A system for designing a multimedia application (27) is provided. The system includes an assembly template (14, 16, 18) having predetermined processor operating commands and related data. The assembly template (14, 16, 18) is adapted to allow a user to add to and modify and the processor operating commands and related data, and to generate multimedia application navigator system controls (22). A processor (10, 56) receives the modified processor commands of the assembly template (14, 16, 18) and generates the multimedia application navigator system controls (22).

A popular personal computer application finding a wide variety of uses is the multimedia application. The multimedia application typically displays visual and audio images to one or more users. The visual images may include text, graphics as well as video. One problem with multimedia applications is that their design is time consuming and complicated. To aid in the design of such multimedia applications, various design tools have been proposed. Multimedia applications design tools are used to assemble collections of multimedia data and to define the connections for links between the data files. For example, a multimedia application may include a data file that creates a visual image when processed by a visual image generation system. Other data files may generate audible sounds when processed by a sound generating system.
While multimedia application design tools do aid in the construction of the multimedia application, many of them are complex and require many hours for the user to learn how to use the design tool. Many of the conventional design tools also require the designer to keep track of operating parameters. Failure to set the various operating parameters in proper condition can result in system failure such as causing the application to access files out of order. This problem may be more significant in a local area network, where multiple users may have access to a plurality of multimedia application data files.
Another problem with the design of multimedia applications is the requirement that some data files such as graphic images, text files or audio files, may require resources or drivers for generating the corresponding image, text or sound. If these drivers are not present or are not linked to the specific data files, the multimedia application may not function. Many of the conventional tools available to multimedia designers require the designer to specifically link the data file to its corresponding driver. Failure by the designer to make the link may result in an inadvertent design error causing the multimedia application to malfunction.

System and method for designing multimedia applications


An electrical connector is disclosed to include an electrically insulative housing, which houses a plurality of metal contact pins, each metal contact pin having a bottom bonding face protruding over the bottom side of the housing, a metal shield, which is coupled to the housing and has two bonding portions at two sides, and a bonding adjustment architecture provided between the metal shield and the housing for allowing vertical movement of the metal shield relative to the housing to adjust the elevation of the bonding portions so that the bonding portions and the bonding face of each metal contact pin can be positively bonded to a circuit board by SMT.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connector and more particularly, to an electrical connector, which has a metal shield that is vertically adjustable relative to the electrically insulative housing of the electrical connector so that the electrical connector can positively be bonded to a circuit board by SMT (Surface Mounting Technique).
2. Description of the Related Art
An electrical connector for high frequency communication generally has a metal shield covered on the electrically insulative housing to protect the internal metal contact pins against EMI (Electromagnetic Interference).
According to conventional designs, the metal shield and the electrically insulative housing are fixedly fastened together, i.e., the metal shield is not movable relative to the electrically insulative housing and the electrically insulative housing is not movable relative to the metal shield. When bonding a conventional electrical connector to a circuit board, the bonding portions of the metal shield may be not kept in contact with the corresponding bonding portions of the circuit board due to deformation of the electrically insulative housing or the metal shield, thereby affecting the bonding quality.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide an electrical connector that eliminates the aforesaid problem.


A variety of methods and compositions are disclosed, including, in one embodiment, a method of inhibiting corrosion of a metal surface in a wellbore, comprising: providing a treatment fluid comprising a corrosion inhibitor, wherein the corrosion inhibitor comprises berberine; and introducing the treatment fluid into a wellbore.

The present invention relates to inhibiting the corrosion of metal surfaces and, more particularly, to use of berberine to inhibit the corrosion of metal surfaces by aqueous acids in well operations.
Acidic fluids may be present in a multitude of operations in the oil and chemical industries. In these operations, metal surfaces in piping, tubing, heat exchangers, and reactors may be exposed to acidic fluids. Acidic fluids are often used as a treatment fluid in well operations. Such acidic treatment fluids may be used in, for example, clean-up operations or stimulation operations for oil and gas wells. Acidic stimulation operations may use these treatment fluids in hydraulic fracturing and matrix acidizing treatments. As used herein, the term "treatment fluid" refers to any fluid that may be used in an application in conjunction with a desired function and/or for a desired purpose. The term "treatment" does not imply any particular action by the fluid or any component thereof.
A common problem associated with using acidic treatment fluids in subterranean formations is the corrosion of the tubular goods in the wellbore and the other equipment used to carry out the treatment. As used herein, the term "corrosion" refers to any reaction between a material and its environment that causes some deterioration of the material or its properties. Examples of common types of corrosion include, but are not limited to, the rusting of metal, the dissolution of a metal in an acidic solution, and patina development on the surface of a metal. The expense of repairing or replacing corrosion damaged equipment is high. The corrosion problem may be exacerbated by the elevated temperatures encountered in deeper formations. The increased corrosion rate of the ferrous and other metals making up the tubular goods and other equipment results in quantities of the acidic solution being neutralized before it enters the subterranean formation. The partial neutralization of the acid results in the production of quantities of metal ions which are highly undesirable in the subterranean formation. Acidic treatment fluids may include a variety of acids such as, for example, hydrochloric acid, formic acid, hydrofluoric acid, and the like.
To combat potential corrosion problems, an assortment of corrosion inhibitors has been used to reduce or prevent corrosion to downhole metals and metal alloys with varying levels of success. As used herein, the term "inhibit" and its derivatives refer to lessening the tendency of a phenomenon to occur and/or the degree to which that phenomenon occurs. The term "inhibit" does not imply any particular degree or amount of inhibition. A difficulty encountered with the use, of some corrosion inhibitors, is the limited temperature range over which they may function effectively. In addition, many of the corrosion inhibitors that have been developed for use in well operations may be considered environmentally objectionable. For instance, actylenic compounds, mannich condensation products, unsaturated carbonyl compounds, unsaturated ether compounds, and/or formamide have been used, but may be environmentally objectionable in certain locations.

Use of berberine as corrosion inhibitor in well operations


A signal processing device has a first discrete time analog signal processing section, which has an input, an output, a plurality of charge storage elements, and plurality of switch elements coupling the charge storage elements. The device has a controller coupled to the first signal processing section configured to couple different subsets of the charge elements of the first signal processing section in successive operating phases to apply a signal processing function to an analog signal presented at the input of the first signal processing section and provide a result of the applying of the signal processing function as an analog signal to the output of first signal processing section. The signal processing function of the first signal processing section comprises a combination of a filtering function operating at a first sampling rate and one or more modulation functions operating at corresponding modulation rates lower than the first sampling rate.

This invention relates to synchronous filtering using a charge sharing structure.
Filtering of analog signals often involves modulation or demodulation in order move signals of interest from one frequency to another. An example relates processing a continuous time signal x(t) to recovery of a signal component with energy in the vicinity of fc (Hertz) by first bandpass filtering the input signal x(t) retaining signal components in the vicinity of fc and then modulating the signal with a periodic signal m(t) with a period 1/fc. Referring to FIG. 1, a filter system 10 includes an analog continuous time bandpass filter 14, for example, implemented using discrete circuit components. The output of the bandpass filter is passed to a mutliplexor 16, which periodically switches between passing (i.e., tracking) the output of the bandpass filter and outputting a zero value. Functionally this clocked multiplexor is equivalent to multiplying by a squarewave signal that alternative between 0.0 and 1.0 with a frequency fc and a duty cycle of 50%. The square wave signal has frequency components at zero frequency ("DC"), frequency fc as well as at the odd harmonics of fc. Therefore, in the frequency domain, the spectrum of the multiplexor 16 is a convolution of the bandpass signal output convolved with the odd harmonics of fc. Therefore, the desired signal in the vicinity of fc in x(t) is modulated to zero frequency, as are the components of the output of the bandpass filter at the odd harmonics of fc. To the extent that the bandpass filter sufficiently attenuated the signal in the vicinity of those harmonics, their impact on the output of the multiplexor 106 is not significant. In this example, the output of the modulator 16 (i.e., the output of the filter system 10) is passed through a lowpass filter and an analog to digital converter 18 for further processing. (Note that in some such implementations, the alternation is between the output of the bandpass filter and an inversion (negative) of the filter output.) The analog lowpass filter filters out odd harmonics of fc introduced by virtue of the multiplexor not implementing a multiplication by an ideal sinusoid. In some such examples, the multiplexor is implemented using Balanced Modulator/Demodulator, part AD630, manufactured by Analog Devices, Inc.
With the bandpass filter 14 implemented in analog components, the phase and magnitude at the desired center frequency fc may be difficult to control. For example, small changes in the actual center frequency of the filter may have relatively large effects on the phase at the desired (as opposed to actual filter) center frequency. Therefore, even if the modulation frequency for the multiplexor is exactly fc, the unpredictable phase response of the filter may make it difficult to achieve coherent processing.
Modulator blocks are used in a variety of other applications at the input and/or output of analog filter blocks, for example, implemented as analog circuits or implemented using discrete time digitized sample signal processors.


