Disclosed herein, inter alia, are novel nickel-ruthenium-magnesium oxide catalyst compositions and methods of making and using the same. The catalysts provide for improved methanation activity of syngas (CO+H2) and producer gas in, for example, a fixed-bed reactor. In this manner, the CO conversion and CH4 yield can be maximized in methanation reactions.

Natural gas consisting primarily of methane is an energy carrier with significant importance to the industry, and electricity, heating, and transportation sectors worldwide. The major source of methane comes from fossil natural gas resources. In recent years, interest in reducing the effect of fossil fuels on climate change has stimulated research on catalytic and biological production of methane from carbon oxide-rich gases (methanation). Biological methanation proceeds at low temperatures (<70° C.) in stirred tank reactors (Thauer R K, et al., Nat Rev Micro 2008; 6:579-91). Catalytic methanation occurs at temperatures above 250° C., mainly in fixed-bed reactors (Ronsch. S, et al., Fuel 2016:166:276-96; Ma S, et al., J. Nat. Gas Chem., 2011:20:435-40). Due to interest in the conversion of biomass into fuels, to reduce the carbon intensity of fuels, production of synthetic natural gas (SNG) from renewable biomass sources has attracted increased attention (Kiendl I, et al., Fuel 2014:123:211-17).
The key reactions for the SNG production process are: CO+3H2→CH4+H2O, ΔH298K=−206.1 kJ/mol and CO2+4H2→CH4+2H2O, ΔH298K=−164 kJ/mol. These reactions can be used for methane production from a range of sources. Hydrogen production by photocatalytic or electrocatalytic water splitting powered by renewable energy (e.g., solar or wind) is regarded as future source of hydrogen for carbon dioxide hydrogenation. SNG production via the carbon dioxide methanation process can not only produce fuels and chemicals, but can also significantly reduce carbon dioxide emission to the atmosphere (Arakawa H, et al., Chem Rev 2001:101:953-96; Song C., Catal Today 2006:115:2-32; Kondratenko E V, et al., Energy Environ Sci, 2013:6:3112-35).
The catalytic methanation of COx oxides is thermodynamically favorable at moderately to low temperatures, but due to the slow kinetics, catalysts play a very important role in the process. Many metals, such as Ni, Ru, Rh, Co, Fe, etc., have been used as methanation catalysts (Vannice M A, J. Catal., 1975:37:462-73; Bligaard T, et al., J Catal 2004:224:206-17; Gao J, et al., RSC Adv 2015:5:22759-76; Ronsch S, et al., Fuel 2016:166:276-96). However, some active metals including Ru and Rh are not economical for large-scale production of SNG due to their high cost. Ni is often regarded as the most practical choice because of its relatively high methanation activity and low cost (Ryi S K, et al., Fuel 2012:94:64-69; Riani P, et al., J Mol Catal A: Chem 2014:383-384:10-16; Lee G, et al., Korean J Chem Eng 2005:22:541-46). However, Ni catalysts can rapidly deactivate at high temperatures due to the sintering of Ni particles, facile carbon deposition, and severe sulfur poisoning (Sehested J., Catal Today 2006:111:103-10; Gierlich H H, et al., Elsevier 1980:459-69). The catalytic activity of Ni metal is dependent on the nature of the support oxides, stabilization of the Ni crystallites, and creation of adsorption sites for the reactants. Various supported Ni catalysts including Al2O3 (Ma S, et al., J Nat Gas Chem 2011:20:435-40; Takenaka S, et al., Int J Hydrogen Energy 2004:29:1065-73; Le T A, et al., Catalysis Today 2017:293-294:89-96), SiO2 (Takenaka S., supra; Le T A., supra); MCM-41 (Aziz M A A, et al., Appl Catal B: Environ 2014:147:359-68), meso-structured silica nanoparticles (MSN) (Aziz M A A, supra), SiC (Yu Y, et al., Fuel Process Technol 2011:92(12):2293-98), HY (Aziz M A A, supra), 5A zeolite (Borgschulte A, et al., Phys Chem Chem Phys 2013:15:9620-25), TiO2 (Le T A, supra), ZrO2 (Le T A, supra), CeO2 (Le T A, supra; Tada S, et al., Int J Hydrogen Energy 2012:37(7):5527-31; Nematollahi B, et al., Int J Hydrogen Energy 2015:40:8539-47; Konishcheva M V, et al., Int J Hydrogen Energy 2015:40:14058-63; Nematollahi B, et al., J. Rare Earth, 2015, 33, 619-28; Rombi E, et al., Appl Catal A: Gen 2016:515:144-53); ceria-zirconia binary oxide (Ocampo F, et al., Appl Catal A: Gen 2011:392:36-44); metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) (Zhen W, et al., Chem Commun 2015:51:1728-31); and carbon nanofiber (CNF) (Zhang W, et al., Sci Adv Mater 2011:3(6):1046-51) have been studied for COx methanation. Takenaka et al. (supra) compared the catalytic activity for CO methanation over supported Ni catalysts and concluded that ZrO2 was the best support among γ-Al2O3, SiO2, TiO2, and ZrO2.
Several effective promoters such as MgO (Guo M, et al., Catal Commun 2014:54:55-60; Fan M T, et al., Appl Surf Sci 2014:307:682-88; Kim H Y, et al., J Phys Chem C 2010:114:7128-31), La2O3 (Rotgerink H G J L, et al., Appl Catal 1988:45:257-80; Zhao, A., et al., Proc. World Acad. Sci. Eng. Tech., 2011, 59, 1002-1006; Tada S, et al., Catal Today 2014:232:16-21); CeO2 (Liu H, et al., J Nat Gas Chem 2012:21:703-7; Rotgerink H G J L et al., Appl Catal 1988:45:281-90; Liu Q, et al., RSC Adv 2014:4:16094-103) have been used to enhance dispersion and thermal stability of Ni. The promoter's function has been related to better adsorption of COx and thus help activation in the hydrogenation process. Among the promoters, MgO is very effective, inexpensive, and therefore widely used. It is known that NiO strongly interacts with MgO forming a solid solution that helps in formation of smaller Ni-metal particles during pretreatment with H2.
Ruthenium is considered as the most active catalyst for methanation (Gupta N M, et al., J Catal 1997:169:423-37; J. Zhang, et al., J Am Chem Soc 2005:127:12480-81; Dagle A R, et al., Appl Catal A: Gen 2007:326:213-18; Panagiotopoulou P, et al., Appl Catal A: Gen 2008:344:45-54; Kowalczyk Z, et al., Appl Catal A: Gen 2008:342:35-39; Eckle S, et al., J Catal 2010:269:255-68; Sharma S, et al., J Catal 2011:278:297-309; Konig C F J, et al., J Catal 2013:305:92-100; Masini F, et al., J Catal 2013:308:282-90; Janke C, et al., Appl Catal B: Environ 2014:152:184-91). However, higher cost limits its industrial-scale application in SNG production. Ru also prevents carbon sintering and deposition, which makes the catalysts more resistant to deactivation (Konig C F J, supra). Therefore, the addition of Ru into Ni-forming Ni—Ru bimetallic catalysts has attracted extensive attention showing improved activity and stability of the catalysts (Zhen W, et al., RSC Adv 2014:4:16472-79; Yao N, et al., J Mater Chem 2011:21:17403-12; Tada S, et al., Fuel 2014:129:219-24; Tada S, et al., Appl Catal B: Environ 2013:140-141:258-64; Tada S, et al., J Power Sources 2014:264:59-66; Tada S, et al., Catal Today 2014:232:16-21). The presence of Ru also enhanced the sulfur tolerance in the Ni-based catalyst. It is highly possible that Ni—Ru bimetallic combination in the presence of MgO could be a promising catalyst with the potential for improved methanation activity and stability.
There is a continued need for an effective method of producing syngas and the optimization of the combined promoting effects of the catalysts on the methanation activity.

Catalyst for the methanation of syngas and producer gas

The Regents of the University of California


Embodiments of the present invention provide a method and system of treating intraocular pressure. Laser light is directed to the ciliary region of the target eye. The light stimulates the ciliary region and ablates debris lodged therein. An immune response may be triggered by the stimulation of the ciliary body. Intraocular pressure is reduced by the increase in aqueous flow from the anterior chamber in the eye permitted by the resultant removal of debris blocking the uveo-scleral outflow pathway.

