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Using friction to clamp or climb between two parallel or substantially parallel surfaces is well known in various arts. However, the prior art is devoid of clamping or climbing devices that are capable of clamping or climbing planes that are not parallel or substantially parallel.
Climbing requires two basic capabilities: (1) the ability to achieve (and generally, but not necessarily, release) grip and (2) the ability to move. The latter of these requires the ability to lift and/or lower a person or object so that progress can be made in a desired direction. In addition, extended climbing and/or station-keeping requires some means of maintaining stability so that the person or object can maintain proper contact position and direction for extended climbing distances and periods of time.
Humans have always had the ability to climb certain surfaces without the aid of technology. For example, we can climb trees and cliffs as long as there are surfaces that afford a grip which can be used to support weight.
Technological advances have, however, greatly extended the range of climbable surfaces. For example, rock climbers can scale steep surfaces using high friction shoes while utilizing variations in the surface shape to enhance traction. With devices such as these, even extremely steep or overhanging (or inverted) surfaces can be climbed if there are pits, holes, edges, or cracks that can be gripped for traction. Other technological advances which have increased the types of surfaces we can climb or grip include mechanical jamming devices, pitons, bolts for climbing rock, belts for climbing poles, and the like.
However, these devices all have drawbacks. Mechanical jamming devices require a crack with nearly parallel walls to hold securely. Belts used for climbing poles require a way to reach around the pole, and their use is limited to objects with a relatively small diameter, such as trees or telephone poles. Pitons and bolts damage the surfaces on which they are applied and their use is often accompanied by a time consuming or noisy installation process. The various adhesive systems developed to date leave residue and/or damage the surface.
One of the most significant drawbacks of several of the previously-disclosed systems is that they require two parallel or nearly parallel surfaces. These systems do not achieve high friction coefficients and do not use geometric configurations suited to large-angle gripping. The minimum friction coefficient required to maintain an unloaded grip between walls is defined by the tangent of half of the angle between the walls. This minimum value is not adequate to support an object since it provides no capacity to hold a force other than the clamping force that acts directly between the pads. In practice, a high friction coefficient must be achieved to provide a secure grip capable of supporting objects for gripping and/or climbing purposes. In addition, the geometry of the device must accommodate the non-parallel walls.
Using the tangential relationship for the minimum friction requirement and assuming a reasonably high friction coefficient for metal on rock of 0.3 to 0.5, the maximum angle between walls is about 30 to 55 degrees respectively (not including the reduction in angle required to perform any useful function). These angles, however, are far from the 90-degree angle of typical corners. The designs used in the prior art are not suited to angles of 30 degrees or more between walls. The present invention is.
In practice, the angle required to produce sufficient grip based on the prior art is much less than 30 degrees. Thus, it is generally acknowledged that the walls of a crack must be nearly parallel to provide a secure anchor. The inability of the prior art to accommodate an angle of more than 30 degrees is due to both the choice of materials that do not achieve a high coefficient of friction and designs that cannot accommodate non-parallel geometries well. To achieve a useful grip on surfaces at angles on the order of 90 degrees, a geometry that can accommodate such angles and a friction coefficient that is greater than one (1) are required. The use of high friction materials and the ability to grip surfaces at angles substantially near 90 degrees to each other has not been previously illustrated in the prior art.
Previously-disclosed climbing systems generally fall into two categories: those which can be used to climb natural objects (such as mountains, cliffs, caves and rocks) and those which can be used to climb man-made objects (such as buildings, scaffolding, towers and poles).
Many clamping and climbing devices have been devised for climbing on rock. Many are designed to grip by applying a force between nearly parallel adjacent surfaces (cracks) in rock. Small blocks, wedges, rods, and chocks have been jammed in cracks and used to secure ropes for climbing protection and securing or hauling loads. The rod-jamming system in Bohn, U.S. Pat. No. 5,934,635 (hereinafter “the '635 patent”) and specially-shaped block devices such as Prohaska, Austrian Pat. No. 395945B (hereinafter “the '945B patent”) are examples. However, they are limited in use to jamming in cracks in which the walls of the crack are nearly parallel.
The '635 patent discloses a self-adjusting rock climber anchor device which includes at least one variable length compression arm. The apparatus is formed of two or more arms used to affix the device in a crevice containing parallel or nearly parallel walls. After the device has been affixed in a wedge position in a crevice, a climber may attach a rope to the apparatus for use in ascending and descending the rock face. Such a device is only useful for ascending surfaces containing crevices with nearly parallel walls, such as a mountainside. It is generally not capable of ascending smooth surfaces and/or inside and outside corners where the angle formed by the adjoining walls is approximately ninety degrees.
The '945B patent discloses a climbing wedge capable of insertion into rock cracks. The wedge is formed of convexly formed strips arranged in a direction from its end remote from the load to its end closer to the load. The device is placed into a rock crack by jamming it into the crack until the wedge is firmly secured. Frictional forces hold the apparatus securely in the rock crack. A rope or other such device may then be affixed to the climbing wedge to support an object or enable a climber to ascend and descend the rock face or other such surface. This device is useful for climbing surfaces containing small cracks in which the climbing wedge can be placed. To utilize this device for climbing, the walls of the cracks must also be parallel or substantially parallel, otherwise the device cannot sustain a gripping force capable of supporting heavy objects. The apparatus is not useful for ascending smooth surfaces and/or surfaces containing inside/outside corners angled at approximately ninety degrees.
Lowe U.S. Pat. No. 3,877,679 (hereinafter “the '679 patent”) describes a device based on a cam that is used in similar cracks. Lowe discloses a chock stone device containing a cam used to wedge the main body of the device between opposed pairs of tapered walls (i.e., walls which are parallel or substantially parallel). The device is used by inserting the main body into a crevice and actuating the cam device, thereby causing the upper part of the main body to expand, thereby securing the device between the tapered walls. Objects can then be supported by the device by attaching them to the main body of the apparatus. For example, a climber may attach a rope to the device and use it to ascend a cliff face. This device is only useful for climbing surfaces containing crevices with parallel or nearly parallel surfaces. The apparatus also mars the climbing surface, since the upper portion of the main body contains saw-like teeth used to help secure the device in position. This apparatus is not capable of helping a climber ascend smooth surfaces and/or surfaces in which the tapered walls are not substantially parallel.
There have been many related inventions to the '679 patent, such as: Lowe U.S. Pat. No. 4,645,149 (hereinafter “the '149 patent”), Brodie U.S. Pat. No. 4,712,754 (hereinafter “the '754 patent”), Christianson U.S. Pat. No. 4,643,377 (hereinafter “the '377 patent”) and Taylor U.S. Pat. No. 4,575,032 (hereinafter “the '032 patent”). These cam devices were developed to provide a wider range of crack size accommodation, easier placement and removal, and more security in parallel cracks than previous wedging systems.
The '149 patent describes a camming device that is useful in climbing surfaces containing natural or man-made openings therein and into which a camming device may be inserted to facilitate climbing. The camming device is comprised of cam members containing a serrated arcuate (arm positioned adjacent to a support arm. To utilize the device, the serrated portion is first inserted into the crevice. Next, the support arm is moved to a position perpendicular to the arcuate arm. This causes the serrated portion of the camming device to expand and lock the device into the crevice. The cam device is removed by moving the support arm back to its original position and sliding the device out of the crevice. Since the camming device utilizes a serrated edge, it is only useful in applications in which the surface may be marred. In addition, such a device is not adaptable for climbing smooth surfaces and/or surfaces containing inside and outside corners positioned at approximately ninety degrees.
The '754 patent describes an anchoring device for releasably anchoring within a crack within a rock face, the crack having parallel or substantially parallel walls. The device contains a cam member, a load cable, and an expansion and retraction structure. The cam member has a convexly curved surface. The device is utilized by inserting the cam member into the crack within the rock face and actuating the expansion structure which causes the cam portion of the device to grip the opposing walls of the crack. An object may then be attached to the anchoring device via the load cable. To remove the device from the rock crack, the retraction structure is used to release the cam device so it can be removed from the crack. The geometry of this device allows it to be used to anchor in surfaces containing cracks having parallel or substantially parallel walls. The device is not useful for climbing surfaces having inside/outside corners.
The '377 patent discloses an improved climbing aid formed of one or more pair of opposing cam members, two or more parallel axles on which the cam members may pivot, and a looped cable member connected to the main body of the device to which a load may be attached. To expand and retract the cam members, the device also incorporates spring members which act to simultaneously move the cam members toward an expanded position and an operating member connected to each cam member used to retract the cams. The device is used by inserting the cam member portion of the device into a crack containing parallel or substantially parallel walls and actuating the spring members, thereby causing the opposed cams to expand and affix the device in the crack. A load may then be supported by the device by attaching it to the looped cable member. The device can later be removed from the crack by using the operating member to retract the cams. This device is limited to use on surfaces containing cracks and is not applicable to surfaces containing inside corners and outside corners in which the adjoining walls are not parallel or substantially parallel.
The '032 patent describes an apparatus composed of three (3) opposed cams containing teeth on their outer surface. The cams are attached to a shaft and spring loaded to rotate to their widest point of separation. A pull rod is slidably located within a slot in the handle portion of the device. When the pull rod is manually retracted, it forces the cams to also retract. The device can then be placed inside a crack. When the pull rod is released, the cams return to the open position and grip the internal surface of the crack in a chock-like manner. Similar to the previously described prior art, this device aides in climbing surfaces with natural or man-made cracks, but it cannot be utilized to climb surfaces which are not and must not be marred or surfaces containing inside/outside corners arranged at an angle of approximately ninety degrees.
There are also several systems based on multiple sliding wedges and/or rollers such as Byrne EPO Pat. No. 0323391 (hereinafter “the '391 patent), Frechin French Pat. No. 2553668 (hereinafter “the '668 patent), and Guthrie et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,643,378 (hereinafter “the '378 patent”).
The '391 patent depicts a self adjusting climbing chock formed of a looped end and first and second cable end sections. A fixed wedge element and a translating wedge element are attached to the cable end sections. The translating wedge element is normally held in a retracted position by a spring. To utilize the apparatus to climb, the chock portion of the device is inserted into a crack and weight is placed on the looped end, causing a spring to expand and the translating wedge element to move away from the fixed wedge element, thereby causing the wedge elements to press against the walls of the crack and support the weight placed on the looped end of the apparatus. The device may be disengaged from the crack by removing the force placed on the looped end of the device. The translating wedge element will then return to its contracted position, allowing the device to be removed from the crack. This device is capable of aiding a climber only on surfaces containing cracks with parallel or substantially parallel walls. This patent does not disclose any method or apparatus of climbing surfaces formed from either inside or outside corners in which the walls meet at approximately a ninety-degree angle.
The '668 patent depicts a nut composed of two adjacent half-wedges. The wedges are joined together by a cable. The wedges can be rotated relative to each other to achieve different wedge geometries. A ring clasp on the rope connecting the two half-wedge can then be used to immobilize the wedges from moving relative to one another. The device can then be inserted into cracks of various sizes by forcing the configured wedge into a crack so that it does not easily slide out. The rope attached to the nut can then be used to aid in climbing a rock wall or other such surface with cracks. However, this device is not capable of aiding a climber in ascending inside or outside corners arranged at an approximate angle of ninety degrees because the wedges, as disclosed, are not designed for use in such a geometry.
The '378 patent discloses a roller-chock climbing aid composed of a wedge shaped chock, a roller, a spring, and a release cable. The wedge shaped chock and roller are arranged next to each other and connected by said spring. When the release cable is pulled downward by a climber's weight, the roller chock moves away from the wedge shaped chock and affixes the apparatus in a crack in a similar manner to the device disclosed by Byrne. To remove the device from a crack, the applied force must be taken off the release cable. The spring connecting the roller to the wedge shaped chock returns the device to its original position, allowing it to easily be removed from the crack. As disclosed, this apparatus is not capable of ascending adjacent corners formed from walls adjoined at approximately a ninety-degree angle.
These multiple wedge devices were developed to achieve the advantages of the cam systems in ease of use and security in application to very small cracks that are too small for a cam design to work. All of these devices have proven useful when properly used in suitable cracks with parallel or nearly parallel faces. They are used to secure safety ropes of people climbing as well as supporting people, temporary shelters, equipment and the like during expeditions. Crack jamming devices have been developed to span a very wide range of crack sizes, yet all of these devices are limited in use to cracks in nearly parallel walls. These devices are useless when the surfaces containing the cracks are not substantially parallel.
In addition to the previously-noted devices for holding in cracks, hooks and other hook-like devices have been used to grip external features projecting from walls. These hooks, however, are severely limited in their application to surfaces that are nearly perpendicular to the direction of the applied force, such as ledges.
Although high friction shoes are commonly used in rock climbing, none of these devices can grip surfaces that are not nearly parallel in nature and none are designed to hold on outside or inside corners that approach right angles.
Drilling and bolting to a rock surface is a means of providing secure attachment to a single surface. Most applications of drilling and bolting are used in rock climbing to leave fixed brackets for mounting protective equipment while climbing. One disadvantage of this approach is that a large supply of components is required since the bolts are left in the wall.
For example, Checkett, PCT App. No. PCT/GB97/00620 (hereinafter the '620 application”) describes a removable and replaceable bolt, which allows the bolt to be removed, but this still requires drilling a hole before placement of the bolt and leaves a hole after removal. Although bolting allows a grip to be achieved on most thick, strong and drillable surfaces, and can thus be used on most rock and many building surfaces, there are many serious drawbacks to the technique. Drilling rock is time consuming, noisy, and requires a lot of power. The hole mars and weakens the rock or building surface. The pressure generated by bolting is also very high, so that the surface must be of a relatively high strength material to hold the bolt when loaded. Thus, drilling and bolting is not a suitable means of clamping when minimizing weight, time, noise, surface damage, and/or power is of value or when speed, stealth, reusability, and/or the ability to leave no trace is required.
Clamping and climbing devices have also been developed for man-made structures. Many skyscrapers and large structures have tracks or other features built into them to aid with building and window washing. Special climbing devices made to fit specific features of specific buildings have also been developed. None of these approaches are suited to general use because they rely on specific features of each building that are not common on most structures or natural surfaces.
Scaffolding is commonly used to overcome the limitations on available building surface climbing and holding technology. Many climbing and clamping systems have been developed for scaffolding, so instead of attempting to climb the building directly, the scaffolding is climbed. Scaffold climbing devices, typified by inventions such as Swager U.S. Pat. No. 3,933,220 (hereinafter “the '220 patent”), Lewis U.S. Pat. No. 4,368,801 (hereinafter “the '801 patent), and Fullam et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,806,628 (hereinafter “the 628 patent”) are very specific to the features of the scaffolding. All rely on the basic concept of reaching around or inside a consistent feature of the scaffold structure to provide a secure clamp.
The '220 patent discloses a safety clamping device for use by climbers mounted in an elongated slot in a support rail. The clamping device and the support rail contain wedges configured such that the two sets of wedges interlock. The safety clamping device contains a trigger arm which allows the wedges of the clamping device to be disengaged from the wedges of the support rail. The climber can then slide the clamping device to a new position to aid in ascending or descending the structure to which the support rail is attached. This device is only applicable to geometries containing some type of support rail containing wedges and is not useful for ascending or descending natural phenomenon containing an unstructured geometry. This device is additionally not suited for climbing inside or outside corners, even if the adjoining walls are substantially parallel.
The '801 patent depicts a column climbing device for climbing columns such as girders having flanges. The device is designed to be worn on the feet of a climber and is equipped with a gripping member having spaced apart jaws adapted to grip a column flange. The gripping member on each foot is mounted for selective swinging between two positions. In one position, the jaws of the gripping member extend in the direction of the climber's toes. In the retracted position, the jaws extend laterally outwardly and behind the heel of the climber's foot so as to be out of the way when not used in climbing. This apparatus is useful for ascending highly organized, man-made surfaces. It is not designed for use in climbing any other surface geometry.
The '628 patent describes a climbing device for attaching to building frames having a pair of jaw members movable with respect to the other. The spacing between the jaw members may be adjusted using a lever device to permit a user to detachably affix the device to the frame of the building. The climbing device additionally contains a foothold and a harness to support a user. Similar to the apparatus disclosed by Lewis, this apparatus is useful for ascending highly organized, man-made surfaces. It is not useful for climbing surface geometries onto which the jaw members cannot grip.
All of these prior art devices are designed so that a component of the normal force (the force perpendicular to the contacting surfaces) provides a net force that at least partially assists with retaining the device. Although there are some towers with scaffold-like construction, clearly most natural and building structures do not have features that can be grasped in the manner used by scaffold gripping systems; if they were, there would be no need for the scaffold.
There are also many clamping/climbing devices for climbing poles and trees. Johnson U.S. Pat. No. 6,264,000 B1 (hereinafter “the '000 patent”) and Brust WO Pat. No. 59,682 (hereinafter “the '682 patent”) describe clamp systems based on encircling a tree or pole with a belt or rope.
The '000 patent discloses a tree stand and climbing apparatus. The device utilizes a plurality of belts which may be flexible in nature and/or contain teeth. The belts are looped around the tree in a U-shaped manner and attached to a person's body or stand. A person may utilize such a device to climb a tree/pole by alternately moving the belt and the climber's feet up the tree, which results in the overall upward motion of the climber. The climber may also descend the tree/pole in a similar fashion. This invention is useful for attaching a stand to a tree or pole or climbing such an object. However, the object cannot be used to ascend any surface which the belt cannot encompass, such as the corner of a building or a rock face.
The '682 patent discloses a fall prevention device which may also be used for climbing pole shaped objects. The device utilizes a rope or other such object which is wrapped around the pole. On the side of the pole where the ends of the rope meet, the ends are fed through a connecting element. The ends of the rope are then looped back around the post structure along their original path. Each end of the rope is affixed with an attachment structure, such as a loop or clip. A climber utilizes this device for safety by attaching the ends of the rope to some structure located on the climber's body. The force that a climber's weight exerts on the rope during a fall causes the rope to tighten around the pole, thereby preventing the fall. The device may also be used for climbing a pole type structure by relieving the tension from the belt, moving the belt up the pole, and then re-tensioning the belt. In this manner, a climber may either ascend or descend a pole type structure. However, as is the case with other belt devices, this invention is only useful as a fall prevention device on pole type structures and is not readily applicable to other geometries.
Andruchiw U.S. Pat. No. 4,527,660 (hereinafter “the '660 patent”) and Swett U.S. Pat. No. 4,410,066 (hereinafter “the '066 patent”) describe climbing systems based on similar techniques of reaching around a tree or pole combined with a stepwise climbing motion. In addition to reaching around the tree or pole with a belt, it is apparent that a relatively stiff structure such as a hook or closed U reaching part way around a tree or pole can work in a similar manner to a belt or rope.
The '660 patent discloses a pole climbing aid comprising a belt member attached to the waist of the climber as well as a hand grip member which is meant to aid in climbing and serve as an extra precautionary measure. The belt attached to the climber's body is used to climb the pole as is well known in the art. The hand grip member is an additional component of the device which is connected to the belt member via a connection means, such as a rope. The device may include any number of hand grips. As the climber ascends the pole, the hand grip device is disengaged from the pole and repositioned at a higher position on the pole. In this manner, a climber may descend a pole with this apparatus. This device may be used to climb any pole type structure which a belt may encompass and which a hand grip may be attached to. However, such a device may not be useful for ascending large diameter poles because the handgrip could not easily be attached to the pole's surface. The device is not adaptable for climbing most other geometries, such as the corners or surfaces of buildings.
The '066 patent discloses a tree stand apparatus which utilizes a U-shaped frame surrounding the tree to suspend the tree stand at the desired elevation. The device provides a covered frame, with openings in the top and bottom and means to securely close the openings. The tree stand may be fashioned from wood or any other similar lightweight and durable material. The entire frame may be elevated by a single operator. Such a device is only useful in geometries in which a U-shaped frame can encompass the entire object. No other means is disclosed to suspend the tree frame at the desired elevation.
A major disadvantage of such devices is that since they encircle all or most of the tree, they do not easily allow limbs to be passed. Like the scaffold climbing apparatus, none of the tree and pole climbing devices can be utilized for general climbing of common building features.
Ingro U.S. Pat. No. 3,810,515 (hereinafter “the '515 patent”) describes a magnetic crawling device that utilizes magnetic forces to achieve traction to climb and maneuver on walls. Clearly, the requirement of magnetic walls is a severe limitation for many applications, since most walls are not surfaced in and/or made of magnetic material. Such magnetic climbers, in addition to severe limitations on what materials can be climbed, have numerous other problems such as attraction of debris due to the magnetic field and the relatively low forces that can be generated. Although they have application to specific situations, magnetic systems are severely limited and not suited to general use on the majority of surfaces. Ingo also describes use of suction power to achieve attractive force so that a ferrous wall is not required.
You U.S. Pat. No. 4,477,998 (hereinafter “the '998 patent”) describes a system of suction cups on a belt for climbing on walls. The '998 patent describes a wall-climbing toy consisting of a belt drive mechanism with suction cups attached along the surface of the belt. To climb a wall, the toy is first affixed to the wall using the exposed suction cups attached to the belt drive mechanism. As the belt rotates, new suction cups are introduced to the wall surface as old suction cups are forcibly removed from the wall surface. In this manner, the toy may ascend or descend the wall. Such a device will only work on very smooth surfaces to which a suction cup will adhere. Additionally, the device must also be lightweight because the only force affixing the toy to the wall is provided by the suction cups. The device lacks the ability to ascend rough surfaces and the ability to navigate corners.
German Pat. No. 19727421A1 (hereinafter “the '421 patent”) to Schmierer describes a similar tracked suction-cup climbing robot. The '421 patent discloses a wall-climbing apparatus also consisting of a belt drive mechanism with suction cups attached to the surface. The Schmierer device improves on the You device by pairing the suction cups on the belt. By doing so, this device can navigate bumpier surfaces because of the increased number of pads. It also has the capability to carry a larger weight load. However, the device also has the same limitations as other suction cup device. For example, the surface must be relatively smooth or the suction cups will not adhere. This device also cannot navigate corners or other such obstacles.
Winkler WO Pat. No. 37,728 (hereinafter “the '728 patent”) describes a vacuum action climbing system based on suction modules that can be mounted to a user's hands and feet and driven by a vacuum-generating device to allow a person to climb the walls of buildings. The '728 patent discloses a backpack mounted vacuum system and fan shaped suction pads on hands and feet that would allow climbing of relatively smooth and walls and ceilings. All of theses devices require a wall with the proper characteristics for achieving traction. Due to the fact that atmospheric pressure is generally less than 14 psi, there are inherent limitations on the lifting capacity for a given size for any suction based device because adequate area is required to achieve a required force. If a wall is too rough or porous, the suction cups will not work. If the vacuum-generating device disclosed in the '728 patent is capable of achieving adequate suction on a rough surface, then it must continually pump air, requiring an impractical amount of power for climbing many building and natural surfaces. A device capable of producing suction force on rough surfaces efficiently would clearly be useful for clinging to surfaces, but still would not enable extremely long duration gripping, very high forces, or completely silent operation compared with mechanical based gripping systems. Incorporated by reference is co-pending application Ser. No. 09/316,318 which discloses a vortex attractor capable of use in the present invention.
Crabbe British Pat. No. 2,131,475 (hereinafter “the '475 patent”) describes roof top gripping and climbing appliances that utilize high friction material to achieve grip on slanted surfaces such as roofs. The '475 patent describes achieving a coefficient of friction greater than one in experiments. Crabbe achieved an effective coefficient of friction of 1.5 for gritty concrete using high friction surfaces made of foam materials. Required thicknesses suitable for several types of roofing are described. Gripping on roofs of steeper than 45-degree pitch was achieved only for a few specific surfaces and conditions. The invention of the '475 patent, although useful for roofs, has no use in scaling vertical surfaces and thus has no use in most climbing applications.
As stated above, each piece of prior art has its own particular disadvantages, but one of the most basic shortcomings of the prior art as a whole is that nothing disclosed therein is capable of climbing and/or gripping one of the most common surface features—inside and outside corners. Such corners are typically of relatively large opening angle. Often, surfaces meet at approximately 90 degrees in corners. The Applicant is unaware of any prior art which discloses a gripping and/or climbing device that is capable of clinging to and climbing a corner where the walls meet at approximately 90 degrees. The present invention accomplishes this.
Clearly what is needed in the art is a device for gripping and climbing corners utilizing the available adjacent surfaces. An invention that makes use of nearly universally available surface features, requires little power, makes little noise, does not damage the surface, and can be scaled up or down to accommodate a wide range of applications including small robots, humans, or large systems is an advancement of the art and is disclosed herein as the present invention. | {
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Inhalation of smoke and toxic fumes in the event of onboard fire in aircraft is a serious threat to passengers. The oxygen masks provided on airplanes offer protection only for decompression. Similarly, fire in high rise buildings is of great concern, because of the difficulty of escape and exposure to smoke and toxic fumes.
A variety of protective hoods have previously been proposed to alleviate this problem, including those described and claimed in Werjefelt, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,440,164 and 4,627,431. A preferred material for construction of the Werjefelt hoods is polyimide film, which provides outstanding resistance to heat. However, continuing needs with regard to these hoods include the provision of a neck seal having even greater adaptability and reliability than those previously used. | {
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The present invention relates to an arrangement for reducing the thickness of a moving material web along a longitudinal region by cutting away a material strip by a rotating cylindrical cutter. The cutter is arranged on one side of the material web with its axis of rotation substantially in the direction of movement of the web.
In the packing industry a packing material which comprises layers, inter alia, of paper and thermoplastics is used for the manufacture of packing containers for e.g. liquid contents such as milk. In the conversion of the packing material to finished packing containers the longitudinal edges of the material are sealed to one another in an overlap joint. In order to avoid contact of the contents in the packing container with the centrally situated carrier layer of the material, the edge region of the material layer facing the inside of the packing container is folded double so that in the sealing the edge ends up inside and consequently cannot make contact with the contents. Even if the packing laminate has only a total thickness of approx. 0.4 mm, this double folding means that the material obtains an undesirable thickness in the sealing regions which is disadvantageous, especially when two sealing regions cross one another, since in that case channels which entail leakage can easily be produced.
In order to avoid this, it has been suggested that the thickness of the material should be reduced in a longitudinal region which corresponds to the edge region wherein the folding subsequently is to take place. This reduction of the thickness of the material web is done appropriately with the help of a rotating cylindrical cutter, which during the manufacture of the container is made to rest against the material web passing by, in such a manner that by means of the active part of its periphery it cuts off a strip of desired thickness from one side of the material web. The material web passing by can be provided in this manner with one or more longitudinal regions of reduced thickness at the edges of the material web or at those parts of the material web which after dividing up of the same into narrower material webs will form the edge regions.
The cutting away of a material strip with the help of a rotating cylindrical cutter can take place at very high web speeds, which is in fact necessary since the material web on the occasion during the manufacturing process where the reduction of thickness takes place, is fed through the manufacturing machines at a speed of over 300 m/minute. At this high speed a correspondingly high speed of the cylindrical cutter is required. The cutter's peripheral speed should be approx. 50 m/min. It is obvious that it is very difficult at such high working speeds to maintain an exact depth of cut of e.g. 0.25 mm, since this is influenced by inaccuracies in the material passing by, as well as by inaccuracies in the support and in the design of the rotating cylindrical cutter. It has indeed proved practically impossible to maintain a correct depth of cut under such conditions and with the means available up to now. Presently a guide pulley situated inside the rotating cylindrical cutter and freely rotatable in the direction of movement of the material is used. The distance to the cutting edge determines the thickness of the material strip cut off, and an air nozzle arranged at the same level as the cutting edge, but on the opposite side of the material web, is adapted so as to press the material web passing by against the guide pulley. In addition to the difficulties mentioned earlier concerning inaccuracies in the movement of the material web and in the support of the cutter, there are now also inaccuracies in the guide pulley which make the maintaining of a constant depth of cut even more difficult. Even if this were possible in itself immediately after an adjustment of the position of the cutting pulley and the rest of the interacting parameters, the accuracy would be lost after a short period of operation so that non-acceptable thickness variations would occur in the reduced region of the material web.
It is an object of the present invention, whilst retaining the basic construction of the arrangement, to design the different parts of the arrangement in such a manner that the cutting away of the material strip can take place with sufficient accuracy even during prolonged periods of operation.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a simple and effective arrangement for the adjustment of the thickness of the strip cut away and hence of the thickness of the remaining material in the thickness-reduced region of the material web.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an arrangement which can operate at especially high material speeds, in particular up to 600 m/min.
Finally it is an object also to provide an arrangement which is uncomplicated and stable as well as inexpensive to manufacture and to maintain.
These and other objects have been achieved in accordance with the invention by providing an arrangement for reducing the thickness of a moving material web along a longitudinal region by the cutting away of a material strip by means of a rotating cylindrical cutter which is arranged on one side of the material web with its axis of rotation substantially in the direction of movement of the web. A guiding device for the control of the thickness of the strip cut away is arranged close by the edge of the cylindrical cutter and is upheld by a supporting unit which is in contact with the cylindrical cutter.
Preferred embodiments of the arrangement in accordance with the invention have been given the further characteristics which are evident from the description below. | {
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In land seismic acquisition (both on the surface and in boreholes) a common seismic source is vibroseis: A vibrating mass on a baseplate provides a seismic signal whose frequency is varied slowly with time. For example, the frequency might be swept between 10 and 100 Hz over 8-20 seconds. The two-way travel time to the target (for surface seismics), or one-way time (for borehole seismics) will be much less than this--in exploration typically 1-4 seconds. The duration of the trace transmitted from each geophone must be at least the sweep time plus the travel time. If each trace is to be individually recorded far more data points will be required than for an impulsive source, where the trace duration is the travel time.
Because of this in most circumstances the raw traces are not recorded. The traces are cross-correlated with a trace representing the nominal sweep and (if a number of sweeps have been made from one site or closely spaced sites), these cross-correlations are summed. Only the summed cross-correlations between zero and the travel time are recorded.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide methods and apparatus for compressing seismic data, in particular seismic data which represents vibroseis traces. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a landing-control device and method for an aircraft, and particularly to control of a vertical speed of landing on a place where a landing surface such as a ship deck that swings with time.
2. Description of the Related Art
There have been hitherto proposed various control technologies that use a neural network as one of technologies controlling a control target with high precision irrespective of a non-linear element of the control target, external disturbance or a change of an environment over time. According to the neural network, a coupling weight coefficient is properly set in a learning process carried out in advance, so that a required control parameter can be output-based on predetermined input information with high precision. A back propagation method is generally used in the learning process of the neural network. Control using the neural network includes air-fuel ratio control of an internal-combustion engine disclosed in the JP-A-9-88685, or control of a robot, a machine tool, an XY stage, a disc device or the like disclosed in the JP-A-7-36506.
Vertical takeoff and landing aircrafts such as helicopters, etc. are utilized on many occasions because they do not need a long runway at the takeoff and landing and do not limit a landing place, and thus automation of the control thereof has been desired.
However, with respect to this type of aircrafts, the merit that no limitation is imposed on any landing place rather makes it difficult to perform automation of control. For example, in the case of landing on a landing surface such as a ship deck, the landing surface swings due to a wave surface, and thus the speed control of the aircraft in the vertical direction is more difficult than in the case of landing on a static landing surface. This is because if the speed control fails, an impact of the landing is intensified (a hard landing state), resulting in damage of the body of the aircraft. Furthermore, since the wave surface is irregular, it is difficult for a conventional control technology to estimate the wave surface for the control, and thus there is no other way to rely on than a manual operation of an experienced operator. | {
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During the installation or subsequent upgrade of an HVAC system, there are occasions when wires may be incorrectly connected to various components of the HVAC system, including an electronic thermostat. When wires are incorrectly connected to a thermostat, there is the possibility for a short circuit to be created that if not accounted for could result in permanent damage to either the thermostat, the HVAC wiring and/or other HVAC system components. In order to protect against such conditions, the electronic thermostat can include one or more fuses that are designed to blow under the increased current of a short circuit condition. However, blown fuses are problematic from support and customer satisfaction viewpoint. The problem of blown fuses can be particularly problematic for thermostats that are intended to be user-installable. | {
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In archery shooting of arrows, there has long been a need for better tracking the flight of the arrow, and further there is a problem of locating the shot arrow whether aimed at a deer, or other target, or the spent arrow landing on the ground or underbrush. To overcome the problem of lost arrows, this invention is to disclose apparatus for an on-off lighted archery arrow, having a switch actuated by string of the archery bow.
Prior art pertaining to this present invention is as follows.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,134,552 to Call for ACCELERATION ACTIVATED ENERGIZING DEVICE. This patent discloses a lighted nock, and the light switch activated by spring action at zero acceleration of the arrow.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,340,930 to Carissimi for LIGHT ASSEMBLY FOR ARCHERS ARROW. This patent discloses a manual switch movable on the body of the arrow to close the circuit.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,058,900 to Denen for GENERAL PURPOSE ILLUMINATOR ASSEMBLY. Disclosure is made of a compressible coil capture spring for the capture end of the battery electrode.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,856,792 to Hardison for ARCHERS ARROW WITH CHEMICAL LIGHT SOURCE. Disclosure is made of a lightstick inserted into a cavity in a transparent plastic arrow nock.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,141,229 to Roundy for ACCELERATION AND DECELERATION ELECTRICAL SWITCH. Disclosure is made of an electrical inertia switch.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,989,881 to Gamble for ILLUMINATED SPORTS PROJECTILE. Disclosure is made of a molding containing components diode, wire pair, and contacts and incorporated into the dart.
None of the above prior art patents anticipate, or collectively make obvious the invention as described below. | {
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1. Technical Field
The disclosure generally relates to thermal barrier coatings.
2. Description of the Related Art
Thermal barrier coatings are provided on various types of components that typically are exposed to high temperature environments. In this regard, gas turbine engine components, such as turbine blades and combustion section components (e.g., liners), are candidates for receiving such coatings. | {
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Generally, cream type cosmetics, such as moisturized cream, massage cream, eye cream, foundation, has a lot of oil, and it is a common knowledge that it can easily be spoiled, compared to low viscosity cosmetics such as skin lotion and lotion. Since these cream-type cosmetics are stored in a container with a wide mouth so as to be taken out a little by a little by hand, it is likely to be oxidized by air contact, and also easily contaminated by foreign substances or moisture on the hand.
To make up for these drawbacks, vacuumed cosmetic containers are widely used to make a certain amount of contents discharged under airtight state. In particular, without being discharged by hand, instead with a plate-shaped button provided are useful, contents can be used after a certain amount of contents is filled.
A traditional vacuum container of these kinds with a plate-shaped button is shown in FIG. 1. Referring FIG. 1, a traditional vacuum container with a plate-shaped button comprises a container body (11) containing contents like cosmetics, a dispenser (12) pumping and discharging a certain amount of contents onto a top portion of the container body, and a button (13) having a plate-shape on an upper portion of the dispenser.
In this configuration, the dispenser (12) comprises a cylinder (14) combined to a top portion of the container body (11) and a piston (17) installed at an inner wall of a suction hole (15) formed on the cylinder (14) so as for the button to repeatedly pump by a spring (16). Furthermore, a check valve (18) is installed at a lower end of the suction hole (15), a piston rod (19) is communicated with the suction hole (15) at the piston (17) and forms an outflow tract for contents to flow out, and a penetrating hole (20) is installed on the button (13), wherein the piston rod (19) is inserted in the middle. In addition, an assisting cap (21), made of soft synthetic resin, is installed on the penetrating hole (20) so as to be elastically deformed by outer pressure and to form a gap.
A vacuum container for cosmetics with a plate-shaped button composed of as the above has a configuration wherein an upper end of a button (13) has a plate-shape which goes deeper as nearer to the center of a top portion, and is formed to use contents by absorbing the contents discharged into a top portion of the button (13) by hand or by an applying tool. By a pumping operation according to pressurization of the button (13), a certain amount of contents is discharged onto a top portion of the button (13); however, since every user needs a different amount of contents, amount of contents by a pumping operation may happen to be more than needed. At this time, the contents which are discharged more than needed may be discarded without being used or unintentionally applied on a skin, thereby leading to unnecessarily consumption of contents and users' excessive cost burdens. | {
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An online marketplace, such as a classified advertisement or auction marketplace, allows consumers (e.g., individual users) and businesses to list items (e.g., products and services) for purchase. In some environments, the number of businesses placing items for purchase has increased disproportionately versus individual consumers. Furthermore, the businesses typically have resources to ensure that their listings are positioned at a top of a search result set (e.g., paying to be listed higher on the search result set). As a result, a balance between consumer and business listings may not be present in a result set based on a search of the online marketplace.
Additionally, some businesses and consumers tend to post a large number of listings or post listings in blocks. For example, if a consumer has items in ten different colors, the consumer may post ten different listings. These listings may also dominate the search result set and cause an imbalance of listings in the search result set. This may occur, for example, when listings are presented based primarily on the date of the posting of the listings. | {
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The technique using cells isolated from a tissue in testing or examination is now an essential method in the biotechnology-related fields. It is widely used in diagnosing a disease or morbid condition, searching for a new drug and evaluating the efficacy of a drug, or in animal inspection, plant inspection and testing for environment pollutants, among others.
The cells isolated are sometimes immediately subjected to testing but, in many cases, they are cultured in culture dishes or test tubes in the manner of cell culture. Various assays are carried out in such culture systems.
Generally, in these assays, a uniform culture system is established and, for example, the amount or concentration of a drug or the like to be evaluated in that system is varied to estimate the effect thereof. Therefore, the culture vessels used for such culture are made uniform and constant in shape. As the culture vessels, use is generally made of the so-called culture dishes or plates.
Generally used as such culture dishes or plates are petri dishes and 6-well, 12-well, 48-well and 96-well plates (cf. Patent Document 1). In response to the recent trend toward miniaturization, the use of 384-well plates smaller in well diameter and increased in the number of culture wells has also been started.
However, when the culture of tissue cells is carried out in those cell culture dishes or plates which are commercially available, there arises a problem that cells extend thinly to take a form showing no directionality and no longer show one or more functions they have in vivo.
For confirming certain cell activities, it is possible to measure the change in pH due to discharge of a waste material or the level of carbon dioxide emission by means of an electrochemical sensor, for instance. Attempts have been made to compare the measured data for a vital tissue with the measured data for cells cultured on culture dishes or plates. Under present conditions, however, the values reproducing the data for vital tissues cannot be reproduced on culture dishes or plates. A plausible reason is that while each plate well has a vessel-like form, it means nothing but plate culture to cells several microns to several tens of microns in size. In particular, in the case of proliferation of tissue cells such as hepatocytes which are difficult to culture, it becomes more difficult to allow them to function as in vivo.
As a means for solving such problems, an attempt has been made to form, on culture plates, a fine vessel pattern suited for the growth of tissue cells and culture cells within such fine vessel pattern (cf. Patent Document 2). Namely, it is intended to culture cells in each fine vessel pattern to propagate cells three-dimensionally so that they may perform a function(s) they have in vivo.
Currently, however, this means can be applied only to cell culture for certain bioassays or for certain therapeutic purposes alone. For example, cardiac myocytes of a living individual beat in response to an electric signal transmitted from the brain. For performing their pulsating function, cardiac myocytes in a living body are constituted so that the arrangement thereof may have directionality. Therefore, in the field of biotechnology, tissue culture under regulation of the extension direction, like in the case of living tissues, is required in studying tissue regeneration in artificial organs. To the contrary, the culture on the conventional culture plates has a problem that, in addition to the difficulty of three-dimensional culture, it cannot regulate the extension direction, so that it cannot be applied for purposes of research and testing.
As an example of cardiac muscle culture for a therapeutic purpose, transplantation of a cultured cardiac muscle tissue partly into the cardiac muscle tissue necrotized by cardiac infarction for lifesaving has been studied. The whole heart pulsates greatly in response to an electric signal from the brain. Upon necrosis of a part of the cardiac muscle tissue due to myocardial infarction, the signal transduction within the cardiac muscle is blocked, with the result that the heart repeats small contractions called fibrillation. Accordingly, thrombi are formed as a result of residence of blood in the heart and, in the case of their being carried to the brain tissue, such a secondary case as cerebral infarction may be induced. Prolonged fibrillation may possibly lead to death. In the treatment of such condition, the object is not the completion of an artificial organ but the substitution of a part of the tissue. Therefore, it is desired that such cardiac tissue culture be realized as early as possible.
Under the existing circumstances, however, the culture on the conventional culture plates cannot regulate the extension direction, in addition to the difficulty in three-dimensional culture, hence has a problem that it cannot be applied for this purpose, either.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Kokai (Laid-open) Publication H11-169166
Patent Document 2: Japanese Kokai Publication | {
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1. Field
Aspects of the invention relate to a vehicle door trim for a motor vehicle with a head impact protection device and a method for the manufacture thereof.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Side impact protection devices (often referred to as side airbags) are used in motor vehicles. When actuated by sensor control, side impact protection is intended to protect the pelvic and thoracic areas of the occupant of a motor vehicle. Head impact devices are increasingly being used in motor vehicles as well. Such head impact protection devices (often referred to as headbags) serve to protect the head of a motor vehicle occupant from impacting with the side window.
Conventionally, head impact protection devices are built into the roof liner of vehicles and comprise one or more gasbags which deploy from the roof area of a vehicle on actuation of the protective device.
In motor vehicles where it is not possible to accommodate a head impact protection device in the roof area, such as in open-top convertibles, the gasbags or airbags of a head impact protection device must be built into the area of the door side trim.
The interior trim of a standard door structure comprises an armrest below which is found the area in which a storage pocket is often located. Above the armrest is what is known as the center section of the door trim. The transition area between the center section and the top side of the door trim (the curved area between the center section and the essentially horizontally disposed transition area between the door trim and the side window) is referred to as the curb.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,231,253 discloses a head impact protection device which deploys after opening of the door trim's center section.
DE 103 15 662 A1 discloses an airbag module attached in the body-in-white area of the door wherein a part of the body-in-white door area also serves as a firing channel for the gasbag being deployed. The gasbag's opening behavior does not depend on the position of the window. For this reason, the gasbag also has a partial constriction in order to stabilize the deployment process and to do away with the need to guide the gasbag along a surface, such as the window for example. The gasbag lid integrated in the vehicle door trim has specific weakening areas along which the vehicle door trim tears open or which serve as a hinge mechanism. The gasbag lid extends over the area of both the curb and also the center section of the vehicle door trim.
EP 1 445 156 A1 describes a side impact protection device for a vehicle occupant in which a prefabricated airbag module consisting of a gasbag with outer casing, gas lance and compressed air source is attached to a side wall of the vehicle door by means of screws. On actuation of the airbag module, the vehicle door trim tears open along its entire length wherein a defined weakening of the trim is provided in the face of the trim at approximately the height of the pivotable top edge area to support this movement. In this case, the weakening may be formed by several contiguous slot-shaped apertures or may be a continuous, v-shaped or semicircular indentation on the substrate part of the trim. | {
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The invention relates generally to a method of and an arrangement for copying a colored original.
More particularly, the invention relates to a method of and an arrangement for determining the amount of light required in each of the three primary colors during the copying of a colored original.
In color copying, the so-called neutral gray correction may be used to eliminate color tinges or casts due to the nature of the material, e.g., paper or exposed and developed film, constituting the original to be copied. The neutral gray correction is performed by using a photoelectric measuring device to regulate the exposure of the original in each of the three primary colors. The amounts of light in the primary colors are selected in such a manner that the copy is a neutral gray on average.
When the subject matter of the original has so-called color dominants, that is, intensively colored areas, use of the neutral gray correction during automatic exposure control results in poor copies. The reason is that the neutral gray correction then leads to color falsification in the copies.
Accordingly, the neutral gray correction should not be employed when color dominants are present. This raises the problem of distinguishing between color tinges and color dominants.
The German Auslegeschrift No. 25 35 034 discloses a photographic color copying apparatus having a photoelectrically controlled exposure control unit. Different regions of the original are scanned individually to determine the color compositions thereof and relationships between the three primary colors are established for each of the regions. When a clear color imbalance exists in one or more regions, special procedures are employed to eliminate the color dominants from the calculations which are used to determine the neutral gray correction factor. One such procedure involves using only measurements from regions having a proper color balance in the determination of the neutral gray correction factor.
When large regions of an original have a color imbalance, the preceding procedure exhibits the disadvantage that the neutral gray correction factor, and hence the exposures in the different colors, are based upon a relatively small proportion of the original. | {
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The present invention relates to a semiconductor device in which gate electrodes are in contact with a plurality of regions of gate electrodes provided on a main surface of a semiconductor substrate.
As a semiconductor device having the above-described structure, a gate turn off (hereinafter referred to as "GTO") thyristor and a reverse conducting GTO thyristor which is composed of a GTO thyristor and a diode integrated on the same semiconductor substrate are known.
For example, as a gate electrode connecting structure in a GTO thyristor, a center gate structure, an intermediate ring gate structure, an outer peripheral ring gate structure, etc. are known.
FIG. 2 is a sectional view of an example of the center gate structure. In FIG. 2, on one main surface (upper surface) of a semiconductor substrate, separated cathode electrodes are provided and a gate electrode is disposed on the surface of the semiconductor substrate which is dug in such a manner as to surround all the cathode electrodes and prevent short-circuit. With the one main surface side, a cathode post 3 solely is in contact through a contact electrode plate 2 which comes into contact with only the cathode electrode plane protruding from the gate electrode plane, while an anode post 4 is in contact with the other main surface (undersurface) of the semiconductor substrate 1, both posts 3, 4 being integrally united by an insulating hermetic ring 31, thereby constituting a semiconductor device. The cathode post 3 is provided with a lead groove from the peripheral end portion toward the center, and in a hole formed at the center of the groove. One end of a gate lead 6 which is held by an insulating material 81 is in pressure contact with the gate electrode of the semiconductor substrate 1 through the hole provided at the center of the contact electrode plate 2, and the other end of the gate lead 6 is further connected to a gate lead pipe 7 so as to be lead out to the outside, thereby constituting a thyristor having a center gate structure.
FIG. 3 is a sectional view of an example of an intermediate ring gate structure. The structure of the device as a whole is similar to the structure shown in FIG. 2. The cathode post 3 is provided with an annular groove for pressure contact at a position corresponding to an intermediate portion between the center and the outer periphery of the semiconductor substrate 1. The contact electrode plate 2 is separated into a central discal portion and an outer annular portion at the groove by substantially the same separating width. An annular gate terminal 52 which is movably inserted into the groove of the cathode post 3 is brought into pressure contact with the gate electrode by an annular spring member 92 which is inserted into the bottom of the groove in contact therewith through an insulating plate 82. One end of the gate lead 6 is connected to the gate terminal 52, and the other end thereof is connected to the gate lead pipe, thereby constituting an intermediate ring gate structure.
FIG. 4 is a partially sectional view of the outer peripheral portion of an example of an outer peripheral ring gate structure. To an insulating block 32 provided on the inside of the insulating hermatic block, a conductive material 33 having a means for electrically connecting to the outside of the device is attached. One end of a spring-like gate terminal 53 is secured to the conductive material 33, and the other end thereof is brought into pressure contact with a ring gate electrode 34 on the outer periphery of the one main surface of the semiconductor substrate 1 by the action of the spring, thereby constituting an outer peripheral ring gate structure.
