A multi-layer three-dimensional display has three layers which are spaced apart in a common frame, with the front two being semi-transparent. Each layer is painted with a portion of an image, with the foreground details being on the front panel and the background on the back panel, etc. The central panel is a solid transparent sheet with the illustration applied thereto, and also being provided with a series of opaque, closely spaced light stripes. The front panel is preferably made of a screen similar to a window screen but could alternatively be a transparent sheet with or without a single grid of parallel lines. The display has an interior illumination means which cooperates with the visual effect of the front panel over the striped central panel in front of the opaque background panel to give the display a special shimmering effect and enhance its three-dimensional appearance.

The invention is in the field of fine art, although it could be easily applied to graphics and advertising images as well. More specifically, it relates to passive three-dimensional displays utilizing multiple layers spaced apart at different depths. Displays of this general nature are not new, and are represented by U.S. Pat. No. 3,829,998 issued to William E. Flax for a THREE-DIMENSIONAL DECORATIVE ITEM, and to P. R. Camp for a TRANSPARENT PICTURE. These devices utilize spaced overlays, each having different portions of the picture thereon with all but the back layer being transparent to produce a three-dimensional effect. The effect is three distinct depths, each having planar displays thereon.
In addition to this three-dimensional display, another genre is illustrated by two patents to C. W. Salburg, having U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,465,564 and 1,449,914. These devices are the forerunners of the currently popular holographic images which change as you move. The forerunner displays utilized series of parallel stripes in a frontal layer which ultimately align with parallel stripe groups of different pictures in the background as one moves, giving the impression that the picture is changing, or that the animal or other object displayed in the picture is moving as one wants to the left or right of the hanging picture.
Another type of three-dimensional picture is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,236,368, in which a contoured surface is provided with padding on other contourable medium.
These prior art devices do not rise to the level of fine art productions, but are rather artisan creations or novelty items. They do not produce any special effects or unexpected artistic results, but rather produce what one would expect of them based strictly on their physical composition.


The present disclosure relates to the field of delivery systems. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a process for preparing a powdered composition including granules. The granules include at least one active substance present in an encapsulated form and in a non-encapsulated form. They are obtained by drying a mixture including an aqueous phase of a water-soluble polymer, a Pickering emulsion including a non-encapsulated active substance and a microcapsule slurry including an encapsulated active substance that can differ or being the same as the non-encapsulated substance. The disclosure further relates to granules obtained by the process and to products containing them.

Fragrances and flavors play an important role in the perception of consumer product performance and thus they often determine the consumer's choice for a given product. One main advantage of encapsulated fragrance/flavor is that blooming or long-lasting of fragrance/flavor is enhanced during and after application, (e.g. after rinsing and drying of the skin or the fabrics for fragrance).
Among different techniques, spray-drying is a well-known technique for the encapsulation of flavors and fragrances. Spray-dried granules are commonly prepared from an emulsion that is sprayed into a drying chamber. The emulsion typically comprises an active substance such as a flavor or a fragrance, a carrier and an emulsifier.
Most of the time, biopolymers with surface active properties, such as for example gum Arabic, modified starches, modified cellulose, gelatin, alginates or even proteins such as albumin or beta-globulin, are used as emulsifiers.
For example, US 2009/0253612 describes a spray-dry encapsulation process for flavor or fragrance comprising drying an aqueous emulsion containing the oil to be encapsulated, modified starch and phosphate salts.
In addition, the increasing consumer demand for an intense and strong perfume or flavor release is driving the development of new delivery systems.
Indeed, depending on the applications, a dual type of triggered release can be desired: a triggered release by moisture or wetting, and a triggered release by applying mechanical action such as rubbing or shearing. The non-encapsulated fragrance or flavor oil which is entrapped in the solid polymer matrix can be spontaneously released by bringing the powdered composition into contact with water. The encapsulated fragrance or flavor oil within core-shell microcapsules can be released by mechanical action. In addition, this triggered release can be followed by a long-term release after deposition of the microcapsules onto the fabric in case of detergent applications.
The present invention is proposing a solution to the above-mentioned problem, based on a powdered composition obtained by drying a mixture comprising an aqueous phase of a water-soluble polymer, a Pickering emulsion comprising a non-encapsulated active substance, and a microcapsule slurry comprising an encapsulated active substance that can differ or being the same as the non-encapsulated substance.

Process for preparing a powdered composition


The present application relates to an in-vehicle control system for synchronizing files with a remote source. The remote source includes a storage device configured to store a first file. The system includes a communications device capable of establishing a wireless communication link with the remote source. The communications device is configured to send, receive, or both send and receive files to and/or from the remote source. The system further includes a memory device configured to store a second file. The system yet further includes a data processing device coupled to the communications device, the data processing device configured to perform a comparison of the first file of the remote source and the second file of the memory device, wherein the data processing device is further configured to synchronize the file of the remote source and the file of the in-vehicle control system based on the comparison.

The present application relates generally to the field of synchronization between an in-vehicle control system and a remote source. The application relates more specifically to systems and methods for wireless data synchronization between an in-vehicle control system and a personal computer.
Vehicles typically include a number of electronics systems and subsystems such as an audio system, a mobile telephone system, a navigation system, an in-vehicle entertainment system, an engine management system that may be controlled by a user interface, an HVAC system, etc. One or more of these systems may include an in-vehicle control system having media capabilities that may be setup in the vehicle for a user to access digital audio or video content via the control system. The control system may include a control interface and accompanying controls and may be configured to be coupled or integrated with other vehicle electronic systems, such as an audio or video system.
The media for the system may include conventional media sources (e.g., CDs, DVDs, etc.), but recently may also include media files from the Internet and media files stored on other data storage devices (i.e., flash memory, hard drives, etc.). Typical vehicle audio systems may include conventional stereo inputs for external media players, slots for flash memory devices, and adapters for specific media players. Users of digital media files typically store their library of digital media files primarily on a home or personal computer. Thus, to access or play media files via an in-vehicle audio system the user conventionally must use one of the aforementioned physical devices to transport media files from a home computer to a vehicle. The user must normally take multiple steps to ensure his vehicle audio system is adapted for use and compatible with the physically transported media device. For example, if a user owns a media player and wishes to play the media files stored within the media player on a car stereo, the user must purchase and install an aftermarket player-to-vehicle adapter; if the user would like to listen for an extended period of time, the user may also need to install a power adapter. In addition to the cost, these adapters are often device-specific. Thus, if the user changes media players at some point, his installed adapters may not be compatible with his new player.
In addition to transferring media files, it is becoming more desirable to store files of many different types on in-vehicle control systems. For example, it may be desirable to store navigational information, weather information, satellite radio information, setup installation, vehicle setup related information, contact information, calendar information, e-mail information, browser information, and any other type of information on an in-vehicle control system. There are currently few ways of transferring this type of information to vehicles. For example, typical vehicles load navigational information into the car navigational system by reading a set of CDROMs or DVDs.
There is a need for a system for synchronizing the data store of a vehicle with a remote source. It is challenging and difficult to provide advanced media and communications systems in vehicles. It is challenging and difficult for engineers of vehicle systems to provide systems that are robust, capable of mass-production, easy-to-use, and technically sound. Changing one aspect of a vehicle media system and/or vehicle communication system might negatively impact other aspects or systems.
It would be desirable to provide a system and/or method that satisfies one or more of these needs or provides other advantageous features. Other features and advantages will be made apparent from the present specification. The teachings disclosed extend to those embodiments that fall within the scope of the claims, regardless of whether they accomplish one or more of the aforementioned needs.