A virtual object can be controlled using one or more touch interfaces. A location for a first touch input can be determined on a first touch interface. A location for a second touch input can be determined on a second touch interface. A three-dimensional segment can be generated using the location of the first touch input, the location of the second touch input, and a pre-determined spatial relationship between the first touch interface and the second touch interface. The virtual object can be manipulated using the three-dimensional segment as a control input.

Handheld consumer electronic devices such as smart phones, portable internet devices, portable music players, and hand held gaming devices often include some form of visual display, such as a flat screen video display or a touch screen display. Touch screens are displays which also have the ability to detect the location of touches within the display area. This allows the display to be used as an input device, removing the keyboard and/or the mouse as the primary input device for interacting with the display's content. Such displays can be attached to computers or, as terminals, to networks. Touch screens also have assisted in recent changes in the design of personal digital assistants (PDAs), satellite navigation and mobile phone devices, making these devices more user-friendly.
Touch screens have become commonplace since the invention of the electronic touch interface in 1971 by Dr. Samuel C. Hurst. They have become familiar on PDAs, smart phones, and portable internet devices where a stylus or fingers are used to manipulate a graphical user interface (GUI) and to enter data. The popularity of smart phones, PDAs, portable game consoles, and many types of information appliances is driving the demand for, and the acceptance of, touch screens.
Currently, most devices that incorporate the use of touch interfaces use only a single touch interface per device. Because only a single touch interface is used, the manipulation of virtual objects displayed on those devices is limited. With a single touch interface, only 2-dimensional manipulation of virtual objects may be performed intuitively.
It is within this context that embodiments of the present invention arise.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Control of virtual object using device touch interface functionality


A method for assisting a mobile device to perform positioning measurements on positioning signals periodically transmitted by at least some of a plurality of cells in a wireless communication network includes receiving cell information. The cell information is measured or otherwise obtained by the mobile device and includes measurements/data pertaining to one or more of the plurality of cells in the wireless communication network. The method includes generating assistance data to include an assigned frequency channel number for use by the mobile device for performing the positioning measurements based on the received cell information. The assistance data is then sent to the mobile device.

The position of a mobile station (device), such as, for example, a cellular telephone, may be estimated based on information gathered from various systems. One such system may include the Global Positioning System (GPS), which is one example of a satellite positioning system (SPS). SPS systems, such as GPS, may include a number of space vehicles (SV) orbiting the earth. Another example of a system that may provide a basis for estimating the position of a mobile station is a cellular communication system including a number of aerial and/or terrestrial base stations to support communications for a number of mobile stations.
A position estimate, which may also be referred to as a position "fix", for a mobile station may be obtained based at least in part on distances or ranges from the mobile station to one or more transmitters, and also based at least in part on the locations of the one or more transmitters. Such transmitters may comprise SVs in the case of an SPS and/or terrestrial base stations in the case of a cellular communications system, for example. Ranges to the transmitters may be estimated based on signals transmitted by the transmitters and received at the mobile station. The location of the transmitters may be ascertained, in at least some cases, based on the identities of the transmitters, and the identities of the transmitters may be ascertained from signals received from the transmitters.
In a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) digital cellular network, the position location capability can be provided by Advanced Forward Link Trilateration (AFLT). In Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) and Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks, the position location capability is provided by Observed Time Difference Of Arrival (OTDOA). These techniques compute the location of the mobile station (MS) from the mobile station's measured time of arrival of radio signals from the base stations. A more advanced technique is hybrid position location, where the mobile station employs a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver and the position is computed based on both AFLT (or OTDOA) and GPS measurements.
LTE OTDOA positioning technology uses Positioning Reference Signals (PRS) to measure Time Of Arrival (TOA) from each neighboring cell in order to calculate an OTDOA position fix. In order to be able to measure the PRS signals from the serving cell and neighbor cells, user equipment (UE), or a mobile device, send an assistance data request to an OTDOA system server. The server will then send a suite of cells' information (e.g., cell configuration and timing info) to the UE. The server can also "push" the cells' information to the mobile device without the mobile device requesting the information. The information provided to the mobile device, by way of the generated assistance data, helps the mobile device search for the PRS (Positioning Reference Signals). For example, the server can send timing information, such as a search window of the cell. The provided search window relates to an estimated TOA of the PRS within that cell. However, some conventional servers for such positioning systems include fairly rudimentary logic for determining the search window to be included in the OTDOA assistance data. For example, some servers presume a physical location of the mobile device with respect to the cell (e.g., center or border of the serving cell) which may lead to an unnecessarily large estimated search window as well as an inaccurate search window center for at least some of the OTDOA measurements.
The OTDOA positioning component of the mobile device typically shares the same hardware correlator resource with the cellular component, and thus, the number of correlators available to the OTDOA positioning component may be limited. Therefore, searching for PRSs based on unnecessarily large search windows and the inaccurate search window center may extend the time that it takes the mobile device to get a position fix and/or may limit the accuracy of the fix by limiting the number of PRS signals used because of time/resource constraints within the mobile device, itself.
Furthermore, some communication systems may allow cells to express support of different band class numbers to allow mobile devices supporting different frequency channel numbers in different band classes to use the same physical cell. However, some conventional OTDOA servers may only provide OTDOA assistance data on a single channel number, regardless of the band or the channel number supported by the mobile device.

Assistance data for use in determining a position of a mobile device


A rear focusing type zoom lens system which comprises, as arrayed sequentially when viewed from the object side, a first lens group having a positive refracting power, second and third lens groups having negative refracting powers, respectively, and serving for zooming function when moved along an optical axis, a fourth lens group having a positive refracting power and constantly fixed stationarily, and a fifth lens group having a positive refracting power and serving for image formation function, wherein focusing is performed by moving a single lens element of the fifth lens group along the optical axis. Due to this arrangement, the number of the lens elements required to move for focusing can be reduced while assuring a high variable magnification power and a smaller F-value.

The present invention relates generally to a zoom lens system of a high variable magnification power and more particularly to a rear focusing type zoom lens system suited profitably for use in video cameras and the like.
As the prior art zoom lens system used in video cameras and the like, there is known one of such lens arrangement as disclosed in JP-A-63-133114 (and shown in FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings) in which a first lens group located in opposition to the object and composed of three lens elements is moved along the optical axis for effecting the zooming operation.
Besides, there are known other structures of zoom lens systems in which the focusing is performed by moving a plurality or a few lens elements located closer to the plane of image formation. Reference may be made to JP-A-1-134413, for example.
In many of the zoom lens systems, driving means for moving the lens elements or lens group as mentioned above is constituted by an electric motor. In that case, it is preferred that the weight or load of the lens elements to be moved should be as low as possible because the motor can thereby be miniaturized correspondingly. In this conjunction, the prior art zoom lens systems mentioned above suffer from a problem that the weight of the lens elements to be moved for focusing and hence the load imposed on the motor is heavy because the focusing is accomplished by moving a lens group including three or more lens elements. An attempt for realizing the focusing by moving a single lens element has encountered difficulty in that the F-number has to be increased and the zoom ratio must be low in order to correct aberrations satisfactorily.


The array substrate includes a substrate, a thin film transistor (TFT) and a pixel electrode. The TFT is disposed on the substrate and includes a gate electrode, a gate insulating layer, a patterned semiconductor layer, a patterned etching stop layer, a patterned hard mask layer, a source electrode and a drain electrode. The patterned gate insulating layer is disposed on the gate electrode. The patterned semiconductor layer is disposed on the patterned gate insulating layer. The patterned etching stop layer is disposed on the patterned semiconductor layer. The source and the drain electrodes are disposed on the patterned etching stop layer and the patterned semiconductor layer. The patterned hard mask layer is disposed between the source electrode and the patterned etching stop layer and disposed between the drain electrode and the patterned etching stop layer. The pixel electrode is disposed on the substrate and electrically connected to the TFT.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to an array substrate, and more particularly to an array substrate formed by a process-simplified manufacturing method.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the present technique of full color display, active matrix display apparatuses, such as active matrix liquid crystal display (AMLCD) and active matrix organic light emitting diodes (AMOLED), an array substrate comprising a plurality of thin film transistors (TFTs) arranged in a matrix is required to be employed to drive the display media (such as liquid crystal molecules or organic light emitting layer). The display images may then be generated by combining pixels and mixing colors of the pixels.
The structures of an array substrate and a TFT will vary according to the different semiconductor materials used. In the present display industry, the generally used semiconductor materials include amorphous silicon semiconductor material, polysilicon semiconductor material, organic semiconductor material and oxide semiconductor material. The structure design of an array substrate and the complexity of the manufacturing process are chosen according to the intrinsic property of the semiconductor material and the compatibility of the materials in the TFT and the array substrate. In order to improve the quality of the array substrate and the TFT, a complicated structure is necessary. For example, an etching stop layer may be used to protect a semiconductor layer. However, it also brings in more complexity in the manufacturing process and increases the cost.