Glaucoma is a major public health problem, affecting about two percent of the U.S. population. Numerous forms of glaucoma result in elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) in the eye, which can cause pathological changes in the optic nerve, and both central and peripheral visual field loss. If the IOP remains high for an extended period of time, total vision loss can occur. The elevated IOP is caused by an imbalance in fluid inflows and outflows in the eye, and the principal objective of medical treatment is the lowering of intraocular pressure.
The anterior chamber of the eye contains the aqueous humor (aqueous), a clear fluid that is produced continuously by the ciliary body around the lens. The constant flow of aqueous humor though the eye's front chamber exits through two different routes. One significant aqueous outflow pathway is through the trabecular meshwork and the Schlemm's canal. The trabecular meshwork is filtering structure that extends 360° around the circumference of the eye at the "angle"—the junction between the iris, sclera and cornea. The trabecular meshwork consists of layers of collagen webs that filter the outflows that reach Schlemm's canal. The meshwork has a monolayer of trabecular cells that produce enzymes for degrading extra-cellular material that may be captured by the filtering structure. Schlemm's canal is a passageway or series of septae that extend around the circumference of the eye adjacent to the meshwork. The aqueous fluid exits Schlemm's canal through a series of collecting channels that drain from the canal into the episcleral venous system.
The second aqueous outflow route is through the region of the ciliary body and the uveoscleral plane, wherein fluid migrates outwardly directly through tissue and between muscle fibers of the ciliary body.
In a normal eye, aqueous production by the ciliary body is equal to aqueous outflows to provide an IOP that remains constant in the 15 to 21 mm Hg range. In a patient suffering from glaucoma, the resistance through the outflow system is over about 21 mm Hg. In primary open angle glaucoma (POAG), the most common form of glaucoma, the principal resistance to fluid outflow is centered about the region of trabecular meshwork that is adjacent Schlemm's canal.
Numerous therapies have been developed for treating glaucoma by decreasing intraocular pressure. Pharmacological therapies include topical ophthalmic drops and oral medications that reduce the production of aqueous by the ciliary body or increase aqueous outflows via the uveoscleral route. However, drugs have occasional serious side effects, such as blurred vision, allergic reactions, headaches and potentially dangerous interactions with other drugs.
Surgical approaches for treating open-angle glaucoma consist of laser trabeculoplasty, trabeculectomy, and the implantation of aqueous shunts.
Trabeculectomy is a widely practiced surgery wherein microsurgical techniques are used to dissect the trabecular meshwork to allow more rapid aqueous outflow through the meshwork. Such procedures have proven to have limited long-term success. The dissection procedures often fail over time due to the body's wound healing response and resulting fibrosis that repairs and closes the dissected opening in the meshwork. After the dissections are healed up, the intraocular pressure again increases.
Implantable shunts and surgical methods are also known for providing a fluid path for aqueous humor to exit the anterior chamber of the eye to the sclera or a space beneath the conjunctiva.
Trabeculectomies and shunt surgeries and variations thereof have several disadvantages and moderate success rates. Such surgeries require significant surgical skills to create an incision through the full thickness of the sclera into the subconjunctival space. Further, the surgeries cause substantial trauma to the eye. The procedures are generally performed in an operating room and have a prolonged recovery time.

Peter M. Adams, Doug P. Adams, and John Sullivan, Collectively as the Stockholder Representative Committee


Disc drive units out of the tolerance for assembling errors are rejected by narrowing the skew regulation range for them. Such a disc drive unit comprises a base plate, an optical pickup for writing a signal on and/or reading a signal from the optical disc, a pair of guide shafts for allowing the optical pickup to slide in a radial direction of the optical disc, support means, each being adapted to support the corresponding one of the guide shafts by pinching the opposite ends of the guide shaft between itself and the base plate, urging members for urging the respective ends of the guide shafts in the sense of the height thereof, regulation members for regulating the supported positions of the ends of the guide shafts, a skew regulation means having respective bearing sections including respective holding holes for holding the respective urging members, respective guide slits for receiving and guiding the respective ends of the guide shafts and respective insertion holes exposed to the respective holding holes and applied to receive the respective regulation members and limiting sections arranged between the base plate and the corresponding respective support means and adapted to limit the respective movable ranges of the guide shafts driven to move by the respective skew regulation means in the sense of the height thereof.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a disc drive unit having a skew regulation mechanism for correcting the inclination, if any, of the optical pickup thereof relative to the optical disc and also to a disc recording and/or reproducing apparatus comprising such a disc drive unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
Known optical discs include CDs (compact discs) and DVDs (digital versatile discs) as well as MOs (magneto-optical discs) and MDs (mini discs). A variety of disc recording and/or reproducing apparatus have been marketed for such discs and disc cartridges containing discs of the sort under consideration.
FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings schematically illustrates a known disc drive unit 200 of a disc recording and/or reproducing apparatus adapted to record information signals onto or reproduce information signals from an optical disc. Referring to FIG. 1, the known disc drive unit 200 comprises a disc rotary drive mechanism 201 for driving an optical disc to rotate, an optical pickup 202 for carrying out an operation of writing signals onto or reading signals from an optical disc that is driven to rotate by the disc rotary drive mechanism 201 and a pickup feed mechanism 203 for driving and feeding the optical pickup 202 to move in a radial direction of the optical disc. The above listed components of the disc drive unit 200 are fitted to a base 204.
The disc rotary drive mechanism 201 includes a flat spindle motor 206 that is equipped with a turntable 205 for holding an optical disc. The spindle motor 206 drives the optical disc to rotate integrally with the turntable 205.
The optical pickup 202 writes signals onto or read signals from the optical disc by converging the beam of light (laser beam) emitted from a semiconductor laser by means of an objective lens 207, irradiating the converged beam of light onto the signal recording surface of the optical disc and detecting the returning beam of light reflected by the signal recording surface of the optical disc.
The pickup feed mechanism 203 includes a pair of guide shafts 208a, 208b that support the optical pickup 202 so as to be movable in a radial direction of the optical disc, a rack member 209 fitted to the optical pickup 202, a lead screw 210 to be engaged with the rack member 209 and a stepping motor 211 for driving the lead screw 210 to rotate. As the stepping motor 211 drives the lead screw 210 to rotate, it consequently drives the rack member 209 that is engaged with the lead screw 210 to be displaced with the optical pickup 202 in a radial direction of the optical disc.
The base 204 has a table aperture 212a for exposing the turntable 205 and a pickup aperture 212b for exposing the optical pickup 202. The two apertures 212a, 212b are continued from each other. A number of components including the spindle motor 206, the opposite ends of the pair of guide shafts 208a, 208b, the lead screw 210 and the stepping motor 211 are fitted to the main surface of the disc drive unit that is opposite to the other main surface where the turntable 205 and the optical pickup 202 are exposed to the outside by way of the apertures 212a, 212b.
In the disc drive unit 200 of the disc recording and/or reproducing apparatus configured as described above, the disc rotary drive mechanism 201 drives the optical disc to rotate and the pickup feed mechanism 203 drives and feeds the optical pickup 202 to move in a radial direction of the optical disc so that the optical pickup 202 operates for writing signals onto or reading signals from the optical disc. As a result, information signals are recorded onto or reproduced from the target recording tracks of the optical disc.
For disc drive units of the above described type, efforts are being paid to record signals highly densely on an optical disc by reducing the wavelength of the beam of light to be irradiated from the optical pickup 202 onto the optical disc and increasing the numerical aperture of the objective lens 207. However, as the wavelength of the beam of light to be irradiated onto the optical disc is reduced and the numerical aperture of the objective lens 207 is increased, aberration occurs frequently when the optical axis of the beam of light emitted from the optical pickup 202 is inclined relative to the signal recording surface of the optical disc (a phenomenon referred to as skew hereinafter) to consequently and remarkably degrade the signal recording/reproducing performance of the disc drive unit. In other words, the tolerance of the disc drive unit 200 is reduced for the skew as the recording density of the optical disc increases. Therefore, it is necessary to irradiate the beam of light converged by the objective lens of the optical pickup 202 perpendicularly relative to the signal recording surface of the optical disc that is held on the turntable 205 for the purpose of improving the signal recording/reproducing performance of the disc drive unit 200.
Known techniques for correcting the inclination of the optical pickup 202 relative to the optical disc include one that is designed to regulate the fitting angle of the spindle motor 206 relative to the base 204 (see, inter alia, Patent Document 1: Jpn. Pat. Appln. Laid-Open Publication No. 2002-171709) and one that is designed to adjust the inclination of the pair of guide shafts 208a, 208b that supports the optical pickup 202 (see, inter alia, Patent Document 2: Jpn. Pat. Appln. Laid-Open Publication No. 2001-222823).
In the above described disc drive unit 200, the pair of guide shafts 208a, 208b is fitted at the opposite ends thereof to the lower surface of the base 204 typically by way of a skew regulation mechanism 220, as shown in FIG. 2.
The skew regulation mechanism 220 is adapted to support the pair of guide shafts 208a, 208b at the opposite ends of the latter so as to make it possible to move them in a direction perpendicularly intersecting the main surfaces of the base 204 and independently regulate the supported positions of the opposite ends of the guide shafts 208a, 208b in order to regulate the inclination of the guide shafts 208a, 208b.
More specifically, the skew regulation mechanism 220 has bearing members 221 for supporting the opposite ends of the pair of guide shafts 208a, 208b, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. Each of the bearing members 221 has a holding hole 223 for holding a coil spring 222 and a guide slit 224 exposed to the holding hole 223 and adapted to receive the corresponding one of the end sections 208c of the guide shaft 208a or 208b. The holding hole 223 runs through the bearing member 221 in a transversal direction of the bearing member 221 and the coil spring 222 is arranged in the holding hole 223 and compressed between the base 204 and the corresponding end section 208c of the guide shaft 208a or 208b, whichever appropriate. The guide slit 224 is formed by transversally notching the bearing member 221 so as to guide the end section 208c of the guide shaft 208a or 208b, whichever appropriate, in a direction perpendicularly intersecting the main surfaces of the base 204. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, the end section 208c of the guide shaft 208a or 208b, whichever appropriate, has a reduced diameter so as to be snugly inserted into the guide slit 224 and is coaxial with the guide shaft relative to the axial center S′ of the guide shaft. Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, there is also provided a support plate 225 for pinching the bearing member 221 between itself and the base 204. The support plate 225 is equipped with a screw hole 227 for receiving an adjuster screw 226 so as to be engaged with the latter. The screw hole 227 is exposed to the holding hole 223. The front end of the adjuster screw 226 is made to abut the end section 208c of the guide shaft 208a or 208b, whichever appropriate, from the side opposite to the coil spring 222 while it is held in the state of being engaged with the screw hole 227.
With the above-described arrangement of the skew regulation mechanism 220, it is possible to change the compressed state of the coil spring 222 that is held in the holding hole 223 by adjusting the extent by which the adjuster screw 226 is driven. As a result, it is possible to adjust the inclination of each of the guide shafts 208a, 208b in such a way that the beam of light converged by the objective lens 207 is irradiated onto the signal recording surface of the optical disc perpendicularly relative to the latter by moving the optical pickup 202 in a transversal direction relative to the main surfaces of the base 204, while adjusting the positions at which the ends 208c of the guide shafts 208a, 208b are supported.
The above described skew regulation mechanism 220 is provided with a satisfactory skew margin by limiting the total of the fitting errors of the members of the disc drive unit 200 to about ±0.4 mm and considering the fitting accuracy of the spindle shaft and the turntable 205 of the spindle motor 206 fitted to the base 204 and the assembling accuracy of the optical system including the objective lens 207 arranged in the optical pickup 202. In other words, the skew regulation mechanism 220 is provided with a margin of about ±0.4 mm, by which each of the guide shafts 208a, 208b inserted into the respective bearing members 221 is allowed to move from the designed position in a transversal direction of the base 204. Therefore, the disc drive unit 200 can correct the inclination of the optical axis of the optical beam relative to the signal recording surface of the optical disc to nil if any of the spindle shaft of the spindle motor 206, the turntable 205 and the optical system including the optical pickup 202 has a manufacturing error and/or a mounting error provided that the errors are within ±0.4 mm as viewed from the design value.
Additionally, as a result of the development of high density recording optical discs in recent years realized by using a narrow pitch of arrangement of recording tracks and reducing the pit size, there are optical pickups that are adapted to operate for skew regulation on a real time basis. Such optical pickups are adapted to be subjected to an operation of skew regulation independently relative to the optical system of the optical pickup (see, inter alia, Patent Document 3: Jpn. Pat. Appln. Laid-Open Publication No. 2004-39024).
With such a skew regulation technique, the inclination, if any, of the optical pickup 202 is corrected relative to the optical disc before it is mounted on the base 204 by carrying out an operation of skew regulation in advance relative to the optical system of the pickup 202. Therefore, if a skew margin of about ±0.4 mm is provided in total for the mounting error of the component members of the disc drive unit 200 including the optical pickup 202 in the operation of skew regulation of the disc drive unit 200 that is carried out after mounting the optical pickup 202 on the base 204, the error range that is allowed to each of the component members of the disc drive unit 200 except the optical system of the optical pickup 202 is inevitably expanded. In other words, it may not be possible to eliminate disc drive units 200 of a precision level that is out of the tolerance of the assembling precision. Particularly, if the height of the entire apparatus is reduced to about 9.5 mm that is substantially equal to the height of the hard disc drive (HDD) contained in it, there arises a risk that the optical pickup 202 scrapes the optical disc and/or the bottom of the disc recording and/or reproducing apparatus when the optical pickup 202 is driven to move in a radial direction of the optical disc along the guide shafts 208a, 208b.

