Apparatus useful in surgery for holding retractors and other surgical instrumentation in a number of different positions required by a surgeon for the performance of a surgical procedure, including advanced sensing and regulation of retraction pressures and position; and incorporating a force amplification method to drive a locking mechanism in the supporting structure that utilizes a constrained, substantially incompressible, flexible solid material to yield a mechanism that is suitable for clinical use.

Many surgical procedures require that surgical instruments such as retractor blades be positioned in a number of different positions in order to perform a certain surgical task. It is desirable that the operating surgeon or surgical assistant be able to directly move the retractor blade into various positions and configurations that may be required. It is also desirable that any surgical retractor that may be used to achieve such positions and configurations not obstruct the surgical site, and be able to avoid any obstacles that may exist around the surgical site, such as medical imaging systems, operating room lights, instrument trays, or other apparatus. The surgical retractor should also be stable, easy to control and re-position precisely, require no attention between changes in position in order to free the surgeon's hands to perform other tasks, and be sufficiently strong and rigid to hold a set position reliably, yet be light enough to allow the surgeon to easily achieve a desired position and orientation of the retractor blade. It is also desirable that the surgical retractor sense pressures in the retracted tissue near a location under the retractor blade, alert the surgeon of any potentially hazardous pressures, and automatically regulate retraction pressures and positions, thereby reducing the likelihood of tissue laceration and ischemia caused by the retractor blade during long procedures.
Various methods for positioning and holding retractor blades are known in the prior art. One common method for positioning a retractor blade is to have a surgical assistant hold the retractor blade in a desired position, and change the position when and as requested by the operating surgeon. This task is fatiguing for the surgical assistant, and may not provide sufficiently precise and rigid support for the retractor blade in some surgical procedures.
In addition to the method for positioning described above, apparatus for positioning retractor blades exists in the art. One typical retractor blade positioning apparatus consists of a vertical mounting frame fastened to the operating room table, to which are fastened at discrete but adjustable positions different retractor blades to provide an upward pulling force on tissues or organs (e.g. Aesculap BT710 Fixation Device and Aesculap BT711-BT715 Rochard abdominal retractor blades, Aescualp Instruments Corp, Burlingame, Calif., U.S.A.). Ropes, weights, and pulley systems are also used in conjunction with the vertical frame to provide a continuously adjustable positioning system. Similar abdominal retraction techniques utilize a horizontal frame laid on the patient's body to which are fastened at discrete but adjustable positions different retractor blades to provide a lateral pulling force on tissues or organs (e.g. Aesculap BV662 frame and Aesculap BV668 blades). These types of surgical retractors are difficult to set up and take down, clumsy to adjust, and often obstruct the surgical site. Furthermore, adjusting such apparatus to achieve a new position may require the assistance of a non-sterile person, in that operating room fixtures and support stands that may require re-positioning are not considered sterile, hence cannot be touched by a surgeon. This may preclude optimal positioning of the retractor blades or tissue, as the surgeon may no longer have direct control over the final position of the retractor blade. These types of retractor blade positioning systems are limited in their range of adjustment, versatility of orientation, precision of positioning, and rigidity of support. They also offer no means to sense and regulate applied retraction pressures.
Additional specialized positioning devices for holding retractor blades are known in the art. The Elmed Company of Addison Illinois manufactures a multi-jointed mechanism, the "Elmed Retract-Robot", catalog number 15088-00 single arm instrument, which can be locked in a wide range of positions with a thumb-screw arrangement. However this device is not suitable for a wide range of surgical procedures due to its inconsistent locking strength, limited range of motion, inability to unlock joints separately for re-positioning, time-consuming and tedious adjustment of the thumb screw, potential for obstruction of the surgical site, and solid steel construction which is not x-ray translucent. It is conceivable that several such devices could be connected together to create a larger structure with an increased range of motion, but such a structure would be very difficult to re-position, in that each device in the structure would have to be unlocked, positioned and locked individually each time a new position is required. In addition, it is unlikely that several such devices connected together would offer sufficient strength for the intended application. Finally, this device offers no means for sensing or regulating retraction pressures.
Also known in the art is a retractor blade holding device, widely known by surgeons throughout the world as a "Greenberg" brain retractor. This surgical retractor consists of a plurality of ball and socket joints, threaded upon a length of cable. This cable may be tightened with a lever mechanism to increase the friction between each ball and socket joint. The Greenberg brain retractor is not suitable for all surgical procedures due to its typically small size. In addition, the strength of the ball and socket joints when fully locked is insufficient to support the loads typically expected when positioning retractor blades in many surgical procedures. The device is not x-ray translucent, nor is it capable of sensing or regulating retraction pressure.
One problem that is common to any re-positionable surgical retractor is achieving sufficient strength and rigidity to provide a stable structure for the intended application, using only materials and mechanisms that are sterilizable, self-contained, and suitably clean for use in surgical procedures. Although many examples of locking mechanisms are known in the prior art, most are either too large, too weak when scaled down to a size appropriate for this application, or use fluid in a force multiplying system which is unsuitable in surgical applications due to concerns about leaks. In addition, the use of fluid as a force multiplying component requires that some means be provided to bleed air or other gasses from the fluid to render it substantially incompressible, which requires complex and specialized apparatus. A better means of achieving force multiplication would use a material which provides the function of a hydraulic amplifier over a very small range of motion, but which does not use fluids.
One example of a locking mechanism suitable for use in a non-sterile surgical environment is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,807,618, entitled "Patient Limb Positioning Apparatus". This apparatus uses a pneumatic actuator which exerts a high force on a system of levers which in turn exert force on a ball joint mechanism in order to lock it in place. This force multiplying mechanism is not suitable for use in applications where the device must be sterilized, because the materials and mechanisms used will not withstand the sterilization procedures used in hospitals. A further disadvantage of this type of mechanism is that it requires a relatively large number of very high strength components in order to operate properly.


The invention relates to a vehicle detection method which includes: photographing a front-view of a vehicle; detecting an edge from an image photographed by a camera and generating a horizontal binary image and a vertical binary image; detecting a bottom surface candidate group relating to a preceding vehicle from the horizontal binary image and detecting a side surface candidate group relating to the preceding vehicle from the vertical binary image; when one of a pair of side surface candidate groups and bottom surface candidate groups of the pair of side surface candidate groups is not detected, estimating the side surface candidate group and bottom surface candidate group and generating a vehicle candidate group; and filtering the vehicle candidate group and detecting the preceding vehicle. Therefore, even when all of vehicles are not perfectly photographed, a preceding vehicle can be more precisely detected.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and method for detecting a vehicle and, more specifically, to a system and method for detecting a vehicle, which can generate a vehicle candidate group presumed as a vehicle even when one of a side surface or bottom surface of the vehicle is not detected, thereby more precisely detecting a preceding vehicle so as to secure a driver's safety.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Recently, systems, which can implement various functions by recognizing vehicles in front of or behind a driver's vehicle, have been installed in vehicles one after another. The above-described systems may display images of preceding and following vehicles, as they are, to a driver or may process the images to provide particular information to the driver.
A forward collision warning system among these systems may detect the preceding vehicle by using a radar for detecting a vehicle and a camera for outputting an image of the vehicle, thereby giving a warning to the driver or automatically applying the brake according to the possibility of a collision so as to prevent a collision between the driver's vehicle and the preceding vehicle.
Recently, thanks to the simplification of a system structure and the reduction of production cost, a vehicle recognition method, which can recognize a vehicle by using an image photographed by a camera without using peripheral devices such as radar, has been increasingly required.
As described above, when a preceding vehicle is detected by using an image photographed by a camera, the result of vehicle recognition may vary according to illumination and weather. For example, when sunlight is intense side light or backlight, a side surface or bottom surface of a preceding vehicle is unclear and thus the preceding vehicle may not be detected. Therefore, the forward collision warning system does not give a warning to a driver or does not automatically apply the brake, and thus may threaten the safety of the driver.


A crossflow membrane device that receives a feedstock at a feed end face and separates the feedstock into permeate and retentate. The device has a membrane support containing at least one monolith of porous material defining a plurality of passageways extending longitudinally from the feed end face of the monolith to a retentate end face of the monolith through which the feedstock flows to pass retentate from the device. A permselective membrane coating of finer pore size than that of the porous material is applied to the passageway wall surfaces of the monolith. At least one permeate conduit is formed within the monolith, the conduit containing a plurality of longitudinal permeate chambers communicating with a means of permeate introduction at or near the feed end face and permeate withdrawal at or near the retentate end face. The permeate is separated from feed and retentate, and a portion of the permeate is circulated through the permeate conduit to create a decreasing permeate pressure within the permeate conduit from the feed end of the membrane device to the retentate end of the device to control transmembrane pressure along the length of the device.

