on the q error being in any case present at the filter output. Essentially, the methods disclosed in the referenced articles distribute truncation to k bits within the filter over the 2N derivative and integrator stages by adopting the empirical criterion of avoiding generation of an additional error higher than the final q truncation error. A specific example of this is described in the captioned article by Hogenauer.
The purpose of such methods is primarily reducing the components and the chip area required for implementing the filter. Such a reduction is achieved by implementing certain stages with a word length which is less than n bits and, therefore, with smaller adder blocks and registers. These methods, however, do not properly take into account the characteristics of the input signal and specifically the fact that the bandwidth of such an oversampled signal is usually much smaller than fs/2.
Also, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,057,793 to Dupuis et al. a digital decimation filter and method are disclosed wherein the decimation filter includes a front-end portion which receives the digital data at a relatively high sample rate. The first stage of the front-end portion involves decimation and a latter stage or stages of that portion involves combination of interpolation and decimation. The cumulative effect is to reduce the sample rate of the incoming data stream to a value which can be more easily manipulated by the back-end portion of the digital decimation filter.
An embodiment of the present invention improves the solution for eliminating the k least significant bits in a Sinc decimation filter by achieving advantages both in terms of chip area and as regard performance.
Essentially, in the arrangement of one embodiment of the invention reduction of k least significant bits takes place by truncating all the k least significant bits at the input of the first derivative unit, that is downstream of the cascaded integrators and upstream of the cascaded derivative units. In that way, all the derivative stages operate with nxe2x88x92k bit words.
In addition to reducing chip area and implementation complexity, in the current case of a suitably oversampled signal such a solution also ensures reduction of the quantization noise in the useful bandwidth of the signal thus leading to an improvement of the signal-to-noise ratio.
Having regard to the exceptions made on the characteristics of the input signal to the filter, the solution can be regarded as an optimal one, in that it ensures a signal-to-noise performance improved over any other truncation or rounding-off solution of the k least significant bits.


There is provided a multilayer ceramic capacitor including: a ceramic body including dielectric layers and satisfying T/W>1.1 when a width thereof is defined as W and a thickness thereof is defined as T; first internal electrodes each having a first lead part exposed to at least one side surface of the ceramic body; second internal electrodes each having a second lead part exposed to the at least one side surface of the ceramic body; first and second external electrodes electrically connected to the first lead part and the second lead part, respectively, and extended from the side surface of the ceramic body to which the first lead part and the second lead part are exposed to at least one of the first and second main surfaces; and an insulating layer formed to cover the first and second external electrodes formed on the first and second side surfaces.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multilayer ceramic capacitor and a mounting board for the multilayer ceramic capacitor.
Description of the Related Art
Generally, electronic components using a ceramic material, such as a capacitor, an inductor, a piezoelectric element, a varistor, a thermistor, or the like, include a ceramic body made of a ceramic material, internal electrodes formed in the ceramic body, and external electrodes mounted on external surfaces of the ceramic body so as to be connected to the internal electrodes.
Among ceramic electronic components, a multilayer ceramic capacitor includes a plurality of stacked dielectric layers, internal electrodes disposed to face each other, having the dielectric layer interposed therebetween, and external electrodes electrically connected to the internal electrodes.
Multilayer ceramic capacitors have been widely used as components in mobile communications devices such as laptop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile phones, and the like, due to advantages thereof such as a small size, high capacitance, ease of mounting, or the like.
Recently, as electronic products have been miniaturized and multi-functionalized, chip components have also tended to be miniaturized and multi-functionalized. As a result, there is a need to miniaturize multilayer ceramic capacitors and increase the capacity thereof.
In addition, a multilayer ceramic capacitor has been usefully used as a bypass capacitor disposed in a power supply circuit of large scale integration (LSI). The multilayer ceramic capacitor serving as the bypass capacitor needs to effectively remove high frequency noise. This demand is further increasing in accordance with the trend in which electronic devices increasingly operate in a high frequency band. The multilayer ceramic capacitor used as the bypass capacitor may be electrically connected to amounting pad on a circuit board through soldering, and the mounting pad may be connected to other external circuits through wiring patterns or conductive vias in the circuit board.

Multilayer ceramic capacitor and mounting board therefor


An insulation package to reduce the transmission of heat and/or noise between the outer skin and the cabin lining of an aircraft composed of an insulating material enclosed by an encapsulating membrane. The encapsulating material has a vapor diffusion resistance (sd value) at least partially dependent on the ambient humidity, and for a gradient of relative humidity across the encapsulating membrane of 3% to 50% it has a vapor diffusion resistance (sd value) of at least 0.8 m and for a gradient of relative humidity across the encapsulating membrane of 50% to 93% it has a maximum vapor diffusion resistance (sd value) of 0.3 m.

The insulation packages are normally attached in the area of the outer metal skin of the aircraft. They represent primary insulation, while in many cases an additional secondary insulation in the form of insulation packages is applied directly to the cabin lining.
For safety reasons and for easier handling, the insulation packages consist of non-combustible and/or hard-to-ignite mats of insulating material (mostly of mineral wool) which, as with a cushion, are enclosed by an encapsulating membrane.
At cruising altitude, surfaces temperatures of −30° C. and below prevail on the outer metal skin of the aircraft. This is the equivalent of a saturation vapor pressure of less than 40 Pa. The air in the cabin is at a relative humidity of about 15%, even without any comfort-related air humidification. At a cabin temperature of 23° C., this is the equivalent of a vapor pressure of about 400 Pa, ten times the saturation vapor pressure at the outer skin. As a result of the pressure differential, a diffusion flow into the insulation packages in the primary insulation is created if the cabin air can penetrate behind the lining through leaks, which is normally the case. The insulating material in the insulation packages slowly becomes more moist during the flight as a result of the resulting condensate. Once the aircraft is on the ground, the outer skin warms up and the insulation packages can dry out again to a limited extent. In order to prevent excessive entry of moisture during the flight, the conventional encapsulating membrane in the insulation package has a fixed vapor diffusion resistance of about Im of diffusion-equivalent air layer thickness (sd value). An encapsulating membrane of this type results in increased moisture in the insulation packages, which can lead to additional energy-inefficient weight and an increase in fuel consumption as well as condensate dripping from the cabin ceiling. The increase in cabin air humidity planned for the future to improve the physiological air quality in aircraft will, in all probability, further increase the condensate problems in the insulation packages.

Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Angewandten Forschung E.V.


A stamp pad holder for use in a self-inking hand stamp. The stamp pad holder has a stamp die box that holds a stamp forming material, ink cartridge and plastic within the die box. The stamp forming material is placed at the bottom of the die box. An ink cartridge having a layer of soft, compressible, ink permeable material applied to its bottom surface is placed above the stamp forming material but separated by an impermeable film. The film prohibits ink from flowing from the ink cartridge to the stamp forming material until the film is pulled from the die box prior to use. This permits the ink from the ink cartridge to impregnate the stamp forming material. The soft, compressible, ink permeable material increases the rate of ink flow from the ink cartridge to the stamp forming material.

This invention relates to hand stamps and more particularly to a self-inking hand stamp that has a stamp holder with a pre-inked cartridge mounted in the stamp that inks the image forming stamp material. This invention also relates to the design and manufacture of the die box that holds the stamp forming material and pre-inked cartridge.
Most conventional stamps require manufacturing a stamping member from rubber or other flexible material. The stamping member is mounted on a handle that is grasped by the user. The stamping member is placed into contact with ink, usually contained in an inkpad. The inked stamping member is then pressed against the surface onto which the stamp image is to be transferred. Repetition of the stamping process required that the stamping member be pressed against the inkpad each time an image is to be transferred. This is a disadvantage to the user as it requires extra time for each re-inking step and slows down the stamping process if many stampings are to be done. It also requires the use of a separate inkpad that must be periodically re-inked.
An improved stamp was developed that uses a stamping member made from a permeable material that allows ink to pass through the stamping member. The ink is held within the stamp and allowed to gradually ooze onto the stamping member. This eliminated the need for a separate stamp inkpad. These stamps are referred to as self-inking stamps.
An example of this stamp is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,577,444 issued to Toyama. This patent illustrates a hand stamp that has a sealed ink compartment that stores the ink. The ink can be refilled into the compartment by means of removing a threaded screw at the top of the compartment. Once the screw is removed, the ink can be injected, and the screw replaced. The stamping member has a stamping surface with stamping and non-stamping portions.
There are several problems with this device. First it requires adding ink through the top to fill or refill the ink chamber. This is a messy procedure. It also may result in adding too little or too much ink to the ink chamber. Second, the chamber must be sealed to allow the ink to only ooze out through the bottom opening onto the stamp pad. Third, the stamp must be kept in its holder when not in use to protect the stamp surface as there is no guard that automatically drops down when the stamp is not pressed onto a stamp receiving surface to keep the stamping surface above the image receiving surface.
Another problem with this stamp is that it continually feeds ink to the entire stamp surface. The recessed portions that are not designed to contact the printing surface still have ink applied to them. This ink evaporates or dries and is wasted ink. The only ink that is needed for printing is the ink applied to the printing portions where the raised letters are located.
Another type of stamp pad is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,942,312 issued to Venkataraman et al. This patent discloses a pre-inked thermoplastic foam which has open cells in the area that is designed to transfer ink and closed or sealed cells in the area which is designed to be impermeable to ink. The inkpad is pre-inked before the image is formed on the thermoplastic material. Thus if there is a problem with the image, the entire pad including the ink, is wasted. Furthermore there may be difficulties in forming an image on a pre-inked pad as it may be messy or require special handling due to the ink in the pad.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,996,493 issued to Okumura et al. illustrates a hand stamp that uses an ink pack to supply ink to the porous stamp. The ink pack ruptures when the ink pack is pressed against a cutting device in the stamp. There is a transparent film thermally attached to the stamp surface to protect the stamp surface during transport and storage. The transparent film is removed just before using the stamp for printing images.
Another stamp is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,164,202 issued to Takami. This patent discloses a stamp unit comprising a holder, which is placed in a stamp manufacturing device for making a stamping surface on a stamp material. The holder interacts with the stamp manufacturing device to properly position the holder in the manufacturing device. The stamp forming material has a positive image or manuscript placed against the stamp forming material. The stamp forming material is irradiated with a xenon light. The part of the material irradiated with the light fuses due to the heating effect of the light. The part of the material not irradiated due to the characters on the manuscript is not fused and remains porous. This forms the image to be printed. The stamp forming material is saturated with ink and ink is allowed to flow out from the non fused portions onto a printing sheet forming the image. This patent describes the method and apparatus to form the stamp image on the stamp forming material and the disclosure is incorporated herein by reference.
The prior art devices do not adequately address the problem of conveniently inking the stamp forming material in a self inking hand stamp. For example U.S. Pat. No. 5,996,493 uses an ink pack that is placed in the stamp and is pierced by a cutting device to disburse the ink. Other self inking hand stamps use an ink cartridge stored in a sealed plastic bag. When the stamp material is ready to be inked, the sealed plastic bag is cut and the ink cartridge is carefully inserted into the stamp, generally in contact with the stamp forming material. To minimize the likelihood of ink getting on the user, a grasping tool such as a tweezers may be used to insert the ink cartridge into the stamp. This is not a convenient method of inking the stamp forming material in self-inking hand stamps. Another problem not solved by the prior art devices is providing an ink cartridge and stamp in a self contained easy to use unit. Also, the method of manufacturing such as unit was never taught.
Applicant addressed and solved many of the problems of the prior art devices as disclosed in its co-pending application. The co-pending application disclosed a container or stamp die box designed for insertion into a hand stamp. The hand stamp has a handle, which is grasped by the user. A stamping member is made of a stamp forming material that is a porous foam material and has a surface made of a porous resin layer. This is the image forming side of the stamping member. A pre-inked ink cartridge is placed adjacent to the side of the stamp forming material opposite the image forming side, but separated by an impermeable plastic film. The stamp forming material, ink cartridge and plastic film are retained in the die box and placed in a stamp forming machine to form the desired image on the image forming side of the stamp forming material. The porous resin layer is melted and solidifies into impermeable areas that are not intended to allow the passage of ink, and the porous resin layer remains unmelted and open in areas that are intended to allow ink to pass. In this manner the stamping image is defined. The ink cartridge is held against the plastic film, which in turn is in intimate contact with the backside of the stamp forming member. The die box is inserted into the hand stamp. When the stamp is ready to be used, the ink impermeable plastic film is pulled out from the die box. This allows the ink from the ink cartridge to flow into the stamp forming material. Once the stamp forming material is adequately saturated, the stamp is ready for use.
One shortcoming of Applicant's the invention in the co-pending application is that when the ink impermeable plastic film is pulled out from the die box, an air gap forms between at least a portion of the ink cartridge and the stamp forming material. This air gap slows the flow of ink from the ink cartridge to the stamp forming material, which lengthens the time before the stamp can be used once the impermeable plastic film is withdrawn from the die box.
In order to solve this problem, Applicant has discovered that placing a flexible, easily compressible, ink permeable rubber or foam material between the ink cartridge and the stamp forming material, eliminates the air gap and increases the flow rate of the ink from the ink cartridge to the stamp forming material when the ink impermeable plastic film is removed from the die box.
The die box is manufactured by placing the stamp forming material in the die box, covering it with the plastic film, placing a frame member around the perimeter of the inside of the die box, inserting an ink cartridge into the frame member, placing ink onto the cartridge, inserting a spacer into the die box, and closing the die box.