System and method of synchronizing an in-vehicle control system with a remote source


The invention provides an electro-optical device includes a first substrate and a second substrate sandwiching an electro-optical substance. The substrates are provided with a sealing material disposed between the substrates, for bonding the substrates to each other at a sealing region disposed along the peripheries of the substrates. The first substrate is provided thereon with pixel electrodes, wires extending from the inside of an image display region to the outside of the sealing region, and a vertically conducting pad disposed in the sealing region. The second substrate is provided thereon with an opposing electrode opposing the pixel electrodes and having a vertical conductor section opposing the vertically conducting pad. The sealing material includes an electrically conductive material at least in a portion of the sealing material disposed between the vertically conducting pad and the vertical conductor section, whereby the sealing material functions as a vertical conductor. With this arrangement, a configuration regarding the sealing material for bonding a pair of the substrates and vertical conduction between the pair of substrates can be simplified.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to an electro-optical device, such as a liquid crystal device, and a method for manufacturing the electro-optical device, in which an electro-optical substance is sandwiched by a pair of first and second substrates bonded to each other with a sealing material at the periphery of an image display region, and the first and second substrates are provided with a pair of electrodes, respectively, disposed on the faces of the first and second substrates, each opposing the electro-optical substance.
2. Description of Related Art
Currently, an electro-optical device generally includes pixel electrodes, thin-film transistors (TFTs) for switching the pixel electrodes, a TFT-arrayed substrate which is provided with wirings, such as data lines and scan lines connected to the TFTs, for supplying image signals and scan signals, respectively, and an opposing substrate opposing a surface of the TFT-arrayed substrate provided with the wirings and the like. The opposing substrate being provided with an opposing electrode on the entire surface of the opposing substrate, other than color filters, light-shielding films, and the like.
The TFT-arrayed substrate and the opposing substrate are bonded to each other by a sealing material at a sealing region disposed around an image display region. An electro-optical substance such as liquid crystal is sandwiched by the substrates. An electrically conductive vertically-conducting material is sandwiched by the substrates at vertically conducting regions (that is, vertically conductive pads or regions at corners of the opposing substrate) provided on the respective substrates at the outside of the sealing region. A wire provided on the TFT-arrayed substrate for applying potential to an opposing electrode either to be constant or to invert at a given frequency is electrically connected to the opposing electrode via the vertically conducting material. Display is performed by driving the electro-optical substance (for example, by changes of the orientation of the liquid crystal) at a part thereof associated with each pixel electrode corresponding to a pixel by generating driving voltage between the corresponding pixel electrode and the opposing electrode.
Technologies are disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication Nos. 62-89024, 11-64874, and 11-202366, in which a sealing material is provided in a sealing region which encloses a liquid crystal layer and is disposed along the four sides of a substrate and a vertically conducting material is provided in vertically conducting regions at the four comers of the substrate. Although the sealing material generally includes a non-conductive photo-curing resin or the like and the vertically conducting material includes a conductive material, the sealing material used in the sealing region and the vertically conducting material used in the vertically conductive regions include a conductive material of the same type in the technology disclosed in above Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 62-89024. Therefore, the sealing material and the vertically conducting material can be applied in one process, whereby manufacturing processes can be simplified.
When the above electro-optical device has a large image-display region having a diagonal of, for example, approximately 20 cm or greater, bead-like or fiber-like gap-forming members for controlling a gap between substrates are spread in an electro-optical substance such as liquid crystal which is disposed in the image display region (problems do not occur because the gap-forming members are not shown as images). On the other hand, when the electro-optical device has a small image-display region having a diagonal of, for example, approximately 2 cm or smaller, the gap-forming members for controlling the gap between the substrates are generally mixed in a sealing material (so that the gap-forming members are not shown as images).
However, since the sealing material used in the technology disclosed in above Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 62-89024 is electrically conductive, there is a drawback in that the commercialization is very difficult because short-circuiting often occurs between wirings in the sealing region. When a non-conductive sealing material is used, non-conductive gap-forming members mixed in the sealing material do not cause short-circuits between wirings even when the gap-forming members break an insulation film formed on a TFT-arrayed substrate during being bonded, and are brought into contact with the wirings. However, the gap-forming members are electrically conductive, according to the technology disclosed in the above publication, therefore, short-circuiting between the wirings occurs due to the contact of the gap-forming members.
In the technology disclosed in above Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 11-64874, it is described that the vertically conducting material must be disposed at a given distance from an end of a substrate in order to avoid short-circuiting between upper and lower substrates. In the technology disclosed in above Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 11-202366, wires along the periphery of an image display region to vertically conducting regions disposed at the four corners of a substrate must be provided on the substrate at the outside of the image display region in order to apply potential evenly to the entire of an opposing electrode which has a relatively high electric resistance. Therefore, according to these publications, there is a problem in that it is fundamentally difficult to reduce the sizes of the substrates or increase the size of the image display region with respect to the sizes of the substrates because the vertically conducting regions must be disposed at the outside of the sealing region.
When the size of the vertically conducting region is reduced so as to reduce the sizes of the substrates or increase the size of the image display region, vertically conductive performance becomes less reliable. When the size of the sealing region is reduced so as to reduce the sizes of the substrates or increase the size of the image display region, bonding performance and control of the gap between the substrates become less reliable.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an electro-optical device and a method for manufacturing an electro-optical device, in which a configuration regarding a sealing material to bond a pair of substrates to each other and a vertically conducting material between the pair of substrates can be made simple, the reliability on vertical conduction can be improved, and the sizes of the substrates can be reduced or the size of an image display region can be increased with respect to the sizes of the substrates.
To these ends, according to an aspect of the present invention, an electro-optical device can include an electro-optical substance sandwiched by a pair of a first substrate and a second substrate, a sealing material disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate for bonding the first substrate and the second substrate to each other at a sealing region along the peripheries, in plan view, of the first substrate and the second substrate, and a plurality of pixel electrodes disposed on the first substrate and in an image display region which is enclosed, in plan view, by the sealing region. The electro-optical device can further include wires provided on the first substrate and extending from the inside of the image display region to the outside of the sealing region, a vertically conducting pad disposed in the sealing region, and an opposing electrode provided on the second substrate and opposing the pixel electrodes, the opposing electrode including a vertical conductor section which opposes the vertically conducting pad. At least one part of the sealing material, which is disposed between the vertically conducting pad and the vertical conductor section, includes an electrically conductive material.
In the electro-optical device according to the present invention, an image signal and the like are supplied to the pixel electrodes via the wires formed on the first substrate. In parallel to this, an opposing-electrode-potential signal for causing potential applied to the opposing electrode formed on the second substrate, either to be constant or to invert at a given frequency, and the like are supplied via the vertically conducting pad and the vertical conductor section. Therefore, a driving voltage is applied between the image electrode and the opposing electrode at each pixel in accordance with these signals, whereby the electro-optical substance between the image electrode and the opposing electrode is driven (for example, the orientation of liquid crystal is changed by the applied driving voltage) and electro-optical image display is performed.
In this case, a portion of the sealing material including a conductive material is disposed between the vertically conducting pad and the vertical conductor section, whereby the portion of the sealing material serves as a vertical conductor, the sealing material bonding the first and second substrates to each other at the sealing region. Since a vertically conducting region can be included in the sealing region, the sizes of substrates can be reduced or the size of an image display region can be increased with respect to the sizes of the substrates compared with the above-described known technologies in which a vertically conducting region is prepared outside a sealing region and a conductive vertical conductor is provided in the vertical conducting region in addition to a sealing material. That is, since it is not necessary to prepare a vertically conducting region separately from the sealing region, the area of the sealing region can be increased, whereby the substrates can be reliably bonded to each other. The configuration of the device and a method for manufacturing the device can be made simple with at least one part of the sealing material also functioning as a vertical conductor.
A risk of disconnection or short-circuiting of the wires underlying the vertically conducting pad which is an uppermost layer on the first substrate due to the sealing material (for example, a gap-forming member included therein) can be reduced with the vertically conducting pad being provided. When the size of the vertically conducting pad in the sealing region is increased, the vertically conducting pad becomes more reliable. Therefore, the opposing electrode can be stably driven by reliable vertical conduction, whereby block ghosts in finally displayed images can be reduced.
As a result, in the electro-optical device according to the present invention, a configuration regarding the sealing material and the vertically conducting pad can be made simple, reliability on the vertical conduction and bonding between the substrates can be improved, and the sizes of the substrates can be reduced or the size of the image display region can be increased with respect to the sizes of the substrates.
In the electro-optical device according to one embodiment of the present invention, the vertically conducting pad may occupy at least one of three given sides of the sealing region. With this arrangement, the vertically conducting pad can be made much larger than the island-shaped vertically conducting pads formed at the four comers of a substrate according to the above-described known technology, because the vertically conducting pad according to the present invention occupies one, two, or three sides of the sealing region, whereby much more reliable vertical conduction can be performed, and the opposing electrode can be driven stably. When the given sides are those sides at which the wires extending from the image display region to the outside of the sealing region are not provided or which are provided with wiring structures having a relatively high mechanical strength (that is, when an electrically insulative sealing material is disposed at a side other than the given sides), a risk of disconnection or short-circuiting of the wires, which underlie the sealing material, due to the sealing material can be reduced. By forming the vertically conducting pad in units of a side of the sealing region, a gap between the substrates can be easily controlled by including a gap-forming member in the sealing material.
The vertically conducting pad may be formed at at least one of the four sides of the sealing region at which an inlet for the electro-optical substance is not formed. With this arrangement, the vertically conducting pad is provided at at least one of the sides at which an inlet for the electro-optical substance such as liquid crystal is not provided, and is not provided at the remaining sides at one of which the inlet is provided. Therefore, when an electrically insulative sealing material is disposed at the side at which the inlet is provided, a risk of disconnection or short-circuiting of the wires underlying the sealing material can be reduced. For example, when the wires are provided extending from the image display region to the outside of the sealing region at the side at which the inlet is formed, the disconnection or the short-circuit can be more advantageously reduced.
In the electro-optical device according to another embodiment of the present invention, the sealing material may include a gap-forming member mixed therein for controlling a gap between the first substrate and the second substrate. With this arrangement, the gap between the substrates can be controlled by the gap-forming member. Therefore, displayed images are prevented from deterioration due to the gap-forming member spread in an electro-optical substance of a small electro-optical device. In the electro-optical device according to the present invention, a risk of the disconnection or short-circuiting caused by the gap-forming member in the sealing region can be advantageously reduced even when the gap-forming member is mixed in the sealing material.