For crossflow microfiltration and ultrafiltration, it is generally recognized that maintaining a uniform transmembrane pressure along the length of a membrane module is advantageous. For such membrane modules a feedstock is circulated from a feed end of the module to a retentate end of the module. A relatively high crossflow velocity is desired to minimize concentration polarization of feed constituents retained at the membrane surface so as to be able to maintain a high and relatively stable membrane flux over time. This high crossflow velocity also results in a pressure drop from the feed end of the module to the retentate end. This pressure drop can be as high as 2 to over 4 bar for membrane modules, depending on the crossflow velocity, fluid viscosity, and membrane feed channel hydraulic diameter and length. For microfiltration, in particular, it can be desirable to operate at a transmembrane pressure (TMP) of less than 1 bar. This is desirable first, for maintaining a relatively stable flux by minimizing concentration polarization and accompanying membrane fouling. Second, operation at low TMP can minimize membrane pore plugging. Third, for some applications, the polarization layer (intensified at high TMP) can become a dynamic membrane and retain feed species that are desired to be removed in a permeate stream. For a feed to retentate pressure decrease from, for example, 5 bar to 2 bar along a membrane module, and a permeate pressure level of 1 bar, the TMP would decrease from 4 bar at the module inlet to 1 bar at the retentate outlet. It is preferred to operate a membrane module at a constant TMP, e.g., 1 bar, and this is the object of the present invention for specific membrane configurations.
One means of equalizing the TMP from a feed end of a membrane module to the retentate end is to circulate permeate in co-current flow along the exterior of a membrane element or elements contained in a permeate collection housing. The pressure drop for the flowing permeate can be controlled to match the feed to retentate pressure drop, thereby resulting in a controllable and essentially constant TMP along the length of the membrane elements. This means was disclosed in 1978 by Sandblom, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,105,547, assigned to Alfa-Laval AB. A subsequent patent also assigned to Alfa-Laval (Holm, et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,901,362) further included the addition of a granular filler to the permeate space around a multiplicity of membrane elements in a housing. This filler served to create an increased resistance in the permeate cavity for permeate flow. This reduced the required permeate flow rate to achieve nearly constant TMP in the module, simplifying a system by reducing permeate circulation flow and resulting equipment size and cost, and also reducing power consumption.
An alternative to filling the permeate cavity in a multi-element membrane module to reduce the required permeate circulation flow has been patented by Osterland, et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,906,739. In this patent, means are disclosed to encase individual membrane elements within individual permeate collection tubes, creating a small annular space between the membrane element and the permeate tube. The permeate flow through such annuli required to create the desired pressure drop in the co-current permeate flow is reduced from that that would be present in a membrane device with a multiplicity of membrane elements contained only in a housing without the flow restriction disclosed by Holm.
In general, the above techniques are applicable to membrane elements in both tubular and multi-channel configuration. However, the latter are preferred for cost reasons. For these multi-channel membrane devices, two other means for control of TMP along the length of the elements have been commercialized. First is the grading of the permeability of the membrane support along its length, as disclosed by Garcera and Toujas in U.S. Pat. No. 6,375,014. In this technique, the resistance of the membrane support is greater at the feed inlet than it is at the retentate outlet. Within a range of membrane flux, the flow resistance of the support provides a higher pressure drop for permeate flow to the permeate collection zone at the inlet of the element than at the outlet. A second technique has been commercialized by TAMI Industries, and this consists of varying the membrane thickness and resistance along the length of a membrane element. A thicker membrane at the inlet provides a higher pressure drop for permeate flow at the element inlet than at the element outlet, thereby providing a more uniform TMP along the length of the membrane element (Grangeon, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,499,606, USP 2003/0070981 A1).
The above methods have been developed primarily for membrane modules that contain multiple elements within a single housing, with the elements principally being of small-diameter, multi-channel construction. A different membrane module structure has been developed by Goldsmith, et al., disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,781,831, 5,009,781, 5,108,601, and 6,126,833, all incorporated herein by reference. In these patents, large-diameter, multi-channel membrane elements are disclosed. The distinguishing characteristic of these elements is that they contain one or more internal permeate conduits for extracting permeate from the interior of the elements, circumventing a permeate-side pressure drop within multi-channel monolith membrane devices that would otherwise limit performance of such devices.
A preferred embodiment of the Goldsmith devices includes permeate extraction channels formed at one or both ends of a large diameter monolith, preferably in the form of slots intersecting permeate chambers extending longitudinally along the length of the membrane element. The presence of these channels, when present at both ends of the membrane element, affords a novel means of circulating permeate flow through the permeate conduit, co-currently with feed flow, to achieve a more uniform TMP along the length of the membrane element.
Another embodiment of the Goldsmith devices includes a means of permeate extraction from a monolith membrane element using permeate ducts situated at the end faces of the membrane element, the ducts communicating with the internal permeate conduit chambers through internal transverse channels. The presence of these ducts, when present at both ends of the membrane element, affords a second novel means of circulating permeate flow through the permeate conduit to achieve a uniform TMP along the length of the membrane element.
These constructions are amenable to co-current permeate circulation flow to maintain a constant or near-constant TMP along the length of such monolith membrane elements and form the basis for the present invention.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Membrane devices with controlled transmembrane pressure and method of use


This invention provides methods, devices and device components for preparing ions from liquid samples containing chemical species and methods and devices for analyzing chemical species in liquid samples. The present invention provides an ion source for generating analyte ions having a selected charge state distribution, such as a reduced charged state distribution, that may be effectively interfaced with a variety of charged particle analyzers, including virtually any type of mass spectrometer.