Disc drive unit and disc recording and/or reproducing apparatus


A magnetic core has a wound-up laminated body of thin metal tape which has rolled face and free face (unrolled face) wherein rolled faces or free faces of the thin metal tape are arranged adjacently facing each other in at least a part of said wound-up laminated body.

This invention relates to laminated magnetic cores produced by winding up thin metal tape, and to a method of manufacturing these.
Recently, amorphous thin metal magnetic tapes have attracted attention as materials for constructing the magnetic cores of transformers and magnetic cores of magnetic amplifiers, on account of their very superior magnetic properties.
Such magnetic cores fabricated from amorphous thin metal tapes are produced by winding up thin metal tape into the required shape. Depending on the application, such magnetic cores may be toroidal cores or cut cores.
For example, cut cores employing amorphous thin metal tapes are manufactured as follows.
The amorphous thin metal tape is first laminated by winding up to the desired shape on a winding jig. Next, it is subjected to heat treatment below the crystallization temperature, in order to remove strain in the amorphous thin metal tape and to obtain good magnetic properties. It is then cut at the appropriate places to produce a cut core shape.
However, when such cutting is carried out, if the layers in the wound-up body were not fixed, the cutting produces distortion of the thin tape at the cut face, or loss of the shape of the wound up body. The gaps between the layers of the wound-up body are therefore impregnated with an epoxy resin or the like, and the cutting is only performed after the wound-up body has been fixed by hardening the resin.
However, if the amorphous thin metal tape is fixed by resin impregnation as described above, the internal stress of the amorphous thin metal tape is increased due to distortion of the amorphous thin metal tape by contracting forces generated when the resin is hardened. This increases the core loss of the magnetic core that is obtained. There is a particular problem with epoxy resin due to its large contraction rate on hardening.
Accordingly, countermeasures are adopted, such as decreasing the contraction rate on hardening by changing the type of resin used for the impregnation. Some degree of success has been obtained with amorphous thin metal tapes of comparatively small width. However, in the case of magnetic cores employing amorphous thin metal tape of larger width, sufficient reduction of distortion has still not been obtained. Reducing the core loss of wound magnetic cores is therefore considered an urgent task.
As described above, magnetic cores employing a wound-up body consisting of amorphous thin metal tape are subject to the problem of increased core loss, caused by forces of contraction, etc., that are produced during hardening of the impregnating resin. Furthermore, there is the problem that low core loss, in particular when wide amorphous thin metal tape is used, cannot be obtained simply by decreasing the force of contraction of the resin.

Magnetic core and method of manufacturing same


A semiconductor device of a field effect transistor having an SOI structure is formed as below. Using a gate electrode 20 as a mask, n type impurities are implanted into an SOI layer of p type to form additional source/drain regions of intermediate concentration. Then, a relatively thin sidewall spacer is formed at the sidewall of the gate electrode. Using the sidewall spacer as a mask, a titanium silicide layer is formed in self-alignment on the surface of the SOI layer. Next, a relatively thick sidewall spacer is formed. Using this sidewall spacer as a mask, n type impurities are implanted to form a source/drain region of high concentration. According to this manufacturing step, over-etching of the source/drain region are prevented in performing anisotropic etching at the time of sidewall spacer formation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to semiconductor devices, and more particularly, to a semiconductor device having a relatively thin active region such as a MOS (Metal Oxide Semiconductor) type field effect transistor (referred to as SOI-MOSFET hereinafter) and a method of manufacturing thereof.
2. Description of the Background Art
An SOI-MOSFET to which the present invention is mainly applied will be explained first taking a complementary type MOS (referred to as CMOS hereinafter) as an example of the background technology of the present invention.
A CMOS having low consumption power and superior noise immunity is important in seeking high integration density and high speed operation. A sectional view of a conventional CMOS of not the SOI type but the so-called bulk type is shown in FIG. 1A. Referring to FIG. 1A, a CMOS has an n well region 2 formed in the proximity of the surface of a p type silicon substrate 1. A p channel type MOSFET 4 comprising a polycrystalline silicon gate 4 as the main element is formed on n well region 2. An n channel type MOSFET 6 comprising a polycrystalline silicon gate 5 as the main element is formed at the surface of p type silicon substrate 1 in the region other than n well region 2. A field oxide film 7 insulates and isolates n well region 2 from the other region. When such a bulk type CMOS is reduced in element size, parasitic thyristor is activated by noise from outside so that abnormal current flows from the power supply terminal to the ground terminal to stop the circuit operation (latch up phenomenon). This also induces problems such as soft error by .alpha.particle.
A sectional view of a CMOS having an SOI type structure is schematically shown in FIG. 1B. Referring to FIG. 1B, this SOI type CMOS has semiconductor layers 9 and 10 such as of silicon layers formed island-like by a field insulating film 7 on a silicon substrate 1 with an insulator layer 8 therebetween. Semiconductor layer 9 has an n type channel region and p type source/drain regions of p channel MOSFET 4 formed including polycrystalline silicon gate 3. Semiconductor layer 10 has a p type channel region and n type source/drain regions of n channel MOSFET 6 formed. Such a CMOS of the SOI structure has each element and also the substrate insulation-separated so that there is no current path leading to soft error and latch up. This is advantageous to reduction of element size. It is also advantageous to high speed operation since interconnection capacitance and junction capacitance are reduced by the lower insulating layer (refer to Ouyou Butsuri (Applied Physics) Vol. 54, No. 12 (1985) pp. 1274-1283, "SOI Technology").
A structure of a conventional SOI-MOSFET and a method of manufacturing thereof will be explained hereinafter with reference to FIGS. 2, and 3A-3F. Referring to FIG. 2, a conventional SOI-MOSFET has an insulator layer 12 formed on a silicon substrate 11. A relatively thin silicon layer 13 of approximately 300-1500.ANG. is formed on insulator layer 12. Near the center of silicon layer 13, a channel region 14 having a low p type impurity concentration (for example, 10.sup.16 -10.sup.17 /cm.sup.3) is formed. An additional source region 15 and an additional drain region 16 having an n type impurity concentration of the middle degree (for example, 10.sup.18 /cm.sup.3) are formed adjacent to the sides of channel region 14.
Additional source region 15 and additional drain region 16 have a source region 17 and a drain region 18 connected, respectively, each of a high n type impurity concentration (for example 10.sup.19 -10.sup.20,cm.sup.3).
A gate electrode 20 is formed above channel region 14 with a dielectric thin film 19 therebetween. A sidewall spacer 21 is formed at the sidewalls of gate electrode 20. Silicon layer 13, gate electrode 20 and sidewall spacer 21 are covered with an interlayer insulating film 22. A contact hole 23 is provided in interlayer insulating film 2. An interconnection layer 24 is connected to gate electrode 20, source region 17 and drain region 18 through each contact hole 23.
When positive voltage is applied to gate electrode 20 in the SOI-MOSFET of the above structure, carriers (electrons) of the n conductivity type are induced towards the upper layer of p type channel region 14, whereby that upper layer is inverted to an n conductivity type identical to the conductivity of source region 17 and drain region 18, or additional source region 15 and additional drain region 16. This allows current to flow between source region 17 and drain region 18. Because the concentration of the n type carriers induced at the upper layer of channel region 14 varies depending on the gate voltage, the current amount flowing across channel region 14 can be controlled by the gate voltage. This explains the operation of a MOSFET.
Additional drain region 16 has the so-called LDD (Lightly-Doped Drain) structure, serving to reduce the electric field in the proximity of the boundary between drain region 18 and gate electrode 20 to suppress generation of electron-hole pairs caused by impact ionization phenomenon. A thin film SOI-MOSFET having a relatively thin silicon layer 13 of, for example, 500-1500.ANG. thickness, has the following characteristics in comparison with a conventional SOI-MOSFET having a relatively thick silicon layer of approximately 5000.ANG.. Since channel region 14 where current flows is very thin, the application of a gate voltage causes channel region 14 to become entirely depleted. This allows the depletion layer of channel region 14 to be controlled reliably by gate electrode 20 independent of the effect of the drain voltage. This reduces the effect of electric field from drain region 18 to channel region 14. As a result, the V.sub.D -I.sub.D characteristic degradation of FIG. 4A seen in conventional bulk type MOSFETs excluding the SOI type where current increases suddenly by a high drain voltage, i.e. the punch through phenomenon, is suppressed. It will therefore be possible to operate stably a transistor having a short gate length.
A method of manufacturing a conventional SOI-MOSFET having the structure of FIG. 2 will be explained hereinafter with reference to FIGS. 3A-3F. First, oxygen ions are implanted into a silicon substrate 11 at an injection energy of 200 KeV and a dosage of 2.times.10.sup.18 /cm.sup.3. Then, the substrate is subjected to heat treatment of approximately 1350.degree. C. An insulating layer 12 is formed in silicon substrate 11 leaving a thin silicon layer 13 on the surface. Next, silicon layer 13 is processed in an island-like manner to form an active region (FIG. 3A). Impurities of p type are injected into silicon layer 13 to form a channel region 14. Next, a dielectric thin film 19 is formed by thermal oxidation of the surface of silicon layer 13. Then, a gate electrode 20 such as of polycrystalline silicon is formed. Ion implantation is carried out using gate electrode 20 as a mask. By implanting phosphorus which is an impurity of n type for example, additional source region 15 and additional drain region 16 are formed (FIG. 3B).
By depositing a CVD insulating film 21a (FIG. 3C) and then carrying out reactive ion etching, a sidewall spacer 21 is formed at the sidewall of gate electrode 20. Some over-etching is necessary in providing sidewall spacer 21. This is to take into consideration unevenness in the thickness of CVD oxide film 21a which is deposited to approximately 3000.ANG. to leave only sidewall spacer 21 while removing the remainder by etching. This over-etching is responsible for some removal of silicon layer 13 to generate a step as shown in FIG. 3D by arrow A. Specifically, when the application of reactive ion etching to CVD oxide film 21a of, for example, approximately 3000.ANG. in average is carried out with over-etching of approximately 20% on account of variation in thickness and etching characteristic of CVD oxide film 21a. That is to say, 3000.ANG. of CVD oxide film 21a is first etched, followed by etching of a time period where 600.ANG. of CVD oxide film 21a is over-etched. Silicon layer 13 will be over-etched if the thickness of the CVD insulating film deposited thereabove is exactly 3000.ANG.. A silicon oxide film is generally used for a CVD insulating film, where the selectivity of reactive ion etching to silicon is approximately 5: 1. This means that silicon of approximately 120.ANG. is etched during the time period where over-etching of 600.ANG. is carried out for a silicon oxide film.
Following the formation of sidewall spacer 21, arsenic ions of 10.sup.19 -10.sup.20 /cm.sup.3 are injected using sidewall spacer 21 as a mask to form source region 17 and drain region 18 of high concentration, as shown in FIG. 3D. Then, an interlayer insulating film 22 is deposited by CVD, followed by formation of a contact hole 23 in a predetermined position in interlayer insulating layer 22. Some over-etching occurs in forming contact hole 23 to result in a depression indicated by arrow B in FIG. 3E. The formation of an interconnection layer 24 completes the manufacture of a thin film SOI-MOSFET of FIG. 3F.
Because a conventional SOI-MOSFET is manufactured having a structure as described above, over-etching occurs in forming sidewall spacer 21 and contact hole 23, resulting in a silicon layer 13 having a thin portion as shown in arrow A of FIG. 3D and arrow B of FIG. 3E. The resistance of this portion is increased to deteriorate the transistor characteristic. The value of drain current I.sub.D with respect to a predetermined drain voltage V.sub.D is decreased as shown in FIG. 4B. There was also a problem that the transistor does not operate due to the fact that there is some portion where silicon layer 13 is completely removed to cut off source region 17 or drain region 18.

