1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to semiconductor manufacturing, and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for performing field-to-field compensation for errors in semiconductor manufacturing processes.
2. Description of the Related Art
The technology explosion in the manufacturing industry has resulted in many new and innovative manufacturing processes. Today's manufacturing processes, particularly semiconductor manufacturing processes, call for a large number of important steps. These process steps are usually vital, and therefore, require a number of inputs that are generally fine tuned to maintain proper manufacturing control.
The manufacture of semiconductor devices requires a number of discrete process steps to create a packaged semiconductor device from raw semiconductor material. The various processes, from the initial growth of the semiconductor material, the slicing of the semiconductor crystal into individual wafers, the fabrication stages (etching, doping, ion implanting, or the like), to the packaging and final testing of the completed device, are so different from one another and specialized that the processes may be performed in different manufacturing locations that contain different control schemes.
Among the factors that affect semiconductor device manufacturing are effectively initiating and continuing a manufacturing process without significant human interaction, which can cause delays or errors in the manufacturing process. One of the process steps that is adversely affected by such factors is the photolithography overlay process. Overlay is one of several important steps in the photolithography area of semiconductor manufacturing. Overlay control involves measuring the misalignment between two successive patterned layers on the surface of a semiconductor device. Generally, alignment is important to ensure that the multiple layers of the semiconductor devices are connected and functional. As technology facilitates smaller critical dimensions for semiconductor devices, the need for reduced of misalignment errors increases dramatically.
Generally, photolithography engineers use results from the analysis of the overlay errors to make updates to exposure tool settings manually. Some of the problems associated with the current methods include the fact that the exposure tool settings are only updated a few times a month. Furthermore, often the exposure tool updates are performed manually. Similarly, improvements in error prevention and correction in other types of semiconductor manufacturing processes are also needed to improve yields in semiconductor manufacturing processes.
Generally, a set of processing steps is performed on a lot of wafers on a semiconductor manufacturing tool called an exposure tool or a stepper. The manufacturing tool communicates with a manufacturing framework or a network of processing modules. The manufacturing tool is generally connected to a machine interface. The machine interface is connected to a machine interface to which the stepper is connected, thereby facilitating communications between the stepper and the manufacturing framework. The machine interface can generally be part of an advanced process control (APC) system. The APC system initiates a control script, which can be a software program that automatically retrieves the data needed to execute a manufacturing process. The input parameters that control the manufacturing process are revised periodically in a manual fashion. As the need for higher precision manufacturing processes are required, improved methods are needed to revise input parameters that control manufacturing processes in a more automated and timely manner. Furthermore, wafer-to-wafer manufacturing variations can cause non-uniform quality of semiconductor devices.
Many times processed semiconductor wafers can have portions that contain errors, such as overlay errors. Often, a small error on a portion of a processed semiconductor can go unnoticed. This small error may cause a persistent bias in that portion, and subsequent processes may add to the error, causing a substantial error. Many times, these small errors can be caused by abnormalities in a stepper lens, errors in the manner the wafer is positioned in a stepper, and the like. Small residual errors, such as errors caused by persistent biases, can cause yield degradation in the manufacturing of semiconductor wafers.
The present invention is directed to overcoming, or at least reducing the effects of, one or more of the problems set forth above.


Over the past century the demand for energy has grown exponentially. With the growing demand for energy, many different energy sources have been explored and developed. One of the primary sources of energy has been, and continues to be, the combustion of hydrocarbons. However, the combustion of hydrocarbons is usually incomplete and releases non-combustibles that contribute to smog as well as other pollutants in varying amounts.
As a result of the pollutants created by the combustion of hydrocarbons, the desire for cleaner energy sources has increased in recent years. With the increased interest in cleaner energy sources, fuel cells have become more popular and more sophisticated. Research and development on fuel cells has continued to the point where many speculate that fuel cells will soon compete with gas turbines generating large amounts of electricity for cities, internal combustion engines powering automobiles, and batteries that run a variety of small and large electronics.
Fuel cells conduct an electrochemical energy conversion of hydrogen or other fuel and oxygen into electricity and heat. In some cases, conversion of a hydrocarbon fuel to hydrogen can occur within the fuel cell in a process known as “internal reforming.” Fuel cells are similar to batteries, but they can be “recharged” while providing power.
Fuel cells provide a DC (direct current) voltage that may be used to power motors, lights, or any number of electrical appliances. There are several different types of fuel cells, each using a different chemistry. Fuel cells are usually classified by the type of electrolyte used. The fuel cell types are generally categorized into one of five groups: proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells, alkaline fuel cells (AFC), phosphoric-acid fuel cells (PAFC), solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC), and molten carbonate fuel cells (MCFC).
Most fuel cells typically include four basic elements: an anode, a cathode, an electrolyte, and a catalyst arranged on each side of the electrolyte. The anode is the negative post of the fuel cell and conducts electrons that are freed from hydrogen molecules such that the electrons can be used in an external circuit. The anode includes channels to disperse the fuel gas as evenly as possible over the surface of the catalyst.
The cathode is the positive post of the fuel cell, and typically includes channels etched therein to evenly distribute oxygen (usually air) to the surface of the catalyst. The cathode also conducts the electrons back from the external circuit to the catalyst, where they can recombine with the hydrogen ions and oxygen to form water.
One of the difficulties encountered with fuel cells is the regulation of excessive flow and/or pressure from the fuel source feeding the fuel cell. It is quite common to have flow or pressure spikes from the fuel source during fuel cell operation. The flow irregularities may be a result of start up, temperature changes, fluctuations in power demands on the fuel cell, or other phenomena. Flow increases and pressure spikes cause operational instability and flood the fuel cell with fuel that cannot be efficiently used.
Accordingly, there has been some use of flow regulators in fuel cells to reduce pressure and/or flow spikes. The flow regulators often consist of a set of capillaries. However, capillary flow regulators have a small dynamic range, and typical regulators add significantly to the cost of the fuel delivery system. There has also been some use of a bladder and rubber diaphragm to regulate the flow and/or pressure delivered to the fuel cell, but such systems are not sufficiently robust for long-term use and have limited efficacy across varying fuel types.
Thus, there is a need in the art for means of regulating the flow and/or pressure of fuel delivered to a fuel cell.


FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an access control system described in Japanese Patent Application No. 101,439/1985 filed by the assignee of the present application on May 15, 1985 for an "Optical Disk Drive Device".
As illustrated, an optical disk 101 has a plurality of recording tracks on the disk. The tracks comprise series of pits disposed at a high density and arranged in a circular or spiral form. The disk 101 is fitted onto a spindle and is rotated by a disk-drive motor 102. The disk-drive motor 102 is rotated under the control of a disk-motor-drive control system 103.
An optical head 104 forms a light spot on the optical disk 101. The light spot is moved in the radial direction of the optical disk 101. The optical head 104 comprises a frame 105, a source of light such as a semiconductor laser 106, a collimating lens 107, a polarization beam splitter 108, a .lambda./4 plate 109, an optical-path changing mirror 110, an objective lens 111 which focuses the light beam from the light source 106 onto the medium surface of the optical disk 101 and forms a light spot 115 on the surface, a tracking actuator 112 which provides fine or microscopic movements of the objective lens 111 in the radial direction of the optical disk 101 for accurate positioning of the light spot on a recording track of the optical disk, and a split-photodetector 113 which has a pair of sensor parts adjacent to each other for detecting the return light reflected from the optical disk 101, and produces a pair of electrical signals corresponding to the amount of light received at the respective sensor parts.
An addition/subtraction amplifying circuit 114 determines the sum of the outputs from the split-photodetector 113 to produce a sum signal as an information signal (reproduced data signal), and determines the difference between the outputs of the split photodetector 113 to produce a difference signal as a tracking error signal. The tracking error signal is supplied to a track-traverse counter 118 and a speed-detecting circuit 120.
The track-traversing counter 118 receives the output signal from the addition/subtraction amplifying circuit 114 and detects the number of tracks traversed by the optical head 104. An output of this counter 118 is supplied to a target-velocity generation circuit 119.
The target-velocity generation circuit 119 receives the output signal of the track-traversing counter 118, and, at the time of access, generates a target-velocity signal for the light spot 115. The target-velocity signal is sent to a head-actuator drive control circuit 117.
The head-actuator drive control circuit 117 also receives an output signal from a polarity switching circuit 2. On the basis of these signals, the head actuator drive control circuit 117 controls the drive of a head actuator 116, such as a linear actuator.
When the head actuator 116 is driven through the head-actuator drive control circuit 117 to move the optical head 104 in the radial direction of the optical disk 101.
A speed detection circuit 120 detects the track-traverse speed (the speed with which light spot 115 traverses the tracks on the optical disk 115). The output of the speed detection circuit 120 is fed to the polarity switching circuit 2. The speed detection circuit 120, together with the polarity-switching circuit 2, forms a velocity-detection circuit 124.
The polarity-switching circuit 2 receives an output signal from an access-direction command generation circuit 123. Under the control of the output signal of the access-direction command generation circuit 123, the polarity-switching circuit 2 changes the polarity of the output of the speed detection circuit 120. More specifically, the detected speed (a scalar value) is converted into a detected velocity (a vector value) which also shows the direction.
FIG. 2 is a transfer-function block diagram of the velocity-control system which represents the diagram of FIG. 1. In this drawing, the results of the subtraction between the output signal V.sub.S * of the velocity detection circuit 124 and the output signal V.sub.r of the target-velocity generation circuit 119 is input to a gain compensation circuit 5. The gain compensation circuit 5 determines the frequency band of the velocity control system.
The gain compensation circuit 5, as well as a notch filter 122 and a head-actuator drive circuit 6, are built into the head-actuator drive control circuit 117. The notch filter 122 compensates the mechanical resonance characteristics G.sub.L (S) of a block 6 in the head actuator 116.
The head-actuator drive circuit 6 is normally of a current drive type, and also contains a drive current detection circuit.
A block 7 in the head actuator 116 represents a force constant of the head actuator 116. The block 8 represents transfer characteristics. Its input is an acceleration, and its output is a head velocity V.sub.L (the velocity with which the optical head 105 is moved by the head actuator 116). M designates the mass of the movable part, G.sub.L (S) designates the mechanical resonance characteristics of the head actuator, and S represents Laplacean. K.sub.V represents the sensitivity in the velocity detection of the target-velocity generation circuit 119 and the velocity-detection circuit 124, and .tau. represents the track traverse period (period taken for the light spot 115 to traverse a track).
FIG. 3 shows an example of gain characteristic of G.sub.L (S) in the block 8 in FIG. 2 which is shown to have a large resonance peak at a certain frequency .omega..sub.L (usually in the order of kHz). FIG. 4 on the other hand illustrates the gain characteristics .vertline.G.sub.N (S).vertline. of the notch filter 122 in FIG. 2. G.sub.n (S) is selected so that: EQU .vertline.G.sub.N (S).vertline..perspectiveto..vertline.1/G.sub.L (S).vertline.,
when .omega..sub.N =.omega..sub.L.
FIGS. 5 and 6 show open-loop characteristics of the system of FIG. 2. FIG. 5 shows a case where G.sub.N (S)=1/G.sub.L (S), while FIG. 6 shows a case where G.sub.N (S).noteq.1/G.sub.L (S).
The system operates in the following manner:
First, the disk drive motor 102 is energized through the disk-drive-motor control circuit 103, and the optical disk 101 shown in FIG. 1 begins to rotate. When the rotation speed reaches a predetermined steady value, the tracking actuator 112 is controlled on the basis of a tracking error signal obtained by the photodetector 113 and addition/subtraction amplifying circuit 114. As a result, the light spot 115 begins to follow the center of a track on the optical disk 101.
At the time of track access, the number of tracks on the optical disk 101, which have been traversed by the light spot 115, is counted by the track-traversing counter 118, and, at the same time, in accordance with the number of tracks to be traversed to reach the target track, the target velocity, which is output from the target-velocity generation circuit 119, and the track-traverse velocity of the light spot 115, which is detected by the velocity-detection circuit 124, are input to the head-actuator drive control circuit 117, which performs velocity control in which the velocity is reduced to zero as the light spot 115 approaches the the target track.
Operation of the velocity control system of FIG. 2 at the time of track access will now be described in detail. A velocity deviation signal Ve, which is the difference between the target-velocity signal V.sub.r from the target-velocity generation circuit 119 and the detected-velocity signal V.sub.s * from the velocity detector 124, is transmitted to the actuator drive circuit 6 through the gain-compensation circuit 5 and the notch filter 122. As a result, a certain drive current is applied to the head actuator 116. Due to this drive current, the head actuator 116 begins to move the optical head 104, causing the light spot 115 to traverse the tracks on the optical disk 101.
If the track fluctuation velocity, due for example to eccentricity of the optical disk 101, is denoted by Vd, the difference between the velocity of the head actuator 116 and the track fluctuation velocity V.sub.o is detected by the velocity detection circuit 124 as a detected-velocity signal V.sub.S *. This detected-velocity signal V.sub.S * is fed back in a velocity control system and the control is so made that the detected-velocity signal V.sub.S * coincides with the target-velocity signal V.sub.r.
A loop transfer function (open-loop characteristics) of this velocity-control system from the velocity-deviation signal Ve to the detected-velocity signal v.sub.S * can be expressed as follows: ##EQU1##
If it is so designed that the condition G.sub.N (S)=1/G.sub.L (S) is satisfied, the head actuator does not have the resonance frequency in the high-frequency zone, as shown in the upper part of FIG. 5. But if G.sub.N (S).noteq.1/G.sub.L (S) because of manufacturing fluctuations between individual devices, the head actuator may have a resonance frequency in the high-frequency band as shown in FIG. 6. When the peak of this resonance exceeds 0.sub.db, the velocity-control system loses its stability.
Moreover, because of a certain dead time of the zero-order hold characteristics of the velocity-detection circuit 124, a long delay in phase is observed in the vicinity of the track-traversing frequency.
Because of the configuration described above, the conventional optical disk drive device had the following problems:
(1) The track traverse velocity is detected based on the track traverse period. When the traverse is made at a low velocity, a time delay (dead time) is lengthened, and the velocity control system loses its stability, and because the cut-off frequency of the velocity-control system must be designed low, the velocity deviation will be increased.
(2) When the light spot 115 traverses drop-out or data address recording portions, such traverse may erroneously be recognized as traverse of tracks, and, in spite of the slow movement of the light spot, the velocity detection circuit 124 erroneously operates as if the track traverse velocity were high. The result is that the velocity control system is disturbed.
(3) The head actuator 116 typically has a high mechanical resonance at the frequency of several kHz. In order to eliminate this phenomenon, a notch filter 122 is built in the head actuator drive-control system. If, however, there are a plurality of resonance frequencies, a plurality of notch filters need to be provided, and the size of the circuit of the system is therefore enlarged. In addition, where there are differences in the resonance frequency from one device to another, and the resonance frequencies differ from the frequencies of the notch filters, and the velocity-control system is not stable.
(4) Because the known system does not detect the direction in which light spot 115 traverses the tracks, but simply assumes that the light spot 115 is traversing the tracks in the direction (toward the inner or outer periphery of the disk) in which the access is to be made and determines the required velocity by changing the polarity of the speed. When the speed is low, and the direction in which the track is traversed is reversed due to track fluctuation or disturbances, a positive feed-back is applied to the system, and the optical disk may behave erratically.
Another problem of the above-described optical disk drive device is described below:
As the above-described optical disk drive device obtains head position control information from the optical disk, the absolute position of the head cannot be reliably detected when operation of the servo-system is disturbed, e.g., in case of application of a large external impact force. In that case, as well as in the case of abnormal operation of the servo-system the head may run out of the proper range toward the center or periphery of the disk and collide with a stopper located at the end of the range of mobility. As a result of this collision, the head receives a blow and can be broken.
The same problem relates to magnetic disk devices, or any other equivalent information storage devices.
Another example of prior art is explained below with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8.
FIG. 7 illustrates a block diagram which shows a control system of a known optical disk drive device published in Papers from the General Meeting of the Institute of Electronics and Communications Engineers (IECE) of Japan, 1985, Vol. 7, pp. 7-76 [1170, "Track Access in a Two-Stage Servo-System", by Hiroshi Inada and Shigeru Shimono]. FIG. 8 illustrates waveforms of control signals used in connection with the device shown in the block diagram. In these drawings, reference numeral 201 designates an optical disk for recording information, or with information already recorded on tracks which are arranged in the form of equally-spaced concentric circles or in the form of a spiral. Reference numeral 202 designates a light beam by means of which information is transferred to and from the optical disk. A head actuator, e.g., a linear actuator 205 drives a carriage 204 of an optical head 203 and moves the carriage 204 with respect to the optical disk 201 and across the tracks. A tracking actuator 206 is installed on the carriage 204 and carries a focusing lens for the formation of a spot of light beam 202 on the tracks of the optical disk 201. The tracking actuator 206 is moved in the same direction as the linear actuator 205 and can cover only a relatively small, predetermined number of tracks. A split photodetector 207 which detects the information signal transmitted by the optical beam 202 and converts it into an electrical signal and outputs the electrical signal. A sensor of this detector consists of two parts. Each such part of the sensor produces on its output an electric signal corresponding to the quantity of light of the light beam 202 which is incident on this part.
A subtraction amplifier 211 receives a signal from each sensor part of the split photodetector 207, performs subtraction, and thus detects deviation of light spot of beam 202 from the center of the track on optical disk 201. A velocity detection circuit 212 detects, on the basis of an output signal from the subtraction amplifier 211, the track traverse velocity (the velocity with which the light spot of beam 202 traverses the tracks of optical disk 201 in its movement across the disk). A pulse generation circuit 213 receives signals from the subtraction amplifier 211 and generates a pulse each time the light spot of the beam 202 crosses a track on the disk. A track counter 214 receives a signal corresponding to the track access number N (the number of the tracks that must be traversed to reach the target track from the initial (currently-positioned) track) supplied from outside. The track counter 214 receives pulse signals from the pulse generation circuit 213 and counts down by "1" each time a pulse is applied to it, and its count value is the remaining tracks to be traversed to reach the target track. A reference velocity generation circuit 215 receives from the track counter 214 a signal corresponding to the remaining number of tracks, initially determines the reference velocity pattern corresponding to the number of the remaining track, memorizes this pattern, and then sequentially produces on its output the reference velocity signals corresponding to gradual decrease in the number of remaining tracks counted by the counter 214. A velocity error detector 216 receives a reference velocity signal from the reference velocity generation circuit 215 and a light spot velocity signal from the velocity detection circuit 212, and which detects the difference in velocities. An amplifying circuit 217 amplifies an output signal of the velocity error detection circuit 216 and controls the linear actuator 205. A position control command circuit 218 receives signals from the operational amplifier 211, the velocity control circuit 212, and the track counter 214. When on a predetermined track the velocity of the light spot of beam 202 drops below a predetermined value, the position control command circuit 218 produces a position control command on its output. A tracking servo-circuit 219 receives a position control command from the position control command circuit 218 and thus controls operation of the tracking actuator 206.
The above-described conventional optical disk drive device operates as follows: Track-access control is comprised of a velocity control mode and a position control mode. In the velocity control mode, the carriage 204 is driven by the linear actuator 205, to cause movement of the light spot in the direction of traverse of the tracks of the optical disk 201. In the position control mode, after the velocity of the light spot of the light beam 202 has been reduced below a predetermined velocity at the predetermined track, the tracking actuator 206 is controlled and the light spot is stopped at the position where the spot coincides with the center of a track on the disk 201 (FIGS. 8A-8C). First, in the velocity control mode, a signal which corresponds to track access number supplied from outside (number N in FIG. 7) is sent to the track counter 214. Because at the very beginning there are no pulses from the pulse generation circuit 213, so the number of the remaining tracks is left unchanged and the generated signal corresponds to this particular number N. Receiving this signal, the reference velocity generation circuit 215 initially determines the reference velocity pattern (FIG. 8A), and then sequentially outputs reference velocity signals in accordance with the number of remaining tracks as counted by the track counter 214. The reference velocity signal and the light spot velocity signal, which is produced by the velocity detection circuit 212, are input to the velocity error detection circuit 216 where both signals (i.e., of detected and reference velocities) are compared. The difference is amplified by the amplifier 217, and the amplified signal is used to control the velocity of the linear actuator 205. In accordance with the reference velocity pattern, the linear actuator 205 makes acceleration up to a predetermined number of tracks, the velocity is then stabilized until a predetermined number of tracks is reached, when the deceleration is made.
In this way, the light spot of beam 202 moves across the optical disk to reach the target track. When the light spot of beam 202 traverses a track, the quantity of light reflected from the optical disk 1 will change. As the sensor of photodetector 207 consists of two parts, the quantity of light reflected onto each sensor part also will vary. The light reflected onto the sensor is converted to electrical signals which correspond to the amount of light received by the sensor and which are output from the sensor parts. The output signals from the sensor parts are input to the subtraction amplifier 211 performs subtraction to produce a difference signal as shown in FIG. 8D. In this difference signal waveform, a zero point of each cycle corresponds to the moment when the center of the track on optical disk 1 coincides with the center of the light spot of beam 202. The velocity detection circuit 212 receives the output difference signals from the subtraction amplifier 211 and detects on the basis of these signals the track traverse velocity. The pulse generation circuit 213 generates pulses, for example, at the moment of each cycle when the difference signal waveform of the output from the subtraction amplifier 211 passes through zero. Each such pulse is used as a signal indicating that the light spot of beam 202 crossed the track. The pulses are supplied to the track counter 214. The position control command circuit 218 receives output signals of the subtraction amplifier 211, the velocity detection circuit 212, and the track counter 214. If at the moment of arrival of the light spot at a position with a predetermined number of tracks to the target track, e.g., one track to the target one, the velocity is below a predetermined value, the position control command circuit 218 will issue an output command which will switch the system to the position control mode.
In the position control mode, the tracking servocircuit 219 receives the output signals of the position control command circuit 218 and the subtraction amplifier 211, and controls the tracking actuator 206 referring to the phase of the difference signal waveform from the subtraction amplifier 211. When the center of the target track of the optical disk 201 coincides with the center of the light spot of beam 202, the tracking actuator stops. Thus, pull-in into the track is completed. The light spot of beam 202 follows the target track, and recording and reproduction of information is conducted.
In the known optical disk drive device of the type described above, the carriage 204 is driven by the linear actuator 205, and when the target track is reached and operation of the linear actuator 205 and tracking actuator 206 is switched from the velocity control mode to the tracking control mode, the detected speed may be disturbed either by defects in optical disk 201, or by sudden deviation in the actual velocity due for example to external forces. As a result, the pull-in by the tracking servocircuit 219 may not be achieved. In such a case, the system may behave erratically, unless an external position or velocity scale is provided.