Mass spectrometry has advanced over the last few decades to the point where it is one of the most broadly applicable analytical tools for detection and characterization of a wide class of molecules. Mass spectrometric analysis is applicable to almost any species capable of forming an ion in the gas phase, and, therefore, provides perhaps the most universally applicable method of quantitative analysis. In addition, mass spectrometry is a highly selective technique especially well suited for the analysis of complex mixtures of different compounds in varying concentrations. Further, mass spectrometric methods provide very high detection sensitivities, approaching tenths of parts per trillion for some species. As a result of these beneficial attributes, a great deal of attention has been directed over the last several decades at developing mass spectrometric methods for analyzing complex mixtures of biomolecules, such as peptides, proteins, carbohydrates and oligonucleotides and complexes of these molecules.
To be detectable via mass spectrometric methods, a compound of interest must first be converted into an ion in the gas phase. Accordingly, the ion formation process significantly impacts the scope, applicability, efficiency and limitations of mass spectrometry. Conventional ion preparation methods for mass spectrometric analysis are largely unsuitable for high molecular weight compounds, such as biomolecules. For example, vaporization by sublimation and/or thermal desorption is unfeasible for many high molecular weight biomolecules because these species tend to have negligibly low vapor pressures. Ionization methods based upon desorption processes, on the other hand, have proven more effective in generating ions from thermally labile, nonvolatile compounds. In these methods, a sample is subjected to conditions resulting in emission of ions from solid or liquid surfaces or generation of ions via complete evaporation of charged droplets.
Over the last few decades, two desorption based ion preparation techniques have been developed that are particularly well suited for the analysis of large molecular weight compounds: (1) matrix assisted laser desorption and ionization—mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) and (2) electrospray ionization—mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). MALDI and ESI ion preparation methods have profoundly expanded the role of mass spectrometry for the analysis of nonvolatile high molecular weight compounds including many compounds of biological interest. These ionization techniques generally provide high ionization efficiencies (ionization efficiency=(ions formed)/(molecules consumed)) and have been demonstrated to be applicable to biomolecules with molecular weights exceeding 100,000 Daltons.
In MALDI, analyte is integrated into a crystalline organic matrix and irradiated by a short (≈10 ns) pulse of laser radiation at a wavelength resonant with the absorption band of the matrix molecules. This process results in rapid formation of a gas phase plume wherein analyte molecules are entrained and ionized via gas-phase proton transfer reactions. MALDI ion formation generally produces ions in singly and/or doubly charged states. Fragmentation of analyte molecules during vaporization and ionization, however, limits the applicability of MALDI for some samples, and the sensitivity of the technique is known to depend on sample preparation methodology and the surface and bulk characteristics of the site irradiated by the laser. As a result, MALDI-MS analysis is primarily used to identify the molecular masses of components of a sample and yields little information pertaining to the concentrations or molecular structures of materials analyzed. Further, MALDI ion sources are generally not directly compatible with systems useful for online sample purification prior to ion formation, such as capillary electrophoresis and high performance liquid chromatography systems.
ESI is a widely used field desorption ionization method that generally provides a means of generating gas phase ions with little analyte fragmentation [Fenn et al., Science, 246, 64-70 (1989)]. Furthermore, ESI is directly compatible with on-line liquid phase separation techniques, such as high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and capillary electrophoresis systems. In ESI, a solution containing a solvent and an analyte is pumped through a capillary orifice maintained at a high electrical potential and directed at an opposing plate provided near ground. The electric field at the capillary tip charges the surface of the emerging liquid and results in a continuous or pulsed stream of electrically charged droplets. Subsequent evaporation of the solvent from charged droplets promotes formation of analyte ions from species existing as ions in solution. Polar analyte species may also undergo desorption and/or ionization during the electrospray process by associating with cations and anions in solution. A number of other useful field desorption methods using electrically charged droplets have been developed in recent years that are also capable of preparing ions from non-volatile, thermally liable, high molecular weight compounds. These techniques differ primarily in the physical mechanism in which droplets are generated and electrically charged, and include aerospray ionization, thermospray ionization and the use of pneumatic nebulization.
In contrast to MALDI, ions produced by field desorption methods employing charged droplets typically generate analyte ions populating a number of different multiply charged states, including highly charged states. Mass spectra obtained using these techniques, therefore, may comprise a complex amalgamation of peaks corresponding to a distribution of multiply charged states for each analyte species in a sample. In some cases, mass spectra obtained using these techniques have too many overlapping peaks to allow effective discrimination and identification of the components of a sample comprising a complex mixture of analytes. Accordingly, the formation of analyte ions populating a relatively a large number of different multiply charged states limits the applicability of field desorption ionization methods employing electrically charged droplets for analysis of complex mixtures, such as samples obtained from cell lysates.
Over the last decade, various computational and experimental approaches for expanding the utility of ESI-MS techniques for the analysis of complex mixtures of biopolymers have been pursed. One approach uses computer algorithms that transform experimentally derived multiply charged ESI spectra to "zero charge" spectra [Mann et al., Anal. Chem., 62, 1702 (1989)]. While transformation algorithms take advantage of the precision improvement afforded by multiple peaks attributable to the same analyte species, spectral complexity, detector noise and chemical noise often result in missed analyte peaks and the appearance of false, artifactual peaks. The utility of transformation algorithms for interpreting ESI-MS spectra of mixtures of biopolymers may be substantially improved, however, by manipulating the charge-state distribution of analyte ions produced in ESI and/or by operating under experimental conditions providing high signal to noise ratios [Stephenson and McLucky, J. Mass Spectrom. 33, 664-672 (1998)]. Another approach to reducing the complexity of ESI-MS spectra of mixtures of biopolymers involves operating the electrospray ionization ion source in a manner that lowers and/or controls the net number of charge-states populated for a particular analyte compound. A variety of methods of charge reduction have been attempted with varying degrees of success.
Griffey et al. report that the charge-state distribution of analyte ions produced by ESI may be manipulated by adjusting the chemical composition of the solution discharged by the electrospray [Griffey et al., J. Am. Soc. Mass Spectrom., 8, 155-160 (1997)]. They demonstrate that modification of solution pH and/or the abundance of organic acids or bases in a solution may result in ESI-MS spectra for oligonucleotides primarily consisting of singly and doubly charged ions. In particular, Griffey et al. report a decrease in the average charge-state observed for the electrospray of solutions of a 14 mer DNA molecule from −7.2 to −3.8 upon addition of ammonium acetate to achieve a concentration of approximately 33 mM. Although in some cases altering solution conditions appears to improve the ease in which ESI spectra are interpreted, these techniques do not allow selective control over the distribution of charge states accessed for all species present in solution. In addition, manipulation of solution phase composition may also generate unwanted effects, such as compromising ionization and/or transmission efficiencies in the electrospray ionization process.
An alternative approach for controlling the charge-state distributions of analyte ions produced by ESI is involves the use of gas phase chemical reactions of reagent ions to reduce the ionic charges of droplets and/or analyte ions generated upon electrospray discharge. This approach has the advantage of at least partially decoupling ionization and charge reduction processes in a manner having the potential to provide substantially independent control of charge-state distribution. Independent control of charge reduction is beneficial as it provides flexibility in selecting the sample composition (e.g. pH, buffer concentration, ionic strength etc.) and the ESI operating conditions.
To achieve a reduction in the charge-state distribution generated in the electrospray discharge of a solution containing a mixture of proteins, Ogorzalek et al. merged the output of an electrospray discharge with a stream of reagent ions generated by an externally housed Corona discharge [Ogorzalek et al., J. Am. Soc. Mass Spectrom., 3, 695-705 (1992)]. Ogorzalek et al. observed a decrease in the most abundant cation observed in the electrospray discharge of solutions containing equine heart cytochrome c from a charge state of +15 to a charge state of +13 upon merging a stream of anions formed via corona discharge with the output of an ESI source operating in positive ion mode. While the authors report a measurable reduction in analyte ion charge state distribution, generation of a population consisting predominantly of singly and/or doubly charged ions was not achievable. Furthermore, the authors note that operation of the discharge at high discharge currents lead to a reduction in analyte ion signal equal to about two orders of magnitude. Regarding the potential application of their technique for "shifting charge state distributions," the authors indicated "[o]ur experience suggests that the ion-ion reactions studied to date for this purpose are not as easy to control and appear to lead to greater signal losses than do ion-molecule reactions."
U.S. Pat. No. 5,992,244 (Pui et al.) also report a method for neutralizing charged particles alleged to minimize particle losses to surfaces. In this method, charged droplets and/or particles are generated via electrospray and exposed to a stream of oppositely charged electrons and/or reagent ions flowing in a direction opposite to that of the electrospray discharge. The authors describe the use of a neutralization chamber with one or more corona discharges distributed along the housing for producing free electrons and/or ions for neutralizing the output of an electrospray discharge. Electrically biased, perforated metal screens or plates are positioned along the housing of the neutralization chamber between the corona discharges and a neutralization region to create a confined electric field to conduct reagent ions toward the electrospray discharge. In addition, Pui et al., describe a similar charged particle neutralization apparatus in which the corona discharge ion source is replaced with a radioactive source of ionizing radiation for generating reagent ions. In both methods, neutralization is reported to reduce wall losses and enhance neutral aerosol throughput to an optical detection region located downstream of the electrospray discharge.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,727,471 and 6,649,907 disclose methods, devices and device components providing charge reduction for field desorption ion sources using charged droplet, such as ESI and nebulization sources. In the patents, the output of a source of electrically charged droplets is directed through a field desorption-charge reduction chamber having a source of reagent ions. Reactions between charged droplets, analyte ions or both and oppositely charged reagent ions and/or electrons in the field desorption-charge reduction chamber reduces the charge state distribution of the analyte ions. The patents describe various means of improving high transmission efficiencies of analyte ions through the charge reduction chambers including use of a shield element surrounding the reagent ion source for substantially confining electric and/or magnetic fields generated by the reagent ion source, and use of a radioactive source of reagent ions. In addition, the patents provide various means for selectively adjusting the charge state distribution of reagent ions, including selective adjustment of the residence time of analyte ions and charged droplets in the field desorption-charge reduction chamber, selective adjustment of the voltage applied to a corona discharge reagent ion source, and selective adjustment of the flux of ionizing radiation generated by a radioactive ion source.
It will be appreciated from the foregoing that a need exists for devices and methods for regulating the charge-state distribution of ions generated by field desorption techniques to permit analysis of mixtures containing high molecular weight biopolymers via mass spectrometry. Particularly, methods, devices and device components are needed that provide selectively adjustable (i.e. tunable) charge reduction over a useful range of analyte ion charge states. Further, charge reduction methods and devices are needed that provide high analyte ion transmission and collection efficiencies required for sensitive mass spectrometric analysis.

Electrospray ionization ion source with tunable charge reduction


A capacitive isolation system, capacitive isolator, and method of operating the same are disclosed. The capacitive isolation system is described to include a first semiconductor die and a second semiconductor die each having capacitive elements established thereon and positioned in a face-to-face configuration. An isolation layer is provided between the first and second semiconductor die so as to establish an isolation boundary therebetween. Capacitive coupling is used to carry information across the isolation boundary.

There are many types of electrical systems that benefit from electrical isolation. Galvanic isolation is a principle of isolating functional sections of electrical systems to prevent current flow, meaning that no direct electrical conduction path is permitted between different functional sections. As one example, certain types of electronic equipment require that high-voltage components (e.g., 1 kV or greater) interface with low-voltage components (e.g., 10V or lower). Examples of such equipment include medical devices and industrial machines that utilize high-voltage in some parts of the system, but have low-voltage control electronics elsewhere within the system. The interface of the high-voltage and low-voltage sides of the system relies upon the transfer of data via some mechanism other than electrical current.
Other types of electrical systems such as signal and power transmission lines can be subjected to voltage surges by lightning, electrostatic discharge, radio frequency transmissions, switching pulses (spikes), and perturbations in power supply. These types of systems can also benefit from electrical isolation.
Electrical isolation can be achieved with a number of different types of devices. Some examples of isolation products include galvanic isolators, opto-couplers, inductive, and capacitive isolators. Previous generations of electronic isolators used two chips in a horizontal configuration with wire bonds between the chips. These wire bonds provide a coupling point for large excursions in the difference between the grounds of the systems being isolated. These excursions can be on the order of 25,000 V/usec.
As mentioned above, electrical isolation can be achieved with capacitive, inductive isolators, and/or RF isolators to transmit data across an isolation boundary. The capacitive approach may employ a small capacitor, say 100 fF across the isolation boundary. For the receiver to discern logic level swings differentiated across the isolation boundary, the receiver needs to detect the transmitted signal in the presence of large excursions that have roughly the same bandwidth of interest.
Prior capacitive isolators use a planar package design in which two chips are separated in the horizontal direction and the coupling device is connected via chip-to-chip wire bond(s). The prior solutions may have the coupling device integrated into the receiver or they may employ a third chip that has the coupling device. In either scenario, the wire bond acts like an antenna with about 1-2 nH of inductance. This inductor is suspended over the isolation boundary and has a certain coupling to the ground planes of both chips. Since most couplers are differential, there are at least two of these wire bonds. If the coupling to these wire bonds is not balanced, then the large common mode rejection excursions (e.g., 1000V at rate of 25,000V/usec) will turn into differential voltages via this unbalanced coupling.
It would be desirable to employ a capacitive isolator that minimizes the coupling to this node by removing the wire bonds and making this node as short as possible. It would also be desirable to achieve these goals without increasing production costs to the point where high-volume production is not feasible.

