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Technology Stocks : Energy Conversion Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Michael Latas who wrote (4238)	11/25/1999 7:04:00 PM
From: wily	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 8393

Speaking of Micron, can someone explain what the advantage of this memory will be -- I didn't get it from the article. eetimes.com Micron launches SyncFlash as DRAM replacement By Will Wade EE Times (11/22/99, 11:11 a.m. EDT) LAS VEGAS ? Micron Technology Inc. has announced a modified flash memory architecture that uses standard DRAM packaging, and is designed as a DRAM replacement. The company took the wraps off its SyncFlash design at the fall Comdex show last week, and is positioning the technology for a variety of handheld consumer devices and other embedded applications. "This chip is supposed to be as much like a DRAM as possible," said Kevin Widmer, strategic marketing manager for flash memory at Micron (Boise, Idaho). "It uses the same TSOP packaging and the same DRAM interface." SyncFlash has been designed for systems that use flash chips to store code, but transfer the code to DRAM and then execute it from the main memory. By moving the flash chip onto the main memory bus, designers can eliminate some of the DRAM chips, saving both money and board space, according to Micron. The systems can also activate the code faster from the flash chip if it doesn't have to move the commands to another part of the system. "This can save a lot of time," said Widmer. Micron plans to price the chips slightly higher than DRAM devices, but below most flash chips. Unlike DRAM, with its ever-fluctuating prices, Micron said SyncFlash chips will have fixed pricing schedules. The company will sample the parts next quarter, and is scheduling volume production for the third quarter of next year. Given its DRAM legacy, Widmer stressed that Micron looks for parts that it can sell in very high volume. To drive SyncFlash into those volumes, Micron plans to license the design to other manufacturers at "very affordable" rates. "Our intent is to remove all the barriers to creating the widest appeal for this that we can," said Widmer. The first chip will be a 64-Mbit, 100-MHz part, with 133-MHz devices coming in the future. "From the front end of the chip, it looks just like a DRAM, and it can do all the functions of a DRAM," Widmer said. "It will usually act like a DRAM, but when it needs to, the system can access the flash functions as well."

To: Michael Latas who wrote (4238)	12/2/1999 9:18:00 AM
From: fred whitridge	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 8393

Mike-- You have been this threads best poster on 42volt SLI developments. here is a great piece of news from Siemens website, that they have developed and are going into production with a 42v Integrated Starter Alernator and Damper. All my battery chums (or at least the cogent ones) feel that NiMh is the only chemistry that can be the battery here: small volume, good amperage, best cycle life etc. heres the article: Automotive Systems Frankfurt am Main, September 1999 Viewpoint IAA '99 New Generator for High Power 42-Volt Starter-Alternator High Efficiency in all Speed Ranges A new power plant that generates real power for cars. Low engine speed, cold starting? No problem for this technology. We are talking about the starter-generator currently under development at Siemens Automotive, and which will be supplied to the automotive industry by spring of 2002 as standard equipment. This will also mark the decisive transition from 14 to 42 volts in vehicle electric systems. A development that has generated enormous interest in the automotive industry. An increasing number of energy consumers and the implementation of new technology - from electrical power assisted steering to electromechanical valve train - require generator outputs from 4 to 8 kilowatts across the entire engine speed range - a lot more than the power provided by conventional generators. A solution emerging for the next millennium is a completely novel system with an integrated induction machine to generate and distribute energy under the hood. The starter-generator from Automotive Systems Development in Regensburg ready to go into volume production reaches a peak generator output of 8 kW with an efficiency of more than 80% across the entire speed range. For comparison: A conventional generator outputs 1.5 kW with a maximum efficiency of 70%, which drops down to a meager 30% at high speeds. With this starter-generator, the engineers at Siemens intend to replace the starter, the generator and the flywheel. It should also be noted that this technology is linked to a number of beneficial applications, such as, for example, an automatic start-stop system or pulse start. This results in synergy effects - the use of electric energy can be optimized and fuel consumption and emissions are reduced. The power to be transferred, technical feasibility of consumer components and permissible touch voltage results in a 42 volt board net. Due to extremely compact dimensions, the starter-generator can be placed directly on the crankshaft between the engine and the transmission. High electric power output even at low speeds means that short-term shutoffs of luxury features, such as the air conditioner, seat heater or rear-window heater, are unnecessary. An added bonus is the transmission of force is contactless; therefore the starter-generator is wear- and maintenance-free. As an important auxiliary function, the Siemens starter-generator is equipped with a convenient automatic start-stop system which is not subject to any wear because of its brushless design and therefore remains functional unlimited. This system switches off the combustion engine at zero load - at traffic lights, for example - and automatically restarts it in less than one hundred milliseconds the next time the gas pedal is pressed. That's not all, however: The pulse-start technology accelerates the combustion engine to the required cranking speed (for example the idle speed) and only then initiates the combustion process, another feature that helps reduce both fuel consumption and emissions. The starter-generator is just as versatile when it comes to other disciplines. In the boost mode, the starter briefly serves as a second engine to drive the vehicle off or accelerate it in the low-speed range. Depending on the configuration of the starter-generator and battery, this provides a short-term power boost of an amazing 15 kW. In the so-called retarder mode, the starter-generator shows off yet another strength by its ability to convert kinetic energy to storable electric energy. Driveability is improved significantly by the torsional-vibration damping provided by the starter-generator. Without active damping, load reversals or abrupt acceleration, for example, may result in low-frequency vibration excitation in the drive train which, in turn, may cause jerks. In parallel to the starter-generator, Siemens Automotive is developing a production-ready 42-volt vehicle electric system because only this electrical platform will be able to supply the energy required for new and power-hungry functions in the car of the future. For example, the electromechanical valve train EVT and the electrically controlled air-condition will have power requirements of about 3 kW each. An important argument that speaks for this electric system - and against retaining the 14-volt system - is the smaller wiring harness cross-section with all the advantages of simplified, less costly and lighter weight installation. Siemens Automotive plans to introduce the new electric system generation step-by-step within the next five years - depending on decisions to be made by the automotive industry. Vehicles with two electric systems are conceivable during a transitional phase; which might promote the use of new features for increased safety and comfort in the vehicle. Press photo available. Please visit the Internet at www.siemens.de/at Ansprechpartner: / 1 Siemens AG Corporate Communications Press Office D-80312 Munich Reference number: AT 199909.016 e Press Office Automotive Systems Ralph Heinrich D-93026 Regensburg Tel.: +49-941 790-5594; Fax: 790-5103 E-mail: ralph.heinrich@at.siemens.de