Self-inking stamp with ink cartridge barrier


A metal alloy, structures made from the same, and methods of making the same, especially brake drums containing at least about 50% by weight of a ferritic matrix, up to 50% by weight of pearlitic iron, graphite including at least 10% by weight of nodular graphite, compacted graphite and no more than 20% by weight of flake graphite, and less than about 2.10% by weight of silicon.

Brake drums are cast gray iron drums attached to a wheel or a shaft so that its motion may be retarded by the application of an external band or internal brake shoes. Brake drums, especially those made for the trucking industry, must be durable and capable of rapidly and effectively dissipating the heat that builds up when the external band or shoe is applied during braking operations.
Cast gray iron has been the material of choice for producing brake drums. This material exhibits high strength and is resistant to wear under high stress conditions. In addition, cast gray iron readily dissipates heat and is ideally suited for the production of brake drums.
In recent years there has been a concerted effort to increase the efficiency of automotive vehicles, including but not limited to, the reduction of weight without loss of performance. Efforts have been made to employ lightweight materials for the body of automotive vehicles as well as for functioning parts of the vehicle. For example, fiberglass has been used to replace heavier steel and cast gray iron in portions of the body of the vehicles. In addition, aluminum has been used to fabricate engines to replace engines made of cast gray iron.
As previously indicated, cast gray iron has been used to produce brake drums. This material, however, is heavy and makes brake drums a significant contributor to the weight of an automotive vehicle. It would therefore be a significant advance in the art of producing automotive vehicles and particularly for the production of brake drums if a material could be developed which performed at least as well as cast gray iron but was significantly lighter than this material in the production of brake drums.

Metal alloys and brake drums made from such alloys


The present invention provides a method for coloring a rubber substrate with a latex-based colorant comprising the steps of providing a latex-based colorant that includes an elastomeric latex-based binder and a pigment system and mixing the latex-based colorant with the rubber substrate. Optionally, the latex-based colorant further comprises a surfactant system, a thickener, a defoamer, and an antioxidant. The present invention further provides a colored rubber and a latex-based colorant for coloring rubber.