Semiconductor device and a method of manufacturing thereof


The present invention relate to the discovery that BTLA, IL-7 and RORγt modulate the activity and expression of γδT cells. Specifically, the present invention provides methods of modulating γδT cell homeostasis and function by regulating expression of BTLA. The present invention further provides agents which modulate the activity and expression of BTLA, RORyt and IL-7 and methods for screening of such agents. The present invention also provides methods for treating autoimmune or inflammatory diseases using modulators of BTLA, RORyt and IL-7.

The differentiation of specific subsets of T cells is promoted by expression of the transcription factor retinoid-related orphan receptor-γ isoform-t (RORγt) (encoded by Rorc). RORγt is a member of the ROR family of transcription factors that transactivate gene expression by recruiting nuclear repressors or activators containing an LXXLL motif via their activating function-2 (AF2) domain to canonical ROR DNA binding sites through their DNA binding domain (DBD). In T cells, RORγt binds and activates the promoter of the Il17 gene to express the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-17, driving the differentiation of conventional CD4+ TH cells (TH17) and sustaining innate-like gamma-delta (γδ) T cells. Phenotypic profiling of γδT cells identified two broad subgroups based on the expression of CD27, a member of the tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily (TNFRSF). Thus, the CD27+ subset produces IFNγ whereas the CD27 subset produces IL-17. During development γδT cells are largely dependent on IL-7 signaling, which regulates the survival of early thymic progenitors and induces V(D)J recombination in the TCR-γ locus. Moreover, IL-7 maintains the homeostasis of γδT cells and preferentially expands the CD27−IL-17+ subset. The capacity of γδT cells to produce IL-17 is acquired during thymic differentiation, independently of TCR signaling, a feature pointing to their bona fide innate nature. γδT cells have emerged as potent inflammatory effectors that can be activated through innate as well as antigen receptors, either of which initiate rapid responses to infection.
RORγt is also essential for the differentiation of group 3 ILCs, such as lymphoid tissue inducer (LTi) cells, which are required for the development of secondary lymphoid organs, and in the adult IL-22 secreting ILCs (CD134+IL-22+ ILC), which are important for protection against intestinal infections and induce signals for survival of activated lymphocytes. The conservation of the ILC lineage in mice and primates underscores the importance of these cells in the rapid innate defense mechanisms in lymphoid tissues.
The broad expression profile in hematopoietic cells of the inhibitory receptor, B and T lymphocyte attenuator (BTLA) suggested a potential role in regulation of innate-like T cells and ILCs. BTLA belongs to the immunoglobulin superfamily, contains two immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motifs (ITIM) and associates with the Src-homology domain 2 (SH2)-containing protein tyrosine phosphatase (SHP)-1 and SHP-2. Through ligation with the herpesvirus entry mediator (HVEM, TNFRSF14) BTLA maintains the homeostasis of dendritic cells and memory T cells, and plays an important role in limiting T cell activation. In contrast to other inhibitory receptors that are induced following activation, BTLA is constitutively expressed in most immune cells. However, the levels of BTLA vary substantially among different lymphoid and myeloid cell types suggesting regulation of BTLA expression may be an important factor in controlling homeostasis in lymphoid tissues.
Herein it is demonstrated that RORγt and IL-7 influence γδT cell homeostasis and function by regulating expression of BTLA. The activating function-2 domain of RORγt is required to repress BTLA transcriptional activity, while IL-7 increases surface levels of BTLA. BTLA limits γδT cell numbers and sustains the normal distribution of γδT subsets by restricting IL-7 responsiveness and expansion of the CD27−RORγt+ population. Importantly, BTLA regulates IL-17 and TNF production. Consequently, BTLA-deficient animals exhibit enhanced disease in a γδT cell dependent model of dermatitis. Therefore, by coordinating expression of BTLA, RORγt and IL-7 balance suppressive and activation stimuli to regulate γδT cell homeostasis and inflammatory responses.

SANFORD BURNHAM PREBYS MEDICAL DISCOVERY INSTITUTE


A surgical apparatus for applying tissue fasteners is provided. The surgical apparatus includes a handle assembly, an elongated body that extends from the handle assembly, and a tool assembly mounted on the end of the elongate body. The tool assembly includes a cartridge assembly for receiving the tissue fasteners and a housing assembly for receiving a looped member. The tool assembly is configured to advance the tissue fasteners into the looped member to secure tissue between the fasteners and the looped member.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to surgical instruments for use in endoscopic surgery. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a surgical apparatus for use applying tissue fasteners.
2. Background of Related Art
Surgical staplers and other surgical stapling apparatus for use in endoscopic procedures are known. Typically, a standard surgical staple includes a loading unit having a tool assembly for applying one or more rows of staples to tissue. The tool assembly includes a cartridge for holding the staples and an anvil for deforming the staples against. As with all conventional staplers, the height of the staples must be longer than the thickness of the tissue being stapled in order to permit the staples to be deformed and bite into the tissue. When thicker tissue is being stapled and/or more of a bite is desired from the staple, a longer staple is required. To accommodate the larger staple, a larger staple cartridge is required. The process of deforming the staple(s) further requires that the staple cartridge and anvil are sturdy enough to handle the forces generated when stapling tissue.
Therefore, it would be beneficial to have a surgical apparatus capable of applying tissue fasteners to tissue with reduced force. It would further be beneficial for the tissue fastener applying device to have a reduced profile for introduction through smaller ports and access assemblies.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Surgical apparatus for applying tissue fasteners


A computing system and method for managing an identity of a user are provided. A server may be configured to communicate with each of a plurality of client devices in corresponding request and response streams. An inference engine is configured to monitor the request and response streams for identifying factors that distinguish each of the plurality of client devices from other of the plurality of client devices. Upon detecting one or more of the identifying factors for each of the two or more client devices that match within a threshold probability, the inference engine makes an inference that two or more of the plurality of client devices are used by the user. Based upon the inference, the inference engine creates a virtual identity record at the server linking the two or more client devices.