To: Michael Latas who wrote (4238)	12/2/1999 9:29:00 AM
From: fred whitridge	Respond to of 8393

Here is a companion piece to the one just posted. This one is about Siemens efforts on a 42 volt valve train. 10% fuel efficiency sound good? Better environmental performance sound good? Remember folks the SLI battery is the king of the hill in terms of market size and lots of folks think NiMh is the only way to go in this the biggest battery market of them all..... ------------------------------- Automotive Systems Frankfurt am Main, September 1999 Viewpoint IAA '99 Camless Engine is Gaining Momentum Stable Operation at Full Load and Maximum Speed Precision Valve Control Assures Soft Landing On the road to the production-ready Electromechanical Valve Train (EVT), Siemens Automotive Systems is currently making the transition from the first to the second development generation. The full-load capability of the system at maximum speeds has already been demonstrated in a 16-valve four-cylinder engine. The key component of the infinitely variable electromechanical valve train is an armature-position sensor that simultaneously assures energy- and noise-reducing control characteristics. Each actuator has a position sensor of its own and is individually electronically controlled. In this manner, the valve timing can be adjusted as required within the physical limits of actuator operation. For spark-ignition engines, this new dimension in valve control technology results in reduced fuel consumption and emissions as well as improved torque. The engine on the test dynamometer in Regensburg, Germany, is equipped with 16 valve actuators and the corresponding armature-position sensors, the Electronic Valve Control Unit EVCU, a modified engine management Electronic Control Unit ECU and two cable rails connecting the actuators to the EVCU. The engine control transmits the actuator signals to the valve control system via a CAN bus. The system operates with an electrical distribution system voltage of 42 volts generated by a crankshaft-mounted starter-generator. The actuators work according to the free spring-mass-oscillator principle. A special software algorithm is used to control the actuator coil currents such that the valves are decelerated to a speed near zero as they land - in conjunction with a switching time of barely three milliseconds. It was this very soft landing feature which permitted the advantages of a cam-controlled valve train - soft touchdown of the valves on the valve seat - to be transferred to the electromechanical principle. For the valves this means minimal wear and minimum noise generation. Without a software-based problem solution, the increased force exerted by the solenoid on the armature pole face as the air gap diminishes would result in very high impact speeds. This would produce mechanical and acoustic loads that would preclude continuous system operation. The EVCU's other responsibility - in addition to managing valve timing - is to take on actuator-specific tasks, such as the current control in the actuator coils. The armature-position sensor installed in the actuator housing also supplies the current values using a safe actuator control mechanism and provides important diagnostic information. Design-related aspects: Since the actuator is implemented as a spring/mass system, it is possible to keep the height of future camless engines within certain limits. Attempts to implement the conventional valve stroke of eight to nine millimeters using a classical solenoid in the cylinder head therefore would be less vaible. A 36/42-volt electrical distribution system has proven to be the optimal voltage source for the electromechanical valve train since the maximum currents required to control the actuators would exceed the capacity of a 12-volt system. However, this energy demand can be optimally matched by a crankshaft-mounted starter-generator (KSG); it is integrated in the flywheel and designed for the starting process as well as generator operation. Even today, fuel savings of at least ten per cent can be obtained in the European test cycle; other advantages include - as already mentioned above - reduced emissions and increased torque. Since a throttle valve is no longer needed, the associated fuel loss is eliminated. In the EVT system, the intake valves take over the function of the throttle. The innovation target at the next - the second - development stage of the electromechanical valve train is sensorless actuator control. This will permit computing operations to be moved closer to the hardware level, armature-position sensors will no longer be needed, and cabling requirements will be reduced. Further fuel consumption reductions could be obtained by combining EVT with a high-pressure direct injection system. Tthis EVT approach is expected to introduce a significant reduction of hardware overhead. Because any EVT concept would miss the target if new technical solutions did not also result in an improved cost-to-benefit ratio. The engineers at Siemens Automotive are convinced that electromechanical valve train technology will be ready for series production in no more than five years. Press photo available. Please visit the Internet at www.siemens.de/at Ansprechpartner: / 1 Siemens AG Corporate Communications Press Office D-80312 Munich Reference number: AT 199909.015 e Press Office Automotive Systems Ralph Heinrich D-93026 Regensburg Tel.: +49-941 790-5594; Fax: 790-5103 E-mail: ralph.heinrich@at.siemens.de Word Dokument