The invention relates to a security or tamper-indicating tag, i.e. a tag that indicates that it has been removed after an initial application to an item. More particularly, it relates to a tamper-indicating tag having two panels that adhere to each other, and a strap that encircles a portion of the object being labelled.
Tags having two indicia-receiving panels that adhere to each other are well known. One particular type of two-panel tag has a strap made of the same material as the two tag panels. This strap extends between the tag panels to automatically form a loop about an item, such as a ring, when the two panels are adhered to each other. A similar tag (commonly known as a "rat-tail") has two panels foldably connected to each other and a tail of the same material projecting from one end on one of the panels. The opposite, initially free, end of the tail forms a loop when it is placed between the panels before they are adhered to each other.
Single-panel tamper-indicating tags are also known. The indicia-receiving panels of such tags have more than one layer. The layers are chosen so that, after the panel is adhered to an item, the layers will delaminate when the tag is removed. This delamination either destroys the tag layer carrying the indicia with which the tag labelled the item, or visibly defaces the indicia layer.
Such tamper-indicating tags have many uses. Their most common use involves the permanent placement of a manufacturer's serial number, warranty, or other identification upon an item. Anyone wishing to transfer the tag to another item would find this task impeded by the delamination of the tamper-indicating tag, with some layers being removed while others remain behind, still adhered to the original item.
The use of particular interest here is as a price tag, to prevent customers from switching a tag marked with a lower price indicia from one item to another item of higher price.
Because such single-panel tamper-indicating tags are adhered to the item, they are not as suitable for use with small or irregularly shaped items, such as rings, for example, as are two-panel tags.
A further disadvantage exists when a single panel tamper-indicating tag is used for purposes like price marking which ordinarily require complete removal of said tag. The removal of a one-panel tamper-indicating tag necessarily leaves a portion of the tag, including some adhesive, on the item when the tag delaminates upon removal. This residue is undesirably messy and difficult to remove.


The present invention relates to the field of antennas, and more particularly, to the field repair and replacement of phased array antennas.
For phased array antennas, such as electronically scanned array (ESA) antennas, there is an emerging requirement to utilize modular arrays, in which standardized units or portions of the antenna (e.g., sub-arrays or a radio frequency (RF) feed network) are replaceable in the field as part of mission support. Driving this requirement is the desire to simplify and reduce the cost of repair or replacement of part of the antenna, for example, by reducing the size and cost of spares. Further, after replacement, the phase and amplitude of the antenna elements of a newly replaced sub-array, or those corresponding to a newly replaced feed network, must be calibrated (a process typically called phase-up). Thus, there is a desire in the art to eliminate the need to remove the entire antenna from the platform and either utilize special test equipment (STE) in the field or return it to the factory for recalibration or phase-up.
One conventional approach utilizes near field techniques through the use of a portable RF absorber aperture cover with an embedded horn feeding a network analyzer. The cover is placed over the aperture and a coarse measurement of the phase and gain of the replaced elements is made and used to align the new elements to the rest of the array. Another similar technique has horn antennas mounted on the edges of the aperture and the signals are processed within the system.
Still another approach is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,657,023 issued to Lewis et al., the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference. Lewis provides for phase-up of array antennas of a regularly spaced lattice orientation, without the use of a nearfield or farfield range. The technique uses mutual coupling and/or reflections to provide a signal from one element to its neighbors. This signal provides a reference to allow for each antenna element to be phased-up with respect to one another.
Referring to FIG. 1A, as taught in Lewis et al., a line array includes antenna elements 1-5. The sequence begins by transmitting from element 1 as shown in FIG. 1A as transmission T1, and simultaneously receiving a measurement signal R in element 2. A signal T2 is then transmitted from element 3, and a measurement signal is received in element 2. The phase and gain response from element 2 in this case (reception of the transmitted signal from element 3) is compared to that for the previous measurement (reception of the transmitted signal from element 1). This allows the transmit phase/gain differences between elements 1 and 3 to be computed. While still transmitting from element 3, a receive measurement is then made through element 4. The differences in receive phase/gain response for elements 2 and 4 can then be calculated.
To finish the example depicted in FIG. 1A, a signal T3 is transmitted from element 5 and a receive signal is measured in element 4. Data from this measurement allows element 5 transmit phase/gain coefficients to be calculated with respect to transmit excitations for elements 1 and 3.
The result of this series of measurements is computation of correction coefficients that when applied allow elements 2 and 4 to exhibit the same receive phase/gain response. Further, additional coefficients result that when applied, allow elements 1, 3 and 5 to exhibit the same transmit phase/gain response. Typically, the coefficients can be applied through appropriate adjustment of the array gain and phase shifter commands, setting attenuators and phase shifters.
In a line array of arbitrary extent, the measurement sequences of transmitting from every element and making receive measurements from adjacent elements continues to the end of the array. Thus the calibration technique can be applied to arbitrarily sized arrays. Receive measurements using elements other than those adjacent to the transmitting elements may also be used. These additional receive measurements can lead to reduced overall measurement time and increased measurement accuracy.
For an odd element receive phase-up the second series of measurements is aimed at phasing up the odd numbered elements in receive and even numbered elements in transmit. These measurement sequences are similar to those described above for the even element phase-up, and are illustrated in FIG. 1B.
First, a transmit signal from element 2 provides excitation for receive measurements from element 1 and then element 3. This allows the relative receive phase/gain responses of elements 1 and 3 to be calculated.
A transmit signal from element 4 is then used to make receive measurements from element 3 and then element 5. This allows the relative receive phase/gain response of elements 3 and 5 to be calculated. Also, the relative transmit response of element 4 with respect to element 2 can be calculated. All of the coefficients can then be used to provide a receive phase-up of the even elements and a transmit phase-up of the odd elements.
To complete the overall phase-up utilizing conventional practices, the interleaved phased-up odd-even elements need to be brought into overall phase/gain alignment. Coefficients are determined, which, when applied, achieve this alignment.
However, in accordance with the technique described in Lewis et al. each individual antenna element is measured and calibrated, which can be time consuming and energy wasting.