Isolator with reduced susceptibility to parasitic coupling

AVAGO TECHNOLOGIES GENERAL IP (SINGAPORE) PTE. LTD.


A drive motor for a recording disk of one example of the present invention includes a rotor holder (12) fixed to a shaft (8) which is a rotational member and a centering portion (20). A spacer (38) is provided between a base portion of a chuck (26), at least one portion thereof is accommodated in the centering portion (20), and a rotor holder (12).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a drive motor for a recording disk for driving various kinds of recording disks such as CD, DVD, PD, or the like and a recording disk drive using the drive motor for a recording disk.
2. Background Art
For example, as a drive motor for a recording disk, a structure shown in FIG. 11 has been known. A rotor 100 of the motor includes a shaft 104 rotatably supported to a sleeve 102 which is a static member, a rotor holder 106 supported at an axially upper portion of the shaft 104, and a disk holder 108 supported above the rotor holder 106 at the axially upper side of the shaft 104. The disk holder 108 includes a turn table 115 on which a recording disk 114 is mounted, a centering portion portion 116 provided in the central portion of the turn table 115, and a plurality of chucks 112 radially outwardly biased by respective coil springs 110 circumferentially evenly disposed in the centering portion portion 116.
When such a motor is used, a central hole of the recording disk 114 is attached to the centering portion portion 116. When the centering portion portion 116 begins fitting into the central hole of the recording disk 114, each of the chucks 112 is pushed by an inner circumferential surface of the central hole of the recording disk 114 to move radially inwardly. Then, when the recording disk 114 is completely attached and is mounted on a disk mount surface 115a of the turn table 115, a tip portion 112b of the chuck 112 is pushed by a restoring force of the coil springs 110 to press an upper edge portion of the inner circumferential surface of the recording disk 114, thereby permitting the recording disk 114 to be held on the rotor 100. Consequently, during rotation of the rotor 100, the recording disk 114 neither comes away nor inclines due to a centrifugal force or its own weight.
In the aforementioned structure, since an axial thickness of the recording disk 114 is specified in the standards, a certain axial distance needs to be maintained between the disk mount surface 115a and the tip portion 112b of the chuck 112 in order to hold the recording disk 114.
Therefore, in a state that the tip portion 112b of the chuck 112 is engaged with an upper edge portion of the inner circumferential surface of the recording disk 114 (a state of holding the recording disk), a comparatively large interspace 120 intervenes between a base portion 112a of the chuck 112 and an upper surface of the rotor holder 106.
If the interspace 120 intervenes, when the recording disk 114 is removed from the state that the recording disk 114 is held by the rotor 100, a force (hereinafter, such a force is referred to as a recording disk draw force) required to remove the recording disk 114 from the rotor 100 may be lowered. That is, when the recording disk 114 is removed from the rotor 100, the chuck 112 is pushed by the inner circumferential surface of the recording disk 114 to receive an axially upward force; but, since the interspace 120 intervenes, the chuck 112 easily rotates in the state being biased by the coil springs 110 instead of moving the base portion 112a radially inwardly against the bias of the coil spring 110. Therefore, an axially upward movement amount of the tip portion 112b of the chuck 112 increases, so that the recording disk draw force is remarkably reduced. When the recording disk draw force is reduced, the recording disk 114 may easily come off from the rotor 100 during rotation of the motor due to centrifugal forces, outside shocks, or the like.
Here, an axial size of the interspace 120 can be decreased by reducing the axial thickness of the turn table 115 to move the disk mount surface 115a axially downwardly. However, such a configuration causes rigidity of the turn table 115 to be lowered.
On the other hand, when the spring force of the coil spring 110 is strengthened, that is, when the spring constant is increased, a lowering of the recording disk draw force can be prevented. However, radially inward movement of the chuck 112 becomes difficult, and a force required to mount the recording disk 114 on the rotor 100 (hereinafter, such a force is referred to as a recording disk attachment force) increases. Consequently, attachment of the recording disk 114 to the rotor 100 becomes difficult, resulting in degradation of operability.

Drive motor for recording disk and recording disk drive using the drive motor for recording disk


A system and method to extract heat energy from underground heat sources, then transport that heat to the surface in the form of a high temperature liquid or gas, and deliver the contaminant-free heat energy to a surface user of heat. The heat captured in the working fluid of the system is gained by heat transfers and can be extracted from the in situ combustion of any oil sands, heavy oil, conventional or unconventional oil, bitumen, coal, conventional or unconventional natural gas, methane or oil shales, or from various other sources. The invention creates a closed circulation system, in which the working fluid and steam circulating in the system are protected from any direct contact with the hydrocarbon reservoir, and gases produced by the in situ combustion are sequestered in the reservoir by the overlying overburden.

As part of the large-scale electrical power generation in the United States and Canada, massive burning of hydrocarbon fuels is required for power plants that are fired by coal, oil or natural gas. It is generally accepted that serious environmental problems arise during the production of electric power using any of these hydrocarbon fuels, albeit some less than others. Greenhouse gases are generated and released into the atmosphere, and many other contaminants are brought to the surface and must be dealt with using expensive and sometimes ineffective processes.
With each step in the processes of extracting, refining, transporting and ultimately burning any hydrocarbon for use in a distant power plant or car, considerable damage is done to the environment. Each of these process steps is also expensive.
If contained hydrocarbon reservoirs were burned in situ underground, and only heat energy was extracted to the surface, and the heat energy was applied to generate electrical power, which was transmitted to the continental electricity grids, and then to electric cars, electric heating and electric-focused industries we would have a far more efficient and cost-effective energy system. If we could get more hydrocarbons usably available from each of our hydrocarbon resources we would make our overall hydrocarbon resources last longer. In so doing, if we could also eliminate greenhouse gases and other contaminants resulting from the recovery and use of hydrocarbons, we would help considerably in solving three major current world problems, namely, the need for cheaper energy, the need for more abundant and dispersed energy, and the need for much greater reductions in greenhouse gases emissions and contaminants.
It is known in the art of power generation to burn fossil fuels in situ underground and extract the heat energy to the surface. Examples in the patent literature include Reynolds et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,018,279; Cooper, U.S. Pat. No. 4,063,416; Birch, U.S. Pat. No. 4,557,328; and Uselton, US 2010/0251728. However, the prior systems do not avoid the problems of environmental contaminants being transported to the ground surface, or combustion gases being released into the atmosphere, even though the burning occurs underground.
Successful in situ combustion of hydrocarbon reservoirs has been conducted since at least the early 1960's (see SPE/DOE 24200 Case History dated 1992 on South Belridge, Calif., In Situ Combustion Oil Recovery by Mobil Oil, which carried on the process for over 22 years in a heavy oil reservoir). Large scale steam turbine power plants have been around for nearly 100 years. It would be desirable to link these two old technologies—in situ combustion heat (or other forms of subterranean heat) and steam turbine power plants (or other commercial heat uses). In order to change the location of where and how hydrocarbons are burned, the main technology that has been missing is the ability to efficiently transfer heat energy from underground up to the surface to a user.

