The invention provides a surface conditioner which can prevent an aluminum alloy from stray current corrosion in chemical conversion treatment and reduce the difference between contact and noncontact areas in conversion coating build-up on an aluminum alloy and which enables the formation of excellent chemical conversion coatings on various metal materials and a surface conditioner which can prevent metal from rusting after surface conditioning and is excellent in dispersion stability in a treating bath. A surface conditioner to be applied prior to the phosphating of metal which contains (A) zinc phosphate particles having D50 of 3 μm or below, (B) a water-soluble organic polymer, and (C) a layer clay mineral and has a pH of 3 to 12, characterized by further containing as the function imparting agent (D) a di- or tri-valent metal nitrite, zinc oxide and/or sodium hydroxide, or a nonionic or anionic surfactant.

Automotive bodies and household electrical appliances and the like are produced by generating molded metal items from metal materials such as steel sheets, galvanized steel sheets and aluminum alloys, and then coating and assembling these items. Coating of these molded metal items is conducted via a number of steps including degreasing, surface conditioning, chemical conversion treatment, and electrodeposition coating.
The surface conditioning treatment is conducted to ensure that, in the subsequent phosphate coating chemical conversion treatment, a coating comprising phosphate crystals can be formed uniformly, rapidly, and with a high density across the entire surface of the metal, and the treatment usually comprises immersing the metal item in a surface conditioning bath in order to form phosphate crystal nuclei on the metal surface.
For example, Patent Reference 1 discloses a pretreatment liquid for conditioning a surface prior to a phosphate coating chemical conversion treatment, the liquid comprising at least one material selected from amongst phosphates containing at least one divalent or trivalent metal and including particles with a particle size of not more than 5 μm, an alkali metal salt or ammonium salt or a mixture thereof, and at least one material selected from the group consisting of anionically charged and dispersed fine oxide particles, anionic water-soluble organic polymers, nonionic water-soluble organic polymers, anionic surfactants and nonionic surfactants, and having a pH within a range from 4 to 13.
Furthermore, Patent Reference 2 discloses a pretreatment liquid for conditioning a surface prior to phosphate coating chemical conversion treatment, the liquid comprising one or more types of phosphate particles selected from amongst phosphates containing one or more divalent and/or trivalent metals, and further comprising (1) one or more materials selected from amongst monosaccharides, polysaccharides, and derivatives thereof, (2) one or more materials selected from amongst orthophosphoric acid, polyphosphoric acid or organic phosphonic acid compounds, and water-soluble polymer compounds comprising a vinyl acetate polymer, a derivative thereof, or a copolymer of vinyl acetate and another monomer that is copolymerizable with vinyl acetate, or (3) a polymer or copolymer obtained by polymerizing at least one compound selected from amongst specific monomers or α,β-unsaturated carboxylic acid monomers, and not more than 50% by weight of another monomer that is copolymerizable with the above monomer.
Moreover, Patent Reference 3 discloses a method for surface treatment of an aluminum alloy malleable material, wherein the zeta potential is regulated.
However, when the surface conditioning treatment liquids disclosed in the Patent Reference 1 and the Patent Reference 2 are used, rust can sometimes develop following the surface conditioning, meaning further improvements are desirable.
Furthermore, with the surface conditioning treatment liquids disclosed in the Patent Reference 1 and the Patent Reference 2, in those areas where an aluminum alloy contacts a steel sheet or a galvanized steel sheet, the aluminum alloy portion becomes an anode and the steel sheet or galvanized steel sheet becomes a cathode, making formation of a chemical conversion coating on the aluminum alloy difficult. As a result, there is a demand for the development of a surface conditioner that is capable of suppressing electrolytic corrosion on an aluminum alloy during chemical conversion treatment.
Moreover, when the surface conditioning treatment liquids described above are used with aluminum alloys or metals such as high-tensile steel sheets, a satisfactory chemical conversion coating is not formed on the surface of the metal. Furthermore, when these surface conditioning treatment liquids are used, other problems also arise, including an inability to form a dense chemical conversion coating on a variety of metal materials, and the fact that because the particle size of the particles within the surface conditioning treatment liquids is large, the stability of the particles within the treatment bath tends to be unsatisfactory, causing ready precipitation of the particles.
Furthermore, even when surface conditioning using the treatment liquid disclosed in the Patent Reference 3 is conducted, it is unable to satisfactorily resolve the types of problems outlined above.    [Patent Reference 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. H10-245685    [Patent Reference 2] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-96256    [Patent Reference 3] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-262364

Surface conditioner and surface conditioning method


The present invention provides apparatus and methods for treating a vascular condition formed within a vessel by providing a balloon having proximal and distal regions and a stent configured to be disposed within the balloon. When the balloon is partially or fully inflated, the stent may be advanced within the confines of the balloon and then expanded to engage an inner surface of the balloon. The stent urges the balloon against the vessel wall, and the proximal and distal regions of the balloon then are cut to leave the balloon and stent within the vessel. The balloon may comprise a collagenous extracellular matrix material to facilitate fusion of the balloon with the vessel wall.

The present invention relates generally to apparatus and methods for treating vascular conditions, and more specifically, to a balloon-stent combination that treats the vascular condition and leaves at least a portion of the balloon inside the vessel after treatment.
Atherosclerosis and other occlusive diseases are prevalent among a significant portion of the population. In such diseases, atherosclerotic plaque forms within the walls of the vessel and blocks or restricts blood flow through the vessel. Atherosclerosis commonly affects the coronary arteries, the aorta, the iliofemoral arteries and the carotid arteries. Several serious conditions may result from the restricted blood flow, such as ischemic events.
Various procedures are known for treating stenoses in the arterial vasculature, such as the use of atherectomy devices, balloon angioplasty and stenting. During an atherectomy procedure, vascular plaque may be removed by inserting a catheter having a rotating cutting blade into the vessel and using the blade to shave away the plaque. During a balloon angioplasty procedure, a catheter having a deflated balloon attached thereto is positioned across a constricting lesion, and the balloon is then inflated to widen the lumen to partially or fully restore patency to the vessel.
Stenting involves the insertion of a usually tubular member into a vessel, and may be used alone or in conjunction with an angioplasty procedure. Stents may be self-expanding or balloon expandable. Self-expanding stents typically are delivered into a vessel within a delivery sheath, which constrains the stent prior to deployment. When the delivery sheath is retracted, the stent is allowed to radially expand to its predetermined shape. If the stent is balloon expandable, the stent typically is loaded onto a balloon of a catheter, inserted into a vessel, and the balloon is inflated to radially expand the stent.
Many recent self-expanding and balloon expandable stents have been coated using various agents, such as drugs or bioactive materials, to achieve a biological effect in addition to applying a radially outward force. Such drug coated stents may deliver the agents in close proximity to a stenotic lesion to reduce the likelihood of restenosis.
One problem frequently encountered with atherectomy, angioplasty and stenting procedures is that pieces of plaque are often dislodged from the stenosis. Such pieces of plaque, referred to as emboli, may flow away from the stenosis into other areas of the vasculature and may be difficult to retrieve. Serious complications, such as heart attack and stroke, may occur where the emboli travel into the coronary or carotid arteries.
Several techniques exist for retrieving emboli during a medical procedure, such as deploying a filter within the vasculature distal to the stenosis. However, an important consideration is reducing the amount of emboli that becomes dislodged into the vasculature, and many filters may compound the problem by dislodging plaque as the filter traverses the stenosis. There is a need for apparatus and methods that effectively treat a vascular condition by restoring patency to the vessel while reducing the likelihood that emboli becomes dislodged into the bloodstream.


Methods and systems for substantially optimizing plant operations within a manufacturing environment. The method can include separating the manufacturing environment into two or more individual modules, wherein each individual module contains a fundamental principles-based model, and wherein the totality of the individual modules represents the entire manufacturing environment. Each individual module can be independently parameterized upon said module reaching steady state, wherein inter-module data flow can be provided to at least one of the individual modules during parameterization, and wherein an output of the parameterization comprises an individual, calibrated steady-state model of each individual module. A reduced order model can be derived from each parameterized module, and the reduced order models can be assembled to provide a facility reduced order model. The facility reduced order model can then be solved to provide improved or new operating conditions or operating condition targets.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to systems and methods for substantially optimizing plant operations within a manufacturing environment.
2. Description of the Related Art
Manufacturing facilities, in particular highly process intensive manufacturing environments, employ computer based instrumentation systems that control facility operations. Such systems typically use a steady-state, fundamental-principles control model that represents the entire facility. Accordingly, parameterization or calibration of the control model to the facility's operating conditions can only be performed when the entire facility is at a steady state.
A primary goal of typical manufacturing facility operations is to operate at or near the optimal conditions for as much of the operating time as possible. The fundamental-principles control model is the primary tool used in the optimization effort. Optimization is typically performed by iterating or re-iterating the fundamental-principles control model when process conditions change within the individual units of the facility, or when business conditions (e.g. prices, supply of raw materials, demand of intermediate/finished products) change outside of the facility, to find the optimal or substantially optimal operating conditions. Optimization can be time consuming due to the computationally intensive, large-scale, non-linear program that must be solved each time the control model is iterated. The solution of non-linear program based control model can also be difficult to understand because of the large number of unknown variables and equations within the model compared to the limited number of variables that are actually measured in the facility. Thus, trouble shooting the control model when it fails to converge can be very time consuming if not futile.
There is a need, therefore, to simplify the parameterization and optimization of a control model to reduce operating costs associated with controlling manufacturing facility processes.