A reverse conducting GTO thyristor is composed of a GTO thyristor having a self arc extinguishing power and a fly-wheel diode are integrated on the same silicon wafer. This type of thyristor can reduce the size and weight of the device and produce high performance by the application of an inverter. FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the structure of an element of a reverse conducting GTO thyristor. The GTO portion 10 at the inner peripheral portion of the semiconductor substrate 1 is composed of a p emitter layer 11, an n base layer 12, a p base layer 13 and an n emitter layer 14 in the form of segments, and the diode portion 20 at the outer peripheral portion is composed of an n' layer 21, an n layer 22 and a p layer 23. The n layer 12 and the n layer 22, and the p layer 13 and the p layer 23 are connected to each other, respectively. Cathode electrodes 15 are provided on the surfaces of the n emitter layer 14 and the p layer 23, and cathode posts (not shown) are in pressure contact with the cathode electrode through contact electrode plates of molybdenum or the like, which has a thermal expansion coefficient approximate to that of silicon. Gate electrodes 16 are provided on the surfaces of the p base layer 13 which surround the segments of the n emitter layer 14. With a portion at the center of the element, a gate terminal (not shown) comes into pressure contact. An anode electrode 18 is provided on the surfaces of the p emitter layer 11 and the n' layer 21, and anode post (not shown) is in pressure contact with the anode electrode 18. A separation groove 19 is dug at the boundary of the GTO portion 10 and the diode portion 20 so as to electrically isolating the GTO portion and the diode portion from each other. It is necessary to apply a current to the gate electrodes 16 in order to turn on the GTO portion and to take a current from the gate electrodes 16 in order to turn off the GTO portions. Such a gate control is carried out through a gate electrode.
In FIG. 5, a center gate structure is shown, but the element may have an intermediate ring gate structure or an outer peripheral ring gate structure. In the case of an outer peripheral ring gate structure, the gate terminal, which is situated at the outermost periphery of the GTO portion, comes into contact with the gate electrodes on the inner side of the diode portion 20.
In a semiconductor device such as a GTO thyristor in which a large current temporarily flows on the gate electrode at the time of turn-off, it is desirable to make the contacting area of a gate electrode and a gate terminal or the like for taking out a current from the gate electrode as large as possible and connect them with the resistance lowest possible so as to reduce the transverse voltage drop which is caused when a current flows on the gate electrode as much as possible.
In a conventional gate electrode connection structure, in the case of a center gate structure shown in FIG. 2, since the gate current is only taken out of the contact portion at the end of the gate lead 6 at the center, the transverse voltage drop of the gate electrode layer between the contact portion at the end of the gate lead 6 and the outermost periphery of the semiconductor substrate 1 is limited by the thickness of the electrode layer so that the drop voltage becomes large. For example, if it is assumed the current flowing on the gate lead 6 is 100 A, the gate voltage reaches several hundred mV. As a result, it is impossible to make the gate turn-off uniform in plane, thereby involving a fear of causing turn-off breakage due to the concentration of current. In the case of an outer peripheral ring gate structure shown in FIG. 4, the contacting area of the gate electrode 34 and the gate terminal 53 is large, but the resistance produced when a current flows in the gate electrode layer is substantially the same as that in the case of a center gate structure, thereby involving a fear of causing turn-off breakage. In the case of an intermediate ring gate structure shown in FIG. 3, the annular gate terminal 52 is provided at an intermediate portion in the radial direction on the one main surface of the semiconductor substrate 1, and the contacting area with the gate electrode is considerably large. Since the resistance of the current in the gate electrode layer is as small as about 1/2 of the resistance in the case of the other structures, the transverse voltage drop of the gate electrode is reduced. However, since the annular gate electrode for bringing the annular gate terminal 51 into pressure contact is provided at an intermediate portion of the one main surface of the semiconductor substrate 1, the effective cathode area is reduced, so that the cathode current density is increased, thereby inconveniently increasing the forward voltage drop between the main electrodes.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to eliminate the above-described problems in the prior art and to provide a semiconductor device provided with a gate electrode structure which is capable of reducing the transverse voltage drop of the gate electrode without reducing the effective area of a main electrode. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wedged and lensed optical fiber in which the tip end of the optical fiber is formed into a wedge shape in order that a light beam generated from a laser diode light source is effectively coupled into the optical fiber utilized in an optical fiber communication system. The tip end of the optical fiber is formed into a shape such that a reflection beam or a multiple reflection beam returning from the optical fiber end face to the laser diode light source can be reduced.
2. Description of the Related Art
As has been well known, a laser diode light source 7, as shown in FIG. 8 has an active layer 7a with a light emitting end face such that the dimension in the longitudinal direction (YY-direction) is made relatively small while the dimension in the lateral direction (XX-direction) is relatively large. That is, the end face has an aspect ratio in which the dimension in the longitudinal direction and the dimension in the lateral direction are different from each other. Thus, the light emission pattern of the laser diode becomes an ellipse such that the radiating angle in the longitudinal direction (YY-direction) is relatively large while the radiating angle in the lateral direction (XX-direction) is relatively small.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,910,677 discloses a proposal in which irradiated light having an elliptical cross-section from the above-described laser diode light source is effectively collected into an optical fiber core having a circular cross-section. A configuration of the tip end of the above-introduced proposal will be described with reference to FIGS. 6A to 6C and FIG. 7B. FIG. 6A is a front view of-an optical fiber having a wedged shape according to the conventional technique, and FIGS. 6B, 6C, and 7B are a side view, a plan view, and an oblique view of the wedged and lensed optical fiber shown in FIG. 6A. The optical fiber has an optical fiber core 1 provided at the center of an optical fiber cladding 6. The tip end of the optical fiber is ground to form inclined surfaces 3 and 4 constituting a wedge shape so that the longitudinal direction (YY-direction) of the incident-end surface 2 of the optical fiber is symmetrical with respect to the optical axis (ZZ-direction) and the lateral direction (XX-direction) of the same extends in the direction perpendicular to the optical axis (ZZ-direction). Further, a ridge portion 5 resulting from formation of the wedge shape is formed to have a semi-cylindrical surface. According to the wedged and lensed optical fiber of an experimental trial manufacture using a single-mode optical fiber by the applicant et al. based on the present example, it was confirmed that a coupling efficiency of 80% or more was achieved.
According to the conventional wedged and lensed optical fiber, as shown in FIG. 2B, the ridge of the wedge-shaped portion extends in the lateral direction (XX-direction) in a plane perpendicular to the optical axis (ZZ-direction). Therefore, light P incident along the optical axis (ZZ) of the optical fiber end face (ridge portion) 5 is partly reflected at right angle to become reflected light BR1, which then becomes incident on the active layer of the light-emitting end face of the laser diode light source 7. At the same time, the reflected light BR1 becomes multiple reflection light repeatedly reflecting between the optical fiber end face 5 and the light-emitting end face of the laser diode light source 7. Furthermore, reflected returning light BR2 from a connecting surface (not shown) of an optical fiber circuit is similarly incident on the active layer of the light-emitting end face of the laser diode light source 7.
In this case, if the optical fiber end face 5 is given an antireflection coating (AR coating), the light reflectivity of the reflected light BR1 is about 2%. On the other hand, the reflected returning light BR2 returning from the connecting surface of the optical fiber circuit varies depending on the condition of the connecting surface of the optical fiber circuit. However, a reflectivity of 1.6% at most can be expected. The reflected light BR1 and the reflected returning light BR2 incident on the active layer of the light-emitting end surface of the laser diode light source 7 will negatively influence stable operation of the laser diode light source 7. Therefore, it is necessary to reduce the influence of the reflected light BR1 and the reflected returning light BR2 as far as possible.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a wedged and lensed optical fiber which can reduce the above-described negative influence caused by the reflected light BR1 and the reflected returning light BR2 on the stable operation of the laser diode light source.
Accordingly the present invention is provided with a wedged and lensed optical fiber in which the optical fiber is ground so that the ridge of the wedge-shaped optical fiber is formed into an inclined surface with an inclination angle of (xcex2) with respect to a plane perpendicular to the optical axis (ZZ) of the optical fiber.
Further, it is another object of the present invention to provide an arrangement of an optical fiber in which the wedged and lensed optical fiber is supported in a ferrule.
In order to achieve the above objects, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an optical fiber comprising a wedge-shaped lens at the tip end thereof, wherein a ridge of the optical fiber is formed such that the center tip end of a core lies in the ridge and the ridge is inclined to have an inclination angle (xcex2) with respect to a plane perpendicular to an optical axis of the optical fiber, and the ridge is formed into one of a semi-cylindrical surface and a conical surface.
In an optical fiber comprising a wedge-shaped lens, if a Z-axis is introduced so as to be coincident with the optical axis of the optical fiber and an XZ-plane is defined so that the ridge of the wedge-shaped lens lies in the XZ-plane, the optical fiber is supported so that the ridge is in parallel with a grinding surface and thereafter the optical fiber is tilted, whereby a pair of inclined surfaces are formed so that each of the surfaces has an inclination angle (xcex1) with respect to a plane perpendicular to the XZ-plane, and the ridge is formed into one of a semi-cylindrical surface and a conical surface by the grinding.
According to the above arrangement, the tip end side of the ridge can be cut away to form a flat surface up to the vicinity of the outer periphery of the core. Thus, the tip end of the optical fiber can be brought close to the light source.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an optical fiber comprising a wedge-shaped lens having a tip end thereof supported in a ferrule with a conical shape at the tip end thereof, and formed into a rooftop shape together with the tip end of the ferrule, wherein a ridge of the optical fiber is formed so as to include the center of a core at the tip end and to be inclined to have an inclination angle (xcex2) with respect to a plane perpendicular to an optical axis of the optical fiber, and the ridge is formed into one of a semi-cylindrical surface and a conical surface together with the conical surface of the ferrule.
If a Z-axis is introduced so as to be coincident with the optical axis of the optical fiber supported in the ferrule and an XZ-plane is defined so that the ridge of the wedge-shaped lens lies in the XZ-plane, the wedged and lensed optical fiber is supported together with the ferrule so that the ridge is in parallel with a grinding surface and thereafter the optical fiber is tilted, whereby a pair of inclined surfaces are formed on the tip end of a conical surface of the optical fiber and the ferrule so that each of the surfaces has an inclination angle (xcex1) with respect to a plane perpendicular to the XZ-plane, and the ridge is formed into one of a semi-cylindrical surface and a conical surface on the optical fiber together with the conical surface of the ferrule by the grinding.
The inclination of the generatrix of the cone of the ferrule at the tip end of the optical fiber is made substantially equal to the inclination angle a of the inclined surfaces.
The ferrule may be provided with an index determining the direction in which the ridge extends. The index may be formed by partly changing the columnar surface of the ferrule into some shape. Alternatively, the index may be implemented by providing a machined part fixed to the ferrule.
One of the semi-cylindrical surface and the conical surface formed on the ridge serves as a positive lens in the YZ-plane.
The inclination angle (xcex2) of the ridge at the tip end of the optical fiber is set so that xcex2xe2x89xa71xc2x0. | {
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Conventionally, to utilize a field-effect liquid crystal display device where the liquid crystals are in the twisted nematic mode, nematic liquid crystals of high positive dielectric anisotropy are utilized. The interior surfaces of the plates constituting the cell which holds the liquid crystal material are each unidirectionally rubbed with a material such as cotton, and the plates are mounted so that the rubbing directions of the opposed plates are at 90.degree. to each other. The molecules immediately adjacent to the inner surfaces of the plates orient themselves in the rubbing directions, and the molecules intermediate the plates form themselves into a helix of one-quarter turn. It is believed that minute grooves are formed by the rubbing and that the liquid crystal molecules fall into the grooves with the molecular axes parallel to the direction of the grooves. Where the rubbing directions, as indicated, are at right angles to each other and the liquid crystal cell is between crossed polarizer plates, then, in the absence of an electric field, light is transmitted through the system. However, if an electric field of sufficient strength is imposed across the cell, utilizing transparent electrodes on the inner surfaces of the cell wall and suitable voltage source connected to said transparent electrodes, then the molecules align themselves with their axes parallel to the imposed field and the optical activity of the liquid crystal material drops to zero. Under such circumstances the crossed polarizing plates prevent any light from passing through the system.
Conventionally, the transparent electrodes do not cover the entire surfaces of the cell plates so that portions of the plates to which the voltage is applied through the use of said electrodes will appear to be dark and opaque while the remainder will be illuminated and transparent. Conversely, if the liquid crystal cell is inserted between polarizers having parallel axes of polarization, that portion of the plates to which the voltage is applied will appear to be illuminated and transparent, and the remainder will be dark and opaque. Generally, the system is mounted so that the polarization axes of the polarizer plates are at 90.degree. to each other, such an arrangement having proved to be the most useful due to the visibility of the display.
Nematic liquid crystals of positive dielectric anisotropy when oriented transverse to the transmission axis of the incident light are birefringent. When the optical axis of the light incident on the liquid crystal layer conforms approximately to the direction of vibration of the incident light, then, in general, the extraordinary beam is the one which is transmitted and used for the display. However, nematic liquid crystals, in general, absorb short-wavelength light so that gradual deterioration and darkening of the liquid crystal material takes place, resulting in decreased visibility of the display provided by the system. It would, therefore, be desirable to eliminate this difficulty. | {
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Many individuals have realized the health and wellness benefits that can be obtained by simply decreasing or completely eliminating meat from their diets. Some individuals may wish to eliminate meat from their diet for animal rights reasons, as well.
Tofu is a plant based protein source that many people turn to in order to create the right balance of nutrients in their diet. Thus, tofu is widely used as a substitute for the protein that is generally obtained from eating meat. However, tofu preparation can be inconvenient and messy as many recipes require the cook to squeeze excess moisture from a block of tofu in order to prepare it. A block is the normal way that tofu is sold. Improperly prepped tofu can result in an inedible meal that can make some individuals completely give up on tofu as a meat alternative. Current methods of removing the moisture from a block of tofu include squeezing and pressing the tofu with paper towels and other heavier kitchen utensils that are generally inadequate and cumbersome and most do not always allow for storage of the tofu in the refrigerator. Thus, it would be advantageous if there were a means available that would provide those individuals who wish to remove meat from their diets a simple apparatus that can be used to easily remove excess moisture from blocks of tofu and provide a means of storing such prepared tofu. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a measurement apparatus and a sensor apparatus, and particularly, to a measurement apparatus for measuring the cadence at which the pedals of a bicycle are worked and the running speed of the bicycle and displaying them, and to a sensor apparatus used therefor.
2. Description of the Background Art
Conventionally, a measurement apparatus including a cadence sensor and a speed sensor is attached to a bicycle for measuring the cadence at which the pedals of the bicycle are worked and the running speed of the bicycle. A reference (an owner's manual available from CatEye Co., Ltd. (CAT EYE ASTRALE 8 CYCLOCOMPUTER CC-CD200, Owner's Manual), 2002) describes handling of such a measurement apparatus.
In the conventional measurement apparatus described in the reference, as shown in FIG. 7, in order to measure the running speed of a bicycle 102, a wheel magnet 125 is attached at a prescribed position on a spoke 103a of a front wheel 103, and a speed sensor 120 sensing the magnetism of wheel magnet 125 is mounted at a prescribed position on a front fork 104 rotatably supporting front wheel 103.
Further, in order to measure the cadence at which the pedals 106 of bicycle 102 are worked (the number of rotation of the pedals), a cadence magnet 126 is attached at a prescribed position on a gear crank 107, and a cadence sensor 121 sensing the magnetism of cadence magnet 126 is mounted at a prescribed position on a chain stay 108 rotatably supporting each of the axes of gear crank 107 and a rear wheel 105.
Signals sensed by speed sensor 120 and cadence sensor 121 are transmitted for processing to a display portion 122 attached to a handle 109 through cables 123 and 124, and displayed as the speed of the bicycle and the number of rotation of the pedals, respectively.
Cable 123 connecting display portion 122 and speed sensor 120 is arranged along front fork 104, and cable 124 connecting display portion 122 and cadence sensor 121 is arranged along a downtube 110. The conventional measurement apparatus is configured as described above.
On the other hand, the conventional measurement apparatus has the following problem. Speed sensor 120 and cadence sensor 121 are electrically connected to display portion 122 through cables 123 and 124, respectively. Accordingly, making the length of cables 123 and 124 as short as possible so as to avoid their complicated arrangement, naturally speed sensor 120 will be arranged on front wheel 103 side. As for cadence sensor 121, as it is necessary to be arranged in the vicinity of gear crank 107, there is a limit on reducing the length of cable 124.
Accordingly, in the conventional measurement apparatus, speed sensor 120 is arranged on front wheel 103 side away from cadence sensor 121. Thus, speed sensor 120 and cadence sensor 121 must be individually mounted to respective prescribed positions and adjusted, and therefore the measuring apparatus is troublesome to be mounted. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a pressure control valve and, more particularly, to a method for controlling the pilot pressure delivered to a pressure control valve of an engine oil pump.
2. Discussion
Engine lubrication is necessary to reduce friction and thus prevent excessive engine wear. To reduce friction, an oil pump circulates oil or other lubricants (under pressure) through the engine block, cylinder heads, etc. of a motor vehicle to lubricate its various moving parts, such as the camshaft, crankshaft, pistons and other various bearings.
Various ways have been proposed for controlling the amount of oil supplied to the engine. One way in which the amount of oil can be controlled is through a pressure control valve which selectively supplies oil from the pump to the engine. Typically, the oil pressure prevailing at the outlet of the oil pump is used to actuate the pressure control valve. Actuation of this control valve causes oil to be re-circulated back to an internal chamber of the oil pump or the oil sump. In this way, the pressure control valve not only controls the flow of oil into the lubrication circuit, but also regulates the output oil pressure from the pump.
It is an object of the present invention to control the flow of lubrication from the oil pump by using a pressure control valve, and thereby regulate pressure in the lubrication system.
It is another object of the present invention to blend or combine the oil pressure prevailing at the outlet of the oil pump with the oil pressure prevailing at or near the end of the remaining lubrication circuit for providing a more stable means of controlling the pressure control valve.
It is yet another object of the present invention to prevent excessive pump pressure during a cold start by blending or combining the oil pressure prevailing at the outlet of the oil pump with the oil pressure prevailing at or near the end of the remaining lubrication circuit, thereby providing a more stable means of controlling the pressure control valve, and during warm operation, the pressure control valve is actuated using the oil pressure prevailing at or near the end of the lubrication circuit, thereby better regulating oil pressure for all bearings regardless of the bearing clearance condition. | {
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Animal callers have taken many forms in relation to appearance, shapes, functionality, and types of materials used. Generally, animal callers have been hand-held devices in which the user holds the animal caller to his/her mouth and blows into the mouth piece having an animal sounding reed which produces a given animal sound. The user can typically keep the animal caller clenched between their teeth but usually one or both hands are needed to operate the animal caller properly. However, the user cannot hold their bow, rifle, shotgun, or camera at the ready while calling with an animal caller held in the users' hand(s). Even if the animal caller is held by the mouth only, typically, what happens is the bow, gun, or camera may be interfered with by the animal caller being held in the mouth as the user prepares for a shot. Alternatively, the user usually removes the animal caller from his/or her mouth and puts it away in a pocket, and this creates excessive movement which is likely to scare away the animal, such as a whitetail deer, at the critical moment of the shot.
There remains a need for a portable, non-hand held animal caller that is easily operated, and which eliminates all unnecessary hand movement, such as removing the animal caller from the mouth, allowing the users' hands to be free to hold the weapon or camera at the ready for a proper shot; and without interference from the animal caller. Preferably, the animal caller can be operated by the users' foot, but alternatively, it may be operated by the armpit or by leaning against the animal caller with portions of the body, such as the back or leg. The animal caller may be positioned on a plank, rock, tree, fence, and the like, and the user applies pressure with a body part to produce the animal call frequency needed to call the animal into view. This enables the hunter or photographer to continue calling right up to the time when a proper shot is taken, with minimal body movement. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
This present invention relates to a mobile terminal and a control method thereof.
2. Background of the Invention
Mobile terminals are implemented as multimedia devices having various functions, such as capture or playback of photographs or videos, Internet search, short message service (SMS), or social network service (SNS). Such mobile terminals can also provide more functions and services due to the current technology development. Thus, research is being conducted on a method for allowing a user to easily and directly select a desired function in a mobile terminal. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a magnetoresistance effect element using a magnetic multi-layer film having a giant magnetoresistance effect, and a magnetic head and a magnetic recording device using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a magnetic recording device such as an HDD, in order to enhance a recording density, a tendency of narrowing a recording track width of a recording medium is in progress. To compensate for the decrease of read output due to this narrowing of the recording track width, a demand for a magnetic head (MR head) employing a highly sensitive magnetoresistance effect element(MR element) is becoming strong. In particular, an MR head which is consisting of a magnetic multi-layer film stacked on a substrate in turn of a ferromagnetic layer (hereinafter refer to as a free layer) of which magnetization rotates according to a signal magnetic field, a non-magnetic layer, a ferromagnetic layer of which magnetization is pinning (hereinafter refer to as a pinned layer), and an antiferromagnetic layer for pinned the magnetization of the pinned layer, and displaying a giant magnetoresistance effect, is attracting attention.
In an MR head employing a spin valve film, Barkhausen noise due to discontinuous shift of magnetic domain walls of a free layer is a problem when putting it into practical use. To circumvent such a problem, a so-called overlaid structure is proposed, in which, as shown in FIG. 21, on area off a track width Wt of a spin valve film 1, a pair of magnetic hard layers 2 are disposed in advance as hard magnetic biasing films and both edge portions of the spin valve film 1 are stacked on the pair of hard magnetic layers 2.
In an overlaid structure, an exchange coupling is caused through stacking of a spin valve film 1 and magnetic hard layers 2. By extinguishing a magnetic domain of a free layer with a bias magnetic field due to mainly exchange coupling, Barkhausen noise is suppressed. An MR head of such an overlaid structure is expected because a high read output can be obtained, and an excellent off-track profile is displayed (IEEE Trans. on Mag. Vol. 32,3363(1996)).
Further, in a spin valve MR head shown in FIG. 21, a spin valve film 1 consists of a free layer 3, a non-magnetic layer 4, a pinned layer 5 and an antiferromagnetic layer 6. On the spin valve film 1, a pair of electrodes 7 for providing a sense current thereto are formed. A spin valve film 1 is interposed between a pair of magnetic shield layers 9a, 9b disposed above and below through magnetic gaps 8a, 8b, respectively. These constitute a shield type MR head. For enhancing sensitivity of a spin valve film 1, a Co containing ferromagnetic material such as a CoFe alloy is effective as a free layer 3 and a pinned layer 5.
Now, in order to respond to a further high densification of a magnetic recording density, even in a spin valve MR head, further narrowing of gaps (thinning of magnetic gaps 8a, 8b) is demanded. When an overlaid structure is applied in such a narrow gapped MR head as a bias structure, there is a problem that an effective bias strength can not be obtained. That is, even if a bias strength is tried to be heightened by increasing film thickness of magnetic hard layers 2 as a hard magnetic biasing film, since bias magnetic field leaks toward magnetic shield layers 9a, 9b, an effective bias strength can not be obtained.
In particular, when an overlaid structure is applied to a spin valve film possessing a non-magnetic under layer such as Ta, a magnetic coupling force between a free layer and a hard magnetic layer becomes weak to decrease a biasing effect of a bias magnetic field based on an exchange coupling. Thereby, a suppression effect of Barkhausen noise is further deteriorated.
As described above, in a bias structure of an MR head employing a spin valve film, an overlaid structure in which portions outside from a magnetic field detecting portion of a spin valve film are stacked on hard magnetic layers, due to the narrowing of gap or track of an MR head, is becoming difficult to supply effectively a biasing magnetic field to a free layer. Further, a spin valve film is under study to use as a magnetic memory device such as a magnetoresistance effect memory (MRAM). As to an MRAM, though there is not found so much mentioning of a structure with a biasing film, in some cases, a biasing film may become necessary. In such a case, a technology for eliminating noise with stability even when a size of a unit-cell is decreased is demanded. | {
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Various filters have been develped for filtering fluid, such as oil in hydraulic systems for example, and the desirability of providing bypass structure to permit the fluid to pass around the filter element when it becomes clogged is generally recognized. A popular approach has been to provide a bypass valve and movable filter element within a housing closed at one end by a cover. The filter element is normally spring-biased toward a position wherein the bypass valve is closed and filtration of the fluid can occur, but the filter element can move to an offset position wherein the bypass valve is open if the filter element becomes clogged and the pressure differential thereacross becomes too high so that fluid can flow around it and continue to circulate through the system without damage thereto. Various indicators have also been developed to signal such bypass conditions so that the filter elements can be changed, with U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,819,052 and 3,827,558 assigned to Donaldson Company, Inc. being representative of fluid filters having this feature.
The movable filter elements of such fluid filters, however, may under certain conditions experience oscillation which, if uncontrolled, may lead to problems. The possibility of filter element oscillation, which has been reported from the field and verified in the lab, increases as the filter element becomes progressively clogged, and is directly related to the sudden change in cross sectional flow area as it moves between the normal and bypass positions. As the filter element begins to move toward the bypass position in opposition to the retaining spring, the flow areea increases which results in decreased pressure drop across the filter element. This reduction in pressure enables the spring to force the filter element back toward the normal position, thereby decreasing the flow area and increasing the pressure drop, which in turn results in oscillation. Such oscillation may accelerate structural failure of the filter element and cause fluctuations in the electrical or visual indications of the filter conditions. Sudden displacements of the filter element by high pressure spikes such as during cold starts or other flow surges can also lead to such problems.
Fluid filters utilizing auxiliary mechanical means disposed between the filter element and the housing have been used heretofore for cushioning shock of the filter element during movement to the full bypass position; however, a need exists for an improved fluid filter incorporating an integral viscous damper to minimize and eliminate oscillation of the filter element. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to automatic control, electronics, DC-DC conversion, DC-AC conversion and energy technology, specifically, solar photovoltaic (PV) energy conversion system being used in power grid.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Advance in science and technology has brought many conveniences in daily lives, and at the same time various problems, such as, reduction in the mount of fossil fuel, causing higher price and energy crisis; new energy source development becomes increasingly important. New energy source has less impact on environment and less pollution to the air and water. More importantly, these kinds of energy are reusable and inexhaustible. Renewable energy includes solar energy, wind, thermal energy, ocean and water energy etc [1, 2]. Solar power becomes heated research area due to its cleanness and readily available and many configurations have been developed. Solar energy conversion system parallel connected to utility-power grid uses solar panels to convert solar energy to DC current, then uses power conditioner to convert DC to AC, which is fed into utility-power grid [3,4]. The system usually includes DC input source, power conditioner, distribution box, transformer and rechargeable batteries. The power conditioner is consist of DC/DC converter, DC/AC inverter and system controller, and may vary depending on different applications. Because output voltage of a solar panel is relatively low, conventional method uses series connection to form required output voltage on DC bus bar. However, the voltage can be easily affected by varying load, making it difficult to design subsequent stage inverter and degrading power quality. Furthermore, if one module in the series does not work in optimum condition, the whole system's efficiency will be suffered. Therefore, two-stage conversion method is usually used to achieve AC power output, first using DC/DC converter to boosting input voltage and then using DC/AC inverter to output AC voltage.
Conventional DC/DC step-up circuit utilizes a boost converter with a single inductor; power semiconductor switches in the circuit have to bear high voltage, large current and reverse recovery current spike in output diode; this decreases conversion efficiency and limits boost ratio to seven times ratio. Also, by using transformer to boost voltage, winding ratio will limit boosting range; if leakage induction is not effectively dealt with, conversion efficiency will suffer. To solve the problem, the present invention utilizes a conversion circuit using bi-directional induction energy transfer proposed in reference [7]; it has high boost ratio and fair conversion efficiency, up to thirty times DC/DC power conversion.
To stabilize power output from solar energy system, the present invention controls the inverter by a microprocessor. To solve control problem, due to parameters changing and various undeterminable conditions, variety control theories have been proposed, such as Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID)[8], Computed Torque Control, Sliding-Mode Control)[9, 10]. PID is widely used in the industry due to its simple in structure, easy to design and low cost; however, for a system with uncertain dynamic state, PID cannot provide effective solution. Computed Torque Control obtains linear equation by eliminating part or all non-linear factors in the non-linear equation, and then a linear feedback controller is designed to have a character of closed-loop control. Since the Computed Torque Control is based on idealization in eliminating non-linear dynamic state, it does not fully understand system's uncertain variables in the time domain, including changes in system parameters and external disturbances. Hence, larger boost gain is chosen in order to achieve desired strength and to guarantee stability.
The variable Structure Control or Sliding-Mode Control is one of effective non-linear control method [9-18], since under the Sliding-Mode Control controlled system states are not affected by the system uncertain variables and disturbances. The design of a Sliding-Mode Control system can be accomplished in two steps. First, the sliding plain in state variable space is chosen based on a required close-loop control; then the control rules are designed to make system state moving to and keeping on the sliding plain. At the beginning, the condition of system state locus touching the sliding plain is called the Reaching Phase; once the system state locus reaches the sliding plain, the system state will be kept on the plain and moving to a target point; this condition is call a Sliding Phase. When the system state is in the Reaching Phase, it is still affected by the changes of system parameters and external disturbances. Many design methods for Reaching Phase or Total Sliding-Mode Control are proposed to reduce the impact from system uncertain variables [12-15]. Study on special reaching rules is done by Gao and Hung [12] to explain the system state at a reaching phase; however, under this condition, system uncertain variables still affect system control capability. A Total Sliding-Mode Control [13-15] does not have reaching phase in control process and all the states are on the sliding plain; all control process is not affected by the system uncertain variables, but it still may cause vibration in control power and induce unstable state in the system. Few years ago, the Boundary Layer concept is used to eliminate the vibration phenomena in control power; however, if an improper width of boundary layer is chosen, the system can become unstable. Therefore, adaptive calculation [18], which can estimate uncertain variables, is used to reduce vibration phenomena and the present invention also adapts the method in all-bridge inverter.
Output from a solar panel will vary greatly depending on the strength of Sunlight. Fixed panel cannot absorb maximum solar energy throughout a day and the effectiveness of a solar energy conversion system will be limited. Recently, great emphasize has been made on Sun tracking system. A conventional Sun tracking system uses photo sensors mounted on both ends of the solar panel, and when the radiation measured by the sensors are equal, the solar panel is directed straight to the Sun; however, the sensors are not easy to be tuned and have limited life span. Therefore, the present invention proposes an active Sun tracking system, utilizing that open voltage from the solar panel is proportional to the strength of radiation, to track the Sun and to overcome the drawback of the conventional tracking system.
Relationships between the output voltage, the current and the power of a solar panel are non-linear. Radiation strengths, temperatures, deterioration of components and sensing materials will all influence output power of the solar panel. For different conditions, each has an unique working curve; each curve has a maxim power point and this point is the optimal position for the solar panel. To maximize utilization of a solar panel, a proper design for controlling is required in order to absorb maximum solar energy under various working environments. The method is so-called maximum power point tracking method [22-25], such as, the Power Feedback Method, the Incremental Conductance Method, the Linear Approximation Method, the Practical Measurement Method and the Perturbation and Observation Method. The Perturbation and Observation Method is the most popular method due to its simplicity, but it can cause energy loss due to difficulty in balancing the response time and the energy loss. Therefore, the present invention proposes an adaptive step disturbance method to overcame the drawback of the Perturbation and Observation Method, and to speed up maximum power point tracking and reduce energy loss.
References
[1] S. R. Bull, “Renewable energy today and tomorrow,” Proc. IEEE, vol. 89, no. 8, pp. 1216-1226, 2001.
[2] S. Rahman, “Green power: what is it and where can we find it?,” IEEE Power Energy Mag., vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 30-37, 2003.
[3] C. Yang and K. M. Smedley, “A cost-effective single-stage inverter with maximum power point tracking,” IEEE Trans. Energy Conversion, vol. 19, no. 5, pp. 1289-1294, 2004.
[4] B. M. T. Ho and S. H. Chung, “An integrated inverter with maximum power tracking for grid-connected PV systems,” IEEE Trans. Energy Conversion, vol. 20, no. 4, pp. 953-962, 2005.
[5] T. F. Wu, C. H. Chang, and Y. H. Chen, “A fuzzy-logic-controlled single-stage converter for PV-powered lighting system applications,” IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron., vol. 47, no. 2, pp. 287-296, 2000.
[6] T. J. Liang, Y. C. Kuo, and J. F Chen, “Single-stage photovoltaic energy conversion system,” IEE Proc. Electr. Power Appl., vol. 148, no. 4, pp. 339-344, 2001.
[7] R. J. Wai and R. Y. Duan, “High step-up converter with coupled-inductor,” IEEE Trans. Power Electron., vol. 20, no. 5, pp. 1025-1035, 2005.
[8] K. J. Astrom and T. Hagglund, PID Controller: Theory, Design, and Tuning. Research Triangle Park, NC: ISA, 1995.
[9] K. K. Shyu, Y. W. Tsai, and C. K. ai, “Sliding mode control for mismatched uncertain systems,” Electronic Letters, vol. 34, no. 24, pp. 2359-2360, 1998.
[10] K. K. Shyu, Y. W. Tsai, and C. K. Lai, “Stability regions estimation for mismatched uncertain variable structure systems with bounded controllers,” Electronic Letters, vol. 35, no. 16, pp. 1388-1390, 1999.
[11] V. I. Utkin, “Sliding mode control design principles and applications to electric drives,” IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron., vol. 40, no. 1, pp. 23-36, 1993.
[12] W. Gao and J. C. Hung, “Variable structure control for nonlinear systems: a new approach,” IEEE Tran. Ind. Electron., vol. 40, no. 1, pp. 2-22, 1993.
[13] J. C. Hung, “Total invariant VSC for linear and nonlinear systems,” A seminar given at Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China, December 1996; Hunan University Changsha, China, December 1996.
[14] K. K. Shyu and J. C. Hung, “Totally invariant variable structure control systems,” IEEE Conf. Ind. Electron. Contr. Instrument., vol. 3, pp. 1119-1123, 1997.
[15] K. K. Shyu, J. Y. Hung, and J. C. Hung, “Total sliding mode trajectory control of robotic manipulators,” IEEE Conf. Ind. Electron. Contr. Instrument., vol. 3, pp. 1062-1066, 1999.
[16] J. J. E. Slotine and W. Li, Applied Nonlinear Control. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1991.
[17] k. J. Astrom and B. Wittenmark, Adaptive Control. New York: Addison-Wesley, 1995.
[18] R. J. Wai and K. M. Lin, “Robust decoupled control of direct field-oriented induction motor drive,” IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron., vol. 52, no. 3, pp. 837-854, 2005.
[19] B. Koyuncu and K. Balasubramanian, “A microprocessor controlled automatic Sun tracker,” IEEE Trans. Consumer Electron., vol. 37, no. 4, pp. 913-917, 1991.
[20] A. Ferriere and B. Rivoire, “An instrument for measuring concentrated solar-radiation: a photo-sensor interfaced with an integrating sphere,” Sol. Energy, vol. 72, no. 3, pp. 187-193, 2002.
[21] J. D. Garrison, “A program for calculation of solar energy collection by fixed and tracking collectors,” Sol. Energy, vol. 72, no. 4, pp. 241-255, 2002.
[22] C. Hua, J. Lin, and C. Shen, “Implementation of a DSP-controlled photovoltaic system with peak power tracking,” IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron., vol. 45, no. 1, pp. 99-107, 1998.
[23] Y. H. Lim and D. C. Hamill, “Simple maximum power point tracker for photovoltaic arrays,” Electronics Letters, vol. 36, no. 11, pp. 997-999, 2000.
[24] E. Koutroulis, K. Kalaitzakis, and N. C. Voulgaris, “Development of a microcontroller-based, photovoltaic maximum power point tracking control system,” IEEE Trans. Power Electron., vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 46-54, 2001.
[25] M. A. S. Masoum, H. Dehbonei, and E. F. Fuchs, “Theoretical and experimental analyses of photovoltaic systems with voltage- and current-based maximum power-point tracking,” IEEE Trans. Energy Conversion, vol. 17, no. 4, pp. 514-522, 2002. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The present invention is generally related to a power supply control apparatus and a power supply control method for use in portable electronic equipments driven by a battery. More specifically, the present invention is directed to a key input circuit, a power supply control apparatus, and a power supply control method for use in portable electronic equipments, in which a power supply control key is provided with a key switch formed by arranging a plurality of key contacts at cross points of a key matrix, a hardware size is suppressed, and a software processing sequence used to detect a depression of a key is made simple.
In a conventional power supply control apparatus, a key switch for controlling a supply of electric power is realized by a power supply control key which is arranged independently from a key matrix. When the power supply is turned ON, since this power supply control key is depressed, the power supply is directly controlled so as to commence supplying of the electric power. Also, when the power supply is turned OFF, supplying of the electric power is stopped by interrupting a process operation executed by a processing apparatus (CPU etc.), and by detecting a key depression (by monitoring key state) executed by the processing apparatus (CPU etc.) via an I/O port.
However, the power supply control key used to instruct the power supply control of the power supply and also the key matrix for entering the key operation are independently arranged in the above-explained conventional power supply control apparatus Since the key input directed to the power supply control and the key input directed to the key input operation are detected by the other circuits, there is such a problem. That is, the processing systems would become complex, and thus, the overall hardware size of the power supply control apparatus is increased.
Also, since the key depression detecting procedure for entering the key operation is required independent from the depression detection procedure of the power supply control key, there is another problem that the software processing procedure used to detect the key depression detection would become complex.
The present invention has been made to solve the above-explained conventional problems, and therefore, has an object to provide a key input circuit, a power supply control apparatus, and a power supply control method for a portable electronic equipments, in which a power supply control key is provided with a key switch formed by arranging a plurality of key contacts at cross points of a key matrix, a hardware size is suppressed, and a software processing sequence used to detect a depression of a key is made simple.
To solve the above-described problems, a key input circuit for a portable electronic equipments, according to the first aspect of the present invention, comprises: a key switch formed by arranging a plurality of key contacts at cross points of a key matrix, and equipped with one of the plural key contacts as a power supply control key; a key scan circuit for detecting open/close states of the plural key contacts of the key switch; and power supply control key state detecting means for detecting an open/close state of a contact of the power supply control key independent from the open/close state detection by the key scan circuit.
Preferably, in the key input circuit, the key scan circuit may include: scanning means for scanning any one of a row and a column of the key matrix by way of a binary logic signal; and key state detecting means for acquiring the binary logic signal of the scanning means via the key matrix, and for separately detecting the open/close states of the plurality of key contacts based upon the logic value of the acquired binary logic signal.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, a power supply control apparatus for a portable electronic equipments comprises: a key switch formed by arranging a plurality of key contacts at cross points of a key matrix, and equipped with one of the plural key contacts as a power supply control key; a key scan circuit for detecting open/close states of the plural key contacts of the key switch; power supply control key state detecting means for detecting an open/close state of a contact of the power supply control key independent from the open/close state detection by the key scan circuit; and a power supply for commencing a supply of electric power in such a case that the close state of the contact of the power supply control key is detected by the power supply control key state detecting means; and processing means for stopping the supply of the electric power from the power supply in the case that the close state of the contact of the power supply control key is detected by the key scan circuit.
Preferably, in the power supply control apparatus, the key scan circuit may include: scanning means for scanning any one of a row and a column of the key matrix by way of a binary logic signal; and key state detecting means for acquiring the binary logic signal of the scanning means via the key matrix, and for separately detecting the open/close states of the plurality of key contacts based upon the logic value of the acquired binary logic signal.
According to third aspect of the present invention, a power supply control method for a power supply control apparatus of a portable electronic equipment comprising; a key switch formed by arranging a plurality of key contacts at cross points of a key matrix, and equipped with one of the plural key contacts as a power supply control key; a key scan circuit for detecting open/close states of the plural key contacts of the key switch; power supply control key state detecting means for detecting an open/close state of a contact of the power supply control key independent from the open/close state detection by the key scan circuit; and a power supply; the power supply control method is comprised of: a power supply starting step for starting a supply of electric power in such a case that the close state of the contact of the power supply control key is detected by the power supply control key state detecting means; and a power supply stopping step for stopping the supply of the electric power from the power supply in the case that the close state of the contact of the power supply control key is detected by the key scan circuit.
Preferably, in a power supply control method, the detection of the close state of the contact of the power supply control key by the key scan circuit at the power supply stopping step includes: a scanning step for scanning any one of a row and a column of the key matrix by way of a binary logic signal; and a key state detecting step for acquiring the binary logic signal of the scanning means via the key matrix, and for separately detecting the open/close states of the plurality of key contacts based upon the logic value of the acquired binary logic signal.
In the key input circuit, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the key switch formed by arranging a plurality of key contacts at the cross points of the key matrix is provided with the power supply control key; and the key scan circuit for detecting the open/close states of the plural key contacts of the key switch is independently arranged from the power supply control key state detecting means for detecting the open/close state of the contact of the power supply control key. For instance, the following control operation is carried out in such a manner that when the power supply is turned ON, the depression of the power supply control key is detected by the power supply control key state detecting means, and the power supply is directly controlled by this detection signal so as to commence the supply of the electric power. When the operation is ended, or the power supply is turned OFF, the depression of the power supply control key is detected by the key scan circuit, and the supply of the electric power is stopped by way of a process means of an apparatus to which this key input circuit is applied.
As previously explained, since the power supply control key for instructing the supply control of the electric power is arranged within the key matrix for the operation input in an integral manner, the total hardware amount can be suppressed without making the key input detecting circuit complex. Also, since the depression detecting procedure of the power supply control key can be carried out in accordance with the same procedure as the key depression detecting procedure for the operation input, the software processing procedure for detecting the key depression can be made simple.
More specifically, it is desirable in the key input circuit that in the key scan circuit, the scanning means scans any one of the row and the column of the key matrix by way of the binary logic signal, and the key state detecting means acquires the binary logic signal of the scanning means via the key matrix, and separately detects the open/close states of the plurality of key contacts based upon the logic value of the acquired binary logic signal.
Further, in accordance with the power supply control apparatus and the power supply control method according to the second and third aspects of the present invention, the key switch formed by arranging a plurality of key contacts at the cross points of the key matrix is provided with the power supply control key; and the key scan circuit of r detecting the open/close states of the plural key contacts of the key switch is independently arranged from the power supply control key state detecting means for detecting the open/close state of the contact of the power supply control key. When the power supply is turned ON (power supply starting step), the depression of the power supply control key (close state of contact of power supply control key) is detected by the power supply control key state detecting means. The power supply is directly controlled based upon the detection signal so as to start the supply of the electric power from this power supply. When either the operation is accomplished or the power supply is turned OFF (power supply stopping step), the depression of the power supply control key (close state of contact of power supply control key) is detected by the key scan circuit, and then the supply of the electric power from the power supply is stopped by the processing means employed in this power supply control apparatus.
As previously explained, since the power supply control key for instructing the supply control of the electric power is arranged within the key matrix for the operation input in an integral manner, the total hardware amount can be suppressed without making the key input detecting circuit complex. Also, since the depression detecting procedure of the power supply control key can be carried out in accordance with the same procedure as the key depression detecting procedure for the operation input, the software processing procedure for detecting the key depression can be made simple.
In particular, it is so desirable in the power supply control and the power supply control method that in the key scan circuit (detection of close state of power supply control key contact by key scan circuit at power supply stopping step), the scanning means (scanning step) scans any one of the row and the column of the key matrix by way of the binary logic signal; and the key state detecting means (key state detecting step) acquires the binary logic signal of the scanning means via the key matrix, and separately detects the open/close states of the plurality of key contacts based upon the logic value of the acquired binary logic signal. | {
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Computer simulation of large-scale physics events, such as the destruction of an entire building or group of buildings, is computationally expensive because of the large number of objects (e.g. individual fragments) involved. In many examples, more objects are required in order to achieve realistic destruction than can be handled on a single compute device and so the destruction which is simulated needs to be approximated or limited in some way. | {
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Optimal vaccine design requires a balance between maximal immunogenicity, safety and tolerability. The improved safety profile of modern recombinant vaccines has generally come with lower immunogenicity profiles. There is therefore a need for adjuvants and novel delivery systems that boost immunogenicity, while retaining safety and tolerability. | {
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The product belongs to the class of so-called “Szeto-Schiller peptides”. Szeto-Sciller peptides or “SS peptides” are small, aromatic-cationic, water soluble, highly polar peptides, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,703,483 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,576,061, which can readily penetrate cell membranes. The aromatic-cationic peptides include a minimum of two amino acids, and preferably include a minimum of four amino acids, covalently joined by peptide bonds. The maximum number of amino acids is about twenty amino acids covalently joined by peptide bonds. As described by EP 2012/2436390, optimally, the number of amino acids present in the SS peptides is four.
Bendavia® is being tested for the treatment of ischemia reperfusion injury in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), for the treatment of acute kidney injury (AKI) and renal microvascular dysfunction in hypertension, for the treatment of skeletal muscle dysfunction, for the treatment of mitochondrial myopathy and for the treatment of chronic heart failure. Trials are ongoing to assess the Ocuvia's potential to treat Leber's Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON) a devastating inherited disease that causes sudden blindness, often in young adults.
Mitochondria are the cell's powerhouse, responsible for more than 90% of the energy our bodies need to sustain life and support growth. The energetics from mitochondria maintains healthy physiology and prevents disease. In many common and rare diseases, dysfunctional mitochondria are a key component of disease progression.
D-Arginyl-2,6-dimethyl-L-tyrosyl-L-lysyl-L-phenylalaninamide is a cell-permeable and mitochondria-targeted peptide that showed antioxidant activity and was concentrated in the inner mitochondrial membrane. Compound (<1 nM) significantly reduced intracellular reactive oxygen species, increased mitochondrial potential and prevented tBHP-induced apoptosis in both N2A and SH—SY5Y neuronal cell lines. In rats, intraperitoneal treatment (1 and 3 mg/kg) 1 day prior to unilateral ureteral obstruction and every day thereafter for 14 days significantly decreased tubular damage, macrophage infiltration and interstitial fibrosis. Compound (3 mg/kg i.p. qd for 2 weeks) also prevented apoptosis and insulin reduction in mouse pancreatic islets caused by streptozotocin.
Further studies performed in a G93A mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) demonstrated that the compound (5 mg/kg/day i.p. starting at 30 days of age) led to a significant delay in disease onset. Potentially useful for the treatment of ALS and may be beneficial in the treatment of aging and diseases associated with oxidative stress.
In the last few years the peptide H-D-Arg-(2,6-Dimethyl)Tyr-L-Lys-L-Phe-NH2, shown in FIG. 1, and its therapeutic activity have been disclosed and claimed by in several patent applications.
EP 2436390, US 20110245182 and US 20110245183 claim topical anesthetic compositions for application to the skin for pain management or anti-skin aging agents, respectively, comprising Szeto-Schiller peptides; SS-31 is specifically claimed as active ingredient. Sequence of solid-phase synthesis is indicated as the preferred preparation process.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,718,620 claims a process of treating or preventing ischemia-reperfusion injury of the kidney in a mammal by administrating an effective amount of an aromatic-cationic peptide. SS-31 is specifically claimed as active ingredient.
WO02005/001023 discloses a generic method and carrier complexes for delivering molecules to cells comprising a molecule and an aromatic cationic peptide of type D-Arg-Dmt-Lys-Phe-NH2. The tetrapeptide SS-31 is specifically claimed as product useful for the process at claim 18.
WO2012/174117 and WO2014/210056 claim therapeutic compositions based on SS peptides and the aromatic-cationic peptide D-Arg-Dmt-Lys-Phe-NH2 as active agent.