The gap-forming member may include electrically conductive particles at least in a portion of the sealing material disposed between the vertically conducting pad and the vertical conductor section. With this arrangement, the conductivity in the sealing member can be improved in a portion of the sealing material disposed between the vertically conducting pad and the vertical conductor section, whereby the portion of the sealing material serves as a vertical conductor.
In this case, the electrically conductive particles may be metal-plated bead-like or fiber-like particles. With this arrangement, a portion of the sealing material disposed between the vertically conducting pad and the vertical conductor section can serve as a vertical conductor with the electrically conductive particles as a conductive gap-forming member being included, the electrically conductive particles being formed of, for example, nickel-gold-plated SiO2 balls, SiO2 fibers, or the like.
According to another embodiment of the invention, at least one part of the sealing material, which is disposed between the vertically conducting pad and the vertical conductor section, may include a powdered metal mixed in the sealing material.
The conductivity in a part of the sealing material, which is disposed between the vertically conducting pad and the vertical conductor section, can be improved, whereby the part of the sealing material serves as a vertical conductor. It should be understood that the gap-forming member including electrically conductive particles described above may be mixed in the sealing material in addition to the powdered metal.
According to still another embodiment of the invention, the sealing material may include the electrically conductive material in the entire sealing region. By providing an entire sealing region serving as a vertical conductor, the configuration of the device and manufacturing processes of the device can be simplified.
According to another embodiment of the invention, the sealing material may include the electrically conductive material at least in a portion of the sealing region opposing the vertically conducting pad and include an electrically insulative material in the portion of the sealing region not opposing the vertically conducting pad. When the portion of the sealing region opposing the vertically conducting pad serves as a vertical conductor, the configuration of the device and manufacturing processes of the device can be made simple. Since the portion of the sealing material not opposing the vertically conducting pad includes an electrically insulative material, a risk of disconnection and short-circuiting of the laminated wires underlying the portion of the sealing material caused from the portion of the sealing material can be reduced.
In the electro-optical device according to another embodiment of the present invention, a surface of the vertically conducting pad formed in the sealing region may be disposed on the same plane as that of a surface of an insulation film formed in the sealing region.
The surface of the vertically conducting pad formed in the sealing region is planarized, such that the surface is disposed on the same plane as that of the surface of the insulation film formed in the sealing region, by, for example, CMP (chemical mechanical polishing) or with the vertically conducting pad being embedded in a groove formed in the substrate or an interlayer insulation layer. Therefore, the gap between the substrates can be accurately controlled when the gap is controlled by using a gap-forming member included in the sealing material disposed in the planarized sealing region.
In the electro-optical device according to still another embodiment of the present invention, a surface of the vertically conducting pad formed in the sealing region may be disposed at a level differing from the level of a surface of an insulation film formed in the sealing region, and the sealing material may include gap-forming members having diameters differing from each other in accordance with the size of a gap between the first substrate and the second substrate, the size of the gap varying between a portion of the sealing region in which the vertically conducting pad is formed and another portion of the sealing region in which the insulation film is formed so as to control the gap between the first substrate and the second substrate.
With this arrangement, since the vertically conducting pad is not planarized in the sealing region, it is difficult to accurately control the gap between the substrates according to projection and withdrawal of the vertically conducting pad when gap-forming members having a diameter the same as each other are included in the sealing material. Moreover, a risk of disconnection and short-circuiting of the wires caused by the gap-forming members in contact with the projection formed in the sealing region is increased. However, according to this embodiment of the present invention, gap-forming members, which have diameters differing from each other according to the gap between the substrates which varies between the portion of the vertically conducting pad and the portion of the insulative film, are included in the sealing material.
When the gap in the sealing region provided with the vertically conducting pad is smaller (that is, when the vertically conducting pad projects in the sealing region), the diameter of the gap-forming member disposed on the vertically conducting pad is set smaller than that of the gap-forming member which is not disposed on the vertically conducting pad. On the other hand, when the gap in the sealing region provided with the vertically conducting pad is greater (that is, when the vertically conducting pad withdraws in the sealing region), the diameter of the gap-forming member disposed on the vertically conducting pad is set greater than that of the gap-forming member which is not disposed on the vertically conducting pad. Therefore, the height of the tops of the gap-forming members disposed in the gap of which the size is not equal can become the same by varying the diameters of the gap-forming members, whereby the gap between the substrates can be accurately controlled by the gap-forming members included in the sealing material. Moreover, the risk of disconnection and short-circuiting of the wires caused by the gap-forming members in contact with the projection formed in the sealing region can be reduced.
The sealing material including the gap-forming member which has a smaller diameter corresponding to the gap of a smaller size may be disposed in a part of the sealing region associated with the gap of a larger size and in the vicinity of a boundary, at which the size of the gap varies, between the portion of the sealing region in which the vertically conducting pad is formed and the other portion of the sealing region in which the insulation film is formed.
With this arrangement, a risk in that the gap-forming member having a larger diameter moves to the side of a smaller gap from the side of a larger gap between the substrates across the boundary disposed in the sealing region at which the size of the gap varies can be reduced. That is, a risk of disconnection or short-circuiting of the wires caused by the gap-forming member having larger diameters for larger gap coming in contact with the smaller gap portion can be reduced. It is not a problem of great importance or does not present any practical problem at all that the gap-forming member having a smaller diameter moves to the side of the larger gap from the side of the smaller gap between the substrates across the boundary disposed in the sealing at which the size of the gap varies.
In the electro-optical device according to still another embodiment of the invention, the sealing material may include one of a thermosetting resin and a thermo-photo-curing resin. With this arrangement, reliable bonding between the substrates can be performed by thermo-curing the sealing material, which includes a thermosetting resin or thermo-photo-curing resin, in a manufacturing process of the electro-optical device. It is slightly difficult (although it is not impossible) to cure a sealing material including a photo-curing resin because it is slightly difficult to apply light due to interference by the vertically conducting pad which is disposed at the side of the first substrate in the sealing region. Therefore, it is advantageous to use such a sealing material including a thermosetting resin or a thermo-photo-curing resin as the sealing material according to the present invention.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a method for manufacturing an electro-optical device, by which the above-described electro-optical device according to the present invention is manufactured, can include the steps of forming the pixel electrodes, the wires, and the vertically conducting pad on the first substrate; forming the opposing electrode on the second substrate, and bonding the first substrate and the second substrate to each other with the sealing material.
In the method for manufacturing an electro-optical device, according to the present invention, the first substrate provided with the vertically conducting pad formed thereon and the second substrate provided with the opposing electrode including a vertical conductor section are bonded to each other with the sealing material, and simultaneously, a vertical conductor which vertically connects between the vertically conducting pad and the vertical conductor section can be formed with a conductive portion of the sealing material. That is, manufacturing processes can be made simple compared with a manufacturing method in which the steps of bonding of the substrates and forming the vertical conductor are individually performed. The electro-optical device according to the present invention can be relatively easily manufactured in such simplified manufacturing processes.
The method for manufacturing an electro-optical device, according to one embodiment of the present invention, may further include the step of planarizing the vertically conducting pad.
The gap between the substrates can be accurately controlled by using the sealing material including the gap-forming member disposed in the planar sealing region which is realized by, for example, performing CMP on the vertically conducting pad or embedding the same in a groove formed in the substrate or an interlayer insulation film.
In the method for manufacturing an electro-optical device, according to another embodiment of the present invention, the step of bonding with the sealing material may include the steps of applying the sealing material including a gap-forming member having a first diameter to a portion of the sealing region opposing the vertically conducting pad by using a dispenser, and applying the sealing material including another gap-forming member having a second diameter to another portion of the sealing region not opposing the vertically conducting pad by using another dispenser, the second diameter differing from the first diameter.
The sealing material including the gap-forming member which has a first diameter is applied by using one dispenser to a portion of the sealing region opposing the vertically conducting pad and the sealing material including the gap-forming member which has a second diameter is applied by using another dispenser to another portion of the sealing region not opposing the vertically conducting pad. Therefore, an electro-optical device can be relatively easily manufactured by using the method according to the present invention, in which the gap-forming members having diameters differing from each other in accordance with a projection and withdrawal of the sealing region produced due to the vertically conducting pad.
In the method for manufacturing an electro-optical device, according to still another embodiment of the present invention, the step of bonding with the sealing material may include the steps of applying the sealing material including an electrically conductive gap-forming member to a portion of the sealing region opposing the vertically conducting pad by using a dispenser, and applying the sealing material including an electrically insulative gap-forming member to another portion of the sealing region not opposing the vertically conducting pad by using another dispenser.
The sealing material including the electrically conductive gap-forming member is applied by using one dispenser to a portion of the sealing region opposing the vertically conducting pad and the sealing material including an electrically insulative gap-forming member is applied by using another dispenser to another portion of the sealing region not opposing the vertically conducting pad. Therefore, an electro-optical device can be relatively easily manufactured by using the method according to the present invention, in which vertical connection is formed with the electrically conductive gap-forming member disposed only in the portion provided with the vertically conducting pad, and disconnection or short-circuiting of the wires caused by the gap-forming member is avoided.
In the method for manufacturing an electro-optical device, according to another embodiment of the present invention, the step of bonding with the sealing material can include the step of heating the sealing material including one of a thermosetting resin and a thermo-photo-curing resin.
The substrates can be bonded to each other with heat applied to the sealing material including a thermosetting resin or a thermo-photo-curing resin. That is, the substrates can be reliably bonded to each other by the sealing material.
Although according to the present invention, it is difficult to cure a sealing material including a photo-curing resin because application of light to the sealing region at the first substrate side is difficult because of interference by the vertically conducting pad, the sealing material including a photo-curing resin may be used, in which the photo-curing resin can be cured with light applied thereto while masking an image display region, thereby avoiding deterioration of the electro-optical substance due to application of the light.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, a projection display apparatus can include a light source, a light valve including the electro-optical device according to the present invention, a light-guide member for guiding light generated by the light source to the light valve, and a projection optical element for projecting the light modulated by the light valve.
Features and further advantages of the present invention will become apparent from preferred embodiments described below.