Online modular parameterization and successive linear programming for improving manufacturing plant operations


An interconnect device is disclosed for detecting whether an vehicle on-board diagnostics (OBD) data port includes a blocking diode or equivalent, that prevents back feeding of power through the OBD data port. If a diode is detected, the interconnect device alerts the user that the power cannot be back fed through the OBD II port connector. In such a condition, an alternate means is used to preserve the data mentioned above. Specifically, an alternative power supply can be connected directly to the battery cables that will be disconnected from the battery, for example, by way of battery clamps. In this way the alternative power supply is used to preserve the data until a new battery is reconnected to the vehicle battery cables. If a diode is not detected by the interconnect device, the interconnect device displays this fact to the user. The interconnect device includes circuitry for detecting and displaying whether a diode is connected in series with a power pin of the OBD II port connector. In addition, the interconnect device includes an OBD II port connector on one end connected by way of a cable to a connector, such as a cigarette lighter connector or hardwired directly to an alternate power supply.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an interconnect device for detecting whether an vehicle on-board diagnostics (OBD) data port includes circuitry or other means that prevents back feeding of power through the OBD data port.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An on-board diagnostics (OBD) data port is mandated by the US government to be supplied on every car sold in the US since 1996. Other countries have similar standards. For example Europe has EOBD and EOBD2 standards while Japan has a JOBD standard. In the US, the OBD and the OBD data port was originally intended by the Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to provide a convenient way to monitor whether the vehicle was running efficiently and cleanly.
The OBD II standard in the US requires that an OBD II data port be located within two feet of the steering wheel. The data port is specified as a 16 pin connector. Since 2008, the signals associated with each of the 16 pins are standardized.
During normal operation, the OBD diagnostic system monitor's various Parameter ID codes (PID). These PID codes relate to the status of the vehicle emissions. These PID codes can be read by connecting an OBD diagnostic tool to the OBD II data port to allow reporting of several of the vehicle systems. In addition to the PID codes mentioned above, various manufacturers include their own PIDs for monitoring other aspects of the vehicle performance that do not directly relate to emissions, for example, the transmission and tire pressure monitoring systems.
The OBD II connectors are also known to be used to preserve certain data that is stored on board the vehicle. This data includes consumer preference data, such as preferred mirror and seat positions, radio stations, GPS preference data and the vehicle clock. Such data is normally lost when the battery is disconnected from the vehicle, creating an inconvenience for the consumer to reprogram the data. In extreme cases, a loss of certain engine data may prevent the vehicle from being restarted.
Various vehicle memory saver devices are known which can supply power to the vehicle on-board computer systems to prevent data loss when the vehicle battery is disconnected. One such device is available from Schumacher Electric Company. The device includes an OBD II connector connected by a cable to a conventional cigarette lighter connector. The OBD II connector is connected to the OBD II data port of the vehicle in which the battery will be disconnected and the cigarette lighter connector is connected to another vehicle or alternate power source.
Unfortunately, some vehicle OBD II data ports include a circuitry or other means in series with the battery connection that prevents back feeding of DC power to the vehicle on-board computer systems. Since there is no convenient way of detecting whether the OBD II includes such circuitry or other means, known devices for back feeding power to the vehicle by way of the OBD II connector are unreliable. If a conventional device for back feeding power to through the OBD II port connector, the power will be blocked by the diode and the data mentioned above will be lost. The user will have no way of knowing this before the battery is disconnected. Thus, there is a need for detecting whether a vehicle OBD II connector includes such circuitry or other means.

Interconnect device for detecting whether a vehicle on-board diagnostics (OBD) data port includes circuitry which prevents back feeding of power through the OBD data port


A delay-locked loop incorporates binary-coupled capacitors in a capacitor bank to produce a variable capacitance along a delay line. The variable capacitance allows a delay of the variable delay line to be varied. In response to an input clock signal, the variable delay line produces a delayed output clock signal that is compared at a race detection circuit to the input clock signal. If the delayed clock signal leads the input clock signal, the race detection circuit increments a counter that controls the binary-coupled capacitors. The incremented counter increases the capacitance by coupling additional capacitance to the variable delay line to delay propagation of the delayed clock signal. If the delayed clock signal lags the original clock signal, the race detection circuit decrements the counter to decrease the capacitance, thereby decreasing the delay of the variable delay line. The race detection circuit includes an arbitration circuit that detects when the delayed clock signal and the variable clock signal are substantially synchronized and disables incrementing or decrementing of the counter in response.

The present invention relates to integrated circuit devices, and more particularly, to delay-locked loop circuits in integrated circuit devices.
Many high-speed integrated devices, such as a synchronous memory device 40 shown in FIG. 1, perform operations in a predetermined sequence. These operations are generally performed responsive to respective command signals issued by a command generator, such as a memory controller 44.
It will be understood by one skilled in the art that the block diagram of FIG. 1 omits some signals applied to the memory device 40 for purposes of brevity. Also, one skilled in the art will understand that the command signals COM may be composed of a combination of other signals or may be a packet of control data. In either case, the combination of signals or packet is commonly referred to as simply a command. The exact nature of these signals or packet will depend on the nature of the memory device 40, but the principles explained above are applicable to many types of memory devices, including synchronous DRAMs and packetized DRAMs. Also, although the timing control by issuing command signals according to a fixed relationship with the clock signal will be explained with reference to memory devices, the principles described herein are applicable to other integrated circuits that utilize counters or related switching signals responsive to a clock signal.
Timing of operations within the device 40 is determined by a logic control circuit 42 controlled by an internal clock signal CKBUF. In a synchronous DRAM the logic control circuit 42 may be realized conventionally. In a packetized memory system, the logic control circuit may include command sequencing and decoding circuitry.
Timing of signals outside of the memory device 40 is determined by an external clock signal CKIN that is produced by an external device 44 such as a memory controller. Usually, operations within the memory device 40 must be synchronized to operations outside of the memory device 40. For example, commands and data are transferred into or out of the memory device 40 on command and data busses 48, 49, respectively, by clocking command and data latches 50, 52 according to the internal clock signal CKBUF. Command timing on the command bus 48 and data timing on the data bus 49 are controlled by the external clock signal CKIN. To transfer commands and data to and from the busses 48, 49 at the proper times relative to the external clock signal CKIN, the internal clock signal CKBUF must be synchronized to the external clock signal CKIN.
To ensure that the clock signals CKBUF, CKIN can be synchronized, the internal clock signal CKBUF is derived from the external clock signal CKIN. A buffer amplifier 46 buffers the external clock signal CKIN to produce a buffered version of the external clock signal CKIN as the internal clock signal CKBUF. The buffer amplifier 46 is a conventional differential amplifier that provides sufficient gain and appropriate level shifting so that the buffered clock signal CKBUF can drive circuits within the memory device 40 at CMOS levels.
The buffer amplifier 46 also induces some time delay so that the buffered clock signal CKBUF is phase-shifted relative the external clock signal CKIN. As long as the phase-shift is very minimal, timing within the memory device 40 can be synchronized easily to the external timing.
Unfortunately, as the frequency of operation of the memory device 40 increases, the time delay induced by the buffer amplifier 46 may become significant Consequently, commands or data supplied by the memory controller 44 may be gone from the command or data bus 48, 49 before the latches 50, 52 are activated on the appropriate edge of the buffered clock signal CKBUF. To prevent the latches 50, 52 from missing commands that arrive synchronously with the external clock CKIN, the memory device 40 may be operated at lower frequencies. However, lower frequency operation of memory devices typically reduces the speed of operation undesirably.
To improve synchronization of the internal and external timing, a prior art memory device 60 shown in FIG. 2 includes an analog delay-locked loop 62 that receives the buffered clock signal CKBUF and produces a synchronized clock signal CKSYNC that is synchronized to the external clock signal CKIN. To compensate for the delay of the buffer amplifier 46, the synchronized-clock signal CKSYNC is phase-shifted relative to the buffered clock signal CKBUF by an amount offsetting the delay of the buffer amplifier 46. Because the synchronized clock signal CKSYNC is synchronized and substantially in phase with the external clock signal CKIN, commands and data arriving on the command bus 48 or data bus 49 can be synchronized to the external clock CKIN through the synchronous clock signal CKSYNC.
One problem with the memory device 60 of FIG. 2 is that conventional delay-locked loops 62 typically operate only over a narrow frequency band. Consequently, the memory device 60 may not operate properly in multifrequency environments or in a wide range of applications.
Moreover, many conventional analog delay-locked loops include relatively sophisticated analog components that are not always easily integrated with digital memory components. Also, as operating conditions vary, the delay of the buffer amplifier 46 can vary, thereby causing corresponding variations in the phase shift. If the delay-locked loop 62 does not adjust the phase shift of the synchronous clock signal CKSYNC accordingly, operations within the device 40 may not remain properly synchronized to the external clock CKIN.
A delay-locked loop produces a plurality of phase shifted signals in response to an input signal at a selected input frequency. The delay-locked loop includes a variable delay circuit that outputs a delayed clock signal. A race detection circuit receives the delayed clock signal and the input clock signal and, depending upon whether the delayed clock signal leads or lags the input clock signal, the race detection circuit outputs an increment or decrement signal to a counter. In response to the increment or decrement signal, the counter increments or decrements a digital count signal.
The variable delay circuit includes a bank of selectable capacitors, each selectively coupled between a reference potential and a supply potential by a respective selection switch. Each of the selection switches is controlled by 1 bit of the digital count signal from the counter. If the corresponding bit is a xe2x80x9c1,xe2x80x9d the selection switch couples the capacitor in parallel with the other capacitors. The capacitance of the bank is determined by the number and capacitance of the selected capacitors. Because the delay of the delay circuit corresponds to the capacitance, the delay of the delay circuit is controlled by the digital count signal.
Each capacitor in the bank has a capacitance corresponding to the significance of its respective bit of the digital count. For example, the capacitor controlled by the most significant bit of the digital signal is the largest capacitor and the capacitor controlled by the least significant bit of the digital signal is the smallest capacitor.
In one embodiment, the race detection circuit is formed from a pair of pulse generators, each having its output coupled to a respective gating circuit. The gating circuits each include control ports and are responsive to control signals at the control ports to pass or block the pulse from the respective pulse circuit. The outputs of the gating circuits drive respective latch circuits. Each of the latch circuits includes an output coupled to control port of the gating circuit coupled to the other latch circuit so that the latches output the control signals. Thus, if a pulse passes through the first gating circuits and sets its corresponding latch, the latch output disables the second gating circuit and prevents the second latch from being set.
If both pulses arrive at their corresponding gating circuit substantially simultaneously, both of the latches are set before the gating circuits are disabled. In response to both latches being set, an arbitration circuit disables clocking of the counter so that the digital count signal remains constant, thereby maintaining the delay of the variable delay circuit.