There are a number of existing methods and apparatuses which are capable of providing for real-time monitoring of a patient's vital statistics (“vitals”). These apparatuses include electrocardiogram recorders, heart rate monitors, blood pressure monitors, electroencephalograph apparatus, pulse monitors, oximeters, carbon dioxide meters, thermostats, scales, maternal uterine activity monitors, and various other non-invasive medical instruments.
A major concern with current noninvasive medical instruments is that they are often bulky and require an excessive number of cables in order to report the measurements to a computer or physician. Everyone is familiar with the image of a hospital patient excessively wired to many machines surrounding or attached to the patient's bed. Access to such patients is difficult during normal treatment, but becomes a real problem in emergency situations where rapid evacuation may be required. In emergencies, non-ambulatory or bed-ridden patients must be quickly and safely evacuated from hospitals, a situation in which patients wait (often for hours in a parking lot) for transportation to another hospital. In such emergencies, because of the issues mentioned above, most current medical instrumentation cannot be quickly and effectively packed up to preserve substantially uninterrupted patient monitoring. Similarly, in the case of home health care, it would be highly desirable to simplify and/or create more user-friendly monitoring methods by reducing the amount of equipment and creating a self-contained, maintenance-free monitoring device.
Numerous improvements in the medical field have been made to reduce the number of monitors physically attached to a patient, and the size and number of devices in a hospital room, by integrating certain sensor devices into the existing bedding of a patient. The following patents and patent publications, which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety herein, disclose a number of contactless, non-invasive patient monitoring methods.
A mattress pad disclosed in U.S. Patent Publication No. 20070149883 to Yesha has at least two pressure-sensitive piezoelectric sensors positioned in a rigid pad beneath the patient's mattress. The mattress pad includes a processor to receive successive sensor measurements and calculate heart and respiration rates, which are determined by subtracting the pressure signals corresponding to the upper body and the lower body of a patient and mathematically determining the maximum difference of signals between each group of sensors. The heart and respiration rates are then transmitted by a cable to existing patient monitoring equipment. This system, however, requires that a rigid pad be properly disposed and positioned beneath the mattress while physically connected to an auxiliary device, restricting both the mobility and versatility of the monitoring system.
A mattress with integrated piezoelectric sensors disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,652,581 to Gentry has a passive sensor, or sensor array, in the mattress pad that supports continuous monitoring of a patient's physiological condition in a hospital setting. The external processor receives sensor data, either by wired or wireless communication, from mattress pad sensors, and processes the sensed data into a form that is usable by a physician, nurse or other user. As in Yesha, this is not a self-contained monitoring mattress and still requires auxiliary equipment to receive and process sensor data.
Yet another monitoring mattress pad apparatus is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,164,941 to Misczynski. This document discloses a contactless electromagnetic inductance device which collects cardiac activity signals to evaluate patient sleep. As in Yesha, the system is not self-contained and also does not permit storage of patient data.
There are numerous other patents and published patent applications which employ a pad or embedded mattress sensor coupled to an auxiliary device. One apparent disadvantage is the lack of a self-contained system and the reliance on or requirement of an auxiliary device. Another disadvantage is the lack of embedded storage for patient identification and other data, such as a patient's chart information.
Thus, what is needed is a self-contained Smart Mattress which is capable of monitoring vital statistics of a patient in real time, analyzing data using an embedded processor, storing patient identification and medical information, producing an electronic medical report, and communicating pertinent data to a caregiver or computer server using wireless technology, such as Bluetooth® Technology. Due to the self-contained, portable nature of the Smart Mattress and Smart Mattress technology, it is also ideal for use with an emergency evacuation mattress system for hospital patients and other bed-ridden patients.


1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus for starting and operating a discharge lamp, using an inverter circuit.
2. Description of Background
An apparatus for starting and operating a discharge lamp, equipped with an inverter circuit has generally been used so as to achieve a small-sized unit with an improved efficiency. Japanese Patent Disclosure (KOKAI) No. 57-141895 discloses a conventional apparatus for starting and operating a discharge lamp. According to the invention, an AC power source is connected to a rectifier circuit including a rectifier and a smoothing capacitor, the output of the rectifier circuit being connected to an inverter circuit. The inverter circuit includes a parallel resonance circuit of an oscillation transformer and capacitor connected in parallel with a primary winding of the oscillation transformer. The resonance circuit is driven by a switching transistor. Between the base and the emitter of the transistor, a series circuit of a coupling capacitor and feedback coil magnetically coupled to the oscillation transformer is connected as a feedback circuit, via a diode. A series circuit of a diode and resistor is connected in parallel with the series circuit of the coupling capacitor and feedback coil, and a trigger resistor is connected in series with both the series circuits.
A discharge lamp is connected to a secondary coil of the oscillation transformer, via a current-limiting coil, and a starting circuit is comprised of a series circuit of diodes and silicon symmetrical switch element, and is connected in parallel with a discharge lamp.
According to the aforementioned apparatus for starting and operating a discharge lamp, since the starting circuit includes a series circuit of diodes and a silicon symmetrical switch element, a high-voltage pulse to be generated is regulated by the diode characteristic. It is, therefore, not possible to obtain an adequate high-voltage pulse.


The present invention relates to a roof assembly for a building. The present invention also relates to a building that includes a roof assembly.


