Abstract: A method for dividing a wafer including: attaching a protective tape to a functional layer of the wafer with the adhesive layer of the tape in contact with the functional layer; and a wafer dividing step. The dividing step includes a cut groove forming step and a laser processing step. The cut groove forming step uses a blade to form a cut groove with a depth that does not reach the functional layer, resulting in part of the substrate being left along each division line. The laser processing step includes applying a laser beam to the part of the substrate left after the cut groove forming step and the functional layer of the wafer to form a laser processed groove having a depth reaching the tape. The tape is closely attached to the functional layer during the tape attaching step to prevent the adhesion of debris to the devices.

Abstract: A control apparatus for a hybrid vehicle including an internal combustion engine, a motor, and a storage battery and which charges the storage battery with electric power generated as a result of regenerative braking and electric power generated by using an output of the engine. When a planned travel route includes a downhill section whose height difference is greater than a predetermined height difference threshold, the controller executes a downhill control operation that decreases the target remaining capacity of the storage battery. The controller increases the height difference threshold as the estimated average speed of the vehicle during travel in the downhill section increases, to thereby restrain the execution of the downhill control for a downhill section in which an increase in the remaining capacity is not expected due to a large air resistance acting on the vehicle.

Abstract: A device control apparatus acquires information on the environment surrounding devices from an environment acquisition sensor. The device control apparatus determines, on the basis of the acquired environment information, whether the devices can be remotely controlled safely. When remote operation instruction data is received from a terminal apparatus via an external network (N2), the device control apparatus generates a control signal for controlling devices to be operated and transmits the generated control signal to such devices via an in-house network only in a case where it is determined that such devices can be remotely controlled safely.

Abstract: A wafer having a substrate and a functional layer formed on the front side of the substrate is processed by attaching a protective tape curable by an external stimulation to the front side of the functional layer. The substrate is cut from the back side along each division line by using a cutting blade, thereby forming a cut groove having a depth not reaching the functional layer, with a part of the substrate left between the bottom of the cut groove and the functional layer. A laser beam is applied along the cut groove, thereby dividing the remaining part of the substrate to divide the wafer into device chips. When the groove is formed, an uncut portion in which the cut groove is not formed is left in a peripheral marginal area of the wafer.

Abstract: A wafer processing method for dividing a wafer (including a substrate and a functional layer formed on the front side of the substrate) along a plurality of division lines. The functional layer is partitioned by the division lines to define a plurality of regions. The method includes the following steps: attaching a protective member to the front side of the wafer; cutting the back side of the substrate of the wafer in an area corresponding to each division line with a cutting blade, thereby forming a division groove having a depth not reaching the functional layer so that a part of the substrate is left in this area; applying a laser beam to the wafer from the back side of the substrate along the bottom of each division groove extending along each division line to thereby cut the part of the substrate and the functional layer along each division line.

Abstract: A method for dividing a wafer having a wiring layer including Cu on the front side, the front side of the wafer being partitioned by a plurality of crossing division lines to define a plurality of separate regions where a plurality of devices are formed. The method includes a laser processed groove forming step of applying a laser beam to the wiring layer along each division line to thereby remove the wiring layer along each division line and form a laser processed groove along each division line, a cutting step of using a cutting blade having a thickness smaller than the width of each laser processed groove to fully cut the wafer along each laser processed groove after performing the laser processed groove forming step, and a dry etching step of dry-etching at least each laser processed groove after performing the laser processed groove forming step.

Abstract: A travel support device includes a mode planner. The mode planner selects one of a first mode, in which the state of charge of a battery is not maintained, and a second mode, in which the state of charge of the battery is maintained, based on a road load in each section on a travel route, thereby planning a travel mode. The mode planner selects from the travel route a first priority section, which is a section to be planned by giving priority to the first mode as a travel mode based on information on the travel route. The mode planner replans the travel mode when the vehicle is currently traveling at the first mode and also the remaining charge of the battery is less than the remaining charge of the battery necessary for traveling in the thus selected first priority section.

Abstract: A wafer processing method for dividing a wafer (including a substrate and a functional layer formed on the front side of the substrate) along a plurality of division lines. The functional layer is partitioned by the division lines to define a plurality of regions. The method includes the following steps: attaching a protective member to the front side of the wafer; cutting the back side of the substrate of the wafer in an area corresponding to each division line with a cutting blade, thereby forming a division groove having a depth not reaching the functional layer so that a part of the substrate is left in this area; applying a laser beam to the wafer from the back side of the substrate along the bottom of each division groove extending along each division line to thereby cut the part of the substrate and the functional layer along each division line.

Abstract: A travel route of a vehicle from a present location to a destination is divided into sections. For each of the sections, a travel load of when the vehicle travels in the section in the EV mode is set. A mode planner plans one of the EV mode and the HV mode as the travel mode for each of the sections. A section adjuster adjusts the sections so that sections relatively close to a destination become shorter than sections relatively distant from the destination. The mode planner plans either one of the EV mode and the HV mode as the travel mode of the section for the adjusted sections.

Abstract: A control apparatus for a hybrid vehicle including an internal combustion engine, a motor, and a storage battery and which charges the storage battery with electric power generated as a result of regenerative braking and electric power generated by using an output of the engine. When a planned travel route includes a downhill section whose height difference is greater than a predetermined height difference threshold, the controller executes a downhill control operation that decreases the target remaining capacity of the storage battery. The controller increases the height difference threshold as the estimated average speed of the vehicle during travel in the downhill section increases, to thereby restrain the execution of the downhill control for a downhill section in which an increase in the remaining capacity is not expected due to a large air resistance acting on the vehicle.