A method for providing the sustaining waveform to a selected discharge cell of a plasma display panel (PDP) is provided. First, a first pulse of a first voltage falls to a reference voltage is applied between sustain electrodes X and Y. Second, the voltage between electrodes X and Y remains at the reference voltage for a first period. Finally, a second pulse of a second voltage remains at the second voltage for a second period, and falls to the reference voltage is applied between sustain electrodes X and Y. The apparatus for providing the sustaining waveform to a selected discharge cell of a plasma display panel (PDP) includes a first energy recovery circuit, a second energy recovery circuit, a first capacitor and a first bi-directional switch, and a second capacitor and a second bi-directional switch. The first energy recovery circuit, which includes a first inductor and four switches, is connected to the first sustain electrode. The second energy recovery circuit, which includes a second inductor and four switches, is connected to the second sustain electrode. Moreover, the first capacitor and the first bi-directional switch are connected in series between the first sustain electrode and a first node, and the second capacitor and the second bi-directional switch are connected in series between the second sustain electrode and a second node.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to switching circuitry for driving plasma display panels (PDPs), and more particularly to a method and an apparatus for driving plasma display panels to enhance the luminous efficiency.
2. Description of the Related Art
AC plasma display panels (ACPDPs) have the following advantages: large screens, wide viewing angle, large capacity, and the ability to display full-color images, However, their disadvantage of high power consumption needs to be overcome. In order to improve the efficiency of AC-PDPs, energy recovery is a necessary function of the driving circuit of the plasma display panels. Moreover, modifying the sustaining waveform for driving ACPDPs is an alternative way to improve the luminous efficiency.
The driving waveform of AC-PDPs essentially has three periods: a reset period, a write (address) period, and a sustain discharge period. To ensure the accuracy of addressing, an erase pulse is applied during the reset period, and the wall charges in all discharge cells are cleared. In the write period, the discharge cells of ACPDP are selected according to the display image data to write and therefore the wall charges exist in the ON cells. As a result of the wall charge""s memory effect, the selected discharge cells discharge to emit light pulses continuously as long as a moderate alternating voltage is applied between the sustain electrodes X and Y during the sustain discharge period.
In FIG. 1, a conventional sustaining waveform and the corresponding light emitting pulses are shown. The horizontal axis represents the time. The vertical axis represents the applied voltage between the sustain electrodes X and Y, which is denoted by Vxy, and the light emitting power. At t1, t2, and t3, during which the wall voltage plus the applied voltage exceeds a firing voltage, light emitting pulses are generated.
Discharging current is one of the factors influencing the luminance and the luminous efficiency of AC-PDPs. As disclosed in xe2x80x9cBasic Study on the Gas-Discharge Panel for Luminescent Color Displayxe2x80x9d, IEEE Trans. Electron Devices, vol. 25, pp.1094-1100, 1978 by T. Kamegaya, H. Matsuzaki, M. Yokozawa, the luminance reaches saturation and the luminous efficiency decreases as the discharging current reaches to a critical value. Thus, by choosing appropriate operating points of the discharge current, higher luminous efficiency can be obtained.
FIG. 2 is another sustaining waveform differed from the one in FIG. 1. The horizontal axis represents time. The vertical axis represents the applied voltage Vxy and the light emitting power. As disclosed in xe2x80x9cImprovement of Luminous efficiency in an ACPDP by Self-Erase Discharge Waveformxe2x80x9d, SID""99 Digest, pp. 540-543, 1999, by T. Hashimoto, A. Iwata, a self-erase discharge is applied to lower the main discharging and therefore, the luminous efficiency is improved. The self-erase discharge can be improved by decreasing the falling rate and the pulse width of the sustain voltage and by applying an assistant pulse to the ACPDP. For example, the assistant pulses are applied at t1, t3, t5, and t7. The assistant pulse applied at t1 has a period of T1 and an amplitude of V1 in FIG. 2. Consequently, the self-erase discharge occurs at t1, t3, t5, and t7 while the main discharge occurs at t2, t4, and t6. Before the main discharge, the wall charge is reduced because of the self-erase discharge. However, the assistant pulses will attract the space charge produced by the self-erase discharge and even make the main discharge too weak if the period of the assistant pulse is too long. As a result, the sustaining frequency must be high and the margin of the sustain voltage becomes narrow. Additionally, according to the previous experiments the luminous efficiency is reduced when the sustaining frequency is higher.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a method and an apparatus for driving plasma display panel to improve the luminous efficiency with power recovery. The proposed sustaining waveform can be operated at the appropriate frequency to get a large sustain voltage margin. Under an experiment of a 42-inch ACPDP, the luminous efficiency is enhanced by more than 30%.
The invention achieves the above-identified objects by providing a method for sustaining discharging in the discharge cells of a plasma display panel (PDP) having first sustain electrodes, second sustain electrodes, and address electrodes. The first sustain electrodes are arranged in parallel with the second sustain electrodes. The address electrodes are arranged orthogonal to the first sustain electrodes and said second electrodes. The first sustain electrodes and the second sustain electrodes intersect with the address electrodes to form intersections which define discharge cells that can be selectively turned ON and OFF. First, a first pulse of a first positive voltage is applied between the first sustain electrodes and the second sustain electrodes. Next, the voltage between the first sustain electrodes and the second sustain electrodes maintains at a second positive voltage for a first period. Then, a second pulse of a third positive voltage is applied between the first sustain electrodes and the second sustain electrodes. After that, a third pulse of a first negative voltage is applied between the first sustain electrodes and the second sustain electrodes. Then, the voltage between the first sustain electrodes and the second sustain electrodes maintains at a second negative for a second period. Finally, a fourth pulse of a third negative voltage is applied between the first sustain electrodes and the second sustain electrodes. The second positive voltage is lower than the first positive voltage and the third positive voltage, and the second negative voltage is higher than the first negative voltage and the third negative voltage.
It is therefore another object to provide an apparatus for providing sustaining waveform to a discharge cell of a plasma display panel (PDP). The selected discharge cell is defined by a first sustain electrode, a second sustain electrode which is parallel to the first sustain electrode, and an address electrode which is orthogonal to the first sustain electrode and second sustain electrode. The apparatus includes a first energy recovery circuit, a second energy recovery circuit, a first capacitor and a ninth switch, and a second capacitor and a tenth switch. The first energy recovery circuit, which includes a first inductor and four switches, is connected to the first sustain electrode. In the first energy recovery circuit, A first switch is connected between the first sustain electrode and a power supply. A second switch is connected between the first sustain electrode and ground. A first inductor is connected between the first sustain electrode and a first node. A third switch is connected between the first node and the power supply. A fourth switch is connected between the first node and ground. The second energy recovery circuit is connected to the second sustain electrode. The second energy recovery circuit includes a second inductor and another four switches. The fifth switch is connected between the second sustain electrode and the power supply. The sixth switch is connected between the second sustain electrode and ground. The second inductorA is connected between the second sustain electrode and a second node. The seventh switch is connected between the second node and the power supply. The eighth switch is connected between the second node and ground. Moreover, the first capacitor and the ninth switch are connected in series between the first sustain electrode and the first node, and the second capacitor and the tenth switch are connected in series between the second sustain electrode and the second node.

Method and apparatus for providing sustaining waveform for plasma display panel


An energy absorbing bumper that dissipates kinetic energy of a moving mass via conversion to compressive membrane energy stored in a primary beam-column, potential energy stored in two laterally mounted energy absorbers and bending energy stored in a secondary beam-column. During impact the primary beam-column is laterally compressed as it flattens developing a large amount of compressive membrane energy. During deformation, the primary beam-column slides into the secondary beam-column having a central channel that accommodates the primary beam-column.