Electro-optical device, method for manufacturing the same, and projection display apparatus having an electrically conductive sealing member


A post-processing apparatus for an image forming apparatus includes a processing tray on which a sheet bundle is placed for discharging onto a discharge tray, a detector configured to detect presence or absence of the sheet bundle on the processing tray, and a controller. The controller is configured to control driving of the processing tray to discharge the sheet bundle onto the discharge tray and to determine whether or not to output an error if a detection result of the detector after the processing tray has been driven to discharge the sheet bundle onto the discharge tray indicates presence of the sheet bundle. The controller outputs the error if the sheet bundle is not a last sheet bundle of a post-processing job and does not output the error if the sheet bundle is the last sheet bundle of the post-processing job.

A post-processing apparatus that performs post-processing, such as binding by a stapler on sheets discharged from an image forming apparatus, is known. For example, the post-processing apparatus stacks sheets on a processing tray, corrects displacement of the sheets in a lateral direction and a longitudinal direction, staples the sheets with a stapler, or the like, and then discharges the stapled sheet bundle to a stacking tray. In the post-processing apparatus, for example, a user may take out the sheet bundle while the sheet bundle is in the middle of being discharged to the stacking tray. In such a case, in the post-processing apparatus of the related art, when the user takes out the sheet bundle, if the sheet bundle comes in contact with a sensor, it is mistakenly determined that the sheet bundle is jammed, thereby resulting in an error.

Post-processing apparatus and control method


Metal complex containing one or more silsesquioxane ligands having the formula:

The invention is related to a metal complex containing one or more silsesquioxane ligands. Metal complexes containing one or more silsesquioxane ligands are for instance known from FEHER F. J. et al., xe2x80x98Olefin Polymerization by Vanadium-Containing Polyhedral Oligometallasilsesquioxanesxe2x80x99, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1991, 113, p. 3618-3619.
In this article a vanadium complex is described containing one silsesquioxane ligand. It is reported that this complex is active in the polymerisation of ethylene when it is activated with an aluminum containing co-catalyst.
In this article it is also reported that a metal complex containing two vanadium atoms and two silsesquioxane ligands is not active in the polymerisation of ethylene.
It is now surprisingly discovered that a metal complex with the formula
Zy(MAx)bxe2x80x83xe2x80x83(I)
wherein Z is a silsesquioxane ligand according to the formula
(RSiO1.5)mOnBqxe2x80x83xe2x80x83(II)
which is connected within one corner to one atom M or to two M atoms by one bridging oxygen atom.
M is a metal from groups 3-10 of the Periodic System of the Elements and the lanthanides,
A is a ligand bonded to the metal,
y represents the number of silsesquioxane ligands and is 2-10,
b represents the number of metal groups and is 2-20,
x is the number of ligands A bonded to the metal; the value of depends on the metal used and is equal to the valency of the metal minus 1, 2, 3 or 4,
R is a substituent bonded to each Si,
m is an integer and is equal to 5-19,
n is 1.5 or 3,
B is a group bonded to an oxygen atom that has one bond to Si and
q is 0, 1 or 2
is active in the polymerisation of olefins.
A further advantage of the metal complex according to the invention is that polyolefins having a narrow molecular weight distribution can be produced by using these metal complexes.
Other advantages of the metal complex according to the invention are that the metal complex is active in the polymerisation of olefins even without the presence of a cocatalyst and that the metal complexes supported on a carrier material are active in the polymerisation of olefins without the presence of a scavenger.
In the following the various components of the metal complex according to the invention will be discussed in more detail.
a) The silsesquioxane ligand Z
The silsesquioxane ligand Z is a ligand according to the formula
(RSiO1.5)mOnBqxe2x80x83xe2x80x83(II)
wherein
R is a substituent bonded to each Si,
m is an integer and is equal to each Si,
n is 1.5 or 3,
B is a group bonded to an oxygen atom that has one bond to Si and
q is 0, 1 or 2.
The silsesquioxane has a cubic or prismatic (trigonal, hexagonal or pentagonal) structure with a Si atom at each corner and oxygen atoms connecting the Si atoms. The silsesquioxane can, for example, be represented by the following structures:
In the silsesquioxane ligands 1 or 2 of the Si-atoms are not present so that it is at this place bonded to the metal atom or atoms. This place is defined as a xe2x80x9ccornerxe2x80x9d. It is bonded to a metal atom via at least one oxygen atom. In the silsesquioxane ligand, the Si-atom is not present at one or two of the corners of the silsesquioxane polygonal structure. A Si absent corner is defined as the xe2x80x9ccornerxe2x80x9d. The xe2x80x9ccornerxe2x80x9d is bonded to a metal atom via at least one oxygen atom. The oxygen atoms that are not involved in bonding with the metal atom(s) are bonded to a group B. The B groups can be the same or different and can for instance be hydrogen or an alkyl, aryl, silyl, germyl or stannyl group. The silsesquioxane ligands are connected within one corner to one atom M or to two atoms M by one bridging oxygen atom. In the metal complex according to formula I, Zy(MAx)b, y is in the range 2-10, i.e. 2-10 silsesquioxane ligands can be present. In the metal complex according to the invention 2-10 silsesquioxane ligands can be present (represented by y in formula I).
R is a substituent bonded to each Si of the silsesquioxane ligand Z.
The R groups can be the same or different and can for instance be hydrogen or an alkyl, aryl or silyl group. R is preferably cyclopentyl, cyclohexyl, cycloheptyl or hydrogen.
Preferably the metal complex according to the invention contains silsesquioxane ligands according to the formulas
(RSiO1.5)7O1.5, (RSiO1.5)7O1.5B or (RSiO1.5)7O1.5B2
wherein R is a substituent bonded to each Si and B is a group bonded to an oxygen atom that has one bond to Si. More preferably the metal complex according to the invention contains silsesquioxane ligands according to the formula
(RSiO1.5)7O1.5
The silsesquioxane ligands mentioned above are represented by the following structures
b) The metal M
The metals in the complex are chosen from groups 3-10 of the Periodic Table of the Elements and the lanthanides (see the new IUPAC notation to be found on the inside of the cover of the Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 70th edition, 1989/1990). The metal atoms present in the metal complex according to the invention can be the same or different. In the metal complex according to formula I, Zy(MAx)b, b is in the range 2-20, i.e. 2-20 metal atoms can be present. M is preferably chosen from groups 3-6 of the Periodic Table of the Elements. More preferably M is a metal out of group 4 of the Periodic Table of the Elements.
c) The ligand A
The ligand A is bonded to the metal. The ligands A can be the same or different and can, for example, be a hydrocarbon substituent containing 1-20 carbon atoms (such as alkyl, aryl, aralkyl, and the like). Examples of such hydrocarbon substituents are methyl, ethyl, propyl, butyl, hexyl, decyl, phenyl, benzyl, and p-tolyl. Ligand A may also be a ligand which in addition to, or instead of, carbon and/or hydrogen, contains one or more hetero atoms from groups 14-17 of the Periodic System of the Elements, a hetero atom not being bound directly to a cyclopentadienyl (Cp) group. Thus a ligand A may be an N-, O-, and Cl-, or Si-containing group. Examples of ligands containing a hetero atom are alkoxy, aryloxy or dialkyl amido groups.
A is preferably an alkyl- or aryl group. The number of ligands A (represented by x in formula I) depends on the metal used and is equal to the valency of the metal minus 1, 2, 3 or 4. When the silsesquioxane ligand is bound to the metal with 3 oxygen atoms the number of ligands A on the metal is equal to the valency of the metal minus 3. When the silsesquioxane ligand is bound to the metal with 2 oxygen atoms the number of ligands A on the metal is equal to the valency of the metal minus 2. When the silsesquioxane ligand is bound to the metal with 1 oxygen atom the number of ligands A on the metal is equal to the valency of the metal minus 1.
Preferably the metal complex according to the invention is a bimetallic complex according to the formulas
or
wherein M, A, Z and x have the meaning as defined above.
Most preferably the metal complex according to the invention is a bimetallic complex according to formula
wherein M, A, Z and x have the meaning as defined above.
Within these metal complexes the metals and the silsesquioxane ligands can be bound to each other in several ways. Examples of possible bonding structures are given below. In these structures only a part of the whole silsesquioxane ligand is shown. The rest of the ligand is mentioned Z*.
The metal complex according to the invention can be supported on a carrier material. Examples of suitable carrier materials are any finely divided solid porous support material, including, but not limited to, MgCl2, Zeolites, mineral clays, inorganic oxides such as, for instance, talc, silica, alumina, silica-alumina, meso-porous silica, meso-porous alumosilica, meso-porous alumophospates, inorganic hydroxides, phosphates, sulphates, or resinous support materials such as polyolefins, including polystyrene, or mixtures thereof. These carriers may be used as such or modified, for example by silanes and/or aluminium alkyles and/or aluminoxane compounds. Preferably the carrier material has a specific surface area of at least 10 m2 per gram and a pore volume of at least 0.1 ml per gram.
Most preferably the carrier material is silica or meso-porous silica. More preferably dehydrated or modified silica such as silylated silica is the carrier material. The silica carrier material can also be modified with a co-catalyst; for instance methyl aluminoxane.
The silsesquioxane ligands are generally prepared by addition of excess water to a vigorously stirred solution of the appropriate trichlorosilane, RSiCl3, in an organic solvent. This is, for instance, described in FEHER R. J. et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 111 (1989), p. 1741-1748.
The metal complex according to the invention can be prepared by reacting 1 to 5 equivalents of a ligand with the formula:
(RSiO1.5)mOnBqHpxe2x80x83xe2x80x83(III)
with 1 to 2 equivalents of a metal complex MAxXc wherein the symbols have the meaning as defined above and X is a monoanionic ligand that is able to react with an OH-group, p is 1-4 and c is 1-4. The monoanionic ligand X can be can be the same or different and can, for example, be a hydrocarbon radical containing 1-20 carbon atoms (such as alkyl, aryl, aralkyl, and the like). Examples of such hydrocarbon radicals are methyl, ethyl, propyl, butyl, hexyl, decyl, phenyl, benzyl, and p-tolyl. X can also be an halide, sulfide or dialkyl amido ligand. The ligands A on the metal can be the same as the ligands X. The metal complexes according to the formulas:
and
can be prepared by stirring a metal compound MAxXc with of the silsesquioxane ligand in an aprotic organic solvent in which the reactants are sufficiently soluble. Suitable solvents are apolar non-coordinating solvents such as pentane, toluene and dichloromethane. The reaction is preferably performed under an inert gas (e.g., nitrogen or argon). Generally the reaction is performed at room temperature and with a pressure about atmospheric pressure. The reaction is generally completed within a few minutes.
The concentration of the reactants is not of primary importance, but convenient concentrations are in the region of 0.001-0.1 M for each reactant. Isolation of the metal complex is normally accomplished by removing the volatile material present (i.e. solvent and reaction side-product) under reduced pressure, by precipitation or by crystallisation.
Supported catalyst systems of the invention may be prepared by several methods. The metal complex and eventually the co-catalyst can be mixed together before the addition of the support material. The mixture may be prepared in conventional solution in a normally liquid alkane or aromatic solvent. The solvent is preferably also suitable for use as a polymerization diluent for the liquid phase polymerization of an olefin monomer. Alternatively, the co-catalyst can be placed on the support material followed by the addition of the metal complex or conversely, the metal complex may be applied to the support material followed by the addition of the co-catalyst. The co-catalyst can be used as commercially supplied, or may be generated in situ on the solid support. The supported catalyst may be prepolymerized. In addition third components can be added in any stage of the preparation of the supported catalyst. Third components can be defined as compounds containing Lewis acidic or basic functionalities exemplified but not limited to compounds such as N,N-dimethylaniline, tetraethoxysilane, phenyltriethoxysilane, bis-tert-butylhydroxy toluene (BHT) and the like.
The solid-phase immobilization (SPI) technique described by H. C. L. Abbenhuis in Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 37 (1998) 356-58, by M. Buisio et al. in Microporous Mater., 5 (1995) 211 and by J. S. Beck et al. in J. Am. Chem. Soc., 114 (1992) 10834 as well as the pore volume impregnation (PVI) technique (see WO 97/24344) can be used to support the metal complex on to the carrier material. The isolation of the impregnated carrier can be done by filtration or by removing the volatile material present (i.e. solvent) under reduced pressure.