Delay-locked loop with binary-coupled capacitor


A nonvolatile semiconductor memory device including a vertical array structure comprised of bit lines and source lines arranged in the same direction as the bit lines, each source lines corresponding to the bit lines and memory cell strings vertically formed between each pair of the bit lines and source lines. Multiple strings of memory cells can be stacked in the vertical direction, and adjacent memory cell strings may share bit line or source line.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention disclosed herein relates to semiconductor memory devices and more particularly, to nonvolatile semiconductor memory devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
Flash memory devices are kinds of nonvolatile memories capable of keeping data stored therein even without power supply. With a rapid increase of mobile apparatuses such as cellular phones, personal digital assistants (PDA), digital cameras, portable gaming consoles, and MP3, flash memory devices are widely employed for executable code storage, as well as for data storage. Flash memory devices may be also utilized in home applications such as high-definition televisions, digital versatile disks (DVDs), routers, and global positioning systems (GPS). The development of technologies for fabricating smaller but high circuit-density semiconductor chips for use in the above electronic devices also increased the need for higher density memories. A variety of methods for enhancing the integration density of memories have been proposed in the art. One of these methods is to make a memory device in a three-dimensional array structure (hereinafter, referred to '3-dimensional memory device' or 'vertical' array memory structure). Technical details for conventional 3-dimensional memory devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,835,396 (issued on Dec. 7, 1998) entitled "THREE-DIMENSIONAL READ-ONLY MEMORY"; U.S. Pat. No. 6,034,882 (issued on Mar. 7, 2000) entitled "VERTICALLY STACKED FIELD PROGRAMMABLE NONVOLATILE MEMORY AND METHOD OF FABRICATION"; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,002,825 (issued on Feb. 21, 2006) entitled "WORD LINE ARRANGEMENT HAVING SEGMENTED WORD LINES", and U.S. Patent Publication No. 2007-0252201 entitled "NONVOLATLE SEMICONDUCTOR MEMORY DEVICE AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF", all of which are incorporated by reference herein.

Nonvolatile semiconductor device and memory system including the same


Disclosed are DRAM devices and methods of forming DRAM devices. One method may include forming a plurality of trenches and angled structures, each angled structure including a first sidewall opposite a second sidewall, wherein the second sidewall extends over an adjacent trench. The method may include forming a spacer along a bottom surface of the trench, along the second sidewall, and along the first sidewall, wherein the spacer has an opening at a bottom portion of the first sidewall. The method may include forming a drain in each of the angled structures by performing an ion implant, which impacts the first sidewall through the opening at the bottom portion of the first sidewall. The method may include removing the spacer from the first sidewall, forming a bitline over the spacer along the bottom surface of each of the trenches, and forming a series of wordlines along the angled structures.

As dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) devices scale to smaller dimensions, an increasing emphasis is placed on patterning for forming three dimensional structures, including trenches for storage nodes as well as access transistors. In current DRAM devices, transistors may be formed using narrow and tall, vertical semiconductor fin structures, often made from monocrystalline silicon. In accordance with current trends, the aspect ratio of such fin structures, meaning the height (depth) of a fin divided by the spacing between adjacent fins, may reach 20:1 or more in the coming years.
In an effort to continue scaling smaller, 4F2 DRAM devices have been developed. However, current 4F2 DRAM devices have off-leakage current issues for vertical channel transistors. The off-leakage current is caused by the floating body effect caused by hole accumulation into the body of the 4F2 DRAM device. With respect to these and other considerations, the present disclosure is provided.

DRAM memory device having angled structures with sidewalls extending over bitlines


A nonlinear acoustic echo signal suppression system and method using a Volterra filter is disclosed. The nonlinear acoustic echo signal suppression system includes an acoustic echo signal estimator configured to estimate a nonlinear acoustic echo signal by using a Volterra filter in a frequency filter, and a near-end talker speech signal generator configured to generate a near-end talker speech signal, in which the nonlinear acoustic echo signal is suppressed, by using a gain function based on a statistical model.

Embodiments of the inventive concept described herein relate to technology for nonlinear acoustic echo signal suppression by estimating a filter factor of a Volterra filter through a Multi-Tap Least Squares (MTLS) estimator and by estimating a prior near-end speech presence probability ratio (the ratio of the a priori probability of near-end speech presence and absence; Q) by a data-driven algorithm.
Nonlinear acoustic echo power signal estimation is generally obtained using cascade structures, power filters, or Volterra filters.
The cascade structure, as a mode of nonlinear acoustic echo signal estimation based on a raised-cosine function, operates to adaptively modify function factors to modify the raised-cosine function for nonlinearity of a system. The modified function factors are used to estimate the optimum power of nonlinear acoustic echo signal.
The power filter models a nonlinear acoustic echo signal in power series and adaptively modifies power series factors which properly represent a nonlinear acoustic echo signal from an output signal of a linear speaker. The modified power series factors are used to estimate the optimum power of nonlinear acoustic echo signal. The cascade structure and the power filter are known as inferior to the Volterra filter in performance.
The Volterra filer models a nonlinear acoustic echo signal in Volterra series. With the Volterra filter, Volterra series factors properly representing a nonlinear acoustic echo signal from an output signal of a nonlinear speaker is adaptively found to estimate the optimum power of nonlinear acoustic echo signal.
However, in the Volterra filter, as an adaptive algorithm such as Normalized Least Mean Square (NLMS) is used to update Volterra filter factors, it is difficult to offer fast adaptation to abrupt variations of environment and nonlinearity. For example, as the Volterra filter uses fixed constants, it is difficult to provide adaptation to circumferential environments of speaker and microphone until a speech signal output from the speaker is input into the microphone.
Therefore, it needs a solution quickly adaptable to abrupt variations of environments and nonlinearity.

Nonlinear acoustic echo signal suppression system and method using volterra filter

INDUSTRY-UNIVERSITY COOPERATION FOUNDATION HANYANG UNIVERSITY


An apparatus for measuring the basic friction angle of a surface of given material comprises a housing adapted to be held against a surface of material to be tested, a base which can slide along the inside wall of the housing, a wheel mounted on the lower part of the base and adapted to contact the surface to be tested, a spring for applying a load on the base to force the wheel against the surface to be tested, and a torque gauge for applying a torque to the wheel, and for measuring the maximum torque required to spin the wheel on the surface to be tested at various loads applied to the base.