Current impact beams for automotive bumpers and side intrusion beams are configured such that when the impact beam is subjected to a direct impact, the kinetic energy is dissipated by the work of displacing the beam inwardly with respect to the supporting structure. In the process, kinetic energy is converted to strain energy in the resisting member. Depending on the end fixation conditions, some portion of the strain energy would be manifested as bending strain energy and the rest as membrane strain energy. Unless there is significant lateral rigidity of the end fixation or that the curvature of the beam is approaching that of an arch, which is rarely practical, the strain energy would be predominantly stored as bending strain energy. The amount of bending strain energy that can be dissipated is limited by the peak stress developed in the structure as the resisting force increases while mitigating the impact. If the impact beam is mounted with longitudinally positioned supplementary energy absorbers including hydraulic attenuators, absorptive foams, crush tubes or spring supports, then the impact beam would have to be designed to withstand at least the trigger loads of these devices.
One example, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,269,574, includes a bumper of an `I`-type configuration with a ribbed web to provide some torsional rigidity. During a central impact, the kinetic energy of the impact is converted to predominantly bending strain energy. The distribution of the bending strain energy along the span of the beam would be similar to the distribution of the bending moment on a simply supported beam. The peak stress occurs at the impact location and decreases gradually along the length to a smaller magnitude at the ends. Only a small central portion of the beam would be strained to the elastic limit while the rest of the span would be stressed to less than the limit.
An impact beam should be designed to maximize the work done in straining the beam to the elastic limit. The external work done is the product of the resisting force and the distance traversed while resisting the load. Internal to the beam this equates to the totality of strain energy stored in the beam which is the volumetric integral of the product of the average stress and strain. It is imperative to note that a beam designed to maximize static stiffness does not necessarily translate to one that mitigates maximum kinetic energy under impact.
Another example, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,961,603 includes a curved bumper member with a rear tension means that are directly and pivotally connected. The tension member provides a means for relieving the longitudinally extending load members, to which the bumper is mounted, of the large lateral forces that would be developed when the curved beam is impacted. Depending on the actual sweep of the curve member, the bending moment distribution along the span could be at best maximum at the center and at the ends and varying gradually in between. During a central impact, the strain energy in the bumper will be stored as bending strain energy and membrane strain energy in the beam. Depending on the relative magnitude of the bending and the axial forces, the stress could be maximum at a small span where the bending moment is maximum or at the region where the axial force is approaching the critical buckling load of the beam.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,626,347 discloses a curved bumper in which the lateral forces are countered by the bracing action of a member extending across the rail at the point of attachment. Again, here the peak stress would be at the point where the peak bending moment occurs or where the axial force approaches the critical buckling load of the beam.
Admittedly both these designs could result in a much more uniform stress distribution as the sweep approaches that of an arch. This is a result of the membrane mode of energy storage dominating with larger sweeps. However these designs do not provide a means for controlling the large amounts of membrane energy developed in the curve beam. Curved beams with large sweeps generally have the tendency to buckle, which is essentially the process where the unstable membrane strain energy exceeding the stability threshold reverts to the more stable bending strain energy.
Optimally a beam designed for impact should be no stiffer than the surrounding structure and have as uniform a stress distribution over the span of the beam as practically feasible. In addition, for work to be done, the resistant force should traverse over as large a distance as possible or internal to the beam, the stress should be uniformly sustained over as large a span as possible. The load and the stress should be maintained as the beam deforms so that the ideal square energy pulse would be obtained as the kinetic energy of the impact is mitigated.


A color image forming machine such as a copier or a printer for producing a toner image, corresponding to an original image, on a recording sheet. The color image forming machine has a photoreceptor for forming the toner image on its surface; a transferrer for transferring the toner image from the photoreceptor to the recording sheet; and a fixer for fixing the toner image on the recording sheet. The fixer includes (1) an endless heat belt which is supported by a heat roller and a separation roller; and (2) an endless conveyance belt which is supported by a pressure roller and another separation roller; in which the endless heat belt and the endless conveyance belt are partially pressed together by the first pair which are inclined relative to one another, and the second pair so that a nip region is created between the first pair of rollers and the second pair of rollers. The endless heat belt and the endless conveyance belt have a glossy surface. The fixer conveys the recording sheet upwards in the apparatus when the fixer fixes the toner image on the recording sheet.

The present invention relates to a color image forming apparatus in which: a color toner image is formed on a photoreceptor by means of electrophotography; the color toner image is transferred onto a transfer sheet; and the transferred image is thermally fixed to obtain a color image on the transfer sheet. More particularly, the present invention relates to a color image forming apparatus that can form a color image of high quality on one or both surfaces of a transfer sheet.
A large number of electrophotographic color image forming methods and apparatus are known. For example, the following color image forming method is disclosed in Japanese Published Application No. 100770/1986: Latent images, the number of which is the same as the number of separated colors, are formed and developed on the surface of a photoreceptor drum. Each time the latent image is developed, the image is transferred onto the surface of a transfer drum to form a multicolor image on the transfer drum. After that, the image is transferred onto a transfer paper to obtain a color image.
Another multicolor image forming method is disclosed in Japanese Published Application No. 149972/1986. According to the aforementioned method, a color image is formed as follows: Latent images, the number of which is the same as the number of separated colors, are formed and developed on the surface of a photoreceptor drum. Each time the latent image is developed, the image is transferred onto the surface of a transfer sheet to obtain a multicolor image.
Further, there is a color image forming method by which color images are formed in the following manner: Latent images, the number of which is the same as the number of separated colors, are formed and developed by color toners on the surface of a photoreceptor drum so that color toner images are superimposed on the photoreceptor drum.
The fundamental process of this multicolor image formation is disclosed in Japanese Published Application Nos. 75850/1985, 76766/1985, 95456/1985, 95458/1985 and 158475/1985.
In the case of a multicolor image forming apparatus that forms a color image by superimposing color toner images, operations are carried out to obtain a color image as follows: A plurality of developing units provided with toners of different colors are disposed around a photoreceptor drum. In general, the photoreceptor drum is rotated a plurality of times so that a latent image on the photoreceptor drum can be developed.
Concerning the image forming body, apart from the aforementioned photoreceptor drum, the circumferential surface of which is coated or vapor-deposited with a photoconductor, there is also a belt-shaped image forming body that is composed in such a manner that a flexible belt is coated or vapor-deposited with a photoconductor. This belt-shaped image forming body (referred to as a photoreceptor belt, hereinafter) can be provided between rotational rollers including a drive roller, so that space can be effectively utilized and a compact color image forming apparatus can be provided. Since the photoreceptor belt can be moved around a small radius of curvature, a transfer sheet can be separated from the photoreceptor belt utilizing a portion of the photoreceptor belt, the radius of curvature of which is small, wherein a rotational roller of a small diameter is used to form the portion of the small radius of curvature. Therefore, the occurrence of defective separation of a transfer sheet can be avoided.
Image formation is carried out by the apparatus shown in FIG. 19 to which the aforementioned photoreceptor belt is applied. FIG. 19 is a schematic illustration showing the structure of a conventional color image forming apparatus.
A photoreceptor belt 1 is wrapped around rotational rollers 2 and 3 and tension roller 5, and when the rotational roller 2 is driven in the arrowed direction, the photoreceptor belt 1 is conveyed clockwise in contact with guide member 4. Between a cleaning unit 13 (having a blade 13A and a cleaning roller 13B) on the right and a transfer unit 12 on the left, there are provided a charging unit 6, an exposure section composed of a laser writing system unit 7 (having a drive motor 7A, polygonal mirror 7B, f.theta. lens 7C, and mirrors 7D and 7E), and four developing units 8 to 11 accommodating four kinds of color developers. When charging, exposing and developing operations are conducting on the photoreceptor belt 1 four times, a color toner image is formed, and the formed color toner image is transferred onto a transfer sheet by the transfer unit 12. The transfer sheet is sent from sheet cassette 14 through sheet guide 15 and timing roller 17 when supply roller 16 is rotated. After the transfer operation has been completed, the photoreceptor belt 1 is cleaned by the cleaning unit 13, and the subsequent image is formed by the same process as described above. The image formed on the transfer sheet is fixed by a fixing roller 18, and then the transfer sheet is discharged onto a tray mounted on an upper cover 20 through a discharging roller 19.
In the manner described above, a full color image can be provided. The quality of this full color image greatly depends on the fixing operation.
A heat roller fixing system is most generally applied to the fixing process for toner images in electrophotography. In the recent electrophotographic process by which color images are formed, it is required to fuse and cool a toner image sufficiently in order to ensure color reproduction properties and gloss of the image. Therefore, the belt type fixing system, that can fuse and cool toner images better than the heat roller fixing system, is applied to the color image forming apparatus.
A thermal fixing unit in which toner images are fixed through a thermal belt is disclosed in Japanese Published Application No. 36342/1974. In this unit, a press roller is brought into contact with a heat roller through a belt, and when a transfer sheet, on which a toner image is formed, is pinched between the press roller and the thermal belt, the toner image is fixed.
Japanese Published Application No. 122665/1986 also discloses a fixing unit in which toner images are thermally fixed through a belt.
Further, Japanese Published Application No. 706331974/1986 also discloses a fixing unit in which the fixing operation is carried out as follows: Two endless belts are provided between a heat roller disposed at the entry side and a cooling roller disposed at the delivery side. Flat portions of both belts run in parallel, and a transfer sheet on which a toner image has been formed, is pinched by the two belts so that it is conveyed from the entry side to the delivery side.
In the same manner as the image formation of monocolor, color images can be formed on either surface of a transfer sheet, i.e. they can be formed on one side or on both sides of the transfer sheet.
In an automatic two-sided recording apparatus of the prior art, images are recorded on both sides of a transfer sheet in the following manner: After an image has been formed on one side of a transfer sheet in an image processing section, the transfer sheet is temporarily stored in a middle portion, and this transfer sheet is conveyed again to the image forming section so that an image is formed on the other side of the transfer sheet. As a result of the foregoing, images can be recorded on both sides of the transfer sheet.
As mentioned before, in the case of full color image formation, the fixing process has great influence on the quality of an image. For that reason, the belt type fixing system that can fuse and cool a toner image better than the heat roller type fixing system, has come into wide use for a color image forming apparatus.
As disclosed in Japanese Published Application No. 36342/1974, the fixing unit is provided with a press roller that is pressed against a heat roller through a belt, and a transfer sheet, on which a toner image has already been formed, is pinched between the press roller and the belt so that the toner image can be fixed. However, in the aforementioned structure of the prior art, not enough nip region can be provided, so that sufficient heat cannot be supplied from the upper heat roller through the belt. Accordingly, the toner cannot be fused sufficiently for the fixed image to become glossy.
In the case of the fixing unit disclosed in Japanese Published Application No. 122665/1986 in which fixing is carried out through a belt, nip region formed by the press roller and the belt is not sufficiently long, so that sufficient fusing time cannot be provided and the transfer sheet cannot be heated sufficiently. As a result, the fixing property is influenced by the material and thickness of the transfer sheet. Therefore, the thermal fixing operation becomes unstable.
In the case of the fixing unit disclosed in Japanese Published Application No. 70633/1874, the fixing operation is carried out as follows: Two endless belts are provided between a heat roller disposed at the entry side and a cooling roller disposed at the delivery side. Flat portions of both belts run in parallel, and a transfer sheet on which a toner image has been formed is pinched by the two belts so that it is conveyed from the entry side to the delivery side.
When the surfaces of the heat roller and press roller are hard, the endless belt can be regarded as hard. When a transfer sheet on which a toner image has been formed is conveyed between the rollers, contact pressure is given onto a very narrow portion. Therefore, the transfer sheet is fluctuated due to the vibration of the rollers. Accordingly, a different part of the transfer sheet experiences a different thermal expansion. As a result of the foregoing, the transfer sheet is wrinkled.
On the other hand, a conventional automatic two-sided recording apparatus is arranged in the following manner: After an image has been formed on one side of a transfer sheet in an image processing section, the transfer sheet is temporarily stored in a middle portion, and this transfer sheet is conveyed again to the image forming section so that an image is formed on the other side of the transfer sheet. As a result of the foregoing, images can be recorded on both sides of the transfer sheet.
As can be seen from the foregoing, the structure of the conventional automatic two-sided recording apparatus is complicated, because the passage for transfer sheets is long and complicated. Therefore, the conventional automatic two-sided recording apparatus is disadvantageous in that jamming of transfer sheets tends to occur. The aforementioned complicated passage is provided in the lower center of the main mechanism of the image forming apparatus, so that the entire structure becomes further complicated, and the cost is increased. Further, in the case of the occurrence of jamming, it is difficult to clear a jammed transfer sheet.
The present invention has been designed to solve the aforementioned problems. It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a simple color image forming apparatus of low cost that can easily record an image of high quality onto one side of a transfer sheet or both sides of a transfer sheet, and the image forming apparatus of the invention can form an image of high quality in such a manner that: the image quality is not affected by the material or thickness of a transfer sheet; wrinkles are not caused on the transfer sheet; and the occurrence of offset is avoided.