Integrated circuits (ICs) may be designed to include or not include IEEE 1149.1 boundary scan circuitry and interface. The benefits of including 1149.1 in an IC include but are not limited to; (1) boundary scan testing of interconnects between ICs on a substrate, (2) testing of the IC, (3) debugging circuits within the IC and (4) programming circuits within the IC. The drawbacks of including 1149.1 in an IC include; (1) the requirement of a dedicated 4 pin test interface which increases the IC package size and a timing penalty on the ICs inputs and outputs due to the boundary scan cell multiplexers. Most large digital ICs, such as CPUs, DSPs and ASICs, include 1149.1 for boundary scan testing and even more importantly to enable debug, trace and emulation of embedded core circuits within the ICs. However, 1149.1 is not widely used in memory, analog and mixed signal ICs due to the above mentioned increase in package size and decrease in input and output performance. Memories in particular are resistant to using 1149.1 due to JDEC's memory pin out standardization.
FIG. 1 illustrates an example integrated circuit die 102 that includes a functional circuit 104 that has external functional inputs (FIN) 106 and external functional outputs (FOUT) 108. Circuit 104 may have bidirectional signals as well, but for simplicity only inputs and outputs are discussed in this disclosure. The circuit 104 may be a digital, analog or mixed signal circuit that performs the functional operation of the die. Circuit 104 may also be a memory circuit, such as but not limited to a double data rate random access memory. As can be seen the die of FIG. 1 does not include 1149.1 boundary scan circuitry.
FIG. 2 illustrates an example integrated circuit die that includes a functional circuit 104 and 1149.1 circuitry consisting of a test access port (TAP) 204 and associated boundary register (BREG) 206. The TAP has an external interface of TDI, TCK, TMS inputs 212 and a TDO output 214 signals. The TAP responds to the TCK and TMS signals to input data from TDI and output data to TDO. If the boundary register is selected for access it will shift data from TDI to TDO. During normal operation of the die, the boundary register couples the FIN signals 106 to the internal inputs 208 of the circuit and the internal outputs 210 of the circuit to the FOUT signals 108. During boundary scan test mode using the well known 1149.1 Extest instruction, the boundary register isolates the FIN signals 106 from the internal inputs 208 and the internal outputs 210 from the FOUT signals 108. In the boundary scan test mode the boundary register can be operated to capture test data from the FIN signals 106 and update test data to the FOUT signals 108. The boundary scan test mode enables the testing of the FIN and FOUT connections between multiple die/ICs on a substrate.
FIG. 3 illustrates the TAP 204 of die 202 in more detail. The FIN signals 106 and the 1149.1 input signals 212 define the inputs 318 to the die. The FOUT signals 108 and the 1149.1 output signal 214 define the outputs 320 of the die. The 1149.1 TAP includes, at minimum, a TAP state machine (TSM) 304, an instruction register 306, a Bypass Register 308, the Boundary Register 206 and TDO output multiplexers 310 and 312. While not shown, the TAP may also include other data register between TDI and TDO, including an optional Identification Register which contains a 32 bit code identifying the die. During functional operation, the FIN signals 106 and FOUT outputs signals 108 are coupled to the circuit 104 via the boundary register 206 and buses 208 and 210. The TSM 304 operates according to the well known 16 state transition diagram of FIG. 3A in response to the TCK and TMS input signals to; (1) place the TAP is a Test Logic Reset state, (2) place the TAP in a Run Test/Idle state, (3) perform a scan operation to the instruction register from TDI to TDO, (4) to perform a data scan operation to the Bypass Register 308 from TDI to TDO or (4) perform a data scan operation to the Boundary Register 206 from TDI to TDO. The 1149.1 input interface 212 may include an optional TRST input, shown in dotted line, to reset the TSM and other TAP circuits. If the TRST input is not included, a Power Up Reset (POR) circuit 316 may be used to reset the TSM and other TAP circuits.
During instruction scan operations, the TSM outputs control (CTL) signals to the instruction register 306 and multiplexer 312. In response to the CTL signals the instruction register performs capture, shift and update operations. During the shift operation the instruction register shifts data from TDI to TDO via multiplexer 312.
During data scan operations, the TSM outputs CTL signals to the selected data register 308 or 206 and multiplexer 312. The instruction register output (IRO) bus enables the selected data register and controls multiplexer 310 to couple the TDO output of the selected data register to the TDO output of the die via multiplexer 312. In response to the CTL signals the selected data register performs capture, shift and update operations, except for the Bypass Register 308 which does not have update circuitry. During the shift operation the selected data register shifts data from TDI to TDO via multiplexers 310 and 312.
During manufacturing test of die 202, the inputs 318 and outputs 320 are connected to a tester. The tester operates the inputs 318 and outputs 320 to test the circuit 104 within the die 202. The test may include operating only the FIN 106 and FOUT 108 signals, operating the FIN 106, FOUT 108 and 1149.1 input 212 output 214 signals, or operating only the 1149.1 input 212 and output 214 signals. After testing and found to be good, the die is ready for use within in a system.
FIG. 4 illustrates three die 402-406 connected to a system substrate 408 via their inputs 318 and outputs 320. The system of this and following examples could be any type of electronic system such as a computer system or a cell phone system. Each die contains a functional circuit 104 and a TAP 204 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The functional circuits 104 of each die provide a different functional operation on the substrate.
FIG. 5 illustrates the circuits 104 of die 402-406 connected on the system substrate 408. The substrate provides a functional bussing path 502 that connects the FIN 106 and FOUT 108 signals of the die together to enable the die to communicate. The substrate has FIN signals 504 to allow it to input signals from an external device, such as a keyboard, and FOUT signals 506 to allow it to output signals to an external device, such as a display.
FIG. 6 illustrates the TAPs 204 of die 402-406 connected on the system substrate 408. The substrate provides a serial bussing path 602 that connects the TAPs 204 to externally accessible 1149.1 input 212 and 1149.1 output 214 signals. When an 1149.1 controller is connected to the external 1149.1 input and output signals, the TAPs can be serially accessed to perform test or other operations. One of the most important test operations the TAPs perform is the verification that the FIN 106 and FOUT 108 of each die are properly connected together via the substrate bussing path 502. This test operation is performed by loading Extest instructions into each TAP's instruction register then operating the boundary registers of each TAP to test the connectivity between each die's FIN 106 and FOUT 108 signals.
FIG. 7 illustrates a device 700 comprising three stacked die 702-706 mounted on a silicon interposer 708. Each die includes a circuit 104 and a TAP 204 as described in FIGS. 2 and 3. Again, each die circuit 104 will typically provide a different functional operation. Die 702 and 704 in this example are designed using through silicon vias (TSV) 710. TSVs are connectivity paths formed between the top and bottom surfaces of the die. TSVs allow input 318 and output 320 signals to flow vertically up and down the die stack. In addition to TSV input and output signal connections from the interposer, the die 702-704 are also connected together locally using input 712 and output 714 signal connections. Interposers 708 are used to provide electrical connections between one surface and another surface. The primary purpose of an interposer is to spread connections from fine pitch contact points on one surface to wider pitch contact points on another surface. In this example, the fine pitch contact points on the bottom surface of die 702 are spread to match the wider pitch contacts points of a system substrate device 700 will be mounted on. Once the device 700 is mounted on a substrate, it receives input signals 318 from the substrate and sources output signals 320 to the substrate.
Before device 700 is assembled, each die 702-704 and the interposer 708 are tested to insure the device is assembled with known good die and interposer. As mentioned in regard to FIG. 3 the test may performed by a tester operating some are all of the FIN 106 and FOUT 108 signals of buses 318 and 320, operating some are all of the FIN 106, FOUT 108, and the 1149.1 input 212 output 214 signals of buses 318 and 320, or operating only the 1149.1 input 212 and output 214 signals of buses 318 and 320.
FIG. 8 illustrate a first example arrangement of how the TAPs 204 of die 702-706 in device 700 may be accessed by a tester. In this example, interposer signal bussing path 802 provides the TDI and TCK inputs to all TAPs, interposer signal path 804 provides a TMS1 input to the TAP of die 702, interposer signal path 806 provides a TMS2 input to the TAP of die 704, interposer signal path 808 provides a TMS3 input to the TAP of die 706 and interposer signal path 810 provides the TDO outputs from all the TAPs. Having unique TMS1-3 inputs for each TAP allows enabling one TAP while the other TAPs are disabled. When disabled a TAP's TDO output is tri-stated to avoid contention on signal path 1206 with an enabled TAP's TDO output. This is commonly referred to as the 1149.1 Star mode of accessing TAPs. To access the TAP of die 702 for a test or other operation, the tester inputs TMS1, TDI and TCK signals to the TAP via busses 804 and 802, and receives TDO signals from the TAP via bus 810. To access the TAP of die 704 for a test or other operation, the tester inputs TMS2, TDI and TCK signals to the TAP via busses 806 and 802, and receives TDO signals from the TAP via bus 810. To access the TAP of die 706 for a test or other operation, the tester inputs TMS3, TDI and TCK signals to the TAP via busses 808 and 802, and receives TDO signals from the TAP via bus 810.
FIG. 9 illustrates three devices 902-906 connected to a system substrate 908 via their inputs 318 and outputs 320. Each device contains a stack of die 910 with TAPs and an interposer 708 as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8.
FIG. 10 illustrates the substrate providing a functional bussing path 1002 that connects the FIN 106 and FOUT 108 signals of the devices 902-906 together to enable them to communicate. The substrate has FIN signals 1004 to allow it to input signals from an external device, such as a keyboard, and FOUT signals 1006 to allow it to output signals to an external device, such as a display.
FIG. 11 illustrates the substrate providing an externally accessible 1149.1 signal bussing path 1102 to the TAPs of the devices 902-906. Assuming the devices are assembled as shown in FIG. 8, the 1149.1 bussing path 1102 would include 9 unique TMS signals. In this example, TMS signals 1-3 would be used to individually access one of the three TAPs of device 902, TMS signals 4-6 would be used to individually access one of the three TAPs of device 904 and TMS signals 7-9 would be used to individually access one of the three TAPs of device 906.
When an 1149.1 controller is connected to the externally accessible 1149.1 bussing path 1102, a selected TAP in device 902 is enabled by one of the TMS1-3 inputs, a selected TAP in device 904 is enabled by one of the TMS4-6 inputs and a selected TAP in device 906 is enabled by one of the TMS7-9 inputs so that they can be serially accessed from the external 1149.1 input bus 212 and 1149.1 output bus. After accessing this first group of serially connected device TAPs, the 1149.1 controller can select a second group of serially connected device TAPs for access using a different set of TMS signals, and so on. Accessing separate groups of device TAPs can be used for performing an 1149.1 Extest operation to verify that the FIN 106 and FOUT 108 signals of each device are properly connected together via the substrate bussing path 1002.
A first problem with the 1149.1 access approach of FIG. 11 is that the 1149.1 bus 1102 requires a large number of TMS signals that must be routed through the substrate and connected to the multiple TAPs of devices 902-906.
A second problem with the 1149.1 access approach of FIG. 11 is that standard 1149.1 controllers typically only provide a single TMS signal to support 1149.1 access approaches as shown in FIG. 6. 1149.1 access approaches like that shown in FIG. 11 would require modifying standard 1149.1 controllers to include and operate multiple TMS signals.
A third problem with the 1149.1 access approach of FIG. 11 is that Extest operations are encumbered by having to individually select different groups of device TAPs to access their boundary register to test the FIN 106 and FOUT 108 connections to the functional bus 1002 of the substrate 908.
A fourth problem is that Extest operations are lengthened due to having to shift test data through boundary register cells of the local inputs 712 and outputs 714 of each die in the device. For example, when the boundary register of the TAP of die 704 of FIG. 8 is being accessed during an Extest operation to test the die's FIN 106 and FOUT 108 connections to a substrate, the boundary register cells on the die's local inputs 712 and outputs 714 also have to be shifted which adds to the test time. Since the local inputs 712 and outputs 714 of each die were tested after the device was assembled, as mentioned in regard to FIG. 7, they do not need to be tested again when the device is mounted on the substrate. Only the device's FIN 106 and FOUT 108 connections to the substrate need to be tested.
FIG. 12 illustrate a second example arrangement of how the TAPs 204 of die 702-706 in device 700 may be accessed by a tester. In this example, interposer signal bussing path 1202 provides the TCK and TMS inputs to all TAPs, interposer signal path 1204 provides a TDI input to the TAP of die 702, a local signal path 1208 provides the TDO output of the TAP of die 702 to the TDI input of the TAP of die 704, a local signal path 1210 provides the TDO output of the TAP of die 704 to the TDI input of the TAP of die 706 and interposer signal path 1206 provides a TDO output from the TAP of die 706. In this arrangement all the die TAPs of a device are connected in a daisy-chain and can be serially accessed together by the tester.
FIG. 13 illustrates three devices 1302-1306 connected to a system substrate 1308 via their inputs 318 and outputs 320. Each device contains a stack of die 1310 with TAPs and an interposer 708 as shown in FIG. 12.
FIG. 14 illustrates the substrate providing a functional bussing path 1402 that connects the FIN 106 and FOUT 108 signals of the devices 1302-1306 together to enable them to communicate. The substrate has FIN signals 1404 to allow it to input signals from an external device, such as a keyboard, and FOUT signals 1406 to allow it to output signals to an external device, such as a display.
FIG. 15 illustrates the substrate providing an externally accessible 1149.1 signal bussing path 1502 to the TAPs of the devices 1302-1306. Assuming the devices are assembled as shown in FIG. 12, the 1149.1 bussing path 1102 would provide a serial path through all the device TAPs using a single TMS signal. Signal path 1504 in each device is provided to indicate the daisy-chaining of the device TAPs.
When an 1149.1 controller is connected to the externally accessible 1149.1 bussing path 1502, all TAPs in devices 1302-1306 can be serially accessed from the external 1149.1 input 212 to the external 1149.1 output 214.
A first problem with the 1149.1 access approach of FIG. 15 is that the IEEE 1149.1 standard has rules that support only one TAP in a device to be implemented in a system. For example a device should only have one TAP instruction register 306, one TAP bypass register 308, one optional TAP identification register and one TAP boundary register 206. As seen in FIG. 15, the system devices 1302-1306 each have multiple TAP instruction registers 306, multiple TAP bypass registers 308, multiple TAP boundary registers 206 and multiple optional TAP identification registers. Therefore the system devices 1302-1306 of FIG. 15 are considered to be non-compliant with the IEEE 1149.1 standard.
A second problem is that Extest operations are lengthened due to having to shift test data through boundary register cells of the local inputs 712 and outputs 714 of the die within each device. For example, when the boundary registers of the TAPs of the device of FIG. 12 are being accessed during an Extest operation to test the device's FIN 106 and FOUT 108 connections to the substrate of FIG. 15, the boundary register cells on the die's local inputs 712 and outputs 714 also have to be shifted which adds to the test time. Since the local inputs 712 and outputs 714 of each die were tested after the device was assembled, as mentioned in regard to FIG. 7, they do not need to be tested again when the device is mounted on the substrate. Only the device's FIN 106 and FOUT 108 connections to the substrate need to be tested.
The following disclosure provides a solution to the above mentioned problems of FIGS. 11 and 15. The solution is based on the concept of improving conventional interposers to include IEEE 1149.1 TAP circuitry.