The friction angle is the slope of the curve representing on a graph the frictional force between two bodies in contact, parallel to the surface of contact, plotted on the vertical axis, versus the force normal to the surface of contact with which the bodies are pressed against each other, plotted on the horizontal axis. Mathematically, the friction angle .phi. is defined as follows: ##EQU1## where
Fc=frictional force between the two bodies in contact
Fn=force normal to the surface of contact
The friction angle of surfaces of rock materials is often used as one parameter to measure the degree of roughness and alteration of rock fracture surfaces.
Basic friction angles can be generally measured either in a laboratory or on site using a shear test apparatus. Such apparatus consists of two half portions forming a box, each portion being adapted to contain one part of a rock sample which is cut in half by means of a saw blade. Preparation of the test sample requires cutting of the rock sample in two parts, fixing each part in one half of the box, with the cut surface facing up, pouring grout mix around each half sample and waiting for the grout to set. It is thus time consuming. The test itself is performed as follows:
The upper half of the box is pressed down against the lower half with an hydraulic press thus placing the facing cut surfaces under a specific amount of normal load. The bottom part of the box is then moved back and forth horizontally with the help of a hydraulic jack and the shear force required to move the bottom part of the box is measured. The test is performed with different values of normal load.
If the saw cut surface is not perfectly planar, the lateral movement of the bottom part of the sample will shear off micro-roughnesses on the contacting surfaces of the sample and produce crushed material. The friction angle obtained during such test approximates the residual friction angle. When the rock surface is perfectly planar with no roughnesses due to geometric asperities, the friction angle is characteristic of the material itself and is called the basic friction angle. The residual friction angle is slightly lower than the basic friction angle but in many cases, both values are interchangeable. Such values are significantly lower than the so-called peaks friction angle which takes into account the effect of the roughness due to the geometry of the surface of contact between the two parts of a natural rock fracture.


A method for operating an internal combustion engine. The method includes: operating the internal combustion engine including a lambda regulation, which sets a fuel quantity to be supplied in accordance with a predefined setpoint lambda value, at preset times, carrying out a filter cleaning operation for a fuel tank ventilation, as a function of the presence of a release condition of the internal combustion engine, carrying out an adaptation of the lambda regulation by adapting at least one adaptation parameter as a function of operating variables of the internal combustion engine, at active filter cleaning operation and upon the presence of the release condition, operating variables which are required to carry out the adaptation of the lambda regulation being recorded, at deactivated filter cleaning operation and presence of the release condition, the adaptation of the lambda regulation being carried out as a function of the recorded operating variables.

For low-emission and efficient operation of a reciprocating piston internal combustion engine, a fuel-air ratio is specified thereto, which is generally characterized with the aid of a lambda value. The lambda value of 1 indicates that a stoichiometric balance exists between fuel and air in the combustion chamber of the cylinder of the internal combustion engine. The lambda value may be measured, for example, with the aid of an exhaust gas sensor in the exhaust gas discharge system after the combustion in the cylinder.
The fuel-air ratio has to be set for the operation of the internal combustion engine. For this purpose, a pilot control and a downstream regulation are typically provided in the scope of a lambda regulation. The pilot control provides a base setting of a fuel quantity to be injected depending on an engine load, an air charge in the cylinders, and a predefined setpoint lambda value in a defined manner. The regulation downstream from the pilot control is used to adjust the deviations between an actual lambda value, which results from the fuel quantity predefined by the pilot control and the predefined setpoint lambda value.
The behavior of the pilot control is generally adaptable within the scope of a mixture adaptation to compensate for changes of the behavior of the internal combustion engine, in particular due to signs of age.
A conventional mixture adaptation is described, for example, in German Patent Application No. DE 10 2011 006 587 A1. A method for mixture adaptation of a pilot control for the setting of a fuel-air mixture for an internal combustion engine is described therein. The pilot control sets a fuel quantity as a function of an air quantity via an adaptable parameterizable relationship. During an adaptation procedure, a present measuring point is determined from an air quantity and a fuel quantity, at which a predefined lambda is achieved. The present operating range, in which the measuring point is located, is determined, and the deviation of the measuring point from the operating point located in the present operating range is determined. A corrected operating point between the operating point and the measuring point is determined, and corrected parameters of a parameterized relationship are determined from the corrected operating point and the operating points not located in the present operating range, as well as parameter values of the preceding adaptation step.
Furthermore, an engine system in an internal combustion engine includes a fuel tank ventilation, which enables a supply of ambient air into the fuel tank to carry out a pressure equalization. The fuel tank ventilation includes an activated carbon filter to prevent an escape of gaseous hydrocarbon into the surroundings. The activated carbon filter has to be flushed using ambient air at time intervals in a filter cleaning operation. For this purpose, a partial vacuum in the intake manifold is used to suction ambient air into the intake manifold through the activated carbon filter. The introduction of additional fuel vapor into the intake manifold causes a change of the fuel-air mixture in the cylinders, so that a compensation takes place via an intervention in the fuel quantity to be injected. The present loading of the activated carbon filter with hydrocarbon may be learned and the compensation of the fuel quantity may be determined via the resulting deviation of the measured lambda value from the setpoint lambda value set by the lambda regulation.
Both procedures, the mixture adaptation and the filter cleaning operation, are therefore based on the same physical input variable, the measured lambda value. Parallelization of both procedures is therefore not readily possible, since otherwise the adaptation values determined by the mixture adaptation would be corrupted. To prevent a breakthrough of the activated carbon filter, the filter cleaning operation moreover requires a sufficiently long flushing time. It is therefore not available to the mixture adaptation, so that the adaptation has to be carried out from a reduced database.

Method for adapting a fuel quantity to be injected in an internal combustion engine


The present invention relates to a non-coherent neighbor cell search method for primary synchronization signal (PSS) and secondary synchronization signal (SSS). In order to eliminate the channel response of the home cell, the present invention utilizes the similarity of channel responses at adjacent subcarriers, components at the kth subcarrier and the (k+1)th subcarrier of the received signal are respectively multiplied by the conjugation of the corresponding local synchronization signal to respectively obtain the kth product and the (k+1)th product. Afterward, a combination signal is obtained by examining the difference of the kth product and the (k+1)th product. By mathematical simplification and analysis, the main unknown component of the combination signal is the synchronization signal of neighbor cell, also in a compound form. Thus, the neighbor cell ID can be obtained by performing the correlation operation of the combination signal to the compound reference sequence.

Field of Invention
The present invention relates in general to a method for decoding cell ID, and more particularly to a non-coherent method for decoding neighbor cell ID.
Related Art
In conventional mobile cellular system, in order to synchronize the time and frequency between a user equipment (UE) and a base station (eNB), an initial cell search is performed as soon as the UE starts up. In addition, the UE also needs to perform a cell search procedure to obtain a cell ID of the eNB, and then the access between the eNB and the UE can be performed. Taking the Third Generation Partnership Project Long Term Evolution (3GPP LTE) for example, in every cell, two types of synchronization signals will be broadcast for the UE to perform the cell search procedure. One type is the primary synchronization signal (PSS), the other is the secondary synchronization signal (SSS). In the downlink system, the UE performs time and frequency synchronization through PSS and SSS, and uses the two types of synchronization signals to obtain cell identities (Cell IDs).
There are 504 types of cell IDs in the LTE system, including group IDs and sector IDs, used to define cell IDs. The expression for cell ID reads as follows: NIDcell=3NID(1)+NID(2). NID(1) represents a group ID, NID(1)ε{0, 1, . . . , 167}; NID(2) represents a sector ID, NID(2)ε{0, 1, 2}. The above PSS is a Zadoff-Chu sequence, carrying the information of the sector ID NID(2). The above SSS consists of two maximum length sequences (ML-sequences), and the two ML-sequences are produced by two cyclic shifts (m0, m1) carrying the group ID NID(1). The mapping of group ID, ranging from 0 to 167, to a set of cyclic shifts (m0, m1) is one-to-one.
Further, for those mobile UEs to sustain connected to the network, they not only have to search the serving cell in their present location, but periodic neighbor cell search is also required to perform fast and efficient handover for the UEs in motion. However, the synchronization signal from the neighbor cell is generally very weak and seriously interfered by signals from the home cell. As a result, searching for neighbor cell ID becomes very difficult for the UE.
Conventional coherent detection uses the PSS to perform channel estimation and removes the signal component of the serving cell from the received signal, and then, the detection of the group ID and sector ID of the neighbor cell begins. However, the received PSS includes interferences, so the channel estimation is inaccurate and greatly fluctuates, and that causes the reduction of the detection accuracy of the neighbor cell ID. Therefore, before neighbor cell detection, the receiver often uses a channel smoothing filter to further process the detected channel responses, thus increasing the amount of computation in the receiver.