Color image forming apparatus using fixing apparatus for glossy images


A method for identifying a semiconductor die includes a programmable integrated circuit formed on the semiconductor die. The programmable circuit includes FET transistors connected to output nodes and to programmable links such as fuses, anti-fuses or laser programmable links which are connected to ground. A gate element of each transistor is connected to an address line which controls current flow through the transistors to the output nodes. During manufacture, the programmable links can be selectively activated to create an identification code which can be read at the output nodes of the integrated circuit upon input of a predetermined address code.

Semiconductor manufacture involves the formation of semiconductor devices on a semiconducting substrate. A large number of semiconductor devices or ICs are typically constructed on a wafer of single crystal silicon or gallium arsenide. The area on the wafer occupied by a discrete device or IC is called a die. After formation, the wafer is sawed into individual dies. Typically, each die is then packaged in a plastic or ceramic package which is recognizable as an IC chip.
Identifying data with respect to a particular die may sometimes be useful during the manufacture or life of the die. This data may include a date of manufacture, identification of a particular wafer from which a die was obtained, or identification of the location of a die on a wafer. Such information may be used for instance, to evaluate the performance characteristics of the die or IC chip.
In the past, this type of identifying data has been imprinted on the die, or on the outside of the packaged chip, using visual codes. A problem with a visual ID of a die is that a die is small and fragile and there is not much area available for an ID. In addition, after separation from a wafer, a die is subjected to many manufacturing steps that may damage and render a visual ID as unreadable. Moreover, a visual ID of a packaged chip may become unreadable during installation of the chip on a printed circuit board or during the life of the chip by an end user.
In view of the foregoing, there is need in the art for a method of identifying a semiconductor die, or other semiconductor structure, that is permanent and which is accessible during the manufacturing process and also during the subsequent life of a semiconductor chip. The present invention recognizes that a semiconductor die may be constructed with an integrated circuit that includes programmable links (i.e. fuses, anti-fuses, or programmable laser links), which may be used to create a code for identifying the semiconductor die.
Programmable links have heretofore been utilized in programmable semiconductor circuits. In general, programmable links are electrical interconnects that are either broke or created at selected electronic nodes to activate or deactivate the node. Such programmable links are widely used for instance, in programmable read only memory devices (PROMs).
The most common type of programmable link is a fuse. Fuses are typically formed of a material such as titanium tungsten alloy (TiW) formed in a bow-tie like shape (i.e. narrow neck, wide ends). If a sufficiently high voltage is applied to a fuse, the current flow will cause the fuse to heat up. This melts the neck of the fuse and causes the fuse to "blow" and create an open circuit.
PROM devices often include fuses which may connect a transistor or other electronic node to a lattice network. The PROM may be programmed by blowing the fuse to a selected node and creating an open circuit. A combination of blown and unblown fuses may thus represent a digital pattern of ones and zeros signifying data which a user wishes to store in the PROM.
Another type of programmable link used in programmable semiconductor circuits is called an anti-fuse. Anti-fuses, instead of causing an open circuit, create a short circuit or low resistance link. Anti-fuses typically include a pair of conductors having some type of dielectric or insulating material between them. The application of a predetermined voltage to the anti-fuse will break down the dielectric material and electrically connect the conductors together. An anti-fuse may also be enabled by directing a laser beam at a predetermined portion of the anti-fuse (i.e. the dielectric) to electrically connect the conductors together.
Still another type of programmable link is known as a laser programmable link. As an example, a segment of a conductive line (i.e. polysilicon) located on the surface of a chip can be melted through at a predetermined location using a laser beam. This is also sometimes referred to as laser break-link programming.
In accordance with the present invention, a semiconductor die can be constructed with programmable links arranged in a circuit for identifying the die. Such a circuit is permanent and electronically accessible.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method for identifying a semiconductor die utilizing a programmable integrated circuit which can be easily accessed during manufacture and throughout the life of a semiconductor die. It is a further object of the present invention to provide an integrated circuit which includes programmable links that may be selectively activated to create a code for identifying a semiconductor die. It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a programmable integrated circuit for identifying a semiconductor die that is adaptable to large scale semiconductor manufacture.

Method for identifying a semiconductor die using an IC with programmable links


A handlebar for a bicycle has first and second laterally extending portions disposed outboard of a central attachment portion. Each of the first and second laterally extending portions is preferably winged-like in configuration to provide reduced air resistance. The first laterally extending portion includes an aerobar clamping mechanism, and the second laterally extending portion includes a second aerobar clamping mechanism. Each aerobar clamping mechanism includes a tapered receiving sleeve having an axis that is generally parallel to a travel axis of the handlebar. A collect having a major axis that extends in a plane generally parallel to the direction of travel of the bicycle is receivable within the receiving sleeve. The collet includes a plurality of axially extending slots that permits the diameter of the collet to be varied. The collet includes an aerobar receiving slot having a major axis that is generally co-linear with the axis of the collect, and is provided for receiving an aerobar. An axial mover member can be coupled to the collect, for axially moving the collect within the aerobar receiving sleeve. Axial movement of the collect within the aerobar receiving sleeve serves to tighten and increase the grip of the collect upon the aerobar.

