An apparatus and method are disclosed which are utilized in oil wells incorporating a reciprocating pump. The improvement is for the situation where the typical sand release apparatus has failed to clear a sand lock. The disclosed apparatus is such that the rotation of the two telescoping sleeves relative to each other is restricted thereby allowing the tool string to be unthreaded at a reverse thread at the top of the sand release apparatus. In this way, the apparatus allows removal of the tool string above the location where the tool is locked through rotation in a direction opposite of that normally used to unthread tool strings.

The present invention is an improvement of the apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,103,739.
Typically during oil production, a pump will be required at some stage to lift the oil from the well. The pumps are utilized to produce oil from low pressure formations. These pumps are normally inserted into the tubing string inside the production casing and are located near the producing zone. The casing string is typically perforated to allow the formation fluid to flow from the surrounding formation into the casing. The tubing string is open at the bottom to allow fluid to enter. The materials produced are typically a mixture of oil, water, and sand in varying ratios. The pump is utilized to incrementally lift the materials produced from the formation up the tubing string to where it is collected at the surface.
The housing of the pump leaves a space between the outer surface of the pump and the inner surface of the tubing string. This annular space collects sand from the sand bearing mixture after pulling the liquid through the pump housing for delivery through the pump tubing. During the time that the mixture stands between the pump and the tubing string, the difference in the specific gravity of the sand particles and the water/oil mixture causes significant settling of the sand particles. This sand collects and builds up around the lower portion of the pump housing and connected string and clogs the space above the pump supporting nipple or in shoulder which holds the pump. This sand build up normally does not interfere with the pump action or the lifting of the mixture produced from the formation.
Periodically all pumps utilized for lifting the oil/water mixture to the surface need to be serviced. To service these pumps, it is essential that the sucker rods and pump be lifted from the well and serviced at the surface. One problem that periodically occurs is that the sand build up around the housing of the pump and locks the pump in place thereby preventing removal of the pump and sucker rods.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,103,739 discloses an apparatus which extends to allow the sand collected around the pump housing to wash through slotted openings thereby clearing the annular space around the pump. While that apparatus has proved to be successful in freeing the pump most of the time, on occasion the pump still cannot be removed. The present invention is an apparatus to allow tool removal in those situations. The present invention is connected to the lower portion of a production pump. It is primarily a pair of telescoping members that conforms in size and shape to the typical production pump. The apparatus is prevented from telescoping by shear pins which normally maintain the apparatus in the non-extended or pumping position. While in this position, the drain slots are not exposed and the pump operates in a normal fashion. When removing the pump and connected sucker rods, the load on the shear pins for removal of the pump is an acceptable and known load assuming the pump is not sand locked. The shearing force required for the shear pins is in excess of that amount of pull. During typical pump removal, the shear pins are not sheared and the telescoping members remain in the closed condition without extending. This allows normal removal of the pump and sucker rods.
On the other hand, if the pump is sand locked, the present invention comes into play. The innermost sleeve member is initially threaded to the pump hold down which rests on the inwardly protruding shoulder of the tubing string. The outermost sleeve member is connected by a left-hand thread to a double male threaded coupling or adapter which is in turn threaded to the lower portion of the pump apparatus. Movement of the two sleeve members is prevented by one or more selectively sized shear pins. The innermost tubular member has a surrounding and protruding lip at the upper end which is sufficiently large to lock it against pulling through the outer tubular member. If the pump is sand locked, the normal pull is exceeded until the upward pull breaks the shear pins which join the telescoped tubular members. When the shear pins are broken, the outer tubular member slides upwardly to expose a set of drain slots which are adjacent to the sand locking the pump. The hydrostatic pressure of the fluid column above the sand washes the sand down through the slots and then through the center of the tool and out through the bottom. Typically, this washing action will free the sand locked pump. Occasionally, this washing action is insufficient, and the pump remains sand locked. At this time, the improvements of the present apparatus are required to free the sand locked pump.
In addition to the first set of shear pins discussed above, a second set of one or more pins extends through the outer sleeve member to pass through the drain slots while in the non-extended position. The length of the drain slots is sufficient such that the second set of pins do not restrict the telescoping movement of the present invention. The purpose of the second set of pins is to prevent rotational movement of the sleeves with respect to each other.
As was previously noted, the outermost sleeve member is attached to a double male threaded coupling or adapter through the use of left handed threads. In the situation where the pump is still sand locked after the first shear pins are sheared and the flushing action has taken place, the sucker rods and pump are rotated to the right unthreading the left handed thread connection between the present apparatus and the bottom of the pump. Once rotated sufficiently, the rods and pump can be separated from the present apparatus, pulled up the well and brought to the surface.