Non-coherent neighbor cell searching method


A user terminal apparatus includes a storage to store use log information on the user terminal apparatus, a communicator, when an event to receive a service from an external apparatus occurs, to transmit use log information required to provide the service to the external apparatus selectively, and a controller to receive a service generated based on the transmitted use log information and customized to the user from the external apparatus.

1. Field of the Invention
The present general inventive concept generally relates to a user customized service, and more particularly, to a user terminal apparatus to provide a service customized to a user by analyzing use log information on the user terminal apparatus, a server, and a method of providing a customized service.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, a technology of providing a user customized service through a user terminal apparatus has been developed. The user customized service refers to a service of analyzing characteristic of a user, determining interest and necessity of the user, and providing the user with personalized information based on the analysis. For example, there is a service of analyzing an online product purchase history of a user, determining preference of the user, and providing a user terminal apparatus with information on a new product.
However, in the user customized services in the related art, it is required to log in a service providing server in order to receive a service on a user terminal apparatus since the service providing server has information to analyze a user's interest and necessity. That is, when a user terminal apparatus for using a service appears, the service providing server should identify a user first since the server uses user information stored therein, such as the user's service use history information or profile, in order to analyze the characteristic of the user.
FIG. 1 is a mimetic diagram illustrating a configuration of a system of a customized online shopping mall service in the related art.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, a log-in operation to a server 20 is required to receive a customized online service through a smart phone 10. When the log-in operation is performed, the server 20 identifies a user, and reads the user's shopping information and personal information and the like from a database 30. In addition, the server 20 analyzes the user's interest and necessity based on the read information, and provides the user with a corresponding service. For example, the server 20 may provide a smart phone 10 with information on a product that might appeal to the user.
However, the log-in operation may cause inconvenience to a user and a risk of leaking an ID or a password, thereby decreasing security. In addition, if the user is not registered at the service, the user should register at the service as a member in advance in order to receive customized information. Further, such process may delay the service.
In particular, the methods in the related art have a privacy issue since the service providing service keeps information for analyzing the user characteristic. The information to analyze the user characteristic may be often leaked, and may be used by unwanted service providers. In addition, such privacy weakness remains as an obstacle to popularization of a user customized service.
Accordingly, there is a need for developing a method of providing a user customized service on a user terminal apparatus without the log-in operation while reducing the risk of privacy invasion.

User terminal apparatus, server, and method of providing a customized service


The present invention is capable of reducing a calculation amount while lessening performance degradation from MLD. The present invention is a reception device that receives a transmit signal which is transmitted from a transmission device by a MIMO transmission scheme. The reception device includes a channel estimation unit (205) that performs channel estimation using a received signal, and calculates a channel estimation value, a signal detection unit (206) that generates a bit log-likelihood ratio by MIMO demultiplexing of a received signal based on the channel estimation value, and a decoding unit (207) that performs error correction decoding with respect to the bit log-likelihood ratio. The signal detection unit (206) includes a transmit signal candidate search unit (301) that searches for a transmit signal candidate based on an error of linear detection depending on the received signal and the channel estimation value, a transmit signal candidate generation unit (302) that generates a transmit signal candidate by hard decision of an output of the transmit signal candidate search unit, and a decision unit (303) that generates the bit log-likelihood ratio using the transmit signal candidate.

In a radio communication field of recent years, MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) transmission which is capable of high speed transmission without widening a frequency bandwidth, using a plurality of transmit-receive antennas, is adopted in many systems. Generally, in the MIMO transmission, in order to transmit a plurality of data streams using the same frequency, MIMO signal detection is needed in a reception device.
Among MIMO signal detection technologies, there is maximum likelihood detection (MLD) as an optimal detection technology. The MLD is a technology of detecting a transmit signal candidate of which a likelihood function is at the maximum, among all transmit signal candidates. Since the transmit signal candidates exponentially increase in accordance with the number of constellations or the number of transmission streams of a modulation scheme, the MLD has a problem that a calculation amount becomes very large.
In NPL 1, it is disclosed a technology of reducing the calculation amount of the MLD by reducing the transmit signal candidates with the low calculation amount while lessening performance degradation from the MLD, and by multidimensionally searching for noise enhancement which is caused by MMSE in a case of making MMSE (Minimum Mean Square Error) detection which is a linear detection scheme as a reference point. A method for generating the transmit signal candidate in NPL 1, will be described.
An NR dimension received signal vector y is represented as follows. Furthermore, NR represents the number of receive antennas. Moreover, the number of transmit antennas is represented by NT.[Math. 1]y=Hs=n  (1)
Here, H represents a channel matrix of an NR row and an NT column, and s represents a transmit signal vector of an NT dimension, and n represents a noise vector of the NR dimension.
An MMSE detection result x^ is represented as follows.[Math. 2]{circumflex over (x)}=PHHy  (2)P=(HHH+σn2INT)−1  (3)
Here, σn2 represents noise electric power, and INT represents an identity matrix of an NT row and an NT column. Moreover, superscript H represents a complex conjugate transpose matrix.
In NPL 1, the transmit signal candidate is generated by quantizing the following s^ using the MMSE detection result x^.
      [          Math      .                                3        ]                                            s            ~                    =                                    x              ^                        +                                          ∑                                  k                  =                  1                                                  N                  P                                                                                a                  k                                                                  λ                  k                                      1                                                              /                                                            2                                                                                v                  k                                                                                (          4          )
NP is 1≦NP≦NT, and ak is calculated as follows.[Math. 4]a=e(m·k)({tilde over (c)}kH{tilde over (c)}k)−1{tilde over (c)}k  (5)aH=[a1*,a2*, . . . , aNP*]  (6)e(m,k)=b(m)−({circumflex over (x)})k  (7)
Furthermore, b(m) is one of the constellations of the modulation scheme, and is 1≦m≦M. M is the number of constellations, and for example, if the modulation scheme is QPSK (Quadrature Phase Shirt Keying), M=4, and if the modulation scheme is 16QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation), M=16. Moreover, (·)k represents a k-th element of the vector.
Additionally, c˜k is represented as follows.[Math. 5]{tilde over (c)}kH=[λ11/2(v1)k,λ21/2(v2)k, . . . , λNP1/2(vNP)k]  (8)
λ1 to λNP, and v1 to vNP represent an eigenvalue which is obtained by eigenvalue decomposition of P, and an eigenvector thereof, respectively.[Math. 6]P=VDVH  (9)V=[v1,v2, . . . , vNT]  (10)D=diag[λ1,λ2, . . . , λNT]  (11)
Furthermore, diag[·] represents a diagonal matrix.

Reception device, reception method, and program


A vacuum servo unit includes a partition member having an outer periphery that engages the movable wall member in an air tight manner. A receiving chamber is defined between the partition member and the movable wall member, and the receiving chamber is adapted to be communicated with the atmosphere. A passage that introduces atmospheric air into the receiving chamber is engaged in an air tight manner with the partition member and extends through the constant pressure chamber. A change member in the form of a solenoid valve selectively communicates the receiving chamber with the constant pressure chamber or with the atmosphere. Accordingly, the servo efficiency of the vacuum servo unit is increased. In addition, the unit can be operated automatically by supplying electric power to thereby increase brake force so that the brake feeling is advanced.

A vacuum servo-unit for reducing the operating input force to be applied when the operation of the vehicle braking system is initiated has been generally used for some time. This vacuum servo unit typically includes a constant pressure chamber to which the negative pressure is constantly supplied, and a variable pressure chamber. In one state, the variable pressure chamber is communicated with the atmosphere and is cut off from the constant pressure chamber, and in another state the variable pressure chamber is communicated with the constant pressure chamber and is cut off from the atmosphere. A vacuum valve member intermittently establishes communication between the constant pressure chamber and the variable pressure chamber, and an air valve member intermittently establishes communication between the atmosphere and the variable pressure chamber. The vacuum valve member and the air valve member are respectively opened and shut by the operation of the brake operation member, and a pressure differential according to the operation force supplied to the brake operation member is established between the constant pressure chamber and the variable pressure chamber. Thus, the vacuum servo unit generates an amplified brake force according to the operation force supplied to the brake operation member.
In recent years, a vacuum servo unit employing a solenoid valve operated by electricity has been known. This type of vacuum servo unit is disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Publication No. 5-24533. In this vacuum servo unit, when the driver doesn't actuate the brake operation member, the solenoid valve is operated so that the variable pressure chamber is communicated with the atmosphere by the operation of the solenoid valve. As a result, a big pressure differential is generated between the variable pressure chamber and the constant pressure chamber and so a big braking force is generated.
However, the foregoing vacuum servo unit has a passage at a center portion thereof through which flows atmospheric air. This decreases the area receiving the pressure differential of the movable member which generates the servo force. This results in reduced servo efficiency.
Additionally, the inhalation port of the passage through which flows the atmospheric air is forced to be provided on the limited portion located at the front of the vacuum servo unit. This restricts the placement of the vacuum servo unit when the vacuum servo unit is installed in the vehicle.
When an urgent state is detected from, for example, the operation speed of the brake operation member so that the vacuum servo unit generates a braking force that exceeds the normal operation braking force, atmosphere is introduced into the variable pressure chamber regardless of the operation of the brake operation member. Therefore, the vacuum servo unit must be provided with a detecting device for detecting a return operation of the brake operation member in case the brake force is released when the driver applies a return operation of the brake operation member.
In an urgent condition, a considerable amount of atmospheric air must be introduced into the variable pressure chamber in order that the maximum servo force is generated. Thus, it takes a relatively long time to increase the brake force.

