136results about How to "Enhance reliability" patented technology

A drilling system includes a control unit and a bottomhole assembly (BHA) coupled to a drill string. The control unit uses measurements from sensors distributed throughout the drill string and BHA to determine the physical condition of the drill string and BHA and to determine whether drilling can be optimized. The drill string sensors are housed in receiver subs and optionally can be positioned on extensible members. The receiver sub also can include a short-hop telemetry module, a processor module, and a clock module. In one embodiment, the receiver subs include seismic sensors for enabling vertical seismic profiling. During operation, the processor visually presents to the operator via one or more graphical user interfaces a dynamically updated pictorial image representing the drilling system. The image is annotated with an appropriate visual signal to indicate a determined physical condition at a given location or component. The processor can also display recommended adjustments to drilling parameters for increasing drilling rates, improving tool life, and more precise steering.

In a method an an apparatus for automatic inspection of moving surfaces using at least three different illumination / observation channels, the surface to be inspected under a bright field condition is illuminated by a first beam of light from a first light source. The light of the first beam of light reemitted from the surface is received by a light sensitive sensor device to obtain a first signal. Then, the surface is illuminated under a dark field condition by a second beam of light and by a third beam of light from a second and a third light source, respectively, the first, second and third beams of light having different characteristics. The light of the second beam of light and the light of the third beam of light, respectively, reemitted from the surface are received by the light sensitive sensor device to obtain a second signal and a third signal. Finally, a physical property of the surface is derived from the first, second and third signals.

A variably flexible insertion device includes a hollow body having a proximal end with an entrance for receiving an instrument and a distal end with a tip for protrusion of the instrument. A device transitions the hollow body between a relatively flexible condition and a relatively stiff condition. Tendons within the hollow body maintain the hollow body in the relatively flexible and relatively stiff conditions. A method for variably flexing an insertion device for receiving an instrument, includes providing a hollow body having inner and outer sleeves defining a space therebetween in which tendons are disposed. Suction is applied to create a vacuum in the space for frictionally locking the tendons in place between the sleeves in a relatively stiff condition of the hollow body. The vacuum is relieved to release the tendons in a relatively flexible condition of the hollow body.

A method and system for enhancing the reliability of a solid-state storage device based on electronic memory. The electronic memory is organized into low-address and high-address spare table regions, low-address and high-address spare page regions, and a large data page region. Data blocks within the memory are specified by accessing devices using a logical data block address, including a page index and a data block index. The page index selects a particular spare table, a particular spare page, and a particular data page. The data block index selects a spare table element within the spare table, and a data block within a data page. When an LDBA has been remapped, information in a corresponding spare table element is used to locate a physical block within a spare page.

A method of allocating radio resources in a wireless communication system is disclosed. In one aspect of the present invention, in a wireless communication system, a user equipment requests a base station to allocate radio resources for uplink data transmission of at least one time in accordance with a first radio resource allocation request mode. The user equipment requests the base station to allocate the radio resources for uplink data transmission in accordance with a second radio resource allocation request mode if a predetermined condition is satisfied.

Provided are a semiconductor flip chip package with warpage control and fabrication methods for such packages. The packages of the present invention include heat spreader lids that are rigidly attached to the die or packaging substrate with a bond that can withstand the considerable bowing pressures caused by the CTE mismatch between the die and substrate. The result is a package with less bowing and so improved co-planarity (in compliance with industry specifications) with the PCB board to which it is ultimately bound. Package reliability is thereby also enhanced, particularly for large die sizes.

A plasma display apparatus includes a plasma display panel, and a chassis base proceeding substantially parallel to the plasma display panel with a surface facing the plasma display panel, and an opposite surface mounting a driving circuit unit thereon. Driver ICs selectively apply voltage to electrodes of the plasma display panel in accordance with the control signals from the driving circuit unit. A cover plate is placed external to the driver IC, and fitted to the chassis base to compress the driver IC against the chassis base. A first heat sink is disposed between the plasma display panel and the chassis base. The first heat sink is positioned at a first region where the heat generated from the driver ICs is substantially concentrated. A second heat sink is positioned at a second region between the plasma display panel and the chassis base except for the first region.