WO 2013/086020, WO 2004/070054 and WO 2005/072295 provide processes for preventing mitochondrial permeability transition and reducing oxidative damage in a mammal, a removed organ, or a cell in need thereof and specifically claims the process wherein the peptide does not have mu-opioid receptor agonist activity, i.e., D-Arg-Dmt-Lys-Phe-NH2.
WO 2009/108695 discloses a process for protecting a kidney from renal injury which may be associated with decreased or blocked blood flow in the subject's kidney or exposure to a nephrotoxic agent, such as a radiocontrast dye. The processes include administering to the subject an effective amount of an aromatic-cationic peptide to a subject in need thereof and one of the selected peptide is D-Arg-Dmt-Lys-Phe-NH2.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,703,483 discloses a detailed procedure for the preparation of novel analogs of DALDA [H-Tyr-D-Arg-Phe-Lys-NH2], namely H-Dmt-D-Arg-Phe-Lys-NH2 using the solid-phase techniques and p-methylbenzhydrylamine resin and protocols that have been extensively used by inventor's laboratory.
Most prior art processes for preparing the compound typically comprise conventionally performed peptide solid-phase synthesis with further purification by chromatography in order to obtain the requested purity for therapeutic use.
It is well known that solid-phase synthesis followed by chromatographic purification is time consuming, very expensive and very difficult to be scaled up on industrial scale, so the need of developing a process for large scale production is obvious. The compound is isolated as organic acid salt, as acetate or trifluoro acetate.
Reddy et al., Adv. Exp. Med. Biol., 2009, 611, 473 generally describe the liquid-phase synthesis of antioxidant peptides of FIG. 1 and similar others (SS-02, SS-20), involving routinely used side chain protecting groups for amino acid building blocks. The guanidine group was protected with NO2 and the ε-NH2 of Lys was protected by Cbz or 2-Cl-Cbz. These peptides were synthesized using Boc/Cbz chemistry and BOP reagent coupling. Starting with the C-terminal Lys residue protected as H-Lys(2-Cl-Cbz)-NH2, (prepared from the commercially available Boc-Lys(2-Cl-Cbz)-OH in two steps by amidation with NH4HCO3 in the presence of DCC/HOBt following a literature procedure [Ueyama et all, Biopolymers, 1992, 32, 1535, PubMed: 1457730], followed by exposure to TFA). Selective removal of the 2-Cl-Cbz in the presence of the NO2 group was accomplished using catalytic transfer hydrogenolysis (CTH) [Gowda et al., Lett. Pept. Sci., 2002, 9, 153].
A stepwise procedure by standard solution peptide synthesis for preparation of potent μ agonist [Dmt]DALDA and its conversion into a potent δ antagonist H-Dmt-Tic-Phe-Lys(Z)—OH by substitution of D-Arg with Tic to enhance the δ opioid agonist activity is described by Balboni et al., J. Med. Chem., 2005, 48, 5608]. A general synthetic procedure for a similar tetrapeptide ([Dmt-D-Arg-Phe-Lys-NH2 is described by Ballet et al., J. Med. Chem. 2011, 54, 2467].
Similar DALDA analog tetrapeptides were prepared by the manual solid-phase technique using Boc protection for the α-amino group and DIC/HOBt or HBTU/DIEA as coupling agent [Berezowska et al., J. Med. Chem., 2009, 52, 6941; Olma et al., Acta Biochim. Polonica, 2001, 48, 4, 1121; Schiller at al., Eur. J. Med. Chem., 2000, 35, 895.
Despite the high overall yield in the solid-phase approach, it has several drawbacks for the scale-up process such as: a. use of the highly toxic and corrosive hydrogen fluoride for cleavage of the peptide from the resin, b. low loading (0.3-0.35 mmol/g of resin) proved necessary for successful end-step, and c. use of excess amounts of reagents (3-fold of DIC, 2.4-fold of HOBt, etc.) on each step [Ryakhovsky et al., Beilstein J. Org. Chem., 2008, 4(39), 1, doi: 10.376/bjoc.4.39] | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, and more particularly, to a transfer unit of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, which transfers an image formed on a developing unit onto paper.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, electrophotographic image forming apparatuses are devices which form an electrostatic latent image on a photosensitive medium, such as a photosensitive drum or a photosensitive belt, and develop the electrostatic latent image with toner of a predetermined color, and transfer the developed electrostatic latent image onto paper, thereby obtaining a desired image.
FIG. 1 schematically illustrates the structure of a conventional electrophotographic image forming apparatus. The electrophotographic image forming apparatus 100 includes a plurality of developing units 110 and a transfer unit 140. Although a plurality of the developing units 110 are included, the present description refers to a single developing unit 110 for simplicity of explanation.
The developing Unit 110 develops an electrostatic latent image formed on a photosensitive drum 130 by a laser scanning unit (LSU) 120 with a predetermined color.
The transfer unit 140 transfers the image, transferred from the photosensitive drum 130 onto a transfer belt 145, onto paper. The transfer belt 145 is rotatably supported by a transfer belt steering roller 141 to maintain tension of the transfer belt 145, a plurality of transfer backup rollers 142, and a driving roller 144. The photosensitive drum 130 is supported by each of a plurality of the transfer backup rollers 142, wherein the transfer belt 145 is placed therebetween.
Reference numeral 170 denotes a cleaning blade which is installed opposite to the transfer belt steering roller 141, wherein the transfer belt 145 is placed therebetween. The cleaning blade 170 closely contacts the transfer belt 145 with a predetermined pressure, and cleans a developing agent remaining on the transfer belt 145 after the image is transferred onto the paper.
A photosensitive drum cleaning blade 132, which contacts the surface of the photosensitive drum 130 and removes the developing agent remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 130, is installed adjacent to the photosensitive drum 130.
Although not shown, a fusing unit which fuses the transferred image on the paper is further installed.
In the conventional electrophotographic image forming apparatus 100 having the above structure, the transfer unit 140 closely contacts the photosensitive drum 130 with a predetermined pressure so that the image is transferred from the photosensitive drum 130 onto the transfer belt 145. However, when the transfer unit 140 or the developing unit 110 is replaced, the transfer belt 145 and the photosensitive drum 130 that closely contact each other to form the image on the transfer belt 145 must be spaced apart from each other. Thus, a device which can closely contact the transfer unit 140 or be spaced apart from the photosensitive drum 130, is required.
The photosensitive drum 130 and the transfer belt 145 must uniformly contact each other and require a low pressure and a high precision. However, the conventional transfer unit 140 includes a plurality of components, and is thus large and heavy.
The number of components of the transfer unit 140 becomes even larger, and the precision of the components is accordingly lowered. Thus, costs increase, the life span of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus is reduced, and it is inconvenient to use the electrophotographic image forming apparatus. | {
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A botulinum toxin produced by Clostridium botulinum, anaerobic Gram-positive bacteria, is the most lethal neurotoxin on earth. It is classified into seven types, A, B, C, D, E, F and G, and the property of each type has been elucidated. The types are distinguishable from each other by respective type-specific neutralizing antibodies. Depending on the types, a botulinum toxin may vary in animal species it may affect, severity of paralysis it induces, duration of time of its action, and the like. An active center protein of a botulinum toxin has a molecular weight of about 150 kDa (NTX) as common in all the known seven types.
Any botulinum toxin, when produced from Clostridium botulinum, is a complex composed of NTX and relevant nontoxic proteins. A type A botulinum toxin is produced in a molecular form of either 900 kDa (LL toxin), 500 kDa (L toxin), or 300 kDa (M toxin) (FIG. 1). These botulinum toxins are separate to release NTX and NTNH (a nontoxic protein) under alkaline conditions (pH 7.2 or higher). By utilizing this property, it is possible to isolate NTX of 150 kDa (an active center protein that endows a neurotoxin with the activity; also called “S toxin”) alone. These LL, L and M toxins are called a botulinum toxin complex or a progenitor toxin. These botulinum toxins are, upon absorption in the upper small intestine, separate to release nontoxic proteins and a neurotoxin in a lymphatic vessel. The released neurotoxin is then bound to a receptor at the nerve end at its C-terminus of a heavy chain and taken into neurons via the receptor. Then, it specifically cleaves a protein in the presynaptic membrane through a light chain zinc methaloendopeptidase activity and inhibits a calcium-dependant release of acetylcholine to thereby block neuromuscular transmission at the synapse (Non-patent reference 1).
Although a botulinum toxin is a neurotoxin that may lead human to death in botulinum intoxication through blockage of systemic neuromuscular transmission, it may also be utilized as a remedy for treating a disease with a muscle overactivity such as e.g. dystonia by positively making use of its activity and by administering directly into the muscle of a patient suffering from the disease so that a local muscular tension may be relieved (Non-patent reference 2). For instance, a type A botulinum toxin complex (Allergan Inc., BOTOX; registered trademark) has been approved as a medicament for treating blepharospasm, strabismus, hemifacial spasm, and cervical dystonia, and for treating wrinkles at the middle of the forehead by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). A seritype B botulinum toxin complex (Elan Pharmaceuticals, MYOBLOC; registered trademark) has also been approved as a medicament for treating cervical dystonia by FDA. It is said that a type A botulinum toxin has a higher potency and a longer duration of action as compared to types other than a type A botulinum toxin. An average duration of action of a type A botulinum toxin from its single muscular administration up till amelioration of symptoms is typically about 3 to 4 months.
In recent years, the action of botulinum toxin has been proved at (1) the neuromuscular conjunctions, (2) the ganglions of the autonomic nerves, (3) the terminal of the postganglionic parasympathetic nerve, (4) the terminal of the postganglionic sympathetic nerve, and (5) the pain receptive fibers. For the neuromuscular conjunctions of the skeletal muscles, the terminal of the muscarinic acetylcholinergic nerves is the main active site. Among the ganglions of the autonomic nerves, it is conceived that a direct action to the ganglions of the parasympathetic nerves is related to a clinic action. It is also reported that the action to the peripheral autonomic nerves causes inhibition of release of ATP, VIP (vasoactive intestinal polypeptide) or substance P or inhibition of the action of NO (nitric oxide) synthetase. It also became known that botulinum toxin is useful for alleviating pain. In this action, it is reported that botulinum toxin inhibits release of glutamic acid, substance P and CGRP (calcitonin gene-related peptide) (Non-patent reference 2). As such, botulinum toxin is a useful neuromuscular transmission blocking agent that inhibits release of various neurotransmitters at various nerves.
Currently, a biological potential of a therapeutic preparation of a botulinum toxin such as a type A botulinum toxin is indicated as a mouse LD50 unit. One LD50 is defined as LD50 which is, based on intraperitoneal administration to mice, defined as an amount with which a half number of mice tested dies. Namely, a potential is quantified with a level or an amount of a neurotoxin with which mice die as a consequence of respiratory muscular relaxation. One LD50, i.e. one unit, in mice of commercially available type A botulinum toxin complex (Allergan, Inc., BOTOX; registered trademark; containing 100 units) is about 50 pg.
Therapeutic preparations of botulinum toxin are available from Allergan Inc. (U.S.A.), Ipsen Limited (U.K.) or Elan Pharmaceuticals (Ireland). These commercially available therapeutic preparations of botulinum toxin consist of a purified botulinum toxin complex (LL toxin) alone in a molecular structure bound with relevant non-toxic proteins. In recent years, type A NTX preparations (Merz Pharma, Xeomin (registered trademark), Germany) comprising no non-toxic proteins were sold in 2005, similar other preparations underwent clinical trials in the U.S.A. and development of next-generation preparations has actively been done.
The currently commercially available therapeutic preparations of type A botulinum toxin, i.e. BOTOX (registered trademark) from Allergan Inc. and Dysport (registered trademark) from Ipsen Limited, are consisted of a botulinum toxin complex (LL toxin) comprising as its component Haemagglutinin (HA) protein such as HA17, HA34, and HA70 (HA-positive).
On the other hand, a botulinum toxin isolated from patients suffering from infant botulism in 1990, though belonging to type A, is consisted of M toxin with no HA proteins (HA-negative). Type A Clostridium botulinum that produces M toxin with no HA protein has been first identified in Japan in 1986 from patients suffering from infant botulism (Non-patent reference 3). The clinically isolated strains include Kyoto-F, Chiba-H, Y-8036, 7I03-H, 7I05-H and KZ1828. When compared with the other types A to G of botulinum toxins, a botulinum toxin from Clostridium botulinum that causes infant botulism is a peculiar neurotoxin distinct from any types of these toxin molecules.
From the genetic point of view, a genetic mechanism of Clostridium botulinum as infant botulism pathogen is different from those of the other types of botulinum toxin. Most of the conventional botulinum toxins, typically type A botulinum toxin, has been seen as a botulinum toxin complex having Haemagglutinin (HA) protein as a component thereof. Genes coding for HA proteins such as HA17, HA34 and HA70 are included in neurotoxin genes of types A, B, C, D and G Clostridium botulinum but are completely absent in those of Clostridium botulinum as infant botulism pathogen. Also, genes of Clostridium botulinum as infant botulism pathogen include a regulator gene such as p47 (Non-patent reference 4). Besides, it was shown that a sequence of the NTNH protein of botulinum toxin produced by Clostridium botulinum as infant botulism pathogen is a miscellany, i.e. a mosaic, of non-toxic non-HA protein NTNH genes of type C and type A (Non-patent reference 5).
Furthermore, when botulinum toxin produced by Clostridium botulinum as infant botulism pathogen is compared with the conventional type A botulinum toxin comprising HA proteins, biochemical properties of the purified botulinum toxins are remarkably different from each other. The conventional type A botulinum toxin comprises the NTNH protein and at least three HA proteins (HA17, HA34 and HA70) whereas botulinum toxin produced by Clostridium botulinum as infant botulism pathogen comprises the NTNH protein alone but lacks the HA proteins (Non-patent reference 6). As for neurotoxin molecules per se, a molecular weight is distinct from each other in that a heavy chain of the conventional type A botulinum toxin is 93 kDa whereas botulinum toxin produced by Clostridium botulinum as infant botulism pathogen is 101 kDa. They also show different protease reactivity (Non-patent reference 7). The amino acid sequences of these two isotypes of the botulinum toxins are different by 89.9% as a whole and, in particular, there is great difference in the heavy chain regions, 109 among 847 amino acids (difference of 13%). On the other hand, it is reported that the light chains are different by 95.1% (Non-patent reference 8).
On the other hand, a problem has been presented that repetitive administration of botulinum toxin may diminish its efficacy. This phenomenon is thought to be due to production of antibodies against the toxin. It is pointed out that, as one of the causes, Haemagglutinin (HA) contained in therapeutic preparations has an adjuvant activity for antibody production (Non-patent reference 9).
For a highly purified botulinum toxin, it was formerly reported by Tse C K., et al. (Non-patent reference 10) and also in WO1996/11699 (Patent reference 1) as to a process for purification (p. 6, line 9 to p. 7, line 2) and pharmaceutical compositions (p. 11, Table 2). Patent reference 1: WO1996/11699 Non-patent reference 1: Jankovic J. et al., Curr. Opin. Neurol., (7): p. 358-366, 1994 Non-patent reference 2: Ryuji Kaji et al., “Dystonia and botulinum therapy”, Shindan-To-Chiryosha, 2005 Non-patent reference 3: Sakaguchi G. et al., Int. J. Food Microbiol., 11: p. 231-242, 1990 Non-patent reference 4: Kubota T. et al., FEMS Microbiology letters, 158: p. 215-221, 1998 Non-patent reference 5: Kubota T. et al., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun., 224(3): p. 843-848, 1996 Non-patent reference 6: Sakaguchi G. et al., Int. J. Food Microbiol. 11: p. 231-242, 1990 Non-patent reference 7: Kozaki S. et al., Microbiol. Immunol. 39(10): p. 767-774, 1995 Non-patent reference 8: Cordoba J. et al., System. Appl. Microbiol. 18: p. 13-22, 1995 Non-patent reference 9: Arimitsu H. et al., Infect. Immun., 71(3): p. 1599-1603, 2003 Non-patent reference 10: Tse C K. et al., Eur. J. Biochem., 122(3): p. 493-500, 1982 | {
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The following conventional techniques are known: Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. H4-369027 (hereinafter “Conventional Technique 1”) and Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. H7-294892 (hereinafter “Conventional Technique 2”), each disclosing a mobile information terminal employing a touch panel; Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 58-116377 (hereinafter “Conventional Technique 3”) disclosing a hand-held game apparatus incorporating two screens; Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2002-325963 (hereinafter “Conventional Technique 4”) disclosing a game system employing two screens; and Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. H6-285259 (hereinafter “Conventional Technique 5”) disclosing a controller for a video game machine employing a touch panel.
In Conventional Technique 1 and Conventional Technique 2, two (upper and lower) screens are provided, with a touch panel being provided on one of the screens for displaying an operational input screen. Conventional Technique 1 and Conventional Technique 2 may be suitable for the inputting of text or still image information. From Conventional Technique 1 and Conventional Technique 2, it is not readily known what sort of usage is possible in the context of a video game (e.g., what sort of displayed content is provided by the software).
Conventional Technique 3 is directed to a hand-held game machine provided with two (upper and lower) screens, the upper screen displaying a stationary image of a two-storied building (showing the outer look of both the first and second floors), and the lower screen showing the inside of the first floor in a stationary manner, against which characters and falling movements of oil are displayed in segments. However, since the background images displayed on the upper and lower screens are stationary, and the moving characters and oil drops are only displayed in segments, Conventional Technique 3 is perhaps best suited to displaying images with simple and little motion, as opposed to a map (or an imaginary game world) of a large game space which would be required for popular role playing games (RPGs), simulation RPGs (SRPGs), action games, and shooting games.
Conventional Technique 4 is directed to a game system where a plurality of hand-held game machines are connected to a single video game machine. A shared map which is common to a plurality of players is displayed on a screen that is displayed by the video game machine on a household television set, while a dedicated image is displayed on the screen of each player's hand-held game machine, the latter image being confined to a narrow field as viewed by the player. Conventional Technique 4 uses a single household television set and a plurality of hand-held game machines. While Conventional Technique 4 is suitable for displaying a simple map image such as that of a maze puzzle game, this technique may not be suitable for RPGs, SRPGs, and action games because such games generally require complex and broad maps. Moreover, the picture to be displayed on each hand-held game machine is a field of view as determined by the program; that is, the user is apparently not allowed to select the displayed area. Thus, the game operation may become monotonous, which may lead to boredom of the user.
In Conventional Technique 5, a touch panel and a liquid crystal display device are provided for a game controller, which is to be connected to a video game machine. Operable icons, such as operation switches and the like, are displayed on the liquid crystal display device of the liquid crystal controller (game controller), such that an operation signal which is input by the user touching on the touch panel causes a displayed picture on the TV screen to change. Conventional Technique 5 touches on the problem of displaying two kinds of screens, such as: displaying a game picture of an airplane from a different point of view on the TV screen, while displaying an icon such as a control stick to be operated in a cockpit thereof on the liquid crystal display screen (as shown in its FIG. 3); displaying a game picture of an entire piano on the TV screen, while displaying icons such as keys of the keyboard of the piano to be played on the liquid crystal display screen (as shown in its FIG. 4); displaying an entire map on the TV screen, while displaying an enlarged image including tanks or airplanes which are controllable by the player on the liquid crystal display screen (as shown in its FIG. 7). However, according to Conventional Technique 5, the game screen is nonetheless a single TV screen. Moreover, the display image on the TV screen and the display image on the liquid crystal display screen both depend on the program, which means that the player is probably not able to freely change the displayed area or change the range to be enlarged. Thus, the displayed images may become monotonous, and the user may become bored. Furthermore, since the touch panel and the liquid crystal display device are provided on the game controller, the player presumably has to look down to watch the operative icons or look up to gaze straight ahead at the game picture on the TV screen. Ocular fatigue might result. Moreover, in order to go back and forth between the TV screen and the liquid crystal display screen which is provided on the game controller, a slight change in the viewing angle or viewing direction may not suffice. Such difficulties in looking at the displays could lead to poor controllability.
The technology herein provides a novel hand-held game apparatus which allows a user to play a game while going back and forth between two kinds of maps, namely, a narrow-range map and a broad-range map game. In one exemplary illustrative non-limiting implementation, it is possible to arbitrarily change the displayed state of at least one of the broad-range map and the narrow-range map by manipulating a touch panel which is mounted correspondingly to a liquid crystal display section for displaying the broad-range map. A game program for use therewith is also provided.
Another exemplary illustrative non-limiting implementation provides a hand-held game apparatus which allows a user to play a game by using two kinds of maps, namely, a narrow-range map and a broad-range map game. The player can arbitrarily change the displayed state (e.g., a moving direction and a moving range) of the broad-range map by manipulating a touch panel which is mounted correspondingly to a liquid crystal display section for displaying the broad-range map; and a game program for use therewith is also provided.
In a further exemplary non-limiting implementation providing a hand-held game apparatus which allows a user to play a game by using two kinds of maps, namely, a narrow-range map and a broad-range map game, the player can arbitrarily change the displayed state (e.g., the displayed area or a coordinate position) of the narrow-range map by manipulating a touch panel which is mounted correspondingly to a liquid crystal display section for displaying the broad-range map/A game program for use therewith is also provided.
Yet another object of the present exemplary illustrative non-limiting implementation is directed at providing a hand-held game apparatus which, by using a narrow-range map and a broad-range map game, allows a user to play a game which is novel and interesting. The exemplary non-limiting technology further allows a user to play a game which requires strategic thoughts. A game program for use therewith is also provided.
An exemplary non-limiting hand-held game apparatus comprises a first liquid crystal display section, a second liquid crystal display section, a housing, a touch panel, manipulation detection means, map image data generation means, object image data generation means, map image data change imparting means, and display control means.
The first liquid crystal display section displays a first game picture including a map for a game. The a second liquid crystal display section, located near the first liquid crystal display section, displays a second game picture including a map covering a broader range than does the map displayed on the first liquid crystal display section. The housing accommodates the first liquid crystal display section and the second liquid crystal display section. The touch panel, mounted at least correspondingly to the second liquid crystal display section, outputs coordinate data when the touch panel is manipulated, the coordinate data indicating a manipulated position on a display surface of the second liquid crystal display section.
Further, the manipulation detection means detects at least one of a designated coordinate position and a designated moving direction based on the coordinate data output from the touch panel. Based on a game program, the map image data generation means generates broad-range map image data for causing the second liquid crystal display section to display a broad-range map image, and narrow-range map image data for causing the first liquid crystal display section to display a narrow-range map image. The object image data generation means generates object image data for causing at least the first liquid crystal display section to display an object belonging to the game.
Additionally, in accordance with at least one of the designated coordinate position and the designated moving direction as detected by the manipulation detection means on the second liquid crystal display section, the map image data change imparting means changes at least one of the narrow-range map image data and the broad-range map image data generated by the map image generation means. The display control means controls the first liquid crystal display section to display the narrow-range map image data generated by the map image data generation means together with the object image data generated by the object image data generation means being superposed thereon as the first game picture. The display control means also controls the second liquid crystal display section to display the broad-range map image data generated by the map image data generation means as the second game picture. The display control means further controls one of the first or second liquid crystal display section to display at least one of the broad-range or narrow-range map image data as changed by the map image data change imparting means.
Thus, a hand-held game apparatus can be provided which allows the player to change the displayed state of at least one of the broad-range map and the narrow-range map through the manipulation of the touch panel.
The manipulation detection means may detect the designated coordinate position based on the coordinate data output from the touch panel. The map image data change imparting means changes, in accordance with the designated coordinate position as detected by the manipulation detection means on the broad-range map displayed by the second liquid crystal display section, the narrow-range map image data generated by the map image generation means so as to represent a narrow-range map image around the designated coordinate position.
Thus, the narrow-range map image can be changed so as to represent the neighborhood of a coordinate position designated by means of the touch panel on the broad-range map screen.
The manipulation detection means may detect the designated moving direction based on the coordinate data output from the touch panel. The map image data change imparting means changes, in accordance with the designated moving direction as detected by the manipulation detection means on the broad-range map displayed by the second liquid crystal display section, the broad-range map image data generated by the map image generation means so as to represent a broad-range map image having been moved in the designated moving direction.
Thus, the broad-range map image can be moved (scrolled) in a direction designated through the manipulation of the touch panel.
The manipulation detection means may detect the designated coordinate position and the designated moving direction based on the coordinate data output from the touch panel. The map image data change imparting means is operable to: change, in accordance with the designated coordinate position as detected by the manipulation detection means on the broad-range map displayed by the second liquid crystal display section, the narrow-range map image data generated by the map image generation means so as to represent a narrow-range map image around the designated coordinate position; change, in accordance with the designated moving direction as detected by the manipulation detection means on the broad-range map displayed by the second liquid crystal display section, the broad-range map image data generated by the map image generation means so as to represent a broad-range map image having been moved in the designated moving direction.
Thus, based on the manipulation of the touch panel, the displayed area of the narrow-range map image can be changed, and also the broad-area map image can be scrolled.
A further exemplary illustrative non-limiting hand-held game apparatus may comprise a first liquid crystal display section, a second liquid crystal display section, a housing, a touch panel, manipulation detection means, first map image data generation means, second map image data generation means, object image data generation means, map image data change imparting means, and display control means, where the change in the map image according to the first aspect is a change in the narrow-range map image.
The first liquid crystal display section, the second liquid crystal display section, the housing, the touch panel, and the object image data generation means may be constructed similarly to those in the hand-held game apparatus according to the first aspect. The map image data generation means comprises a first map image data generation means and a second map image data generation means. The manipulation detection means at least detects coordinate data of a designated coordinate position based on a manipulation of the touch panel. Based on a game program, the first map image data generation means generates narrow-range map image data for causing the first liquid crystal display section to display a narrow-range map image. Based on the game program, the second map image data generation means generates broad-range map image data for causing the second liquid crystal display section to display a broad-range map image. In response to an instruction of a designated coordinate position for enlarged display as detected by the manipulation detection means on the broad-range map image, the map image data change imparting means at least changes the narrow-range map image data so as to represent a narrow-range map image around the designated coordinate position. The display control means controls the first liquid crystal display section to display as the first game picture the narrow-range map image data. This data may be generated by the first map image data generation means or changed by the map image change imparting means together with the object image data generated by the object image data generation means being superposed thereon. The display control means also controls the second liquid crystal display section to display as the second game picture the broad-range map image data generated by the second map image data generation means.
While the broad-range map image is being displayed by the second liquid crystal display section, the manipulation detection means generates data designating a displayed area for the narrow-range map image centered around the designated coordinate position, based on a predetermined click operation on the touch panel. Also, while the broad-range map image is being displayed by the second liquid crystal display section, the map image data change imparting means changes, in accordance with the data designating the displayed area as detected by the manipulation detection means, the narrow-range map image data so as to represent a narrow-range map image around the designated coordinate position.
The manipulation detection means may detect the designated moving direction based on a manipulation of the touch panel. The map image data change imparting means changes, in response to an instruction of a moving direction as detected by the manipulation detection means, the broad-range map image data generated by the second map image generation means so as to represent a broad-range map image having been moved in the designated moving direction.
The manipulation detection means may detect the instruction of the moving direction based on an amount of change in the coordinate data as detected over time. The map image data change imparting means comprises scroll display control means for gradually changing, in accordance with the instruction of the moving direction as detected by the manipulation detection means, the broad-range map image data generated by the second map image data generation means so as to represent a broad-range map image which is gradually scrolled in the designated moving direction.
A further exemplary illustrative non-limiting hand-held game apparatus may comprise a first liquid crystal display section, a second liquid crystal display section, a housing, a touch panel, manipulation detection means, first map image data generation means, second map image data generation means, object image data generation means, map image data change imparting means, and display control means, where the change in the map image according to the first aspect is a change in the broad-range map image. The first liquid crystal display section, the second liquid crystal display section, the housing, the touch panel, and the object image data generation means are constructed similarly to those in the hand-held game apparatus according to the first aspect. The map image data generation means comprises a first map image data generation means and a second map image data generation means. The manipulation detection means at least detects a moving direction in accordance with a change in a designated coordinate position, based on the coordinate data output from the touch panel. Based on a game program, the first map image data generation means generates narrow-range map image data for causing the first liquid crystal display section to display a narrow-range map image. Based on the game program, the second map image data generation means generates broad-range map image data for causing the second liquid crystal display section to display a broad-range map image. In response to an instruction of a moving direction as detected by the manipulation detection means on the broad-range map image, the map image data change imparting means at least changes the narrow-range map image data generated by the second map image data generation means so as to represent a broad-range map image having been moved in the designated moving direction. The display control means controls the first liquid crystal display section to display as the first game picture the narrow-range map image data generated by the first map image data generation means together with the object image data generated by the object image data generation means being superposed thereon. The display control means also controls the second liquid crystal display section to display as the second game picture the broad-range map image data generated by the second map image data generation means or changed by the map image change imparting means.
The manipulation detection means may further detect a designated coordinate position based on a manipulation of the touch panel. The map image data change imparting means changes, in response to the manipulation detection means detecting the coordinate position, the narrow-range map image data generated by the first map image data generation means so as to represent an enlarged narrow-range map image around the designated coordinate position. The display control means controls the first liquid crystal display section to display as the first game picture the narrow-range map image data having been moved by the map image data change imparting means together with the object image data generated by the object image data generation means being superposed thereon.
The object image data generation means may generate large-size player object image data for causing the first liquid crystal display section to display a large-size player object and small-size player object image data for causing the second liquid crystal display section to display a small-size player object. The map image data change imparting means changes the narrow-range map image data generated by the map image generation means in accordance with the designated coordinate position as detected by the manipulation detection means on the broad-range map, and changes the broad-range map image data so as to represent a scrolled broad-range map image in accordance with the designated moving direction as detected by the manipulation detection means on the broad-range map. The display control means is operable to: control the first liquid crystal display section to display as the first game picture the narrow-range map image data having been changed by the map image data change imparting means together with the large-size player object image data generated by the object image data generation means being superposed thereon; and to control the second liquid crystal display section to display as the second game picture, the broad-range map image data having been changed by the map image data change imparting means together with the small-size player object image data generated by the object image data generation means being superposed thereon, thus causing the changed narrow-range map image and the changed broad-range map image to be displayed.
An exemplary illustrative non-limiting game program is provided corresponding to the hand-held game apparatus of the first aspect, for use with a hand-held game apparatus comprising: a first liquid crystal display section for displaying a first game picture including a map for a game; a second liquid crystal display section, located near the first liquid crystal display section, for displaying a second game picture including a map covering a broader range than does the map displayed on the first liquid crystal display section; a housing for accommodating the first liquid crystal display section and the second liquid crystal display section; a touch panel, mounted at least correspondingly to the second liquid crystal display section, for outputting coordinate data when the touch panel is manipulated, the coordinate data indicating a manipulated position on a display surface of the second liquid crystal display section; and a computer. The game program causes the computer to execute: a manipulation detection step, a map image data generation step, an object image data generation step, a map image data change imparting step, and a display control step.
The manipulation detection step detects at least one of a designated coordinate position and a designated moving direction based on the coordinate data output from the touch panel. Based on a game program, the map image data generation step generates broad-range map image data for causing the second liquid crystal display section to display a broad-range map image and narrow-range map image data for causing the first liquid crystal display section to display a narrow-range map image. The object image data generation step generates object image data for causing at least the first liquid crystal display section to display an object belonging to the game. In accordance with at least one of the designated coordinate position and the designated moving direction as detected by the manipulation detection step on the broad-range map, the map image data change imparting step changes at least one of the narrow-range map image data and the broad-range map image data generated by the map image generation step. The display control step controls the first liquid crystal display section to display as the first game picture the narrow-range map image data generated by the map image data generation step together with the object image data generated by the object image data generation step being superposed thereon. The display control step controls the second liquid crystal display section to display as the second game picture the broad-range map image data generated by the map image data generation step. The display control step further controls one of the first or second liquid crystal display section to display at least one of the broad-range or narrow-range map image data as changed by the map image data change imparting step.
Thus, a game program can be provided which allows the player to change the displayed state of at least one of the broad-range map and the narrow-range map through the manipulation of the touch panel.
The map image data change imparting step may change, in accordance with the designated coordinate position as detected by the manipulation detection step on the broad-range map, the narrow-range map image data generated by the map image generation step so as to represent a narrow-range map image around the designated coordinate position.
The map image data change imparting step may change, in accordance with the designated moving direction as detected by the manipulation detection step on the broad-range map, the broad-range map image data generated by the map image generation step so as to represent a broad-range map image having been moved in the designated moving direction.
The map image data change imparting step may comprise: changing, in accordance with the designated coordinate position as detected by the manipulation detection step on the broad-range map, the narrow-range map image data generated by the map image generation step so as to represent a narrow-range map image around the designated coordinate position; and changing, in accordance with the designated moving direction as detected by the manipulation detection step on the broad-range map, the broad-range map image data generated by the map image generation step so as to represent a broad-range map image having been moved in the designated moving direction.
An exemplary non-limiting game program may be provided corresponding to the hand-held game apparatus of the fifth aspect, for use with a hand-held game apparatus comprising: a first liquid crystal display section for displaying a first game picture including a map for a game; a second liquid crystal display section, located near the first liquid crystal display section, for displaying a second game picture including a map covering a broader range than does the map displayed on the first liquid crystal display section; a housing for accommodating the first liquid crystal display section and the second liquid crystal display section in predetermined positions; a touch panel, mounted at least correspondingly to the second liquid crystal display section, for outputting coordinate data when the touch panel is manipulated, the coordinate data indicating a manipulated position on a display surface of the second liquid crystal display section; and a computer. The game program causes the computer to execute: a manipulation detection step, a first map image data generation step, a second map image data generation step, an object image data generation step, a map image data change imparting step, and a display control step. The manipulation detection step at least detects coordinate data of a designated coordinate position based on a manipulation of the touch panel. Based on a game program, the first map image data generation step generates narrow-range map image data for causing the first liquid crystal display section to display a narrow-range map image. Based on the game program, the second map image data generation step generates broad-range map image data for causing the second liquid crystal display section to display a broad-range map image. The object image data generation step generates object image data for causing at least the first liquid crystal display section to display an object belonging to the game. In response to an instruction of a designated coordinate position for enlarged display as detected by the manipulation detection step on the broad-range map image, the map image data change imparting step at least changes the narrow-range map image data so as to represent a narrow-range map image around the designated coordinate position. The display control step controls the first liquid crystal display section to display as the first game picture the narrow-range map image data generated by the first map image data generation step or changed by the map image change imparting step together with the object image data generated by the object image data generation step being superposed thereon. The display control step also controls the second liquid crystal display section to display as the second game picture the broad-range map image data generated by the second map image data generation step.
While the broad-range map image is being displayed by the second liquid crystal display section, the manipulation detection step generates data designating a displayed area for the narrow-range map image which is centered around the designated coordinate position, based on a predetermined click operation on the touch panel. Also, while the broad-range map image is being displayed by the second liquid crystal display section, the map image data change imparting step changes, in accordance with the data designating the displayed area as detected by the manipulation detection step, the narrow-range map image data so as to represent a narrow-range map image around the designated coordinate position.
The manipulation detection step may detect the designated moving direction based on a manipulation of the touch panel. The map image data change imparting step changes, in response to an instruction of a moving direction as detected by the manipulation detection step, the broad-range map image data generated by the second map image generation step so as to represent a broad-range map image having been moved in the designated moving direction.
The manipulation detection step may detect the instruction of the moving direction based on an amount of change in the coordinate data as detected over time. The map image data change imparting step comprises a scroll display control step of gradually changing, in accordance with the instruction of the moving direction as detected by the manipulation detection step, the broad-range map image data generated by the second map image data generation step so as to represent a broad-range map image which is gradually scrolled in the designated moving direction.
An exemplary illustrative non-limiting game program is provided corresponding to the hand-held game apparatus of the twelfth aspect, for use with a hand-held game apparatus comprising: a first liquid crystal display section for displaying a first game picture including a map for a game; a second liquid crystal display section, located near the first liquid crystal display section, for displaying a second game picture including a map covering a broader range than does the map displayed on the first liquid crystal display section; a housing for accommodating the first liquid crystal display section and the second liquid crystal display section in predetermined positions; a touch panel, mounted at least correspondingly to the second liquid crystal display section, for outputting coordinate data when the touch panel is manipulated, the coordinate data indicating a manipulated position on a display surface of the second liquid crystal display section; and a computer. The game program causes the computer to execute: a manipulation detection step, a first map image data generation step, a second map image data generation step, an object image data generation step, a map image data change imparting step, and a display control step. The manipulation detection step at least detects a moving direction in accordance with a change in a designated coordinate position, based on the coordinate data output from the touch panel. Based on a game program, the first map image data generation step generates narrow-range map image data for causing the first liquid crystal display section to display a narrow-range map image. Based on the game program, the second map image data generation step generates broad-range map image data for causing the second liquid crystal display section to display a broad-range map image. The object image data generation step generates object image data for causing at least the first liquid crystal display section to display an object belonging to the game. In response to an instruction of a moving direction as detected by the manipulation detection step on the broad-range map image, the map image data change imparting step at least changes the narrow-range map image data generated by the second map image data generation step so as to represent a broad-range map image having been moved in the designated moving direction. The display control step controls the first liquid crystal display section to display, as the first game picture, the narrow-range map image data generated by the first map image data generation step together with the object image data generated by the object image data generation step being superposed thereon. The display control step also controls the second liquid crystal display section to display as the second game picture, the broad-range map image data generated by the second map image data generation step or changed by the map image change imparting step.
Thus, according to the exemplary non-limiting implementations, a novel hand-held game apparatus is provided which allows a user to play a game while going back and forth between two kinds of maps, namely, a narrow-range map and a broad-range map game. It is also possible to arbitrarily change the displayed state of at least one of the broad-range map and the narrow-range map by manipulating a touch panel which is mounted correspondingly to a liquid crystal display section for displaying the broad-range map. A game program for use therewith is also provided.
Moreover, a user may play a game by using two kinds of maps, namely, a narrow-range map and a broad-range map game. In this game, the player can arbitrarily change the displayed state (e.g., a moving direction and a moving range) of the broad-range map by manipulating a touch panel which is mounted correspondingly to a liquid crystal display section for displaying the broad-range map. A game program for use therewith is also provided.
Moreover, the player can arbitrarily change the displayed state (e.g., the displayed area or a coordinate position) of the narrow-range map by manipulating a touch panel which is mounted correspondingly to a liquid crystal display section for displaying the broad-range map.
Furthermore, a hand-held game apparatus and associated game program using a narrow-range map and a broad-range map game allows a user to play a game which is novel and interesting and which requires strategic thoughts. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The disclosure relates generally to systems and methods for reducing the creation of pulsations in a fluid passing through a valve.
To form an oil or gas well, a bottom hole assembly (BHA), including a drill bit, is coupled to a length of drill pipe to form a drill string. The drill string is then inserted downhole, where drilling commences. During drilling, drilling fluid, or “mud,” is circulated down through the drill string to lubricate and cool the drill bit as well as to provide a vehicle for removal of drill cuttings from the borehole. After exiting the bit, the drilling fluid returns to the surface through the annulus formed between the drill string and the surrounding borehole wall.
Instrumentation for taking various downhole measurements and communication devices are commonly mounted within the drill string. Many such instrumentation and communication devices operate by sending and receiving pressure pulses through the annular column of drilling fluid maintained in the borehole.
Mud pumps are commonly used to deliver the drilling fluid to the drill string during drilling operations. Many conventional mud pumps are reciprocating pumps, having one or more piston-cylinder assemblies driven by a crankshaft and hydraulically coupled between a suction manifold and a discharge manifold. Each piston-cylinder assembly has a piston housed within a cylinder. A suction valve positioned between the cylinder and the suction manifold is operable to control the flow of drilling fluid from the suction manifold into the cylinder. Likewise, a discharge valve positioned between the cylinder and the discharge manifold is operable to control the flow of drilling fluid from the cylinder to the discharge manifold.
During operation of the mud pump, the piston is driven to reciprocate within the cylinder. As the piston moves to expand the volume within the cylinder, the discharge valve is closed, and drilling fluid is drawn from the suction manifold through the suction valve into the cylinder. After the piston reverses direction, the volume within the cylinder decreases, the pressure of drilling fluid contained with the cylinder increases, the suction valve closes, and the now-pressurized drilling fluid is exhausted from the cylinder through the discharge valve into the discharge manifold. While the mud pump is operational, this cycle repeats, often at a high cyclic rate, and pressurized drilling fluid is continuously fed to the drill string at a substantially constant rate.
Many conventional suction and discharge valves are poppet valves, each such valve having a poppet that is movable relative to a valve seat between a seated position, wherein the poppet engages the valve seat to prevent fluid flow through the valve, and an unseated position, wherein the poppet is disengaged from the valve seat and fluid may pass through the valve. When moving between the seated and unseated positions, it is common for the poppet to shiver. As used herein, the expression “shiver” refers to the unstable movement of the poppet caused at least in part by forces exerted on the poppet from fluid passing around the poppet through the valve.
Shivering creates pulsations in the drilling fluid that may disturb the downhole communication devices and instrumentation by degrading the accuracy of measurements taken by the instrumentation and hampering communications between downhole devices and control systems at the surface. Over time, the pulsations may also cause fatigue damage to the drill string pipe and other downhole components. Moreover, when the poppet is proximate the valve seat, shivering results in repeated contact between the poppet and the valve seat. Over time, repeated impact of the poppet against the valve seat causes wear to each component that shortens their service life.
Accordingly, there is a need for a poppet valve that is configured to reduce, or eliminate, shivering. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Mobile platforms are becoming smaller and smaller, and typically have smaller screens and less Input/Output (IO) ports from generation to generation.
Docking stations are commonly used nowadays to extend the IO port array of the mobile platforms, and provide a convenient means for a mobile platform to hook up to a static variety of peripheral devices (“peripherals”), such as displays, monitors, external storage devices, external Hard Disk Drives (HDD), a mouse, a keyboard, a webcam, communication devices, and the like.
A docking device (also referred to as “docking station”) may typically be placed on a table, while being permanently connected to the peripherals, and the user may connect the mobile platform to the docking station (“dock”) to utilize the peripherals.
A wireless docking station may be configured to enable a wireless connection of the mobile platform to the wireless docking station. The wireless connection may enable the user to connect the mobile device to the peripheral devices without physically connecting the mobile device to the docking station.
Accordingly, the wireless docking station may provide a convenient and easy to use connection between the mobile platform and the peripheral devices.
However, since the mobile platform is not physically connected to the docking station, movement of the mobile platform can cause unpredictable effects on the wireless communication link between the mobile platform and the docking station. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus, such as a printer or a plotter, and a method of driving the same, and more particularly, to an ink jet recording apparatus having a recording head including a plurality of nozzle rows.
Some of ink jet recording apparatus (hereinafter simply called xe2x80x9crecording apparatusxe2x80x9d), such as some printers or plotters, have a recording head including a plurality of nozzle rows for effecting color recording, high-speed recording, or the like recording operation.
In the recording head, the amount of ink to be ejected varies when a drive voltage of a drive signal is increased or decreased, whereby the density of an image deviates from designed standard density. For this reason, setting of an optimal drive voltage is important. To this end, the amount of ink has conventionally been determined for each nozzle row, and a drive voltage of a drive signal has conventionally been determined such that an average calculated from the thus-determined amount of ink assumes a target amount.
For instance, in a case where an ink droplet of 8.0 pL (picoliters, the same also applies in the following description), which is a target amount, is ejected through use of a recording head having a total number of seven nozzle rows, the amount of ink a1 is taken for the first nozzle row; the amount of ink a2 is taken for the second nozzle row; . . . , and the amount of ink a7 is taken for the seventh nozzle row. A drive voltage is set such that a value resulting from division of the sum of the amounts of ink a1 to a7 by 7 assumes a value of 8.0 pL.
Since the amount of ink ejected from the recording head tends to vary from one nozzle row to another nozzle row, identifying information indicating a variation in the amount of ink is imparted to respective nozzle rows.
A drive signal of the thus-set drive voltage is supplied to pressure generating elements (e.g., piezoelectric transducers) of the recording head, thereby causing the elements to eject ink droplets. Further, the number of times ink droplets are ejected per unit area is increased or decreased by reference to the identifying information. Thus, an image whose image density and color balance have been adjusted is recorded.
Recently, strong demand has arisen for a recording apparatus of this type which produces a higher image quality. Further, the amount of ink has also reduced considerably to, e.g., 4 to 2 pL. In the case of such ink droplets of smaller amount, a difference in velocity of ink droplets between nozzle rows becomes greater than in the case of a related-art recording apparatus. When the above-stated adjustment method was applied to such a related-art recording apparatus, some ink droplets were found to fly at a velocity lower than the minimum required velocity.
A deficiency in flight velocity often results in deviation of an ink droplet from a regular landing position. This is considered to be attributable to the following. Namely, the recording apparatus is configured to eject ink droplets while a recording head is moved in a main scanning direction, and the trajectory of ink droplets having flown deviates from a normal trajectory for reasons of a deficiency in flight velocity.
It has turned out that a deviation in the landing position induces degradation of image quality, such as appearance of graininess in a recorded image or occurrence of a curvature of a line. Further, ink droplets have also been found to turn into mist before arrival at a print recording medium.
In the case of the small amount of ink, a variation arising in amount of ink between nozzle rows also becomes large. However, if the variation in the amount of ink has exceeded an allowable range, ink ejected from a nozzle row, which eject a smaller amount of ink, is found to fail to fill a portion in a solid painted image, thereby causing a white streak.
The invention has been conceived in light of the circumstances and aims at improving a recorded image quality by use of a small amount of ink.
In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided an ink jet recording apparatus, comprising:
a recording head provided with:
a plurality of nozzles;
a plurality of pressure chambers, each communicated with one nozzle; and
a plurality of pressure generating elements, each associated with one pressure chamber and actuated to eject ink from one associated nozzle;
an ejection controller, which specifies a nozzle from which an ink droplet having the least weight is ejected as a reference nozzle; and
a driving signal generator, which generates a driving signal applied to the respective pressure generating elements, the drive signal having a driving voltage determined such that an ink droplet ejected from the reference nozzle has a predetermined flight velocity or more.
Preferably, the ejection controller specifies a nozzle from which an ink droplet having the lowest flight velocity is ejected as the reference nozzle.
With such configurations, the flight velocities of ink droplets ejected from nozzles which provide the lowest flight velocity become not less than a required velocity. Therefore, even when an extremely small amount of ink is ejected, the ink can be impacted on a predetermined position without fail, thereby preventing transformation of ink into mist. Ink droplets ejected from the remaining nozzles have flight velocities at least equal to or greater than that provided by the reference nozzles, and hence the accuracy of landing position can be ensured, thereby preventing transformation of ink into mist.
Since a high correlation exists between the flight velocities of ink droplets and the amount of ink ejected, the flight velocities of ink drop lets become not less than the required velocity, thereby ensuring a required amount of ink. Consequently, there can be prevented occurrence of a white streak, which would otherwise be caused by a deficiency in the amount of ink.
Alternatively, it is preferable that the ejection controller specifies a nozzle from which an ink droplet having the lowest amount is ejected as the reference nozzle.
In this case, the flight velocities of ink droplets are determined on the basis of the amount of ink ejected. Hence, in addition to the foregoing advantages, the invention can simplify a measurement device and procedures and hence is suitable for mass production.
Preferably, the recording head is provided with a first identifier which indicates an ink amount ejected from each nozzle when the driving signal is applied.
Here, it is preferable that the ejection controller includes an image density corrector which determines a number of ink ejection per a unit area of each nozzle in accordance with the first identifier.