With the proliferation of mobile computing devices, including smart phones, tablets, laptop computers, and the like, a single user may have multiple devices through which the user accesses various online services, networks and platforms. These different services, networks and platforms may have different access requirements and identification mechanisms that require the user to maintain multiple, disparate identification sources (user id/password combinations, PINs, etc). A user may therefore have an online experience that is fragmented, and that does not allow the user's identification information to be easily and securely shared with the multiple services, networks and platforms utilized by the user.
In another example, when a user begins using a new device to access an online service that the user has previously accessed with a prior device, the user may be prompted to execute verification procedures to confirm the user's identity since the service does not recognize the new device, interrupting the user with an additional time consuming task. Additionally, the lack of visibility of a user's various identification information may result in the user receiving advertising and recommendations that lack relevance to the user.


A switched-capacitor integrator is described having the contribution to offset from the charge injection mismatch of switches connected to the summing nodes mitigated by using a switching scheme that conveys basically all the charge injection to the output, thus preventing net offset from being integrated.

Switched-capacitor circuits typically include switches and capacitors, often along with amplifiers, in arrangements configured to implement specific input-to-output transfer functions. For example, switched-capacitor circuits can be used to implement gain stages, filters, D/A converters, and many other types of circuits. The switches of switched-capacitor circuits are selectively switched on and off by clock signals to realize the transfer functions.
Switched-capacitor circuits have widespread use due to the advancement of Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) technology. CMOS technology is commonly used to implement switched-capacitor circuits because of the availability of Field-Effect Transistor (FET) switches and operational amplifiers (op amps) with low input bias currents. One common type of switched-capacitor circuit is a switched-capacitor integrator. Such CMOS switched-capacitor integrator circuits typically include switches, capacitors and op amps.

Switching scheme for low offset switched-capacitor integrators

Analog Devices International Unlimited Company


An SRAM cell 1 includes inverters 10, 20, N-type FETs 32, 34, 36, 38, word lines 42, 44, bit lines 46, 48, and voltage applying circuits 50, 60. The voltage applying circuits 50, 60 apply a voltage Vdd to the word lines 42, 44 at the time of a read operation of the SRAM cell 1. The voltage applying circuits 50, 60 apply a voltage (Vdd+α) to the word lines 42, 44 at the time of a write operation of the SRAM cell 1. Here, α>0. Namely, the SRAM cell 1 is configured in such a manner that a voltage applied to word lines 42, 44 at the time of the write operation is higher than at the time of the read operation.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a semiconductor storage device.
2. Related Art
Semiconductor storage devices of the related art are disclosed, for example, in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication NO's H 11-7776, H8-7574, and H10-27476. The semiconductor storage device disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication NO. H11-7776 is equipped with an SRAM cell constructed from six transistors. Namely, in addition to four transistors constituting a latch circuit, the SRAM cell also has two pass transistors provided between the latch circuit and bit lines on either side.
With semiconductor storage devices configured in this manner, since a plurality of SRAM cells are controlled by a single word line, cells other than a target cell are selected when a certain word line is selected. This means that unnecessary pre-charging and discharging are carried out at the time of read and write operations because the cells other than the target cell discharge bit lines connected to the cells. This causes power consumption of the semiconductor storage device to increase.
With regards to this, semiconductor storage devices with pass transistors provided doubly are disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication NO's H8-7574, and H10-27476. Here, two pass transistors are connected in series between a latch circuit and each bit line. With semiconductor storage devices of this configuration, it is possible to select only the target cell by controlling these two transistors using individual word lines and resulting increases in power consumption can therefore be suppressed.


The present invention relates to orthocarbonate pro-fragrances useful for delivery of sustained perfume or fragrance to fabric treated with a laundry detergent composition which comprises the herein described pro-fragrances. The orthocarbonate pro-fragrances are also suitable for use in hard surface cleaning compositions. The orthocarbonate pro-fragrances are further suitable for use in personal care compositions. The present invention also relates to method for delivering a pleasurable scent to fabric which has a lasting freshness quality by contacting the fabric with the fragrance-releasable orthocarbonate pro-fragrances of the present invention.

Humans have applied scents and fragrances to their skin since antiquity. Originally these aesthetically pleasing materials were commonly isolated in raw form as resins, gums or essential oils from natural sources, inter alia, the bark, roots, leaves and fruit of indigenous plants. These resins, gums, and oils were directly applied to the body or diluted with water or other solvent, including in some cases, wine. With the advent of modern chemistry, individual components responsible for the odor properties of these resins, gums and oils were isolated and subsequently characterized. However, formulators continue to search for materials which when applied to human skin or substrates and surfaces used by humans, will provide a pleasurable odor or scent and sustain that odor or scent for a long period of time.
With regard to laundry detergent compositions, in addition to the removal of stains, dirt, soil, grime, and grease from fabric, formulators have attempted to deliver a "fresh" or "clean" odor to washed clothing to provide an olfactory aesthetic benefit and to serve as a signal that the product is effective. Laundry compositions, including rinse-added fabric softeners and dryer-added substrates, are currently formulated with perfume and fragrance ingredients which are aesthetically pleasing to the consumer but which fail to deliver a prolonged "fragrance" or "pleasurable smell" to the finished, cleaned fabric.
It is well known that mixtures of perfume or fragrance raw materials when deposited on a substrate such as skin or fabric lose intensity and may change character with time, mainly due to factors such as differential evaporation and substrate penetration. Many attempts have been made to minimize these drawbacks, but so far without notable success. Particularly, efforts have been made to prolong the diffusion, as well as to improve other characteristics of fragrance materials, by e.g. increasing the fragrance raw material concentration or by using additives such as silicones, glycerol, polyethylene glycols and so on. Such additions, however, have never been adequate to increase the longevity of the fragrance odor.
Accordingly, there remains a need in the art for pro-fragrances compounds which can be formulated into personal use articles, laundry detergent and hard surface cleaning compositions wherein the "perfume character" is released in a manner which provides for fragrance longevity.

Detergent compositions comprising orthocarbonate pro-fragrances


A heat exchanger apparatus includes: spaced-apart peripheral walls extending between an inlet and an outlet, the peripheral walls collectively defining a flow channel which includes a diverging portion downstream of the inlet, in which a flow area is greater than a flow area at the inlet; a plurality of spaced-apart fins disposed in the flow channel, each of the fins having opposed side walls extending between an upstream leading edge and a downstream trailing edge, wherein the fins divide at least the diverging portion of the flow channel into a plurality of side-by-side flow passages; and a heat transfer structure disposed within at least one of the fins.

This invention relates generally to gas turbine engines and methods for heat transfer in such engines.
There are numerous situations in which it would be desirable to introduce a heat exchanger into the primary flowpath of a gas turbine engine, or to another type of machinery that includes a high-velocity gas flowpath.
For example, heat exchangers may be used for purposes such as intercooling, waste heat recovery, anti-icing/de-icing, improving cycle thermal efficiency or operability, or thermal management.
One problem with introducing a heat exchanger into a gas turbine engine flowpath is that high velocities within the heat exchanger generate high pressure losses. If pressure losses are sufficiently high, they can exceed system efficiency gains provided by the heat exchanger, resulting in a net reduction in system efficiency.
In the prior art, it has been proposed to position a heat exchanger in a flowpath of a gas turbine engine, with a diffuser positioned upstream of the heat exchanger to reduce flow velocities and avoid pressure losses. However, a problem with this type of design is that it substantially increases the overall length of the heat exchanger system, making it difficult to incorporate into a compact engine design.


The present disclosure provides a method for reducing the aldehyde content in an amine catalyst by treating the amine catalyst with a treating agent selected from a non-cyclic amide substituted with an isocyanate reactive group, a guanidine substituted with an isocyanate reactive group, a polyether amine adducted with a urea compound or a guanidine compound, a free radical scavenger and a mixture thereof. The treated amine catalyst may then be used in the production of polyurethane materials which exhibit reduced aldehyde emissions.