An object of the present invention is to enhance the reliability of an MEMS sensor formed on a semiconductor integrated circuit device.To achieve this object, a semiconductor device of the present invention comprises: a semiconductor integrated circuit device; a lower passivation film of silicon nitride, etc. formed on the semiconductor integrated circuit device and having high moisture resistance and high chemical resistance; an MEMS portion formed on the lower passivation film and including a cavity 12; and an upper passivation film 11 formed on the top surface of the MEMS portion such that the MEMS portion is hermetically sealed by the upper and lower passivation films.

During a time zone where a power demand is smaller than an average value of the entire power demands of homes, an excess portion obtained by subtracting a power demand from a base power portion supplied by PEFC (1) is charged in a capacitor (7) and a lead storage battery (8) in advance; and during a time zone where a power demand is larger than the average value, a peak power portion exceeding this average value is discharged from the capacitor (7) and the lead storage battery (8); thereby enabling the system to sufficiently meet daily home-use demand with requisite minimum equipment while effectively using surplus power. Thus, energy efficiency can be enhanced without wasting energy, and also cost efficiency can be improved.

A multi-chip IC package encapsulates a chip under asymmetric longer single-side leads. The package mainly comprises a plurality of leads that have asymmetric length at two sides of a leadframe, a plurality of die-attach tape strips, a first chip having a plurality of single-side pads under the longer side leads, at least a second chip disposed above the longer side leads, a plurality of bonding wires and a molding compound. The die-attach tape strips are mutually parallel and adhered onto the lower surfaces of the longer side leads to adhere the first chip. There is at least a mold-flow channel formed through the first chip, the longer side leads and the die-attach tape strips. The bonding wires electrically connect the single-side pads of the first chip to the leads at the two sides of the leadframe through a non-central gap. The molding compound encapsulates the first chip, the second chip, the bonding wires and portions of the leads at the two sides of the leadframe and fills up the mold-flow channel. The mold-flow channel formed by means of the die-attach tape strips may increase the encapsulated area of the first chip by the molding compound to enhance product reliability of semiconductor package.

A first solder resist section and a second solder resist section are formed over an upper surface of a wiring board. A semiconductor chip is bonded onto the first solder resist section via an adhesive interposed therebetween. Electrodes of the semiconductor chip are respectively electrically connected to connecting terminals exposed through openings of the second solder resist section via bonding wires. An encapsulating resin is formed over the upper surface of the wiring board so as to cover the semiconductor chip and the bonding wires. A plane dimension of the first solder resist section is smaller than that of the semiconductor chip, and the encapsulating resin is filled even below an outer peripheral portion of a back surface of the semiconductor chip.

A selective copper alloy interconnection in a semiconductor device is provided. The interconnection includes a substrate, a dielectric formed on the substrate, and a first interconnection formed in the dielectric. The first interconnection has a first pure copper pattern. In addition, a second interconnection having a larger width than the first interconnection is formed in the dielectric. The second interconnection has a copper alloy pattern. The copper alloy pattern may be an alloy layer formed of copper (Cu) and an additive material. A method of forming the selective copper alloy pattern is also provided.

A remote care service system comprises the care center (attended by a care worker), a first-aid center, and the plurality of home subsystems, each comprising a relay terminal and at least one wireless care recipient monitoring terminal disguised as an attachment-arousing and / or familiar article. The care and first-aid centers and the wireless terminals are accessible to a communication network such as the Internet. The relay terminal relays a communication between an associated wireless terminal and the center equipment. The wireless terminal tries an interactive communication with the care recipient by using a predetermined phrase to judge whether the care recipient is normal. If not, then the wireless terminal sends an abnormality report to the first-aid center, which responsively dispatches emergency men to the care recipient's home. Judgment the care recipient's health condition interactively with the care recipient enhances the reliability of the judgment.