1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information matching system and its matching method for matching information on the state of equipment to be managed by managing equipment (hereinafter, referred to as management information) with actual state of the managed equipment in communication between terminal equipment connected via a network.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a system having a plurality of terminal equipment via a network, the plurality of terminal equipment consisting of managing equipment for managing the state of each terminal equipment and managed equipment to be managed by the managing equipment, an event notice informing the change, if a change of the state occurred in some managed equipment, is issued from the managed equipment to the managing equipment, and the management information in the managing equipment is updated, thereby performing information matching processing. A change of the state means, by way of example, occurrence of a failure, restoration, modification of various setting in the managed equipment, and detachment and attachment of a new hardware package.
When using TCP/IP(Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) as a communication protocol among terminal equipment over a network, such a TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) having a resending function is used for the communication of information requiring reliability. By the TCP, however, the communication speed is slow for the performance of the resending processing. Therefore, a use of the TCP in all the communication of information would be a great burden and inefficient. Instead, the UDP (User Datagram Protocol) having no resending function and hence enabling high speed communication is used for the above-mentioned event notice informing managing equipment that the state of managed equipment has been changed.
If the above-mentioned event notice informing managing equipment about a change of the state of managed equipment is lost on the way in communication, the management information on the managed equipment in the managing equipment is out of accord with the actual state of the managed equipment. When using the UDP as a protocol, the UDP would not resend an event notice, which is incapable of recovering the disagreement between the management information and the actual state.
In order to solve this problem, there is a method of periodically reading out information including histories about all the changes of the state of managed equipment to be managed by managing equipment, by use of the TCP having a resending function. This enables the managing equipment to obtain the lost event notice, even if losing given event notice, thereby to match the management information of the managing equipment with the actual state of the managed equipment.
However, a large amount of data communication in periodically reading out the information including histories about all the changes of the state of each managed equipment, results in increasing communication load of terminal equipment and a network.


A system such as described in the patent literature below is considered as a manufacturing system which is constituted such that work machines including a machine tool are disposed in one line and multiple work machines sequentially perform work on one workpiece. In the system, multiple machine tools in which one machine main body section is mounted on one base are lined up, and each machine main body section is attachable to and detachable from each base. Therefore, the system is highly convenient for maintenance, replacement, and the like of the machine main body section.


The invention relates to a spindle motor for memory devices such as hard disk drives.
Conventional spindle motors for hard disk drives include a base plate or a base flange, a shaft, and a bearing system for rotationally supporting a motor's rotor driven by an electromagnetic force. The bearing system may be structured as a rolling bearing system or a hydrodynamic sliding bearing system.
In a conventional spindle motor having a stationary shaft, the shaft is firmly connected to the base plate or the base flange by means of a press-fit connection. To accomplish the connection, the base plate or the base flange features a drilled hole of a predetermined diameter and a predetermined length. One end of the shaft is pressed into and secured within the drilled hole. The outside diameter of the shaft is typically slightly larger than the inside diameter of the drilled hole of the base plate. This surplus is selected so as to ensure a minimal adhesive dimension, i.e., a certain adhesive strength, along the entire length of the joint. On the other hand, the surplus is selected to ensure that a maximum adhesive dimension is not exceeded. An excessive surplus would lead to an unacceptable strain on the components.
The greater the surplus and joint length, the higher is the press-in force required to join together the base plate and shaft. If the surplus or the joint length is reduced, adhesive strength may become too small. Increasing the surplus or joint length may result in damage to the components during the press-in procedure.


Frequency spectrum is a scarce resource in modern communications systems, and therefore e.g. the Third-Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) specification group is continuously adding new frequency bands.
Most modern transceiver solution use direct conversion receiver and transmitter architectures to reduce complexity and minimize power consumption. Such transceivers use local oscillators for frequency generation in the receiver part as well as the transmitter part. The receiver and the transmitter need quadrature local oscillator signals. These are normally generated by dividing the local oscillator signal by two. Thus the local oscillator signal should preferably be operating at twice (or a higher even multiple) the desired receive/transmit frequency.
The output from the local oscillators has to be a clean low noise signal to get good quality reception/transmission. This is normally done by locking a voltage controlled LC-oscillator to a crystal oscillator using a phase locked loop. The LC-oscillator needs to cover all desired receive and transmit radio frequencies, i.e. a wide range of frequencies has to be supported.
A typical LC-oscillator consists of an inductor, a variable capacitor, a resistor representing all losses and a sustaining amplifier. The inductor can be implemented as a large on chip metal structure and the capacitor is made variable to be able to generate various output frequencies. The capacitor can consist of switchable capacitors, variable capacitors or a combination thereof.
It has proven to be difficult to generate high capacitor variations. When the available range is in-sufficient one has to use multiple VCO:s centered differently and select the correct one via a multiplexer. This generates bulky solutions, and one might need to add a new VCO for each new frequency band to be supported.
By adding a frequency divider at the VCO output to divide the VCO output by two the need for frequency variations of the VCO can be reduced. In principle, it would then be sufficient that the VCO covers a frequency range corresponding to one octave, i.e. with a factor two between the upper and lower endpoints of the VCO frequency range.
However, in practice the VCO center frequency will vary across Process, supply Voltage and Temperature (PVT). Thus if the center frequency has drifted downwards or upwards from its nominal value the complete desired frequency range can not necessarily be covered with a relative VCO range of two. Therefore, the variations of the center frequency impose a need for extra margins at each end of the tuning range. Also to avoid respins of an ASIC, some margin should be added for centering error in the design. Altogether this forces the designer to have ˜12% margins at each end of the tuning range, and the required tuning range for continuous tuning range becomes 2.5 instead of the factor 2 mentioned above. This value is still difficult to achieve with one VCO, and therefore multiple VCOs will still have to be used. Typically, it will take three VCOs to cover a tuning range of 2.5.
It might be possible to reduce the number of VCOs by doing a more clever VCO design. For instance, the inductor could also be made switchable. However it will always be difficult to reach a relative tuning range of 2.5.
Among the main problems with existing solutions are cost and efficiency. Multiple VCOs occupy a lot of space and the multiplexing will consume current. By designing wide tuning range VCOs the number of VCOs required could be reduced. However, when designing wide tuning range VCOs more switching is required, which introduces resonator loss. This means worse noise performance and higher current consumption. Thus there clearly is a need to reduce the tuning range requirements of the VCO.