The metal complex according to the invention can be used, without activation with a co-catalyst, for the polymerisation of olefins. The metal complex can also be activated using a co-catalyst. The activation can be performed during a separate reaction step including an isolation of the activated compound or can be performed in situ. The activation is preferably performed in situ, because after the activation of the metal complex separation and/or purification of the activated complex is not necessary.
The metal complexes according to the invention can be activated using suitable co-catalysts. For example, the co-catalyst can be an organometallic compound, wherein at least one hydrocarbon radical is bonded directly to the metal to provide a carbon-metal bond. The hydrocarbon group used in the organometallic compounds preferably contains 1-30, more preferably 1-10 carbon atoms. The metal of the organometallic compound can be selected from group 1, 2, 3, 12, 13 or 14 of the Periodic Table of the Elements. Suitable metals are, for example, sodium, lithium, zinc, magnesium and aluminium and boron.
Examples of suitable co-catalysts are alkyl sodium, alkyl lithium, alkyl zinc, alkyl magnesium halide, dialkyl magnesium, organoaluminum compounds and halogen-containing organoaluminum compounds. Examples of organoaluminum compounds are triaryl and trialkyl aluminum compounds, such as triethyl aluminum and triisobutyl-aluminum; alkyl aluminum hydrides, such as diisobutyl aluminum hydride; alkylalkoxy organoaluminum compounds; and halogen-containing organoaluminum compounds, such as diethyl aluminum chloride, diisobutyl aluminum chloride and ethyl aluminum sesquichloride. Linear or cyclic aluminoxanes can also be used as co-catalyst.
The metal complex according to the invention can also be activated with a compound which contains or yields in a reaction with the metal complex of the present invention a non-coordinating or poorly coordinating anion. Such compounds have been described for instance in EP-A-426,637, the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Such an anion is bonded sufficiently unstable such that it is replaced by an unsaturated monomer during the polymerization. Such compounds are also mentioned in EP-A-277,003 and EP-A-277,004, the complete disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. Such a compound preferably contains a triaryl borane or a tetraaryl borate or an aluminum equivalent thereof. Examples of suitable co-catalyst compounds include, without limitation, the following:
dimethyl anilinium tetrakis (pentafluorophenyl) borate [C6H5N(CH3)2H]+ [B(C6F5)4]xe2x88x92;
dimethyl anilinium bis(7,8-dicarbundecaborate) cobaltate (III);
tri(n-butyl)ammonium tetraphenyl borate;
triphenylcarbenium tetrakis (pentafluorophenyl) borate;
tetrakis (3,5-bistrifluoromethyl-phenyl) borate;
dimethylamilinium tetraphenyl borate;
tris(pentafluorophenyl) borane and
tris[3,5-bis(trifluormethyl)]borane.
If the above-mentioned non-coordinating or poorly coordinating anion is used as the co-catalyst, it is preferable for the metal compound according to the invention to be alkylated (that is, one of the A groups is an alkyl or aryl group). Co-catalysts containing boron are preferred. Most preferred are co-catalysts containing tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)borate, tris(pentafluorophenyl)borane, or tetrakis(3,5-bistrifluoromethyl-phenyl)borate.
When a boron containing co-catalyst is used the polymerisation time is longer than when an other co-catalyst is used for the homogeneous polymerisation of olefins.
The molar ratio of the co-catalyst relative to the metal center in the metal complex in case an organometallic compound is selected as the co-catalyst, usually is in a range of from about 1:10 to about 10,000:1, and preferably is in a range of from about 1:1 to about 2,500:1. If a compound containing or yielding a non-coordinating or poorly coordinating anion is selected as co-catalyst, the molar ratio usually is in a range of from about 1:100 to about 1,000:1, and preferably is in range of from about 1:2 to about 250:1.
In addition to the metal complex according to the invention and the co-catalyst the catalyst composition can also contain a small amount of an other organometallic compound that is used as a so called scavenger. The scavenger is added to react with impurities in the reaction mixture. It is normally added to the reaction mixture before addition of the metal complex and the co-catalyst. Usually organoaluminum compounds are used as a scavenger. Examples of scavengers are trioctylaluminium, triethylaluminium and tri-isobutylaluminium.
As a person skilled in the art would be aware, the metal complex as well as the co-catalyst can be present in the catalyst composition as a single component or as a mixture of several components. For instance, a mixture may be desired where there is a need to influence the molecular properties of the polymer, such as molecular weight distribution.
The metal complex according to the invention can be used for the polymerization of olefin monomers. The olefin envisaged in particular is an olefin chosen from the group comprising xcex1-olefin, internal olefin, cyclic olefin and di-olefin. Mixtures of these can also be used.
The metal complex according to the invention is in particular suitable for a process for the polymerization of an xcex1-olefin. In particular the xcex1-olefin monomer(s) is/are chosen from the group comprising ethene, propene, butene, pentene, heptene, hexene and octene (substituted or non-substituted), mixtures of which may also be used. More preferably, ethene and/or propene is used as a-olefin. The use of such olefins results in the formation of (semi)crystalline polyethene homo- and copolymers, of high as well as of low density (HDPE, LDPE, LLDPE, etc.), and polypropene, homo- and copolymers (PP and EMPP). The monomers needed for such products and the processes to be used are known to the person skilled in the art.
With the metal complex according to the invention amorphous or rubber-like copolymers based on ethene and another xcex1-olefin can also be prepared. Propene is preferably used as the other xcex1-olefin, so that EPM rubber is formed. It is also quite possible to use a diene besides ethene and the other xcex1-olefin, so that a so-called EADM rubber is formed, in particular EPDM (ethene propene diene rubber).
Polymerization of the xcex1-olefin monomer(s) can be effected in a known manner, in the gas phase as well as in a liquid reaction medium. In the latter case, both solution and suspension polymerization are suitable. The supported catalyst systems according to the invention are used mainly in gas phase and slurry processes. The quantity of metal to be used generally is such that its concentration in the dispersion agent amounts to 10xe2x88x928xe2x88x9210xe2x88x923 mol/l, preferably 10xe2x88x927xe2x88x9210xe2x88x924 mol/l.
The invention will hereafter be elucidated with reference to polymerisations of xcex1-olefins known per se, which are representative of the polymerization referred to in the present description. For the preparation of other polymers on the basis of xcex1-olefin monomers the reader is expressly referred to the multitude of publications on this subject.
The polymerisation process can be conducted as a gas phase polymerisation (e.g. in a fluidized bed reactor), as suspension/slurry polymerisation, as a solid phase powder polymerisation or as a so called bulk polymerisation process, in excess of olefinic monomer used as the reaction medium. Dispersion agents may suitably be used for the polymerisation, which may in particular, but not limited to, be chosen from saturated, straight or branched aliphatic hydrocarbons, such as butanes, pentanes, hexanes, heptanes, pentamethyl heptane or mineral oil fractions such as light or regular petrol, naphtha, kerosine or gas oil. Also fluorinated hydrocarbons or similar liquids are suitable for that purpose. Aromatic hydrocarbons, for instance benzene and toluene, can be used, but because of their cost as well as on account of safety considerations, it will be preferred not to use such solvents for production on a technical scale. In polymerization processes on a technical scale, it is preferred therefore to use as solvent the low-priced aliphatic hydrocarbons or mixtures thereof, as marketed by the petrochemical industry. If an aliphatic hydrocarbon is used as solvent, the solvent may yet contain minor quantities of aromatic hydrocarbon, for instance toluene. Thus, if for instance methyl aluminoxane (MAO) is used as co-catalyst, toluene can be used as solvent for the MAO in order to supply the MAO in dissolved form to the polymerization reactor. Drying or purification of the solvents is desirable if such solvents are used; this can be done without problems by the average person skilled in the art.
In the polymerisation process the metal complex and the co-catalyst are used in a catalytically effective amount, i.e. any amount that succesfully results in the formation of polymer. Such amounts may be readily determined by routine experimentation by the skilled art worker.
Those skilled in the art will easily understand that the catalyst systems used in accordance with this invention may also be prepared in-situ.
If a solution or bulk polymerisation is to be used it is preferably carried out at temperatures well above the melting point of the polymer to be produced, typically, but not limited to, temperatures between 120xc2x0 C. and 260xc2x0 C.
The polymerisation process can also be carried out under suspension or gasphase polymerization conditions which typically take place at temperatures well below the melting temperature of the polymer to be produced, typically, but not limited to, temperatures below 105xc2x0 C.
The polymer resulting from the polymerization can be worked up by a method known per se. In general the catalyst is de-activated at some point during the processing of the polymer. The de-activation is also effected in a manner known per se, e.g. by means of water or an alcohol. Removal of the catalyst residues can mostly be omitted because the quantity of catalyst in the polymer, in particular the content of halogen and metal is very low now owing to the use of the catalyst system according to the invention.
Polymerization can be effected at atmospheric pressure, at sub-atmospheric pressure, or at elevated pressure of up to 500 MPa, continuously or discontinuously. Preferably, the polymerization is performed at pressures between 0.01 and 500 MPa, most preferably between 0.01 and 10 MPa, in particular between 0.5-3 MPa. Higher pressures can be applied. In such a high-pressure process the metal complex according to the present invention can also be used with good results. Slurry and solution polymerisation normally take place at lower pressures, preferably below 20 MPa.
The polymerization can also be performed in several steps, in series as well as in parallel. If required, the catalyst composition, temperature, hydrogen concentration, pressure, residence time, etc. may be varied from step to step. In this way it is also possible to obtain products with a wide molecular weight distribution.
By using the metal complexes according to the present invention for the polymerisation of olefins polymers are obtained with a polydispersity (Mw/Mn) of 1.5-50. It is an advantage that also polymers with a narrow polydispersity can be produced, i.e polymers with a polydispersity of 1.5-2.5.
The invention also relates to a polyolefin polymer which can be obtained by means of the polymerization process according to the invention.
The invention will now be illustrated by means of the following non-restrictive examples.