A hydrodynamic gas bearing structure includes a fixed shaft, a hollow cylindrical sleeve opposing to the fixed shaft with a radial space kept therebetween, and a thrust plate having an opposing surface opposing to an end surface in the axial direction of the sleeve. The opposing surface of the thrust plate has a groove for generating dynamic pressure between the sleeve and the thrust plate, a protruded portion formed at an inner peripheral portion, and a recessed portion formed shallower than the groove, extending from the protruded portion toward an outer peripheral portion. Top surface of the protruded portion is at a position of a first height from the bottom of the recessed portion, and the outer peripheral portion of the opposing surface includes a portion at a position of a second height lower than the first height from the bottom of the recessed portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a hydrodynamic gas bearing structure and, more specifically, to a hydrodynamic gas bearing structure used for a motor of a magnetic recording apparatus such as a hard disc, or of a magneto-optical recording apparatus.
2. Description of the Background Art
Recently, high rotational accuracy as well as high rotation speed have been required of a rotation driving part of a magnetic recording apparatus, for example. In order to rotate at a high speed a precision motor of which such high rotational speed and the high rotational accuracy are required, use of a hydrodynamic gas bearing in the rotation driving part has been proposed. In the rotational driving part using the hydrodynamic gas bearing, when a rotor rotates, air is forced at least into a gap between a radial type gas bearing body and the rotor. Accordingly, air pressure in the gap is increased, and the rotor rotates at high speed through the hydrodynamic gas bearing. Thus, by the use of the hydrodynamic gas bearing, it is expected that the rotational accuracy can be maintained even during high speed rotation.
Conventionally, various methods for controlling position of the rotor in a thrust direction has been proposed for this type of hydrodynamic gas bearing structure.
As a method of controlling the position of the rotor in the thrust direction, a method has been proposed in which two opposing thrust plates are provided above and below the rotor, whereby the position of the rotor is regulated from above and from below.
In another proposal, an attracting force between a yoke and a magnet of the motor is utilized to press the rotor to a pair of thrust plates, so as to control the position of the rotor in the thrust direction.
In an apparatus using such a hydrodynamic gas bearing as described above in the rotation driving part, a design allowing repetitive starting/stopping of rotation frequently is desired to reduce power consumption.
When rotation is started with an entire surface of the thrust plate provided for controlling the position in the thrust direction being in tight contact with the rotor, rotation torque of the motor necessary for starting increases, resulting in increased power consumption. In order to meet the large rotation torque, it becomes necessary to enlarge the size of a magnet coil of the motor. This does not meet the demand of reduced size of the apparatus.
In order to solve these problems, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 9-126229 proposes a method in which surface roughness of contact portions between the rotor and the radial bearing and between the rotor and the thrust bearing constituting the hydrodynamic gas bearing, is increased to enable smooth starting of rotation and to reduce time necessary for starting. Even when this method is adopted, however, the rotation torque necessary for starting rotation cannot sufficiently be made small.
Japanese Utility Model Laying-Open No. 5-73313 discloses a structure of a hydrodynamic gas bearing apparatus employing a pivot type bearing portion in place of the hydrodynamic bearing, as a bearing body in the thrust direction. According to this method, when the rotor is stationary, the rotor is supported by point contact, and therefore only an extremely small rotation torque is necessary to start rotation.
When the pivot type bearing portion is employed, however, the rotor is kept in contact with the bearing portion during rotation, and therefore the bearing portion wears because of high speed rotation. Even in an oil bearing apparatus employing a pivot type bearing portion, the bearing portion degrades as the temperature of oil increases, and oil scatters.
Therefore, this type of bearing apparatus is not suitable for high speed rotation, either.
In the hydrodynamic gas bearing apparatus utilizing the attracting force between the torque and the magnet of the motor to control position of the rotor in the thrust direction, sometimes it is the case that the symmetry thereof is unsatisfactory, resulting in a constant moment causing inclination of the rotor with respect to the bearing portion. This results in larger torque when starting rotation, and thus life of the hydrodynamic bearing becomes shorter.
It is possible to reduce torque for starting rotation, when a protruded portion is formed on an inner periphery of the thrust plate. In that case, a dynamic pressure generates as the number of rotation increases, generating a repulsive force between the protruded portion of the thrust plate and the rotor. When the height of the protruded portion is high, the generated dynamic pressure is small, and therefore, even when the rotor is rotated at a high speed, the protruded portion of the thrust plate is kept in contact with the rotor. This results in local friction heat at the contact portion, increasing temperature and causing wear at the contact portion.
Therefore, the height of the protruded portion should desirably be as small as possible. By forming a small protruded portion either on an end surface of the rotor or an inner surface of a housing opposing to the end surface, constituting the thrust hydrodynamic gas bearing, it is possible to start rotation of the rotor easily with a small driving force, as described in Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 9-318900.
When the height of the protruded portion is reduced to such an extent that the height of the protruded portion is within the range of general unevenness existing on the surface of the thrust plate, the uneven protruded portions existing on the surface of the thrust plate would be in contact with the rotor. Therefore, if such a thrust plate is to be manufactured, it is necessary to process the surface of the inner periphery to be flat, except for the small protruded portion, which process undesirably increases manufacturing cost. Though it is possible to form the protruded portion as a separate member from the thrust plate, the number of manufacturing steps is increased, resulting in increase manufacturing cost.