Emissions from polyurethane foam are a concern in many applications, especially when workers or end users are exposed to the foam within an enclosed space. Aldehyde emissions, such as formaldehyde, are a particular cause of concern. To reduce such aldehyde emissions, several methods have been developed to reduce the aldehyde content of the raw materials used in producing polyurethane foam. For example: U.S. Pat. No. 7,879,928 discloses a method for preventing the formation of aldehyde compounds in polyether or polyester polyols by incorporating a phenolic antioxidant and an aminic antioxidant into the polyol; U.S. Pat. Publ. No. 2009/0227758 discloses a method of reducing aldehydes in polyols and polyisocyanates by reacting the polyol with an oxazolidine-forming amino alcohol and the polyisocyanate with a nitroalkane; U.S. Pat. App. No. 2006/0141236 discloses the addition of a hydrazine to a polyol to act as an aldehyde-scavenger; U.S. Pat. App. No. 2008/0281013 discloses a method for reducing aldehyde emissions from a polyurethane foam by the addition of hydrogen sulfites and disulfites to the polyol component; U.S. Pat. App. No. 2009/0326089 discloses the use of a compound having a carbon amide group and a nitrile group to produce foams having a lowered emission of formaldehyde; WO2009/114329 teaches the addition of an oxazolidine-forming amino alcohol to a polyol and a nitroalkane to a polyisocyanate to reduce aldehyde emissions prior to their reaction in the production of a polyurethane; U.S. Pat. App. No. 2013/0203880 which teaches the addition of a polyhydrazodi-carbonamide polyol to the polyol component or a trimerized hexamethylene diisocyanate to the polyisocyanate component results in foams exhibiting decreased aldehyde emissions; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,506,329 discloses the use of certain aldimine oxazolidine compounds for scavenging formaldehyde from polyisocyanate-containing preparations.
In addition to polyols and polyisocyanates, amine catalysts are often utilized as a raw material in the production of polyurethane foam. The aldehydes found in amine catalysts may be derived from a variety of sources, for example, they may be present as a contaminant from the manufacture of the amine, or they may result from the oxidation or free radical attack of various carbon segments of the amine during storage. Methods to reduce the aldehyde content in amine catalysts include the use of inert gas (see U.S. Pat. Publ. No. 2013/0085193), primary amines (see U.S. Pat. Publ. No. 2011/0009513) free radical scavengers (see U.S. Pat. Publ. No. 2012/0271026) and combining an amine which has urea, amide, secondary-amine, primary amine or secondary-hydroxyl functionality with a carboxylic diacid or triacid (see U.S. Pat. Publ. No. 2013/0137787). Additionally, DE102008025005 teaches the use of urea nanoparticles in the treatment of amine catalysts to remove formaldehyde; however, when the amine catalyst is subsequently used in the production of foam, the urea is found as an emission in the foam and therefore the foam will generally fail environmental specifications for total emissions.
Despite the state of the art, there is a continuing need for developing other inexpensive and effective methods to reduce the aldehyde content in amine catalysts. Preferably, such methods do not result in significant changes to the properties or performance of the amine catalyst or the resulting polyurethane foam. Moreover, preferably such methods do not produce other fugitive species which may provide additional environmental, health and safety issues to the amine catalyst and resulting polyurethane foam.

Reduction of aldehydes in amine catalysts


A turn table transport carriage configured to carry a turn table removed from a polishing apparatus or turn table which is to be disposed to the polishing apparatus, turn table transport carriage including a turn table holding section configured to hold the turn table, support base which supports the turn table holding section from a lower side, elevating mechanism which moves up and down the turn table holding section, and inclination mechanism which inclines the turn table holding section holding the turn table, the turn table transport carriage being characterized by enabling carrying the turn table in a state where the turn table holding section holding the turn table is inclined by the inclination mechanism. Consequently, there is provided the turn table transport carriage which has a narrow width at the time of carrying the turn table and can reduce a width of a passage for carrying the turntable.

Polishing of a semiconductor wafer (which will be also simply referred to as a wafer hereinafter) as typified by a silicon wafer is carried out by a method for polishing both sides of the wafel at the same time or a method for polishing a single side of the wafer.
The polishing of a single side of a wafer is performed by using a polishing apparatus shown in FIG. 7 constituted of a turn table 2 having a polishing pad 12 attached thereto, a polishing agent supply mechanism 14 which supplies a polishing agent 13 onto the polishing pad 12, a polishing head 15 which holds a wafer W, and others. The wafer W is held by the polishing head 15, the polishing agent 13 is supplied onto the polishing pad 12 from the polishing agent supply mechanism 14, and the turn table 2 and the polishing head 15 are rotated respectively so that a surface of the wafer W is slid on the polishing pad 12, thereby polishing the wafer H (see, e.g., Patent Literature 1).
Further, the wafer W is often polished in multiple stages while changing a type of the polishing pad or a type of the polishing agent, and a polishing apparatus having two turn tables or three turn tables, which is called an index type, is often used.
Here, FIG. 8 shows an example of the index type polishing apparatus having three turn tables. Such an index type polishing apparatus 11 as shown in FIG. 8 has three turn tables 2, and two polishing heads 15 are assigned to each turn table. Thus, two wafers can be polished per batch, which is superior in productivity in particular.
A polishing pad used for polishing a wafer by such a polishing apparatus is subjected to a start-up operation called seasoning before use. Although a method of seasoning differs depending on a polishing pad to be used, brushing using a soft nylon brush or brushing using a ceramic or diamond dresser is generally performed. Further, Seasoning of actually polishing a wafer (a dummy wafer) which can serve as a polishing target is also performed.
The seasoning is often performed for a long time to stabilize quality of a surface of a new polishing pad immediately after replacement. In particular, the seasoning using the dummy wafer is performed for several hours depending on a type of the polishing pad in some solutions. Thus, in case of performing the seasoning in the polishing apparatus which actually carries out polishing, the polishing must be temporarily stopped during this process. Thus, productivity of wafers is greatly reduced.
Thus, to suppress a reduction in productivity of wafers caused by the seasoning, there is adopted a method of performing the seasoning alone with the use of another simple polishing apparatus (which will be referred to as an off-line set-up apparatus hereinafter) with a turn table to which a polishing pad is attached being detachable.
To perform the seasoning of a polishing pad with the use of the off-line set-up apparatus, a turn table having the polishing pad attached thereto is first disposed to the off-line set-up apparatus. Then, the seasoning of the polishing pad is carried out. When the seasoning of the polishing pad is completed, the turn table having the seasoned polishing pad attached thereto is removed from the off-line set-up apparatus. Subsequently, the turn table is disposed to the polishing apparatus which actually polishes wafers.
As the turn table, one made of stainless or ceramics is often used. In case of a turn table having a diameter of 800 mm and a thickness of 20 mm, a weight of the turn table made of stainless is approximately 80 kg, and a weight of the turn table made of ceramics is approximately 40 kg. As described above, the turn table made of stainless has the weight larger than that of the turn table made of ceramics. Furthermore, in case of the turn table made of stainless, the turn table s deformed by heat, and polishing quality is thereby affected in some cases. Thus, it is preferable to use the turn table made of ceramics.
In case of performing the seasoning of the polishing pad with the use of the off-line set-up apparatus, the turn table which is such a heavy load as described above mast be frequently attached and detached. To easily and safely attach or detach the turn table which is a heavy load described above, such a turn table transport carriage 101 which can carry such a turn table 2 as shown in FIG. 9 while holding it in a horizontal state is used. The turn table transport carriage 101 includes a turn table holding section 103 which holds the turn table 2 and an elevating mechanism which moves up and down the turn table holding section.
The turn table holding section 103 has turn table fall prevention mechanisms 109 which are configured to prevent the held turn table 2 from falling and hold and lock the turn table 2 in the horizontal state. Rollers 110 or free bearings are installed on a surface of the turn table holding section 103 which is in contact with the turn table 2 so that the turn table 2 which is a heavy load can be readily slid.
As the elevating mechanism, a hydraulic mechanism or a mechanism using a chain or a ball screw is adopted.
Here, a general procedure of removing the turn table 2 from the polishing apparatus and moving it onto the turn table transport carriage 101 will now be described.
The turn table transport carriage 101 is arranged in front of the turn table 2, which is installed in the polishing apparatus, to be removed.
A door of the polishing apparatus is opened, and a height of the turn table holding section 103 of the turn table transport carriage 101 is adjusted to a position which is equal to or slightly lower than a height of the turn table 2. At this time, a distance between the turn table 2 and the turn table transport carriage 101 may be large depending on positions of the turn table 2 and the turn table transport carriage 101. In such a case, a guide plate is installed between the turn table 2 and the turn table transport carriage 101.
In general, the turn table 2 is fixed at a predetermined position in the polishing apparatus by a mechanical locking mechanism which prevents protrusion due to rotation at the time of e.g., polishing a wafer and vacuum suction. To remove the turn table 2 from the polishing apparatus, the mechanical locking mechanism first removed. Moreover, the vacuum suction is stopped. At this time, when the turn table 2 is lifted up by using a line of the vacuum suction to supply air, the turn table 2 can be easily moved. Additionally, the turn table 2 may be removed from the polishing apparatus while supplying water so that the turn table 2 can readily slide.
Since the rollers 110 or the free bearings are provided to the turn table holding section 103 of the turn table transport carriage 101, the turn table 2 can be safely slid. The turn table is slid to a predetermined position on the turn table holding section 103, and the turn table is held by the turn table holding section 103. Further, the turn table 2 is fixed by the turn table fall prevention mechanisms 109 and carried.
At the time of disposing to the polishing apparatus the turn table subjected to the seasoning of the polishing pad attached to the turn table by the off-line set-up apparatus, the turn table is slid into the polishing apparatus from the turn table transport carriage in the order opposite to that of removing the turn table from the polishing apparatus except that the turn table holding section of the turn table transport carriage is adjusted to the height equal to or slightly higher than the height of the turn table receiver in the polishing apparatus, thereby enabling disposing.
However, when the polishing apparatus increases in size, a diameter of the turn table to be used also increases, and hence a passage along which the turn table is carried by the turn table transport carriage must be also widened. Furthermore, a wider space is required for attachment and detachment of the turn table, and hence there is a problem that a space efficiency around the polishing apparatus becomes poorer.
In particular, in case of such an index type polishing apparatus as shown in FIG. 8, since the turn table is detached and attached from three directions, the space efficiency around the polishing apparatus is greatly lowered.
Thus, the space efficiency is improved by laying out the space for attachment and detachment of the turn table so that it is shared by polishing apparatuses adjacent to each other.
Moreover, the turn table transport carriage 101 shown in FIG. 9 is a longitudinal attachment/detachment type by which the turn table 2 is accessed from the front side and the turn table 2 is attached or detached, but a turn table transport carriage which attaches or detaches the turn table from a side surface of the turn table transport carriage 101 is sometimes used. FIG. 10 shows how the turn table is disposed to the polishing apparatus 11 by the longitudinal attachment/detachment type turn table transport carriage 101 and a lateral attachment/detachment type turn table transport carriage 101a.
A power supply wiring line and water supply and drainage pipings (not shown) are provided around the polishing apparatus 11. Thus, as compared with the longitudinal attachment/detachment type turn table transport carriage 101, the lateral attachment/detachment type turn table transport carriage 101a is hard to access a side surface of the polishing apparatus 11 and has poorer workability. However, as shown in FIG. 10, in case of the lateral attachment/detachment type turn table transport carriage 101a, a space required for attaching or detaching the turn table to or from the polishing apparatus 11 can be reduced. Thus, a gap between the polishing apparatuses adjacent to each other can be narrowed, which is superior in the space efficiency.
However, even in case of such a lateral attachment/detachment type turn table transport carriage 101a as shown in FIG. 10, the turn table transport carriage 101a carries and attaches or detaches the turn table in the horizontal state. Thus, as the gap between the polishing apparatuses adjacent to each other, a space which is equal to or larger than a diameter of the turn table to be carried by the turn table transport carriage is required. Further, considering workability at the time of carrying the turn table by the turn table transport carriage or of attaching or detaching the turn table to or from the polishing apparatus, a space which is at least a diameter of the turn table plus 200 mm or more is required.
To uniform surface quality of a wafer when the wafer is polished by the polishing apparatus, it is desirable to perform the polishing in a state where the polishing pad is constantly in contact with the wafer. Thus, it is preferable for the diameter of the turn table to be larger than a diameter of the wafer which is a polishing target. Furthermore, to enhance productivity, the polishing apparatus 11 in which two polishing heads 15 are assigned to one turn table 2 as shown in FIG. 8 is often used.
In such a polishing apparatus, to simultaneously polish two wafers on one turn table, in case of polishing wafers each having a diameter of, e.g., 300 mm, a turn table having a turn table diameter of 800 mm is often used. As described above, since the space which is at least the diameter of the turn table plus approximately 200 mm is required, the gap for installing the polishing apparatuses adjacent to each other must be set to 1000 mm or more when the diameter of the turn table is 800 mm. As described above, in the polishing apparatus which polishes wafers each having a diameter of 300 mm or more, enhancing the space efficiency is difficult.
Meanwhile, as a large-diameter wafer whose wafer diameter exceeds 300 mm, a wafer having a diameter of 450 mm has been examined. As a turn table which can simultaneously polish two wafers each having a diameter of 450 mm, a turn table having a diameter of, e.g., 1200 mm can be used. A weight of the turn table having this size is approximately 90 kg when the turn table is made of ceramics. In case of the polishing apparatus in which a diameter of each turn table is 1200 mm, as a space for an attachment/detachment operation and carriage of each turn table using the conventional turn table transport carriage, 1400 mm or more is required.
As described above, in case of performing the attachment/detaching operation and the carriage of each turn table with the use of the conventional turn table transport carriage, these operations are always performed in a state where the turn table is horizontal, and hence the space efficiency is poor.
It is often the case where the polishing apparatus installed in a semiconductor factory is set in a clean room to suppress small scratches or defects caused by foreign particles, and the space efficiency at the time installing the polishing apparatus is affected by construction costs of the factory or running costs of utilities. Thus, an improvement in the space efficiency around the polishing apparatus has been demanded.