This invention relates to a method used in the coloring of rubber. This invention further relates to a colorant used to color rubber and colorized rubber.
Crumb rubber, commonly manufactured from recycled tires, is used in road paving, horse tracks, floor mats, bedding for farm animals, shingles for roofing and sports turf surfaces (such as football fields, tracks, etc.) to add resilience to the surfaces and to absorb impact better than asphalt or turf. Crumb rubber is also gaining popularity as playground cover for areas where children climb or face dangers from falling. Its superior ability to cushion impacts makes it a very desirable ground surface for high-impact activities.
The use of crumb rubber has been limited due to the lack of aesthetic appeal in that most tires are black. Some methods of coloring crumb rubber have been developed, such as wetting and drying material or painting over the black, but these methods are not efficient, practical or durable. Painting over the rubber consumes a large amount of paint and commonly results in a non-durable product as the paint is rubbed off when in consistent contact with another object. Spraying the crumb rubber and allowing it to air dry also creates a wide variety of problems. The spray method produces a product with poor color uniformity and incomplete coverage. Sprayed on paints tend to demonstrate poor adhesion of the colorants to the rubber. In addition, the spray method wastes an excessive amount of paint and create problems with waste disposal when a solvent-based paint is used. Traditional methods also lack the ability to achieve vibrant colors due to the carbon black that is present in the rubber. The carbon black darkens or dirties the colorant thereby producing a color that lacks vibrancy. It would be desirable to have a method of coloring rubber which will produce a durable, vibrant product.
The present invention provides a method for coloring a rubber substrate with a latex-based colorant comprising the steps of providing a latex-based colorant that includes an elastomeric latex-based binder and a pigment system and mixing the latex-based colorant with the rubber substrate. Optionally, the latex-based colorant further comprises a surfactant system, a thickener, a defoamer, and an antioxidant. The present invention further provides a colored rubber and a latex-based colorant for coloring rubber.
The present invention pertains to a colored rubber substrate, a method of coloring a rubber substrate, and a latex-based colorant for such a coloring method. The steps involved in the method include, providing the colorant, and applying the colorant to the rubber substrate. The method may further comprise the step of vulcanizing the rubber.
The latex-based colorant comprises a latex-based binder and a pigment system. The latex-based colorant preferably comprises 5-50 percent by weight elastomeric latex-based binder, 10-70 percent by weight the pigment system, and 0-85 percent by weight water. It is more preferred for the latex-based colorant to comprise 10-20 percent by weight elastomeric latex- based binder, 30-55 percent by weight the pigment system, and 25-60 percent by weight water. The latex-based binder comprises an elastomeric latex, either natural or synthetic, that forms lattices, or colloidal dispersions of polymeric material, in a water-based system. When lattices are applied on a substrate, a uniform coating of the rubber-results after the water evaporates. The elastomeric latex preferably has a solids content in the range of 25-75 percent, and it is more preferred to have an elastomeric latex with a solids content in the range of 45-65 percent. Examples of synthetic elastomeric latex are styrene butadiene rubber, nitrile rubber, butyl rubber, polychloroprene rubber, and ethylene-propylene rubber. It is preferred to use an elastomeric latex comprising a mixture of natural rubber and styrene butadiene rubber.
In addition, the latex-based colorant includes a pigment system. The pigment system comprises an opacifer and an organic pigment dispersion, preferably between a 3:1 and 2:1 ratio, respectively. Examples of suitable opacifers are zinc oxide, zinc sulfate, and barium sulfate. The preferred opacifer has a refractive index greater than 2. Such an opacifer would include titanium oxide, and more preferably a rutile grade of titanium dioxide. The opacifer provides the opacity to cover up the carbon black on the rubber and the color is achieved by using a suitable organic pigment dispersion. Use of a latex-based colorant permits application of a wide variety of colors to the rubber substrate. Examples of suitable organic pigment dispersions are phthalocyanine blues and greens, DNA orange, Diarylide yellows, Naphthol red, Lithol Rubine red, Toluidine red, Red Lake C, Carbazole violet, Barium Lithol red, Rhodamine Red, Methyl violet, and Quinacridone Magenta. Organic pigment dispersions that are water-based are preferred because they are compatible with the elastomeric latex-based binders.
Optionally, the colorant further comprises a defoamer, a surfactant system, a thickener, and an antioxidant. Any conventional defoamer that minimizes the formation of foam and bubbles during the manufacture of water-based dispersions may be employed. It is preferred to use a mixture of hydrophobic solids and polysiloxanes in polyglycol as the defoamer. One suitable example is BYK022, manufactured by BYK-Chemie USA.
The surfactant system is preferably a blend of non-ionic and ionic surfactants. Examples of non-ionic surfactants are condensation products of fatty alcohols with ethylene oxide, polyethylene glycol esters or chain fatty acids, or sobitan esters. Ionic surfactants can be either anionic or certain cationic compounds. Suitable anionic surfactants are, for example, sodium alkyl sulfate, sodium salt of polymeric polycarboxylic acid, sodium polymethacrylate, and sodium alkyl sulfate. Suitable cationic surfactants are, for example, salts of primary, secondary, or tertiary amines and quartenary salts such as cetylpyridinium bromide, hexa-decyl-ethyl morpholinium chloride and diethyl didodecyl ammonium chloride. The preferred surfactant system is a blend of sodium salt of polymeric polycarboxylic acid and a non-ionic surfactant based on modified alkylaryl polyther, preferably with an 80:20 blend, respectively.
The thickener is desired to provide an increased shelf-life and to impart a viscosity between 75 and 95 KU for the latex-based colorant. A thickener with a viscosity between 75 and 100 KU, as measured by a Stormer Viscometer, is preferred, and more preferably is between 80 and 90 KU. Suitable thickeners are gums, starches, cellulose polymers, minerals, or alginates. The preferred thickener is a hydrated aluminum magnesium silicate, commonly designated as Attagel, commercially available from Engelhard Corporation, or Min-U-Gel, comniercially available from Floridin Industries.
An antioxidant is optionally added to protect the latex film from degradation due to heat and ultraviolet light. Suitable antioxidants are, for example, N-Nxe2x80x2Di(2-octyl)-p-phenylene diamine, diphenyl-p-phenylendedianmine, octylated diphenulamine, dioctylated diphenylarnine, styrenated phenol, or hindered phenol. The preferred antioxidant is a water based dispersion of octylated diphenylamine, commonly designated under the trade names Agerite Stalite and C-560 dispersion, commercially available from R.T. Vanderbilt Company.
The latex-based colorant is prepared by placing the components into a mixer, preferably a Cowles type mixer, and.thoroughly mixing. The mixing wets the pigments with the surfactants and ensures that all the ingredients are uniformly incorporated.
The latex-based colorant is applied to a rubber substrate to be colored, such as, for example, crumb rubber, natural rubber, ethylene-propylene rubber, butyl rubber, nitrile rubber, styrene-butadiene rubber, or polychloroprene rubber for example. The colorant and the rubber to be colored are thoroughly mixed in, for example, a paint shaker, drum tumbler, ribbon or paddle type blender, or a double cone blender. Good results have been obtained by mixing with a standard a paint shaker for at least 1.5 minutes.
Optionally, the rubber is vulcanized during the mixing process to reduce tackiness, increase tensile strength, decrease solubility in solvents, increase elasticity, and decrease temperature sensitivity. To accomplish the vulcanization of the rubber, a vulcanizing agent, a cure activator, and accelerator are added before mixing. The vulcanizing agent is typically a colloidal sulfur, preferably as a water based dispersion. The cure activator, which increases the rate of vulcanization and improves tensile strength, is typically a zinc oxide, preferably as a water based dispersion. Examples of the accelerator are thiuram, dithiocarbonate, xanthate, mercapto thiazole, mercapto sulfonamide, thiourea, and guanidine. Dithiocarbonate in a water based dispersion is the preferred accelerator.