With such configurations, the hue of a recorded image can be made equal to a designed hue while the accuracy of landing position of an ink droplet is ensured. Further, the density of the image can be made equal to designed density.
Here, it is preferable that the ink jet recording apparatus further comprises a mode selector which selects one recording mode among a plurality recording modes, each defined by an ejectable minimum amount of an ink droplet. The recording head is provided with a plurality of first identifiers each indicating an ink amount ejected from each nozzle in an associated recording mode, when the driving signal is applied. The image density corrector determines the ink ejection number based on a first identifier associated with a recording mode selected by the mode selector.
Here, it is preferable that the image density corrector determines the ink ejection number only when a recording mode in which the ejectable minimum ink drop amount is less than a predetermined amount is selected by the mode selector.
With such configurations, an identifier suitable for the subject recording mode can be used, so that the image quality can be further improved.
Preferably, the recording head is provided with a second identifier which indicates a difference between a target ink ejection amount and an ink amount ejected from each nozzle when the driving signal is applied.
Here, it is preferable that the ejection controller includes an image density corrector which determines a number of ink ejection per a unit area of each nozzle in accordance with the first identifier and the second identifier.
With such configurations, the hue of a recorded image can be made equal to a designed hue while the accuracy of landing position of an ink droplet is ensured. Further, the density of the image can be made equal to designed density.
Preferably, the recording head is provided with a Tc rank which is determined with reference to a natural period of ink in the pressure chamber, and referred to determine the driving voltage.
With this configuration, a setting properly reflecting a characteristic of the recording head can be performed in accordance with a flight velocity of an ink droplet which varies in response to the natural period.
Preferably, the ink jet recording apparatus further comprises a mode selector which selects one recording mode among a plurality recording modes, each defined by an ejectable minimum amount of an ink droplet. The recording head is provided with a plurality of first identifiers each indicating an ink amount ejected from each nozzle in an associated recording mode, when the driving signal is applied. The recording head is provided with a plurality of second identifiers each indicating a difference between a target ink ejection amount and an ink amount ejected from each nozzle in an associated recording mode, when the driving signal is applied. The image density corrector determines the ink ejection number based on a first identifier and a second identifier associated with a recording mode selected by the mode selector.
Such a configuration enables use of an identifier suitable for the recording mode, thus improving an image quality to a more extent.
Preferably, the recording head is provided with a plurality of nozzle rows. The pressure generating elements are unitized with respect to each nozzle row.
Preferably, the pressure generating elements are piezoelectric vibrators.
Preferably, the recording head is provided with a plurality of nozzle rows each associated with one color. The ejection controller specifies a nozzle rows from which ink droplets having the least weight are ejected as a reference nozzle rows. The driving voltage is determined such that each ink droplet ejected from the reference nozzle row has the predetermined flight velocity.
According to the present invention, there is also provided a method of driving an ink jet recording apparatus, comprising the steps of:
providing a recording head provided with:
a plurality of nozzles; and
a plurality of pressure generating elements, each associated with one nozzle and actuated to eject ink therefrom;
measuring weights of the respective ink droplets ejected from the recording head;
specifying a nozzle from which an ink droplet having the least weight is ejected as a reference nozzle;
generating a drive signal having a driving voltage determined such an extent that an ink droplet ejected from the reference nozzle has a predetermined flight velocity or more.
Preferably, the reference nozzle is specified as a nozzle from which an ink droplet having the lowest flight velocity is ejected.
Alternatively, it is preferable that the reference nozzle is specified as a nozzle from which an ink droplet having the lowest amount is ejected.
Preferably, the driving method further comprises the step of determining a number of ink ejection per a unit area of each nozzle in accordance with an ink amount ejected from each nozzle when the driving signal is applied. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rotating internal combustion engine, and more particularly, a rotary engine.
The ROTARY ENGINE WITH ROTARY POWER HEADS is a device designed to convert the heat energy stored in a fuel into mechanical energy through a process of combustion. The present invention provides an inexpensive, high torque, prime mover for everything from weed eaters to high performance aircraft. The process is one of pure rotation, it has no reciprocating parts, and is of a simple construction. This engine can be used to great advantage in any application that can be or is powered by conventional reciprocating engines and many turbines. The ROTARY ENGINE inherently supercharges and has perfect scavenging of exhaust gases. The ROTARY ENGINE combines the high-speed capabilities of turbines with the positive displacement character of reciprocating engines.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Other types of engines with similar capabilities have to be constructed from stronger, more expensive materials. These engines contain many more moving parts, which have to be machined with much greater difficulty and associated tooling expense. The weight and bulk of the other engines can make them unacceptable or undesirable for some applications. A more efficient alternative is needed.
Numerous innovations for rotary displacement engines have been provided in the prior art that will be described. Even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, however, they differ from the present invention.
A FIRST EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 4,144,004, issued on Mar. 13, 1979, to Edwards teaches a positive displacement engine utilizing interlocking vaned rotors and providing for the virtually complete exclusion of spent vapors following the expansion cycle.
A SECOND EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 5,362,219, issued on Nov. 8, 1994, to Paul et al. teaches a rotary air compressor with a housing forming an epitrochoidal chamber in which a multilobed rotor with a ring gear eccentrically rotates on an internal central gear in the housing, the rotor dividing the chamber into multiple sub-chambers of changing volume as the rotor rotates, the chamber having intake ports of variable size opening to change the quantity of gas that is compressible and outlet ports having spring biased plunger valves to prevent flow of discharged compressed air back into the compressor.
A THIRD EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 6,142,758, issued on Nov. 7, 2000, to Taggett teaches a rotary positive displacement engine that includes one or more power rotors, which are acted upon by a pressurized charge of gas, such as steam, and an annular barrier rotor geared for synchronous rotation with the power rotors. The rotors rotate within intersecting cylindrical bores in the engine housing. The power rotors have cylindrical outer surfaces from which opposed vanes extend which are acted upon by the powering charge. The barrier rotor has an outer cylindrical surface, located in close proximity to the cylindrical surface of the power rotors, and ports for delivering the powering charge to the power rotors. The barrier rotor thus forms both a charge delivery mechanism and a barrier between the exhaust ports and the expanding gas powering the engine. Located within the barrier rotor is a stator which has ports in fluid communication with the ports in the barrier rotor when the respective ports are aligned. The location of the barrier rotor is adjustable with respect to the power rotors to permit the clearances between the confronting surfaces of the barrier rotor and the power rotors to be adjusted to extremely tight tolerances under operating conditions, which provides high efficiency operation with very low amounts of contamination of the exhaust gas.
A FOURTH EXAMPLE, U.S. Patent Office Publication No. 2002/0157636, published on Oct. 31, 2002, to Klassen teaches a two-dimensional rotary displacement device which comprises a housing, an outer rotor and at least one inner rotor. The axes of rotation of the outer rotor and the at least one inner rotor are parallel. A predefined geometrical relationship exists between the outer and inner rotors such that the scale of operative circumference (or diameter) from the inner rotor with respect to the outer rotor is preferably an integer value. In one embodiment, the device is used as a compressor that positively displaces a gas. In a modified embodiment, the device includes an exit port, which has a location that can be adjusted with respect to the housing and is adjustable so as to decrease the pressure differential between an exit chamber and the exit pressure. In another embodiment, the device can be used as an external combustion engine wherein compressed gas is discharged from an exit chamber to a combustion chamber where the volume of gas is increased due to heating of the gas and a portion of the discharge gas is directed to the rotor assembly and the remaining volume of gas can be used for a “hot blow” thrust or other use or directed to an additional rotor assembly to induce a torque to an output shaft attached to the outer rotor of one or both of the rotor assemblies. In another embodiment, a portion of the compressed gas can be used for “cold blow” thrust or other purpose instead of directing all of the compressed gas through the combustor.
A FIFTH EXAMPLE, U.S. Patent Office Publication No. 2006/0120895, published on Jun. 8, 2006, to Gardner teaches a rotary positive displacement engine includes a compressor housing having a compression chamber therein and a rotor housing having a rotor chamber therein. The rotor housing and compressor housing are in fluid communication and define a main housing having a first end plate, an opposing second end plate, and a center divider plate interposed therebetween, wherein the first and second end, and center divider plates are connected to the main housing. An output member is rotatably supported within the main housing and extends axially therefrom. A compressor is disposed within the compressor chamber and is mounted on the output member. An engine rotor is disposed within the rotor chamber and is mounted on the output member. An engine rotor working end portion defines a combustion chamber, wherein fuel is ignited to rotate the engine rotor, which, in turn, rotates the output shaft.
It is apparent now that numerous innovations for rotary displacement engines have been provided in the prior art that are adequate for various purposes. Furthermore, even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, they would be inferior to the rotary engine for the purposes of the present invention as heretofore described. | {
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In recent years, wireless local area networks (LANs) as typified by IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.11 have been widespread. In addition, along with the widespread use of wireless LANs, products supporting the wireless LANs have been increasing.
On the other hand, techniques for efficiently communicating with a plurality of communication devices have been developed. As such a technique, for example, a multicast scheme of transmitting frames to one or more communication devices at a time is known.
Here, there are cases in which, in order to improve reliability of communication, it is desirable to perform a transmission acknowledgment for frames (hereinafter also referred to as “acknowledgment (ACK)”) for multicast frames, similarly to unicast frames. As such transmission acknowledgment, a Block ACK (BA) for transmission acknowledgment for a plurality of frames is known.
For example, the invention related to a wireless communication device that performs transmission of a Block Ack Request (BAR) frame indicating a transmission request for a BA frame and reception of a BA frame serving as a response to the BAR frame for each terminal in order of time after a multicast frame is transmitted to each terminal is disclosed in Patent Literature 1. | {
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This invention relates TO spread-spectrum communications, and more particularly to code-division-multiple-access (CDMA) cellular, packet-switched systems. | {
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As an elevating conveyance device which can be used for transfer, etc., of an automobile body, there is known a table-lifter type equipped with a transfer means that can advance and withdraw horizontally on an elevating base, and as described in Japanese Published Unexamined Utility Model Application No. S58-92221, a drop-lifter type equipped with a transfer means that can advance and withdraw horizontally on an elevating body movable vertically along columns. A multijoint robot type elevating conveyance device that can be used for a transfer device is also known.
The table lifter type elevating conveyance device and the multijoint robot type transfer elevating conveyance device realize a comparatively free layout and can be freely installed and used on a floor surface as long as the floor surface is rigid, however, it cannot be used out of a transfer point with a comparatively small lifting distance. In addition, in the multijoint robot type transfer elevating conveyance device, the degree of freedom of the transfer path is high, however, the facility cost remarkably increases. On the other hand, in the drop-lifter type elevating conveyance device as described in Japanese Published Unexamined Utility Model Application No. S58-92221, the lifting distance is allowed to be long, however, the upper ends of the columns must be joined to and supported by a beam on the ceiling side, so that the device cannot be easily installed on the floor and used. That is, the device is insufficient in versatility. | {
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Small image sensors continue to improve in cost and performance and have become ubiquitous in smart phones, notebook computers, tablets and many other devices. At the same time new device types such as headsets, glasses, dashboard cameras, and autonomous vehicles continue to emerge. The common CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) image sensor that is used in most digital cameras has an array of photodetectors. Usually there is one photodetector for each pixel. The sensor is well suited to capture and measure visible light.
The same image sensor is also able to capture and measure ultraviolet and NIR (Near Infrared) light. As a result, new applications are being developed to exploit these properties. Imaging applications extending the range of spectral sensitivity beyond the visible range are coming to market. In addition to applications extending sensitivity to the NIR spectrum, hyperspectral cameras and multi-spectral cameras are coming to market that extend the sensitivity into the UV spectrum for applications ranging from chemical composition analysis, to detecting fruit ripeness, to detecting the correct application of sunscreen.
Hyperspectral image sensors have been developed using a common underlying photodetector element that is often optimized for the visible spectrum due to the large focus on visible photography.
Imaging applications extending the range of spectral sensitivity beyond the visible range are coming to market. These applications include face recognition, iris scanning, and multi-spectral imaging for analyzing chemical content to name a few examples. | {
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Smart Meter (SM) deployment is an essential pillar of the Smart Grid having an increased market penetration around the world. Electricity providers can leverage the automated reporting system of residential metres through data concentrator (DC) nodes and a central analytics and control system called the Head-End-System (HES), or simply control entity hereinafter.
Today a wide-spread communication technology is the Power Line Communication (PLC) between SM's and DC's, which is a cost-effective solution using the already available electricity network infrastructure.
The PLC technology suffers from several limitations, since the power line networks were not designed for communication purposes. It is considered a harsh environment as the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is significantly limited by interference effects and noise of other electric devices connected to the network. Furthermore, communication signals transform the power line into a radio antenna representing a potential threat to the radio communication channels in its proximity, thus minimizing the number of messages used is preferable. Narrow-band PLC devices can follow the solution of open standards, where risk of interference effects is minimized. There are a number of methods for optimizing PLC, but their main purpose is out of scope of this invention, e.g. to regulate frequency use inhibiting the radio interference or adapting existing control algorithms to the large delays accepted to be present in the system.
There are more advanced technologies on the market, e.g. Point-to-Point (P2P) and RF mesh, which enable more reliable communication and better quality. However, due to financial and security constraints, typically only a small number of advanced devices complement the PLC SM's for increased reliability of the reporting system.
Typical use of such technology is the remote reading of meters for automatic billing purposes. This scenario is enabled by the currently used process: the control entity sends signal to meters during a pre-fixed period of time daily and recalls only meters where reporting was not successful, checking periodically until next pull cycle is started.
The scheduling of smart meter event transmission (‘transmit window’) is based on global optimum search in which the reporting time is preconfigured to a fixed time of the day. This fixed reporting time is set to the time when the global communication quality offers the highest probability on average to successfully transmit the meter events.
In connection with FIGS. 1 to 3 the drawbacks of the fixed reporting times is shown. The results shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 are based on measurements collected from smart meters using PLC technology during a period of several weeks. FIG. 1 shows a mean measurement quality over time defined by the hourly success ratio of ping messages sent by each data concentrator to its corresponding smart meter.
FIG. 2 shows the time series of number of event recordings at the smart meters indicated by graph 20 in FIG. 2. Graph 21 shows the total number of events processed by the control entity. It can be deduced from FIG. 2 that the reporting times correspond to periods when least of the events are recorded. The processing of the events shown by graph 21 also indicates how the repeated queries reach the blocked smart meters in attenuated waves until the next daily cycle begins.
FIG. 3 shows cumulative distribution function of delays measured between recording of a measurement event at the smart meter and processing of the same event at the control entity. It can be deduced that some of the events are processed within half day of delay and there are events which are not processed within a day following recording. This behavior is the main obstacle of further functionalities of a smart grid, where control processes would rely on the near real-time monitoring of the system. | {
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A principle design goal associated with cargo aircraft is minimizing the time required to load and unload cargo containers to and from an aircraft's cargo compartment. Aircraft cargo normally is pre-packaged in or on specially designed containers or pallets known as unit load devices (hereinafter “ULDs”) that are sized and shaped to occupy substantially all available space within the cargo compartment of an aircraft. A modern aircraft's cargo compartment typically includes a cargo deck equipped with a plurality of ball mats positioned proximate to the aircraft's cargo door. The ball mats facilitate rolling movement of the ULDs through the door and into and out of the cargo compartment. Aircraft cargo decks also typically include roller trays that extend in fore and aft directions, and that facilitate rolling fore and aft movement of ULDs between the area proximate to the cargo door and various cargo stowage positions within the cargo compartment. In many modern cargo aircraft, ULDs can be loaded through the aircraft's nose section and through at least one side cargo door.
During loading and unloading operations, an aircraft's cargo deck may not be perfectly level, or can change from a level condition to a non-level condition as cargo is loaded or unloaded to and from the aircraft. In certain situations, an aircraft's cargo deck can slope in a direction that permits an unattended ULD to roll downhill toward the aircraft's open cargo door. In order to prevent an unattended ULD from rolling out of a cargo compartment through an open cargo door, cargo aircraft often include one or more blocking devices (hereinafter “rollout stops”) that can be incrementally spaced along the sill of the cargo door. In operation, such rollout stop devices act like one-way gates that permit intended movement of a ULD through an open cargo door and into an aircraft's cargo hold, and also prevent unintended rolling movement of a ULD out of the aircraft's cargo door.
Various types of rollout stops are known for blocking unwanted outward rolling movement of ULDs. Generally, such devices include one or more retractable guide heads that can be selectively raised to a height above the cargo deck that is sufficient to block outward rolling movement of a ULD through a cargo door. Typically, such retractable guide heads have a generally upwardly and inwardly sloping top surface that is contacted by the leading lower edge and bottom surface of a ULD as the ULD passes over the stop and into a cargo hold, thereby forcing the upright guide head to retract as the ULD passes over the guide head and into the cargo hold. Commonly, the retractable guide heads are upwardly biased by one or more springs that maintain the guide heads in a raised position until the guide heads are forced to retract by an inwardly moving ULD. Once an inwardly moving ULD passes over the rollout stop, the springs return the guide head to a raised position, thereby generally preventing the just-loaded ULD from rolling in a reverse direction through the open cargo door. Accordingly, such rollout stops can be described as being “over-ridable” in an inward direction, and as being generally “non-over-ridable” in an outward direction. In order to permit ULDs to be unloaded from a cargo compartment without obstruction, the retractable guide heads generally are configured to be selectively latched or otherwise restrained in a lowered, non-blocking position when not in use.
Though prior art rollout stops can be effective to prevent outward rolling movement of most ULDs, the lower edges of a ULD can become warped from use. In some cases, if a lower trailing edge of a ULD is sufficiently upwardly bent, the lower trailing edge can be at an elevation that is sufficiently high to at least partially extend over a raised guide head as the ULD approaches the rollout stop in an outward direction. Accordingly, the warped lower trailing edge and bottom surface of the ULD may force the guide downward as the ULD passes over the stop in an outward direction, thereby undesirably overriding the rollout stop in the outward direction.
Accordingly, there is a need for a rollout stop apparatus that minimizes the likelihood of being overridden by a ULD passing in an outward direction. Preferably, such a device should be relatively simple in construction such that production and repair costs are minimized. | {
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The following discussion of the background of the invention is merely provided to aid the reader in understanding the invention and is not admitted to describe or constitute prior art to the present invention.
The modification of genomic DNA is central to advances in biotechnology, in general, and biotechnologically based medical advances, in particular. Efficient methods for site-directed genomic modifications are desirable for research and possibly for gene therapy applications. One approach utilizes triplex-forming oligonucleotides (TFO) which bind as third strands to duplex DNA in a sequence-specific manner, to mediate directed mutagenesis. Such TFO can act either by delivering a tethered mutagen, such as psoralen or chlorambucil (Havre et al., Proc Nat'l Acad Sci, U.S.A. 90:7879-7883, 1993; Havre et al., J Virol 67:7323-7331, 1993; Wang et al., Mol Cell Biol 15:1759-1768, 1995; Takasugi et al., Proc Nat'l Acad Sci, U.S.A. 88:5602-5606, 1991; Belousov et al., Nucleic Acids Res 25:3440-3444, 1997), or by binding with sufficient affinity to provoke error-prone repair (Wang et al., Science 271:802-805, 1996).
Another strategy for genomic modification involves the induction of homologous recombination between an exogenous DNA fragment and the targeted gene. This approach has been used successfully to target and disrupt selected genes in mammalian cells and has enabled the production of transgenic mice carrying specific gene knockouts (Capeechi et al., Science 244:1288-1292, 1989; U.S. Pat. No. 4,873,191 to Wagner). This approach, however, relies on the transfer of selectable markers to allow isolation of the desired recombinants. Without selection, the ratio of homologous to non-homologous integration of transfected DNA in typical gene transfer experiments is low, usually in the range of 1:1000 or less (Sedivy et al., Gene Targeting, W. H. Freeman and Co., New York, 1992). This low efficiency of homologous integration limits the utility of gene transfer for experimental use or gene therapy. The frequency of homologous recombination can be enhanced by damage to the target site from UV irradiation and selected carcinogens (Wang et al., Mol Cell Biol 8:196-202, 1988) as well as by site-specific endonucleases (Sedivy et al, Gene Targeting, W. H. Freeman and Co., New York, 1992; Rouet et al., Proc Nat'l Acad Sci, U.S.A. 91:6064-6068, 1994; Segal et al., Proc Nat'l Acad Sci, U.S.A. 92:806-810, 1995). In addition, DNA damage induced by triplex-directed psoralen photoadducts can stimulate recombination within and between extrachromosomal vectors (Segal et al., Proc Nat'l Acad Sci, U.S.A. 92:806-810, 1995; Faruqi et al., Mol Cell Biol 16:6820-6828, 1996; U.S. Pat. No. 5,962,426 to Glazer).
Other work has helped to define parameters that influence recombination in mammalian cells. In general, linear donor fragments are more recombinogenic than their circular counterparts (Folger et al., Mol Cell Biol 2:1372-1387, 1982). Recombination is also influenced by the length of uninterrupted homology between both the donor and target sites, with short fragments appearing to be ineffective substrates for recombination (Rubnitz et al., Mol Cell Biol 4:2253-2258, 1984). Nonetheless, several recent efforts have focused on the use of short fragments of DNA or DNA/RNA hybrids for gene correction. (Kunzelmann et al., Gene Ther 3:859-867, 1996).
The sequence-specific binding properties of TFO have been used to deliver a series of different molecules to target sites in DNA. For example, a diagnostic method for examining triplex interactions utilized TFO coupled to Fe-EDTA, a DNA cleaving agent (Moser et al., Science 238:645-650, 1987). Others have linked biologically active enzymes like micrococcal nuclease and streptococcal nuclease to TFO and demonstrated site-specific cleavage of DNA (Pei et al., Proc Nat'l Acad Sci U.S.A. 87:9858-9862, 1990; Landgraf et al., Biochemistry 33:10607-10615, 1994). Furthermore, site-directed DNA damage and mutagenesis can be achieved using TFO conjugated to either psoralen (Havre et al., Proc Nat'l Acad Sci U.S.A. 90:7879-7883, 1993; Takasurgi et al., Proc Nat'l Acad Sci U.S.A. 88:5602-5606, 1991) or alkylating agents (Belousov et al., Nucleic Acids Res 25:3440-3444, 1997; Posvic et al., J Am Chem Soc 112:9428-9430, 1990).
WIPO Patent Application WO/2001/025460 describes methods for mutating a target DNA sequence of a plant that include the steps of (1) electroporating into a microspore of the plant a recombinagenic oligonucleobase that contains a first homologous region that has a sequence identical to the sequence of at least 6 base pairs of a first fragment of the target DNA sequence and a second homologous region which has a sequence identical to the sequence of at least 6 base pairs of a second fragment of the target DNA sequence, and an intervening region which contains at least 1 nucleobase heterologous to the target DNA sequence, which intervening region connects the first homologous region and the second homologous region; (2) culturing the microspore to produce an embryo; and (3) producing from the embryo a plant having a mutation located between the first and second fragments of the target DNA sequence, e. g., by culturing the microspore to produce a somatic embryo and regenerating the plant from the embryo. In various embodiments of the invention, the recombinagenic oligonucleobase is an MDON and each of the homologous regions contains an RNA segment of at least 6 RNA-type nucleotides; the intervening region is at least 3 nucleotides in length; the first and or second RNA segment contains at least 8 contiguous 2′-substituted ribonucleotides.
One of the major goals of biological research is the targeted modification of the genome. As noted above, although methods for delivery of genes into mammalian cells are well developed, the frequency of modification and/or homologous recombination is limited (Hanson et al., Mol Cell Biol 15:45-51 1995). As a result, the modification of genes is a time consuming process. Numerous methods have been contemplated or attempted to enhance modification and/or recombination between donor and genomic DNA. However, the present techniques often exhibit low rates of modification and/or recombination, or inconsistency in the modification and/or recombination rate, thereby hampering research and gene therapy technology. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a wall construction for modular woven wire partitions.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Modular wovenwire partitions are conventionally made up of individual rectangular panels arranged vertically one above the other as well as side by side in a horizontally adjacent relationship. during erection, the horizontally adjacent panels are bolted together. This is an extremely time consuming operation which adds significantly to the oerall cost of an installation.
A primary objective of the present inention is to obviate thenecessity for bolting horizontally adjacent panels together, thereby reducing erection time, with a concommitant savings in installation costs. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to merchandising systems, and in particular, to systems for hanging a pair of articles on a display rack.
2. Description of Related Art
Merchandise, such as articles that are worn by people, are commonly offered for sale on a display rack. Such a rack may have a number of pegs on which merchandise is hung. A common display technique is to attach merchandise to a display card and then hang the card on a peg in the display rack. The display card may have a hole or a hook-shaped extension for this purpose.
Often the merchandise is attached to this display card by a staple.
Stapling the merchandise, however, punches holes in the goods and can otherwise mars the goods unacceptably. When the merchandise are high-quality gloves made of leather or other costly materials, consumers object to such holes or marring. An example of stapling a display panel to a pair of gloves is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,995,845.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,261,580 and 5,503,269 show jaw-like clips for holding gloves on a display rack. These clips, however, are relatively complex and expensive for a disposable item that is only used for display purposes. U.S. Pat. No. 5,193,676 and 5,553,706 show a pair of gloves lashed to a display card. These gloves are made with holes fitted with grommets that are positioned along the edge of the hand opening. However, these gloves are defaced by the holes and grommets.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,624,060 a fastening filament is looped through the holes in an informational tag, and a pair of the tabs that are secured inside a pair of shoes. This arrangement is designed to keep the shoes together prior to sale. Also, the tabs make punching holes in the shoe uppers unnecessary. These tabs are, however, hidden inside the shoe and do not reach outside thereof. Accordingly, these tabs have a different purpose and are not easily and practically used with a display rack. See also U.S. Pat. No. 1,300,998.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,710,409 shows one glove with a snap fastener, and a mating glove with a leash having a number of snap fasteners. The leash can connect between the gloves to allow the gloves to separate by no more than the length of the leash. Additionally, the gloves can be directly snapped together to form the leash into a loop. This reference has a different purpose and therefore has no disclosure of how a display panel can be attached to the gloves.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,351,067 each of the pair of gloves has a strap that can be closed into a separate loop using a Velcro(trademark) fastener. Also, the ends of the straps have additional fasteners to allow the gloves to be attached side-by-side. The straps also have holes 42 which allow the gloves to be suspended on a support rod prior to sale. This reference has no disclosure of how a display panel can be attached to the gloves.
Accordingly, there is a need for a merchandising system that can connect a pair of articles, such as gloves, to a display panel, without marring or defacing the articles.
In accordance with the illustrative embodiments demonstrating features and advantages of the present invention, there is provided a merchandising system for displaying merchandise on a display rack. The system has a pair of articles to be worn by a person. According to one aspect of the present invention, these articles are gloves. The articles have a right main body and a left main body, each with a user opening (for a glove, a hand opening). The pair of articles have attachment means for providing an outlying attachment locus for the articles. The attachment means includes a right extremity and a left extremity secured at the user opening of the right main body and the left main body, respectively. The right and the left extremity are each able to reach out of the user opening. The attachment means also includes a display arrangement including a panel. The attachment means is arranged to detachably secure the articles together with the panel, and the right extremity and the left extremity. The attachment means is adapted to hang on the display rack and support the articles. Thus the articles can be attached to and detached from the attachment means without marring either the right main body or the left main body of the articles.
By employing a system of the foregoing type, articles such as gloves can be easily displayed on a rack without marring or defacing the merchandise. In a preferred embodiment, rectangular tabs are sewn into the hem or binding strip of the articles. For example, these tabs can be sewn at the border of the hand openings of a pair of gloves. These tabs can then be fastened to a display panel which has a hole or hook for hanging the display panel. The display panel can be a simple card, folded card or a multiple part card.
In one embodiment, a folded display panel can straddle and attach to both tabs, with one wing of the display panel tucked into one of the gloves. In still other embodiments, the tabs can be attached on one side of display card or can be sandwiched around the display card. In any event, the hand opening of one or both of the gloves can be left open so that a prospective purchaser can try at least one of the globes on for fit.
In another embodiment, the two tabs can be attached together to form a linking strip that is looped through an aperture in a display card that can then be hung on a display rack. In still another embodiment, a display panel can have a pair of integral tabs or extremities that can be sewn into the hem or binding along the hand opening of a pair of gloves.
Instead of tabs, some embodiments will employing a cord or line that is a freely extending portion of the stitching of the article. The end of this free portion can connect to a display panel. Alternatively, this free portion can be secured at both ends to the article to form an arch that can be attached to a display panel. | {
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The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Petunia plant, botanically known as Petunia×hybrida and hereinafter referred to by the name ‘USTUN48002’.
The new Petunia plant is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Higashiomi, Shiga, Japan and Bonsall, Calif. The objective of the breeding program is to create new freely-branching and mounding Petunia plants with early and freely flowering habit, unique attractive flowers and good garden performance.
The new Petunia plant originated from a cross-pollination made by the Inventor on May 8, 2009 in Higashiomi, Shiga, Japan of a proprietary seedling selection of Petunia×hybrida identified as code number 08P359-01, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with a proprietary seedling selection of Petunia×hybrida identified as code number 09PJ25-5GE, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent. The new Petunia plant was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination in a controlled environment in Bonsall, Calif. on May 27, 2010.
Asexual reproduction of the new Petunia plant by vegetative cuttings in a controlled greenhouse environment in Bonsall, Calif. since May 28, 2010 has shown that the unique features of this new Petunia plant are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to electric space heaters, and more particularly, to space heaters wherein air is heated by moving the air through a heat exchanger which is heated by elongated incandescent lamps.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The concept of an electric space heater utilizing incandescent or other electric lamps as a heat source, with a fan and a heat exchanger mounted within a housing is well known. An example of such a space heater is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,307,284 issued to Leo Perron on Dec. 22, 1981. Perron discloses an electrical space heater unit in which conventional incandescent bulbs are mounted in a housing and a metal strip with metal fins is provided directly above and in contact with the incandescent bulbs to serve as a heat exchanger. The upper portion of the housing is open for passage of heated air from the housing into the space to be heated.
Another electric space heater is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,309,594 issued to John P. Jones on Jan. 5, 1982. Jones discloses a modular space heater device in which conventional infrared heat lamps are mounted in a housing and a heat exchanger plate is mounted above the bulbs. The heat exchanger plate has a number of openings with open ended pipes mounted in the openings for air to pass through. A fan blows air from an inlet in the housing across the infrared bulbs, around the heat exchanger plate, through the tubes in the heat exchanger plate and through an open outlet in the housing.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,680,448 issued to Earl Fester on July 14, 1987 discloses a space heater very similar to the heater disclosed by Jones, but with a different type of heat exchanger. Fester discloses a heat exchanger comprising a plurality of parallel copper tubes, surrounded by a plurality of parallel aluminum fins connected to and perpendicular to the tubes. A portion of the fins are coated with a black carbon paint.
The above-described space heaters fail to maximize efficiency because the heat exchangers do not surround the heat source, and thus do not absorb and transfer as much heat as possible. Considerable heat from the lamp is lost because it is directed away from the heat exchanger. Also, existing units seem to cause undue turbulence of the air flow, thus reducing efficiency. The sharp corners or convoluted air flow channels of existing heaters generate turbulence. The spherical or conical shape of the lamps which serve as a heat source also contribute to turbulence. Furthermore, the spherical or conical shape of the lamps in existing heaters creates an uneven distribution of heat in the heat exchangers. Existing portable space heaters can generally produce approximately 5200 BTU of heat at 1500 watts of power.
It is desirable to be able to enhance the efficiency of such electric space heaters by maximizing the heat transfer from the heat source to the air moving through the space heater. Efficiency can be enhanced by providing means to more evenly distribute heat over a heat exchanger, enabling the heat exchanger to absorb more heat, and laminating the air flow through the heater. | {
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Cables are well known and are used to connect multiple components such as server nodes in a server system. The cables are often identical, and the number of cables can vary. For example, in some server systems, there may be as few as 3 identical cables or as many as 12 identical cables, depending on the server system configuration.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a conventional cable system 50. The cable system 50 includes a cable 52, a paddle card 60 coupled to one end of the cable 52, and a paddle card 62 coupled to the other end of the cable 52. The cable 52 includes a bundle of N wires 64. Connection pins 66 are coupled to one end of the wires 64, and connection pins 68 are coupled to the other end of the wires 64. Gaskets 70 and 72 are coupled to the paddle cards 60 and 62, respectively. The paddle cards 60 and 62 are plugged into respective server system nodes 80 and 82 of a server system.
A problem with the conventional cable system 50 is that if the paddle cards 60 and 62 are not properly connected or “seated” when plugged into the server system nodes 80 and 82, the overall server system may not be fully functional. Accordingly, for a fully functional server system, proper care must be taken to ensure that the paddle cards 60 and 62 are seated properly.
Another problem with the conventional cable system 50 is that the thickness of the gaskets 64 and 66 may vary sufficiently such that the paddle cards 60 and 62 may feel as though are properly seated when they are, in fact, not seated properly.
Determining if the paddle cards 60 and 62 are seated properly is difficult, because the server system may still work even if the paddle cards 60 and 62 are not seated properly. In this case, the server system would have degraded performance. This of course would be problematic, especially if the degraded performance goes unnoticed.
Cyclical redundancy check (CRC) errors may indicate degraded performance. However, trouble shooting a server system to isolate one or more cables as the root cause of the degraded performance may be time consuming. For example, a high number of CRC errors may indicate a possible problem with the cable 52 or the paddle card 60 and 62, but one would not be able to determine if the problem is simply caused by an improper seating of the paddle cards 60 and 62. Furthermore, if one or more of the paddle cards 60 and 62 are not seated properly, the improper seating may not cause enough errors for the server system to issue any warning. Yet, the degraded performance may still exist.
Accordingly, what is needed is a system and method for assuring that cables for server systems are seated properly. The system and method should be simple, cost effective, and capable of being easily adapted to existing technology. The present invention addresses such a need. | {
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The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, such as duplicating machines, printers, facsimile apparatuses, and the like, for forming a color image with the use of electro-photography, and more particular, to an electro-photographic apparatus for forming a color image making use of a plurality of color toners.
With an electrophotographic system, light from exposure means is irradiated on an evenly charged photosensitive body to form an electrostatic latent image corresponding to image data, toner is caused to adhere to the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive body to develop a toner image, and the toner image is transferred to a recording medium to be fixed thereto.
Here, while an explanation will be given to the case where a recording medium is a paper sheet, the recording medium includes all sheet-shaped recording media formed of various materials such as plastics, and the like, as well as paper.
In forming a color image, a plurality of color toners such as yellow Y, magenta M, cyan C, black B, or the like are superposed to form the image.
Color image forming systems include a repetitive developing system of repetitively developing respective color toners on a single photosensitive body to form a color image, and a simultaneous developing system of simultaneously developing respective color toners on a plurality of photosensitive bodies to form a color image.
The repetitive developing system is one, in which a single photosensitive body is used to form a color image, and a four-revolution system is an example thereof.
The four-revolution system is one, in which a plurality of developing means for developing respective different color toners and an intermediate transfer body are arranged around a photosensitive body and color images formed on the photosensitive body are successively transferred color by color to the intermediate transfer body (see, for example, JP-A-8-137179).
Such transfer is repeated every color to superpose a plurality of color toner images on the intermediate transfer body, and then the color toner images on the intermediate transfer body are transferred to a medium to fix a color image thereon.
With the four-revolution system, color toner images of, for example, yellow Y, magenta M, cyan C, and black B are successively formed color by color on a photosensitive body and superposingly transferred to an intermediate transfer body, so that image formation takes time four times that taken in the case where a monochrome image is formed.
The simultaneous developing system is one, in which toner images are substantially simultaneously formed on a plurality of photosensitive bodies corresponding to several colors, and are transferred correspondingly to conveyance of a sheet to form a color image, and which is also called a tandem system (see, for example, JP-A-2001-356548).
With the tandem system, image forming means including a photosensitive body, charging means, exposure means, developing means, and cleaner means is independently provided every color, so that four sets of image forming means must be provided in the case where a color image is formed with the use of color toners of yellow Y, magenta M, cyan C, and black B.
With the tandem system, four sets of independent image forming means are used to form toner images substantially simultaneously, and the toner images are transferred to an intermediate transfer body, or a sheet. With the tandem system, color images are simultaneously superposed on one another, so that a color image can be formed in substantially the same time as that taken in the case where a monochrome image is formed, and so the system is suited for high-speed printing.
In recent years, demands for colored documents have been greatly increased in offices and color printers are being rapidly spread. Also, high-speed printing is wanted, and attention is paid to color printers of the tandem system.
Since color printers of the tandem system comprise four sets of image forming means, however, they are difficult to be miniaturized and large in size as compared with color printers of the repetitive developing system.
An example of conventional color printers of the tandem system is of a construction, in which four sets of independent image forming means making use of LED arrays as exposure means are stacked vertically and arranged, as disclosed in JP-A-2001-356548. In this example, exposure means are fixedly mounted in order to ensure accuracy in exposure, and developing means, that is, process cartridges are susceptible to taking out and putting in.
There has been proposed a construction, in which exposure means are fixedly mounted centrally of a body of an electrophotographic apparatus and light beams from the exposure means are irradiated on photosensitive bodies through spaces formed between charging means, developing means, cleaner means, and so on, which can be mounted to and dismounted from the bodies (see, for example, JP-A-2001-296713).
As to a toner regulatory blade for forming a thin toner layer on a developing roller, there is disclosed a configuration of a toner regulatory blade comprising an elastic blade made of a silicone compound or a fluorine compound and mounted on a tip end of a leaf spring (see, for example, JP-A-5-11584).
There is disclosed a configuration of a toner regulatory blade having a tip end thereof once bent so that a divergence, 30°≦θ≦90°, is formed between the blade tip end, which comes into contact with a developing roller in a direction following rotation of the developing roller, that is, in the same direction as a direction, in which a surface of the developing roller moves, and the developing roller (see, for example, JP-A-11-344858).
There is disclosed a configuration of a toner regulatory blade having a tip end thereof once bent so that a predetermined divergence is formed between the blade tip end, which comes into contact with a developing roller in a direction against rotation of the developing roller, that is, a direction opposed to a direction, in which a surface of the developing roller moves, and the developing roller (see, for example, JP-A-11-167278).
There is disclosed a configuration of a toner regulatory blade, in which a portion having an arcuate-shaped cross section is formed integrally at a tip end of the blade in contact with a developing roller in a direction against rotation of the developing roller (see, for example, JP-A-2-135470).
In the tandem system disclosed in JP-A-2001-356548, a pitch of photosensitive bodies is approximately 2.4 times a diameter of the photo-sensitive bodies. In the case where such pitch of photosensitive bodies is reduced to at most 2 times the photosensitive-body diameter, image forming means arranged vertically interfere with one another, and therefore a limit is placed on miniaturization of an area around the photosensitive bodies.
In the example disclosed in JP-A-2001-296713, exposure means are fixedly mounted centrally of a body of an electrophotographic apparatus and light beams from the exposure means are irradiated on photosensitive bodies through spaces formed between charging means, developing means, cleaner means, and so on, which can be attachably and detachably mounted to the bodies, so that a whole image forming apparatus becomes large in size and a limit is placed on miniaturization of image forming means.
No configuration suited to miniaturization of whole developing means is disclosed in the examples of JP-A-5-11584 and JP-A-11-344858.
In the system disclosed in JP-A-11-167278, in which a tip end of a toner regulatory blade is brought into contact with a developing roller in a direction against rotation of the developing roller, a fixing member for fixation of the tip end of the regulatory blade is in most cases arranged above the developing roller. When the spring is lengthened so as to decrease a spring constant of the regulatory blade to reduce dispersion in pressing forces, a larger space above the developing roller is needed, and so developing means must be thickened, thus making miniaturization of image forming means impossible.
In the system disclosed in JP-A-2-135470, in which a tip end of a toner regulatory blade having an arcuate-shaped cross section is brought into contact with a developing roller in a direction against rotation thereof, such system is of the “against” system and not suited to miniaturization of a developing means. Also, in the case where a toner regulatory blade having an arcuate-shaped cross section at a tip end thereof is diverted to a system involving contact in a direction following rotation of a developing roller and arranged substantially horizontally, there are generated a toner filming phenomenon, in which regulated toner accumulates between the toner regulatory blade and the developing roller to adhere to the regulatory blade or the developing roller, and a phenomenon, in which insufficiency of toner regulating forces causes an increase in a passing toner and insufficiency of electrification of toner. | {
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As was explained in U.S. Pat. No. 2,920,971, the basic patent in the field of glass-ceramics, the production of such articles contemplates three fundamental steps. First, a glass-forming batch, to which a nucleating agent is commonly added, is melted. Second, this melt is simultaneously cooled to an essentially crystal-free glass and a body of a desired geometry shaped therefrom. Third, the glass body is subjected to a controlled heat treatment which causes the glass body to crystallize in situ. Normally, this third step is conducted in two parts. Thus, the glass is first heated to a temperature somewhat above the transformation range of the glass to cause the development of nuclei therein. Subsequently, the nucleated glass is heated to a higher temperature, frequently above the softening point of the glass, to effect the growth of crystals on the nuclei.
Inasmuch as a glass-ceramic article results from the substantially simultaneous growth of crystals on countless nuclei dispersed throughout the parent glass, the microstructure thereof consists of fine-grained crystals of relatively uniform size, homogeneously dispersed and randomly oriented in a residual glassy matrix. Glass-ceramic articles are generally highly crystalline, i.e. greater than 50% crystalline, such that the physical properties thereof are more closely akin to those of the crystal phase than to those exhibited by the residual glassy matrix. Furthermore, the residual glassy matrix will commonly have a far different composition from that of the original or parent glass body because the constituents composing the crystal phase will have been removed therefrom.
Glass-ceramic compositions have found their greatest utility to date in the fields of dinnerware and culinary ware; an example of the former being CENTURA.RTM. dinnerware and that of the latter being CORNING WARE.RTM. cooking vessels, both being products of Corning Glass Works, Corning, N.Y. More recently, flat sheeting of glass-ceramic material has been utilized as cooking surfaces for stoves, e.g., THE COUNTER THAT COOKS.RTM., also a product of Corning Glass Works.
In the field of cooking ware, and in particular the use of flat sheeting for stove top applications, it has been recognized that compositions exhibiting good transmission to infra-red radiation could be useful in improving the rate at which food could be cooked on top of the stove. Thus, the heat from the burner source underneath would pass more quickly through the heating surface. However, such an application requires a material having a complex matrix of physical properties. Hence, the material must be mechanically strong to withstand substantial impacts; it must be chemically durable and stain resistant to withstand attack by food contact; and it must demonstrate a uniformly low coefficient of thermal expansion to withstand sharp thermal shocks. These properties are, of course, in addition to the melting and forming capabilities demanded for practical large-scale production techniques. Finally, the composition must be such that the parent or precursor glass body crystallizes uniformly in situ to a fine-grained body exhibiting homogeneous properties.
To date, the glass-ceramic bodies utilized for flat cooking surfaces have commonly been opaque to visible radiations and very poorly transmitting in the infra-red portion of the radiation spectrum. Examples of such materials have been prepared in accordance with U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,920,971, 3,148,994, and 3,582,371. To achieve the desired low coefficient of thermal expansion, compositions have been designed to yield beta-spodumene solid solution as the principal crystal phase. Although the classic formula for spodumene is Li.sub.2 O.Al.sub.2 O.sub.3.4SiO.sub.2, the crystals developed in the glass-ceramic articles do not comply exactly with that formulation. However, the X-ray diffraction pattern yielded by the crystals very closely approximates that of the classic spodumene. Therefore, the crystals have been deemed to be a solid solution Li.sub.2 O.Al.sub.2 O.sub.3.nSiO.sub.2, wherein "n" can range from about 3.5 to 10. This, then, is the sense in which the expression "beta-spodumene solid solution" has been employed.
The simple ternary Li.sub.2 O--Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 --SiO.sub.2 nucleated with TiO.sub.2 is very difficult to melt and form properly, so various additions have been made thereto in order to improve those properties without deleteriously affecting the physical characteristics thereof. For example, additions of such conventional fluxes as Na.sub.2 O, K.sub.2 O, and B.sub.2 O.sub.3 can unduly raise the coefficient of thermal expansion and/or impair the chemical durability and/or reduce the refractoriness of the final product. This has resulted in the use of the alkaline earth metal oxides and, particularly, MgO and/or CaO. Such additions did, indeed, improve the melting and forming capabilities of the compositions while not substantially altering the physical properties of the final product. However, the crystallized articles were essentially opaque to infra-red radiations. | {
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The invention relates to a memory subsystem and in particular, to a memory subsystem command interface.
Computer memory subsystems have evolved over the years, but continue to retain many consistent attributes. Computer memory subsystems from the early 1980's, such as the one disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,475,194 to LaVallee et al., of common assignment herewith, included a memory controller, a memory assembly (contemporarily called a basic storage module (BSM) by the inventors) with array devices, buffers, terminators and ancillary timing and control functions, as well as several point-to-point busses to permit each memory assembly to communicate with the memory controller via its own point-to-point address and data bus. FIG. 1 depicts an example of this early 1980 computer memory subsystem with two BSMs, a memory controller, a maintenance console, and point-to-point address and data busses connecting the BSMs and the memory controller.
FIG. 2, from U.S. Pat. No. 5,513,135 to Dell et al., of common assignment herewith, depicts an early synchronous memory module, which includes synchronous dynamic random access memories (DRAMs) 8, buffer devices 12, an optimized pinout, an interconnect and a capacitive decoupling method to facilitate operation. The patent also describes the use of clock re-drive on the module, using such devices as phase lock loops (PLLs).
FIG. 3, from U.S. Pat. No. 6,510,100 to Grundon et al., of common assignment herewith, depicts a simplified diagram and description of a memory system 10 that includes up to four registered dual inline memory modules (DIMMs) 40 on a traditional multi-drop stub bus channel. The subsystem includes a memory controller 20, an external clock buffer 30, registered DIMMs 40, an address bus 50, a control bus 60 and a data bus 70 with terminators 95 on the address bus 50 and data bus 70.
FIG. 4 depicts a 1990's memory subsystem which evolved from the structure in FIG. 1 and includes a memory controller 402, one or more high speed point-to-point channels 404, each connected to a bus-to-bus converter chip 406, and each having a synchronous memory interface 408 that enables connection to one or more registered DIMMs 410. In this implementation, the high speed, point-to-point channel 404 operated at twice the DRAM data rate, allowing the bus-to-bus converter chip 406 to operate one or two registered DIMM memory channels at the full DRAM data rate. Each registered DIMM included a PLL, registers, DRAMs, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) and terminators, in addition to other passive components.
As shown in FIG. 5, memory subsystems were often constructed with a memory controller connected either to a single memory module, or to two or more memory modules interconnected on a ‘stub’ bus. FIG. 5 is a simplified example of a multi-drop stub bus memory structure, similar to the one shown in FIG. 3. This structure offers a reasonable tradeoff between cost, performance, reliability and upgrade capability, but has inherent limits on the number of modules that may be attached to the stub bus. The limit on the number of modules that may be attached to the stub bus is directly related to the data rate of the information transferred over the bus. As data rates increase, the number and length of the stubs must be reduced to ensure robust memory operation. Increasing the speed of the bus generally results in a reduction in modules on the bus, with the optimal electrical interface being one in which a single module is directly connected to a single controller, or a point-to-point interface with few, if any, stubs that will result in reflections and impedance discontinuities. As most memory modules are sixty-four or seventy-two bits in data width, this structure also requires a large number of pins to transfer address, command, and data. One hundred and twenty pins are identified in FIG. 5 as being a representative pincount.