Disclosed herein is a component comprising a substantially homogeneous composition of at least one polymer selected from the group consisting of epoxies, acetals, polyesters, non-ionic rubbers, non-ionic polyurethanes, polyether sulfones, polyether ether ketones, polyether imides, polystyrenes, polyethylene terephthalates, polyamides, polyimides, polyvinylchlorides, polyphenylene oxides, polycarbonates, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene terpolymers, silicones, fluropolymers, and polyolefins, a filler, and a metal plating catalyst. A method of making a component also is described comprising obtaining a polymeric material, a liquid, a filler and a metal plating catalyst; combining the metal plating catalyst with the polymeric material, liquid, and filler to form a substantially homogeneous mixture; and evaporating and/or curing the mixture to form a solidified component. The method is useful for making small, precisely engineered, electronic components without requiring the use of caustic solutions or complex equipment.

Processes for the metal plating of polymers are known. U.S. Pat. No. 3,556,955 describes a process in which a polymer is conditioned with a strong acid such as sulfuric acid, sensitized in a solution of a reducing agent such as stannous chloride, activated by immersion in a noble metal salt solution and then placed in an electroless plating bath. A metal plating process is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,896,252 in which a rubber modified unsaturated carboxylic acid or anhydride is contacted with a solution of ethylenediamine or 1,3-diaminopropane in an inert organic solvent that optionally also includes water in order to aminate the surface. Subsequently, a noble metal salt is added, followed by a reducing agent resulting in a metallized surface that can be metal plated using conventional techniques. U.S. Pat. No. 5,500,315 describes an electroless metal plating process using chemical etching to roughen a surface in order to chemically bond chemical groups to the surface that are capable of ligating with a metallic catalyst such as palladium.
A method of surface treating a substrate with a metal catalyst prior to plating is described in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,153,023. The catalyst is dissolved in a solvent that does not dissolve or tackify the substrate, and the solution is coated on the substrate and dried. The coated substrate is heated to anchor the catalyst to the substrate surface. Commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,462,773 describes a method of preparing a polymeric substrate for metal plating by depositing an atomized stream of a precursor of a catalyst on the surface of a softened thermoplastic substrate and heating the deposited precursor to a temperature sufficient to decompose the catalyst, enabling the catalyst to penetrate the surface of the thermoplastic and become anchored in the substrate. Each of these earlier techniques involves treating the surface of a substrate to facilitate the adhesion of a metal plate layer thereon.
Components are commercially available that have substrates made of unfilled or, in some cases, lightly filled polymers with some or all of their surfaces coated in metal by electroless plating or electrolytic plating processes. In general, it has been found that certain unfilled polymers, such as acrylonitrile/butadiene/styrene (ABS), polycarbonates, polyimides, polyethersulfones, and the like, can be surface treated or otherwise pre-processed to electroless metal plate quite effectively. However, if a polymer contains a high load of filler material, problems with adhesion of the metal to the composite result when efforts are made to metal plate the composite. At least in part this is due to the manner in which the various components in the composite respond to the various plating processes. In the cases where the filler or fillers tend to populate the surface and thereby represent a disproportionately larger portion of the surface's composition when compared to the bulk composition, effectiveness of metal plating process may be affected to the point where the process simply does not work or the adhesion of the metal to the composite is compromised to the point where serious degradation to the utility of the plated polymer results. It would be useful to develop metal plated filled polymers having good adhesion of the metal plate layer or layers, as well as effective methods for their production.

Composite containing polymer, filler and metal plating catalyst, method of making same, and article manufactured therefrom


A method of processing sequential information in near real-time data packets streamed over a network includes providing a process running according to a process clock. The process buffers and decodes the streamed data packets. The speed of the process clock is dynamically controlled in accordance with a receipt time value of a data packet. The speed of the process clock is run faster or slower than a system clock.

Packet loss is an important consideration in mobile VoIP communications, in particular, connecting to Wi-Fi network, because as it results in lost voice data. Packet loss concealment (PLC) is used to mask the effects of packet loss in VoIP communications. Packet loss concealment can result from two causes, namely network packet loss (or network loss) caused by packets lost in the network (i.e. packets that are sent but never received at the receiving end) and delayed packet loss (delay loss). A delayed packet is a voice packet that arrives late and causes the receiver to issue a PLC to mask the packet loss. The delay and the variation of delay, also known as jitter, are caused by the packets traveling from the sender to the receiver through intermediate store-and-forward nodes and packet switching networks. Because voice packets must be decoded in strict order of their sequence numbers, a jitter buffer is used at the receiving end to temporarily store arriving packets in order to minimize delay variations. If packets arrive too late then they are discarded. Missing data from discarded packets must be masked using a PLC technique in order to avoid degradation in voice quality. Different voice decoders use different PLC techniques. For example, G.711 uses simple waveform substitution while G.729 uses more sophisticated algorithms.
In general, there is a tradeoff between the number of delayed packets and the buffering playout time. A long buffering time means that the voice packets will be decoded and playout later in order to absorb the jitter, but with longer latency. A short buffering time means that the voice packets will be decoded earlier in order to minimize the latency, but with a large number of delayed packets. In VoIP, particularly voice over WLAN (VoWLAN), latency is more noticeable because a large portion of latency is the single trip time from the sender to the receiver. If voice latency is too large, for example over 300 ms, voice conversation becomes hard due to double talk. For example, the single trip time of a data packet transmitted over the internet between, say, Asia and North America might range from 100 to 160 ms. In addition the single trip time for a packet between the VoIP client and network access point over a Wi-Fi network may range from 5 to 40 ms. The total trip time latency between two VoIP clients, one in Asia and one in the USA, therefore may be between (100+5)=105 ms and (160+40)=200 ms, excluding packetization delay, decoding delay and processing overheads. Consider the situation when the first packet takes the best-case time of 105 ms to travel from the sending end to the receiving end. The next packet in the sequence takes 190 ms and the third packet in the sequence takes the best case time of 105 ms. Suppose the buffering time is 70 ms. In order for packets to be processed within the buffering time the second packet must be discarded and masked by a PLC. A single PLC is acceptable in order to trade off a shorter voice latency because single PLC on voice is usually unnoticeable by the listener. However consecutive PLCs degrade voice quality and should be avoided.
Various techniques have been proposed for calculating or estimating jitter buffer size as a trade off between delayed packet loss and voice latency. Some techniques use buffer size only; for example, if the buffer is underflow, it increases the buffer size. If it is overflow, it decreases the size by dropping some voice samples. Other techniques involve considering the number of delayed packets that the receiver encounters. If the total amount exceeds a certain pre-determined threshold value, the buffer size is increased. However, this causes consecutive PLCs and in turn severely deteriorates the voice quality. Yet further techniques use jitter estimate functions to calculate the desired buffer size, e.g. arrival packet jitter characteristic.

Method of processing sequential information in packets streamed over a network

Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute Co. Ltd.