This invention relates in general to chucks for holding tools and in particular to a new and useful power operated chuck which includes radially movable clamping jaws.
Such power chucks, also termed wedge hook chucks, are known in a variety of designs and have proved satisfactory in practice. To equalize the centrifugal forces produced in the clamping jaws at high speeds and reduce an inwardly directed static clamping force or considerably augment an outwardly directed clamping force, it is known to provide balancing elements which are guided in the chuck body as counterweights and operatively connected to the jaws through hinged levers. The principal drawback of these constructions is that the static clamping forces acting on the clamped workpiece before and after a machining operation are not equal to each other and differ sometimes considerably. That is, as the chuck rotates at high speeds, the clamping force transmitted from the clamping piston through the wedge hooks to the jaws becomes almost counterweighted by the produced centrifugal forces and the elasticity of the coupled parts. Then, a part of the clamping force is produced by the balancing elements which are connected to the jaws through reversing levers. The clamping piston coupled to the jaws through the mating surfaces of the wedge hooks is thereby relieved and displaced, even though very little, by the action of a connected servo-mechanism which continues to be effective. In addition, the centrifugal forces expand the chuck body, so that the bore receiving the clamping piston is enlarged, with the result that the no longer backed-up wedge hooks can yield, which causes a further displacement of the clamping piston. However, after a machining operation is terminated, the chuck body contracts again, whereby the wedge hooks are pressed inwardly and the clamping force on the workpiece is augmented since the clamping piston does not retract, it is held fast in its displaced position. In consequence, the clamping force may increase considerably and often leads to a deformation of the workpiece.


The invention relates to a multi-stage transmission.
A multi-stage transmission is already known from DE 10 2011 108 024 A1 for a motor vehicle having a transmission input shaft for non-rotatable connection of an internal combustion engine, four planetary gear stages which are disposed one behind the other along a main axis of rotation, and a combined gear shift unit. In this case the gear shift unit is designed as a brake and has a rotatable coupling element as well as a friction-locking unit and a form-locking unit connected in parallel with the friction-locking unit, which are in each case provided to connect the rotatable coupling element fixedly to the housing. One of the planetary gear stages of the multi-stage transmission in DE 10 2011 108 024 A1 is associated with the combined gear shift unit and has a transmission element which is permanently non-rotatably connected to the rotatable coupling element of the combined gear shift unit.
Furthermore, a multi-stage transmission is known from the generic DE 10 2011 112 235 A1 in which additionally the planetary gear stage associated with the combined gear shift unit comprises a further transmission element which is permanently connected non-rotatably to the transmission input shaft.
The object of the invention is in particular to reduce any power loss of the multi-stage transmission without affecting the installation space.
The invention relates to a multi-stage transmission for a motor vehicle, having a transmission input shaft for non-rotatable connection to an internal combustion engine, having at least four planetary gear stages which are disposed one behind the other along a main axis of rotation and at least one combined gear shift unit which is configured as a brake and which has a rotatable coupling element as well as a friction-locking unit and a form-locking unit connected in parallel with the friction-locking unit, which are in each case provided in order to connect the rotatable coupling element fixedly to the housing, wherein one of the planetary gear stages is associated with the combined gear shift unit and comprises a transmission element which is permanently connected non-rotatably to the rotatable coupling element of the combined gear shift unit.
Furthermore, it is assumed that the planetary gear stage associated with the combined gear shift unit comprises a further transmission element which is permanently non-rotatably connected to the transmission input shaft. In this way a transmission element of a planetary gear stage configured as an input stage can be particularly advantageously connected frictionally and/or by form-locking non-rotatably to a transmission housing, so that by securing of the transmission element selectively engageable gears with different torque requirements can be shifted in a loss-optimized and convenient manner. Due to the association of the combined gear shift unit with the planetary gear stage, which has a transmission element permanently non-rotatably attached to the transmission input shaft, an installation space can be utilized better, so that the multi-stage transmission can be of particularly compact design. In this way a power loss, in particular a drag effect, of the multi-stage transmission can be reduced in particular without affecting the installation space, in particular without the provision of an additional installation space. “Additionally” should be understood in particular to mean additional by comparison with a multi-stage transmission which lacks a combined gear shift unit associated with a planetary gear stage configured as an input stage. A “gear shift unit configured as a brake” should in particular be understood as a gear shift unit which is disposed functionally between one of the planetary gear stages and the transmission housing and is provided in order, in a closed state, to connect the rotatable coupling element thereof non-rotatably to the transmission housing of the multi-stage transmission. In this context a “form-locking unit” should be understood in particular to be a part of the combined gear shift unit which for fixed connection to the housing has a tooth system and/or claws which interengage by form-locking in order to produce a non-rotatable coupling, such as in particular a claw-type gear shift unit. In this context a “friction-locking unit” should be understood in particular to be a part of the combined gear shift unit which for fixed connection to the housing has friction elements, such as in particular discs, which are connected to one another frictionally in order to produce a non-rotatable coupling, such as in particular a disc-type gear shift unit. The friction-locking unit and the form-locking unit are preferably functionally disposed between the transmission housing and the rotatable coupling element of the combined gear shift unit. “Non-rotatably connected” should in particular be understood to mean a connection in which a power flow averaged over a complete revolution is transmitted with an unchanged torque, an unchanged direction of rotation and/or an unchanged rotational speed. A “combined gear shift unit” should in particular be understood to be a gear shift unit which for production of a non-rotatable connection has a friction-locking unit and a form-locking unit connected in parallel with the friction-locking unit, wherein the non-rotatable connection can be produced by the friction-locking unit alone, by the form-locking unit alone or jointly by the friction-locking unit and the form-locking unit. A “planetary gear stage associated with the combined gear shift unit” should be understood to be a planetary gear stage which has at least one transmission element which is permanently non-rotatably connected to the rotatable coupling element of the combined gear shift unit. A “planetary gear stage designed as an input stage” should be understood in particular to be a planetary gear stage having at least one transmission element which is permanently connected non-rotatably to the transmission input shaft. “Provided” should be understood in particular to mean specially programmed, equipped, configured and/or disposed.
According to the invention it is proposed that the form-locking unit is disposed radially inside the friction-locking unit, so that a circumferential speed of a form-locking tooth system of the form-locking unit can be kept low. The term “radially” and the term “radius” relate in particular to the main axis of rotation, so that the expression “radially” designates a direction which extends perpendicular to the main axis of rotation. A “form-locking unit disposed radially inside the friction-locking unit” should in particular be understood to be a form-locking unit of which the tooth system and/or claws run around a circular path having an average diameter which is smaller than an average diameter of a circular path on the friction surfaces of the friction elements.
Furthermore, it is proposed and assumed that the transmission element, which is permanently connected non-rotatably to the transmission input shaft, of the planetary gear stage associated with the combined gear shift unit is configured as a sun gear. As a result a driving torque provided by the internal combustion engine can be advantageously introduced into the multi-stage transmission via the planetary gear stage associated with the combined gear shift unit.
Furthermore, it is proposed that the transmission element, which is permanently connected non-rotatably to the rotatable coupling element of the combined gear shift unit, of the planetary gear stage associated with the combined gear shift unit is configured as a planetary gear support, so that the planetary gear stage configured as an input stage can be advantageously connected.
In particular it is advantageous if the planetary gear stage associated with the combined gear shift unit has a transmission element which is configured as a ring gear and can at least be connected non-rotatably to a transmission element of at least one other planetary gear stage, so that the connection of the planetary gear stage associated with the combined gear shift unit can be further improved. The expression “can at least be connected” should be understood in particular to mean that the connection can either be produced by a gear shift unit or is produced permanently.
Furthermore, it is advantageous if the rotatable coupling element of the combined gear shift unit can at least be connected non-rotatably to a transmission element of at least one of the other planetary gear stages, so that the combined gear shift unit can act on at least one further planetary gear stage.
Furthermore, it is advantageous if the multi-stage transmission has a housing end wall on the drive side, wherein the planetary gear stage associated with the combined gear shift unit is disposed immediately adjacent to the housing end wall on the input side with respect to the other planetary gear stages. In this way the planetary gear stage associated with the combined gear shift unit can be disposed on the input side, so that the combined gear shift unit can be associated with the planetary gear stage configured as an input stage without affecting the installation space. A “housing end wall on the drive side” should in particular be understood to be a housing end wall which, by comparison with an axially opposing housing end wall on the output side, is disposed closer to the internal combustion engine axially and/or along a flux of force emanating from the internal combustion engine. The expression “disposed immediately adjacent to the housing end wall on the input side with respect to the other planetary gear stages” should in particular be understood to mean that a planetary gear stage is absent axially between the housing end wall on the drive side and the planetary gear stage associated with the combined gear shift unit. The expression “axially” relates in particular to the main axis of rotation, so that the term “axially” designates a direction which extends on the main axis of rotation or parallel thereto.
In an advantageous configuration the friction-locking unit and/or the form-locking unit of the combined gear shift unit are disposed axially between the housing end wall on the drive side and the planetary gear stage associated with the combined gear shift unit, so that a particularly compact multi-stage transmission can be provided.
It is particularly advantageous if the form-locking unit of the combined gear shift unit is disposed axially between the friction-locking unit and the planetary gear stage associated with the combined gear shift unit, so that the form-locking unit can be configured in a particularly space-saving manner.
It is advantageous to place the form-locking unit on a small radius. Where appropriate the form-locking unit can be disposed on the same radius as the friction-locking element.
Furthermore it is proposed that the multi-stage transmission comprises a further gear shift unit which is configured as a clutch and has a rotatable coupling element which is permanently connected non-rotatably to the transmission input shaft and an outer disc support which is configured at least partially integrally with an inner disc support of the friction-locking unit of the combined gear shift unit. In this way a space-saving design of the combined gear shift unit and the further gear shift unit can be realized. A “gear shift unit configured as a clutch” should in particular be understood to be a gear shift unit which is provided in order that the two rotatably disposed coupling elements thereof, which are rotatable independently of one another in an opened state, can be connected non-rotatably to one another in a closed state. A gear shift unit configured as a clutch is preferably disposed in a flux of force between at least two planetary gear stages. “Integrally” should in particular be understood to mean formed in one piece, such as for example by production from a casting. The outer disc support and the inner disc support configured integrally with the outer disc support are preferably provided in order to accommodate inner discs of the friction-locking unit of the combined gear shift unit and to accommodate outer discs of a friction-locking unit of the further gear shift unit.
In particular it is advantageous if the form-locking unit of the combined gear shift unit is disposed axially between the housing end wall on the drive side and the further gear shift unit, so that an alternative arrangement of the form-locking unit can be provided.
Furthermore, it is advantageous if the combined gear shift unit has a first actuating unit provided for actuating the friction-locking unit as well as a second actuating unit provided for actuating the form-locking unit and the further gear shift unit has a third actuating unit, wherein the first actuating unit and the third actuating unit are disposed axially between the housing end wall on the drive side and the second actuating unit. In this way an advantageous actuation of the combined gear shift unit and the further gear shift unit can be achieved without the provision of additional installation space.
In an alternative embodiment it is advantageous if the combined gear shift unit has a first actuating unit provided for actuating the friction-locking unit as well as a second actuating unit provided for actuating the form-locking unit and the further gear shift unit has a third actuating unit, wherein the first actuating unit, the second actuating unit and the third actuating unit are disposed axially between the housing end wall on the drive side and the friction-locking unit of the combined gear shift unit. In this way the form-locking unit of the combined gear shift unit can be disposed radially inside the friction-locking unit of the combined gear shift unit and radially inside a friction-locking unit of the further gear shift unit, so that the circumferential speed of the form-locking tooth system can be further reduced. Furthermore, it may also be provided that closing directions of the actuating units are all aligned, so that a supply of an actuating medium to the actuating units for closing the friction-locking units and the form-locking unit can be simplified. A “closing direction” should in particular be understood to be a direction in which an actuating element of the actuating unit must be moved in order to close the friction-locking unit or the form-locking unit. In this context “oriented in the same direction” should in particular be understood to mean that the closing directions point in the same direction. An “actuating element” should in particular be understood to be an axially movable element which presses the inner and outer discs of a friction-locking unit against one another for closing the friction-locking unit or moves a form-locking tooth system of a form-locking unit into a corresponding form-locking tooth system of the form-locking unit for closing the form-locking unit.
In a further alternative embodiment it is advantageous if the combined gear shift unit has a first actuating unit provided for actuating the friction-locking unit as well as a second actuating unit provided for actuating the form-locking unit and the further gear shift unit has a third actuating unit, wherein the second actuating unit and the third actuating unit are disposed axially between the housing end wall on the drive side and the first actuating unit. In this way the form-locking unit of the combined gear shift unit can be disposed radially inside the friction-locking unit of the further gear shift unit in particular without affecting the installation space.
Moreover, it is advantageous if, with respect to an axial succession starting from the internal combustion engine, the planetary gear stage associated with the combined gear shift unit is configured as a first planetary gear stage and a planetary gear stage adjacent to the planetary gear stage associated with the combined gear shift unit is configured as a second planetary gear stage, wherein the adjacent planetary gear stage has a transmission element which is configured as a planetary gear support and is permanently connected non-rotatably to a transmission element, configured as a ring gear, of the planetary gear stage associated with the combined gear shift unit, and has a transmission element which is configured as a ring gear and is permanently connected non-rotatably to a transmission element, configured as a sun gear, of a third planetary gear stage and to a transmission element, configured as a sun gear, of a fourth planetary gear stage and can also be connected non-rotatably to the transmission element, configured as a planetary gear support, of the planetary gear stage associated with the combined gear shift unit. In this way a particularly advantageous interconnection of the planetary gear stages can be realized. With respect to the axial succession of the planetary gear stages along an axial direction starting from the internal combustion engine, the first planetary gear stage is disposed in the first place, the second planetary gear stage is disposed in the second place, the third planetary gear stage is disposed in the third place and the fourth planetary gear stage is disposed in the fourth place. A “planetary gear stage adjacent to the planetary gear stage associated with the combined gear shift unit” should be understood to be a planetary gear stage which is disposed axially next in the sequence to the planetary gear stage associated with the combined gear shift unit.
The configuration of a multi-stage transmission described below constitutes a special exemplary embodiment, for which in principle there are further kinematically equivalent exemplary embodiments. For example in particular the planetary gear stages can be formed by means of single planetary gear sets, as is set out below. However, in a kinematically equivalent manner one of the planetary gear stages can also have a double planetary gear set, so that for the same mode of action only one stationary gear ratio of the planetary gear stage must be adapted. Moreover, a connection of a sun gear and a planetary gear support or of a ring gear and a planetary gear support can also be changed, without the kinematics of the multi-stage transmission changing.
Further advantages can be seen from the following description of the drawings. Four exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown in the drawings. The drawings, the description of the drawings and the claims contain numerous features in combination. Expediently, the person skilled in the art will also consider the features singly and combine them to form meaningful further combinations.