An object of the invention is to miniaturize a projection display device, enhance reliability of the device, and reduce speckle noise. A blue laser (1), a red laser (2), and a green laser (3) emit blue laser light, red laser light, and green laser light, respectively. A spatial light modulation element (14) modulates the blue laser light emitted from the blue laser (1), the red laser light emitted from the red laser (2), and the green laser light emitted from the green laser (3). A projection lens (15) projects the laser light modulated by the spatial light modulation element (14) onto a screen. First and second light diffusing elements (8 and 9) are arranged on an optical axis between the blue laser (1), the red laser (2), and the green laser (3); and the spatial light modulation element (14) to change the degree of diffusion of the blue laser light, the red laser light, and the green laser light temporally and electrically.

To provide a communication apparatus which selectively performs a data transfer by differential signaling and a data transfer by single-ended signaling using a USB cable, where a USB host in the communication apparatus can recognize USB connection even when differential signaling is switched to single-ended signaling. The communication apparatus performs the data transfer by differential signaling using two data transfer signal lines in the USB cable, and the data transfer by single-ended signaling using one of the two data transfer signal lines. The communication apparatus includes a NAK circuit which, when differential signaling is switched to single-ended signaling, outputs a NAK response to the USB host to have the USB host recognize the USB connection.

An image sensor package and image sensor chip capable of being slenderized while enhancing the reliability with respect to physical impact are provided. The image sensor package includes an image sensor chip provided with a pixel domain at a central portion of an upper surface thereof, a substrate disposed at an upper side of the image sensor chip so as to be flip-chip bonded with respect to the image sensor chip, provided with a hole formed at a position corresponding to the pixel domain, and formed of organic material, a printed circuit board at which the substrate provided with the image sensor chip bonded thereto is mounted, and a solder ball configured to electrically connect the substrate to the printed circuit board.

Provided are an apparatus for transferring a semiconductor chip and a method of transferring a semiconductor chip using the same, which can inhibit the occurrence of a void to enhance the reliability of a semiconductor package. The apparatus for transferring the semiconductor chip includes: a holder member including a first vacuum hole connected to a vacuum line; a plate member including at least one second vacuum hole corresponding to the first vacuum hole and redistributed to edges of the plate member, the plate member combined with the holder member; and an absorption member including at least one third vacuum hole corresponding to the second vacuum hole and a groove connected to the third vacuum hole, the absorption member combined with the plate member and the holder member.

Web products are disclosed which include forming selected perforation designs and patterns. The perforation designs and patterns can be formed in linear or nonlinear fashion, can extend in the cross direction or the machine direction and can be formed to complement or match an embossed or printed design on the web. The perforation designs and patterns can be formed utilizing various mechanical perforating techniques.

An axial flux permanent magnet brushless machine according to the present invention includes: a housing; a stator comprising a stator core and a coil; two rotors each including a permanent magnet, and positioned so as to sandwich the stator in the axial direction with air gaps being left between the rotors and the stator; and a variable gap mechanism for changing distances of the air gaps; wherein the variable gap mechanism operates from a power source that supplies other rotational power than a rotational power of the axial flux permanent magnet brushless machine, and changes the distances of the air gaps by shifting the rotors in the axial direction.

There is provided a road configuration estimation apparatus that precludes influences of erroneous detection of an object and erroneous still determination and estimates a road configuration.A radar (peripheral object observation device) 110 repeatedly observes a relative position of an object relative to the moving object, which is located in the vicinity of a moving object. A stationary object identification unit (stationary object determination unit) 130 determines whether or not the object the relative positions of which have been observed by the radar 110 is still. A road approximate curve temporary computation unit (object correlation unit) 140 determines a plurality of the relative positions of an identical object observed by the radar 110 from among the relative positions observed by the radar 110. A road approximate curve main computation unit (approximate curve computation unit) 160 computes an approximate curve that approximates the configuration of a road on which the moving object is located, based on a result of the determination by the stationary object identification unit 130 and a result of the determination by the road approximate curve computation unit 140.