Abstract: wherein

Abstract: Z is a silsesquioxane ligand according to the formula:

Abstract: xe2x80x83which is connected within one corner to one atom M or to two atoms M by one bridging oxygen atom,

Abstract: A is a substituent bonded to the metal,

Abstract: x is the number of substituents A bonded to the metal;

Abstract: the value of x depends on the metal used and is equal to the valency of the metal minus 1, 2, 3 or 4,

Abstract: R is a substituent bonded to each Si,

Abstract: m is an integer and is equal to 5-19,

Abstract: n is 1.5 or 3,

Abstract: q is 0, 1 or 2.


Apparatus for dampening pulsations in a fluid system has a radially expandable tube connected in the fluid system. A flexible outer shell surrounds the tube to form with the tube an annular chamber. The annular chamber is pressurized by a compressed gas or other fluid to dampen fluid pulsations that act upon the tube. Annular end caps connect the tube and the shell. At each end, the tube has an extension with a threaded connection to a bushing; the bushing has a threaded connection to the inner annulus of the end cap.

This invention relates to fluid flow components, and more particularly, to a fluid flow component that performs multiple functions in a fluid system.
Some considerations that a designer takes into account when designing a fluid system are fluid pulsations, mechanical vibrations, and misalignment of the connecting parts. Pulsation dampeners are used in fluid systems to reduce the effects of a fluid disturbing event, such as might be induced by a pump or valve. Vibration isolators are used in fluid systems to prevent transmission of vibrations. Alignment compensating couplings are used to reduce the stress placed on the interconnecting parts. Sometimes, two or more of these components are used in series in a fluid system.


An I/O controller to which an I/O device is connected includes a DMA controller (DMAC) and an access control unit (ACU). The DMAC executes DMA transfer in accordance with data transfer control information set in a control/status register by a user process. The ACU limits execution of DMA transfer by the DMAC based on access control information set in a control/status register by a privileged process, and disables the DMAC from accessing any memory area other than the memory area that can be accessed by the user process.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus for executing data transfer between an I/O device and memory by direct memory access (DMA) and a data transfer control method used with the apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a computer system having a multiprocess function capable of concurrently executing a plurality of processes uses a mechanism for protecting each process from any other process. To implement this mechanism, a processor usually has two execution modes of a privileged mode and a user mode. The kernel of an operating system, etc., operates in the privileged mode and each user process operates in the user mode. The user mode is also called general mode in some cases. In the privileged mode, all instructions including special instructions for controlling a memory management unit (MMU), etc., in the processor can be executed and accessible memory space is not limited. To realize memory protection, the privileged process like the kernel uses the MMU to manage the memory space that can be accessed by each user process.
Recently, a system architecture using direct memory access (DMA) has been used to release a CPU from data transfer processing between an I/O (Input/Output) device and memory (Refer to the document "Computer Architecture A Quantitative Approach Second Edition" as cited below) In a system described in the document, an I/O controller having a DMA capability is provided. The I/O controller can execute data transfer between an I/O device and memory by DMA while a processor executes any other task.
David A. Patterson and John L. Hennessy, "Computer Architecture A Quantitative Approach Second Edition," Morgan Kaufmann Publishers Inc., Jun. 1, 1996, p. 501-504, FIG. 6.15

Memory protection during direct memory access


An illumination light communication device includes a light source unit including light emitting elements; a power supply unit controlling a load current flowing through the light source unit to be maintained at a constant; a switch element connected in series to the light source unit; and a control unit configured to control on/off of the switch element to modulate a light intensity of illumination light from the light source unit such that a binary communication signal is superimposed on the illumination light. The control unit has a switching circuit to open/close a path between the light source unit and the power supply unit, controls on/off of the switching circuit based on a dimming signal to perform a dimming control on the light source unit by a PWM control, and allows the communication signal to be superimposed on the illumination light in synchronization with an ON time of the switching circuit.

In recent years, there has been proposed an illumination apparatus with a visible light communication function to transmit a variety of information in a free space by using illumination light. Such illumination apparatus is disclosed in, e.g., Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2011-34713. The illumination apparatus described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2011-34713 includes a light emitting portion substrate on which light emitting diodes serving as semiconductor light emitting elements are disposed, a lighting circuit substrate which is connected to the light emitting portion substrate to control lighting of the light emitting diodes, and a visible light communication control substrate which performs a visible light communication control of the light emitting diodes. The visible light communication control substrate is detachably connected between the lighting circuit substrate and the light emitting portion substrate, and thus, in this conventional example, it is possible to generalize the design of the illumination apparatuses with/without the visible light communication function.
In the conventional example, the visible light communication is carried out by modulating an intensity of the illumination light based on an information signal (communication signal) to be transmitted. In other words, in an illumination light communication device on the transmitting side, the communication signal is superimposed on the illumination light by turning on/off an illumination light outputted from a light source unit including the light emitting diodes as a light source. Then, a receiver on the receiving side receives the communication signal by detecting a difference between a light intensity when the pulse of the communication signal is not superimposed and a light intensity when the pulse of the communication signal is superimposed.
In case of an amplitude control in which a dimming control of the light source unit is performed by varying the magnitude of a load current, the load current continuously flows without interruption. Thus, the communication signal also can be continuously superimposed. However, in case of a PWM control in which a dimming control of the light source unit is performed by alternately repeating a period during which a load current flows and a period during which no load current flows, the communication signal cannot be superimposed in the period during which no load current flows, and thus, there is a possibility that the visible light communication may be interrupted.

Illumination light communication device, and illumination apparatus and system including same


Very stable W/O/W and O/W/O multiple emulsions which include a substantially continuous gelatinous membrane at an aqueous/oil interfacial region of the emulsions are provided. Particularly preferred gelatinous membrane-containing multiple emulsions are prepared in methods employing an aqueous phase comprising an aqueous soluble/gellable polysaccharide and a lipid phase comprising a metal cation-containing compound, wherein the metal cation salt of the aqueous soluble polysaccharide is a gel. Also provided are W/O/W multiple emulsions having an ethylcellulose-containing oil phase, which emulsions exhibit improved stability at temperatures between 0.degree. C. and 10.degree. C. W/O/W or O/W/O multiple emulsions having a concentrated aqueous-soluble flavor or a concentrated all-soluble flavor encapsulated in the internal phase are also provided, as well as low- or no-fat food products containing such concentrated-flavor encapsulating emulsios, which food products exhibit enhanced flavor perception and extended shelf-life.

Multiple emulsions may generally be categorized into one of two types: water-in-oil-in-water emulsions which are water continuous and oil-in-water-in-oil emulsions which are oil continuous. In each case the internal and external phases are alike and an intermediate phase separates the two like phases. The intermediate phase would normally be immiscible with the two like phases. Viewed in another way, water-in-oil-in-water multiple emulsions have a continuous external aqueous phase, in which is dispersed a lipid phase, which lipid phase has dispersed therein a internal aqueous phase. And oil-in-water-in-oil multiple emulsions have a continuous external lipid phase, in which is dispersed an aqueous phase, which aqueous phase has dispersed therein an internal lipid phase.
An important area of research concerning multiple emulsions has been directed largely to the problem of inherent instability of such systems. In the case of W/O/W emulsions, there is breakdown of the emulsion where discontinuities in the lipid phase permit the separated aqueous phases to coalesce. An analogous breakdown problem exists with O/W/O emulsions. Increasing the concentration of lipophilic emulsifier in the intermediate lipid phase of W/O/W emulsions or the concentration of hydrophilic emulsifier in the intermediate aqueous phase of O/W/O emulsions may tend to increase the integrity of the aqueous/oil interface, depending on type and amount of emulsifier employed, but notwithstanding increased concentrations of lipophilic or hydrophilic emulsifier, W/O/W and O/W/O emulsions tend to coalesce upon standing, particularly when stored at refrigerator temperatures. Moreover, increased concentrations of emulsifiers may be unacceptable for use in food emulsions and pharmaceutical delivery applications, where such concerns as off-flavors caused by emulsifiers, or FDA regulations, pragmatically limit the type and concentration of emulsifier which can be used. It would therefore be extremely desirable to provide multiple emulsions which are very stable to coalescence with aging and/or storage, even at refrigerator temperatures, which emulsions may be made using relatively low concentrations of emulsifiers.
With respect to food technology, considerable research effort has been expended on developing reduced fat food products which have low oil content, particularly aqueous based products which have low or substantially no fat content. Significant advances have been made in reducing fat and oil content of various food products through the use of, for example, water-in-oil emulsions or water-in-oil-in-water emulsions, wherein water occupies volume which otherwise would have been occupied with oil, thereby commensurately reducing the amount of oil in an oil-containing food product. For example, Takahashi et al., U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,632,840, 4,626,443 and 4,626,444 disclose reduced fat salad dressing having a W/O/W emulsion base. Such salad dressings nevertheless still have about 30% oil by weight. Further fat reductions have been obtained using, as fat mimetics, novel carbohydrate/protein complexes such as those disclosed in PCT International Application Publication No. WO 89/10068 or microreticulated microcrystalline cellulose as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,011,701. Such carbohydrate/protein complexes or microreticulated microcrystalline cellulose are particularly useful in providing no-fat food products such as viscous and pourable salad dressings and the like having fat-like organoleptic characteristics.
While elimination or substantial reduction of oil content is attainable, such low-fat or no-fat products characteristically lack (or lose during storage) the desirable flavor perception possessed by their high-fat counterparts. Stabilization of aqueous soluble or lipid soluble flavors in low- or no-fat, aqueous-based food products has not received much attention. Heretofore, aqueous soluble flavors have merely been added along with other aqueous soluble ingredients to produce low- or no-fat food products; with respect to reintroducing fat-soluble flavors to reduced-fat products, Singer, PCT International Application Publication WO 90/00354 discloses adding to such low-fat and no-fat foods fat globules containing concentrated fat soluble flavoring to simulate the organoleptic affect of fat-rich food products. In each of these cases the flavors are in contact with the aqueous-based food vehicle environment (either directly or at the interface between the fat globules and the aqueous base of the food vehicle) and thereby may be adversely affected. Flavor perception in low- or no-fat food products containing soluble flavors simply mixed into the aqueous-based food vehicle, e.g. viscous or pourable salad dressings or the like, rapidly deteriorates presumably due to interaction of flavors with the aqueous base, giving such products a short shelf life. It would therefore be desirable to provide aqueous-based food products (especially no-fat products) which have aqueous or oil soluble flavor components stably maintained so as to protect the flavors from volatilization, oxidation and other undesirable events, during extended storage, while at the same time providing for ready release of such flavors, with good organoleptic characteristics, when such low/no-fat food products are eaten.
In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide very stable W/O/W and O/W/O multiple emulsions which utilize reduced amounts of emulsifiers, which multiple emulsions are suitable for food emulsion technology, as well as other applications utilizing multiple emulsions. It is also an object of the present invention to provide flavor-delivering compositions which are stably maintained in low-fat or no-fat products, such that the flavors are protected from the aqueous-based food vehicle environment until the food product is eaten, whereupon the flavor is readily released to yield a desirable taste perception and mouthfeel. These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description.