Heat energy extraction system from underground in situ combustion of hydrocarbon reservoirs


A drive device for a hatch of a vehicle, wherein the device includes a first housing part which can be connected to a stationary component or to a movable component, a second housing part, a third housing part which is telescopically guided in the second housing part with an axial freedom of movement and which can be connected to the other of the movable component or the stationary component. A spindle drive comprising a threaded spindle and a spindle nut is mounted on the threaded spindle, by which the third housing part can be driven by a rotary drive and, thus, moved axially with respect to the second housing part. The drive device also includes a brake device, where the brake device comprises a centrifugal force brake.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention is directed to a drive device for a hatch of a motor vehicle having a first housing part, which can be connected to a stationary component or to a movable component, a second housing part, and a third housing part, which is guided in the second housing part with freedom of telescopic movement, and which can be connected to a movable component or to a stationary component. The drive device also includes a spindle drive comprising a threaded spindle and a spindle nut mounted on the threaded spindle, by which the third housing part can be driven by a rotary drive and thus moved axially with respect to the second housing part, and a brake device.
2. Description of the Related Art
In conventional drive devices, it should be possible not only to allow the drive device to move the hatch of a vehicle automatically but also to move the hatch manually. Here, the manual forces required for moving the hatch should be as low as possible. Simultaneously, the force which holds the hatch open against the effect of additional loads, such as those exerted by snow, wind, etc., should remain reliably guaranteed.
One disadvantage associated with such conventional drive devices is that the cooperating brake elements of these types of devices do not completely release each other during the operation of the rotary drive and, thus, are subject to unnecessary wear or are complicated in design.


A preprinted document having an operative portion provided with a means for temporarily attaching related addendum. The attachment means comprises a non-drying, slightly tacky, pressure sensitive adhesive.

This invention relates to a system for temporarily attaching addendums to related documents. A particular application of the present invention relates to the use of a non-drying slightly tacky pressure-sensitive adhesive strip adjacent operative indicia on a document to temporarily attach related addendums such as checks.
Documents used in business, government and consumer transactions are generally either informative or require, permit, or suggest certain appropriate action. Documents which require action by the recipient or holder thereof frequently require submission or handling with related documents or addendum. For example, commonly in business consumer transactions a bill will be divided into two sections. A first top section summarizing the billing information such as breakdown of charges, accounting of rates, mailing addresses and the like. The bottom portion of the document, which is often removable, will commonly be an invoice which is required to be sent with the payment.
The payment and the invoice are closely related and frequently undergo common handling steps by the sending and/or receiving party. In order to insure that the invoice does not become separated from the payment (e.g., a check) during the common handling steps, frequently the payment is attached to the invoice.
Attaching means commonly employed by the payee or the payee's agent are staples or paper clips. Both these attachment means however are not necessarily desirable and have numerous disadvantages. For example, additional handling is required to remove the paper clip or staple which often results in damage to either the attached addendum and/or the document itself. Such damage can complicate further handling. Clips and staples also result in undesirable waste products and related disposal problems. Paper clips are further undesirable in that they easily slide off, resulting in premature detachment of the addendum.
The use of physically separate temporary attachment means, such as paper clips or staples, is further disadvantaged in that conscious effort is required by the sender to locate and use the separate attachment means. As such, the attachment means are not always employed. This results in an increased likelihood of separation of the addendum from the associated documents in the handling process.
It is accordingly a general object of the present invention to substantially alleviate the above noted problems in the art.
It is a more specific object of the present invention to provide a convenient system for temporarily adhering addendum to related documents in a readily removable manner.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a document with an integral attachment means for attaching a related addendum which means allows subsequently detachment of the addendum.

Document sheet with detachable portion having adhesive strip for attachment of addendum


A light scanning apparatus, including: a light source configured to emit a light beam; a light deflector including: a rotary shaft; a bearing portion configured to support the rotary shaft; a rotor fixed to the rotary shaft; a stator fixed to the bearing portion; a drive circuit board configured to support the bearing portion and to drive the stator to rotate the rotor; and a mirror portion fixed to the rotor, the light deflector being configured to deflect the light beam emitted from the light source by the mirror portion; and a housing including: a bearing inserting portion into which the bearing portion is inserted; a fixing portion configured to fix the drive circuit board; and a recessed portion provided between the bearing inserting portion and the fixing portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a light scanning apparatus which irradiates an image bearing member with a light beam in an image forming apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a conventional electrophotographic image forming apparatus such as a copying machine and a printer, a light scanning apparatus irradiates a surface of an image bearing member with a light beam to form an electrostatic latent image on the image bearing member. The electrostatic latent image thus formed is developed into a toner image with developer (toner), and the toner image is transferred onto a recording medium. In this manner, an image is formed.
The light scanning apparatus provided in the conventional electrophotographic image forming apparatus includes a light source configured to emit a light beam based on image information, and a light deflector configured to deflect the light beam for scanning. Further, the light scanning apparatus includes an fθ lens configured to scan, at constant speed, the light beam which is deflected by the light deflector, and to image the light beam on the image bearing member, a mirror configured to reflect the light beam in a predetermined direction, and a housing configured to hold those optical members.
The image forming apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-298243 is intended to reduce noise or the like generated by excitation sound of a motor of the light deflector inside the light scanning apparatus. Therefore, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-298243 discloses a configuration in which an opposing wall surface which reflects excitation sound is provided so that a difference between a direct propagation distance of the excitation sound from an outer circumferential portion of a stator coil to a cover member of the housing and a reflective propagation distance from the outer circumferential portion of the stator coil to the cover member via the opposing wall surface becomes a half wavelength of the excitation sound. Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-298243 discloses a configuration in which a recessed portion is provided as the opposing wall surface in a bottom plate of the housing. In the light scanning apparatus of the image forming apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-298243, in order to prevent an obstacle from being located between the light deflector and the opposing wall surface, the outer circumferential portion of the stator coil is arranged outside a region immediately above a motor drive circuit board. That is, the recessed portion as the opposing wall surface is arranged outside a region immediately below the motor drive circuit board.
The light deflector rotates to generate heat, and the heat thus generated is transferred to the housing of the light scanning apparatus. However, the conventional technology as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-298243 does not take into consideration a thermal stress generated in the housing and the motor drive circuit board (drive circuit board) of the light deflector mounted on the housing, due to a difference in coefficient of linear expansion of materials forming the housing and the motor drive circuit board, caused by the generated heat. This thermal stress causes thermal deformation in the housing and the motor drive circuit board, and as a result, the postures of the optical members such as the light deflector, lenses, and mirrors held in the housing become unstable. Such instability causes increase in spot diameter of the light beam on the surface of the image bearing member and shift of an irradiation position of the light beam. As a result, color misregistration occurs in the image formed on the sheet, leading to image degradation.
The light deflector is positioned with respect to the housing by fitting a bearing portion of the light deflector into a bearing holding portion of the housing. The light deflector is mounted on the housing by a fixing portion provided in the bottom plate of the housing. The heat generation source of the light deflector is the bearing portion which supports a rotary shaft of the motor. The heat generated in the bearing portion of the light deflector is transferred along a path from the bearing portion to the bearing holding portion of the housing, in turn from the bearing holding portion to the bottom plate of the housing, and in turn from the bottom plate to the fixing portion. Such heat transfer causes thermal deformation in the housing. On the other hand, the bearing portion is further supported by the drive circuit board of the light deflector, and the drive circuit board is fixed to the fixing portion of the housing. The heat generated in the bearing portion is transferred also to the drive circuit board. Such heat transfer causes thermal deformation in the drive circuit board. In general, the housing and the drive circuit board are made of different materials, and hence the thermal deformation amount of the housing and the thermal deformation amount of the drive circuit board are different from each other due to the difference in coefficient of linear expansion between the housing and the drive circuit board. Due to the difference in thermal deformation amount, the thermal stress is generated in the housing and the drive circuit board. Therefore, it is necessary to suppress the thermal stress between the bearing holding portion and the fixing portion.

Light scanning apparatus with reduced thermal stress


A cooling device comprises a frame and a heat radiating portion. The frame is mounted on a substrate, and includes a convex portion for cooling the substrate. The heat radiating portion is mounted on the frame at a position associated with a heating component located on the substrate. The convex portion assists positioning where the heat radiating portion is mounted.

In order to efficiently cool a heating component such as a semiconductor package (chip) being a heating element, a heat sink is mounted above the heating component such as the semiconductor package.
As a technique to be used when a heat sink is mounted, for example, there is known PTL 1. PTL 1 discloses a heat sink holder for a semiconductor package, which includes a heat sink holder portion for holding a heat sink, and a leg portion extending from the heat sink holder portion and fixed to a substrate. The heat sink holder portion in PTL 1 is located on an upper surface of a semiconductor package when the leg portion is fixed to the substrate. Further, the heat sink holder portion includes an opening in a bottom portion thereof. The opening is used when the heat sink and the semiconductor package are adhered to each other. According to PTL 1, it is possible to use an opening on an inner side of a frame portion to be formed by the heat sink holder portion, as an area where an adhesive agent is coated, when the heat sink holder for the semiconductor package is used. Thereby, an adhesive layer of a size depending on the opening is formed when the heat sink is fixed. Consequently, PTL 1 makes it possible to mount a heat sink without exerting a compressive force which may affect heat transfer on the adhesive layer.
Further, as a related technique, there is known PTL 2. PTL 2 discloses a system including a spring arm device connected to a substrate and including an opening portion capable of passing a package on the substrate, and a heat sink. The spring arm device in PTL 2 includes at least one spring arm extending from an inner end of the opening portion. The spring arm includes a heat sink clip at a distal end thereof. The heat sink clip has a shape capable of holding a heat sink post in which the heat sink is formed. Further, by causing the spring arm to hold the heat sink post, the heat sink and at least one package are connected. PTL 2 is capable of increasing a calorific value that is releasable.