Most human powered vehicles, such as bicycles, include a handlebar mechanism to enable the user to steer the vehicle. A handlebar mechanism typically includes a shaft member that extends through the frame, and is coupled to the fork of the bicycle, so that rotational movement of the shaft causes rotational movement of the bicycle wheel. The stem member is connected onto the shaft, and extends upwardly, and, usually forwardly. The stem includes a clamping member, that permits a handlebar to be clamped to the stem.
The handlebars on most bicycles have a major axis that is disposed in a plane generally perpendicular to the direction of travel of the bicycle. A pair of hand grips are disposed at the outboard ends of the handlebars to provide a convenient place for the user to grip the handlebars.
Handlebars come in a variety of shapes, including rams horn-type drop handlebars that are typically found on touring bikes; high rise handlebars of the type that were used in connection with SCHWINN sting-ray bicycles that first appeared in the 1960s; and "generally straight" type handlebars of the type that are found on mountain bikes.
Some handlebars that are used primarily in connection with racing and touring bicycles include aerobars. Examples of aerobars can be seen in many of the Lennon patents.
An aerobar consists of a handlebar segment(s) that have a primary extent in a direction parallel to the direction of travel of the bicycle. The forward most (distal end) of the aerobar typically includes a hand grip portion upon which the user can grip the aerobar. When using an aerobar, the user places his hands on the aerobar, and rests his elbows on the laterally extending member of the handlebar.
When in this position, wherein the user's forearm is on the lateral portion, and his hand grips onto the aerobar, the rider will assume a crouch position wherein the user's back is disposed in a plane that is somewhat parallel to the road surface upon which the bike is traveling. When in this crouch position, the user's body presents less surface area to the wind, thus making this position a relatively aerodynamically favorable position in which to ride a bicycle. This aerodynamically favorable position helps to contribute to the speed achievable by the user, and helps reduce the amount of effort required to propel the bicycle forwardly.
Many handlebars designed for use with aerobars will include a forearm pad that is mounted onto the lateral portion of the handlebar that provides a more comfortable rest for the user's forearm than the often tubular bar-like configuration that is assumed by the laterally extending portion of the handlebar.
Although many different types of aerobars exist, room for improvement exists.
One area where room for improvement exists is providing an aerobar gripping system that permits easy adjustability of the aerobar. As will be appreciated, differences in user body size, and user preference dictates that the aerobar have some adjustability, in order to better fit the user and make the use of the aerobar more comfortable to the user.
Another area wherein room for improvement exists relates to the aerodynamic qualities of the aerobar. Heretofore, most handlebar and aerobar combinations have been tubular in configuration. One object of the present invention is to provide a more aerodynamically efficient handlebar configuration than known tubular handlebars.
Another area wherein room for improvement exists relates to the removability and replaceability of the aerobars from the handlebar. Many previously known aerobars suffer the deficiency of being difficult to install as well as difficult to remove. These difficulties cause problems, as certain circumstances exist wherein a rider prefers to remove the aerobars from his handlebar. Other circumstances exist wherein the user may wish to either change the aerobars on his bicycle without being required to change the entire handlebar, or otherwise provide a significant adjustment to the handlebar.
One object of the present invention is to provide a mechanism for attaching an aerobar to a handlebar that facilitates the quick and easy connection of the aerobar to the handlebar, and the quick and easy removal of the aerobar from the handlebar.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved handlebar.

Bicycle handlebar with removable and adjustable aerobar


A dynamic browse information parser captures the location within a program at which symbols exist. The dynamic browse information parser also parses function bodies, capturing location of symbols within the function body. Upon selection of a symbol and type of information desired, a datastore of browse information is queried. If additional information is required for disambiguation, the dynamic browse information parser parses the source code again to find the indicated browse information. Optionally the browse information is displayed in a window.

As software increases in complexity, the development of software is becoming more and more difficult. Development of software is increasingly evolving from a solitary occupation into a team effort, making it necessary for a developer to be familiar with and use source code he did not write. Thus it is more and more important to be able to browse information concerning symbols defined in source code (e.g. functions, classes, properties, namespaces, macros, attributes and type definitions, etc).
For example, perhaps a developer is reading a program that makes a function call. It may be helpful for the developer to know all the places where the function is called from, and where the function is defined. That is, if the developer calls the function "foo" in [one] place in the source code, it is helpful to know that "foo" is also called by [these other] places in the source code, and that function "foo" is defined in [this] place in the source code. If a developer is considering making a change to a function definition, it would be helpful to know where the function is used so that the developer can determine how the change will impact each situation in which the function is used. It might be helpful to know what symbols a given function uses or what classes are derived from a certain class, and so on. Particularly when looking at source code the developer has not written or when a program is large, such browse information is invaluable to obtain an understanding of and work with the program.
Typically, however, in order to generate this browse information, the program must be fully compilable. Compilers typically generate browse information during compilation. This information can be very helpful to further program development. For example, development tools may use the browse information generated by the compiler to display reference information. There are, however, a number of drawbacks associated with using browse information generated by a compiler.
One of the drawbacks with generating browse information with a compiler is that it is not always feasible to compile the program, making the browse information unavailable. The program may be uncompilable because the source code has errors in it that prevent it from being compiled. In addition, there are cases where it is very difficult to know all the settings and commands needed to compile the program.
Even if the program has been compiled, the browse information is only correct up to the most recent compile. As new source code is added, the browse information generated by the compiler becomes more and more outdated, detracting from its usefulness. For example, if the developer originally places calls to function "foo" in his source code, and compiles the program, browse information for function "foo" will exist in the browse information generated by the compiler. If subsequently the developer removes all the calls to function "foo", the browse information will still erroneously contain the outdated browse information for function "foo" until the next compile. Because the compilation process itself can consume a non-trivial amount of time, explicit compilation may be infrequently initiated, compounding the problem.
Thus it would be helpful to be able to generate browse information dynamically so that changes to the source code are immediately reflected in the browse information, without having to recompile the program.
Dynamic parsers exist that attempt to address the shortcomings of compiler-generated browse information. One dynamic parser is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,367,068 B1 issued Apr. 2, 2002, entitled "Dynamic Parsing".
A dynamic parser typically dynamically parses the source code that has changed since the last time it parsed (e.g., the developer has modified the source code, or a new version of the source code has been installed). Such a parser typically checks for changes using a predetermined heuristic, such as at fixed intervals such as every second, when the developer completes writing a statement or when the developer is inactive or idle, without waiting for the developer to initiate compiling. The parser may identify errors and warnings in the source code, and display limited information such as the members belonging to a class. Typically, source code is parsed for declaration and definition information. However, this declaration and definition information on symbols such as functions is frequently limited to return types and parameters, while the body of the function typically is not parsed for symbol information. Hence, browse information concerning the source code contained within the function body is not available from the dynamic parser. Some development tools available today do provide information concerning the source code contained within the function body. Typically, however, these editors provide this functionality by doing a text search through source code to find all occurrences of the name of a symbol. For example, if a portion of the source code contained the lines:
000001namespace N1000002{000003void foo( )000004{000005// I'm N1::foo000006}000007}000008namespace N2000009{000010void foo( )000011{000012//I'm N2::foo000013}000014}000015using namespace N1;000016void bar( )000017{000018//...foo is here000019foo( );000020str = "Hello foo";000021N2::foo( );. . .000026}                and a developer wanted to find every place that the function "N1::foo" was referenced, a development tool that does a text search would find the occurrences of "foo" on lines 000003, 000005, 00010, 00012, 00018, 00019, 00020, and 00021, which is incorrect. The only occurrences are on line 000003 which is the definition of N1::foo and line 00019, which is a call to "N1::foo". Hence it would be helpful if a dynamic browse information parser existed that could dynamically generate browse information, including source code contained within a function body, and could distinguish calls made to a function, from calls made to a different function with the same name, and from comments and strings containing the function's name (i.e., that would be as smart as a compiler) without explicitly invoking a compiler.

System and method for browse information parsing without compilation


A silicon-on-insulator chip has a location recess formed therein for receiving a laser diode. The location recess includes two non-parallel location surfaces adapted to abut against two reference surfaces formed on the laser diode. The abutment of the location surfaces against the reference surfaces enables a laser emission area of the laser diode to be accurately aligned with a rib waveguide formed on the silicon-on-insulator substrate.

This invention relates to an assembly of an optical component and an optical waveguide positioned in accurate alignment with each other so as to provide a low loss coupling therebetween.
It is of importance, particularly in the field of optical communications, to provide low loss couplings between an optical component such as a laser diode or a photodiode with an optical waveguide. Such low loss couplings are generally achieved by positioning the optical component with the optical waveguide in accurate alignment with each other (within 0.1 micron both horizontally and vertically). However, with known methods of achieving this, it is either difficult to provide the required accuracy or expensive, high tolerance apparatus is required to form the assembly.
There thus remains a need for a relatively simple, low cost method of providing alignment of an optical component with a waveguide to the required accuracy.

Assembly of an optical component and an optical waveguide


A downhole tool for cleaning debris from an inner surface of a downhole casing that includes an inner mandrel moveable within the casing; and a scraper mandrel movably coupled to the outside of the inner mandrel by the engagement of a lug within a groove, the scraper mandrel including a scraper blade positioned on an outside of the scraper mandrel. Longitudinal movement of the scraper mandrel relative to the inner mandrel causes the lug to move within the groove, causing the scraper mandrel and the scraper blade to rotate relative to the inner mandrel and clean debris from the inner surface of the casing. The longitudinal movement is achieved by restraining movement of the scraper mandrel relative to the inner mandrel by contacting the debris with a scraper blade on the outside of the scraper mandrel, causing the scraper mandrel to move longitudinally relative to the inner mandrel.