Vacuum servo unit for a vehicle braking system


A hot-button type heat alert safety device attachable to a surface, such as metal or glass, for warning individuals that the surface is hot, comprising a thermochromic composition, a button-shaped container for housing the composition, having a convex face, the convex face overlying said composition and the container being transparent in at least a portion of the container overlying the thermochromic composition. The thermochromic composition is designed to undergo and maintain a readily perceptible color change whenever the temperature of the hot surface exceeds a predetermined temperature and reveal a heat warning symbol underneath the thermochromic composition which communicates that the surface is dangerously hot, the heat warning symbol being substantially visible through the convex face of the container.

With respect to stoves and related appliances, various kinds of stoves—electric, gas, smooth cooktop using glass or metal tops—and toaster ovens are well known to be used for heating food. In addition, "mobile stove-type appliances" such as hot plates and warming trays are well known to be used for heating food. Each of these kinds of stoves and "mobile stove-type appliances" present a safety problem since the heating elements of the stove are hot during the cooking process and remain hot well afterwards. During the cooking process, the safety problem caused by touching the heating element is mitigated somewhat by visual inspection of the stove. With a gas, electric or smooth top stove, for example, the presence of a pot or other utensil on top of the stove might alert someone to the fact that the stove appears to be in use for cooking and therefore too hot to touch. Even the presence of a pot or other utensil is not a reliable clue, however, since people tend to leave tea kettles on their stove perpetually. When the cooking process has ended, however, it is generally impossible to detect that the heating elements of the stove remains hot and would burn the skin of anyone who touched them. There is no visual or other clue that the stove is hot.
To some degree, adults have developed an inherent caution when approaching stoves because of their experience and knowledge in dealing with such safety problems. This inherent caution, however, does not obviate the need for a device that warns the adult when touching the stove would be dangerous. Moreover, children, and particularly young children, usually have not developed such a watchfulness and there has long been a need for a device that can prevent burn accidents to children who may inadvertently touch a stove that is hot, especially when the stove remains hot well after the cooking process has ended.
Furthermore, the reduction in the size of modern kitchens has led the occupants of modern apartments to make use of the stove as an extension of the counter top adjacent the stove as a resting places for large items that have been carried into the kitchen area. An example of such items is heavy bags of groceries brought into the kitchen. There is an urge to set the bags down on the nearest flat surfaces, which may be the top of a stove adjacent a counter top. This is particularly true for those stoves that are smooth on top, such as smooth cooktops. In general, the top surfaces of modern kitchen stoves are increasingly flat, especially the top surfaces of smooth cooktops. These factors have only increased the danger to adults when the top surfaces of stoves are used as a resting place for packages, such as groceries brought into the kitchen.
Smooth cooktop stoves presently are also dangerous if touched on their top surface when they are still hot, even after use. These smooth cooktop stoves, or "smoothtops" as they are sometimes called, utilize as the heating element separate areas on the top surface of the stove (at the same location that gas stove would have burners) which are made of glass. Under each area, usually circular, is a strong light source, such as a halogen lights. The light source projects the light upward to the surface area of the smoothtop's heating element—the glass area on the top surface of the stove. Since the glass area is coated on its bottom with a dark coating, when the light strikes it, the heat from the strong light is absorbed by the glass area and these glass surfaces form each heating element of the stove.
Another variation of the smooth cooktop is the use of a "ribbon heating element" where the smooth glass surface is heated by a coiled electric circuit called a "ribbon element" just underneath it instead of by a halogen light source. The heat is transmitted directly upward so that only the heat element itself gets hot and the rest of the cooktop surface remains cool. In some cases, the ribbon heating element also has another feature whereby the heating element is made of two concentric circles so that the option exists of two sizes of the heating element to match the two different sizes of the pans that need to be heated. This new technology does not solve the problem of warning adults and children that the heating element should not be touched when the cooking process has ended. If anything, it generates the additional hazard that someone can be lulled into touching the heating element after thinking the heating element is cool since the surface right adjacent to it is indeed cool.
Some of these problems have been addressed in earlier patents, through use of thermochromic inserts or overlays. Thermochromic materials are those such as some liquid crystals which change color when passing through a given temperature range, and are now familiar from use in inexpensive items, like temperature indicating refrigerator magnets or stick-on aquarium thermometers.
These devices however still suffer from some drawbacks. Flat appliable thermometers tend to be made of plastic, and would melt or be destroyed at the temperatures reached by a kitchen oven. Higher temperature chemical temperature indicating systems are known, such as the semiconductor cadmium sulfide, but must either be included as inserts in original equipment manufacturing, or fired on as a vitreous ceramic. Materials which are both capable of resisting high temperature and are transparent, or which are themselves thermochromic, are brittle, and so unsuitable for forming in thin flat removable displays, which makes it difficult to attach these materials to an existing surface, the way refrigerator magnet thermometer is attachable.
In an additional drawback of the prior art, flat indicators, embedded in or applied to a flat surface, are necessarily only usefully visible through a limited viewing angle. It is readily shown through trigonometry that if an observer is offset an angle α from the vertical or normal to a surface, which offset is also referred to as the angle of incidence, the apparent area of objects on the surface will be reduced by a factor of cos(α): A′ =A cos(α). For example, if an observer is offset 60° from the vertical, i.e., at a 60 degree angle of incidence, viewing a surface from 30° to the surface itself, the apparent size of objects on the surface is reduced by cos(60)=½. For an observer at an angle of incidence of 80° the apparent size has shrunk to less than 18% of the actual size; and at 85° apparent size is less than 9% of actual. An angle of incidence approaching 90° from the vertical is known as a grazing angle. At grazing angles α flat indicator on the surface clearly approaches zero apparent area, and is completely invisible to the observer.
A second problem that arises from looking at something at an angle of the line of sight is specular reflection. Specular or mirror reflection is the reflection of light rays hitting a flat surface with a reflected ray having an angle of incidence equal to that of the incident ray. For most surfaces specular reflectance increases with angle of incidence, so that more ambient light is reflected to a viewer at larger angles of incidence of the line of sight. This effect wipes out the contrast of a display, so that the display cannot be read at large angles, even if the apparent area of the display were otherwise large enough. Depending on the type of materials used, the loss in visibility at a given display angle may be worse than that predicted by apparent area alone. Liquid crystals for example show a contrast with background notably affected by viewing angle, and readability of a liquid crystal display may be degraded at lower angles of incidence than other kinds of display.
In consideration of these two effects, loss of apparent viewing area and increase in specular reflection, flat warning devices are mainly suitable for surfaces usually seen from small angles of incidence. Examples of such surfaces are vertical surfaces near eye-level, like a door of a cabinet mounted oven, or horizontal surfaces significantly below eye-level, like a stove top surface considered in relation to a typical adult height.
However, for a child an ordinary stove top may be near or even above eye level, while small hands can nonetheless reach over the top of a stove to touch dangerously hot surfaces. Similarly, even for an adult some vertical surfaces such as an oven door, may be below eye level, and hence only visible at a large angle of incidence. This would occur while a user is standing at the stove and reaching down to open the oven door. A flat indicator therefore will not be prominent or attention getting in these situations, and may even be invisible to a user.
With respect to toaster ovens, because of the mobility of the unit the danger of touching the window of a toaster oven exceeds that of the typical immobile oven. The toaster oven can be placed on a counter top or other portion of the kitchen not directly in the "cooking center". Consequently, an adult and especially a child, or the elderly, is not likely to remember not to touch a window of a toaster oven when it is off (soon after it had been on). In addition, the door of a toaster oven can be left open and jut out further toward someone in the kitchen.
Presently, in order to address the danger of touching a hot "smoothtop" stove, such stoves generally have several light indicators, each one corresponding to each heating element, all located in small one rectangular area on the surface of the cooktop. The light indicators remain lit for a certain length of time after the stove's heating element is turned off in order to deter someone from touching the heating element when it is still hot, although "off". Unfortunately, this attempt to address the danger of touching a hot stove of the smooth cooktop variety is insufficient as a warning system (putting aside the fact that the light indicators are designed only for the smooth cooktop variety stoves to begin with and not for gas and electric coil stoves).
A quick glance at the group of light indicators would not be sufficient to warn the average adult, no less children or the elderly, that a particular heating element is too hot. This is because the group of light indicators do not immediately tell someone which heating elements correspond to which light indicators. At a minimum, several seconds of concentration are needed in order to determine from the light indicators that are "on", which heating elements are too hot to touch. Many adults, and certainly most children, cannot afford those seconds of deduction since their desire to touch the stove is immediate. In addition, an adult carrying groceries into the kitchen and looking for a counter top to place them on or a child running into and playing in the kitchen are even less likely than the average adult or child to take the time to engage in a several second thinking process. Accordingly, the child or the adult will be inadequately warned about the danger of being burned. With this in mind, it is no surprise that a 1997 industrial design exhibit at the Cooper Hewitt (Smithsonian) in New York demonstrated that over 69% of adults can not match the control knob with its corresponding burner (i.e. heating element) on a stove.
There is also not presently known any effective warning method for the vertical surfaces of oven windows, including the windows of wall ovens, regular ovens and toaster ovens, and especially when such vertical surfaces are not at or near eye level for a user, as mentioned above. This is particularly important since when the oven is turned off, the oven window remains very hot even though it appears that everything is off.
While devices that make use of liquid crystal compositions are known to indicate the surface temperature of an appliance, these devices are not designed to warn someone of the danger of touching hot stoves. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,827,301 to Parker discloses an apparatus for indicating the temperature of a surface of an appliance. It has a first portion in contact with the appliance surface or connected by copper wires or heat pipes to the appliance surface. It has a second portion, a poor heat conducting member in heat exchanging relationship to the ambient environment, that has bands of liquid crystal material extending away from the first portion thereby creating a temperature gradient extending away from the surface of the appliance. Devices such as disclosed in Parker that provide temperature determinations are not adequate for instantly warning a child or even an adult that the heating element of a stove is too hot to touch for one thing because quantitative temperature determinations are inadequate to provide the immediate warning that is necessary. Moreover, the device of Parker and other liquid crystal compositions are not specifically suited to be manufactured as part of a stove. In addition, these devices are not suitable as attachments to stoves and certainly not as attachments to a smooth cooktop stove.
The present invention is also applicable, not just to stoves and related appliances, but to any other surface that one may need to be warned that it is hot. There are numerous devices whose surfaces become hot and remain hot even after the device has been shut off either electrically or otherwise. For example, a radiator cap becomes hot and remains hot for a period when the vehicle and radiator are shut off. Also, any kind of piping that is a conduit for hot liquids is an example of a surface that one may need to be warned that it is hot. Other devices having hot surfaces include hot surfaces on fireplace doors, flat irons, chafing dishes, coffee urns, heating pipes, home radiators, glue guns, oven doors, portable heaters of the electric, oil and ceramic disc type, kerosene lamps, kerosene heaters, barbecue grills of the electric, gas or charcoal type, electric woks, electric skillets, deep fryers for home or commercial use, heat lamps in self service cafeterias and salad bars, saunas including the metal box that generates and/or controls the heat, rotisseries, indoor grills whether gas or electric, tea kettles, wood burning stoves, hot electric rollers, hot wax holders used for beauty treatments, bonnet type hair dryers, synthetic braid trimmers, curling irons, portable generators, steam cleaners especially such as in dry cleaning facilities, hot water pipes that are exposed, hot water heaters, furnaces, warming trays, light fixtures such as halogen lamps, popcorn makers (especially commercial ones), toasters, cappuccino and espresso makers, autoclaves used to sterilize instruments in a medical setting, movie projectors and other such hot surfaces. These and other hot surfaces are exposed to children, maintenance works and ordinary adult users.
Accordingly, there is needed a versatile, easily movable and mountable, removably attachable and detachable, and effective, convenient and easy to manufacture device for warning adults, workers and children instantly when any kind of surface, whether it be a stove of any kind or any other surface, is too hot to touch. There is also a need for such a device that is both capable of installation on a previously purchased stove of any known type, including cooktops, electric and gas stoves, and one that is also capable of being manufactured as part of the stove by stove manufacturers. The present invention addresses and satisfies all of these needs and provides other advantages.
There is also a need for an effective, convenient and easy to use, and detachable heat alert safety device that is easily read and understood for warning adults and children when any surface is too hot to touch. Such a device should ideally be positionable at a variety of heights or positions so that it can be custom tailored for children of different height.
Importantly, moreover, there is a need for a heat alert safety device that is versatile enough to be easily positioned on a hot surface and yet be able to be easily removed thereafter when it has served its purpose—either with respect to that surface or it has served its purpose with respect to that particular individual or it has served its purpose for that individual for that particular moment—and then be repositioned elsewhere—either on another hot surface of another object or another surface of the same object or even another portion of the same surface of the same appliance. This is necessary because in order for the heat alert safety device of the present invention to be effective it has to be visible (or at least discernable) and in addition it should be discernable and effective for children, and since children of different ages are of different heights it is advantageous to be able to attach the device to. It is also necessary because a particular individual may decide to relocate the heat alert safety device when a different appliance is used or when a different portion of a kitchen counter is used, or when any other object with a hot surface is activated. It should be noted that by "activated" is included situations when an object is "hot" a certain amount of time after the source of the heat was "on" and it is of course not intended that the device of the present invention is limited to situations when electricity is "on" for an appliance or other object.
In light of the above discussion there is a need for a device which (i) is suitable for temperatures at least up to a high temperature of a gas oven (500° F.) (ii) is capable of conveying information at a grazing angle of sight, relative to the surface the device is mounted on (iii) may be detachably mounted on an existing surface. It is believed that no heretofore known product simultaneously meets these requirements. It would also be advantageous if the device were simple and rugged and could withstand chance mishandling or rough treatment.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Enhanced visibility heat alert safety device for hot surfaces