Method and colorant for the coloring of rubber


An active rear-wheel vehicle steering control system that employs both open-loop and closed-loop control, where the open-loop and closed-loop control include adaptive compensation sub-systems that compensate for changes in vehicle dynamic parameters. The control system includes a dynamic parameter estimation sub-system that provides an estimated front-wheel cornering compliance and rear-wheel cornering compliance based on a front-wheel steering angle signal, a rear-wheel steering angle signal, a vehicle lateral acceleration signal, a vehicle yaw rate signal and a vehicle speed signal. The closed-loop control includes active gain for each of vehicle yaw rate, vehicle yaw rate acceleration, side-slip velocity and side-slip velocity rate, all based on the vehicle speed and vehicle dynamic parameter changes.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to open-loop control and closed-loop control for active vehicle rear-wheel steering and, more particularly, to open-loop control and closed-loop control for active rear-wheel steering, where both the open-loop control and the closed-loop control employ vehicle parameter estimates to compensate for changes in vehicle parameters.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
It is known in the art to employ automatic rear-wheel vehicle steering based on vehicle dynamic information during a vehicle turn, or yaw, to enhance the vehicle stability. Active wheel steering control of a vehicle can improve vehicle stability over a conventional vehicle having only steerable front wheels. The rear-wheel steering assist can be in-phase steering or out-of-phase steering. In-phase rear wheel steering steers the rear wheels in the same direction as the front wheels, and is typically provided at higher vehicle speeds. Out-of-phase rear wheel steering steers the rear wheels in an opposite direction as the front wheels to provide a tighter turning radius, and is typically provided at lower vehicle speeds.
Open-loop automatic rear-wheel steering provides a certain amount of rear-wheel steering assist depending on the amount of front-wheel steering provided by the vehicle operator. In other words, a predetermined function is used to turn the rear wheels a certain amount, either in-phase or out-of-phase, in response to the turning of the front wheels at a particular vehicle speed. It is known to provide closed-loop automatic rear-wheel steering based on feedback in the event that the vehicle is not following the steering path commanded by the vehicle operator. For example, slippery road conditions may prevent the vehicle from turning in the desired direction because the wheels may slip along the road surface. Further, the vehicle's rear quarter may "fish-tail," also providing a different turn angle than was intended. Closed-loop rear-wheel steering assist systems sense the actual vehicle yaw rate and the commanded yaw rate, and generate a gain signal that provides the steering assist by the rear wheels if the vehicle yaw rate and the commanded yaw rate are not the same. In these types of active rear-wheel steering control systems, the open-loop control is always active and the closed-loop control is only activated if a potential handling and stability problem is detected.
Vehicles are designed so that the vehicle handling response complies with certain design specifications. Vehicle dynamic parameters define the vehicle handling response, where nominal parameters define a nominal vehicle handling response. The vehicle dynamic parameters of understeer coefficient, front cornering compliance and rear cornering compliance are the most dominant dynamic vehicle parameters for determining the stability and dynamic handling behavior of a vehicle. The understeer coefficient defines the vehicle yaw rate or turning radius for a particular steering angle. The front cornering compliance and the rear cornering compliance define the distribution of the vehicle side-slip to the front and rear axles when the vehicle is turning. The cornering compliances include the ratio defined by the lateral slip angle and the lateral force of the wheels. These parameters vary according to different vehicle loading, tire pressure, tire wear, and vehicle-to-vehicle variations of suspension characteristics, etc.
The control gains for rear-wheel steering control systems, including both open-loop and closed-loop control, are optimally determined based on "out-of-factory" vehicle dynamic parameters. During operation of the vehicle over its lifetime, however, the factory-tuned vehicle parameters change as a result of short-term vehicle variations, such as vehicle loading and tire pressure changes, and long-term variations, such as tire wear and vehicle suspension age. When the vehicle dynamic parameters change from their original settings, the original steering control gains are no longer optimal, resulting in a different vehicle handling feel and vehicle stability degradation.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/863,956, titled Real-Time Vehicle Dynamics Estimation System, filed Jun. 9, 2004, assigned to the assignee of this application and herein incorporated by reference, discloses a system that determines vehicle parameter estimates as a vehicle ages to provide an indication of a potential problem. It would be desirable to use these estimated dynamic parameters in an open-loop and closed-loop rear-wheel active steering system to improve the closed-loop steering control gains and the open-loop steering gain as the vehicle ages and is subjected to different conditions. By modifying the open-loop and closed-loop gain schedule in response to estimated vehicle dynamic parameters, the handling feel and directional stability of the original vehicle can be maintained over the lifetime of the vehicle.

Adaptive compensation of rear-wheel steering control using vehicle dynamics parameter estimation


A method for authenticating a user by a verifier device. The method includes: receiving a password entered by a user and a first piece of context information entered by the user; calculating a current fingerprint, by applying a one-way function to the password and to the first piece of context information; and verifying that the current calculated fingerprint is equal to a reference fingerprint of a secret, calculated during a preceding authentication of the user, the authentication being successful when the current fingerprint is equal to the reference fingerprint.

One of the known and very widely used authentication mechanisms consists in using a password w, which is a secret value known only to the user and sometimes to the entity known as a verifier (by which the user must be authenticated). This mechanism has the advantage of being able to be deployed easily.
The security of the password then rests on three elements: the choice of the password, which must be sufficiently complex for an attacker not to be able to find it easily, the transmission of the password during the authentication, which must be carried out over a secure channel, and the storage of the password, which is required since a verifier must be able to compare the password received from the user with a reference value. This reference value, if it is disclosed following a successful attempt to compromise the database in which it is stored, must not allow an attacker to determine the corresponding password.
In general, passwords are stored in encrypted form in a database managed by the verifier. The verifier must be able to determine whether the password transmitted by the user during the authentication is correct. It is however not desirable to permanently possess all the passwords, even in encrypted form. For this reason, it is conventional to use a non-invertible function, such as a secure hash function H, to produce a fingerprint H(w) of the password w, and to store this fingerprint H(w). The advantage of using a non-invertible function such as a hash function is that, starting with the fingerprint H(w), it is difficult to determine the password w. However, exhaustive-search attacks, which consist in testing all the possible values w′ of a password and in comparing the generated fingerprints H(w′) with the stored fingerprint, remain possible.
Such exhaustive searches cannot be prevented, but there are methods that make them more difficult.
Thus, in a first example, the fingerprint of the reference password that is stored is not H(w) but it is in the form H(w|s), where s is a value generated pseudo-randomly by the verifier and conventionally called a "salt". The database then stores the pairs (H(w|s), s). Use of a salt makes it possible to thwart any attempt by an attacker to determine passwords by implementing pre-computations. In the case of pre-computations, an attacker applies a non-invertible function to a set of possible passwords and memorizes the obtained set. He then searches, among the memorized set, for a password fingerprint and identifies the associated password. With a salt that is different from one password to the next, to implement this technique the attacker must store in memory as many sets of passwords as there are possible salt values. This creates computational-time and memory constraints that the attacker must take into account when carrying out an attack.
One variant intended to slow the discovery of the password w from a reference fingerprint consists in artificially making the computations more difficult by applying the hash function a number of times. The fingerprint is then of the form: F(w)=Hk(w|s). The number of iterations k is chosen such that the additional cost in terms of computation is negligible during the authentication of a user, but prohibitive in the case of an exhaustive search by an attacker; the cost then being multiplied by k.
These two techniques make it possible to slow down an exhaustive search by an attacker for a password but do not however prevent such an attack. Attackers remain inclined to implement such attacks, despite the substantial effort required thereby. Specifically, since the lifetime of a password is generally quite long, an attacker who is able to crack it will be able to exploit it for a long time. Furthermore, users are in general unwilling to frequently change their passwords.