This section is intended to provide relevant background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the described embodiments. Accordingly, these statements are to be read in this light and not as admissions of prior art.
Many wellbore drilling, completion, and/or production operations in the oil and gas industry require isolation of a particular zone within a wellbore to achieve a desired result. However, multiple trips are often required to isolate the particular zone, to perform the wellbore operation, and to carry on another subsequent wellbore operation effectively. For example, a trip may be required to set the isolation tool in a casing extending within the wellbore at a depth interval so that the particular zone requiring isolation for execution of the wellbore operation is isolated. Another trip may be required to complete the wellbore operation. Yet another trip may be required to remove the isolation tool. Still another trip may be required to carry on another wellbore operation subsequently. Moreover, depending on the characteristics of the wellbore and the casing, one or more additional trips may be necessary to clean the casing at the depth interval before the isolation tool is set at the depth interval to ensure an effective seal between the isolation tool and the casing. It would therefore be desirable to reduce the number of trips required to isolate the particular zone, to perform the wellbore operation, and to carry on another subsequent wellbore operation effectively. Therefore, what is needed is an apparatus, system, and/or method that addresses one or more of the foregoing issues, and/or one or more other issues.

Downhole tool with casing scraper with induced rotation


A package for an optical fiber device is disclosed. It has a high thermal conductivity packaging substrate surrounding the optical fiber device and has adhesive bonds at each end anchoring the optical fiber device to the substrate. The adhesive bonds are made of a material that has high transparency in damp heat as well as a high glass transition temperature and is capable of withstanding temperatures of over 100° C. The packaging substrate has a high absorption capacity and a CTE in relation to the CTE of the adhesive bond, such as to compensate for any variation in the adhesive bond due to temperature variations. This allows to limit mechanical stress in the optical fiber device within the package.

Fiber lasers and amplifiers are being used in a growing number of applications. As these mature in the commercial, deployment, an intense focus is being put on their reliability and that of their components. With the current progress in this field, reliability demonstrations must be made at increasingly higher power levels. Optical fiber reliability, connector reliability and susceptibility of optical fiber coatings to optical power damage have been studied for a number of years. Power levels for most applications have however been limited to the range of a few tens of Watts.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,678,273 a high power optical fiber with improved covering is described. In U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0175086 a fiber with a multilayer cladding arrangement is proposed to provide means of extracting energy from the cladding. These two inventions specifically address the issue of power handling of the optical fiber and its coating, but do not provide a solution for the component related power handling issues. In U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,291,570 and 5,946,437, there are described two variants of high power fiber connectors with means to prevent intense radiation, not coupled in the optical fiber, from damaging the fiber jacket. These two patents propose no solution to the specific problem of fiber component packaging and describe only a solution applicable to the ends of fibers where light is coupled from a source to the fiber input. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,865,316 B1, a cladding mode stripper is described for use in dissipating unwanted optical power coupled to the fiber cladding in a laser-to-fiber coupling arrangement. This patent is another example of an invention addressing excess light at the launch point into a fiber. In U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2003/0103724, a fiber termination is proposed for lessening negative effects associated with launching high power signals from a single mode optical fiber. This is the reverseproblem from optical launch into the fiber and does not cover fiber component related high power issues.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,860,651 B2, a fiber optic component packaging invention is presented where various configurations are claimed to optically extract lost light to displace heat generation away from the optical device. The principal claim of this invention is to use a fiber to capture and divert optical power loss into a terminated end, where more efficient heat dissipation means can be applied. This solution is better suited for a certain class of components where the lost signal is available for coupling to a fiber, for example in micro-optic thin film components where optical loss is available in the form of a well defined reflected portion of the input beam. This is not generally the case in fiber optic components. In general optical loss will be spurious in nature and the corresponding optical beam characteristics will be ill-defined, which makes the use of an optical fiber based loss extraction impractical.
All-fiber components, such as tapered fused bundle ('11'13) couplers, pump strippers, splices, mode field adaptors and Bragg gratings, allow monolithic integration of fiber laser and amplifier devices for deployment in the field. Characterized by intrinsically low loss transmission, they are well suited to handle signal and pump light, which are likely to reach the kW level in the near future. However, little progress has been made or improvements proposed for increasing the power handling capabilities of these components. In general, several package features are dictated by the requirements to robustly enclose the component in a protective enclosure, decouple the optical device from loads applied to the lead fibers and maintain performance in an uncontrolled environment, where temperature and humidity variations can lead to aging or thermally induced stresses. These requirements must be met while reducing the package sensitivity to high optical power levels, which creates a need for a novel packaging solution.

Optical fiber component package for high power dissipation


Water soluble glycoconjugated fluorescent labeling reagents comprised of a fluorescent dye, one or more sugar or carbohydrate residues that impart water solubility, and a reactive group that allows covalent attachment of the reagent to a substrate are disclosed. Glycoconjugated fluorescent labeling reagents are depicted as follows: ##STR1## These glycoconjugates are highly water soluble because of the sugar residues. This property is expected to lower nonspecific binding to cellular matter, reduce precipitation of labeled substrates, inhibit quenching of fluorescence, and unlike many prior fluorescent labeling reagents, that are soluble only in organic solvents, render the glycoconjugates usable in wholly aqueous solution.

This invention relates to water-soluble fluorescent labeling reagents for biological investigations. Fluorescence detection techniques are dependent on the physical characteristics of the dyes that they employ. Many dyes that have excellent photophysical properties (high extinction coefficients and high quantum yields) have limited utility because other properties such as water solubility and photostability are poor. In particular, for most biological applications good aqueous solubility for the fluorophore is crucial.
A common problem with many commercially available fluorescent labeling reagents is that they are not made water soluble thus they must be dissolved in organic solvents, such as DMF, prior to substrate labeling in aqueous media. Such organic solvents can have a deleterious effect upon sensitive substrates. The solubility of organic dyes affects the degree to which they interact with themselves in solution and when conjugated to substrates and therefore directly influences their light absorption and emission properties. The problem of non specific staining of cellular matter by the dye, which reduces signal to noise during observation, is also a function of the dye's hydrophobicity and of the polarity of its appended functional groups. In addition, the dye should not cause precipitation of the substrate once labeling has occurred. There is a need for fluorescent reagents that are bright, that have good aqueous solubility, and that give low non specific staining.
In recent years, a series of reagents based sulphocyanine dyes has become commercially available; see U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,268,486 and 5,486,616 the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference. These dyes, which are highly polar due to the presence of two sulphonic acid residues, have excellent photophysical properties combined with good aqueous solubility. To determine if further improvements could be achieved for the properties of cyanine dye based fluorescent reagents, the sulphonic acid groups were replaced with carbohydrate residues to create water soluble cyanine dyes with reduced polarity and labeling capabilities for biological and non-biological substrates.


Apparatus and methods of fabricating an interconnect in a dielectric material, such as by a damascene or dual damascene processes. In specific, with the use of a barrier layer, such as to contain copper-containing materials used in the fabrication of the interconnect, a slurry jet is used to remove the barrier layer without significantly damaging underlying dielectric material. Such a process is particularly useful when low-k dielectrics are used as the dielectric material, as low-k dielectrics can be easily damaged by known barrier layer removal techniques.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to barrier layer removal during the fabrication of microelectronic devices.
2. State of the Art
Microelectronic devices are comprised of a variety of discrete integrated circuits. These integrated circuits are generally connected to one another or to devices external to the microelectronic device by conductive traces or interconnects through which the discrete integrated circuits send or receive electronic signals.
One process used to form interconnects is known as a "damascene process". In a typical damascene process, a photoresist material is patterned on a dielectric material and the dielectric material is etched through the photoresist material patterning to form a channel or trench. The photoresist material is then removed (typically by an oxygen plasma) and trench is then filled, usually by deposition, with a conductive material (e.g., such as copper and alloys thereof). The resulting structure is planarized, usually by a technique called chemical mechanical polish (CMP), which removes the conductive material that is not within the trench from the surface of the dielectric material, to form the interconnect. As is understood by those skilled in the art, a hole or via may be formed in the dielectric material beneath the trench with a conductive material in the via to connect the interconnection to underlying integrated circuit devices or underlying interconnections. In another damascene process, known as a "dual damascene process", the trench and the via are substantially simultaneously filled with the conductive material with a single deposition.
As integrated circuits have become smaller and smaller, it has become necessary to use low dielectric constant (low-k) dielectric materials (i.e., dielectric materials with a dielectric constant below silicon dioxide) in the fabrication thereof in order to obtain low capacitance between the interconnects. Decreasing this capacitance between the interconnects results in several advantages, including reduced RC delay, reduced power dissipation, and reduced cross-talk between the interconnects. Low-k dielectric materials commonly used are carbon doped oxides (CDOs) or amorphous CDOs. CDOs tend to have a dielectric constant value less than 3.5, but suffer from weak mechanical properties. Therefore, planarization techniques, such as CMP, are generally not used with low-k dielectrics because the mechanical stresses from the planarization can result in damage to the low-k dielectrics during the fabrication of the interconnects.
Copper or copper-containing alloys are commonly used to form interconnects. However, copper can adversely affect the quality of microelectronic device, such as leakage current and reliability between the interconnects. As a result, a barrier layer is usually deposited between the dielectric material and the copper to act as a diffusion barrier. A typical material used for the barrier layer, particularly for copper interconnects, may include tantalum and tantalum nitride. However, tantalum containing barrier layers are not readily removed with stress-free or low-stress techniques, such as electrochemical techniques. Thus, the use of low-k dielectric and tantalum-containing barrier layers are substantially incompatible.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to develop apparatus and techniques to effectively remove barrier layer materials with a low stress removal process.