A cryptocurrency mining rig comprising an ac/dc power supply for providing power to a mining machine includes power-handling circuitry and a passive heat-dissipation system that passively dissipates heat generated by the power-handling circuitry. The passive heat-dissipation system comprises a housing that encloses that power-handling circuitry and a thermal network that provides thermal communication between the power-handling circuitry and faces of the housing.

With the growing popularity of virtual currency, it has become necessary to provide mining rigs to mine for such currency. These mining rigs include mining machines that require considerable power to operate. This power is provided by a power supply that converts AC voltage into the DC voltage required for operating the mining machine.
The various circuits required to carry out the foregoing power conversion generate considerable amounts of heat. Since excessive heat accumulation is undesirable, it is usual to provide a cooling mechanism. A typical power supply uses a fan to promote heat dissipation.
Although a fan is effective at heat dissipation, it carries some disadvantages. First, the fan itself has a cost. Secondly, the fan requires additional power to spin. Third, the fan, like any mechanical part, is vulnerable to breakdown. Fourth, the fan draws air into the power supply, which in turn means that the components are exposed to dust, moisture, and other undesirable objects. And fifth, a fan creates noise. When many mining rigs are present, this noise can be deafening.
It is also possible to use a liquid cooling system in lieu of a fan. While this avoids the problems of dust, a liquid cooling system is also vulnerable to breakdown. For example, in a liquid cooling system, one replaces the fan with a liquid pump, which, like a fun, can break down and also consume power. Moreover, the need to provide coolant and piping to convey the coolant imposes considerable cost and creates further opportunities for failure, for example due to leakage. This further increases the cost associated with liquid cooling.


A semiconductor power chip, may have a semiconductor die having a power device fabricated on a substrate thereof, wherein the power device has at least one first contact element, a plurality of second contact elements and a plurality of third contact elements arranged on top of the semiconductor die; and an insulation layer disposed on top of the semiconductor die and being patterned to provide openings to access the plurality of second and third contact elements and the at least one first contact element.

Semiconductor power devices operate at high current densities, and as such, require current carrying conductors having low enough contact resistances to adequately handle the current to and from the device. There are limitations, however, for metal deposition thickness during fabrication of the semiconductor power device. This metal deposition thickness limitation necessitates having to deposit metal conductors on both the front and back sides of the semiconductor power device, e.g., power field effect transistor (power-FET). But having to use back side contact of the power element(s) of the device, e.g., drain requires extensive processing to eliminate the series resistance of the semiconductor substrate, thereby adding significant cost to the final semiconductor power product.
To distribute current better on a semiconductor power device, bump bonding is generally known from US Patent Publication US2012/0126406 which has been assigned to Applicant. This technique allows to reduce processing steps in manufacturing a semiconductor power device, and thereby reduces manufacturing costs thereof.