A void containment apparatus and its method of use during an invasive procedure on the body are disclosed. The void containment apparatus includes an elongated housing and a balloon. The balloon is capable of being inflated and deflated. When inflated, the balloon provides a seal around a void and allows delivery or extraction of material into or out of the void with minimal leakage outside the void.

Bones, whether human or animal, can develop defects (e.g., a void or cavity in the bone) that can compromise their structure. These defects can occur due to various reasons, such as osteopenia, degeneration, prior surgery, fractures, bone cysts, or trauma. Additionally, after prior surgery for ligament reconstruction of the knee, a residual implant or graft passage tunnel creates a defect. If the implant or graft fails, revision surgery may first require filling of this defect prior to subsequent implantation.
In another example, in the shoulder, such as rotator cuff surgery, prior suture anchors that pull out or fail can leave a bone void that needs to be filled, otherwise revision surgery is not possible with anchor placement in that location. With disuse osteopenia, cystic degeneration can cause the bone structure to be compromised. In other cases, traumatic injury can create defects in the bone. In osteoporosis, bone quality can be reduced such that primary implant insertion fails due to weakened structure and may require some form of supplementation (such as filling of the defect with a cement like substance) to allow surgery to be completed. These defects in the bone can limit the capacity for various implants or grafts to be secured within the bone. As such, this can lead to situations where the bone may need to be grafted or augmented prior to securing the implant or graft, either immediately or in a staged manner with multiple surgeries.
Regardless of how the defect occurred, various solutions have been explored to fix the defect, but they all lack in one way or another. One problem with the existing method is it does not allow containment of the cement like substance within the bone defect. Often, the material spills over and around the bone defect and causes intrusion into and around the joint and surrounding tissues. Since the cement like substance tends to harden over time, it creates a solid structure into other areas of the body thereby causing crystalline deposits inside the joints. These deposits can be harmful to the body causing several types of medical issues, such as cartilage degeneration, tissue foreign body reaction and pain.
Bone defects vary in shape and size and the defect often contains uneven surfaces. The current methods do not provide a mechanism to contain the cement like substance inside the uneven shaped defect and result in allowing the cement like substance to leak and escape to other parts of the body. The escaped substance causes visualization issues for the surgeon and several medical problems as explained earlier.
Yet another problem with existing solutions is visualization. The current procedures for reconstituting the void in the bone, thereby fixing the defect, require a surgeon to create a working portal and visualizing portal. The working portal is established through an incision made at or around the area requiring surgery (the operative field) and allows the surgeon to perform surgery on the defect using surgical tools through a subsequent portal. The visualizing portal provides visual access to the operative field such that the surgeon can see the area of surgery while performing the surgery. Visualization is critical and key to a good and successful outcome with surgery. Existing methods are unable to deliver the cement like substance to fix bone defects without blocking surgeon's line of sight to the operative field. Since the current methods cannot contain the cement like substance within the defected bone cavity, the excess material either protrudes out of the defected cavity or accidentally gets deposited outside the cavity blocking the surgeon's vision during the procedure.
Bone defects can have various depths, contours, and ruggedness. Although Current methods allow depositing of the cement like substance into the defect, they cannot achieve a thorough penetration of the cement like substance into the interstices of the bone structure. This is largely because pressure needs to be applied in order to achieve a thorough penetration of the cement like substance into the interstices of the bone structure. Since current methods (in arthroscopy) cannot contain the cement like substance within the defected cavity, applying pressure only increases the problem by allowing even more substance to escape from the defect and into other regions of the body.
Thus there is a need for a solution to address the concerns mentioned above.