FIG. 6, from U.S. Pat. No. 4,723,120 to Petty, of common assignment herewith, is related to the application of a daisy chain structure in a multipoint communication structure that would otherwise require multiple ports, each connected via point-to-point interfaces to separate devices. By adopting a daisy chain structure, the controlling station can be produced with fewer ports (or channels), and each device on the channel can utilize standard upstream and downstream protocols, independent of their location in the daisy chain structure.
FIG. 7 represents a daisy chained memory bus, implemented consistent with the teachings in U.S. Pat. No. 4,723,120. A memory controller 111 is connected to a memory bus 315, which further connects to a module 310a. The information on bus 315 is re-driven by the buffer on module 310a to the next module, 310b, which further re-drives the bus 315 to module positions denoted as 310n. Each module 310a includes a DRAM 311a and a buffer 320a. The bus 315 may be described as having a daisy chain structure, with each bus being point-to-point in nature.
One drawback to the use of a daisy chain bus is that the transmission of data and commands between a memory controller and a memory module may not be efficient when a single transmission occurs during each memory clock cycle and each transmission includes one command directed to a single memory module. Further, the format of the data and commands that are transmitted from the memory controller to the memory module may not be flexible in format, in that each command maps to a specific command bit(s) in the transmission file. | {
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Reconstruction of a three-dimensional model of an animated physical object (e.g., a musician playing a guitar) typically requires multiple cameras statically positioned at predefined locations around the physical object. The cameras are pointed at the physical object and can record a video of the animated physical object. Such systems require that the position between the cameras and the physical object, and the position between the cameras themselves, be known. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a test quality evaluating and improving system provided for a semiconductor integrated circuit to evaluate and improve the test quality of the semiconductor integrated circuit, and a test quality evaluation and improvement method for the semiconductor integrated circuit.
2. Background Art
In recent years, various new failure modes have appeared in response to finer processes and an increasing number of wiring layers. Thus test quality demanded by customers has become hard to achieve only by test patterns generated for stuck-at faults (models) in LSIs of the prior art.
For example, the occurrence rate of short circuits between signal wires increases and thus it is necessary to consider bridge faults (models). Further, as LSIs become faster, the occurrence of abnormal delay increases with an increasing resistance on a via having the minimum size (hereinafter, will be simply referred to as VIA). Thus delay faults (models) have also become important.
However, when all fault models are considered and test patterns corresponding to the respective models are generated, resources and patterns are considerably increased (the test cost is also increased).
Thus in the presence of a number of failure modes, it is necessary to precisely estimate a failure rate at a customer (and a rejection rate in a system test before shipment) according to a test pattern applied to an LSI. In other words, for this estimation, it has become quite important to obtain a general test quality measure or a failure remaining rate in the LSI.
In other words, it is expected that test quality can be efficiently improved and test patterns can be effectively reduced by introducing a reliable test quality measure.
In the prior art, an LSI test quality measure belonging to the oldest category represents the relationship among a fault coverage, a failure remaining rate, and a yield.
For example, a defect level (failure remaining rate) “DL” is expressed by formula (1) (Williams-Brown model, for example, see T. W. Williams and N. C. Brown, “Defect Level as a Function of Fault Coverage”, IEEE Trans. Comp., Vol C-30, pp. 978-988, December, 1981).DL=1−Y(1−FC) (1)where “Y” is a yield and “FC” is a fault coverage.
In formula (1), it is assumed that the probability of occurrence of faults is independently obtained as the same value “p”.
On the assumption that “m” faults are detectable out of all the assumed faults “n” of a device under test (DUT) (that is, FC=m/n is established), the following will examine event A: all the “n” faults are not defective and event B: all the “m” faults are not defective. In these events, a conditional probability “P” (A|B)′ is expressed by formula (2).P(A|B)=P(A∩B)/P(B)=(1−p)n/(1−p)m (2)
In this case, DL=1−P(A|B) and Y=(1−p)n are established. Thus the defect level “DL” is expressed by formula (3).DL=1−Y(1−m/n)=1−Y(1−FC) (3)
For example, when specific values are substituted into formula (3), the following result is obtained.
In the case of Y=70% and FC=99%, the failure remaining rate “DL” is 0.35% (3500 ppm).
In the case of Y=90%, it is necessary to set “FC” at 99.9% to achieve DL=100 ppm.
Formula (3) is valuable in that the fault coverage “FC” is correlated with the yield “Y” and the failure remaining rate “DL”. However, it is known that formula (3) is determined based on the total number of assumed faults in an LSI and an obtained result does not always perfectly match with an actual result (may be different by one digit). Thus some improvements are obviously necessary. For example, formula (4) is used as an empirical equation.DL=1−Y(1−√FC) (4)
It is known that correlation between a failure remaining rate and a failure occurrence rate is improved to a certain extent by formula (4). However, this method lacks definite grounds and a result of the introduction of two or more fault models is not clear.
The yield “Y” can be also expressed by, for example, formula (5) on the assumption that just a few pieces of dust fall onto a chip and formula (5) complies with Poisson distribution.Y=exp[−A·D0] (5)where “A” is an area of a target portion and “D0” is a density of dust.
By combining formula (3) and formula (5), relational expression (6) is obtained as follows:DL=1−exp[−A·D0·(1−FC)] (6)
In formula (6), when an exponential term is close to 0 (in other words, when the dust level is low and the fault coverage “FC” is high), formula (6) is approximated as expressed by formula (7) below.DL≈A·D0·(1−FC) or DL≈A·D0·(1−√FC) (7)
In recent years, efforts have been made to improve accuracy by using not only overall dust information but also dust information corresponding to the critical area (CA) of each layer. However, correlation between a fault and a failure mode is insufficient and thus high correlation cannot be expected between the failure remaining rate “DL” and the fault coverage “FC”.
Thus a weighted fault coverage obtained by adding a layout weight to each fault has been recently used in response to finer processes.
Further, in the test quality evaluation of the prior art, for example, attention is given to a fact that each fault can be correlated with a failure occurring on each layout element. A layout element corresponding to a failure is weighted, the achieved fault coverage of each fault model is determined based on relative failure occurrence rate information obtained by mainly accumulating a number of failure analysis results, and test patterns are efficiently generated. Thus required test quality can be achieved by the test pattern close to the minimum (for example, see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-10351).
However, the prior art does not disclose how each resultant weighted fault coverage is quantified as an actual test quality measure of an LSI.
As described above, in the estimation of a failure remaining rate in an LSI, the rate being highly correlated with a failure (or rejection) rate in a market and so on, layout information directly correlated with a failure occurrence rate has been used in some techniques.
However, a proper relational expression has not been proposed yet. In other words, when calculating the level of failures remaining in a product after a shipping test, the calculation is based on a theoretical formula including an unclearly defined yield. Thus even when using a fault coverage and the like obtained by adding the weight of a layout element, the failure remaining rate in the product cannot be obtained with high accuracy.
Therefore, high correlation is hardly expected between a failure remaining rate and a failure (or rejection) rate in a market or an actual use, so that test quality is hard to improve in the prior art. | {
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The present invention provides a process for preparing isoxazolin-3-ylacylbenzenes, novel intermediates and novel processes for preparing these intermediates.
Isoxazolin-3-ylacylbenzenes are useful compounds which can be used in the field of crop protection. WO 98/31681, for example, describes 2-alkyl-3-(4,5-dihydroisoxazol-3-yl)acylbenzenes as herbicidally active compounds.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an alternative process for preparing 3-heterocyclyl-substituted benzoyl derivatives. The preparation process described in WO 98/31681 for 2-alkyl-3-(4,5-dihydroisoxazol-3-yl)acylbenzenes or precursors thereof (2-alkyl-3-(4,5-dihydroisoxazol-3-yl)bromobenzene derivatives) is not particularly suitable for the industrial preparation of these compounds, since the synthesis involves a plurality of steps and the yield of the end product in question, based on the starting materials employed in the first step of the synthesis, is relatively low.
The preparation of compounds or intermediates with a structure similar to that of the compounds of the formula I is known from the literature:
WO 96/26206 discloses a process for preparing 4-[3-(4,5-dihydroisoxazol-3-yl)benzoyl]-5-hydroxypyrazoles where, in the last step, a 5-hydroxypyrazole is reacted with a 3-(4,5-dihydroisoxazol-3-yl)benzoic acid derivative. The 3-(4,5-dihydroisoxazol-3-yl)benzoic acid derivative required for this process can only be obtained with difficulty, via a large number of steps. Accordingly, the process is relatively expensive and not optimal economically.
DE 197 09 118 describes a process for preparing 3-(4,5-dihydroisoxazol-3-yl)benzoic acids starting from 3-bromo-(4,5-dihydroisoxazol-3-yl)benzene, Grignard reagents and carbon dioxide.
Surprisingly, we have found that the number of process steps in the preparation of the 3-heterocyclyl-substituted benzoyl derivatives can be reduced compared to the process described in WO 98/31681 if the synthesis is carried out via selected intermediates. Moreover, the process according to the invention has the advantage that the overall yield of the end products of the formula I and also that of the intermediates X, based on the starting materials employed, is higher than the yield of the processes described in WO 98/31681. Furthermore, the respective intermediates of the individual process steps can be obtained in good yield. Moreover, some of the individual process steps are advantageous for the industrial preparation of the intermediates, since they allow a cost-effective and economic preparation of the latter. Furthermore, it is advantageous that the starting materials used are basic chemicals which are easy to prepare and which can be obtained from several independent suppliers of raw materials, even in relatively large amounts. Overall, the process according to the invention provides a more cost-effective, economical and safe industrial process for preparing herbicidally active compounds of the formula I.
We have found that the object of the invention is achieved by a process for preparing compounds of the formula I
where the substituents are as defined below:
R1 is hydrogen, C1-C6-alkyl,
R2 is C1-C6-alkyl,
R3, R4, R5 are hydrogen, C1-C6-alkyl, or R4 and R5 together form a bond,
R6 is a heterocyclic ring,
n is 0, 1 or 2;
which comprises preparing an intermediate of the formula VI
xe2x80x83in which R1 and R3-R5 are as defined above.
In subsequent reaction steps, compounds of the formula VI are converted into the corresponding 3-bromo-substituted compounds (bromobenzene derivatives), and the amino group on the phenyl ring is transformed into a sulfonyl group, giving compounds of the formula X:
The compounds of the formula X (3-(4,5-dihydroisoxazol-3-yl)bromobenzenes) are useful intermediates for preparing active compounds of the formula I. In particular, the process according to the invention affords the compounds I in the last reaction step in good yield. The compounds I are suitable, for example, for use as crop protection agents, in particular as herbicides, as described in WO 96/26206 and WO 97/35850.
According to the invention, the compounds of the formula I and the required intermediates, in particular compounds of the formula VI or X, can be prepared advantageously by combining one or more of the following process steps a)-g):
a) reaction of a nitro-o-methylphenyl compound of the formula II
xe2x80x83in which the radical R1 is as defined above with an organic nitrite Rxe2x80x94ONO in the presence of a base to give an oxime of the formula III
xe2x80x83in which the radical R1 is as defined above;
b) cyclization of the oxime of the formula III with an alkene of the formula IV
xe2x80x83in which R3 to R5 are as defined in claim 1 in the presence of a base to give the isoxazole of the formula V
xe2x80x83in which R1 and R3 to R5 are as defined in claim 1;
c) reduction of the nitro group in the presence of a catalyst to give the aniline of the formula VI
xe2x80x83in which R1 and R3 to R5 are as defined in claim 1;
d) reaction of the aniline of the formula VI with a dialkyl disulfide of the formula VII
xe2x80x83in the presence of an organic nitrite Rxe2x80x94ONO and, if appropriate, a catalyst to give the thioether of the formula VIII
xe2x80x83in which R1 to R5 are as defined in claim 1;
e) bromination of the thioether of the formula VIII with a brominating agent to give the bromothioether of the formula
xe2x80x83in which R1 to R5 are as defined in claim 1;
f) oxidation of the bromothioether of the formula IX with an oxidizing agent to give the isoxazoles of the formula X
xe2x80x83where n is the numbers 1 or 2,
g) if appropriate reacting the isoxazoline of the formula X with a compound of the formula R6xe2x80x94OH (XI) in the presence of carbon monoxide, a catalyst and a base, to give the compounds of the formula I.
Essentially, the process according to the invention for preparing compounds X comprises one or more of the process steps a)-f) or, in the case of the compounds I, one or more of the process steps a)-g). Preference is given to those reaction sequences which comprise either one of the process steps a) or d) or else both steps a) and d).
C1-C6-Alkyl and C1-C4-alkyl are straight-chain or branched alkyl groups having 1-6 and 1-4 carbon atoms, respectively, such as, for example, methyl, ethyl, n-propyl, isopropyl, n-butyl, isobutyl, n-pentyl or n-hexyl in all cases. This applies analogously to the C1-C6-alkoxy group.
R1 is preferably an alkyl group, in particular methyl, ethyl, isopropyl, n-propyl or n-butyl group [sic].
R3, R4 and R5 are preferably hydrogen. R4 and R5 together may also denote a bond, giving rise to the corresponding isoxazole derivatives. In this case, R3 is prefeerably hydrogen.
In the definition of R6, xe2x80x9cheterocyclic ringxe2x80x9d means a saturated, unsaturated or partially unsaturated heterocycle having one, two or three oxygen, sulfur or nitrogen atoms. Preference is given to heterocycles having two nitrogen atoms. In particular, R6 is a pyrazole radical, as described in more detail in WO 98/31681. It is preferably a pyrazole which is attached in the 4-position and which may be unsubstituted or substituted by further radicals which are chemically inert under the chosen reaction conditions. Suitable pyrazole substituents of this type are, for example, the following groups: hydroxyl, oxo, sulfonyloxy, C1-C6-alkyl or C1-C6-alkoxy, in particular C1-C4-alkyl in the 1-position. Particularly preferably, R6 is the group 1-alkyl-5-hydroxypyrazol-4-yl, in particular 1-methyl-5-hydroxypyrazol-4-yl; 1-ethyl-5-hydroxypyrazol-4-yl.
The process according to the invention is particularly suitable for preparing the following compounds of the formula I:
1-methyl-4-(3-(4,5-dihydroisoxazol-3-yl)-2-methyl-4-methylsulfonylbenzoyl) -5-hydroxypyrazole
1-ethyl-4-(3-(4,5-dihydroisoxazol-3-yl)-2-methyl-4-methylsulfonylbenzoyl) -5-hydroxypyrazole,
1-methyl-4-(3-(4,5-dihydroisoxazol-3-yl)-2-ethyl-4-methylsulfonylbenzoyl) -5-hydroxypyrazole,
1-methyl-4-(3-(4,5-dihydroisoxazol-3-yl)-2-propyl-4-methylsulfonylbenzoyl) -5-hydroxypyrazole,
1-methyl-4-(3-(4,5-dihydroisoxazol-3-yl)-2-butyl-4-methylsulfonylbenzoyl) -5-hydroxypyrazole.
Preferred intermediates of the formula VI are the following compounds:
2-(4,5-dihydroisoxazol-3-yl)aniline,
2-(4,5-dihydroisoxazol-3-yl)-3-methylaniline,
2-(4,5-dihydroisoxazol-3-yl)-3-ethylaniline,
2-(isoxazol-3-yl)-aniline,
2-(isoxazol-3-yl)-3-methylaniline,
2-(isoxazol-3-yl)-3-ethylaniline.
Preferred intermediates of the formula X are the following compounds:
3-(3-bromo-2-methyl-6-methylsulfonylphenyl)-4,5-dihydroisoxazole,
3-(3-chloro-2-methyl-6-methylsulfonylphenyl)-4,5-dihydroisoxazole,
3-(3-bromo-6-methylsulfonylphenyl)-4,5-dihydroisoxazole,
3-(3-bromo-2-ethyl-6-methylsulfonylphenyl)-4,5-dihydroisoxazole,
3-(3-bromo-2-isopropyl-6-methylsulfonylphenyl)-4,5-dihydroisoxazole,
3-(3-bromo-2-methyl-6-ethylsulfonylphenyl)-4,5-dihydroisoxazole,
3-(3-bromo-2-methyl-6-propylsulfonylphenyl)-4,5-dihydroisoxazole,
3-(3-bromo-2-methyl-6-butylsulfonylphenyl)-4,5-dihydroisoxazole,
3-(3-bromo-2-methyl-6-pentylsulfonylphenyl)-4,5-dihydroisoxazole,
3-(3-bromo-2-methyl-6-hexylsulfonylphenyl)-4,5-dihydroisoxazole.
A possible reaction sequence up to the preparation of the compounds X is summarized in the diagram below:
The individual reaction steps are illustrated in more detail below.
The reaction is carried out, for example under the following conditions: the solvents used are dipolar aprotic solvents, for example N,N-dialkylformamide, N,N-dialkylacetamide, N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP), preferably: dimethylformamide (DMF) or NMP. The temperature is from xe2x88x9260xc2x0 C. to room temperature; preferably from xe2x88x9250 to xe2x88x9220xc2x0 C. To achieve a sufficiently low melting point of the solvent system, it is also possible to use solvent mixtures, for example with THF. The organic nitrites Rxe2x80x94ONO used are alkyl nitrites (R=alkyl), preferably n-butyl nitrite or (iso)amyl nitrite. Suitable bases are: MOalkyl, MOH, RMgX (M=alkali metal); preferably potassium methoxide (KOMe), sodium methoxide (NaOMe), or potassium tert-butoxide (KOtbutylate). When using sodium bases, it is possible to add 1-10 mol % of amyl alcohol. The stoichiometric ratios are, for example, as follows: 1-4 equivalents of base, 1-2 equivalents of Rxe2x80x94ONO; preferably: 1.5-2.5 equivalents of base and 1-1.3 equivalents of Rxe2x80x94ONO.
Addition is, for example, carried out in the following order: a) nitro-o-xylene and nitrite are initially charged and base is metered in. b) To avoid the addition of a solid base, the base can be initially charged in DMF, and nitro-o-xylene/butyl nitrite can be added simultaneously. The rate at which the base is metered in is relatively slow, so that the required cooling is reduced to a minimum. Work-up is carried out by one of the following methods: a) precipitation of the product by stirring into water. b) Precipitation of the product by adding a sufficient amount of water to the reaction mixture. Purification of the product is carried out by trituration with toluene at 0-110xc2x0 C., preferably at room temperature.
The reaction is carried out, for example, via the following mechanistic intermediates: conversion of the oxime III into an activated hydroxamic acid derivative, for example hydroxamic acid chloride, by chlorination with a chlorinating agent, conversion of the activated hydroxamic acid derivative into the nitrile oxide, for example conversion of the hydroxamic acid chloride in the presence of a base into the nitrile oxide, and subsequent cycloaddition of the alkene IV to the nitrile oxide.
This reaction is a novel process for preparing isoxazole derivatives of the formula V. Surprisingly, this process affords the isoxazolines in very good yields. Furthermore, only few byproducts are formed, and these can furthermore be removed relatively easily. Accordingly, on an industrial scale, it is easy to isolate and purify the end products, so that the isoxazolines can be prepared with high purity and at low cost. The use of known processes for preparing isoxazolines has hitherto been disadvantageous, since the isoxazolines could only be obtained in unsatisfactory yields starting from the reaction of the benzaldoximes. Furthermore, the processes known from the prior art frequently use alkali metal hypohalide-containing solutions which lead to the formation of poorly soluble and environmentally unfriendly byproducts. The process according to the invention is characterized in that the use of alkali metal hypohalide-containing solutions can be dispensed with, the process thus being essentially alkali metal hypohalide-free.
The isoxazolines are prepared, for example, by the following method: initially, hydroxamic acid chloride is formed which, in a second step, is cyclized with an alkene with metered addition of base and, if appropriate, under superatmospheric pressure. Advantageously, these individual steps can also be combined in a xe2x80x9cone-potxe2x80x9d reaction. To this end, the reaction is carried out in a solvent suitable for both partial steps, for example a carboxylic ester, such as ethyl acetate, chlorobenzene or acetonitrile.
The preparation of hydroxamic acid chlorides with N-chlorosuccinimide in DMF is known from the literature (Liu et al., J. Org. Chem. 1980; 45: 3916-3918). However, it is also mentioned that the conversion of o-nitrobenzaldoximes into the hydroxamic acid chlorides by chlorination is possible only with poor yields (Chiang, J. Org. Chem. 1971, 36: 2146-2155). An expected side-reaction is the formation of benzal chloride. Surprisingly, in the process described above, conditions were found which permit the preparation of the desired hydroxamic acid chlorides in excellent yields. It is particularly advantageous that cheap chlorine is used.
The reaction is carried out, for example, under the following conditions: solvent: haloalkanes, such as 1,2-dichloroethane or methylene chloride; aromatic compounds, such as benzene, toluene, chlorobenzene, nitrobenzene or xylene; polar aprotic solvents, for example N,N-dialkylformamides, -acetamides, N-methylpyrrolidone, dimethylpropyleneurea; tetramethylurea, acetonitrile, propionitrile; alcohols, such as methanol, ethanol, n-propanol or isopropanol; carboxylic acids, such as acetic acid or propionic acid; carboxylic esters, such as ethyl acetate. Preference is given to using the following solvents: acetic acid, methanol, ethanol, 1,2-dichloroethane, methylene chloride, chlorobenzene or ethyl acetate. The reaction is carried out at from xe2x88x9240xc2x0 C. to 100xc2x0 C., preferably from xe2x88x9210 to 40xc2x0 C. or from 0 to 30xc2x0 C. Suitable for use as halogenating agents are: N-chlorosuccinimide, elemental chlorine, preferably chlorine. The stoichiometric ratios are, for example, 1-3 equivalents of halogenating agent, preferably 1-1.5 equivalents. In the case of chlorine, the metered addition is carried out by introducing chlorine gas, and N-chlorosuccinimide (NCS) is metered in as a solid or, if appropriate, in a suitable solvent.
Work-up is carried out, for example, according to the following scheme: a) no purification. The solution is directly employed further; b) solvent exchange by distillative removal of the solvent; c) addition of water and extraction of the hydroxamic acid chloride with a suitable solvent.
By adding bases, the hydroxamic acid chlorides are converted into the nitrile oxides. Since the latter compounds are unstable, the problem which had to be solved was to find conditions under which the nitrile oxides are stabilized and converted into the desired products. Surprisingly, this problem was solved by selecting the following reaction conditions: the solvents used are: halogenated alkanes, such as 1,2-dichloroethane or methylene chloride; aromatic compounds, such as benzene, toluene, chlorobenzene, nitrobenzene or xylene; polar aprotic solvents, for example N,N-dialkylformamides, -acetamides, N-methylpyrrolidone, dimethylpropyleneurea; tetramethylurea, acetonitrile, propionitrile, carboxylic esters, such as ethyl acetate. Preference is given to using: 1,2-dichloroethane, methylene chloride, toluene, xylene, ethyl acetate or chlorobenzene.
The temperatures for the reaction are from 0xc2x0 C. to 100xc2x0 C., preferably 0-50xc2x0 C. or 0-30xc2x0 C.
The bases used are: tertiary amines, for example triethylamine, cyclic amines, such as N-methylpiperidine or N,Nxe2x80x2-dimethylpiperazine, pyridine, alkali metal carbonates, for example sodium carbonate or potassium carbonate, alkali metal bicarbonates, for example sodium bicarbonate or potassium bicarbonate, alkaline earth metal carbonates, for example calcium carbonate, alkali metal hydroxides, for example sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide. Preference is given to using: triethylamine, sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate or sodium hydroxide.
The stoichiometric ratios are, for example, 1-3 equivalents of base, preferably 1-1.5 equivalents; 1-5 equivalents of alkene, preferably 1-2 equivalents. Metered addition is preferably carried out under a superatmospheric alkene pressure, by slowly adding the base. The reaction is carried out at from atmospheric pressure to 10 atm, preferably at a pressure of 1-6 atm atmospheric pressure.
This reaction is a novel, hitherto unknown chemoselective hydrogenation of a nitro group in the presence of an isoxazoline. Surprisingly, it has been found that, under the chosen reaction conditions, the Nxe2x80x94O bond of the isoxazoline ring is not cleaved. Catalytic hydrogenation of aromatic nitro compounds to give the anilines has been known for a long time (see Houben-Weyl, Vol. IV/1c, p. 506 ff). On the other hand, it is also known that the Nxe2x80x94O bond of isoxazoline can be cleaved by catalytic hydrogenation, for example using Raney nickel (Curran et al., Synthesis 1986, 312-315) or palladium (Auricchio et al., Tetrahedron, 43, 3983-3986, 1987) as catalyst.
The reaction is carried out, for example, under the following conditions: suitable solvents are aromatic compounds, such as benzene, toluene, xylene; polar aprotic solvents, for example N,N-dialkylformamides, -acetamides, N-methylpyrrolidone, dimethylpropyleneurea; tetramethylurea, carboxylic esters, such as ethyl acetate, ethers, such as diethyl ether or methyl tert-butyl ether, cyclic ethers, such as tetrahydrofuran or dioxane; alcohols, such as methanol, ethanol, n-propanol or isopropanol, carboxylic acids, such as acetic acid or propionic acid. Preference is given to using the following solvents: ethyl acetate, toluene, xylene, methanol. The reaction is carried out at temperatures of from xe2x88x9220xc2x0 C. to 100xc2x0 C.; preferably of from 0 to 50xc2x0 C., particularly preferably of from 0 to 30xc2x0 C. The catalyst used is a platinum or palladium catalyst supported on activated carbon, with a content of from 0.1 to 15% by weight, based on the support of activated carbon. If a palladium catalyst is used, it can be doped with sulfur or selenium to achieve better selectivity. Preference is given to using platinum/activated carbon or palladium/activated carbon having a Pt- or Pd-content of 0.5-10% by weight.
The stoichiometric ratios for the reaction are, for example, as follows: from 0.001 to 1% by weight of platinum or palladium, based on the nitro compounds: preferably from 0.01 to 1% by weight of platinum. Hydrogen is metered in continuously or batchwise, preferably batchwise, at a pressure of from atmospheric pressure to 50 atm, preferably from atmospheric pressure to 10 atm.
The reaction mixture is worked up by removing the catalyst by filtration. If appropriate, the catalyst can also be re-used. The solvent is distilled off. For the subsequent reaction in the next process step, the product can be employed directly without further purification. If required, the product can also be purified further. The product is purified, for example, according to the following scheme: if required, the aniline can be purified by taking it up in dilute mineral acid, for example aqueous hydrochloric acid or dilute sulfuric acid, and extraction with a suitable organic extractant, for example halogenated alkanes, such as 1,2-dichloroethane or methylene chloride, aromatic compounds, such as benzene, toluene, chlorobenzene or xylene, ethers, such as diethyl ether or methyl tert-butyl ether, or carboxylic esters, such as ethyl acetate, and be liberated again using a base.
The reaction is carried out under the following conditions: the solvents used are, for example: halogenated alkanes, such as 1,2-dichloroethane or methylene chloride, aromatic compounds, such as benzene, toluene, chlorobenzene, nitrobenzene, or an excess of the dialkyl disulfide as solvent. Preference is given to using excess dialkyl disulfide as solvent. The temperature for the reaction is from 40xc2x0 C. to 150xc2x0 C., preferably from 50 to 100xc2x0 C., particularly preferably from 60 to 90xc2x0 C. The reagents used are organic nitrites (Rxe2x80x94ONO), such as, for example, alkyl nitrites, preferably n-butyl nitrite, (iso)amyl nitrite or tert-butyl nitrite. Here, R is any organic, chemically inert radical which does not have any effect on the actual reaction. R is, for example, a C1-C6-alkyl or C2-C6-alkenyl group.
In the reaction of the compounds, the stoichiometric ratios are, for example, as follows: 1-3 equivalents of alkyl nitrite, preferably 1-1.5 equivalents of alkyl nitrite. The following catalysts may be used: copper powder, elemental copper in a different form, such as, for example, turnings, wire, granules, pellets, rods; copper(I) salts, for example copper(I) chloride, copper(I) bromide or copper(I) iodide, copper(II) salts, or elemental iodine, particularly preferably copper powder. When carrying out the reaction in the solvent, 1-3 equivalents of dialkyl disulfide, preferably 1-2 equivalents, are employed. In a preferred embodiment, an excess of dialkyl disulfide is employed as solvent and then recovered by distillation. For further reactions, the product can be used without further purification. If appropriate, it is also possible to purify the product beforehand by distillation or crystallization using suitable solvents, for example from diisopropyl ether.
The bromination is carried out similarly to the method described in WO 98/31676. Acetic acid is an advantageous solvent.
The oxidation is carried out similarly to the method described in WO 98/31676 (cf. p. 8, line 32 to p. 11, line 25).
7. Step g)
The optional subsequent conversion of the compound of the formula X into compounds of the formula I is carried out by adding R6xe2x80x94OH (XI) in the presence of carbon monoxide and a suitable catalyst and a base. If R6 is an unsubstituted or substituted pyrazole or pyrazolone ring, the reaction is preferably carried out using palladium-containing catalysts, such as, for example, Pd(0) catalyst or bis(triphenylphosphine)palladium(II) chloride.
The process mentioned in step g) is a novel and advantageous process for preparing compounds of the formula I which are obtained starting from halophenyl derivatives X by acylation or carboxylation with hydroxy-substituted heterocycles of the formula R6xe2x80x94OH (XI).
EP-A 344 775 discloses a process for preparing 4-benzoyl-5-hydroxypyrazoles in one step where the synthesis is carried out starting from bromobenzenes and 5-hydroxypyrazoles in the presence of carbon monoxide, base and catalyst. The benzoyl radical of the target molecules may carry the following substituents in the 3-position: alkoxycarbonyl, alkoxy, alkoxymethyl. These substituents are considered to be relatively stable or inert chemically and allow the use of the drastic reaction conditions of the working examples. In contrast, the preparation of benzoyl-5-hydroxypyrazoles which carry less stable substituents in the 3-position, as is the case, for example, for the isoxazole or isoxazoline radical, are not described in EP 344 775, with respect to the drastic reaction conditions. In particular, owing to its redox properties, the isoxazole or isoxazoline radical is considered to be a highly sensitive radical. A further disadvantage of the process known from EP-A 344 775 is the fact that the 5-hydroxypyrazole is always employed in a large excess.
Below, the process is illustrated in more detail, using the example where R6=pyrazole (XI.a) as heterocycle. However, in principle, it is also possible to use other heterocyclic compounds, as defined at the outset.
The process is preferably carried out by reacting a hydroxypyrazole of the formula XI.a
in which R7 is C1-C6-alkyl and M is hydrogen or an alkali metal atom, preferably sodium or potassium, and a bromobenzene of the formula X
in which R1 to R5 are as defined above, in the presence of carbon monoxide, a palladium catalyst, if appropriate at least one molar equivalent of a potassium salt and if appropriate at least one molar equivalent of a tertiary amine of the formula XIII
N(Ra)3xe2x80x83xe2x80x83XIII
in which one of the radicals Ra may represent phenyl or naphthyl and the other radicals Ra are C1-C6-alkyl, at temperatures of from 100 to 140xc2x0 C. and a pressure of from 1 to 40 kg/cm2.
In a preferred embodiment of the process, the 5-hydroxypyrazole XI.a and the bromobenzene derivative X are employed in a molar ratio of from 1 to 2.
Preference is given to using, as 5-hydroxypyrazole XI.a, compounds in which R7 is C1-C6-alkyl, in particular methyl or ethyl.
The 5-hydroxypyrazoles (or pyrazolinones) of the formula XI.a used as starting materials are known and can be prepared by processes known per se (cf. EP-A 240 001, WO 96/26206 and J. Prakt. Chem. 315 (1973), 382).
In general, the 5-hydroxypyrazole XI.a is employed in equimolar amounts or in excess, based on the bromobenzene derivative X. For reasons of economy, it makes sense to avoid a relatively large excess of 5-hydroxypyrazole. Under the reaction conditions according to the invention, the stoichiometric reaction gives the same yield as that which is obtained if an excess of 5-hydroxypyrazole is used. This was surprising, since a large excess of 5-hydroxypyrazole is used in all of the examples of the process described in EP-A 344 775. In the process according to the invention, the molar ratio of 5-hydroxypyrazole to bromobenzene is preferably adjusted to 1-2 and particularly preferably to 1.0-1.2.
Above 140xc2x0 C., decomposition occurs, and below 100xc2x0 C., the reaction comes to a halt. The reaction is therefore generally carried out in a temperature range of from 100 to 140xc2x0 C., preferably from 110 to 130xc2x0 C.
Surprisingly, it has been found that the high pressure in the range of up to 150 kg/cm2 normally required for the reaction (cf. the details given in EP 344 775) can be reduced to a value of at most up to 40 kg/cm2, preferably to up to 20 kg/cm2 or else up to 10 kg/cm2, without this having an adverse effect on the reaction conditions, such as reaction temperature or reaction time, or resulting in a loss of yield. The reaction pressure is preferably at least 3 kg/cm2, in particular at least 5 kg/cm2. Suitable pressure ranges are, for example: 1-40 kg/cm2, 5-20 kg/cm2 or 10-20 kg/cm2, in particular 3-10 and particularly preferably 5-8 kg/cm2.
This pressure reduction is particularly advantageous if the preparation process is to be carried out on an industrial scale, since the safety requirements which have to be met with respect to the pressure vessels used are less stringent. Thus, the costly use of high-pressure-vessels can be dispensed with. Accordingly, the preparation process described in g) is safer and more economical.
Furthermore, it has surprisingly been found that the palladium compounds used as catalysts are, under the chosen reaction conditions, mainly obtained as elemental palladium and can be removed from the reaction mixture in a simple manner by filtration. Thus, concentration of the palladium-containing reaction solution for subsequent disposal, which is complicated and costly, and any incineration of the residues can substantially be dispensed with. This reduces recycling costs. The pore size of the precipitated palladium is 1-10 xcexcm, in particular 1-4 xcexcm. The palladium filtered off in this way can be worked up at low cost to give the corresponding palladium compounds, such as, for example, palladium chloride, since the recycling costs depend on the palladium concentration.
Suitable solvents for the reaction in process step g) are nitrites, such as benzonitrile and acetonitrile, amides, such as dimethylformamide, dimethylacetamide, tetra-C1-C4-alkylureas or N-methylpyrrolidone, and preferably ethers, such as tetrahydrofuran and methyl tert-butyl ether. Particularly preferred solvents are ethers such as 1,4-dioxane and dimethoxyethane.
Suitable catalysts are palladium-ligand complexes in which the palladium is present at the oxidation state 0, metallic palladium, if appropriate on a support, and preferably palladium(II) salts. The reaction with palladium(II) salts and metallic palladium is preferably carried out in the presence of complex ligands.
A suitable palladium(0)-ligand complex is, for example, tetrakis(triphenylphosphane)palladium.
Metallic palladium is preferably absorbed on an inert carrier, such as, for example, activated carbon, silica, alumina, barium sulfate or calcium carbonate. The reaction is preferably carried out in the presence of complex ligands, such as, for example, triphenylphosphane.
Suitable palladium(II) salts are, for example, palladium acetate and palladium chloride. The reaction is preferably carried out in the presence of complex ligands, such as, for example, triphenylphosphane.
Suitable complex ligands for the palladium-ligand complexes, or those in whose presence the reaction with metallic palladium or palladium(II) salts is preferably carried out, are tertiary phosphanes whose structure is represented by the formulae below:
where n is a number from 1 to 4 and the radicals R8 to R14 are C1-C6-alkyl, aryl-C1-C2-alkyl or, preferably, aryl. Aryl is, for example, naphthyl and unsubstituted or substituted phenyl, such as, for example, 2-tolyl, and in particular unsubstituted phenyl.
The complex palladium salts can be prepared in a manner known per se starting from commercially available palladium salts, such as palladium chloride or palladium acetate, and the corresponding phosphanes, such as, for example, triphenylphosphane or 1,2-bis(diphenylphosphano)ethane. Many complex palladium salts are also commercially available. Preferred palladium salts are [(R)(+)2,2-bis(diphenylphosphano)-1,1xe2x80x2-binaphthyl]palladium(II) chloride, bis(triphenylphosphane)palladium(II) acetate and, in particular, bis(triphenylphosphane)palladium(II) chloride.
In general, the palladium catalyst is employed in a concentration of from 0.05 to 5 mol %, preferably from 1 to 3 mol %.
Amines N(Ra)3 of the structure XIII which are suitable for the process are tertiary amines, such as, for example, N-methylpiperidine, ethyldiisopropylamine, 1,8-bisdimethylaminonaphthalene or, in particular, triethylamine.
Suitable potassium salts are, for example, potassium phosphate, potassium cyanide and, in particular, potassium carbonate. Advantageously, the water content of the potassium salt should be low. For this reason, the potassium carbonate was, prior to use, generally dried at at least 150xc2x0 C.
The amount of potassium salt used is advantageously at least 1 molar equivalent. Otherwise, the reaction rate will be reduced, or the intermediate Fries rearrangement does not proceed completely, and O-acylated pyrazole derivatives are obtained. Preferably, in each case from 2 to 4 molar equivalents and particularly preferably 2 molar equivalents of potassium salt are employed, based on the bromobenzene III.
In addition to the potassium salt, the reaction mixture is preferably also admixed with an amine N(Ra)3 of the formula XIII in which one of the radicals Ra may be phenyl or naphthyl and the other radicals Ra are C1-C6-alkyl. Preferably, 1 to 4 molar equivalents, particularly preferably 2 molar equivalents, of the amine XIII are employed, based on the bromobenzene X.
For work-up, the reaction solution is usually introduced into water. If the reaction is carried out in a water-miscible solvent, such as 1,4-dioxane, it may be advantageous to remove beforehand some or all of the solvent from the reaction mixture, if appropriate under reduced pressure. Any solid components are then removed from the aqueous alkaline reaction mixture, and a pH of from 2.5 to 4.5, preferably 3.5, is established by acidification with a mineral acid, such as, for example, hydrochloric acid, resulting in virtually complete precipitation of the product of value. The isoxazoline radical, in particular, is sensitive to hydrolysis. In processes for preparing benzoylpyrazoles which contain this radical, a pH of below 2 should preferably be avoided.
The acylation in process step g) is preferably carried out under the following process conditions: solvent: dioxane or mixtures of dioxane and acetonitrile. Temperature: 110-130xc2x0 C. Pressure: 5-8, preferably about 6, kg/cm2. Catalyst: palladium(II) chloride. Molar ratio of the heterocyclic hydroxy compounds (such as, for example, 5-hydroxypyrazole) to bromobenzene derivatives: from 1 to 2 and particularly preferably from 1.0 to 1.2.
Alternatively to the synthesis route shown in scheme 1, the compounds of the formula X can also be prepared according to schemes 2 and 3 below.
Scheme 2 shows a possible synthesis route to bromobenzene derivatives of the type of formula X using the synthesis of 3-[3-bromo-2-methyl-6-(methylsulfonyl)phenyl]-4,5-dihydro-isoxazole as an example. The individual process steps can be carried out following customary standard methods.
The bromination of compounds of the formula VI is carried out similarly to the direct bromination of anilines. If the reagent used is tetrabutylammonium tribromide, it is in some cases possible to achieve selective monobromination in the position para to the amine function (Berthelot et al., Synth. Commun. 1986, 16: 1641). However, a general problem in such brominations is the formation of polybrominated products (Bull. Chem. Soc. Jpn. 1988, 61: 597-599). Thus, for example, the reaction of VI with tetrabutylammonium tribromide in a methanol/water mixture with calcium carbonate as base gives a product mixture containing about 25% of dibrominated byproduct. The separation of the product mixture is critical in particular when the substituents include isoxazole or isoxazoline radicals which, with a view to their redox properties, are considered as being labile under the chosen reaction conditions.
We have now found conditions which allow the desired product XIV to be prepared in good yields, without more highly brominated byproducts being formed. According to the reaction conditions of the invention, the preferred reagent is tetrabutylammonium tribromide. The solvents used are haloalkanes, such as 1,2-dichloroethane or methylene chloride, alcohols, such as methanol, ethanol, n-propanol, isopropanol, or aliphatic nitriles, such as acetonitrile, preferably acetonitrile. The preferred base base [sic] is potassium carbonate. The brominated intermediates XIV can then be converted into the isoxazol-3-ylbromobenzenes X according to the invention by various routes. The intermediates for preparing compounds IX from XIV or compounds X from IX can be prepared by the processes already mentioned above.
However, it is alternatively also possible to convert the anilines initially into the sulfonyl chlorides X.c (see Houben-Weyl, Vol. IX, pp. 575-580). The sulfonyl chlorides can be converted by reduction, for example using sodium sulfide, via the sulfinic acid stage (see Houben-Weyl, Vol. IX, pp. 306-307) and subsequent alkylation (see Houben-Weyl, Vol. IX, pp. 231-233), into the alkyl sulfones. The two steps can advantageously be combined in a xe2x80x9cone-pot reactionxe2x80x9d. This synthesis has the advantage that favorable starting materials are used for introducing the alkylsulfonyl groups.
The oximation of substituted toluenes, used in process step a) of the process according to the invention, is a novel and advantageous method for converting toluene derivatives into benzaldoximes. In principle, this method is suitable for preparing benzaldoximes of the formula XV
in which the radicals are as defined below:
Rx and Ry are any organic radicals which can be identical or different and are inert under the chosen reaction conditions. Rx may, for example, be: halogen, such as, for example, chlorine, bromine or iodine; carboxyl; carboxamide; N-alkylcarboxamides and N,N-dialkylcarboxamides; phenyl; C1-C6-alkyl, such as, for example, methyl, ethyl; C1-C6-alkoxy; C1-C6-alkylthio or other radicals. If m greater than 1, Rx can in each case be identical or different. Rx preferably has the same meaning as R1 and is located ortho to the oxime group xe2x80x94CHxe2x95x90NOH. m is, in particular, the number 2, one of the substituents Rx having the same meaning as R1 and the second substituent Rx being a halogen atom which is preferably located meta to the oxime group. Ry is preferably C1-C6-alkyl, for example methyl, ethyl, propyl.
Preferred compounds XV are those in which X is the group SO2xe2x80x94Ry and m is the number 2. In this case, one of the radicals Rx is preferably halogen (for example bromine or chlorine) and is located meta to the oxime group. The second radical Rx is preferably C1-C6-alkyl (for example methyl, ethyl) and is located ortho to the oxime group.
According to the invention, compounds of the formula XVI (o-nitrotoluene or o-alkylsulfonyltoluene)
in which the substituents are as defined above are reacted with an organic nitrite of the formula Rxe2x80x94Oxe2x80x94NO, as already defined, in the presence of a base.
The nitrosation of o-nitrotoluene has been described in the literature (Lapworth, J. Chem. Soc. 79 (1901), 1265). However, even in this early work, a dimeric byproduct is mentioned. Later works only describe the preparation of dimeric products under similar reaction conditions (Das et al., J. Med. Chem. 13 (1970), 979). Repetition of the experiment described in the literature using o-nitrotoluene shows that, indeed, the 2-nitrobenzaldoxime is formed in small amounts.
When the conditions described were applied to 3-nitro-o-xylene, only the dimer XVIII was formed.
For Michael additions, which proceed under similar conditions, the literature likewise mentions that they do not succeed with 3-nitro-o-xylene (Li, Thottathil, Murphy, Tetrahedron Lett. 36 (1994), 6591). From what has been described, it would therefore not be expected that benzaldoximes can be prepared in excellent yields from 6-substituted 2-nitrotoluene. Moreover, it has surprisingly been found that alkylsulfonates (Xxe2x95x90SO2Ry) can, under comparable conditions, likewise be oximated at the methyl group in the o-position. The compounds prepared by the process according to the invention are important intermediates in the production of active compounds for crop protection agents (WO 98/31681).
The reaction is preferably carried out under the following conditions:
The solvents used are: dipolar aprotic solvents, for example N,N-dialkylformamide, N,N-dialkylacetamide, N-methylpyrrolidone, preferably DMF, NMP. The temperature is from xe2x88x9260xc2x0 C. to room temperature; preferably from xe2x88x9250 to xe2x88x9220xc2x0 C. The preferred nitrite or alkylnitrite is n-butyl nitrite and (iso)amyl nitrite. Suitable bases are: (M=alkali metal): MOalkyl, MOH, RMgX; preferably KOMe, NaOMe, KOt-butoxide. If sodium bases are employed, preference is given to adding 1-10 mol % of amyl alcohol. The stoichiometry is as follows: 1-4 equivalents of base, 1-2 equivalents of RONO; preferably: 1.5-2.5 equivalents of base, 1-1.3 equivalents of RONO (i.e. an organic nitrite). The order of addition: a) nitro-o-xylene and nitrite are initially charged and base is metered in. b) To avoid having to meter in the base as a solid, it is possible to initially charge the base in DMF and to add nitro-o-xylene/butyl nitrite simultaneously. It is advantageous to meter in the base over a relatively long period of time, to reduce the required cooling.
Work-up is carried out, for example, as follows: a) precipitation by stirring the mixture into water/acid. b) Precipitation by adding a sufficient amount of water/acid. Suitable acids are mineral acids, such as sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid or phosphoric acid, or else carboxylic acids, such as acetic acid. Purification of the product: by trituration with toluene at from 0 to 110xc2x0 C., preferably at room temperature.
If the reaction is carried out at a relatively high temperature (from xe2x88x9210 to 0xc2x0 C.), followed by additional stirring at room temperature, work-up affords the benzonitriles directly. Furthermore, it is possible to release the aldehyde function from the benzaldoximes of the formula XV in the presence of an acidic catalyst and an aliphatic aldehyde, for example aqueous formaldehyde solution. Suitable solvents are halogenated alkanes, such as 1,2-dichloroethane or methylene chloride, aromatic compounds, such as benzene, toluene, chlorobenzene, nitrobenzene or xylene, polar aprotic solvents, for example N,N-dialkylformamides, -acetamides, N-methylpyrrolidone, dimethylpropyleneurea; tetramethylurea, tetrahydrofuran, acetonitrile, propionitrile or acetone, if appropriate with addition of water. Particularly advantageous are aqueous acetone (1 to 20% of water), dioxane/water mixtures and tetrahydrofuran/water mixtures. The reaction is carried out at temperatures from room temperature to the reflux temperature of the solvent, preferably from 30 to 70xc2x0 C. Suitable acids are mineral acids, such as aqueous hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid or phosphoric acid, and acidic ion exchangers, such as Amberlyst 15 or Dowex 50Wxc3x978.
In the case of the compounds of the formula XV, the oxime group xe2x80x94CHxe2x95x90NOH can then be converted into the corresponding aldehydes (xe2x80x94CHO) or else into the corresponding nitrites (xe2x80x94CN). These compounds are important synthesis building blocks for preparing active compounds of the formula I (cf. WO 98/31681).
The thioalkylation step employed in process step d) of the process according to the invention is a novel and advantageous method for converting aniline derivatives into thioether derivatives (thioalkylation of aniline derivatives). In principle, the method is generally suitable for preparing thioethers of the formula XIX
where Rx is any inert radical, m is a number from 0 to 5 and R2 is a C1-C6-alkyl group, which comprises reacting an aniline of the formula XX
with a dialkyl disulfide of the formula VII
R2xe2x80x94Sxe2x80x94Sxe2x80x94R2xe2x80x83xe2x80x83VII
in the presence of a catalyst. Preferred catalysts are copper powder, in particular copper powder having a particle size of below 70 xcexcm, or elemental copper in another form, such as, for example, turnings, wire, granules, pellets or rods.