The paper discharge mechanism comprises: a first side passage plate and a second side passage plate between which an S-shaped paper conveying passage is formed, wherein the second side passage plate comprises a paper jam detection plate and a paper pullout detection plate both pivotally connected on a frame; a first elastic element biasing the paper jam detection plate and a second elastic element biasing the paper pullout detection plate; and a first sensor and a second sensor. A surface of the paper jam detection plate facing paper is concave and is held against the paper and rotates in the direction away from the first side passage plate during paper jam; a surface of the paper pullout detection plate facing the paper is convex and is held against the paper and rotates in the direction away from the first side passage plate during paper pullout.

In a battery pack for an electric car, a plurality of battery modules are mounted to be divided between the front and rear of a middle cross member and a main switch and a junction board are disposed in the front and rear of the middle cross member respectively. A bent part of a second high voltage cable, which bends into a U-shape and pass through beneath the middle cross member, is held by a cable holder and fixed to a fixing part. Since only a bus bar disposed in the intermediate part of the first high voltage cable is bent into a U-shape and passed through beneath the middle cross member, not only is a wiring operation of the first high voltage cable easy, but it is also possible to minimize the length of the bus bar to thus enhance the reliability with respect to vibration.

An RFID tag capable of enhancing the reliability of products and an RFID system having the same are provided. The RFID tag includes a tag antenna receiving waves from an RFID reader, and a tag driver. The tag driver includes an accumulation mode capacitor adjusting a capacitance value corresponding to an input voltage. That is, the tag driver adjusts the amplitude of a modulated carrier wave using the accumulation mode capacitor. Accordingly, the RFID tag adjusts the impedance of the tag driver without adjusting the current transmitted from the tag driver. Therefore, impedance adjustment of the tag driver can prevent the voltage transmitted from the tag driver from being lower than the reference voltage, and modulation and demodulation can be stably performed. As a result, the reliability of products can be enhanced.

A base station includes: an estimation section estimating transmission condition of each of frequency channels used for communication; a reception section receiving a data signal from each communication terminal through any of the frequency channels; a measurement section measuring received signal power of the received data signal for each frequency channel; a determination section determining, for each frequency channel, whether the received data signal is demodulated errorlessly; and a control section assigning frequency channels estimated as being in good transmission condition by the estimation section, to communication terminals the data signals of which are determined as not being errorlessly demodulated by the determination section, such that a frequency channel in a better transmission condition is assigned preferentially to a communication terminal having larger received signal power detected by the detection section, and transmitting retransmission request signals requesting the communication terminals to retransmit the data signals using the assigned frequency channels.

A system having a redundant topology for communication between one or more devices and a central hub. The system comprises a central hub or switch and one or more end nodes where each end node includes a first port and a second port. A first active cable is connected to the first port in each end node and a first port in the hub and, a second active cable is connected to the second port in each end node and a second port in the hub. Messages are transmitted across both the first and second cables to the first and second ports of the end nodes. The end node performs an integrity check on the messages received over the first and second cables and utilizes the first one to pass the check. Thus, if one cable malfunctions, the end node still is able to receive the message over the other cable without any loss of data.

A semiconductor packaging stress relief technique with enhanced reliability. Reliability is enhanced over conventional post wirebond assembly die coating processes by forming a peripheral wall on the semiconductor die isolating the stress sensitive area from remaining area in the semiconductor die, and depositing die coat material constraining the flow of the die coat material in the stress sensitive area of the semiconductor die. The peripheral wall, by constraining flow of the die coat material, prevents stress on the package bond wires caused by mismatch in coefficient of thermal expansion between the die coat and the package bond wires which are encased in the plastic molding compound.

An image forming apparatus includes a housing having an access cover, a paper feed tray, and a paper discharge tray provided on a side thereof in a rotatable manner. A rotation pivot of the paper feed tray and a rotation pivot of the access cover are arranged on the same axis, and a rotation pivot of the paper discharge tray is arranged with a shift from the rotation pivot of the access cover.