Abstract: A travel route from the current location to the destination is divided into a plurality of sections. Travel modes of a vehicle include an EV mode, which uses the motor as the drive source, and an HV mode, which uses at least the internal combustion engine as the drive source. A road load for traveling each section in the EV mode is set. A travel support device includes a planner and a setter. The planner plans, for each section, the travel mode by selecting one of the EV mode, and an HV mode. When a planned section of the travel mode is switched from an EV mode-planned section to an HV mode-planned section, the setter sets the travel mode to continue traveling in the EV mode, on the condition that a remaining charge of the battery is less than a threshold.

Abstract: A moving assist apparatus for assisting a vehicle to move from current position to destination includes a mode planning unit for, for each section obtained by dividing traveling route, planning one traveling mode from first mode of not maintaining a charge storage amount of the secondary battery and second mode of maintaining the charge storage amount of the secondary battery, based on a traveling load associated with the section. If the charge storage amount of the battery is above a first threshold, the mode planning unit takes a section after which the charge storage amount of the battery that is predicted with assumption of traveling with the first mode is below a second threshold less than the first threshold by taking the section being traveled by the vehicle or the next section as a reference, as a first mode priority section in which the first mode is planned in priority.

Abstract: A control apparatus and method for a hybrid vehicle that searches for and determines a scheduled travel route and a downhill section included in the scheduled travel route on the basis of positional information of the vehicle and road information. The control apparatus determines a section from a downhill control start point to an end point of a target downhill section as a controlled target section. The downhill control start point is located a predetermined first distance before a start point of the target downhill section. When the vehicle travels on the controlled target section, the control apparatus executes downhill control. Even in a situation in which a target downhill section is newly determined during execution of the downhill control, the control apparatus continues the downhill control until the vehicle reaches an end point of the controlled target section for which the downhill control is started.

Abstract: A control apparatus for a hybrid vehicle determines a scheduled travel route. The control apparatus further determines a downhill section included in the scheduled travel route by using gradient information acquired for a road section at a time when the vehicle has traveled on the road section and using gradient information stored in a navigation database for a road section on which the vehicle travels for a first time. The control apparatus determines a section from a downhill control start point to an end point of the target downhill section as a downhill control section. The downhill control start point is a point located a predetermined first distance closer to the vehicle from a start point of the target downhill section. When the vehicle travels on the downhill control section, the control apparatus executes downhill control.

Abstract: A control apparatus for a hybrid vehicle including an internal combustion engine, a motor, and a storage battery and configured to charge the storage battery with electric power generated as a result of regenerative braking and electric power generated by using output of the engine. When a planned travel route of the vehicle includes a downhill section, the control apparatus executes a downhill control which decreases the remaining capacity of the storage battery before the vehicle enters the downhill section. In addition, when the downhill section includes a congestion section and the total distance of the congestion section is greater than a predetermined threshold, the control apparatus does not execute the downhill control.

Abstract: A control apparatus for a hybrid vehicle including an internal combustion engine, a motor, and a storage battery and configured to charge the storage battery with electric power generated as a result of regenerative braking and electric power generated by using output of the engine. The control apparatus extracts a downhill section contained in a planned travel route of the vehicle and executes downhill control which decreases the remaining capacity of the storage battery before the vehicle enters the downhill section. When the control apparatus extracts the downhill section as a target of the downhill control, if the downhill section contains a flat section whose distance is greater than a predetermined threshold, the control apparatus determines the downhill section is not a target of the downhill control.

Abstract: A control apparatus for a hybrid vehicle including an internal combustion engine, a motor, and a storage battery and configured to charge the storage battery with electric power generated as a result of regenerative braking and electric power generated by using output of the engine. The control apparatus executes a downhill control which decreases the remaining capacity of the storage battery before the vehicle enters a downhill section and executes a congestion control which increases the remaining capacity before it enters a congestion section. In addition the control apparatus determine which control is to be executed according to the positional relation between the start point of the downhill section and the start point of the congestion section when both a downhill section and a congestion section are contained in a planned travel route of the vehicle.

Abstract: A control apparatus that is applied to a vehicle includes a control unit. The control unit is configured to, when the vehicle is traveling on a specific traffic congestion section at a time when the vehicle has reached a downhill control start point or a traffic congestion control start point, not start any of a downhill control and a traffic congestion control. After the vehicle travels on the specific traffic congestion section, the downhill control or the traffic congestion control is started only when an effect of improvement in fuel consumption resulting from the downhill control or the traffic congestion control is expected.

Abstract: An energy management system includes an energy management controller and a power conditioning system that charges and discharges a storage battery installed in an electric vehicle. The energy management controller includes: a charge/discharge controller that is configured to, in accordance with an operation mode having an operation right among a plurality of operation modes, control charging and discharging of the storage battery through the power conditioning system; and an operation right granter that is configured to determine an operation mode to which the operation right is to be granted next based on a predetermined transition condition, and to grant the operation right to the operation mode determined thereby.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a wafer processing method for dividing a wafer into a plurality of individual devices along a plurality of crossing division lines. The wafer is composed of a substrate and a functional layer formed on the front side of the substrate. The division lines are formed on the front side of the functional layer. A laser beam having a transmission wavelength to the substrate is applied to the wafer from the back side thereof to detect the height of an interface between the functional layer and the substrate in an area corresponding to each division line. The depth of cut by a cutting blade for cutting the substrate is next set according to the height detected above.