In the compounds of the formula XIX and XX, Rx is any radical which is chemically inert under the chosen reaction conditions during the reaction with compounds of the formula VII. In this sense, suitable Rx groups are, for example: hydrogen, alkyl, aloalkyl, halogen, cyano, nitro, alkoxy, haloalkoxy, alkylthio or heterocyclic radicals as mentioned at the outset in the definition of R6. A heterocyclic radical is, in particular, an unsubstituted or alkyl-substituted 5-membered heterocyclic saturated, partially saturated or aromatic ring from the group of the isoxazolines, isoxazoles, thiazolines, thiazoles, oxazoles and pyrazoles. The compounds of the formula XIX and XX may carry one or more, preferably one, two or three, substituents Rx, which may be identical or different.
Rx is preferably a C1-C6-alkyl group, for example methyl, ethyl or propyl. m is preferably the number 1 or 2. If m is the number 1, Rx is preferably ortho or meta to the group xe2x80x94Sxe2x80x94R2 (in the case of compounds XIX) or to the amino group (in the case of the compounds XX). If m is the number 2, the second radical Rx is preferably ortho and meta to the group xe2x80x94Sxe2x80x94R2 or to the amino group.
Thioethers of the formula XIX are useful intermediates for preparing active compounds in the chemical industry, for example for preparing crop protection agents (for example WO 96/11906; WO 98/31676) or for preparing medicaments. A process which is frequently used for introducing alkylthio functions is the exchange of a halogen (EP 0 711 754). However, the process described in this publication has the disadvantage that it is limited to aromatic compounds which are substituted by radicals which are strongly electron-withdrawing. Moreover, the preparation frequently requires high temperatures. Under these reaction conditions, other sensitive functional groups are chemically modified, resulting in complex reaction mixtures which are difficult and costly to purify, or where in certain cases removal of the impurities is not possible at all. In addition, suitable precursors are not always commercially available.
Methods for preparing arylalkyl sulfides from anilines are known, but these methods have serious disadvantages. The Sandmeyer reaction, for example, requires the use of equimolar amounts of copper alkyl thiolate (Baleja, Synth. Commun. 14 (1984), 215-218). The yields that are obtained are typically only in the range of from 20 to 60%.
A further method that has been described is the reaction of aromatic amines with alkyl nitrites in excess dialkyl sulfide (Giam et al., J. Chem. Soc., Chem. Commun 1980, 756-757). Here, it is a problem that, in some cases to a considerable extent, side-reactions occur, resulting in poor yields and a high expense in the purification of the product. Moreover, it was observed that, if the reaction is carried out in an inert diluent, a very vigorous reaction which was difficult to control set in after an induction phase, thus excluding use on an industrial scale. It is an object of the present invention to provide an alternative process for the preparation of thioethers. Using the preparation process according to the invention, it is possible to prepare aromatic alkyl thioethers advantageously from anilines. Using the process, it is possible to carry out the preparation in a simple manner, at low cost and efficiently, taking into account ecologically and economically advantageous aspects.
According to the invention, the reaction of the aniline with a dialkyl disulfide and an organic nitrite Rxe2x80x94ONO is carried out according to the reaction scheme shown above, in the presence of a catalyst, preferably elemental copper. Comparative experiments have shown that, under the conditions according to the invention, considerably better yields are obtained and fewer byproducts are formed than when no catalyst is used. Moreover, the reaction is easy to control and suitable for use on an industrial scale.
The reaction is carried out under the reaction conditions specified in more detail below: suitable solvents are halogenated alkanes, such as 1,2-dichloroethane or methylene chloride, or aromatics, such as benzene, toluene, chlorobenzene or nitrobenzene. Alternatively, it is also possible to use an excess of dialkyl disulfide itself as solvent. This variant is particularly advantageous. The temperatures for the reaction are from 40xc2x0 C. to 150xc2x0 C., preferably from 60 to 100xc2x0 C. and in particular from 70 to 90xc2x0 C. In the reaction, it is advantageous to add a C1-C6-alkyl nitrite reagent. Suitable for this purpose are, for example, n-butyl nitrite, (iso)amyl nitrite and tert-butyl nitrite. In this case, the stoichiometry is, for example, 1-3 equivalents of alkyl nitrite, preferably 1-1.5 equivalents of alkyl nitrite. Suitable catalysts are copper powder or elemental copper in another form, copper(I) salts, for example copper(I) chloride, copper(I) bromide or copper(I) iodide, copper(II) salts, or elemental iodine, preferably copper powder or elemental copper in another form. The reaction is, for example, carried out under the following stoichiometric ratios: if the reaction is carried out in a solvent: 1-3 equivalents of dialkyl disulfide, preferably 1-2 equivalents. If the reaction is carried out without additional solvent, i.e. if the dialkyl disulfide is used as solvent: an excess of dialkyl disulfide or of a dialkyl disulfide mixture is used, subsequent distillative recovery being possible. The product is purified, for example, by distillation or crystallization (for example from diisopropyl ether).
The present invention furthermore provides a process for preparing compounds X using the process described above for the oximation of substituted toluenes XVI (cf. process step a)) and/or using the process described above for the thioalkylation of aniline derivatives XX (cf. process step d)). In reaction scheme 4 below, a suitable preparation process is described using the example of a compound X where R1=CH3, R2=CH3, R3=R4=R5=H. In principle, the process is also suitable for preparing compounds X where the radicals R1-R5 are as defined above.
The invention is illustrated in more detail in the working examples below. Examples 1-9 relate to process steps a)-g). Examples 10-26 relate to the preparation of starting materials or intermediates, or are corresponding comparative examples. Example 27 relates to the reaction sequence for preparing compounds X, shown in scheme 4. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The present invention relates to a printing technology.
With sophisticated information processing technologies, a multiplicity of information devices are used in a variety of scenes in the society. Then, an enormous quantity of information is printed by printers. Particularly over the recent years, images captured by digital cameras etc are printed by color printers in the great majority of cases. The color print involves especially a large quantity of toner consumption.
Accordingly, a running cost that depends upon the toner consumption is not ignorable nowadays. This being the case, a scheme for saving the toners has hitherto been proposed.
What is known as a toner save technology for this purpose is a method of extracting an outline of character/graphic data after being developed on, e.g., a bitmap memory. This method serves to restrain a quantity of toners by diminishing a dot size of an internal area or the outline of the character/graphic data (which may be called a prior art 1).
Another known method is that the toner quantity is restrained by thinning out at a fixed ratio the data after similarly being developed on the bitmap memory (wherein the dots occupying a fixed ratio per unit area are removed off) (which may be called a prior art 2). Alternative known method is that the toner quantity is restrained by increasing at a fixed ratio the brightness of the print data as a whole (which may be called a prior art 3).
These prior arts, however, have no scheme of distinguishing between categories of the print data such as characters, graphic, images etc, and the toner save is carried out by the same method with respect to all pieces of print data. Therefore, the toner save optimal to every category of the print data was not actualized. Then, as a result, the toner save function described above proved poor of a print quality and was therefore unusable except at a print level for trial.
The prior art 1 is effective in, for example, the characters and graphics with no expression of halftones (intermediate colors), but raises a problem of being unable to functioning effectively in the characters and graphics involving the expressions of images and halftones. This is because it is difficult to extract the outline of the character and graphic containing the halftone expression.
Particularly in the case of the color print, the processing is effected for four colors Y (yellow), M (magenta), C (cyan) and K (black), and hence the halftone expression is indispensable for the character and graphic. The prior art 1 was not therefore applicable to the color print.
Further, the prior art 2 also has problems in a pattern having a periodicity in the print data and in a dot pattern. Namely, in the case of thinning out the above print data at the fixed ratio, an irregularity in period due to interference with the pattern period becomes conspicuous, which did not lead to a preferable result of printing.
Moreover, the prior art 3 has a possibility in which sharpness (clearness) conceived important in terms of an image quality might be deteriorated because of increasing the brightness of the character/graphic/image as a whole. Further, when applied to a small character and a fine line, a solid line might be printed as if a dotted line and might appear lighter than a brightness improving rate specified.
Further, there has seen a leap in improvements of the quality and performance of a color printer over the recent years, and a printed result having substantially the same quality as a photograph has been acquired. There is provided a product capable of outputting such a high-quality print at the same printing speed as that of a monochromatic printer (that outputs a binary monochrome pattern and will hereinafter be simply termed a monochrome printer or a monochrome machine).
Furthermore, a product price rapidly decreases, and there is a possibility wherein the market shares of the monochrome printers and color printers will be reversed several years later. For attaining this share-turnabout, a print cost per page is a bottleneck.
A cost for using the toners for a color print is higher than a cost for a monochrome print. Then, if print target data are categorized as a material for presentation that contains natural images and background colors, a print area increases. Therefore, the print of such data involves a further increase in toner spent quantity.
On the other hand, if a large quantity of prints can be attained owing to a decrease in price of the main unit of the printer product, there might be a strict request for a running cost in terms of purchasing the printer product. | {
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The present invention relates to fitments for connecting medical devices, and in particular, to luer fittings having a textured contact surface.
A conventional luer fitting or fitment generally comprises a conically-shaped element which is adapted to form a relatively air-and-liquid tight seal when mated to a complementary fitting, as for example, a syringe tip to a catheter hub. The surface of the luer fitting which contacts the complementary fitting is ordinarily smooth. Such luer fittings are well known in the art, see International Standard Organization (ISO) 594/1-1986, and have been incorporated into a variety of medical devices.
Once connected, it is important that luer fitments do not become accidentally disengaged during a medical procedure. Such accidental disengagement could result in fluid loss or fluid contamination, which in turn, could have adverse consequences for a patient.
Under most circumstances, the frictional fit between conventional mated luer fitments is sufficient to prevent accidental disengagement of the fitments. However, when fluid contaminants or wetting agents are present between the contact surfaces of mated luer fittings, the fluid contaminants tend to act as a lubricant. The lubricating nature of the fluid contaminants diminishes the frictional force, otherwise known as "engagement force", which must be overcome to separate the luer fittings, and thus increases the possibility of accidental disengagement of the fittings.
Various solutions have been proposed in the prior art to overcome the problem of fluid contaminants lubricating luer fittings. For example, ISO 594-2 1991-05-01 teaches luer fittings with interlocking threads and engagement structure. To connect luer fittings of this design, a medical service provider brings the fittings together, and then secures them with a twisting motion. While this may be a practical solution for many applications, it may be undesirable where rapid engagement and disengagement of the luer fittings is preferred.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,589,871 to Imbert teaches applying a coating on the exterior surface of a syringe tip (male luer fitment) to increase the roughness of the tip. It is stated therein that increasing tip roughness in this manner increases the frictional fit of mated luer components, making them harder to separate in comparison to identically sized conventional luer fittings. However, such coating processes may involve costly post-manufacturing application and quality control steps. Furthermore, for certain medical applications, it may be desirable to use a luer connector, which in addition to being resistant to the lubricating effects of fluid contaminants, also has a frictional fit which is substantially the same as identically sized conventional luer fittings.
Thus, there remains a need for a luer fitting resistant to the lubricating effects of fluid contaminants and a method of manufacturing the same. Optimally, such a luer fitting could be manufactured by a low-cost process, avoiding the need for application of coatings or use of abrasive as taught by the prior art. Preferably, such a luer fitting would be produced in a manner so as not to substantially alter the frictional fit of the luer fittings in comparison to conventional luer fittings. | {
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The present invention relates to air-quality conditioning devices, and more particularly, to an air-quality conditioning device, which can be used in combination with a small-scale air conditioner or used singly for effectively controlling carbon dioxide concentration in an enclosed space, so as to maintain good air quality in the space.
It has been reported that excess intake of carbon dioxide into a human body slows down brain activity and response, and makes people easily feel sleepy. This particularly tends to occur in an enclosed space such as a restaurant, hospital, movie theater, building, factory, classroom, library, car or train. In such a space with all windows and doors being shut in operation of an air conditioner, carbon dioxide generated from people""s breath rapidly accumulates, which deteriorates air quality in the space and makes people feel sleepy due to excess intake of carbon dioxide.
As mentioned above, for people staying in the enclosed space for a long period of time, such as an office worker in an office or a student in a library or study room, the efficiency of working or studying can therefore be undesirably degraded by the excess concentration of carbon dioxide in the space. Moreover, in particular for a driver in an enclosed car, MRT or train, bad air quality affecting the driver""s consciousness even deteriorates the driving quality and safety.
In accordance with the foregoing problems, Chinese New Model Publication No. 256351 discloses an air conditioning device for controlling indoor carbon dioxide concentration in a manner of exchanging indoor air with outdoor air, in which a carbon dioxide detector is used for monitoring the indoor carbon dioxide concentration, while an outdoor air valve is adjusted in response to the monitored concentration value for providing a proper amount of outdoor air so as to maintain good indoor air quality.
However, the above air conditioning device can merely be applied to a large-scale indoor air conditioning system, and the device is complicated in structure, large in profile and costly in manufacture, so that it can not be widely used.
A primary objective of the present invention is to provide an air-quality conditioning device, which is structurally simple, properly sized and cost-effectively manufactured. Moreover, the device can be used in combination with a small-scale air conditioner or used singly for effectively controlling carbon dioxide concentration in an enclosed space, so as to maintain good air quality in the space.
In accordance with the foregoing and other objectives, the present invention proposes an air-quality conditioning device, comprising a carbon dioxide concentration detecting: module, an air-conditioning controlling module and an air conditioning mechanism. The detecting module is used to detect concentration of carbon dioxide in an enclosed space; while the detected concentration reaches a predetermined upper limit value, the air conditioning mechanism is driven by the air-conditioning controlling module for introducing fresh air from outside to the enclosed space, so as to reduce the concentration of carbon dioxide. Moreover, while the carbon dioxide concentration in the space is reduced to a predetermined lower limit value as detected by the detecting module, the air conditioning mechanism is further driven by the air-conditioning controlling module for stopping the introduction of outside air to the space. In such a manner of repetitively detecting and adjusting the carbon dioxide concentration by properly introducing the outside fresh air to the enclosed space, the carbon dioxide concentration can be effectively controlled so as to maintain good air quality in the space.
In this case, the carbon dioxide concentration detecting module employs a conventional optical sensing technique or an electrochemical technique for detecting the concentration of carbon dioxide.
In addition, the air conditioning mechanism has a freely-openable air inlet for introducing the, outside fresh air to the enclosed space. Furthermore, on or beside the air inlet there is formed an air-sucking means for facilitating the introduction of outside air. Moreover, on or beside the air inlet there is further disposed a filtering means for filtering out impurities in the introduced air.
Besides, the air-conditioning controlling module can also be constructed in a manner of generating a sound or visual signal to notify a user when the carbon dioxide concentration detected by the carbon dioxide concentration detecting module reaches the upper or lower limit value respectively, and accordingly the user can manually control the air conditioning mechanism for introducing the outside air or stopping the air introduction.
The air-quality conditioning device of the invention can be integrally constructed with a small-scale air conditioner such as a window-type air conditioner, a separable-type air conditioner or a car air conditioning system, as well as can be independently fabricated for being used singly or used in association with a pre-existing air conditioning device. | {
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The invention relates to a crankshaft bearing for an internal combustion engine including a bearing base portion integrally formed with the crankcase and a bearing cover mounted thereon, and including an insert of a material having a small heat expansion coefficient.
DE 195 45 000 C1 discloses a crankshaft bearing in a crankcase of an internal combustion engine having several bearing blocks each of which comprises a bearing base portion integrally formed with the crankcase and a bearing cover mounted on the bearing base portion. The crankshaft is received between the bearing base portion and the bearing cover. The bearing base portion and the bearing cover both consist of a light metal alloy such that they have a relatively low weight, but high strength and rigidity. The bearing cover includes an insert, which extends around the crankshaft and consists of an iron-metallic material, which has a low heat expansion coefficient as compared to the light metal alloy whereby the hot bearing play normally occurring in the area of the crankshaft bearing is reduced. The insert of iron metal which is cast into the bearing cover has a high heat conductivity and transfers the friction heat generated in the bearing in the area of the bearing blocks to the surrounding light metal housing. Because of the firm interconnection between insert and bearing cover, temperature stresses are generated in the bearing cover and the insert as a result of the different heat expansion coefficients of light metal and iron metal. The crankshaft bearing can be negatively affected thereby. In the worst case, the temperature stresses may lead to a failure of a component.
It is the object of the present invention to provide a crankshaft bearing, which has a low weight and high rigidity such that bearing play variations resulting from heat expansions are minimized. It is another object of the invention to reduce the noise generated by an engine. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a method for making a highly thermally conductive composite and, more particularly, to a method for making a highly thermally conductive composite by melting and mixing modified paraffin wax with organic modified expandable graphite.
2. Related Prior Art
Paraffin wax is a potential heat-storing material that stores or releases heat via transformation of physical states. Paraffin wax stores heat when it transforms to liquid from solid and releases heat when it transforms to solid from liquid. This transformation is phase transformation. Paraffin wax however exhibits a poor thermal transfer coefficient. That is, the melting and solidification of paraffin wax are slow. In other words, heat transfer through paraffin wax is slow. Therefore, for storing heat, paraffin wax is often mixed with a highly thermally conductive material to increase the heat transfer rate. Graphite is a good choice as a highly thermally conductive material to be added into paraffin wax to this end.
Graphite includes a two-dimensional structure that consists of six carbon atoms. In graphite, layers and layers are bonded by van der Waal's forces.
Graphite is refractory, highly electrically conductive, highly thermally conductive and highly plastic. Graphite exhibits a low frictional coefficient but excellent viscosity for including scales and leaves, and this is why it is highly plastic. Graphite is not metal mineral but exhibits properties of metal organic compounds because its lattice includes layers of atoms are arranged in a compact manner and electrons can easily travel in the lattice for conducting electricity and heat between the atoms. Therefore, graphite exhibits excellent electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity. If paraffin wax is mixed with more graphite, the mixture exhibits better thermal conductivity. Moreover, at the normal temperature, graphite is chemically stable and stands strong acids, strong alkalis and organic solutions.
Expandable graphite (“EG”) exhibits a low density and a low thermal expansion coefficient, is refractory, and absorbs waves. Based on the ways the crystals build up and the foam structures, expandable graphite can be used as a thermally conductive or insulating material. In early days, expandable graphite was used in the aerospace industry. Expandable graphite is now used in the electronic industry because its carbon atoms build up perfectly and it exhibits an excellent heat transfer coefficient. Furthermore, expandable graphite includes open cells in communication with one another. Expandable graphite exhibits a high specific surface for heat dissipation via convection. Expandable graphite exhibits a high heat transfer coefficient and is therefore commonly used as a thermally conductive material. Paraffin wax and graphite are organic or inorganic, respectively. Hence, it is difficult to mix expandable graphite with paraffin wax evenly.
The present invention is therefore intended to obviate or at least alleviate the problems encountered in prior art. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The present invention relates generally to managing network devices such as network switches. More particularly, the present invention relates to managing network devices remotely.
FIG. 1 shows a conventional network switch management system 100 comprising a network switch 102 in communication with a central processing unit (CPU) 104, and in communication with a personal computer 106 over a network 108. Network switch 102 comprises a memory 110 that can include separate memories for storing packets and the forwarding tables that control the operation of network switch 102, as well as one or more configuration registers.
Remotely managing a network device such as network switch 102 requires reading from, and writing to, a switch memory such as memory 110, for example to modify the forwarding tables stored therein. Conventional techniques for reading from, and writing to, switch memory 110 generally require a significant contribution from a local CPU such as CPU 104. For example, according to the well-known Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), CPU 104 is required to execute the reads and writes.
FIG. 2 shows a conventional SNMP process 200 for writing to switch memory 110. The SNMP write transaction requires that the write command received by switch 102 (step 202) be forwarded to CPU 104 for execution (step 204). CPU 104 then writes the data to switch memory 110 (step 206).
FIG. 3 shows a conventional SNMP process 300 for reading from switch memory 110. The SNMP read transaction requires that the read command received by switch 102 (step 302) be forwarded to CPU 104 for execution (step 304). CPU 104 then sends a read command to switch memory 110 (step 306), which returns the requested data to CPU 104 (step 308). CPU 104 then sends the requested data to switch 102 (step 310), which forwards the data to PC 106 (step 312).
Clearly these transactions burden CPU 104 significantly, thereby diverting CPU 104 from its normal functions, such as routing and the like. | {
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The present invention generally pertains to telecommunications and is particularly directed to enhancing the efficiency of packet transmission while using an automatic repeat request (ARQ) routine, in which transmission of a particular packet is repeated automatically when correct receipt of said particular packet is not acknowledged within a timeout interval following transmission of the packet. When the transmission of a particular packet is repeated, the multiple transmissions of the particular packet are combined for processing to decide whether the particular packet ultimately has been correctly received.
There have been a number of different ARQ routines. These routines are broadly characterized by whether the combining of the multiple transmissions of the particular packet uses hard or soft decisions, and whether the signal constellation of the received particular packet is constant. Generally, changing the signal constellation and changing the data transmission rate are synonymous.
An early ARQ routine included a constant constellation (data transmission rate) and hard-combining decisions. However, the bit error rate (BER) typically increases rapidly for a constant data transmission rate below a certain threshold signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio, as exemplified by waterfall BER curves. Catastrophic failure occurs below the threshold S/N ratio without regard to the type of data combining. This method was quickly abandoned on channels that exhibit varying S/N ratios.
A subsequent, second ARQ routine included a changing constellation and hard-combining decisions. This routine changes the data transmission rate as the channel S/N ratio varies. It eliminates the catastrophic failure of the earlier ARQ routine, but it has some practical difficulties. If the data transmission rate is too high, (transient) catastrophic failure may occur. If the data transmission rate is too low, the system is inefficient with respect to what data transmission rate may have been attained. On dynamic channels, optimal control of the data transmission rate may be acutely difficult.
A later, third ARQ routine included a constant constellation, soft-combining decisions and a constellation complexity on the order of two bits/symbol. This routine provided a dramatic improvement over the second ARQ routine. Essentially, the data transmission rate remains constant and is not higher than approximately the bandwidth; and the data combining process attains channel capacity (approximately). This routine does not attain data transmission rates significantly greater than the channel bandwidth.
The present state of the art is to use an ARQ routine that includes a simple and immediate extension of the third ARQ routine. This extension uses a changing constellation, soft-combining and constellation complexity that is greater than two bits/symbol. The data transmission rate is the same as for the third routine for rates that are not higher than approximately the bandwidth. For higher data transmission rates, such as for higher order QAM, more complex constellations are used, as in the second ARQ routine. However, there are difficulties associated with data transmission rate control as described above in relation to the second ARQ routine. | {
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1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Related Art
As a conventional method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, there is a method disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open patent publication No. 2002-343904 (patent document 1), for example. This document discloses a method of manufacturing a multiple-chip type semiconductor device in which a plurality of semiconductor chips are stacked.
According to the manufacturing method disclosed in the patent document 1, first, a printed substrate is prepared in which an electrode post is formed on one surface, and a connection electrode is formed on the other surface. Next, a semiconductor chip is mounted in a face-down manner on the surface of the printed substrate on which the electrode post is formed. Subsequently, after the electrode post and the semiconductor chip are subjected to resin molding, the resin-molded surface side is ground until the electrode post is exposed.
A plurality of the printed substrates obtained in this manner and having semiconductor chips mounted thereon are prepared and stacked onto one another to produce a multiple-chip type semiconductor device. At this time, connection between adjacent printed substrates is established by connection of an electrode post of one substrate to the connection electrode of the other.
According to Japanese Laid-Open patent publication No. 2005-109486 (patent document 2), first, after a contact elevation is formed on a substrate, a re-interconnect is formed on the substrate and on the contact elevation. Next, a semiconductor chip is mounted in a flip-chip manner on the substrate. Subsequently, the contact elevation and the semiconductor chip are sealed with resin. At this time, the sealing with resin is carried out so that the tip end of the contact elevation on which the re-interconnect has been formed will be exposed to the surface of the sealing resin. By repeating the steps from formation of the contact elevation to sealing with resin, a multiple-chip type semiconductor device is produced.
According to the manufacturing method disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open patent publication No. 2004-186422 (patent document 3), first, after an interconnect pattern is formed on an interconnect substrate, a connection terminal of a semiconductor chip is connected in a flip-chip manner to the interconnect pattern. Next, an insulating interlayer is formed so as to cover the entirety of the side surface and the back surface of the semiconductor chip. Subsequently, a via hole is formed that penetrates the insulating interlayer to reach the element-forming surface of the semiconductor chip. Thereafter, a metal plug is formed so as to fill the via hole.
By repeating the steps from formation of the interconnect pattern to formation of the metal plug, a multiple-chip type semiconductor device is produced. Here, via the above-described metal plug, the connection terminal of the semiconductor chip and the interconnect pattern above the semiconductor chip are electrically connected with each other.
According to the manufacturing method disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open patent publication No. H4-356956 (patent document 4), first, a semiconductor substrate in which a through hole has been formed is prepared. Next, an insulating layer and an adhesive metal layer are sequentially stacked on the wall surface of the through hole. Subsequently, a metal plug is formed so as to fill the through hole. At this time, the metal plug is formed so as to protrude from the through hole.
A plurality of semiconductor chips obtained in this manner are prepared and stacked on one another to produce a multiple-chip type semiconductor device. At this time, connection between adjacent semiconductor chips is established via the above-described protruding metal plug. | {
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Telephone systems allow users to conduct real time two-way voice communication. Traditional land-line based telephone systems connect one telephone set to another through one or more switching centers, operated by one or more telephone companies, over a land-line based telephone network. Traditionally, a telephone connection is based on a circuit switched network.
Current telephone systems may also use a packet switched network for a telephone connection. A packet switched network is typical in a computer data environment. Recent developments in the field of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoiP) allow the delivery of voice information using the Internet Protocol (IP), in which voice information is packaged in a digital form in discrete packets rather than in the traditional circuit-committed protocols of the public switched telephone network (PSTN).
Cellular networks allow a cellular phone to connect to a nearby cellular base station through an air interface for wireless access to a telephone network. Recent developments in wireless telephone systems allow not only voice communications but also data communications. For example, cellular phones can now receive and send short messages through a Short Message Service (SMS). Web pages can now be retrieved through wireless cellular links and displayed on cellular phones. Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) has been developed to overcome the constraints of relatively slow and intermittent nature of wireless links to access information similar or identical to World Wide Web.
Telephone companies provide a number of convenient features, such as call forwarding. Call forwarding of a telephone system allows a user of a phone at a given phone number to dial a specific sequence on the phone to cause the telephone system to forward incoming calls addressed to the phone number to another specified phone number indicated by the dialed sequence.
Telephone systems are frequently used in conducting business. Telephone numbers are typically provided in advertisements, web sites, directories, etc., as a type of contact information to reach businesses, experts, persons, etc.
The Internet is becoming an advertisement media to reach globally populated web users. Advertisements can be included in a web page that is frequently visited by web users. Typically, the advertisements included in the web pages contain only a limited amount of information a small paragraph, an icon, etc.). The advertisements contain links to the web sites that provide further detailed information. In certain arrangements, the advertisers pay the advertisements based on the number of visits directed to their web sites by the links of the advertisements.
Performance based advertising generally refers to a type of advertising in which an advertiser pays only for a measurable event that is a direct result of an advertisement being viewed by a consumer. For example, in one form of performance-based search advertising, an advertisement is included within a result page of a keyword search. Each selection (“click”) of the advertisement from the results page is the measurable event for which the advertiser pays. In other words, payment by the advertiser is on a per click basis in such advertising. | {
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DC-DC flyback converters using synchronous rectifiers are well known. When isolation between the input and output stage is required, the output voltage can be sensed by various methods for regulation feedback. Some ways to convey the output voltage while maintaining isolation include using an optocoupler or using an auxiliary winding on the primary side of the transformer. However, those ways require additional circuitry, space, power, and cost.
A more elegant way of detecting the output voltage is to sense a voltage at a terminal of the power switch when the power switch is off during the discharge (or flyback) cycle of the converter. The voltage at the terminal of the power switch is generated due to a current flow in the secondary winding. Such a sensed voltage is substantially equal to the input voltage plus N*VOUT, where N is the winding ratio of the primary and secondary windings. (The voltage drop across the synchronous rectifier is ignored for simplicity.) However, such a scheme requires a minimum duty cycle in order for the sensing to be accurate, since current must periodically flow in the secondary winding in order to create the primary side sense voltage. Such a scheme also generally requires a minimum load in the form of a load resistor so as to draw a minimum current during the discharge cycle in the event the actual load is in a standby mode drawing little or no current.
If there were no minimum load resistor and the actual load went into a very light current standby mode or was disconnected, the minimum duty cycle may be greater than that needed to achieve a regulated output voltage, and the output voltage would exceed the desired regulated level. Thus, the minimum load current must be above a threshold current to prevent this. The minimum load resistor reduces the efficiency of the converter.
Although the converter may be controlled to switch at even lower duty cycles to lower the minimum load current that it can generate, such lowering of the duty cycle reduces the converter's ability to react to load current transients. For example, if the load suddenly drew an increased current during a switching cycle, the output voltage may droop below a threshold for proper operation of the load before the output was sensed in the following cycle.
FIG. 1 illustrates one type of flyback converter 10 that uses a minimum load resistor R1 and which detects the output voltage VOUT by detecting the voltage at the primary winding L1 when the synchronous rectifier MOSFET M2 is turned on during the discharge (or flyback) cycle. No optocoupler or auxiliary winding is used to detect VOUT.
A transformer 12 has a primary winding L1 and a secondary winding L2. The MOSFET M1 is controlled by an output regulation and control circuit 14 to connect the winding L1 between the input voltage VIN (e.g., a battery voltage) and ground during a charging cycle.
To achieve a regulated VOUT, the MOSFET M1 is turned off after a controlled time, and the synchronous rectifier MOSFET M2 is turned on. The current through winding L2 is transferred to the load and the smoothing capacitor C1 at the required voltage.
For regulation feedback, the circuit 14 detects the voltage at the drain of MOSFET M1 during the discharge cycle (current flowing through winding L2), where such a voltage is related to VOUT. Sensing an output voltage by a signal at the primary side of the transformer is sometimes referred to as primary side sensing. The user selects the value of a feedback resistor RFB and the value of a reference resistor RREF such that (RFB/RREF)*Vref equals the desired regulated voltage, where Vref is a bandgap reference voltage applied to an error amplifier. Such primary side sensing circuits for detecting VOUT are well known and need not be described in detail. The full data sheets for the Linear Technology LT3573 and LT3748 flyback converters, incorporated herein by reference and available on-line, describe the operation of the feedback circuit. This operation is also described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,471,522 and 7,463,497, assigned to the present assignee and incorporated herein by reference. Other known primary side voltage sensing techniques may be used.
The circuit 14 continues to control the duty cycle of MOSFET M1, at a variable frequency or a fixed frequency, to regulate VOUT based on the sensed voltage.
A synchronous switch control circuit 16 may control MOSFET M2 to turn on at the proper times or, alternatively, the circuit 14 may directly control the synchronous rectifier MOSFET M2 to turn on when MOSFET M1 turns off. MOSFETs M1 and M2 are typically never on at the same time. The diode D2 represents the drain-body diode of the MOSFET M2. Many conventional techniques may be used to sense when to turn the MOSFET M2 on. In one embodiment, the synchronous switch control 16 detects a voltage across the MOSFET M2. When the MOSFET M1 switches off, the voltage across MOSFET M2 will become negative (drain voltage lower than ground), and this sensed voltage reversal causes the synchronous switch control circuit 16 to turn on MOSFET M2. When the secondary winding L2 current ramps down to zero, the drain voltage will rise, causing the synchronous switch control circuit 16 to turn off the MOSFET M2. With each cycle of MOSFETs M1 and M2 turning on and off, a current pulse is provided to the output, which is smoothed by the capacitor C1 to generate a DC regulated output voltage VOUT.
Various other conventional schemes may also be used to control the turning on and off of the MOSFET M2 to emulate a diode.
The output regulation and control circuit 14 may use any type of conventional technique to regulate, including current mode, voltage mode, or other modes.
When the load current is above a certain threshold current, conventional operation of the converter 10 is used to accurately regulate VOUT. However, when the actual load current falls below a threshold current, the required minimum duty cycle of the converter 10 generates too much current and causes VOUT to rise above the regulated voltage. Such light load operation still requires a minimum duty cycle to sample the voltage at the primary winding L1. In the event that the actual load is a type that has a standby mode that draws very little power, the converter 10 is provided with a minimum load current resistor R1 to help dissipate the winding L2 current so regulation can be maintained at the minimum duty cycle. Alternatively, or in conjunction, a zener diode D3 is used to ensure VOUT does not rise above a threshold level. Resistor R1 and zener diode D3 are optional, since the minimum current drawn by the actual load may be sufficient to substantially maintain regulation at the lightest load current.
FIG. 2 illustrates the current IL1 through the primary winding L1, the current IL2 through the secondary winding L2, and the voltage VD at the drain of the MOSFET M1 for a relatively low duty cycle operation.
At time T1, the MOSFET M1 turns on to charge the primary winding L1, causing a ramping current to flow in winding L1. MOSFET M2 is off at this time.
After a variable or fixed time, at time T2, MOSFET M1 shuts off and MOSFET M2 turns on. This may be at the minimum duty cycle. This ceases current in the primary winding L1 and causes the current through the secondary winding L2 to ramp down while charging the output capacitor C1 and providing current to the load. During this discharge cycle, the voltage across the MOSFET M1 is related to the output voltage VOUT and is sampled during this time by the circuit 14.
At time T3, the secondary winding L2 current ramps down to zero and the MOSFET M2 turns off to cause a discontinuous mode. The MOSFET M2 may be turned off by a circuit that detects a slight reversal of current through the winding L2 by detecting the voltage across the MOSFET M2.
After time T3, the parasitic capacitance of MOSFET M1 and the inductance of winding L1 create an oscillating tank circuit, and the settled voltage across the MOSFET M1 is VIN.
At time T4, the MOSFET M1 turns on again, and the cycle repeats, which may be the minimum duty cycle.
Additional detail of various converter circuits are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,481,178; 6,127,815; 6,304,066; and 6,307,356, assigned to the present assignee and incorporated herein by reference.
During a medium to high current mode of the converter 10, the converter 10 varies the duty cycle or the peak or average current in winding L1 to regulate the output voltage.
During a light load condition, such as a standby mode, it is important that the converter 10 draw as little current as possible to increase system efficiency or extend battery life. Such standby modes typically occur for relatively long periods. It would be desirable to not require a minimum current load circuit (e.g., resistor R1) or a minimum duty cycle at light load currents to enable the converter 10 to regulate VOUT when the actual load is in its standby mode. By doing away with the minimum current circuit or minimum duty cycle, while still achieving substantial regulation when the actual load is drawing zero or very little current, efficiency would be improved and battery life would be increased. Further, in any converter solution, it would be desirable to retain good transient response. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a video system, particularly to a video system which uses a small size cassette for reducing a size and a weight of a video tape recorder and is chiefly intended for use in a photographing.
2. Description of Prior Arts
A conventional type of video system is shown in FIG. 1. In this drawing, what is shown as 1 is a video camera and 2 is a VTR, while 3 is a cable. An image photographed by the video camera 1 is converted into NTSC signal by the camera then is sent through the cable 3 to the VTR 2. The VTR 2 converts said NTSC signal, at a time of a reproduction, into a signal which can be reproduced with a television set by a built in RF conversion system.
This type of VTR used in a portable video system has such function to record images at a magnetic tape within a magnetic tape cassette and reproduce the image out of said tape. And as an image recording signal therefor, NTSC signals from a video camera and NTSC signals from a television broadcasting station are used. Also output signals reproduced in this type of video system are VHF signals obtained by a frequency modulation of the NTSC signals to VHF band, so that they can be reproduced at a home use TV set having no video input terminal using one of the channels of said TV set. As a VTR having such reproduction function, contains a servo-system for reproduction, a power source, a device to convert reproducing signals to NTSC signals, and an RF conversion system to make a frequency modulation for the NTSC signals, such problems are unavoidable as inconvenience in a portable characteristic and a maneuverability in respect to a size and a weight, etc. of a VTR itself.
Also as a conventional video tape recorder, such system has been known that after a power source switch is put in before a recording is started, a recording button or a reproduction button is pressed to take out a tape out of a cassette and the tape is wound around a cylindrical tape guide having a rotating head being built in the same (hereinafter called as loading), then said loading is stopped by an output of a loading completion detecting switch. Also as a stop button is pressed upon completion of a recording, the above-mentioned recording or reproduction button is reset. At this time, a function to separate the tape from the cylindrical tape guide and house the same in the cassette (hereinafter called as unloading) is carried out. This function is carried out only when an unloading completion detecting switch has not detected an unloading completion and the stop button is pressed.
However, when such complicated arrangement is employed, not only a mechanism within a video tape recorder becomes complicated but there will be many elements not being necessary for operating the system, thus being detrimental in reducing a size and a weight of the system. | {
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Foot pain can result from a number of causes, including neuroma, poorly designed, ill-fitting footwear, fatigue and pressure points. A number of diagnostic techniques are now used to determine pressure points and to assess pressure distribution across the sole of a foot. One system employs an array of scales or load cells under the foot to map the foot pressure as weight is placed thereupon. Such arrays are called force plate arrays and evidence both accurate and repeatable measurements of pressure values. The disadvantage of such arrays is that the individual scales/load cells are expensive, thereby limiting the number thereof and at best, providing a limited number of pressure samples across the sole of a foot.
A second pressure diagnostic system utilizes a membrane array that is similar to arrays developed for computer keyboards. The membrane array includes three polymer layers, with a top layer provided with conductors running in columns and a bottom layer provided with conductors running in rows. An intermediate insulator layer is provided with holes at each intersection of the column/row conductors. In general, the conductors are comprised of conductive inks which do not exhibit high levels of conductivity. Thus, when the conductive layers are pressed together by foot pressure, there is initially a high level of contact resistance which, if the foot pressure is increased, decreases. The reduction in resistance is indicative of the applied pressure.
Such membrane arrays can be inserted into shoes to obtain pressure data during walking or running. They also provide a high data density and are relatively inexpensive. However, their changes in resistance in response to pressure are quite variable and an array generally must be replaced after a few scans, as the inks are abraded during each use (causing a further change in the resistance values). Finally, each membrane array must be recalibrated before use--as a result of changes in the conductor condition during previous uses.
There is a need for a system and method which will provide a highly dense set of measurements of pressure values from the plantar aspect of a foot. Further, it is important that the measurement mechanism provide both repeatable and accurate pressure results to enable reliable diagnosis of foot problems.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,876,758 to Rolloff et al., assigned to the same Assignee as this Application, illustrates a foot impression unit which is provided with an array of gauge pins that are vertically movable into engagement with the sole of a patient's foot. A control mechanism urges the gauge pins into contact with the foot to form an impression of the under-surface thereof. A locking mechanism releasably locks the gauge pins in place to retain that impression and a magnetic/Hall effect sensing mechanism scans the gauge pins to produce signals indicative of the positions thereof.
The mechanism for moving the gauge pins into engagement with the foot is a diaphragm which can be pneumatically expanded to cause the gauge pins to rise within their guide holes until they contact the sole of the foot. As will become apparent from the description below, substantial portions of the unit described in the Rolloff et al. patent are incorporated in the invention hereof and the description and disclosure of the Rolloff et al patent '758 are therefore incorporated herein by reference.
It is an object of this invention to provide a system and method for enabling an accurate pressure measurement map to be produced of the plantar aspect of a foot.
It is another object of this invention to provide a system and method for mapping pressure points on the sole of a foot and enabling a highly dense and repeatable set of pressure measurements to be obtained. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Semiconductor devices are found in many products used in modern society. Semiconductors find applications in consumer items such as entertainment, communications, networks, computers, and household items markets. In the industrial or commercial market, semiconductors are found in military, aviation, automotive, industrial controllers, and office equipment.
The manufacture of semiconductor devices involves formation of a wafer having a plurality of die. Each die contains hundreds or thousands of transistors and other active and passive devices performing a variety of electrical functions. For a given wafer, each die from the wafer typically performs the same electrical function. Front-end manufacturing generally refers to formation of the semiconductor devices on the wafer. The finished wafer has an active side containing the transistors and other active and passive components. Back-end manufacturing refers to cutting or singulating the finished wafer into the individual die and then packaging the die for structural support and/or environmental isolation.
One goal of semiconductor manufacturing is to produce a package suitable for faster, reliable, smaller, and higher-density integrated circuits (IC) at lower cost. Flip chip packages or wafer level packages (WLP) are ideally suited for ICs demanding high speed, high density, and greater pin count. Flip chip style packaging involves mounting the active side of the die facedown toward a chip carrier substrate or printed circuit board (PCB). The electrical and mechanical interconnect between the active devices on the die and conduction tracks on the carrier substrate is achieved through a solder bump structure comprising a large number of conductive solder bumps or balls. The solder bumps are formed by a reflow process applied to solder material deposited on contact pads, which are disposed on the semiconductor substrate. The solder bumps are then soldered to the carrier substrate. The flip chip semiconductor package provides a short electrical conduction path from the active devices on the die to the carrier substrate in order to reduce signal propagation, lower capacitance, and achieve overall better circuit performance.
In many applications, it is desirable to form passive circuit elements, including an inductor, on the semiconductor wafer. The inductor allows the IC to perform reactive circuit functions without using external circuit components. The inductors are formed as coiled or wound metal layers on the surface of the substrate. The deposition and patterning of the inductor metal layers typically involves a wet etching process. The wet etchant can cause chemical degradation to other metal layers on the wafer surface, for example to external wire bond, solder bump, and RDL pads. The chemical degradation may cause defects in the external connection pad and reduce manufacturing yield.
A need exists to form an inductor without degrading other metal layers on the semiconductor wafer. | {
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The sheer volume, diversity and varying quality of content on the web—ranging from personal blogs to professional news-sites—makes the discovery of current, interesting information a challenging task. Recommendation engines are programs giving online users (websurfers) daily recommendations on which websites to view. Typically these systems employ feedback from websurfers.
In Delicious, for example, surfers tag blogs with keywords describing the type of content appearing in the site; tagged websites then appear on the Delicious website as an aid to daily websurfing. The recommendation engines Digg and Reddit also employ surfer feedback: surfers vote for websites they visit, and the sites display recent content with high voting scores.
An alternative approach is employed by the recommendation engine StumbleUpon. StumbleUpon implements a toolbar, giving websurfers the option between two buttons. The first, labeled “Stumble!”, generates a randomly selected website. The second, labeled “I like this” allows surfers to indicate they like the website they see. Websurfers are thus presented with a sequence of different websites, until one that matches their interests is found.
The exact algorithm used by StumbleUpon to recommend websites to its users is proprietary. In broad terms, StumbleUpon learns through a registered user's feedback (i.e., clicks of the “I like this” button) which websites she or he likes; recommendations are then made by showing the user websites that have been recommended by other registered users with similar preferences. StumbleUpon also leverages social-networking information to make recommendations. In particular, registered users can declare their friends. Assuming that friends should have common interests, StumbleUpon exploits this information to recommend websites to users when selected by their friends.
A similar approach is adopted by El-Arini et al [K. El-Arini, G. V. D. Sharaf, and C. Guestin. “Turning down the noise in the blogosphere”, in KDD, 2009]. They propose a mechanism for recommending a list of websites to surfers that maximizes a personalized “coverage function”, indicating whether the suggested websites cover topics of interest to the surfer. A similar minimal feedback scheme as Stumble Upon is employed, based on whether suggested websites are approved or disapproved by the surfer.
An altogether different approach to recommendation engines is adopted by search engines like Google and Blogoscope [N. Banshal and N. Koudas. “Searching the Blogosphere”, in WebDB, 2007]. WEbsurfers submit queries to such engines, requesting specific content. These engines regularly crawl the World Wide Web and store information about the content published in every website. This information is stored and processed, and answers to a user's queries are given by matching these queries to relevant websites obtained through crawling the web.
Digg relies on the participation of websurfers through tag submission, which they may not always be able or willing to perform. In general, Digg, Delicious and Reddit lack personalization: the recommendations made are collective, and are not designed to meet the needs of any particular websurfer.
Both StumbleUpon and El-Arini et al. personalize the search for content to a particular websurfer. Moreover, they do so with minimal feedback. Tagging is not required; instead, users need only declare which sites they like and, in StumbleUpon, optionally provide social networking information.
El Arini et al. solve an optimization problem, in which they try to match websites to each websurfer's personal interests. Their solution is not optimal, but is within a constant factor of the optimal. Nonetheless, the approach proposed by El Arini et al. is not content-agnostic. It requires knowledge of the nature of the content published by websites. To obtain this information, a central server must crawl the web periodically and discover and analyse what type of content is published at different websites. This server needs to have considerable storage capacity to store and analyse the data it collects.
The exact mechanism employed by StumbleUpon is proprietary, so it is not possible to assess its operation. However, it is certainly a centralized mechanism: the preferences of users are aggregated and stored at a central server. Moreover, it is not possible to know whether the method used by StumbleUpon indeed matches websites to each individual interests optimally, or simple heuristics are used to offer website suggestions.
Search engines like Google and Blogscope have the following disadvantages. First, like El-Arini et al., they are by definition content-aware, and require extensive, frequent crawling of the web, and the storage and processing of terabytes of information. Second, they operate under the assumption that a websurfer knows what she or he wishes to find. However, eliciting a websurfer's interests is not always straightforward: the websurfer may not be able to declare what type of content she or he is interested in before actually being presented with it, and that is the reason why recommendation engines like StumbleUpon have been proposed as alternatives.
Finally, all of the above-mentioned approaches are centralized: recommendations are made by a central server that aggregates information, stores it, and processes it to give recommendations. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Related Application
2. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to recreational vehicles and, more particularly, pertains to a slide-out room roof access system for facilitating roof access and providing structures for climbing to and from the roofs of a slide-out room and a recreational vehicle, the facilitating and climbing being done in a safe and convenient and economical manner.
3. Description of the Prior Art
The use of recreational vehicle roof access systems of known designs and configurations is known in the prior art. More specifically, recreational vehicle roof access systems of known designs and configurations previously devised and utilized for the purpose of providing access to roofs of recreational vehicles are known to consist basically of familiar, expected, and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which has been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
By way of example, a typical recreational vehicle ladder is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,151,895 issued to Rassada, Jr. et al. This ladder presents a long, steep climb with a challenging transition between the ladder and roof on assent or descent. An external ladder becomes slippery when exposed to water, road grime and oil. This type of ladder presents a daunting climb to most people. This type of ladder is inexpensive, widely used and potentially dangerous.
An improved ladder is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,378,654 to Ziaylek, Jr., et al. This ladder can pivot outwardly from the lower vehicle to achieve a better climbing angle. The transition on and off the roof remains a challenge. Moisture and road grime can make any external ladder slippery.
Publication No. U.S.2003/0094827 to Faludy et al. describes a long collapsible ladder extending from the ground to a rooftop deck. This attempt to allow routine access to a rooftop living area still presents a long climb. This is a heavy and complicated apparatus.