A woven/knit fabric, comprising two or more types of yarn different in elongation rate, wherein the two or more types of yarn different in elongation rate are separately arranged as independent threads in the same direction in at least one of warp and weft; and wherein a stress-strain curve obtained by applying load in a direction parallel to the direction of the arrangement of the threads has an inflection point; and includes a point satisfying an equation:2.5≤B/A     where, with a reference where the woven/knit fabric is subjected to load and has an elongation of P (%), A is an elastic modulus of the woven/knit fabric when the woven/knit fabric is subjected to load and has an elongation of (P×0.8) (%) and B is an elastic modulus of the woven/knit fabric when the woven/knit fabric is subjected to load and has an elongation of (P×1.2) (%).

Conventionally, an elastic, stretch fabric has been widely used, mainly for clothing. Especially, for the usage where lightweight materials are required, stretch woven fabrics are more likely to be used than stretch knitted fabrics. Also, in recent years, especially in usage for sports, higher elastic characteristics has been demanded. Patent Document 1 discloses an elastic woven fabric being elastic in a high load region and having high recovery. Patent Document 2 discloses an elastic woven fabric in which non-elastic yarn and elastic yarn are arranged in the same direction.


A method for identifying a risk factor for diseases, disorders or conditions, such as those caused by human immunodeficiency virus, using the polymerase chain reaction and specific primers. Methods for treating patients having these diseases, disorders or conditions by antimicrobial treatment of the risk factor by combined antiviral and antibacterial treatment or by sustaining or stimulating the subject's immune system. Methods for screening biological products including red blood cell preparations. Primers and methods for detecting nucleic acids or microbial agents associated with red blood cells, such as those associated with red blood cells in subjects infected with HIV and undergoing antiretroviral therapy.

1. Field of the Invention
DNA can be amplified from human red blood cell samples by primers designed from DNA sequences encoding a bacterial major surface protein and 16 s ribosomal RNA (16s rRNA). Primer pairs based on DNA sequences for the major surface protein 2 (MSP2) of Ehrlichia/Anaplasma can amplify DNA homologous to DNA from human chromosomes 1 and 7 from red blood cell samples. Primers based on DNA sequences encoding 16s rRNA from Anaplasma species can amplify DNA from human red blood cells, but not from nucleated white blood cells. The amplified DNA is contained in samples of red blood cells from HIV infected individuals as well as from some healthy individuals of Caucasian or African origin and represents a risk factor for HIV infection. These primers can be employed in methods for assessing risk of HIV infection by amplifying DNA from red blood cell samples.
2. Description of the Related Art
Chronic HIV infection causes strong immune depression (AIDS) in most patients leading to lethal opportunistic infections or cancers. Specific inhibitors of HIV multiplication are currently used for treating HIV infected patients before they reach the full-blown stage of AIDS. Such inhibitors act mostly on the reverse transcriptase and protease of HIV to efficiently suppress virus multiplication and reduce virus load to a low level of less than 40 viral RNA copies per ml of blood. Treatment results in a partial recovery of the patient's immune system as evidenced by an increase of CD4 lymphocytes and reduction of or lessened severity of opportunistic infections. However, this treatment has to be given without interruption in order to prevent rebound of virus multiplication and a subsequent reduction in the numbers of CD4 lymphocytes. Rebound of viral infection is evidence of a reservoir of HIV in infected patients that is not accessible to antiviral treatment and the existence of this reservoir is generally acknowledged. In addition to a reservoir of HIV in infected patients, such patients often carry other microorganisms that are associated with HIV infection or that cause opportunistic infections.
Microorganisms associated with HIV infection that are detectable in human red blood cells, but not in human leukocytes or other kinds of nucleated human cells have not been previously characterized. The identification and characterization of microorganisms associated with HIV infection is of interest for purposes of assessing risk of HIV infection or determining the status of an HIV infected patient, for assessing risk or status of opportunistic infections, and to evaluate modes of treatment for HIV infected subjects.

Detection of DNA sequences as risk factors for HIV infection


An optical transceiver system includes a transmitter transmitting out a first light beam with a first wavelength, a receiver receiving a second light beam with a second wavelength; an optical fiber transmitting the first light beam and the second light beam; and a light guide member. The light guide member includes a lens block having a first side surface facing toward both the transmitter and the receiver, and a second side surface facing toward the optical fiber. A first lens portion and a second lens portion formed on the first side surface for optically coupling the respective transmitter and receiver, a third lens portion formed on the second side surface for optically coupling the optical fiber, and a wavelength divisional multiplexer embedded in the lens block. The wavelength divisional multiplexer receives and divides the first light beam and the second light beam.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to an optical transceiver system.
2. Description of Related Art
Usually, in an optical transceiver system, plurality of optical fibers are needed for transmitting light beams from a transmitter, and for transmitting light beams back to a receiver, which makes the system complicated.
What is needed, therefore, is an optical transceiver system, which can overcome the above shortcomings.


The image sensor has a plurality of pixels arranged in rows and columns to form a pixel array, each pixel column having a column bitline. The image sensor includes a column readout for each column bitline and at least one additional column readout. The additional column readout may be selectively connected to one of the column bitlines. In one embodiment, a defective column readout can be isolated and the additional column readout used as a replacement.

There is an increasing tendency for larger number of pixels on image sensors used in devices such as digital still cameras, mobile phone cameras and optical pointing devices, for example. Consequently, sensors have either increased in size or pixels have been manufactured smaller, or often both. The use of finer geometry technologies increase the chance of defects occurring. Typically, the defectivity of an image sensor is proportional to the area.
Defects are caused during manufacture and are usually caused by dust particles obstructing the photolithography process. Resulting defects may be open circuit or short circuit connections. If a defect occurs within a pixel during manufacture, a defective pixel is usually the result. The defective pixel can be either ignored by the user or, if the defective pixel can be identified, corrected for by interpolating between neighboring pixels. If the defect occurs on a connection that is common to either a row or column of the pixel array, then a series of pixels in the row or column may be defective, rather than a single pixel. In some cases, the entire row or column can be defective. Defects that disrupt the operation of more than one pixel are far more noticeable to a user and much harder to compensate for.
Typically, as shown in FIG. 1, a pixel array 100 has a matrix of pixels 102. Each column of pixels 102 in the pixel array 100 is connected by a common column bitline 104. Each row of pixels 102 is connected by a common row select 106. When the row select 106 is activated (set to "high") by row drivers 108, the pixels 110 in that row are enabled for readout and the values of the pixels 102 are read out in parallel on to the column bitline 104 to readout amplifiers 110.
A horizontal scan 112 sends an "enable signal" along enable connection 114 to each readout amplifier 110 in turn. The amplified pixel value can then be read on an output bus 116. If the readout amplifier 110 is defective, the entire column of pixels cannot be readout correctly and, as such, a noticeable error occurs in the image.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,741,754 Hamilton, "Correcting for defects in a digital image taken by an image sensor caused by pre-existing defects in two pixels in adjacent columns of an image sensor", discloses a method for correcting for defects in a digital image taken by an image sensor when there are pre-existing defects in two pixels in adjacent columns of the image sensor which causes two adjacent lines of pixels in the digital image to have corrupted data.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,436,659, "Method and apparatus for determining defective pixel location", attempts to use digital timing techniques to identify defective pixels and store their locations for correction by an appropriate technique, such as substituting a neighboring pixel value. U.S. Pat. No. 5,291,293, "Electronic imaging device with defect correction", utilizes redundant sensor elements for defect compensation by using a plurality of arrays and pixels in one sensor used to correct info on the other sensor.

STMicroelectronics (Research and Development ) Limited


A film containing a photo-catalyst apatite contains an inorganic coating main material, and a powdered photo-catalyst apatite and powdered titanium oxide that disperse within the inorganic coating main material, in which the total content of the photo-catalyst apatite and the titanium oxide is 0.01-5 wt %.