Void containment apparatus and method of use for creating a sealed environment for product delivery


A semiconductor chip is formed by dividing a semiconductor wafer by use of the laser dicing technique. The semiconductor chip has a laser dicing region on the side surface thereof. A dummy wiring layer is formed along the laser dicing region on the surface layer of the laser dicing region. A laser beam is applied to the dummy wiring layer to divide the semiconductor wafer.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a semiconductor device and a manufacturing method thereof and more particularly to a laser dicing technique for applying a laser beam to divide a semiconductor wafer into discrete chips.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is predicted that a microprocessor now used is required to process a further larger amount of information at high speed in future. So far, miniaturization of transistors determines the performance of the microprocessor. However, in recent years, RC delay (R: Resistance, C: Capacitance) causes a problem and much importance is given not only to miniaturization of transistors but also to parasitic capacitance (capacitance between wirings arranged with an insulating material disposed therebetween) and resistance of wirings which connect transistors to one another.
In order to suppress the RC delay, it becomes necessary to change a wiring material from Al to Cu and use a material with a small dielectric constant instead of a silicon oxide film as an insulating material. However, the insulating film with the small dielectric constant generally has a porous structure and since the low dielectric property is acquired by virtue of the structure, the mechanical strength and adhesion strength thereof are extremely low in comparison with those of the silicon oxide film. Therefore, when a semiconductor wafer is diced into discrete chips, layer-layer separation tends to occur if the insulating film with the small dielectric constant is mechanically cut. Further, since the Cu wiring (or copper conductor) is formed of a material having relatively high viscosity, film separation tends to occur if a normal blade dicing process is performed.
Therefore, much attention is paid to laser dicing instead of the conventional blade dicing. In the laser dicing, a laser beam with high energy is applied to melt and cut a semiconductor wafer. Therefore, it is expected that the cutting property of the Cu wiring and insulating film with the small dielectric constant can be significantly enhanced in comparison with the grinding method such as the conventional blade dicing.
As the laser dicing, the following two methods are considered. The laser dicing methods are described in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2002-192367, for example. The first method is to apply a laser beam after focusing the laser beam on the uppermost layer by use of a lens (condenser lens) 11 as shown in FIG. 1 and melt and cut a wafer 12 together with a circuit element layer 13. The second method is to set the focusing position of a laser beam on the internal portion of the wafer 12 to form a melt processing region 16 due to multiphoton absorption as shown in FIG. 2 and then discretely divide the wafer 12 by stretching a dicing film 15.
Since the first method requires extremely large laser power when the thick wafer 12 is cut, larger damages will be applied to the wafer in comparison with a case of the blade dicing method in some cases. Therefore, the first method is suitable for a process of cutting only the circuit element layer 13 on the surface layer by use of relatively low laser energy, for example.
Since the second method is to divide the wafer 12 starting from the melt processing region 16, it can cope with the relatively thick wafer 12. However, since insulating films and wiring layers (or inter-connections) are arranged in a complex form in the wiring pattern of the circuit element layer 13 on the surface layer, there occurs a possibility that unexpected destruction such as separation of the insulating film and layer-layer separation of the wiring layers will occur at the time of dividing. Particularly, there occurs a strong possibility that insulating films with small dielectric constant which are recently actively used will be destroyed at the time of dividing because of characteristics such as the low mechanical strength and low adhesion strength thereof.
That is, in the laser dicing, the surface state of a finished to-be-cut member is largely influenced. More specifically, if focusing and power adjustment are made on a region in which metal wiring layers are present and the wafer is cut, large damage is given to a region in which no metal wiring layers are present and film separation occurs in the worst case. Particularly, when a plurality of transparent films which permit the laser beam to pass therethrough are laminated on a dicing line region, the damage becomes significant. On the other hand, if focusing and power adjustment are made on a region in which no metal wiring layers are present, there occurs a possibility that the metal wiring layer cannot be cut in some cases.
Therefore, when the laser dicing is performed, it is required to finely adjust a laser dicing device according to the surface state of a to-be-cut member. However, since patterns of metal wiring layers such as alignment marks and test pads are arranged in a complicated form in the dicing line region of the actual semiconductor wafer, it is difficult to adjust and set the laser dicing device into an optimum state.
As described above, the conventional semiconductor device and the manufacturing method thereof have a problem that the surface state of a finished to-be-cut member is influenced when the laser dicing is performed, the quality is lowered and the cutting property and manufacturing yield are lowered.

Semiconductor device obtained by dividing semiconductor wafer by use of laser dicing technique and method of manufacturing the same


A magnetic random access memory (MRAM) array including: a plurality of MRAM cells arranged in an array configuration, each comprising a first type nTron and a magnetic memory element; a wordline select circuit comprising of a second type nTron to drive a plurality of parallel wordlines; and a plurality of bitline select circuits, each comprising of said second type nTron for writing to and reading from a column of memory cells in the array and each capable of selecting a single MRAM cell for a memory read or write operation, wherein the second nTron has a higher current drive than the first nTron.

Superconductivity is a phenomenon of zero electrical resistance and expulsion of magnetic fields occurring in certain materials when cooled below a characteristic critical temperature. Superconductors are used to build Josephson junctions which are the building blocks of superconducting digital electronics for superconductive computers, Josephson based sensors, such as superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs), and quantum computing devices. Magnetic memories are also used in superconductive computers, where the environment is very cold and the traditional transistors (or pn-junctions) are not practical, because of the inefficiency of their intrinsic energy usage compared to Josephson Junction circuits or a magnetic memory circuit.
Magnetoresistive or Magnetic random-access memory (MRAM) is a non-volatile random-access memory (RAM) that stores data in magnetic storage elements. The magnetic storage elements are typically formed from two ferromagnetic plates separated by a thin insulating layer. Each of the ferromagnetic plates can hold a magnetization, with one of the two plates being a permanent magnet with a specific polarity, but the magnetization of other plate can be changed to match that of an external field to store data. This configuration is known as a spin valve and is a simplified structure for an MRAM cell. A magnetic RAM device can then be formed from a grid of such spin valve cells.
A spin valve is a device that includes two or more conducting magnetic materials, the electrical resistance of which can change depending on the relative alignment of the magnetization in the layers. The electrical resistance change is a result of the Giant Magnetoresistive effect, which is a quantum mechanical magnetoresistance effect in thin-film structures formed from alternating ferromagnetic and non-magnetic conductive layers. The magnetic layers of a spin valve device align directionally, for example, up or down, depending on an external magnetic field applied to the device. In a simple case, a spin valve device consists of a non-magnetic material sandwiched between two ferromagnets, one of which is fixed (pinned) by an antiferromagnet which acts to raise its magnetic coercivity and behaves as a "hard" layer, while the other is free (unpinned) and behaves as a "soft" layer. Due to the difference in coercivity, the soft layer changes polarity at lower applied magnetic field strength than the hard one. Upon application of a magnetic field of appropriate strength, the soft layer switches polarity, producing two distinct states consisting of a parallel, low-resistance state, and an antiparallel, high-resistance state.
A spin transfer torque (STT) is an effect that modifies the orientation of a magnetic layer in a spin valve device and can be changed using a spin-polarized current. STT uses spin-aligned ("polarized") electrons to directly torque a nearby layer. Specifically, if the electrons flowing into a layer have to change their spin, this will develop a torque that will be transferred to the nearby layer. This lowers the amount of current needed to write to the cells of an MRAM, making it similar to a read process of the MRAM.
Spin Hall Effect (SHE) is a transport phenomenon for the appearance of spin accumulation on the lateral surfaces of a sample carrying electric current. The opposing surface boundaries have spins of opposite sign. SHE can be used to electrically manipulate electron spins. For example, in combination with the electric stirring effect, SHE leads to spin polarization in a localized conducting region.
One of the substantial problems with current magnetic memory architectures is that they cannot perform "bit select," without using a traditional transistors. Typically, one or more three terminal device such as a transistor is used at each memory cell location to individually select a bit or word in a memory array for read and writing operations. Another problem with magnetic memory array architectures is the relative high density of such array resulting in smaller memory capacity and/or larger packaging size. Moreover, most of the existing magnetic memory architectures are unscalable, electrically incompatible or energy inefficient.