A roof hatch and stairway to access a roof deck are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,237,988 issued to Messano. This hatch puts a large opening in the carefully engineered roof of a luxury recreational vehicle. Various internal components of the roof might have to be repositioned or modified to accommodate this hatch. The hatch has to be waterproof. Waterproofing when the vehicle is parked is a small challenge, however, when the vehicle is moving at highway speed through rain, the challenge is considerable. This hatch will resemble the hatch on a boat or ship. This hatch should also provide insulation from weather and road noise at least equal to the roof material removed for the hatch installation. This hatch is well within current recreational vehicle art. This hatch will be costly, but worth it on a premium priced recreational vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,729,678 issued to Itty Atcravi shows a recreational vehicle with multiple stories and slide-out rooms. A hatch above a stairway is used to access the vehicle roof. This hatch must protect the vehicle interior when traveling at highway speeds.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,637,804 issued to Crean includes a recreational vehicle with a slide-out room. A door in the slide-out end accesses a stairway leading to the ground. When the vehicle is in motion, the slide-out is retracted into the vehicle. The door is never exposed to the wind, weather or noise of an external door on a moving recreational vehicle. This can be a simple to engineer and modestly priced feature.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not describe a slide-out room roof access system that allows facilitating roof access and providing structures for climbing to and from the roofs of a slide-out room and a recreational vehicle.
In this respect, the slide-out room roof access system according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of facilitating roof access and providing structures for climbing to and from the roofs of a slide-out room and a recreational vehicle.
Therefore, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for a new and improved recreational vehicle roof access system which can be used for facilitating roof access and providing structures for climbing to and from the roofs of a slide-out room and a recreational vehicle. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need. | {
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Major earthquakes are known to cause buildings to collapse, dishevel roads, shear pipe lines, disrupt communication, set fires, and inflict injuries which sometimes result in death. While significant advances have been made to reinforce structures against earthquakes, little has been done to reduce secondary hazards. Toppled furniture, objects thrown off shelves and out of cabinets continue to pose a hazard to people and property during a major earthquake. Injuries aside, significant property is lost due to major earthquakes as a result of objects thrown out of cabinets and broken on the floor.
In this regard, a reliable apparatus to detect major earthquakes and activate safety devices would be of benefit. One which initiates safety measures before the onset of the earthquake's destructive ground motions, even more so. A forewaming of a few seconds would be most beneficial by latching cabinets closed, securing objects in place, shutting off gas supplies, deactivating electrical equipment, activating automated safety measures and warning people to take cover so they can safely ride out the earthquake.
Seismologists know well that the P wave of an earthquake precedes all others. Next the S wave, followed by the most destructive L and R surface waves. This sequence is due to the speed and manner by which the various shock waves propagate through and on the earth. The P wave (Primary, compression, push pull) is the fastest, followed by the S wave (Secondary, shear, side to side) both of which propagate directly through the earth. When these body waves reach the surface they give rise to the more destructive L (Love, long undulations) and R (Rayleigh, Rolling) surface waves. Because the P wave propagates faster, directly through the earth, it typically arrives seconds before the S wave, which in turn also arrives seconds before more destructive L and R surface waves.
Conveniently, the amplitude of the P wave provides a direct measure of an earthquake's potential destruction. Combined with the observation that the P wave motion in the vicinity of the epicenter is predominantly up and down results in a distinct precursory measure of an earthquake's potential destruction.
As it turns out, the sequence of shock waves provides a second chance to detect a major earthquake and activate safety devices before the onset of its destructive ground motions. The S wave which follows closely after the P wave also provides a forewarning of the more destructive L and R surface waves. The S wave has both horizontal and vertical components and, like the P wave, the amplitude of the vertical component of the S wave provides a direct measure of the potential destruction of an earthquake.
In either case, it is the vertical component of the P and S waves which provides a direct measure of an earthquake's local magnitude, seconds before the onset of more intense ground motion. No other source on earth produces the unique vertical threshold accelerations and displacements characteristic of the P and S waves of a major earthquake. Given this knowledge, all that is needed is a device which isolates and responds to the initial vertical shocks of a major earthquake and thereby activate safety devices before the onset of more destructive ground motions. | {
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Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to a semiconductor device comprising of a fin-type gate, and more specifically, to a semiconductor device and a method for manufacturing the same that can effectively reduce the resistance of a source and drain of an active region.
Due to the high integration of semiconductor devices, a process margin for forming an active region and a device isolation region has been reduced. Specifically, as a semiconductor device is manufactured with lower-power or higher-speed elements, a gate width has been narrowed and a channel length has been reduced. This reduction will degrade an electrical characteristic of the semiconductor device and result in a short channel effect. As a result, methods to improve the reliability of the device have been required.
Of these methods, a multi-channel field effect transistor (McFET) such as a recess gate and a fin-type gate has been used. The recess gate is obtained by etching a given depth of a semiconductor substrate of a gate expected region to increase a channel length. The fin-type gate increases the contact area between the active region and the gate to improve the driving capacity of the gate and the electrical characteristics of the device.
A fin-type transistor has a fin channel structure where a three-side gate surrounds a channel. A fin channel structure does not go beyond the established manufacturing technique but can be manufactured to have a three-dimensional structure. Due to its structural characteristic, the fine channel structure has a good gate control capacity to reduce the short channel effect, thereby minimizing the effect between the drain region and the source region. Additionally, the fin channel structure can reduce the channel doping concentration, thereby preventing leakage current through a junction region.
In order to form the fin-type transistor, a damascene method such as a method of exposing both sides of the active region has been is generally used. The process includes forming a device isolation region to set the active region and recessing a partial surface of the device isolation region. A gate line is formed in a recess groove formed in the device isolation region so that the gate may be disposed on both side surfaces of the active region.
Meanwhile, the entire resistance of the fin-type gate is determined by the channel resistance and resistance in the source and drain region. Generally, the resistance of the source and drain region of the fin-type gate is determined by an interface between metal silicide and silicon formed in a silicon part of the source and drain region. | {
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Carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus and sulphur are the primary elements essential to all life. Soils contain all of these elements in addition to other macro and micronutrients which are needed for plant growth. Typically, such elements are not present in the soil in sufficient quantity or in forms that can support maximum plant growth and yield. In order to overcome these deficiencies, fertilizers having specific chemical constituents in specific amounts are often added to the soil, thereby enriching the growth medium. The fertilizers may be supplemented with certain trace elements such as copper, iron, manganese, zinc, cobalt, molybdenum, and boron, as oxides or salts containing the elements in the cationic form.
Agriculturally, metal ions are essential nutrients for plant growth. Soil deficiency because of the unavailability or exhaustion of metal ions is very often the cause of poor plant growth. Both soil and foliar application of metal ions are routinely used to prevent, correct or minimize soil deficiencies.
The prior art teaches two basic types of fertilizers—fast uptake fertilizers and slow uptake fertilizers. The fast uptake fertilizers are typically liquid fertilizers which are easily assimilated by plants and can be easily and evenly applied either to the soil or directly onto the plants. The slow uptake fertilizers are typically dry fertilizers which are pellets or granules. The dry fertilizers are generally applied to the ground. The dry fertilizers are often coated in either clay or other biodegradable coatings. Over time, typically up to three weeks, the coating decays due to exposure to moisture and other elements, causing the fertilizer to be released into the soil where it is taken up by the plant. Liquid or fluid fertilizers are generally preferred due to the ease of handling, versatility of application and uniform application.
The prior art teaches several examples of liquid fertilizers. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,356,021 teaches a liquid fertilizer composed of ammonium thiosulfate and zinc oxide; U.S. Pat. No. 5,372,626 teaches a composition comprising metal ions and citric acid which is applied to plant roots; U.S. Pat. No. 5,997,600 teaches fertilizer additives including chelated metal ions, specifically, metal oxides; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,404,146 teaches a method of making metal oxyalkylates for use in supplying said metal to plants or animals, which involves reacting the metal with carboxylic acid and hydrogen peroxide in an aqueous reaction mixture.
Similarly, the prior art also teaches several examples of slow release fertilizers or coated fertilizers. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,435,821 teaches a vegetation enhancement agent comprising a mixture of at least one macronutrient, micronutrient, slow release fertilizer or nitrogen fertilizer and a pesticide, which is then coated with a sulfonated polymer which acts as a controlled release coating; U.S. Pat. No. 5,725,630 teaches a method for preparing a liquid fertilizer containing alkanoic acids which is subsequently mixed with a granular carrier, producing a dry granule fertilizer; U.S. Pat. No. 5,748,936 teaches a process for producing granular fertilizer using a slurry of clay in water, followed by screening to remove granules of undesired size; U.S. Pat. No. 5,002,601 teaches a method for preparing a suspension fertilizer wherein nutrient material and at least one crystal growth inhibitor are mixed with potassium chloride and clay is subsequently added as a suspending aid; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,039,781 teaches a controlled release fertilizer formed from nutrient granules coated in first an organic oil and second a polymeric encapsulating coating.
However, the prior art does not teach a fertilizer or supplement that combines both quick uptake and slow uptake. Furthermore, simply combining a liquid fertilizer and a dry fertilizer as known in the art does not produce a desirable product, due to obvious difficulties with mixing and subsequent application of the product.
The prior art teaches the use of oxide forms of nutrients as slow release liquid fertilizers arranged for foliar application. Typically, the oxides are in a highly basic form. Similarly, the use of sulfate forms of nutrients for quick release fertilizers is also known. However, the sulfates are typically very acidic, meaning that simply combining the oxide fertilizer and the sulfate fertilizer leads to precipitation of nutrients and a non-functional product.
This is a concern, as it is often necessary or desirable to apply fertilizers and/or supplements several times over the course of a growing season. As will be appreciated by one knowledgeable in the art, with each application, there is an inherent risk that damage will occur to the plants, thereby reducing crop value. This does not include the inherent cost involved in dedicating time and resources to the task of fertilizing. Furthermore, with multiple applications, there is significant risk that the required nutrients may not be available during an important stage in the plant's development.
Clearly, a single fertilizer having both short term, quick uptake nutrients and long term, slow uptake nutrients that can be applied in a single application is needed. | {
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Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to computer file management, and more specifically, to managing configuration files.
At present, various systems including software systems and hardware systems generally use a configuration file to record information or parameters about their configurations. With the Linux system as an example, when the system is installed on a machine, it needs to configure a host name. Correspondingly, the host name is an item of configuration information of the Linux system, or a “configuration item.” Typically, configuration information is tangibly stored in the form of files in the machine. The parameters, settings or any other configuration information included in the configuration file can be modified or updated, dependent on various factors such as host machine, deployment environment, usage scenario, etc.
Configuration management (CM) refers to management of a configuration file and the configuration information stored therein. Dedicated CM tools have been developed to manage such configuration files of various systems. For a CM tool, it is a fundamental and important function to automatically discover a configuration file among a plurality of files stored in the machine.
Typical CM tools rely on pre-defined scripts, rules, or a user's expertise to determine which file(s) stored in the machine is a configuration file. However, with the increasing complexity of systems and the versatility of configuration files, traditional CM tools typically cannot discover all of the configuration files, which can cause a degradation in the accuracy of CM management. Moreover, for those configurations that fail to be discovered automatically, the user typically has to discover them manually or semi-manually. For example, a human user has to look up those configuration files that cannot be discovered automatically, one by one, according to rules prescribed by experts or documents. This process is likely time-consuming, inefficient, and inaccurate. Additionally, rule or script-based configuration file discovery is specific to a system or application. In other words, different CM management tools must be developed for each different system, which deteriorates the universality of CM management and increases the development cycle and costs of a CM management tool.
In order to automatically discover a configuration file in a machine, the key issue lies in accurately determining a characteristic of the configuration file, and representing such a characteristic in an appropriate manner. It should be appreciated that the characteristic of the configuration file is the basis for automatic discovery of the configuration file. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates both to a hydrogen generator configured to generate a reformed gas by reacting a compound containing carbon and hydrogen with water and supply the reformed gas to a fuel cell configured to generate a power using hydrogen, and to a fuel cell system comprising the hydrogen generator.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a steam reforming reaction is employed as a method of generating hydrogen to be supplied to a fuel cell. The steam reforming reaction is to react a city gas and a steam as a feed material using a ruthenium catalyst at a high temperature of approximately 600° C. to 800° C. to generate a reformed gas containing hydrogen as a major component.
FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a configuration of the conventional hydrogen generator disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Publication No. 2002-187705. The hydrogen generator in FIG. 12 is multiple-concentric cylindrical. As shown in FIG. 12, the hydrogen generator is comprised of a plurality of tubes provided concentrically with one another, a burner 73 provided at a center within an innermost tube 93 to heat a feed material to generate a combustion gas 74 as a heat source for causing the steam reforming reaction to occur, a reforming catalyst layer 88 provided within a space formed by the tubes, a shift catalyst layer 87, a selective oxidization catalyst layer 86, and the like.
In the conventional hydrogen generator, first of all, water 72 for a reforming process (reforming water 72) is supplied to a heater 75 and heated by the combustion gas 74 flowing under the heater 75. As a result, the reforming water 72 is partially evaporated. And, the reforming water 72 partially evaporated moves downwardly through a connecting tube 76 and is delivered to a supply passage 77 of a city gas 71.
The combustion gas 74 flowing under the heater 75 is discharged to outside of the hydrogen generator as an exhaust gas 92 having low calories. At a portion where the connecting tube 76 and the supply passage 77 are connected to each other, the reforming water 72 in a partially evaporated state that has passed through the connecting tube 76 is mixed with the city gas 71 that has passed through the supply passage 77. The resulting mixture of the city gas 71 and the reforming water 72 is supplied to an evaporator 78.
The evaporator 78 is comprised of an outer tube 79, an inner tube 80, an intermediate tube 81 disposed between the inner tube 80 and the outer tube 79, and a bottom plate 82. Between the intermediate tube 81 and the outer tube 79, there are provided round bars 83 spirally wound. The round bars 83 form a spiral downward flow passage 84. In addition, between the inner tube 80 and the intermediate tube 81, an upward flow passage 85 is formed.
The downward flow passage 84 is heated up to a temperature between 100° C. and 150° C. by a generated gas flowing within the selective oxidization catalyst layer 86 provided outside of and in contact with the downward flow passage 84. Meanwhile, the upward flow passage 85 is heated up to a temperature between 250° C. and 350° C. by a generated gas flowing within a shift catalyst layer 87 provided inside of and in contact with the upward flow passage 85. Most of the reforming water 72, of the mixture of the reforming water 72 in the partially evaporated state and the city gas 71, is evaporated while flowing downwardly within the downward flow passage 84, and the reforming water 72 remaining unevaporated is completely evaporated while flowing upwardly within the upward flow passage 85. And, the feed gas containing the mixture of the steam and the city gas 71 is heated up to a temperature between 200° C. and 300° C. within the upward flow passage 85 and supplied to the reforming catalyst layer 88.
While flowing within the reforming catalyst layer 88, the feed gas is heated up to a temperature between 600° C. and 800° C. by a high-temperature combustion gas 74 flowing as a counter flow in a space within the tube on the inner side, thereby causing the steam reforming reaction to occur. As a result, the feed gas is converted into the generated gas containing hydrogen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and steam.
While flowing upwardly within a return flow passage 89, the generated gas is cooled to be approximately 350° C. by heat exchange with the feed gas flowing downwardly within the reforming catalyst layer 88 and then flows into the shift catalyst layer 87. Within the shift catalyst layer 87, shift reaction is conducted in such a manner that carbon monoxide contained in the generated gas reacts with the steam to be converted into carbon dioxide and hydrogen, thereby resulting in reduced concentration of carbon monoxide contained in the generated gas. This reaction is an exothermic reaction. The resulting reaction heat and sensible heat owned by the generated gas are used to evaporate the reforming water 72 moving upwardly within the upward flow passage 85 and to heat the generated steam and the city gas 71. At an exit of the shift catalyst layer 87, the generated gas is cooled to approximately 150° C. The generated gas is mixed with an air 90 for oxidation of carbon monoxide which is supplied from outside of the hydrogen generator. Thereafter, selective oxidation reaction is conducted using carbon monoxide remaining within the selective oxidation catalyst layer 86, oxygen contained in the air which is supplied externally, and the generated gas. As a result, a generated gas 91 containing a carbon monoxide at a concentration of 10 ppm or lower is delivered to the fuel cell.
The above-mentioned selective oxidation reaction is also the exothermic reaction. The reaction heat and the sensible heat owned by the generated gas are used to evaporate the reforming water 72 flowing downwardly within the downward flow passage 84 of the evaporator 78. At an exit of the selective oxidation catalyst layer 86, the temperature of the generated gas 91 is cooled to approximately 100° C.
Thus, within the evaporator 78, the reforming water 72 is evaporated by heating up to the temperature between 250° C. and 350° C. from the side of the inner tube 80 and by heating up to the temperature between 100° C. and 150° C. from the side of the outer tube 79, and the resulting steam is mixed with the city gas 71. And, the mixture of the steam and the city gas 71 are heated up to the temperature between 200° C. and 300° C.
The round bars 83 wound in a spiral shape within the downward flow passage 84 allows the reforming water 72 supplied to the downward flow passage 84 to move along the periphery of the inner face of the outer tube 79. Thus, in this configuration, a sufficient heat transmission area is ensured.
The reforming catalyst layer 88, the shift catalyst layer 87, the selective oxidation catalyst layer 86, and the evaporator 78 are integrated. This makes the hydrogen generator small-sized. In addition, since in the hydrogen generator, from a high-temperature portion to a low-temperature portion is arranged from a center portion to a peripheral portion thereof, loss of heat emission is thereby reduced. As a result, heat efficiency of the hydrogen generator is improved.
Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 13, there has been proposed an evaporator comprising a water absorbing member having a capillary force, as a technology intended to improve a capability of the evaporator included in the hydrogen generator for the fuel cell (see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Publication No. 2001-64658). This evaporator is of a plate type and is comprised of single evaporators layered in multiple stages. The evaporator is configured to evaporate a liquid fuel such as methanol and supply the evaporated fuel to a reformer.
FIG. 13 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a configuration of the evaporator included in the conventional hydrogen generator disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Publication No. 2001-64658. As shown in FIG. 13, this evaporator has a cylindrical evaporation chamber 115 within which liquid is evaporated. A cylindrical heating chamber 116 is provided on an outer peripheral side of the evaporation chamber 115 to be coaxially with the evaporation chamber 115. The evaporation chamber 115 and the heating chamber 116 are separated from each other by a separating wall 118.
A water absorbing member 119 is provided on a face of the separating wall 118 on the side of the evaporation chamber 115. The water absorbing members 119 is made of fabrics and porous-sintered material and has a capillary force. A liquid collecting member 111 is provided on an upper portion of the evaporation chamber 115, and a liquid distribution member 120 is provided on a lower portion thereof to supply a liquid fuel 113 supplied externally through a supply passage 114 to the water absorbing member 119.
The upper portion of the evaporation chamber 115 opens upwardly and a steam 10 generated within the evaporation chamber 115 is discharged from the upper portion to outside.
In the conventional evaporator configured as described above, the liquid fuel 113 that has passed through the supply passage 114 is supplied to the water absorbing member 119 through the liquid distribution member 120. As a result, the liquid fuel 113 spreads over the entire water absorbing member 119 by the capillary force of the water absorbing member 119. This increases an evaporation area of the liquid fuel 113, and therefore, the evaporation chamber 115 that has a relatively small volume is sufficient. Therefore, in the above configuration, the entire evaporator can be small-sized.
As described above, the conventional hydrogen generator in FIG. 12 is provided with the round bars 83 to form the spiral flow passage for sufficient heat transmission area of the downward flow passage 84. If there is a gap between the round bars 83 and the outer tube 79, and between the round bars 83 and the inner tube 81, then the reforming water 72 flows through the gap, and therefore, sufficient heat transmission area cannot be obtained. It is therefore necessary to arrange the round bars 83 without the gap between the round bars 83 and the outer tube 79, and between the round bars 83 and the inner tube 81. In some cases, it is necessary to fix the round bars 83 to a face of one of the tubes by welding or brazing without the gap and to press the other tube against the round bars 83. This makes manufacturing steps complex. In addition, manufacturing precision of parts requires strictness. Consequently, manufacturing cost becomes high.
In the case where the hydrogen generator is operated in a steady state, the evaporator 78 is heated to a temperature in the above-mentioned range from both of the inner and outer sides. During start, the hydrogen generator has an ambient temperature. So, in order to increase the temperature of the hydrogen generator, before the city gas 72 is supplied, the burner 73 is ignited to generate the combustion gas 74. The reforming water 72 is less likely to be evaporated because of its high evaporation latent heat. In addition, if the steam within the hydrogen generator is insufficient when the city gas 71 is supplied, then the city gas 71 is thermally decomposed to cause carbon to be deposited within the reforming catalyst layer 88, and to cause the catalyst to be thereby degraded. Therefore, it is necessary to supply the reforming water 72 before the city gas 71 to fill the steam within the hydrogen generator. Accordingly, in a short time after ignition of the burner 73, the reforming water 72 starts to be supplied. However, in the configuration in FIG. 12, since the evaporator 78 is not directly heated by the combustion gas 74, and is indirectly heated by conduction of heat from the center portion of the hydrogen generator and by the reforming water 72 heated by the heater 75, the evaporator 78 is incapable of generating the steam for some time after start. This follows that the reforming water 72 continues to remain within the evaporator 78. Long time is required to evaporate the reforming water 72 remaining within the evaporator 78. As should be appreciated from this, in the conventional hydrogen generator, start time becomes long.
On the other hand, since in the configuration in FIG. 13, the evaporator needs to be independently of the hydrogen generator, loss of heat emission occurs in a steam piping from the evaporator to the hydrogen generator and a piping through which a high-temperature fluid flows to the evaporator. For this reason, heat efficiency of the hydrogen generator is reduced. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a connector, and more particularly to an electrical connector.
2. The Related Art
With the development of electronic products, a variety of the electronic products are connected with peripheral devices more and more frequently. The electronic products are usually connected with the peripheral devices by electrical connectors.
A conventional electrical connector includes an insulating housing, a plurality of terminals and a shielding shell. The terminals are integrally molded to the insulating housing. The shielding shell surrounds the insulating housing. The shielding shell has a top plate, two lateral plates extended downward from two opposite sides of the top plate, a bottom plate connected between bottom edges of the two lateral plates, and a rear plate bent downward from a rear edge of the top plate. The top plate, the two lateral plates, the bottom plate and the rear plate surround a receiving space thereamong. The insulating housing together with the terminals is received in the receiving space.
However, assembling procedures of the conventional electrical connector are generally complex, and the electrical connector is connected with a butting connector unstably. As a result, transmission signals between the conventional electrical connector and the butting connector are affected.
Thus, in order to effectively overcome the aforesaid drawbacks, an innovative electrical connector which has a reasonable-designed structure need be developped, the innovative electrical connector is capable of simplifying assembling procedures of the innovative electrical connector and making electrical connector connected with the butting connector stably. | {
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Typically, when moving data from one storage system to another, the data must be fully copied at the destination storage system before it can be accessed by clients of the destination storage system. Also, typically, portions of the data to be replicated are sent from the source storage system to the destination storage system in a relatively static order. | {
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The liquid phase oxidation of para-, meta- and ortho-xylenes to their corresponding benzene dicarboxylic acids in the presence of bromine and a catalyst containing manganese and cobalt components has been disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,833,816 and has been practiced worldwide. Additionally, the liquid phase oxidation of a dimethylnaphthalene feed material to a naphthalenedicarboxylic acid can also be accomplished in the presence of bromine and a catalyst containing manganese and cobalt components. See for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,103,933. These benzene dicarboxylic acids and naphthalenedicarboxylic acids are useful for preparing polyester materials. Such polyesters are used to manufacture synthetic fibers and films for textile and packaging applications, respectively.
Although the use of bromine is advantageous for conducting such liquid phase oxidation reactions, its use does have some drawbacks. For example, bromine contributes to the corrosion of the reactor vessel used for the oxidation reaction as well as the equipment used to process the reaction mixture subsequent to the oxidation reaction. The corrosion metals produced thereby contaminate the crude aromatic carboxylic acid product, and these corrosion metals are detrimental to the hydrogenation catalyst used in a subsequent purification step where the aromatic carboxylic acids are treated with hydrogen gas in the presence of the hydrogenation catalyst. Additionally, the bromine in the oxidation reaction mixture contributes to the production of methyl bromide, a gaseous, hazardous compound. Thus, for environmental reasons, it would be desirable to reduce the amounts of methyl bromide produced during the oxidation of a xylene or a dimethylnaphthalene compound to the corresponding aromatic dicarboxylic acid. By reducing the amount of bromine in the oxidation reaction mixture, corrosion is reduced as well as the amount of methyl bromide formed. However, we determined that a reduction in the amount of bromine, i.e. lower molar ratios of bromine to the total amount of cobalt and manganese, causes an unacceptable precipitation of the manganese component of the catalyst. This precipitation is easily identified because it produces a grey colored rather than white aromatic carboxylic acid product. We believe at least part of the manganese precipitates as manganese dioxide.
In commercial scale operation, a major portion of the oxidation catalyst metals are recycled to the oxidation reaction mixture. The catalyst metal recycle is accomplished by separating the oxidation reaction mother liquor from the solid aromatic carboxylic acid product, and part of mother liquor containing dissolved catalyst metals is recycled back to the oxidation reaction mixture. However, the precipitation of the manganese which occurs at low molar ratios of bromine to catalyst metals prevents efficient recycle of the catalyst metals. Additionally, since the precipitation of the manganese occurs in an uneven manner, the mother liquor will have varying levels of catalyst metals making it difficult to recycle the proper amount of catalyst to the oxidation reaction mixture. This results in unacceptable variability in the aromatic carboxylic acid product.
The art, therefore, needs a method to reduce the ratio of bromine to cobalt and manganese catalyst metals used in the liquid phase oxidation of dimethyl aromatic compounds without causing the precipitation of the manganese portion of the catalyst. The instant invention provides such a method. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Some wearable devices, such as shoes, may be worn on the feet of a user to protect the feet of the user while also providing an improvement in ambulatory motion. Some improvements in ambulatory motion attributable to the use of shoes may include allowing faster speeds, improved stability, and/or insulation from elements of a surface, such as a ground surface, traversed during the ambulatory motion. Other devices, such as skateboards, may incorporate roller elements that may be associated with the feet of a user to enable a user to perform ambulatory motions otherwise unavailable to the user in the absence of a device with an incorporated roller element. Further, some wearable devices, such as skates, combine features of shoes with roller elements to enable a user to perform ambulatory motions otherwise unavailable to the user in the absence of a wearable device with an incorporated roller element. | {
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This invention relates to a method for driving and controlling liquid crystal which stepwise controls a liquid crystal shutter array to record images on a photosensitive material at half tone and to a device therefor.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an image recording device using a liquid crystal shutter array to which this invention is applicable wherein light emitted from a light source 1 such as a Halogen lamp is directed onto a liquid crystal shutter array 2 comprising a number of liquid crystal cells 2A of a rectangular shape arranged in line, the light transmitted through opened liquid crystal cells 2A is irradiated onto a photosensitive material 3 via filter unit 10 to expose the photosensitive material 3 at a recording area 3A linearly extending in the width of .DELTA.D. After one line is recorded, the photosensitive material 3 is operatively moved in the direction Q by .DELTA.D to record another data in the next line in a manner similar to the above.
The filter unit 10 includes a cylindrical filter plate 12 and a Selfoc lens array 11 which is internally held at a center of the cylindrical filter plate 12. FIG. 2 shows the filter unit 10 in brief cross section. The cylindrical filter plate 12 comprises mask members 12M1, 12M2 of a band shape which are arranged symmetrically from a central point to block the light transmitted from the liquid crystal shutter array, and band-shaped red filters 12R1, 12R2, green filters 12G1, 12G2 and blue filters 12B1, 12B2 which are respectively arranged symmetrically from the center in the order of red (R), green (G) and blue (B) from the mask members 12M1, 12M2. The Selfoc lens array 11 is fixed inside the cylindrical filter plate 12 in a manner to allow rotation in the direction of, for instance, P around the longitudinal axis of the cylinder. Since the cylinder rotates in the direction P, the light coming through the liquid crystal shutter array 2 is either blocked out by the mask members 12M1 and 12M2 or allowed to pass the R light through the red filters 12R1 and 12R2, the G light through the green filters 12G1 and 12G2 or the B light through the blue filters 12B1 and 12B2. By rotating the cylindrical filter plate 12 suitably, the recording area 3A extending in a linear form on the photosensitive material 3 is consecutively exposed to the R light, G light and B light or is blocked of the light by the mask members 12M1 and 12M2. After one line of recording area on the photosensitive material 3 is exposed to the lights R, G and B, the photosensitive material 3 is moved in the direction Q to expose the next one line of the recording area to the light so that color images on the photosensitive material 3 is completed by repeating the above recording operation one line by one line.
The liquid crystal cells 2A of the liquid crystal shutter array 2 have such features that they are closed to prohibit passing of the light therethrough (in other words, the intensity of the light transmitted is zero) when a pulse voltage PV (e.g. 1 KHz) is applied to the liquid crystal cells 2A, while it is open to let the light pass therethrough when no pulse voltage is applied thereto. FIG. 3 shows that a liquid crystal shutter is closed until a time point t.sub.0 while it is open between a time point t.sub.0 and a time point t.sub.4 to let the light pass therethrough. The graph also indicates that while the intensity of the transmitted light increases gradually (the small dip in the curve is indicative of the well known bound phenomenon of the liquid crystal) when the liquid crystal shutter starts to let the light pass the passage of light is almost shut instantaneously when a pulse voltage PV is applied at the time point t.sub.4 and the shutter closes (CL). The intensity of the light which passes through the liquid crystal shutter array 2 to expose the photosensitive material 3 can be controlled by the steps of keeping the pulse voltage PV applied on the liquid crystal cells 2A at zero to open the liquid crystal shutter, keeping the pulse voltage PV at zero at different time points, for example t.sub.1, t.sub.2, t.sub.3, and thereby controlling the time OP during which the liquid crystal shutter is open. In other words, the amount of light which exposes the photosensitive material 3 can be controlled so that the color images can be recorded on the photosensitive material 3 at half tone.
Optimally toned images can be recorded by controlling the time period OP during which the liquid crystal shutter is open, or more specifically by applying gradation density signals as shown in FIG. 4 to the liquid crystal shutter array 2. If it is assumed that the liquid crystal cells 2A of the liquid crystal shutter array 2 comprises N number of cells 21, 22, . . . , 2(N-1), 2N, the time during which the liquid crystal cells 21 through 2N are open can be controlled by simply applying the gradation density signals shown in the schema (A) of FIG. 4 to each of the liquid crystal cells. FIG. 4 shows an example wherein the images are recorded at the gradation density of 4 bits in the level "0", to "15". The liquid crystal cell 21 opens for "0" if expressed in terms of the gradation density, and the liquid crystal cell 22 opens for "1". Similarly, the liquid crystal cell 2N opens for "4". By applying the pulse voltage signals on the liquid crystal cells 21 through 2N at timings corresponding to the gradation densities as shown in schema (A) of FIG. 4, the time to open the respective liquid crystal cells 2A can be controlled. Since the photosensitive material 3 is exposed with the light transmitted through the liquid crystal cells 21 through 2N, the photosensitive material 3 can be recorded with the images at an optimally adjusted gradation tone.
FIG. 5 shows a conventional circuit which may be used as a control circuit for recording images at adjusted gradation tone by using the liquid crystal shutter array 2 described above. If the number of the liquid crystal cells 21 through 2N of the shutter array 2 is N, and the number of gradients in output images is n bits, image data PD is stored in a line memory 100 having N.times.n bits. The data prepared in correspondence with all the liquid crystal cells 21 through 2N (#1 through #N) in the line memory 100 are respectively transmitted to shift registers 111 through 11N, and the output data therefrom are latched respectively in latch circuits 121 through 12N in synchronism with a latch pulse LP. Selectors 131 through 13N are provided in correspondence to the respective liquid crystal cells 21 through 2N and are supplied respectively with pulse width signals PW. Signals of the pulse width corresponding to the data (gradation signals) which have been latched in the latch circuits 121 through 12N are operatively selected by the selectors 131 through 13N and fed to a liquid crystal driver 101. The liquid crystal driver 101 then sends the pulse width signals SW selected by the selector 131 through 13N to the liquid crystal cells 21 through 2N of the liquid crystal shutter array 2. Thus, each of the liquid crystal cells 21 through 2N of the shutter array 2 is respectively supplied with signals of the time widths PD1,PD2,PD3, . . . , PDN corresponding to the gradation densities as shown in the schema (A) of FIG. 4.
The prior art liquid crystal driving control circuit, however, is detrimental as it requires shift registers 110 (111 to 11N), the latch circuits 120 (121 to 12N) and the selectors 130 (131 to 13N) in the number corresponding to the number of the liquid crystal cells 21 through 2N of the liquid crystal shutter array 2 to inevitably complicate the circuit and push up the production cost. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to semiconductor memories, and particularly to a system for blocking multiple memory read port activation.
2. Description of Background
The operation of semiconductor memory systems with multiple outputs (or “read ports”) for each memory cell can be enhanced by preventing the simultaneous activation of multiple read ports from the same memory cell, which improves performance and/or decreases power consumption. Such enhancements are generally accomplished by detecting data requests from multiple (e.g., two or more) read ports for the same memory location (or “address”) and blocking the activation of the control inputs (or “word lines”) to the non-preferred read port(s), which are then fed the data from the activated preferred read port through a connecting switch.
However, this detecting (or “comparing”) function can limit the performance of such enhanced memory systems, thereby defeating the enhancement benefits. For example, the blocking of multiple word line activation can be delayed as a result of the delay involved with completing the comparing function, which can counteract the improved performance and decreased power consumption benefits. Thus, a more efficient alternative to the comparing function is desirable to further promote the benefits of blocking multiple read port activation from the same memory address. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electronic devices, and, more particularly, to microwave travelling-wave (distributed) devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
The availability of high-gain, high-frequency microwave transistors has revived the old "distributed" or "travelling-wave" approach for broadband microwave amplification but using GaAs FETs; see Y. Ayasli et al, Monolithic GaAs Travelling-Wave Amplifier, 17 Electronics Letters 413 (1981). Such amplifiers are similar to the distributed amplifier using electron tubes, as described in E. L. Ginzton et al. Distributed Amplification, 36 Proc. IRE 956 (1948), in that the intrinsic gate and drain capacitances serve as parts of the shunt elements of two artificial transmission lines: the gate and drain transmission lines. If the line element values (inductances) are chosen properly, wideband amplification can be obtained with more reasonable VSWRs than is possible for an FET having the same total gate width. The Ayasli article reported results of broadband travelling-wave amplification in the 0.5 to 14 GHz band using four discrete 300 .mu.m gate width FETs in a distributed amplifier configuration. See also U.S. Pat. No. 4,486,719 to Ayasli.
McIver, A Traveling-Wave Transistor, 53 Proc. IEEE 1747 (1965), described a travelling-wave transistor structure using distributed active elements (i.e., both the gate and drain were transmission lines with an extended channel region linking the two lines). In the theoretical treatment, the losses associated with the gate and drain resistances were not taken into account, nor was a detailed, practical device realization given either. Several publications have dealt with the distributed effects of the gate transmission line. Due to the use of submicron gate length (for high frequency operation), the gate line has high series as well as shunt resistances, which renders it unusable as an input transmission line of the travelling-wave transistor because the line attenuation is prohibitably high.
Thus it is a problem in the known travelling-wave transistors to obtain broadband high-frequency response. | {
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The present invention relates to a method for detecting a short circuit of a resolver signal line of the sine or cosine receiver coil to ground or to the operating voltage, and a circuit for implementing this method.
Resolvers are used for ascertaining the angular position of a rotating object, for example, the drive shaft of a motor. There are various types of resolvers in the prior art. Generally, a changing magnetic field is generated by means of at least one coil, and this field is detected by means of at least one additional coil, wherein the strength of the coupling between the coils varies as a function of the position or angular position to be measured. In the case of the variable reluctance resolver (VR resolver), for example, only one excitation coil is used, and there are two measuring coils which generate position-dependent signals. German patent application DE 10 2011 078 583 A1 discloses, for example, an evaluation of resolver sensor signals in a vehicle. For this purpose, a resolver picks up a rotational movement of a rotor, and a processor element processes the sine-shaped and cosine-shaped output signals of the resolver.
The present invention is directed to such a resolver, wherein the excitation signal is sinusoidal and typically has a frequency of 10 kHz. The two measurement coils are generally positioned orthogonally with respect to one other and are referred to as the sine coil and the cosine coil. The angle of the measured object may be unambiguously determined via the two measurement signals.
The excitation signal for the excitation coil may, for example, be provided via two push-pull output stages, one each for the two terminals of the excitation coil. The output signals of the two output stages are then phase-shifted by 180° with respect to one other, and the excitation signal which is effective for the excitation coil is the differential voltage between the outputs of the two output stages.
However, there is also the possibility of driving the excitation coil via only one output stage. The second terminal of the excitation coil is then set to a fixed potential, for example, ground potential, either directly or via a capacitor.
An AC voltage signal having the same frequency as the excitation signal results at the receiver coils, the amplitude of said signal, however, being modulated according to the rotor position, wherein the signal at the cosine coil is phase-shifted by 90° with respect to the signal at the sine coil.
Resolvers are often used for controlling permanently excited synchronous machines (PSMs) and electrically excited synchronous machines (ESMs), which, for example, are used as the drive for hybrid and electric vehicles. For such control, knowledge of the instantaneous rotor angle position is necessary. For controlling asynchronous machines (ASMs), knowledge of the instantaneous frequency of the drive is required.
Because of their robustness, resolvers are preferably used in motor vehicles for these purposes, even if there are alternative sensors, for example, digital angle sensors or sensors based on the eddy-current effect.
For sensors in the automobile sector, diagnostic options for ascertaining possible faults are desirable. In the case of resolvers which are the subject matter of the present application, a possible fault to be diagnosed is a short circuit of a resolver signal line to ground or to the operating voltage UB. Hereinafter, a short circuit will be understood to mean merely an undesirable electrical connection of one of the signal lines to ground or to the operating voltage UB, wherein the diagnosis is also intended to determine which of these potentials forms the undesirable connection.
In the prior art, such a fault is diagnosed in that it triggers clipping (overdriving) of the corresponding A/D converter. However, such a diagnosis is not sufficient, because A/D converter clipping may also have other causes. | {
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This invention relates to the field of surgical bone staples, and more specifically to staples for securing soft tissue to bone.
It often becomes necessary in the surgical art to reapply soft tissue (e.g., ligaments, muscles, cartilage and tendons) to the bone structure of a patient so as to cause adherence and growth of the soft tissue to the bone. Thus, for example, soft tissue torn loose from the underlying bone in an injury is so rejoined. In other operations, soft tissue is surgically separated from the underlying bone so that it can be shortened or moved, and is then rejoined to the bone. An example of such an operation is the well known surgical procedure in which the patellar tendon is translated medially to inhibit lateral subluxation of the patella in the femoral groove.
Surgical staples provided with soft-tissue retaining teeth on the underside on the transverse bridge member are known. An example of such a staple is the Richards fixation staple (Richards Manufacturing Co., Inc.; Memphis, Tenn.). Another example is the DePalma Staple (Howmedica, Inc.; Rutherford, N.J.). Also U.S. Pat. No. 4,278,091 discloses a combination bone staple and tissue retention element having a multiplicity of teeth on its underside. In all these staples, the bridge of the staple is either straight or curved slightly to conform generally to the expected arc of the bone, and the teeth are short. Therefore, when these prior art staples are used to secure tubular or elliptical shaped soft tissue to a bone, the tissue is squeezed flat between the bridge and bone surface. The pressure causing this distortion of tubular tissue can produce serious injury to that tissue and retard its desired healing and adherence to the bone. | {
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The present invention relates to the fields of virtual reality and teleconferencing, and in particular to three-dimensional videoconferencing.
Teleconferencing permits people in different geographical locations to communicate without the time, effort and expense of travelling to a meeting place. Most current videoconferencing systems use a single camera and a single monitor at each location. If there are more than two locations participating in the videoconference, the video display is generally divided into windows, and a video image from each location is displayed in each window.
Other more recent technologies include immersive video, in which a three-dimensional model of an environment is created and a viewer can move around within this virtual environment. Computer generated images are created to provide the viewer with a perspective view from a virtual spatial location within the virtual environment.
One such system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,850,352, which issued Dec. 15, 1998 to Moezzi et al. The patent describes an immersive video system that synthesizes images of a real-world scene. The synthesized images are linked to a particular perspective on the scene or an object in the scene. A user can specify various views, including panoramic or stereoscopic. The system uses computerized video processing (called xe2x80x9chypermosaicingxe2x80x9d) of multiple video perspectives on the scene. Multiple video cameras each at a different spatial location produce multiple two-dimensional (2D) video images of the scene. The system uses a video data analyzer for detecting and tracking scene objects and their locations, an environmental model builder for combining multiple scene images to build a three-dimensional (3D) dynamic model recording scene objects and their instant spatial locations. A visualizer generates one or more selectively synthesized 2D video image(s) of the scene using the 3D model and the viewing criterion.
Moezzi et al. require building a 3D dynamic model of an environment, and the people within the environment, from which stereo pairs are synthesized. Building 3D dynamic models of moving people and then synthesizing views of these models is computationally intensive and with currently available technology, can be prohibitively slow and expensive.
Another patent illustrating the state of the art is U.S. Pat. No. 5,999,208, which issued Dec. 7, 1999 to McNerney et al. The patent describes a virtual reality mixed media meeting room which provides a user with a visually familiar conference format. The various aspects of the virtual reality conference are presented in a rendering that emulates the physical appearance and presence of the physical participants and communication devices that would be present in a traditional conference room. Each conference participant is represented on a display by his/her image in a selected chair. Conference participants can share applications and jointly participate in the modification of presentations and displays, but the participants are not realistically represented and cannot move around within the meeting room.
There therefore exists a need for a method and system for stereo videoconferencing that can provide an immersive three-dimensional experience to permit meeting participants to interact with each other in a realistic way, while avoiding the computationally intensive process of computing participants"" images using three-dimensional models.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a method for stereo videoconferencing that provides a realistic immersive three-dimensional environment for participants.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a system for stereo videoconferencing that efficiently uses bandwidth to support real-time seamless, immersive, three-dimensional videoconferencing.
The virtual meeting room system of the present invention is designed to create the illusion of immersion in a real meeting by recreating stereoscopic views of a virtual meeting from the viewpoint of a participant. Instead of creating dynamic 3D models of participants, the system only transmits stereo pairs of video images of each participant to each of the other participants.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the system further comprises means for determining the position of a participant""s head and hands to permit interaction with objects in the virtual environment.
In accordance with an aspect of the invention, there is provided a stereo videoconferencing system for at least two participants in at least two separate locations, comprising: means in each location for providing a reference point; means for sensing a position of each participant with respect to the reference point; means for capturing at least two video images of each participant, each video image being from a different perspective; means for computing a stereo pair of video images of each participant for each of the other participants using at least two video images and the respective position of each of the other participants; means for communicating the respective stereo pairs of video images of each participant to each of the other participants; and means for assembling a stereo video display image for each of the participants, using the position data and the stereo pairs of video images.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for stereo videoconferencing system for at least two participants in at least two separate locations, comprising steps of: providing a reference point at each location; sensing a position of each participant with respect to the reference point; capturing at least two video images of each participant, each video image being from a different perspective; computing a stereo pair of video images of each participant for each of the other participants; communicating the respective stereo pairs of video images of each participant to each of the other participants; and assembling a stereo video display image for each of the participants, using the position data and the stereo pairs of video images. | {
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Electrophoresis is a known technique for separating and characterizing constituent chemical and/or biological molecules, or analytes, present in simple and complex matrices undergoing analysis. Candidate sample compounds include drugs, proteins, nucleic acids, peptides, metabolites, biopolymers and other substances which exist in simple and complex forms.
Conventional systems are based on interchangeable cartridges which house a thin capillary tube equipped with an optical viewing window that cooperates with a detector. Sample solutions and other necessary fluids are placed in vials (cups) positioned beneath inlet and outlet ends of the capillary tube by means of a rotatable table.
When high voltage is applied to a capillary filled with an appropriate solution and/or matrix, molecular components migrate through the tube at different rates and physically separate. The direction of migration is biased toward an electrode with a charge opposite to that of the molecules under investigation. As the molecules pass the viewing window, they are monitored by a UV or other detector which transmits an absorbance or appropriate signal to a recorder. The absorbance or appropriate values are plotted as peaks which supply analytical information in the form of electropherograms.
Electrophoresis separation relies on the different migration of charged particles in an electric field. Migration speed is primarily influenced by the charge on a particle which, in turn, is determined by the pH of the buffer medium. Electric field strength and molecular size and shape of the analyte also influence migration behavior.
Electrophoresis is a family of related techniques that perform high efficiency separations of large and small molecules. As one embodiment of this science, capillary electrophoresis is effective for obtaining rapid and high separations in excess of one-hundred-thousand plates/meter. Because it is a non-destructive technique, capillary electrophoresis preserves scarce physical samples and reduces consumption of reagents. A fused silica (quartz) capillary, with an inner bore diameter ranging from about 5 microns to about 200 microns and a length ranging from about 10 centimeters to about 100 centimeters, is filled with an electrically conductive fluid, or background electrolyte, which is most often a buffer. Since the column volume is only about 0.5 to about 30 microliters, the sample introduction volume is usually measured in nanoliters, picoliters and femtoliters (ideally 2% of the total volume of the column). As a consequence, the mass sensitivity of the technique is quite high.
Improved instrumentation and buffer-specific chemistries now yield accurate peak migrations and precise area counts for separated analytes. But, capillary electrophoresis is still limited by concentration sensitivity.
To overcome this deficiency, a series of solid-phase micro-extraction devices have been developed for selective and non-selective molecular consolidation. These devices, which are used on-line with a capillary tube, are commonly known as analyte concentrators containing affinity probes to bind target compounds. Typical embodiments are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,202,010 which is incorporated by reference in this disclosure. Other relevant teachings are provided by U.S. Pat. No. 5,741,639 which discloses the use of molecular recognition elements; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,800,692 which discloses the use of a pre-separation membrane for concentrating a sample.
Even with the advent of analyte concentrators, there is still a need to improve the sensitivity levels for samples that exist in sub-nanomolar quantities. This deficit is particularly acute in the clinical environment where early detection of a single molecule may be essential for the identification of a life-threatening disease.
Known capillary electrophoresis instruments are also limited by low-throughput, i.e., the number of samples that can be analyzed in a specified period of time. U.S. Pat. No. 5,045,172, which is incorporated by reference, describes an automated, capillary-based system with increased analytical speed. The '172 patent represents a significant improvement over the prior art. But, throughput is still relatively low because the instrument uses only one capillary which performs single sample analyses in approximately 30 minutes.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,413,686 recognizes the need for a multi-functional analyzer using an array of capillary tubes. Like other disclosures of similar import, the '686 patent focuses on samples having relatively high concentrations. There is no appreciation of the loadability and sensitivity necessary for analyzing diluted samples, or samples present at low concentrations in a variety of liquids or fluids.
Based on these deficiencies, there exists an art-recognized need for an electrophoresis instrument having higher loadability, better detectability of constituent analytes, faster throughput and multi-functional capability for analyzing a plurality of components in a single sample and/or a plurality of samples with high and low concentrations using a variety of chromophores, detectors and/or pre-concentration devices. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a projection illumination device, and in more particular to a projection illumination device utilizing a lens assembly and a reflector to project light beams.