A shotpeen nozzle includes a tubular core mounted in a casing. The casing has an inlet for receiving shot in a stream of pressurized air, and the core includes an outlet for discharging the stream. A laser is mounted to the casing for projecting a laser beam in parallel with the core at its outlet in the direction of discharge of the stream therefrom.

The present invention relates generally to manufacturing processes, and, more specifically, to shot peening of workpieces.
Metal components or parts are typically manufactured in multiple steps to achieve the final size, configuration, and surface finish thereof. Metal components may be cast in complex three dimensional (3D) configurations, with and without subsequent precision machining of various surfaces thereof.
A gas turbine engine includes many complex 3D parts cast and machined for use in various components thereof. Turbine rotor blades include an airfoil extending outwardly from a supporting platform and dovetail. The dovetail is configured with axial lobes or tangs for mounting each blade in corresponding dovetail slots in the perimeter of a supporting rotor disk.
During operation, energy is extracted from hot combustion gases that flow past the turbine rotor blades which in turn rotate the supporting rotor disk for powering a compressor in a typical configuration. The blades are subject to centrifugal loads during operation, which loads are carried radially inwardly through the supporting dovetails into the perimeter of the rotor disk.
The turbine blades are typically formed of high strength superalloy material having enhanced strength at the elevated temperatures typically found in the turbine. To further enhance the strength of the turbine rotor blades the various surfaces of the dovetails may be shot peened in one of the last manufacturing steps producing the blades.
Shot peening is a mature process in which metal shot is discharged in stream of pressurized air over the surface of a metal workpiece to plastically deform the surface layer thereof and introduce residual compressive stress therein. The residual compressive stress reduces the stresses experienced in the component during operation, such as in the rotating environment of the gas turbine engine.
Since the shot peening process is effected at the end of the manufacturing cycle for the typical component, corresponding care must be used in the process to avoid damaging the component or incompletely shot peening the intended surface thereof. Uniform shot peening of the entire turbine blade dovetail, for example, will ensure maximum strength of the blade during operation and a correspondingly long service life.
However, shot peening adds to the time and cost of manufacture of components, such as the turbine blades, and in the typical gas turbine engine a multitude of turbine blades are found and must be suitably manufactured at competitive cost.
In one conventional shot peening apparatus enjoying many years of successful commercial service in the United States, individual turbine blades are mounted upside down in corresponding supporting cans which expose upwardly the corresponding dovetail while protecting the turbine airfoil inside the can.
Eight blades in corresponding cans may be mounted to the perimeter of a supporting turntable inside a fully enclosed cabinet for performing shot peening of the blade dovetails. Each can is indexed into position next to a gang or set of shot peening nozzles mounted from a common support rod. The individual nozzles in the set are manually aligned with a single dovetail for aiming the shot stream at a common target point thereon.
During operation, the cabinet is closed, and the support rod for the nozzles oscillates vertically for discharging the shot stream simultaneously from the set of nozzles over the surface area of the blade dovetail as it rotates with the can on the common turntable.
In less than a minute per blade, the entire dovetail may be suitably shot peened over its full exposed surface notwithstanding the serpentine configuration of the serrations or dovetail lobes thereon. The use of accurately aligned multiple shotpeen nozzles ensures accurate shot peening of the dovetail as it rotates during the process while the nozzles oscillate vertically.
However, each of the multiple nozzles requires corresponding initial alignment relative to the corresponding blade workpiece supported in the can, which alignment is typically done manually by an operator and therefore extends the setup time of the process.
Furthermore, two sets of shotpeen nozzles may be mounted inside the cabinet from corresponding supporting rods for permitting the simultaneous shot peening of two blade dovetails in their corresponding supporting cans.
Each of these multiple shotpeen nozzles must be independently aligned with the corresponding workpiece. And, each of the nozzles in each set must also be aligned relative to each other for ensuring the coincidence of the separate shot streams therefrom at a common target point on the workpiece.
The blade workpieces are typically shot peened in large batches following the initial alignment of the nozzles in the cabinet. The blades are simply inserted into the corresponding supporting cans for shot peening thereof and replaced by subsequent turbine blades until the full batch of blades has been shot peened. Prior to the next batch of blades requiring shot peening, the alignment of the shotpeen nozzles is measured in a conventional manner using Almen strips, with the multiple nozzles being realigned if required.
Accordingly, it is desired to provide an improved shotpeen nozzle in a multi-nozzle apparatus for shot peening workpieces with improved alignment of the nozzles.


A method and an apparatus involves crimping a multifilament thread, wherein the thread which is produced by melt spinning is compressed to a thread plug. The thread plug is cast on the circumference of rotating processing drum for thermal treatment and is wrapped around the circumference of the processing drum with many side-by-side wraparounds. Following that, the thread plug is unravelled in an unravelling area on the circumference of the processing drum into the crimped thread which is pulled of the processing drum. To obtain a continuous and regular unravelling of the thread plug with multiple wraparounds and mutual touching of the wraparounds of the thread plug, the thread is guided at a slant from the unravelling area of the thread plug such that a growing axial space appears between the thread and the thread plug, on the circumference of the processing drum, during increasing wraparounds of the thread on the circumference of the processing drum.

It is generally known to initially extrude a plurality of restiform filaments from a thermoplastic melt during the production of crimped synthetic threads. The filament bundle is combined after cooling to form a smooth multifilament thread. In order to produce crimping in the individual filament strands, the multifilament thread is compressed into a thread plug. For this purpose, the filaments of the thread are preferably conveyed through a hot fluid, and deformed into loops and arcs at the surface of the thread plug. In order to fix the crimping forming in the filaments, the thread plug is thermally treated. In the case where the thread plug formation occurs by hot fluid, the thread plug heated in this manner is subsequently cooled. For this purpose the thread plug is guided at the circumference of a processing drum. The processing drum is driven in a rotating manner so that the dwell time for cooling the thread plug is determined substantially by both the circumferential speed of the processing drum, and by the degree of the wraparounds of the thread plug at the circumference of the processing drum. Since the circumferential speed of the processing drum is determined by processing speeds and can be modified only to a limited degree, the intensive cooling may be achieved only by respective wraparounds of the thread plug at the processing drum.
A method and a device are known from DE 38 00 773 C2, which discloses that the thread plug is guided in multiple wraparounds at the circumference of the processing drum. For this purpose the wraparounds of the thread plug are guided in a direct side-by-side manner at the circumference of the processing drum, such that reciprocal influences of the individual filaments of the thread plug are inevitable.

Method and apparatus for crimping a multifilament thread


A controller for use in a power converter includes a gate drive circuit coupled to generate a control signal to switch a power switch of the power converter. A zero current detection circuit is coupled to a multifunction pin coupled to receive a multifunction signal that is representative of an input voltage of the power converter when the power switch is on, and representative of an output voltage of the power converter when the power switch is off. The zero current detection circuit is coupled to generate a zero current detection signal. An overvoltage detection circuit is coupled to receive the multifunction signal and a state signal representative of a state of the power switch to generate in response to the state signal and the multifunction signal a line overvoltage signal and an output over voltage signal coupled to be received by the gate drive circuit.

Field of the Disclosure
The present invention relates generally to power converters, and more specifically controllers that can detect an input and output of a power converter from a single pin.
Background
Electronic devices use power to operate. Switched mode power converters are commonly used due to their high efficiency, small size and low weight to power many of today's electronics. Conventional wall sockets provide a high voltage alternating current. In a switch mode power converter, a high voltage alternating current (ac) input is converted to provide a well-regulated direct current (dc) output through an energy transfer element. The switched mode power converter control circuit usually provides output regulation by sensing one or more inputs representative of one or more output quantities and controlling the output in a closed loop. In operation, a switch is utilized to provide the desired output by varying the duty cycle (typically the ratio of the on time of the switch to the total switching period), varying the switching frequency, or varying the number of pulses per unit time of the switch in a switched mode power converter.
Power converters are occasionally exposed to surges in the received input voltage, which is generally referred to as an overvoltage condition. Input and output overvoltages can be dangerous in power supplies: input voltages going too high may cause high voltage (HV) switches to fail due to high voltage and high current conditions occurring at the same time, with the switch failing even below its breakdown voltage. Excessive output voltage may cause electrical overstress on the output capacitors, electrolytic in most cases, which may cause it to fail causing fire or other hazards. Furthermore, light emitting diode (LED) bulb manufacturers sometimes perform production tests with the LED load disconnected. In this situation, the bulb (with its driver circuitry) should survive and not degrade lifetime expectations. In this case, it's crucial to minimize stress on output electrolytic capacitor.
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding components throughout the several views of the drawings. Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present invention.

Input and output overvoltage protection in a power converter