Finger grease or cigarette tar, or dust from the grease or tar may adhere to electronic devices, such as laptop computers or cellular phones, depending upon the mode of use. Further, the adhesion of the finger grease to the electronic devices tends to accelerate the propagation of various germs on the surface of the devices. If contamination due to the finger grease, cigarette tar or various germs is left as it is, the appearance of the electronic devices and their cleanliness, by extension, may be ruined. In the meantime, as interest in the anti-bacterial effect in the living environment becomes greater for electronic devices, such as laptop computers or cellar phones, the anti-bacterial properties to a chassis and operation keys have come to be demanded. Consequently, in the field of the electronics devices, the introduction of anti-bacterial and anti-fouling technologies as an appropriate response to contamination due to finger grease, cigarette tar or various germs has been desired.
In recent years, a photo-catalystic function in some semiconductor substances, such as titanium oxide (TiO2), has been noticed, and it has been known that the anti-bacterial effect and the anti-fouling effect can be demonstrated based upon the photo-catalystic function. In semiconductor substances that have a photo-catalystic function, in general, the absorption of a light that has energy, which is equivalent to a band gap between a valence band and a conduction band, results in the transition of electrons in the valence band to the conduction band, which electron transition causes the generation of a positive hole in the valence band. Electrons in the conduction band are characterized by migrating into the substance, which is then absorbed onto the surface of the photo-catalystic semiconductor, enabling the reduction of the absorbate. Positive hole in the valence band are characterized by drawing the electrons out of a substance which has been absorbed onto the surface of the photo-catalystic semiconductor, enabling the oxidization of the absorbate.
In titanium oxide (TiO2) that has the photo-catalystic function, electrons that have transited to the conduction band reduce oxygen in the atmosphere and generate a superoxide anion (·O2−), along with which, positive hole that have been generated in the valence band oxidize absorption water on the surface of the titanium oxide, and generate a hydroxyl radical (·OH). The hydroxyl radical has very strong oxidizability. Consequently, when an organic substance is absorbed into photo-catalystic titanium oxide, the organic substance may be broken down into water and carbon dioxide due to the effect of the hydroxyl radical.
Titanium oxide that can accelerate the oxidative breakdown reaction in an organic substance based upon the photo-catalystic function is widely used in anti-bacterial agents, disinfecting agents, anti-fouling agents, deodorants and environmental agents generally. However, the titanium oxide itself lacks the function of absorbing some substances on the surface. Therefore, in order to sufficiently benefit from the oxidative breakdown effect of the titanium oxide based upon its photo-catalystic function and the anti-bacterial effect and the anti-fouling effect by extension, it is necessary to improve the contact efficiency between a subject broken down by oxidization, and the titanium oxide.
Technologies that aim at the improvement of the contact efficiency between the breakdown subject and titanium oxide, for example, are disclosed in JP-A-2001-191458 and 2002-126451. In these technologies, an inclusion of powdered titanium oxide and powdered pre-determined hydroxyapatite (HAP) is used. HAP, in general, has a high absorption power. In the technologies in the above-mentioned publications, situating HAP with a high absorption power in the vicinity of the titanium oxide results in the improvement of the contact efficiency between a breakdown subject and the titanium oxide.
However, according to JP-A-2001-191458 and 2002-126451, since titanium oxide and HAP disperse within a pre-determined binder as mutually independent particles, titanium oxide particles where its contact efficiency with a breakdown subject will not be sufficiently improved may exist. In the case that separation between the titanium oxide particles and the HAP particles are comparatively great, the contact efficiency of the breakdown subject to the titanium oxide particles will not be sufficiently improved.
Another technology that aims at the improvement of the contact efficiency between a breakdown subject and titanium oxide, for example, is disclosed in JP-A-2000-327315. In the publication, a photo-catalystic apatite where a substance, for example, titanium oxide, that has a photo-catalystic function, and another substance, for example, calcium hydroxyapatite (CaHAP), that excels in its capacity to absorb particularly an organic substance, such as protein, are conjugated at the atomic level, is disclosed. The photocatalysitic apatite specifically has a crystal structure where Ti has been substituted for a portion of Ca comprising CaHAP (Ca10(PO4)6 (OH)2), and a titanium oxide-like substructure, which approximates the chemical structure of the photo-catalystic titanium oxide, formed at a site where the Ti has been introduced. Since the titanium oxide-like substructure where the photo-catalystic function can be demonstrated is inherent in the crystal structure of CaHAP, which excels in the absorptivity of an organic substance, the contact efficiency between an organic substance—a breakdown subject—and the titanium oxide-like substructure is effectively improved. As a result, it becomes possible to effectively break down an organic substance by oxidizing such things as finger grease or bacteria cell membranes in a titanium oxide-like substructure.
Kneading or adhering the photo-catalystic apatite to a pre-determined member in an electronic device enables the provision of excellent anti-bacterial and anti-fouling properties to the member. From the viewpoint of improving anti-bacterial and anti-fouling properties, the more the photo-catalystic apatite is kneaded or adhered to the member, the better. However, according to a manufacturing method for the photo-catalystic apatite disclosed in the above-mentioned Publication of Japanese Laid-Open Patent application 2000-327315, the photo-catalystic apatite is obtained as a white powder. Consequently, if the photo-catalystic apatite is used as an anti-bacterial agent or an anti-fouling agent, an essential color tone of the member may be affected because the photo-catalystic apatite is white. Further, the photo-catalystic apatite has a tendency for fine particles to agglomerate with each other in a solvent, which tendency may affect the texture of the member due to the agglomeration. In electronic devices, such as laptop computers or cellar phones, there are many cases where this nonconformity should be avoided relative to a chassis, or a transparent cover for display screen protection.
If the quantity for use of the photo-catalystic apatite is simply reduced for the purpose of avoiding the appearance of non-conformity, it tends to proportionally reduce the anti-bacterial effect and the anti-fouling effect of the photo-catalystic apatite on the surface of the member. Consequently, when using the photo-catalystic apatite as an anti-bacterial agent or an anti-fouling agent, it is difficult to avoid the appearance of nonconformity while the anti-bacterial effect and the anti-fouling effect are highly maintained. Therefore, in electronic devices, such as laptop computers or cellar phones, it has not been conventionally practical to use a photo-catalystic apatite as an anti-bacterial agent or an anti-fouling agent.
In the meantime, stains that adhere on the electronic devices, such as laptop computers, may be removed by a wiping operation. Even in the case where anti-fouling properties are added to a pre-determined member in the electronic device by kneading or adhering the above-mentioned photo-catalystic apatite, since the catalystic function of the photo-catalystic apatite decreases especially under conditions where the quantity of light irradiation is small, the necessity of the operation to wipe the stains is high. However, if the wiping operation is excessively performed, it tends to remove the photo-catalystic apatite particles from the member surface, so the anti-bacterial effect and the anti-fouling effect based upon the photo-catalystic oxidative breakdown effect of the photo-catalystic apatite on the member surface may deteriorate.

Film containing a photo-catalyst apatite, its formation method, coating liquid, and electronic device having portion coated with photo-catalyst apatite-containing film


According to the present invention, a cover tape for electronic component packaging is provided which has suitable transparency, and which enables suppression of the charge that occurs during peeling from carrier tape. The cover tape for electronic component packaging of the present invention is provided with a heat sealant layer on top of the base layer, and the aforementioned heat sealant layer contains polyolefin resin and polyether-polyolefin copolymer. The weight ratio of the polyether-polyolefin copolymer in the aforementioned heat sealant layer is 10 weight % or more and 70 weight % or less.

Surface mounted electronic components beginning with ICs, and including transistors, diodes, capacitors, and piezoelectric resistors are supplied by being packed in packages consisting of a tray that has embossed pockets capable of storage conforming to the shape of the electronic components, or of carrier tape that continuously forms such pockets and cover tape that can be heat sealed to the carrier tape. Carrier tape that packages electronic components is ordinarily wound in a reel made of paper or plastic, and is maintained in that state prior to the mounting process. During the mounting process, the stored electronic components are automatically extracted from the tray, or from the carrier tape after peeling of the cover tape, and surface mounted onto an electronic circuit board.
In conjunction with overall advances in downsizing and enhanced performance of electronic components in recent years, electrostatic-sensitive components have increased, and process troubles caused by static electricity have arisen. Particularly with respect to electronic components in the semiconductor field, it has become difficult to maintain conventional electrostatic breakdown properties in conjunction with increasing integration, miniaturization, and ever lower operating voltage. Consequently, in the production process of semiconductor component manufacturers and in the assembly process of semiconductor component users, component breakdown due to electrostatic discharge (hereinafter "ESD") has become problematic.
Outside of the semiconductor component field, breakdown of electronic components due to ESD is rare, but downsizing and weight reduction of mounted electronic components has rapidly advanced in conjunction with the downsizing and enhanced performance of electronic components in recent years. Static charging between cover tape and components due to friction during transport, and generation of static electricity during peeling of cover tape have resulted in problems of adhesion of electronic components to charged cover tape, and occurrence of process troubles such as pick-up defects. Consequently, there is a serious need for electronic component packaging that enables prevention of static electricity problems.
With respect to these problems of static electricity, Patent Document 1 adopts a technique achieving prevention of electrostatic induction from charged external objects that is based on incorporation of a low-molecular surfactant or the like into an intermediate layer, but with this method, bleeding and the like of the surfactant from the intermediate layer due to the storage environment of the film affects the physical properties of the film itself, causing deterioration in shield properties. Patent Document 2 recites that a π-conjugated conductive polymer layer is provided on the top face and bottom face of a cover-tape base layer, but when the pertinent conductive polymer layer is laminated onto the top face of the cover tape, the conductive layer peels off due to the heat of the heat iron depending on sealing conditions during sealing of the cover tape, and when it is laminated onto the bottom face, sealing properties are affected. Patent Document 3 recites that an inorganic material such as tin oxide, zinc oxide, titanium oxide, and carbon is dispersed between layers to bring out conductive properties, but when inorganic material is added, the inorganic material impairs transparency, hindering visual inspection after sealing of the cover tape.