Stable multiple emulsions comprising interfacial gelatinous layer, flavor-encapsulating multiple emulsions and low/no-fat food products comprising the same


Methods and apparatus for checksumming network packets encapsulated according to an encapsulation protocol are described in which a single checksum is performed at the encapsulation layer, with checksum generation performed at the source encapsulation layer and checksum validation performed at the destination encapsulation layer. The packet source and packet destination may be informed by the encapsulation layer that a checksum operation is not necessary for the network packets. By performing checksumming at the encapsulation layer, the method may reduce overhead as checksum computation is initiated once rather than twice as in conventional encapsulation techniques. In addition, checksum algorithms may be used that provide stronger error detection or correction than is provided by standard network protocol checksumming, different checksum algorithms may be selected for different paths according to one or more criteria, and checksum operations may be offloaded to hardware.

Checksum techniques are used for detecting errors in transmitted packets. In a checksum technique, a checksum function or algorithm is applied to a packet prior to transmission, and the resulting checksum value is stored in a field of the packet as packet metadata. At the packet destination, the same checksum algorithm may be applied to the packet, and the resulting checksum value is compared to the checksum value stored in the packet. If the two values are the same, then it is likely that the packet was not accidentally altered during transmission. If the two values differ, then at least one error has been introduced into the packet during transmission.
There are several different checksum algorithms that vary according to their ability to detect errors from relatively weak error detection that can only detect some types of errors to relatively strong error detection (e.g., 32-bit cyclic redundancy code (CRC32)) that can detect more complex errors or even maliciously introduced errors. In addition to detecting errors, some checksum techniques employ checksum algorithms that generate checksums that allow at least some detected errors to be corrected at the destination, for example error-correcting codes such as Reed-Solomon codes and erasure codes produced by erasure coding techniques, thus avoiding the need to retransmit the packets.
While embodiments are described herein by way of example for several embodiments and illustrative drawings, those skilled in the art will recognize that embodiments are not limited to the embodiments or drawings described. It should be understood, that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to limit embodiments to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope as defined by the appended claims. The headings used herein are for organizational purposes only and are not meant to be used to limit the scope of the description or the claims. As used throughout this application, the word "may" is used in a permissive sense (i.e., meaning having the potential to), rather than the mandatory sense (i.e., meaning must). Similarly, the words "include", "including", and "includes" mean including, but not limited to.

Checksumming encapsulated network packets


The object of this invention is to provide a solid polymer electrolyte which is excellent in durability and of low cost, and membranes, solutions for electrode catalyst coating, membrane/electrode assemblies and fuel cells which use the electrolyte. According to this invention, there can be provided a fuel cell which comprises an electrode assembly having an electrode catalyst membrane formed therein, said catalyst membrane comprising a polymer electrolyte membrane held between an anode on one side of the principal plane of the electrolyte membrane and a cathode on the other side of the principal lane thereof, current collecting plates provided each independently in close contact, to the anode side and the cathode side of the electrode assembly, and electroconductive separators having gas supply passages to the anode and to the cathode provided on the outside surfaces of the current collecting plates.

This invention relates to a polymer electrolyte which is excellent in oxidation resistance, of a low cost and has a high durability suitable for electrolyte membranes used for fuel cells, electrolyitic apparatuses of water, hydrohalogenic acids and sodium chloride, oxygen enrichers, humidity sensors, gas sensors, etc., and for other like uses, and to a polymer electrolyte membrane, a polymer electrolyte membrane/electrode assembly and a fuel cell which use the polymer electrolyte.
Fluorine-containing electrolytes typically represented by perfluorohydrocarbonsulfonic acid membranes have a very high chemical stability because they have C—F bonds. Therefore, said fluorine-containing electrolytes are in use for the above-mentioned solid polymer electrolyte membranes for fuel cells and electrolytic apparatuses of water, sodium chloride and hydrohalogenic acids and, by virtue of their protonic conductivity, for humidity sensors, gas sensors, oxygen enrichers, and the like.
Said fluorine-containing electrolytes, however, are very expensive because they are produced by a special process. Furthermore, halogen compounds require sufficient consideration in the aspect of equipment to cope with environmental pollution in synthesis and discarding. Accordingly, a polymer electrolyte of a non-fluorine-containing protonic conductor which is inexpensive and environmentary-friendly is eagerly awaited.
As to inexpensive solid polymer electrolyte membranes, there have been disclosed sulfonated aromatic hydrocarbon type electrolyte membranes including sulfonated polyether ether ketone in JP-A-6-93114, sulfonated polyether sulfone in JP-A-9-245818 and JP-A-11-116679, sulfonated acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer in JP-A-10-503788, sulfonated polysulfide in J.P. Appl. Kohyo-11-510198 and sulfonated polyphenylene in J.P. Appl. Kohyo-11-515040.
The above-mentioned sulfonated aromatic hydrocarbon type electrolyte membranes, as compared for example with fluorine-containing electrolyte membranes represented by Nafion, are easy to produce and of low cost, but are more susceptible to oxidative degradation and desulfonation.

Fuel cell, polyelectrolyte and ion-exchange resin use for same


An optical component of the present invention is composed of a ZnSe polycrystal body, and the ZnSe polycrystal body is constituted by crystal grains with an average grain size larger than or equal to 50 μm and smaller than or equal to 1 mm and has a relative density higher than or equal to 99%.

ZnSe (zinc selenide) is superior in characteristics of transmitting infrared light. Therefore, zinc selenide is employed in optical components, such as window material and lens material, of a carbon dioxide gas laser used for cut processing, sheet-metal processing, and the like. ZnSe employed in such optical components is formed to have various component shapes by synthesizing the material through a CVD method (also referred to as a chemical vapor deposition method, a chemical vapor phase growth method, or the like) and then applying machining, such as grinding and polishing, to the material.
The manufacturing cost for such optical components is highly dominated by the material cost and the machining cost. Reduction of these costs is important for the widespread use of optical components made of ZnSe. Machining such as grinding and polishing is not only time-consuming but also causes more or less waste of material in the form of machining chips due to cutting out a component shape from a large piece of material, leading to a rise in the manufacturing cost.
As a method for manufacturing an optical component made of ZnSe in a more inexpensive manner, there has been proposed a method of applying machining to a minimum extent. For example, WO2003/055826 (PTD 1) proposes a method of using a pressure/heat press to perform net-shape deformation to obtain a final shape from raw material powder. Further, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 05-043359 (PTD 2) proposes a method of press-molding a polycrystal body constituted by fine crystals.

Optical component and method for manufacturing same