Method for authenticating with a password comprising a salt


The present invention is a method for detecting an abnormal event for process units of a Delayed Coking Unit. The method compares the operation of the process units to statistical and engineering models. The statistical models are developed by principal components analysis of the normal operation for these units. The engineering models are based statistical and correlation analysis between variables. If the difference between the operation of a process unit and the normal model result indicates an abnormal condition, then the cause of the abnormal condition is determined and corrected.

The present invention relates to the operation of a Delayed Coking Unit (DCU) comprising of feed heaters, main fractionator, wet gas compressor, and downstream light ends processing towers referred to as the Gas Plant. In particular, the present invention relates to determining when the process is deviating from normal operation and automatic generation of notification.
Delayed Coking is a high-severity thermal cracking process used in petroleum refineries. The process unit, DCU, thermally decomposes the "bottom" of the crude barrel, which are typically the bottom streams of the atmospheric and vacuum crude distillation towers and produces a value-added mixture of olefins, naphthas, gas oils and petroleum coke. The overall reaction is endothermic with the furnace supplying the necessary heat for vaporization and cracking. The olefins are used in the petrochemical industry. Naphthas are used for various gasoline blends. Gas Oils are sent to other refinery units to be further cracked into naphthas and olefins. The coke, which is essentially carbon with varying amounts of impurities, is calcined (roasted to dry, without melting) and used in the aluminum, steel or chemical industries. Coke can also be burned as fuel, or gasified to produced steam or electricity.
FIG. 23 shows a typical DCU layout. One or more fired heaters with horizontal tubes are used in the process to reach thermal cracking temperatures of 905 to 941° F. (485 to 505° C.). With short residence time in the furnace tubes, coking (formation of Petroleum Coke) of the feed material is "delayed" until it reaches a large drum downstream of the heater. The thermodynamic conditions of the drum are well-suited for the cracking operation to proceed. These drums are designed to normally operate at a top drum vapor temperature of 825° F. (441° C.) and a pressure of 15 psig (103 kpag). As the feed cracks, the cracked products (vapors) are sent into a fractionator while coke accumulates in the drum. The fractionator separates the hydrocarbon mixture received from the coke drum into various fractions. The overhead product of the fractionator is sent through wet gas compressors to a light ends processing unit to further separate the light mixture.
When the drum is filled mostly with coke, the feed from the furnace is directed to an empty drum. Multiple drums are thus operated in a staggered fashion to ensure continuity of operations of the furnaces, fractionator and the gas plant. The coke in the filled drum is quenched, cut and removed with high-pressure water to a pit located below the coke drums. A bridge crane is used to transfer coke from the pit to a pad where water is allowed to drain from the coke before it is crushed and loaded onto railcars for transport. The emptied drum is cleaned and readied for the next cycle. The furnaces are brought offline about once every 3 months to clean coke deposits formed over time in the tubes through a process known as "decoking". In some refineries the furnaces are cleaned online through a process known as steam spalling. The delayed coking unit is thus capable of turndown to a nominal 50% of capacity which represents operation with one furnace and pair of drums out of service. The complete schematic with DCU and the downstream units is shown in FIG. 24.
Due to the complicated dynamic and semi-batch nature of the DCU, and due to the high-severity process conditions, abnormal process operations can easily result from various root problems that can escalate to serious problems and even cause plant shutdowns. Three problems typically plague the delayed coker units: 1) Premature coking of the heater tubes (instead of in the drum) resulting in reduced feed rates and reduced refinery throughput and eventual shutdown of the unit with significant economic losses; 2) Foam (produced while coking) carryover from the coke drum into the coker fractionator; 3) Reliability problems with the coker fractionator. These operations can have significant safety and economic implications ranging from lost production, equipment damage, environmental emissions, injuries and even death. A primary job of the operator is to identify the cause of the abnormal situation and execute compensatory or corrective actions in a timely and efficient manner.
The current commercial practice is to use advanced process control applications to automatically adjust the process in response to minor process disturbances, to rely on human process intervention for moderate to severe abnormal operations, and to use automatic emergency process shutdown systems for very severe abnormal operations. The normal practice to notify the console operator of the start of an abnormal process operation is through "process alarms". These alarms are triggered when key process measurements (temperatures, pressures, flows, levels and compositions) violate predefined static set of operating ranges. These operating ranges are kept as wide as possible to avoid false alarms, and to avoid multiple related and repetitive alarms. Thus, when an alarm occurs, it is often too late for the operator to bring the process to normal operations without compromising the optimal production rates.
Furthermore, more than 600 key process measurements cover the operation of a typical DCU. Under the conventional Distributed Control System (DCS) system, the operator must survey this list of sensors and its trends, compare them with mental knowledge of normal DCU operation, and use their skill to discover the potential problems. Due to the very large number of sensors in an operating DCU, abnormalities can be and are easily missed. With the current DCS based monitoring technology, the only automated detection assistance an operator has is the DCS alarm system which is based on the alarming of each sensor when it violates predetermined limits. In any large-scale complex process such as the DCU, this type of notification is clearly a limitation as it often comes in too late for the operator to act to mitigate the problem. The present invention provides a more effective notification to the operator of the DCU.