Cover tape for electronic component packaging


A method and apparatus for traveling wave attenuation measurement in the UHF and VHF frequency bands. The test set up comprises a ramp structure located in the quiet zone of a parallel plate set up. The RAM specimen to be tested is attached to the top ramp surface starting at the highest point of the ramp. The time domain signal is gated to reject all scattering except the contribution from the ramp surface. The inverse Fourier transform of the gated time data results in the frequency response of the ramp. The RCS from ramp with RAM material attached is normalized to that of the perfectly conducting surface to provide a relative attenuation of the surface traveling wave.

1. Field on the Invention
The present invention relates to the measurement of electromagnetic absorption of Radar Absorbing Material (RAM) and more particularly to the measuring of surface traveling wave attenuation.
2. Description of the Related Art
The radar cross section (RCS) due to a surface traveling wave is significant when a long smooth object is illuminated by electromagnetic energy at relatively low angles of incidence (near grazing angle). The traveling wave is launched only if there is a component of the incident electric field tangential to tile surface and in the plane of incidence. The RCS pattern of a long thin structure is discussed in the book entitled "Radar Cross Section," authored by E. F. Knot et al, 1985, pages 147-150 which references the article entitled, "End-Fire Echo Area of Long, Thin Bodies," IRE Trans. Antennas Propag., Vol. AP-6, No. 1, Jan. 1958, pages 133-139 authored by L. Peters, Jr. In this article, a long thin structure is approximated by a thin wire.
Referring now to the figures, FIG. 1 is a reproduction of FIG. 5-12 from the book entitled "Radar Cross Section", with numeral designations added for clarity. The scattering 8 from a thin wire 10 excited by a plane wave 12 is shown in this figure. There exists two current waves, one traveling in the forward direction and one in the backward direction (14 and 16, respectively). The backward traveling current wave 16 will give rise to the same kind of RCS pattern generated by the forward current wave 14, but its location in space will be in the opposite direction. Due to the impedance mismatch at the end of the wire 10 and finite conductivity at the wire surface, the level of the scattering in the backward direction will be less than that in the forward direction.
The backscattered RCS from tile backward current wave in a long, smooth metallic surface is the quantity of interest since the energy is directed back to the radar antenna for the detection of the target. Although the above thin wire analogy assumes a long slender scatterer, the surface wave phenomenon occurs in other structures such as airfoils and missile bodies. In fact, any discontinuity due to the termination of a finite structure or surface discontinuity of a subsection of a larger surface due to seams and gaps can cause this type of scattering.
The maximum RCS of the surface traveling wave for a long slender body is located at the angle approximated by: EQU .theta.=49.35 (.lambda./b).sup.1/2 ( 1)
where .theta. is the angle (in degrees) from the long axis of the structure, .lambda. is the wavelength of tile electromagnetic wave, and b is the length of the body. This location of the first surface traveling wave lobe is important since it has tile highest level of backscatter to the radar receiver.
The suppression of the traveling wave scattering is typically provided by bonding magnetic surface absorbers (magnetic RAM) to the part of the structure that supports the traveling wave. Determination of the effectiveness of the magnetic RAM in suppressing the traveling wave is performed by measuring the RCS of a full scale model of a long thin target that supports the traveling wave. Full scale models are required for this type of measurement since the magnetic RAM material is frequency sensitive. In the UHF and VHF band, where the electrical wavelength is very long, the target can be quite large and the measurement has to be performed in a very large anechoic chamber or outdoor RCS range. The problems associated with such measurement are the high cost of fabricating the model and the rapid roll off of the low frequency signal in the free space environment. In order to reduce the influence of background noise and reflection from other structures (except the target), the time domain reflected signal is processed by a gating procedure to exclude noise and other returns. The limitation to such a technique is that some of the large signals that are outside the range gate but within the digitizer time window is present in the receiver due to the antenna mismatch. The unwanted signal limits the amount of gain for the receiver. This limits the resolution of the signal reflected from the target and usually results in a dynamic range of only 10 to 15 dB.
The limitations described above are eliminated by the use of a parallel plate system for the RCS measurement for two dimensional targets. In this system, the electromagnetic energy is confined between the parallel conducting plates. Since the signal currents are conducted through the conducting skins of the parallel plates the low frequency roll off is extremely small. The parallel plates also offer excellent shielding from other electromagnetic signals that interfere with the outdoor or anechoic ranges.
The common type of measurement in a parallel plate is the specular RCS from a 2 dimensional structure. A section of the 2 dimensional target is placed in the quiet zone of the parallel plate system. This section of the test specimen must have a thickness such that when placed in the parallel plate two flat sides of the specimen are in physical contact with the top and bottom plates. The electromagnetic fields in the parallel plate system comprise plane transverse electromagnetic plane waves, each with a vertically polarized election field (i.e. the direction of the electric field is from the bottom plate to the top plate). Since a traveling wave occurs only when the electric field is in the plane of incidence, an alternative setup had to be developed to evaluate the traveling wave attenuation capability of magnetic materials while using a parallel plate setup.

Method and apparatus for traveling wave attenuation measurement


A method for implementing an upstream symbol alignment within a network component, the method comprising receiving an upstream sync signal via an initializing digital subscriber line (DSL) during a channel discovery phase from a customer premise equipment (CPE), determining a corrected upstream symbol alignment value based upon the upstream sync signal, and transmitting the corrected upstream symbol alignment value to the CPE, wherein the upstream symbol alignment value determines an upstream symbol alignment for one or more upstream transmissions, and wherein the corrected upstream symbol alignment value is determined before receiving a plurality of upstream data signals within the data symbol positions during the channel discovery phase.

Digital subscriber line (DSL) technologies provide a large bandwidth for digital communications over existing subscriber lines (e.g., copper pairs). To transmit data signals, many current DSL systems, including asymmetric DSL 2 (ADSL2), ADSL2+, very high speed DSL (VDSL), and very high speed DSL 2 (VDSL2), and other DSL systems, including Fast Access to Subscriber Terminals (G.fast), a consented standard, may employ discrete multi-tone (DMT) modulation. Systems that perform duplex transmission using frequency division duplex (FDD), such as ADSL2 and VDSL2, separate downstream signals from the upstream signals by exchanging the signals using different frequency bands. Alternatively, systems that perform duplex transmission using time-division duplex (TDD) may use separate time intervals for upstream and downstream transmission. During upstream transmission from a remote side modem, for example, there may be no downstream transmission in a G.fast DSL system from a corresponding modem at a central office (CO), a fiber to the curbside cabinet (FTTC), or distribution point unit (DPU).
When transmitting data over the subscriber lines, crosstalk interference can occur between the transmitted signals over adjacent lines, for example in a same or nearby bundle of lines. Crosstalk, including near-end crosstalk (NEXT) and far-end crosstalk (FEXT), may limit the performance of various DSL systems, such as those defined by standards including ADSL2, VDSL, VDSL2, and G.fast. Typically, FEXT levels increase and become more problematic as the high frequency band edge increases for DSL systems. For example, a VDSL2 system may operate at bandwidth frequencies ranging from about 17 to 30 megahertz (MHz), while a G.fast DSL system may operate at bandwidth frequencies ranging from about 100 MHz and higher. As such, the FEXT levels within a G.fast DSL system may be relatively higher (e.g. FEXT levels may be as strong as the data signal) than a VDSL2 system.
Vectoring techniques may be used to cancel FEXT amongst subscriber lines within a vectored group in the downstream and upstream directions for DSL systems (e.g. VDSL2 and G.fast). Vectoring cancels crosstalk by coordinating and managing a group of subscriber line signals in order to reduce crosstalk levels. Vectoring is described in more detail in the International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) G.993.5, entitled "Self-FEXT cancellation (vectoring) for use with VDSL2 transceivers," updated April 2010, which is hereby incorporated by reference as if reproduced in its entirety. In vectored DSL systems, in order to implement downstream and upstream vectoring, the vectored DSL systems may implement symbol alignment. Specifically, downstream symbols transmitted by transceivers at the operator end (TU-Os) of a vectored group may be aligned between themselves at an operator side interface (U-O referenced point) and upstream symbols transmitted by transceivers at the customer end (TU-Rs) of a vectored group may be aligned between themselves at the U-O reference point. Symbol alignment in the downstream direction may be achieved by transmitting DMT symbols at the same time on all of the subscriber lines in the vectored group because the TU-Os are typically co-located, clock synchronized, and more likely within the same DSL access multiplexer (DSLAM) equipment. Unfortunately, in comparison to the downstream direction, symbol alignment in the upstream direction may be relatively more difficult because the TU-Rs are generally situated at different locations.

Performing upstream symbol alignment under FEXT