2. Description of the Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 6,558,032 discloses a LED lighting equipment for vehicle. In FIG. 1, the LED lighting equipment comprises a LED lighting equipment 1′ comprising a LED lamp 2′, a reflection surface of hyperboloid 4′ having two focuses f1 and f2, and a reflection surface of paraboloid of revolution 5′. Light beams reflected by the reflection surface 4′ are emitted outwardly and centrally from the focus f2. The focus f2 of the reflection surface 4′ and the focus of the reflection surface 5′ are overlapped. The light beams reflected by the reflection surface 5′ travel to the remote ahead of the reflection surface 5′. | {
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The invention concerns a device and a method for machining a cylindrical bore, preferably a cylinder bore of an internal combustion engine.
The device for machining a cylindrical bore, preferably a cylinder bore of an internal combustion engine, comprises a base member, a first machining tool with at least one geometrically defined cutter and a second machining tool with at least one geometrically undefined cutter, as disclosed, for example, in DE 103 59 347 B3. In this device, a fine boring tool and a honing tool are integrated into the base member wherein the fine boring tool is arranged at an end face of the base member and produces the bore with the desired dimension in a first machining step. Subsequently, when the device is moved farther into the cylinder bore, the honing stones of the honing tool are being employed and the surface is honed to have the desired functional roughness. Because of the fixed correlation and arrangement of the two tools, it is ensured that with one clamping action the fine boring action as well as the honing action are realized and thus the excess material required for the honing step can be minimized. Moreover, the nonproductive time periods for changing the tool or for reclamping the tool are eliminated. As a whole, a shortened machining time is achieved in this way.
However, this combination tool can only be used when it can be moved to a sufficient depth into the workpiece because the fine boring tool is arranged in front of the honing tool in axial direction. Also, the rigidity of the precision turning tool is reduced due to the long configuration which has a negative effect on the machining precision and the performance.
Moreover, it is also known to provide bevel cutters at a honing tool above the honing stones. The bevel cutters that have a geometrically defined cutting edge serve for providing a bevel at the cylinder bore after completion of the honing process.
EP 0046806 B1 discloses a combined fine boring and honing tool in which the cutters and the honing stones are designed to be feedable. A disadvantage of the type of feed action disclosed in this document is the obtainable precision of the feed action. Also, the contact forces existing between the honing stones and the workpiece cannot be acquired.
A basic machine for use with the device according to the invention is disclosed in DE 10 2007 045 619 as a flexible machining apparatus with various machining units for honing and/or fine boring. Reference is being had to the disclosure of this application.
The invention has the object to provide a device that enables various machining operations and machining cuts on cylindrical bores with one clamping action so that the productivity is increased, the quality is improved, and, by means of the machine tool, very different customer demands can be realized in a flexible manner and without complex conversions.
This object is solved according to the invention in connection with a device for machining a cylindrical bore, wherein the device has a base member, a machining tool with at least one geometrically defined cutter, and a machining tool with at least one geometrically undefined cutter, in that both machining tools are moved by separate pressure rods.
Feeding of the two machining tools independent of each other by means of pressure rods in accordance with the invention makes it possible to realize the feed action with very great precision and to increase as a result of this the precision with which the cylinder diameter can be produced. | {
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A major cause of atmospheric pollution is from mobile sources emitting noxious gases from internal combustion engines. Chief among the pollutants are nitrogen oxides (NOX) and hydrocarbons (HC), carbon monoxide (CO) and volatile organic compounds (VOC). A catalytic converter functions to reduce the levels of NOX and CO, HC and other pollutants in the engine exhaust gases. Catalytic converters render toxic NOX and CO, HC into harmless compounds such as CO2, N2 and water. Catalytic converters are used as emission control devices to reduce toxic exhaust gases emitted from internal combustion engines, such as in automobiles, trucks, diesel-electric “genset” locomotives, agricultural and construction machinery, and marine vessels. Non-linear (non-straight) geometric channels differ from conventional linear (straight) channels because exhaust gases or liquids transport differently to the surface of a solid catalyst coated onto channel walls. Non-linear geometric catalytic converters may have significant beyond just automotive applications in industrial and scientific fields as well, including chemical and petrochemical refinery processes and in producing pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, fine chemicals, food flavorings, aromatic perfumes and fragrances, and dietary supplements, among other uses.
Most automotive catalytic converters include a honeycomb substrate core that is coated with a known catalyst formulation applied to the substrate core, sometimes containing a metal oxide washcoat. Most ceramic substrate cores contain linear channels with square cross sections. E.g. see U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,790,654 and 5,866,079 Metallic honeycomb substrate cores may have different channel cross sectional shapes because of the malleability of metal. Metal substrate cores may be formed as linear parallel, U-shaped channels with the catalyst embedded in the washcoat on the walls of the channels. The substrate core is wrapped in a retaining mat and is packaged in a protective outer metal shell. E.g., U.S. Pat. No. 8,071,505 issued to Ebener et al. discloses a metallic catalytic converter support body with a longitudinal axis containing a honeycomb body and housing. The honeycomb body has at least three metal layers arranged one above the other, which are wound with their end surfaces in each case starting from a common center into layers lying one above the other in a spiral form in a sleeve of the housing. The metal layers are developed as a corrugated sheath that creates straight and parallel channels through which exhaust flows.
The conventional design of a catalytic converter relies on a substrate core that is composed of hundreds or thousands of thin, narrow, long, and identical-sized duct-like channels or cells in a honeycomb-like structure. Each flow channel is typically several inches long, with channel openings, each roughly 1/20th of an inch (about one millimeter) in diameter. Channel length and channel opening may vary depending on the catalytic substrate selected for a particular application. Exhaust flow through conventional linear channels is predominantly laminar. During exhaust flow, toxic compounds such as CO, NOX, and HC diffuse across the flow and react with the catalyst coated on the channel walls and are detoxified to CO2, N2, and H2O. Diffusion is the dominant mode of species transport across flow streamlines for catalytic reactions in conventional catalytic honeycomb substrate cores. Thus catalytic reactions are rate-limited by overall diffusion coefficients. Furthermore, the reactant concentration gradient in the exhaust flow is generally higher in the bulk flow, especially near the channel centerline, and is lower near the channel walls (i.e., near the catalytic coating). thus imposing a certain limit on catalytic efficiency in linear channels. One may increase catalytic efficiencies inter alia by offsetting the rate-limiting step of diffusion by increasing the length of the honeycomb channels or by increasing the number of flow channels per honeycomb or by increasing the density of catalytic substrate material embedded in the washcoat. However, the downside to these measures would be to increase the weight of honeycomb and increase packaging size, and escalate the overall cost of manufacture. The instant disclosure offers an alternate cost saving approach to increase catalytic efficiencies. The current disclosure aims to increase catalytic efficiencies of converters by utilizing non-linear substrate core channels that can generate flow vortical forces that increase diffusion and convection across flow channels. The current disclosure includes non-linear channel geometries that increase catalytic efficiencies compared to conventional linear substrate channels. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to techniques for fabrication of integrated circuit chips, and more particularly, to a method for protection of special-purpose chips, such as image sensors and the like.
2. Description of Related Art
A number of integrated circuit chips are batch processed as an array of chips on a silicon wafer. The wafer is then cut, or diced, with a saw blade or laser beam to separate, or singulate, the individual chips, or dies, from the wafer.
The top surface of a conventional integrated-circuit die has various electrical circuit elements formed thereupon. Conventional integrated-circuit dies often have a protective passivation layer formed over the electrical circuit elements and covering the top surface of the die. Conventionally, oxide areas, scribe lines, or other indicia are provided on the wafer surface to assist in guiding a saw blade through singulation streets between the various dies. Singulation of conventional dies from a wafer includes mounting the bottom surface of the wafer to a saw pallet using, for example, a double-sided adhesive tape such as blue NITTO tape and passing the saw blade through the wafer. This sawing process and other singulation processes produce silicon shards and particulates. The conventional passivation layer protects the underlying circuitry from the shards, particulates, and water used in the singulation process.
For certain applications, the top surface of a die, e.g., a micromachine die, has formed on it a special-purpose area having various types of special-purpose devices, such as, for example, micromachines. It is important that the special-purpose area not be contacted and contaminated with silicon shards and particulates, or water from the singulation process. Otherwise, the special-purpose area is damaged or destroyed. Consequently, the special-purpose device must be protected from undesired contamination or contact during the die-singulating process.
FIG. 1 illustrates one type of prior art technique for protecting a special-purpose area, e.g., containing a micromachine, during a wafer dicing process, as disclosed in a Roberts, Jr. et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,362,681, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. A wafer 10 of silicon or other suitable material is typically processed to produce a plurality of special-purpose dies, or chips, 12 (hereinafter dies 12). The dies 12 are arranged in a two-dimensional array on the wafer 10 and are separated by singulation streets 14 between adjacent dies 12. Each die 12 includes a special-purpose area 16 that is formed on a top surface 17 of the die 12. Each special-purpose area 16 includes a special-purpose device, such as a micromachine. When the wafer 10 is singulated into separate dies 12, silicon shards and particulates, as well as a silicon and water slurry are produced. Contact with these byproducts of sawing may harm the special-purpose areas 16.
The prior art technique of FIG. 1 uses two separate layers of MYLAR tape for protecting the special-purpose areas 16 from silicon shards, particulates, and slurry during singulation of the dies 12 by sawing of the wafer 10. A first layer 18 of 5 mil (0.13 mm) MYLAR tape has a lower surface 19 that is fixed to the top surface 17 of the dies 12 and more generally of the wafer 10 with a thin layer 20 of adhesive material. If the first layer 18 were to completely cover the top surface 17 of the dies 12, it would permanently adhere to and damage the special-purpose areas 16.
Consequently, the first layer 18 is required to have a set of precisely positioned, spaced-apart punched holes 22 that are mechanically punched into the first layer 18 to precisely accommodate the special-purpose areas 16. The punched holes 22 need to have diameters large enough to provide clearance for the special-purpose areas 16. A second separate layer 24 of 3 mil (0.07 mm) MYLAR tape is fixed to the upper surface 25 of the first layer 18 to seal the top end of the mechanically punched holes 22. The holes 22 in the first layer 18 must be precisely aligned with the aid of video cameras over the special-purpose areas 16 on the wafer 10 prior to attachment of the first layer 18 of MYLAR tape to the top surface 17 of the wafer 10 with the thin layer 20 of adhesive material. After sawing, the layers 18, 24 are removed with tweezers.
It should be readily apparent that mechanically punching the holes 22 in the first layer 18, precisely aligning the holes 22 in the first layer 18 over the special-purpose areas 16 on the wafer 10, and removing the layers 18, 24 with tweezers is more expensive and complex than the prior art technique of simply covering a wafer with a passivation layer during processing of conventional integrated-circuits on the wafer to protect underlying electrical circuitry elements during die sawing.
Consequently, a need exists for a simple, economical technique for protecting special-purpose areas on the surface of a wafer from contaminants during singulation of dies from the wafer.
According to the principles of this invention, a structure is provided for protecting a special-purpose area located on a top surface of a special-purpose die during singulation of the special-purpose die from a wafer, where the special-purpose die has a bottom surface. The structure includes a protective layer of tape having an adhesive lower surface formed by a polymerizable material. The adhesive lower surface of the protective layer of tape is attached to the top surface of the special-purpose die to overlie and/or contact the special-purpose area on the special-purpose die and to protect the special-purpose area during sawing and detachment of the special-purpose die.
In one embodiment, the protective layer of tape has a first polymerized upper zone and a second lower zone that is unpolymerized and that has an adhesive lower surface.
The structure further includes sawing indicia located on a top surface of the wafer and visible through the protective layer of tape to aid in sawing through the wafer from the top surface of the special-purpose die. The special-purpose die is one of a plurality of special-purpose dies arranged in an array on the wafer. According to one aspect of the invention, the special-purpose dies are selected from a group consisting of image sensor dies and micromachine dies.
Another embodiment of the invention includes a structure for protecting a special-purpose area located on a top surface of a special-purpose die. The structure includes a protective layer having a first polymerized upper zone and having a second lower zone. The second lower zone has at least a portion thereof unpolymerized and with an adhesive lower surface. The adhesive lower surface of the unpolymerized portion of the second lower zone is attached to the top surface of the special-purpose die so that the protective layer overlies and protects the special-purpose area of the special-purpose die. In this embodiment, the adhesive lower surface of the unpolymerized portion of the second lower zone, is attached to a top surface of a wafer comprising the special-purpose die so that a polymerized portion of the second lower zone overlies and/or contact the special-purpose area.
Also in accordance with the present invention, a method includes adhesively mounting an adhesive lower surface of a protective layer to a top surface of a die such as an image sensor die or a micromachine die. A special-purpose area on the top surface of the die is contacted and protected by the protective layer. The protective layer includes a polymerizable material, which includes the adhesive lower surface.
The method further includes rendering the adhesive lower surface of the protective layer to be nonadhesive. For example, the adhesive lower surface is rendered nonadhesive by polymerizing the polymerizable material of the protective layer with ultraviolet radiation. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods and systems for testing network communications devices, systems and applications.
2. Description of Related Art
Testing high capacity, IP-based intelligent networks requires the origination of Internet-scale volumes of simulated user traffic in laboratory environments. The current generation of high-speed network performance testing equipment is generally based on either: Proprietary hardware-based “packet blasters” that use pre-configuring quasi-static packets at or near “wirespeed;” or TCP socket-based software that runs on large numbers of general purpose (or slightly modified) computing platforms.
As the density, speed and intelligent traffic management capabilities of network devices increase, traditional high-volume traffic generation solutions are less able to simulate real-world scenarios.
Traditional network routing and switching devices are stateless in that these devices make decisions based on information that is contained within these headers without maintaining any information about previous packets. They do not maintain any type of connection to the client or server at either end of the TCP transaction.
In order to test a stateless device, simulated traffic only needs to look like “real” traffic on a packet-by-packet basis. There does not need to be a complex relationship between the packets, so the transmitting device does not need to maintain any state or have any dynamic behaviors. For this reason, the current generation of high performance traffic generators do not require a full TCP/IP stack for performance testing. Specialized hardware is used to generate wirespeed packets that are varied algorithmically by overlaying variable length incrementing or random patterns over a “base packet” without any consideration of received packets. These conventional stateless test devices are commonly referred to as packet blasters.
True TCP sessions contain a feedback mechanism. For example, a TCP receiver sends acknowledgement packets to a TCP sender that advertise a window size to the TCP sender that inform the TCP sender the size of the receiver's receive buffer. The sender uses the advertised window size to control the flow of packets sent to the receiver. This mechanism causes the flow of incoming traffic to vary as a function of receiver performance. For instance, as a TCP receiver becomes overloaded, the rate of removing and processing packets from its TCP receive buffer decreases. As a result, the window size advertised to the sender decreases, and the TCP sender slows the flow of packets sent to the receiver. In addition, the mechanism can generate redundant data. For example, if a TCP receiver receives an out-of-sequence packet, the receiver will send a duplicate acknowledgement to the sender indicating that an out of sequence packet was received. Because this feedback mechanism exists on every TCP connection, overall TCP session throughput becomes the dominant performance metric.
Unlike traditional switches and routers, server load-balancing (SLB) devices may maintain state. Server load-balancing devices are also referred to as content switches. In the most basic implementations, this takes the form of “persistent sessions” where all packets from a specific user (source IP address) are routed to the same server (destination IP address). In order to accomplish this, the SLB may maintain a table of established client/server connections and look up the server to which a packet should be routed based on the client address. Other examples of stateful network devices include firewalls, VPN gateways, traffic shapers, spam filters and virus-scanning gateways.
The next generation of SLB devices is much more sophisticated. They may make routing decisions based on a combination of data from the IP, TCP and HTTP header (URL, Cookie) and may even actively participate in a client/server session by proxying and aggregating multiple client connections into a pool of pre-existing server connections. Since the SLB may have a full TCP/IP stack, it becomes much more difficult to test the device with stateless, algorithmically generated traffic. The performance of the SLB is sensitive to many more characteristics of the TCP session.
Typical switches and routers only process Ethernet and IP headers, respectively. Traditional server load balancers process the IP source and destination address fields and TCP source and destination port fields. Next generation server load balancers process every header from the Ethernet header through application-level headers. Furthermore, some switches and routers also do “deep packet inspection,” looking past even the application-level headers. As a result, these next generation devices cannot be tested using traditional stateless packet blasters.
Today's load balancing switches generally handle tens of thousands of session establishments per second with fewer than 100,000 concurrent sessions established. Moore's Law is adhered to not only in general purpose computing platforms but in network devices as well: the new generation of load balancers will handle hundreds of thousands of sessions per second with 1,000,000 or more concurrent sessions established.
While stateless hardware-based solutions cost a fraction as much as fully stateful software-based solutions for high packet rates, stateless solutions do not provide realistic enough traffic to accurately measure the performance of stateful network communications devices, such as new generation SLBs. In fact, SLB devices that proxy connections with nearly a full TCP stack will drop simulated connections attempted by such a device. At the other extreme, software-based full stack implementations are prohibitively expensive to acquire and difficult to maintain and operate for high rates and/or volumes of connections. For example, software-based full TCP stack implementations may require multiple machines with multiple processors and network interfaces to achieve the number of TCP sessions required to test a stateful network communications device, such as a server load balancer. Similarly, TCP-based application performance cannot be determined/inferred by generating stateless traffic and measuring network layer performance metrics. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a tubular connection structure, more particularly, to a tubular connection structure that is to closely fasten tubes and a tubular connection body and prevent a clasp lever of the tubular connection structure to be easily loosened up.
2. Description of the Prior Art
For a prior tubular connector, which has a joining axle hole, at least one side of the tubular connector is selected to have at least one open and at least one pivotal portion so as to make a pivotal connection for a fastening handle . By swinging the fastening handle, a convex portion of the front end of the fastening handle may urge onto a male connector or a ring-type concave wall in order to have the functions of connecting tubes or close. As it can be seen, the convex portion of the front end of the fastening handle is the only way to have the function of stop and short of a security device for preventing that the tubular connector is loosened up. So the conditions of vibrations, external forces, other man-made factors, etc. may loosen up or take off the two connected tubular connectors, the liquid inside the connectors may overflow to contaminate environment and damage human beings.
Hence, how to develop a product for figuring out the disadvantages of the prior art may be an important issue to the people skilled in the art. | {
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The present invention relates to an internal expansion heat engine, and more particularly to a flash plug for such an engine.
Internal expansion heat engines are known, and are of either the piston type or the vane type, which pistons of vanes are provided as movable elements within an expansion chamber or chambers. Steam is applied to the expansion chamber or chambers, in order to move the movable elements to cause a shaft to rotate.
To supply steam to the expansion chamber or chambers, steam plugs may be utilized, which are of hollow construction, and which are heated from the outside, and are provided with a spray of water on the inside, the water particles which are sprayed engaging the interior surface of the hollow steam plug, and being convereted thereby to steam. The hollow steam plug is connected to the expansion chamber or chambers, and thereby provides steam thereto. The steam plugs are heated by being placed in a fire chamber, where they are exposed to heated gasses and/or flames, which may be generated by a suitable burner, such as an oil burner or a burner for pulverized coal. The hot gasses of combustion are conducted through the fire chamber, where they engage and heat the steam plugs.
A number of proposals in connection with such internal expansion engines have been made. Bailey U.S. Pat. No. 3,990,238 discloses an engine of this type which is provided with a "steam head" which comprises a plurality of heat plates which are in spaced apart relationship, passages between the plates defining steam passages which lead to the expansion chamber of the engine. The plates themselves are heated by electrical resistance coils. Vorel U.S. Pat. No. 1,744,288 discloses a steam engine of the piston type wherein water is supplied through a pipe, and is converted to steam, which is conducted to the pistons, heating of the water being effected by electrical resistance coils. Garland U.S. Pat. No. 1,290,966 is a disclosure of a steam engine in which the piston is provided with electric resistance coils, to cause water sprayed into the cylinder in which the piston moves to be heated into steam. Of general interest is Michelson U.S. Pat. No. 3,400,534 which provides the disclosure of a steam engine which includes spark discharge chambers in which high voltage sparks are discharged between spaced electrodes to heat the water and produce a shock wave. In general, these prior art proposals have been deficient in not providing a satisfactory heated steam generator, and in utilizing no electric heating, or utilizing only electric heating from resistance heaters or spark discharge. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an activation method of an optical communication system and a channel increasing/decreasing method. More particularly, this invention relates to an activation method of an optical communication system for executing gain slope compensation, output control and pre-emphasis control, and its channel increasing/decreasing method. This invention further relates to a computer-readable recording medium for causing a computer to execute a program of such an activation method and such a channel increasing/decreasing method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Multi-media communication typified by the Internet has spread drastically in recent years. Research and development of optical communication technologies for achieving ultra-long distance communication and larger capacity communication has been made intensively in the field of communication technologies so as to cope with the drastic increase of traffic due to the drastic spread. Attempts have been made also to improve the speed of time division multiplexing (hereinafter abbreviated as “TDM”) transmission and to attain higher density multiplexing of wavelength division multiplexing (hereinafter abbreviated as “WDM”) transmission to satisfy the requirement for a greater quantity of traffic.
In the optical communication system for transmitting WDM optical signals, in particular, the WDM optical signals are generated by multiplexing a plurality of optical signals with different wavelengths from each other. Therefore, it is necessary to control amplified spontaneous emission, induced Raman scattering (SRS), or the like, which occurs in the WDM optical signals and has wavelength dependence.
Optical communication systems according to the prior art technology generally include an optical transmission station for generating WDM optical signals for wavelength-division multiplexing a plurality of optical signals having mutually different wavelengths, an optical transmission line in which the WDM optical signals outputted from the optical transmission station are transmitted and an optical reception station for receiving the input WDM optical signals so transmitted, and processing these WDM optical signals. An optical repeater station is inserted into the optical transmission line. A plurality of optical repeater stations may be disposed, whenever necessary. The optical repeater station includes in some cases an optical amplifier for amplifying the WDM optical signals to a predetermined optical level to compensate for the transmission loss occurring in the optical transmission line, and an optical add/drop multiplexer (hereinafter abbreviated as “OADM”) in other cases for adding or dropping an optical signal corresponding to a predetermined channel to and from the WDM optical signals.
To elongate the distance between the stations in such an optical communication system, the optical amplifier controls its output optical level at the upper limit optical level at which four-wave mixing and mutual phase demodulation do not occur in the WDM optical signals in the optical transmission line. To control the output optical level, the optical amplifier generally detects the output optical level inclusive of amplifier spontaneous emission (hereinafter abbreviated as “ASE”). Therefore, the amplifier needs to perform peak power control for controlling the output with optical power of ASE taken into account.
There is a limit to transmission distance due to a gain tilt based on a gain as a function of wavelength of the optical amplifier. When optical amplifiers are cascaded to elongate the transmission distance, the gain tilt occurring in each optical amplifier is accumulated. In channels with low optical levels in the WDM optical signals, therefore, an optical signal-to-noise ratio (hereinafter abbreviated as “optical SNR”) gets deteriorated, whereas waveforms get deteriorated due to a non-linear optical effect in channels with higher optical levels. Therefore, the same applicant as the that of the present invention proposed a slope compensation method and an apparatus for the method for substantially leveling the gain tilt in Japanese Patent Application Nos. 11-074371 and 2000-051050 that have not yet been laid open. The gain as a function of wavelength is a characteristic curve representing a change of the gain relative to a change of the wavelength in the optical amplifier.
On the other hand, the optical communication system executes pre-emphasis for regulating the optical level in each optical signal in the optical transmission station to equalize the optical SNR in the optical signals (channels) in the WDM optical signals received by the optical reception station. In the optical communication system equipped with OADM, however, pre-emphasis must be executed since the number of optical repeater stations where each optical signal is repeated, is different. Therefore, the applicant of the present invention proposed in Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-009387, that has not yet been laid open, a pre-emphasis method and an apparatus therefor in an optical communication system equipped with OADM.
When the WDM optical signals are arranged in a plurality of wavelength bands, optical power of the WDM optical signals arranged on the shorter wavelength side shifts to the WDM optical signals arranged on the lower wavelength side.
Incidentally, a peak power control amount, a slope compensation amount and a pre-emphasis amount are determined in consideration of common physical phenomena such as ASE, induced Raman scattering, 4-optical wave mixing, self phase modulation, mutual phase modulation, and so forth. Since these amounts depend on one another, the optical communication system which adjusts all the amounts cannot separately determine and adjust them.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method of activating an optical communication system which executes slope compensation, peak power control, and pre-emphasis in an optimal procedure.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method of increasing/decreasing the number of channels in an optimal procedure when the channels of WDM optical signals is increased or decreased in number in such an optical communication system.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a recording medium where a program of activating an optical communication system and increasing/decreasing a channel is recorded. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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This invention relates to an optical recording medium for making optical read and write of information by using an organic dye.
Photochromic materials are attracting attention for their availability for the erasable optical recording media owing to their specific property that they undergo a reversible change of color upon exposure to two types of light source differing in wavelength. Fulgides are known as a typical example of such photochromic materials. Fulgides are the compounds having an alkylidene group bonded to each of the two methylenic carbons of succinic anhydride or a derivative thereof, and represented by the following general formula (1): ##STR1## (wherein at least one of R.sub.2 and R.sub.3 represents an aromatic ring, and X represents 0 or N--R).
A large number of fulgide compounds have been known to date. Among them, fulgide (2) is one of the fulgides having the most execellent photochromic properties (JCS Perkin Trans., Part I, 202 (1981). This fulgide (2), when irradiated with ultraviolet light of 337 nm, is ring closed and converted into the red benzofuran form (3), but when the latter is irradiated with visible light of 473 nm, it returns to fulgide (2). ##STR2##
In utilization of photochromic compounds for optical recording media, light quantum detector elements, etc., it is required to reduce the film thickness in correspondence to the miniaturization in size of electronic parts. For forming a uniform ultra-thin Langmuir-Blodgett film of an organic compound, it is necessary that a hydrophobic group (for example, hydrocarbon chain) and a hydrophilic group (for example, carbonyl group) be contained in the molecule of said compound. However, since the conventional fulgide (2) has no hydrophobic group in the molecule, it has been impossible to obtain a fulgide film of a desired small thickness by the Langmuir-Blodgett technique. Also, no successful attempt of direct introduction of a hydrophobic group into the molecule of fulgide (2) has yet been reported. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Technical Field
The technology described herein relates generally to a system and method for creating 3D building models, and in particular, to a system and method for guiding a user through a series of image captures.
Description of Related Art
Some efforts have been made to generate three-dimensional (3D) textured models of buildings via aerial imagery or specialized camera-equipped vehicles. However, these 3D models have limited texture resolution, geometry quality, accurate geo-referencing and are expensive, time consuming and difficult to update and provide no robust real-time image data analytics for various consumer and commercial use cases.
Disadvantages of conventional approaches will be evident to one skilled in the art when presented in the disclosure that follows. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a tab removal device and more specifically it relates to a tab removal device for efficiently and securely removing tabs from objects such as soda or beer cans.
2. Description of the Related Art
Any discussion of the related art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such related art is widely known or forms part of common general knowledge in the field.
Cans have been in use for many years to store various types of beverages. Generally, cans will include a tab at their upper ends to assist in opening the top of the can so that the beverage may be consumed. The tab is generally pulled away only enough to open the can, but otherwise left attached to the can.
When recycling cans, it is often desirable to remove the tabs from the cans being provided for recycling. The tabs have various uses, including for making jewelry and to provide playthings for children. However, it is often difficult and/or cumbersome to remove tabs from large quantities of cans. There does not appear to be a tool which allows the safe and efficient removal of can tabs in large quantities. When using one's hands, a person removing tabs can often suffer injuries such as cuts and scrapes.
Because of the inherent problems with the related art, there is a need for a new and improved tab removal device for efficiently and securely removing tabs from objects such as soda or beer cans. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The present invention relates to a carrier aquisition apparatus for recovering the carrier from a received burst in a digital satellite communication system, and more particularly to a carrier recovery apparatus for recovering the carrier at high speed from the receive burst having undergone a significant frequency offset relative to the transmission speed of digital signals.
In a burst mode digital satellite communication system, it is necessary to promptly synchronize the reference carrier with the carrier component of the receive burst transmitted from another ground station via a satellite, and recover data from modulated digital data, for instance phase shift keying modulated data, contained in the received burst. For this reason, there are arranged in the received burst, preceding the transmit data section, a carrier recovery sequence for recovering the carrier, a bit timing recovery sequence for recovering the bit timing and a unique word for indicating the beginning of the transmitted data. In order to correctly recover the unique word and the data sequence from the receive burst, it is necessary not only to correctly extract a bit timing signal from the bit timing recovery sequence but also to promptly synchronize the reference carrier with the frequency and phase of this carrier recovery sequence while the carrier recovery sequence is being received.
A phase-locked loop (PLL) is used for this carrier recovery. For examples of this PLL, reference may be made to Namiki, Otani and Yasuda, "0 dB Eb/No Burst Mode SCPC Modem with High Coding Gain FEC" in the 1986 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON COMMUNICATION, and F. M. Gardner, Phaselock Techniques (1979, John Willey & Sons, Inc.) among others.
In a communication process in which signals are transmitted via an artificial satellite, a frequency offset occurs from the remaining effect of automatic frequency control (AFC) or the drift of the oscillator on the transmitting side. The maximum frequency offset can be typically in a usual satellite communication system. In low modulation rate burst signal transmission, however, the carrier offset becomes a serious problem for carrier recovery, as will be described below.
Here is supposed a case where a first order PLL is used which comprises a phase detector, a voltage controlled oscillator, and a loop filter whose transfer function F(s)=1. This first order PLL is characteristic in that the acquisition time is short even when the carrier power-to-noise ratio is low. Then suppose a case in which there is a frequency difference .DELTA.w (=2.pi..DELTA.f) between the carrier component of the received burst and the reference carrier. For the first order phase lock loop with a sinusoidal characteristic phase detector, the equation representing the response of a phase error .theta..sub.e (t) between the input carrier phase and the reference carrier phase is: ##EQU1## where K is the loop gain. In order to achieve a steady state of ##EQU2## In order to achieve phase lock, the relationship of ##EQU3## is required as derived from Equation (1). Therefore, if the frequency offset .DELTA.f exceeds ##EQU4## the PLL will become unable to be phase-synchronized with the input signal, making it difficult for the carrier to be recovered. Although the permissible frequency deviation .DELTA.w can be increased if the loop gain K is enlarged, a greater K would invite an increase in the phase jitter of the reference carrier, and therefore there is a certain limit to the enlargement of K. Accordingly, a wide frequency range for carrier acquisition cannot be covered by a single PLL. If the loop gain of the first order PLL is made 0.1.multidot.2.pi.f.sub.b when the modulation rate is f.sub.b (baud), the frequency offset which permits pull-in by a PLL will be .vertline..DELTA.f.vertline..ltoreq.0.1 f.sub.b. Then, in low rate transmission of f.sub.b =1200 to 9600 (baud), the upper limit of the frequency offset synchronizable by a phase synchronizing circuit will be 120 to 960 Hz. Therefore, it would be difficult to recover, with a single phase synchronizing circuit, the carrier from a received burst having a frequency offset of as great as 2 kHz.
A conceivable solution to this problem is parallel processing, i.e. a method using a plurality of demodulators having a different pull-in range from each other and obtaining demodulated signals from the demodulator having detected the greatest carrier component. This method, however, requires large hardware, because of the need for a plurality of demodulators, and accordingly is uneconomical. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system predicting acoustic confusability of text phrases and audio data that is speech-recognition system independent. In particular, the system predicts speech recognizer confusion where utterances can be represented by any combination of a text form (text phrase/spelled form) and an audio file (audio data/phrase). For example:
Case 1: acoustic confusability predicted between two text phrases; and
Case 2: acoustic confusability predicted between two utterances, each of which may be represented either as a text phrase or an audio file.
2. Description of the Related Art
Using Acoustic Confusability Information in Voice Application Software:
Voice application software use speech recognizers to provide a voice user interface. For example, a voice application providing voice messaging uses a speech recognizer to process user voice commands such as “play message” and “save message.” In another example, a voice application providing voice messaging uses a speech recognizer to voice enroll names in an address book. In the context of speech recognizers, spoken phrases are deemed confusable if they sound alike. Typical voice application software use information on when the speech recognizer will confuse spoken phrases (i.e., also referred to as acoustic confusability by the speech recognizer). The capability of predicting acoustic confusability can be used by a voice application, for example, to alert a user to choose a different name when voice enrolling names in the address book, thereby reducing the risk of inefficient or inaccurate voice command processing by the voice application.
Spoken phrases that control a voice user interface of a voice application can have very similar pronunciations, but actually refer to different actions or persons. Two spoken phrases can confuse a speech recognizer due to similarities in pronunciations of the two spoken phrases. For example, the speech recognizer might confuse spoken phrases such as “Jill” and “Phil,” although only half of the letters in the text form of utterances (words/phrases) “Jill” and “Phil” are the same. In another example, the speech recognizer might confuse “reply” spoken by one speaker with “repeat” spoken by another speaker having a dialect that reduces final syllables.
Some typical speech recognizers recognize a spoken phrase by comparing the spoken phrase to a designed list of utterances (words/phrases) represented as audio files. For example, one type of typical speech recognizer recognizes a spoken phrase by finding the most similar phrase in its list of phrases with a given spoken phrase. Avoiding adding phrases on the list that may be confusable with each other reduces the possibility that the speech recognizer will erroneously recognize a given spoken phrase (i.e., one that appears on the list) as a different spoken phrase on the list, a mistake known as a substitution error. Phrases can be added to the list as follows: providing utterances represented as text forms, providing utterances represented as audio files (by speaking and recording the spoken phrase), and a combination of text form and audio file of utterances. Speech recognizers include algorithms to predict the acoustic similarity of two spoken phrases. The typical algorithms compare sets of acoustic measures to classify sounds in the spoken phrases. However, these algorithms do not predict acoustic similarity between text forms of utterances, and thereby cannot compare one utterance represented as an audio file to a text form of another utterance to predict similarity of the one utterance represented as the audio file to spoken examples of the text form of the other utterance.
Although typical speech recognizers compare sets of acoustic measures to classify sounds in spoken phrases, text forms of utterances can also be used to predict confusability of the text forms when spoken. However, for some languages, such as English, pronunciation similarities may not be obvious from the text forms (i.e., spelling) of utterances because there may not be a direct correspondence between the spelling and the pronunciation. In contrast, similarities in pronunciation can be more apparent from comparisons between phonetic transcriptions of utterances (existing speech recognizers use various equivalent phonetic representations) than from examination of the spellings of the utterances. In a language, phonetic transcriptions represent pronunciations by using different symbols to represent each phoneme, or sound unit (i.e., string of phonemes or phonetic symbols). However, phonetic transcriptions alone, or strings of phonemes, are not sufficient to predict confusability for the following reasons: first, because speech recognizers do not compare phonetic symbols, but instead, compare sets of acoustic measures to classify sounds as spoken phrases. Second, in many instances, different phonemes, such as the vowel in “pin” and the vowel in “pen,” may be acoustically similar (the sounds are similar), but represented by phonetic symbols that are different. For example, phonetic transcriptions of the words “pin” and “pen” differ by 33% (one of three phonemes), but can still be confusable by a speech recognizer because of the acoustic similarity of the vowels.
Typical acoustic confusability methods used by speech recognizers have a disadvantage because the typical acoustic confusability methods compare audio files with audio files. As a result, typical acoustic confusability methods are only useful in an application where only voice utterances (utterances represented as audio files) are used. For example, if names can be entered into a voice-controlled address book only by voice enrollment, then typical methods can be used to detect confusability among the address book entries. However, the typical acoustic confusability methods would not be useful in an application where voice and text are mixed. If names can be entered into an address book either by text or by voice, a method is needed to compare a text name to a voice name, so that names from a text enrolled address book can reliably (and not confusingly) be added to a voice enrolled address book. In the case of entering a name by voice, a method is needed to predict acoustic confusability between an utterance represented as an audio file and an utterance represented as a text form to compare the newly added voice name to the text enrolled names already in the address book. In the case of entering a name by text, a method is needed to predict acoustic confusability between a an utterance represented as a text form and an utterance represented as an audio file to compare the newly added text name to the voice enrolled names already in the address book.
Typical acoustic confusability methods that compare audio files with audio files have another disadvantage as follows: speech recognition can be either speaker independent or speaker dependent. When providing text to a speech recognizer, the techniques used to recognize speech would be speaker independent. When providing audio files to a speech recognizer, the techniques used to recognize speech can be either speaker independent or speaker dependent. However, speech recognition by typical speech recognizers is likely to be speech recognizer dependent (i.e., speaker dependent) when the speech recognizer is provided a combination of text phrases and audio files because the typical speech recognition system algorithms do not predict acoustic similarity (recognize speech) between a combination of a text form of an utterance and an audio file of an utterance by directly using the text form. Typical speech recognition system algorithms would convert text to speech, so that two audio files can be compared. Such conversion can cause speech recognition to be speech recognition system dependent. Therefore, a more reliable method to predict acoustic confusability is needed when using a combination of a text phrase and an audio file.
Using Acoustic Confusability Information When Developing Voice Application Software:
A voice user interface (i.e., a call flow) is developed or generated using text phrases representing voice commands. Acoustic confusability predictability information can, for example, be used when developing voice applications to avoid using a voice command in a call flow that may be confusable with other voice commands, for efficient, accurate and reliable call flow processing (voice command differentiation) by the voice application speech recognizer. However, typical speech recognizers compare sets of acoustic measures to classify sounds in spoken phrases, and do not directly use text phrases (i.e., not tied to comparing recorded speech signals) to predict acoustic confusability. Therefore, a process for development of a voice user interface typically includes counting syllables and comparison of vowels of the text phrases to select text phrases that are likely to be acoustically distinct (i.e., not confusable) when spoken as commands. To improve call flow processing using the typical acoustic confusability methods used by the speech recognizers would require, for example, text-to-speech conversions, which may not be efficient or practical. If acoustic confusability of text phrases representing voice commands can be predicated by directly using the text phrases, improved, more robust, and reliable voice user interfaces can be developed or generated.
Acoustic Distinctiveness of Spoken Phrases:
The acoustic distinctiveness of spoken phrases has been well understood for many years. The “landmark” theory of Stevens is one body of work that encapsulates much of what has been discovered about the acoustics of speech. Stevens, Kenneth, N., From Acoustic Cues To Segments, Features, and Words, Proc. 6th International Conference on Spoken Language Processing (ICSLP 2000), Beijing China, Oct. 16–20, 2000—pp. 1–8; Stevens, K. N (1992) Lexical access from features, MIT Speech Communication Group Working Papers, VIII, 119–144; and Stevens, K. N., Manuel, S. Y., Shattuck-Hufnagel, S., and Liu, S. (1992), Implementation of a model for lexical access based on features, in J. J. Ohala, T. M. Nearey, G. L. Derwing, M. M. Hodge, and G. E. Wiebe (Eds.), Proceedings of the 1992 International Conference on Spoken Language Processing, Edmonton, Canada: University of Alberta—pp. 499–502 (hereinafter Stevens and the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference).
Landmarks are points in a spoken phrase around which one may extract information about the underlying distinctive acoustic features (AFs). Landmarks mark perceptual foci and articulatory targets. One type of landmark is linked to glottal activity and can be used to identify vocalic segments of the speech signal. Other landmarks identify intervals of sonorancy, i.e. intervals when the oral cavity is relatively unconstricted. The most common landmarks are acoustically abrupt and are associated with consonantal segments, e.g., a stop closure and release.
Others have implemented methods to extend Stevens' landmark theory. Bitar, N., and Espy-Wilson, C. (1995), A signal representation of speech based on phonetic features, Proceedings of IEEE Dual-Use Technology and Applications Conference, 310–315 (hereinafter Bitar); and Automatic Detection of manner events based on temporal parameters, Proc. Eurospeech, September. '99, pp. 2797–2800 (hereinafter Salomon) (the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference). Salomon has developed the following AFs as acoustic events: the manner-of-articulation or phonetic features (sonorant, syllabic, fricative, and consonantal) and the place-of-articulation phonetic or nonsyllabic features (labial, alveolar, and velar for stops; and palatal and alveolar for strident fricatives). Some acoustic events, such as the ones associated with the phonetic feature sonorant, segment the speech signal into regions. Others, such as those associated with nonsyllabic features, mark particular instants in time. From the Salomon AFs, the following twelve speech classes can be detected from the physical signal: syllabic vowel, syllabic nasal, syllabic liquid, semivowel, nasal, palatal fricative, alveolar fricative, affricate, labial stop, alveolar stop, velar stop, and weak fricative. A series of speech recognition experiments by Salomon illustrate robustness of the acoustic events based on AFs. Results disclosed in Salomon indicate that compared to traditional speech recognition processing, such as spectral processing with a state-of-the-art Hidden-Markov Model, the AFs can (a) better target the linguistic information in a speech signal, and (b) reduce inter-speaker variability. Therefore, the AFs can be used by voice applications when predicting acoustic confusability that is speaker-independent. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Technical Field
This invention relates to pillows and, more particularly, to a combined alarm pillow and associated method for providing a discrete notifying signal to a user during sleeping conditions.
2. Prior Art
Alarm clocks are a necessary part of almost everyone's daily lives, from schoolchildren to working parents. As such, alarm clocks are available in a wide variety of styles to meet the tastes of an individual. Most alarm clocks are of a tabletop variety that rests on a nightstand next to a user bed. Such alarm clocks are separated from a user pillow and distanced from the user during operation. Such separation means that a user must remember both the pillow and the alarm clock, when traveling, to ensure being awakened at the proper time. If a user forgets to bring the alarm clock, the user must purchase another or rely on an internal clock, the sun, or some other method to awaken at a desired time. However, some alarm clocks are integrally attached to a user pillow and provide both an audible alarm, as well as a vibrating function to awaken a user.
One prior art example shows an under-pillow vibrating assembly that resists relative displacement between itself and a pillow, and reliably transmits vibrations through the pillow to wake a sleeper. The assembly includes a housing containing a vibrator as well as a planar vibratory plate connected to, and extending past, opposite ends outwardly of, the housing. Unfortunately, this prior art example is a device that is separate from a pillow and has the same drawbacks as a traditional alarm clock. In addition, such an under-pillow can become lost, thereby preventing use of same with an existing pillow, and also does not provide an audible alert as well as a vibrating alert.
Another prior art example shows a pillow alarm device for waking up a user. The device includes a pillow having a compartment therein with an alarm clock provided in the compartment. A vibrating device is also provided in the compartment. The vibrating device is adapted for vibrating the pillow to wake a user resting on the pillow when activated. The vibrating device is electrically connected to the alarm clock so that the alarm clock activates the vibrating device when an alarm of the alarm device is activated. Unfortunately, this prior art example has a compartment for housing the alarm clock partially disposed on an outside surface of the pillow, thereby possibly causing user discomfort when a user body part contacts the compartment during operating conditions.
Accordingly, a need remains for an alarm pillow and associated method in order to overcome the above-noted shortcomings. The present invention satisfies such a need by providing a device that is convenient and easy to use, is lightweight yet durable in design, and provides a discrete notifying signal to a user during sleeping conditions. Such a device rouses a sleeper with a gentle vibration, without disturbing a bed partner or anyone else in the house, thereby allowing others to remain sleeping. Such a device can be utilized in every room of a house where sleeping takes place, and can effectively remove the need for an alarm clock in those areas. The device also provides a traditional audible alarm if a user desires. The present invention is simple to use, inexpensive, and designed for many years of repeated use. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an organic light-emitting element and a light-emitting device including the same.
2. Discussion of Related Art
An organic light-emitting element is a self-light-emitting element using electroluminescence, in which light is emitted when an electric current flows in an organic light-emitting compound. The organic light-emitting element has advantages of an excellent thermostability and a low driving voltage, and, thus, it has drawn attention as a next-generation element in various fields of industry, such as the display industry and the lighting industry.
However, the organic light-emitting element is an element requiring a low voltage and a high electric current, and as an area of the element is increased, a sheet resistance of a transparent electrode included in the element is increased. An electrode layer in a layered structure of the organic light-emitting element has a limited electrical conductivity. In particular, reduction in sheet resistance of a transparent electrode layer is limited. If each organic light-emitting element is large-scaled, a sheet resistance of a transparent electrode is increased and a partial voltage drop may occur. Currently, a luminous efficiency of an organic light-emitting element is about 30 lm/W in a white element having a two-stack structure, and under this circumstance, in order to obtain a luminous flux of about 600 lm which corresponds to a luminous flux of a single incandescent light bulb, an organic light-emitting element having an area of about 30×30 cm2 is required.
Typically, in order to manufacture an element having an area of about 10×10 cm2 and uniformly emitting light, a transparent electrode having a sheet resistance of about 1 Ω/□ is required. However, it is almost impossible for an ITO electrode to have a sheet resistance of about 1 Ω/□. Therefore, an additional auxiliary electrode is needed. If aluminum metal having an aperture ratio of 90% is used as an auxiliary electrode, an aluminum sheet having a thickness of about 280 nm is needed to obtain a sheet resistance of 1 Ω/□.
However, a sheet resistance of a transparent electrode decreases in inverse proportion to an area of a light-emitting element. Therefore, in order for an organic light-emitting element having an area of about 30×30 cm2 to emit light with a uniform luminance, a transparent electrode of about 1 Ω/□ is required. In order to obtain a sheet resistance of about 1 Ω/□, aluminum used as an auxiliary electrode needs to be formed to have a thickness of 2.8 μm. It is inefficient to deposit metal to such a thickness, and such a thickness makes it difficult to perform a photolithography process.
Therefore, in order to replace an incandescent light bulb or a fluorescent lamp having a luminous flux greater than the incandescent light bulb with an organic light-emitting element having a current luminous efficiency, it is efficient to arrange multiple organic light-emitting elements, each having an area of 10×10 cm2, rather than manufacture an organic light-emitting element having an area of 30×30 cm2 or more. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrolytic capacitor and a fabrication method therefor, the electrolytic capacitor in which a dielectric layer is formed by anodically oxidizing an anode on a surface of the anode. More particularly, the invention relates to an electrolytic capacitor characterized in that anodic oxidation is easily carried out in forming a dielectric layer by anodically oxidizing an anode of titanium or titanium alloy on a surface of the anode.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, miniaturization of electronic machines has been bringing about a demand for a small-sized capacitor of large capacity. As such a capacitor, an electrolytic capacitor in which a dielectric layer is formed by anodically oxidizing an anode on a surface of the anode is being developed.
A capacitor employing tantalum or niobium as an anode is known as such a capacitor. However, such a capacitor has a problem in its high cost as a result of tantalum or niobium being expensive. Also, there is a limit to get a small-sized capacitor of large capacity because dielectric constant of a dielectric layer which is formed by anodically oxidizing an anode of tantalum or niobium is not always high.
Therefore, more recently, an electrolytic capacitor employing titanium as an anode and forming a dielectric layer of titanium oxide by anodically oxidizing the anode is proposed as disclosed in JP-A-5-121275.
The dielectric layer of titanium oxide which is formed by anodically oxidizing the anode employing titanium has remarkably high dielectric constant in comparison with a dielectric layer formed by anodically oxidizing an anode employing tantalum or niobium. Consequently it is possible to obtain a smaller-sized capacitor of larger capacity.
However, when said anode employing titanium is anodically oxidized, it takes exceedingly long time to form a dielectric layer of titanium oxide. The reason is that a speed of anodic oxidation goes down because titanium oxide is crystallized in anodic oxidation and electrical insulation is reduced. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
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