A system for processing an audio speech stream during a wireless dispatch communication session obtains processing criteria from an originating wireless device and defines a filter according to the obtained processing criteria. The system receives an audio speech stream at a dispatch serving node and generates one or more filtered audio streams with the filter, and sends the one or more filtered audio streams to a receiving wireless device.

Wireless voice communication is typically provided as interconnect voice communication or dispatch voice communication. Interconnect voice communication is typically full duplex, for example, "cellular" communications and circuit-switched communications. Dispatch voice communications is typically half-duplex, for example, push-to-talk and "walkie-talkie" communications.
In dispatch voice communication systems, a first party is granted a floor and is able to transmit while at least one other party receives the transmission from the first party. Dispatch voice communication systems can also include mechanisms for a participant to request the floor and to become the transmitting party when the floor is granted to them, as well as mechanisms for participants to request the preemption of a transmitting participant and to revoke the floor from a transmitting participant.
Often parties to a dispatch communication session use devices with a loudspeaker, which can produce sounds audible to other people near the receiving party. The receiving device may receive and produce an audio communication with little or no warning to the user. Since the participants in the dispatch communication session are usually geographically dispersed, the receiving party may be in any number of settings, such as an office, a theater, a meeting, a school, or a church or other religious setting, unbeknownst to the transmitting party. In such a case, a transmitting party may make comments or use language which is inappropriate for the setting of the receiving party, and which would then be audibly broadcast by the receiving device with little or no warning to the receiving party.

Systems and methods of filtering an audio speech stream


A photovoltaic device including a photovoltaic cell and method of use is disclosed. The photovoltaic cell includes at least a first photovoltaic layer and a second photovoltaic layer arranged in a stack. The first photovoltaic layer has a first thickness and receives light at its top surface. A second photovoltaic layer has a second thickness and is disposed beneath the first photovoltaic layer and receives light passing through the first photovoltaic layer. The first thickness and the second thickness are selected so that a first light absorption at the first photovoltaic layer is equal to a second light absorption at the second photovoltaic layer. The photovoltaic cell is irradiated at its top surface with monochromatic light to generate a current.

The present invention relates in general to photovoltaic devices and more specifically, to a multi-junction photovoltaic cell for generating electricity from monochromatic light.
Photovoltaic (PV) technology involves the conversion of light into electricity using semiconducting materials that exhibit the photovoltaic effect, which is the creation of voltage or electric current in a material upon exposure to light. PV cells are generally integrated onto circuit boards in order to power electrical elements of the circuit board. As power demands of the circuit board elements increase, there is a need to add photovoltaic cells to the circuit board, causing a conflict between space dedicated to photovoltaic cells and space dedicated to circuit board elements.

International Business Machines Corporation


A metallic layer is formed on a resin-made dial plate main body by surface treatment. A front surface of the main body is provided with a circular or arc-shaped second design face around a rotation shaft of a pointer, and a first inwardly inclined face and an outwardly inclined face continued to the second design face so as to rim an inside and an outside of the second design face and gradually extending toward a rear surface as extending away from the second design face. These first inwardly inclined face and outwardly inclined face are provided on a smooth face. Other portions except these first inwardly inclined face and outwardly inclined face are provided on a corrugated face on which a plurality of convexes and concaves are formed and having a surface roughness rougher than the smooth face.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a metallic toned dial plate and a production method of the metallic toned dial plate, in particular, to the metallic toned dial plate and the production method of the metallic toned dial plate to produce metallic feeling.
2. Background Art
As the above metallic toned dial plate, for example, a display plate is described in PTL 1. This display plate is made of metal such as stainless steel or aluminum. A spin-shaped moiré pattern centering around a rotation axis of a pointer is provided at a front side of the display plate. Further, the display plate is provided with an opening exposing a display device arranged at a rear side of the display plate. A tapered face on which the moiré pattern is not formed is provided on a peripheral edge of the opening. Further, a metallic toned rim is formed on this tapered face.
According to the above display plate described in PTL 1, a high-class feeling and a metallic feeling are produced by comparing the moiré pattern with the metallic toned rim. However, because the display plate described in PTL 1 is formed from a real metal plate such as stainless steel or aluminum, it is needed to cut the metal plate one by one with machine work for providing the moiré pattern and the metallic toned rim, and there is a cost problem.
Further, as a dial plate producing the metallic feeling, for example, it is described in PTL 2. This dial plate is made of transparent resin such as polycarbonate, and provided with a circular planar portion corresponding to a rotation area of a pointer, and an inclined portion continued outward from the planar portion. Then, the metallic feeling is produced by making a light-shield printing on the dial plate so as to illuminate a folded portion which is a connecting portion between the planar portion and the inclined portion.
However, the dial plate described in PTL 2 only produces a metallic edge feeling by illuminating the folded portion, and there is a problem that it is hard to reproduce the metallic feeling. Further, because it is not appealing to illuminate the folded portion in the daytime, there is a problem that the metallic edge feeling cannot be produced in the daytime.

Metallic toned dial plate and production method of the same


A switch device in a steering wheel includes a front switch assembly and a back switch. The front switch assembly is provided on a front side of the steering wheel that faces the driver, and rotates integrally with the steering wheel. The back switch is provided on a back side of the steering wheel. The front switch assembly includes at least one front switch. The front switch assembly also includes a circuit board. A front switch light source is provided on the circuit board. The front switch light source illuminates a switch marking provided on the front switch. On the circuit board is also provided a back switch light source for illuminating a switch marking provided on the back switch. Accordingly, a manipulation switch on the steering wheel is reliably illuminated regardless of the rotation angle of the steering wheel.

The present invention relates to a switch device in a steering wheel, and more particularly, to a technology for illuminating switch markings on manual switches on a steering wheel.
Typically, the switch device in a steering wheel includes front switches located on the front side of the steering wheel facing the driver (a downshift switch, an audio switch, and a cruise switch), and back switches located on the back side of the steering wheel that is opposite from the front side (an upshift switch). The front and back switches rotate integrally with the steering wheel.
In general, a switching marking provided on each front switch is made of a translucent resin. A light source is provided in each front switch. Light from each light source passes through the marking on the corresponding front switch and directly reaches the eyes of the driver. That is, each switch marking is directly illuminated by the corresponding light source.
For example, an upshift switch, which is a back switch, has a manipulation knob that extends from the back side of the steering wheel to a range visible to the driver. A switch marking is provided on the knob. If a light source for illuminating the switch marking is provided in the knob, the switch marking on the manipulation knob must be made of a translucent resin as in the case of the switch markings on the front switches. Further, the inside light source increases the size of the manipulation knob.
If the manipulation knob is plated with metal, the plated surface reflects natural light in daylight, which improves the visibility of the switch marking on the knob. Therefore, if only the use in daylight is considered, a compact knob having no inside light source may be applied. However, in this case, since the manipulation knob does not emit light, the visibility of the switch marking is low at night.
In Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2001-354064, an illuminant is provided on a steering wheel to illuminate a column switch located in the vicinity of the steering wheel. A switch marking is provided on the column switch. Light emitted by the illuminant is reflected by the switch marking on the column switch and reaches the eyes of the driver.
The column switch is located on the dashboard of the vehicle and does not rotate integrally with the steering wheel. Thus, in the above mentioned publication, rotation of the steering wheel changes the relative positions of the illuminant rotated integrally with the steering wheel and the column switch. Therefore, the illuminant illuminates the switch marking on the column switch only in a part of the permitted rotation angle range of the steering wheel. In the remainder of the permitted rotation angle range, the illuminant is incapable of reliably illuminating the switch marking.
Accordingly, it is an objective of the present invention to reliably illuminate a manipulation switch on a steering wheel regardless of the rotation angle of the steering wheel.
To achieve the above objective, the present invention provides a switch device in a steering wheel of a vehicle. The steering wheel has a front side facing a driver of the vehicle and a back side opposite from the front side. The switch device includes a front switch assembly that is on the steering wheel to rotate integrally with the steering wheel. The front switch assembly has a front switch facing the same direction as the front side of the steering wheel. A back switch is provided on the steering wheel to rotate integrally with the steering wheel. The back switch is located at a position closer to the back side of the steering wheel than the front switch assembly. A switch marking is provided on the back switch. The switch marking faces the same direction as the front side of the steering wheel. A back switch light source is provided in the front switch assembly. The back switch light source illuminates the switch marking.
According to another aspect of the invention, a steering wheel of a vehicle that has a front side facing a driver of the vehicle and a back side opposite from the front side is provided. The steering wheel includes a front switch assembly that is provided on the steering wheel to rotate integrally with the steering wheel. The front switch assembly has a front switch facing the same direction as the front side of the steering wheel. A switch marking is provided on the front switch. A back switch is provided on the steering wheel to rotate integrally with the steering wheel. The back switch is located at a position closer to the back side of the steering wheel than the front switch assembly. A switch marking is provided on the back switch. The switch marking faces the same direction as the front side of the steering wheel. A front switch light source illuminates the switch marking on the front switch. A back switch light source illuminates the switch marking on the back switch. A circuit board is provided in the front switch assembly. The front switch light source and the back switch light source are provided on the circuit board.
In addition, present invention may be applicable to provide a switch device in a steering wheel of a vehicle. The steering wheel has a front side facing a driver of the vehicle and a back side opposite from the front side. The switch device includes a front switch that is provided on the front side of the steering wheel to rotate integrally with the steering wheel. A back switch is provided on the steering wheel to rotate integrally with the steering wheel. The back switch is located at a position closer to the back side of the steering wheel than the front switch. A switch marking is provided on the back switch. The switch marking faces the same direction as the front side of the steering wheel. A back switch light source is provided in the steering wheel to rotate integrally with the steering wheel. The back switch light source illuminates the switch marking.
Other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example the principles of the invention.

Switch device in steering wheel and steering wheel

Kabushiki Kaisha Tokai Rika Denki Seisakusho