Application of abnormal event detection technology to delayed coking unit

ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company


According to one embodiment, a fuel-cell power generation system includes a fuel cell that generates electricity by electrochemical reaction using fuel and an oxidizer and a resin module that includes a flow path through which fuel, air, or water flows, inner walls defining the flow path being made of resin.

A polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) is known as one kind of the fuel cell. A fuel cell of the polymer electrolyte fuel cell includes an anode acting as a fuel electrode and a cathode acting as an oxidizer electrode, and a solid polymer electrolyte membrane sandwiched between the anode and cathode. The polymer electrolyte fuel cell is so configured that a plurality of elements each composed of a fuel cell sandwiched between separators are stacked one on top of another.
In the case of an in-car polymer electrolyte fuel cell, maneuverability is regarded as important and therefore there are many systems that use pure hydrogen as fuel and air as an oxidizer.
However, in the case of a stationary or a household polymer electrolyte fuel cell, a system that uses town gas or propane gas full of methane components as fuel has been desired from the standpoint of an infrastructure problem. In this case, it is common practice to use a fuel processor that produces hydrogen by mixing water vapor with fuel to reform fuel into hydrogen.
In any system, hydrogen supplied to the anode side is ionized, flows in a solid polymer electrolyte membrane, and reacts with oxygen on the cathode side to produce water and generate electric energy outside.
The polymer electrolyte fuel cell generates not only electric energy but also exhaust heat of not higher than 100° C. This is because the heat dissipation from the high cell temperature toward the ambient temperature takes place in the form of heat. In the fuel processor for reforming fuel into hydrogen, too, a combustor is generally used for heating in reforming reaction in a reformer or the like, with the result that exhaust heat is generated by combustion exhaust gas or comes from outside the fuel processor.
Use of heat generated when such a fuel cell generates electricity enables hybrid operation with electric energy, that is, cogeneration operation, which makes it possible to realize a very economical, energy-efficient, environmentally friendly operation.
In recent years, developments have been made to introduce such a fuel-cell power generation system into homes. In Japan, the practical use of such a fuel-cell power generation system is already in progress. The fuel-cell power generation system emits a smaller amount of carbon dioxide and is superior in environmental preservation and energy saving. Therefore, attention is being focused on the fuel-cell power generation system as an energy system capable of preventing global warming.
The fuel-cell power generation system can be installed in more places as it is smaller in size and requires a smaller installation area, resulting in an expansion of the market size and the popularization of energy-saving devices. In addition, as the system becomes smaller and lighter in weight, it is easier to move the system for installation, improving its merchantability.
Accordingly, to promote the popularization of the fuel-cell power generation system, not only an improvement in the basic performance of the system, including power generation efficiency and exhaust heat efficiency, but also a highly manufacturable configuration capable of size reduction are desired.

Fuel-cell power generation system and method of manufacturing the same

Toshiba Fuel Cell Power Systems Corporation


A method and apparatus for ameliorating the aging process and the effects of aging and maintaining the integrity of health is provided. The method includes subjecting biological systems to alternating and steady magnetic fields having flux densities ranging from 10.sup.-6 gauss to 10.sup.-20 gauss and frequencies from 0 Hertz to 10.sup.14 Hertz. The calculation is made with reference to the equation mc.sup.2 =Bvlq, where m=mass; c=speed of light; B=magnetic flux density; v=inertial velocity of the mass contained in l; l=length of the conductive body; q=unity. The process begins by targeting the larger targets first and then diminishing the field magnitude slowly and incrementally according to the targets. The frequency when AC is indicated is calculated with the cyclotron resonance formula, f.sub.c =qB/(2.pi.m). The apparatus includes a specially constructed pool or tub for generating the specific magnetic flux necessary for treatment. Orientation of the patient with reference to North, South, East and West is varied. The earth's position in relation to the sun is taken into account. The patient may be in an upright, prone or swimming position depending on the specific treatment scheme.