Generally, inflatable medical devices are introduced into closed circulatory system vertebrates and invertebrates in their uninflated form and are inflated when they reach the site of interest. Balloon catheters are examples of inflatable devices. A balloon catheter is a type of catheter which is bendable and has an inflatable balloon at its tip. These catheters may be used to enlarge a narrow opening or passage within the body. The catheter is advanced in a subject's blood vessel so that the balloon is in the correct position. The uninflated balloon is then inflated to perform the necessary procedure, and then deflated in order to be removed from the subject's blood vessel. When balloon catheters are inflated, they can occlude the opening or passage in which they are placed. Such an occlusion is generally temporary. Occasionally, it is necessary to inflate an element of a medical device that is not co-linear with the inflation lumen connecting the inflatable element to the operator. In such an arrangement, the inflatable element is set at an angle from the axis of the supporting catheter. When inflated, for the device to function properly, a relatively rigid, fixed orientation between the catheter body and the inflatable element must be achieved and maintained. In particular, this is true of medical devices which incorporate an inflatable toroid element in order to perform a particular function. Such toroids are typically fixed perpendicularly to the supporting catheter, and must be maintained in this orientation to function properly. Other devices with inflatable elements may also require that an inflatable element be disposed at an angle with relation to the supporting catheter. In each such instance, it is crucial that a structure exists to rigidly maintain this orientation. However, such a structure has not been described in the prior art.
It would therefore be desirable for an insertable, inflatable medical device to have a stable junction point through which an inflation fluid may pass and inflate an element which is not co-linear with the axis of inflation. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for such a structure that maintains a rigid orientation between an inflatable element and a catheter body, as one does not presently exist in the art.


The present invention relates to a system for recording and reproducing multiplex information. More particularly, the invention relates to a system for recording and reproducing multiplexed multichannel signals such as audio information in addition to video signals.
Video disks serving as information storage media have recorded thereon video signals and different information signals such as audio information signals. The video signals are frequency modulated. The audio signals are two-channel signals to allow for a stereophonic or bilingual program mode. The signals in each channel are recorded on the video disk by frequency modulating two independent audio carriers, together with the frequency-modulated video signals.
There is a demand for the multiplexing of other two-channel information, for example, in addition to the normal two-channel audio information. For reasons described later, there is no space available within the frequency spectrum recorded on a video disk for recording two additional channels. For multiplexing four-channel audio signals, furthermore, compatibility should be taken into account with existing recording and reproducing systems.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a multiplex information recording and reproducing method with which other recorded video information is not adversely affected, and which is compatible with existing recording and reproducing systems.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a multiplex information recording and reproducing system having good reproducing characteristics.