Aging, analogous to development, may be referred to as the collective of changes which occur during the entire life span of a biological system. Aging of function, organs and cells, is universal among all multicellular organisms. It has been determined that genes are involved and program a species to a maximum life span characteristic to that species. Proteins, combinations like glycoproteins or lipoproteins, structural proteins, enzymatic proteins and others are also relevant to the aging process. Environmental factors have also been shown to change even an inherited tendency for long life.
In the cross-linking theory of aging, increasing numbers of bonds are formed between critical molecules, wherein molecules such as enzymes, for example, are prevented from performing their cellular functions. Aging produces changes in the processes of cellular genetic information transfer. Age changes have also been found in chromatin structure, in the repair of DNA, in RNA synthesis, as well as in the structure of proteins. Peptide hormone trophic factors, like nerve growth factor (NGF), platelet derived growth factor (PDGF), interferon, interleukins, protons, electrons, trace metals are all important in relation to aging.
When considering the aging process, aging may be thought of as a slow burn of body parts. A type of biological fusion occurs which is similar to thermonuclear fusion, whereby nuclei are fused forming heavier nuclei and releasing energy. Such fusion is responsible for radiation burns, and produces increased scar tissue (granulation tissue). This energy produces heat which increases the agitation of the constituent parts of the biological system. This agitation increases scar tissue because the system must introduce a defensive structure to accommodate the intrusion of increased chaos within the statistical limits of the lattice structure so designated. Normal oxidation-reduction processes produce heat which increases tendency towards chaos, anisotrophy, and disruption of a practical level of being. Chromosomal damage, cross-linking in chromosomes, improper genetic information transfer and improper structures of encoded proteins will lead to an increase in scar tissue production.
Regeneration is essential to the reversal of aging products such as scar tissue. Good nutrition is also advisable to maximize the effects of a program which strives for the increase of life expectancy.
It has been noted that concentration of metal ions increase dramatically with age in cells. Sources of ions like calcium, magnesium, copper, zinc, sodium, potassium are food eaten and air breathed. Excess metal ions or metal ions improperly distributed in the cell will produce genetic information transfer errors.
In the past, a number of procedures have been described which involved the employment of magnetic fields to treat various diseases. Devices for applying electromagnetic energy to living tissue are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,099,511 to Caesar, U.S. Pat. No. 2,103,440 to Weissenberg, and U.S. Pat. No. 781,448 to McIntyre. Caesar teaches applying an alternating magnetic field to a localized area, and it is also believed to rely primarily on localized heating (diathermy). Weissenberg teaches application of a low level field and McIntyre teaches applying a homogeneous field to the whole body of a plant or animal, for therapeutic reasons. These patents demonstrate the interest in application of electromagnetic energy to plants and animals for therapeutic reasons, but do not teach any particular means for determining a field strength or frequency that will have any particular beneficial effects. Furthermore, these methods do not specifically address ameliorating the products of aging.
In connection with accelerating healing of traumatic injuries, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,611,599 and 4,576,172 both to Bentall, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,890,953 to Kraus et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 3,738,369 to Adams et al., induce particular fields for promoting growth of damaged tissue. Bentall teaches RF frequencies and Kraus teaches power line frequencies.
Of course with the variations in power level from diathermy to the microwatt levels of the Bentall patent, and frequencies which vary over similar orders of magnitude, there is no reference that provides any rationale or means for calculating particular magnetic flux densities and alternating polarity field frequencies that will have any particular effect specific to defined elements of the plant or animal.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,269,746 to Jacobson, the inventor herein, describes a therapeutic treatment of mammals for disease by subjecting mammals suffering from certain diseases to an alternating magnetic field having flux density and a frequency calculated as a function of the mass of a specified target. The calculation is such to equate the energy of a current electromagnetically induced in the mammal with the gravitational energy for the target genetic material, such that a dual resonance is achieved. The Jacobson patent uses low level mass-characteristic fields and thus avoids disadvantages of prior art methods, characterized by high power, high frequency, and levels not related to target masses.
The Jacobson patent, however, specifically relates to "targets" relative to the diseases disclosed therein and specifically focuses on the disease etiology. The Jacobson patent does not address the "targets" which would be considered fundamental and basic to biological function, the essence of aging, nor does it focus on "multiple targets" necessary for treating the affects of aging. Furthermore, the necessary vibrational energies in the metal ions required to affect aging require flux densities not disclosed or taught by the Jacobson patent. In order to affect aging, it is necessary to target a wide range of critically important molecules, extending to levels lower than the 6.times.10.sup.-10 gauss disclosed in the Jacobson patent.

Method for ameliorating the aging process and the effects thereof utilizing electromagnetic energy


In a method for extending a wafer-supporting sheet of a wafer-supporting table for dicing, the wafer-supporting sheet can be extended by using a single tool, and a total height of a wafer-supporting device can be reduced while the sheet is extended. In this wafer-supporting sheet extending method, a substantially C-shaped extension spring is arranged on a lower surface of the wafer-supporting sheet, on which a wafer divided into chips is placed, so that the sheet is extended. Thus, since the wafer-supporting sheet can be extended by a single tool (the C-shaped extension spring) and the extension spring can be made thin, the total height of the wafer-supporting device can be reduced while the sheet is extended.

Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method for extending a wafer-supporting sheet of a wafer-supporting table for dicing. 2. Description of the Related Art
Mounting of a semiconductor chip starts with dividing a wafer, which has been determined as being a defect-free product by test, into chips. This dividing process is known as "dicing". FIGS. 8 and 9(A) show a conventional dicing method in which a wafer-supporting table 3 for dicing has a ring shaped frame 1 made of metal such as stainless and having a circular opening portion 1a, and a wafer-supporting sheet 2 attached to a lower surface of the frame 1 by an adhesive (not shown). The supporting sheet 2 has a circular shape and is made of such as vinyl chloride. A wafer 4 is supported (adhered) via an adhesive (not shown) on a central portion of an upper surface of the sheet 2, and is cut into chips by means of a dicing blade (not shown). Then, defect-free chips are picked up by a vacuum head (not shown), and are moved to a next step (for example, a loading step in which the chips are loaded on a circuit board). In this case, a gap between the neighboring chips is small just after the wafer 4 have been dicied into the chips. Therefore, when a chip is picked up by a vacuum head, the chip may contact a neighboring chip, and hence the neighboring chip may be displaced from its original position. As a result, the neighboring chip may fail to be picked up.
To avoid such a problem, a pair of extension rings 5 and 6 are used to widen the gap between neighboring chips, as is shown in FIGS. 8 and 9(A). Specifically, there are provided a first extension ring 5, which is slightly smaller than the frame 1 of the wafer-supporting table 3, and a second extension ring 6, which is slightly smaller than the first extension ring 5. As is shown in FIG. 9(A), the first and second extension rings 5 and 6 are arranged above and under the wafer-supporting sheet 2, respectively. Then, as is shown in FIG. 9(B), the second extension ring 6 is inserted into the opening portion 1a of the frame 1 from the under side thereof, and is pushed up with making an upper surface of the second expansion ring 6 extend the wafer-supporting sheet 2. Finally, as is shown in FIG. 9(C), the first extension ring 5 is fitted onto the second extension ring 6 from above the frame 1 with the wafer-supporting sheet 2 being interposed therebetween. In this state, the sheet 2 is extended by two times a total of the widths of the extension rings 5 and 6, and the gap between the neighboring chips is increased in accordance with the amount of extension.
However, since the conventional wafer-supporting-sheet extending method uses two tools (=the extension rings 5 and 6) to extend the wafer-supporting sheet 2, manufacturing cost is greater than in a case where only a single tool is used. Further, since the sheet 2 is extended in a direction perpendicular to its supporting surface, the widths of the rings 5 and 6 must be increased in order to increase the amount of extension of the sheet 2 so that a total height of the wafer-supporting table 3 in a state as shown in FIG. 9(C) (i.e., the width of each of the rings 5 and 6, two times the thickness of the sheet 2, and the thickness of the wafer 4) becomes large. As a result, a large space is necessary to storage a plurality of wafer-supporting tables 3 (each of which is in the state shown in FIG. 9(C) while they are arranged in a vertical direction with they being held in a horizontal posture.

Method for extending wafer-supporting sheet