At least two light sources are provided for an optical information recording/reproducing apparatus. The light sources emit a recording light beam and a reproducing light beam to form a recording light spot and a reproducing light spot on a recording medium. A wedge glass plate is interposed in the optical path of the beams. The wedge glass plate is rotated to adjust one or both positions of the recording and reproducing light spots formed on the recording medium.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical information recording/reproducing apparatus provided with separate recording and reproducing light sources, which performs recording and/or reproduction of information with respective light beams being radiated from the respective light sources toward an optical information recording medium.
2. Related Background Art
Various optical information recording media are heretofore known for recording and/or reproduction of information with light, for example, those of a disk, a card, a tape, and the like. Some of such optical information recording media may be used both for record and for reproduction, while others may be used only for reproduction. In a case that information is recorded in a recordable medium, an information track is scanned with a light beam modulated according to recording information and converged in the form of a micro spot so that the information may be recorded as an optically detectable information pit string.
When the information is reproduced from the recording medium, the information pit string in the information track is scanned with a light beam spot having a constant power with which no record can be effected on the recording medium, and light reflected from or transmitted through the medium is detected to reproduce the information.
An optical head, which is used for recording and/or for reproduction of information in the recording medium, is arranged movable relative to the recording medium in a direction of the information track and in a direction across the information track direction. The movement of the optical head permits the scanning of an information track with the light beam spot. To converge the light beam spot in the optical head, an objective lens is used, for example. The objective lens is held to be movable independent of the optical head body in a direction of the optical axis of the objective lens (in the focusing direction) and in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis and to the information track direction of the recording medium (in the tracking direction). The objective lens is usually held through an elastic member and is driven to move in the above two directions by an actuator using the magnetic interaction.
Incidentally, among the aforementioned optical information recording media, the optical information recording medium of a card type (as will be referred to as an optical card) has a great future demand as a prospect for an information recording medium having a relatively large capacity and being compact and light, so as to be handy to carry.
FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a writing once optical card, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a part of the optical card.
In FIG. 1, a plurality of information tracks 2 are arranged in parallel with the direction of L-F on an information recording surface of an optical card 1. A home position 3 is provided on the information recording surface of the optical card 1 as an access reference position to the information tracks 2. The information tracks 2 are arranged in the order of 2-1, 2-2, 2-3, . . . from the nearest to the home position 3. As shown in FIG. 2, tracking tracks are provided adjacent to the respective information tracks in the order of 4-1, 4-2, 4-3, . . . The tracking tracks 4 are used as a guide for autotracking (as will be hereinafter referred to as AT) in which the beam spot is controlled so as not to deviate from a certain information track during scanning with the light beam spot in information recording and/or reproduction.
The AT servo is carried out as follows: A deviation (AT error) of the light beam spot from the information track is detected in the optical head; the detected signal is subject to negative feedback to a tracking actuator; and the objective lens is moved relative to the optical head body in the tracking direction (direction of D) to make the light beam spot follow the desired information track.
Also, an autofocusing (as will be referred to as AF) servo is carried out to obtain a spot of the light beam in an appropriate size (that is, to make the light beam focused on the optical card surface) on the surface of the optical card during scanning of the information track with the light beam spot in information recording and/or reproduction. The AF servo is performed as follows: A deviation (AF error) of the light beam spot from an in-focus state is detected in the optical head; the detected signal is subject to negative feedback to a focusing actuator; and the objective lens is moved relative to the optical head body in the focusing direction to make the light beam spot focused on the optical card surface.
In FIG. 2, S1, S2, and S3 represent light beam spots. The tracking is conducted using the light spots of S1 and S3, while the focusing and production of information pits in recording, and the reading of the information pits in reproduction are done using the optical spot of S2. In the respective information tracks, 6-1, 6-2, and, 7-1, 7-2 respectively represent left address portions and right address portions preformatted, which are read for identification of the tracks. Numeral 5 designates a data portion, which is numbered as 5-1 or 5-2 in FIG. 2 and in which predetermined information is recorded.
The method of optical information recording is briefly explained here. Roughly classified, the optical information recording methods are of two types. One is a one light source type in which recording and reproduction are carried out with a common light source, and the other is a two light source type in which recording and reproduction are carried out with two different light sources. It is commonly understood that the two light source type is advantageous with respect to degradation of reproducing light and with respect to an increase of process speed, as compared to the one light source type.
FIG. 3 is a schematic drawing of an optical system in an optical head of the two light source type. The two light source type enables prevention of the reproducing light degradation and the high speed recording with provision of separate light sources for recording light and for reproducing light.
In FIG. 3, reference numerals 21, 22 denote semiconductor lasers as light sources. The semiconductor laser 21 emits light with a wavelength of 780 nm, and the semiconductor laser 22 emits light with a wavelength of 830 nm. Numerals 23, 24 designate collimator lenses, 25 a diffraction grating for splitting a light beam, 26 a dichroic prism which transmits P-polarized light of 780 nm and reflects P-polarized light of 830 nm, 27 a beam shaping prism, and 28 a polarization beam splitter. Also, numeral 29 represents a quarter wave plate, 30 an objective lens, 31 a band pass filter which transmits only the light of 780 nm, 32 a stopper, 33 a toric lens, and 34 a photo detector.
Light beams emitted from the semiconductor lasers 21, 22 enter the collimator lenses 23, 24 in the form of a diverging beam to be modified into collimated light beams, respectively. The light of 780 nm then enters the diffraction grating 25 to be split into three effective light beams (a zeroth order diffracted beam and .+-. first order diffracted beams). The split light beams of 780 nm and the light beam of 830 nm are incident as P-polarized components into a dielectric multilayer film built in a Joint area of the dichroic prism 26 having a spectral property as shown in FIG. 4.
As apparent from FIG. 4, the dichroic prism 26 has such a property that it transmits P-polarized light of 780 nm but reflects P-polarized light of 830 nm. Thus, the light beam of 780 nm is transmitted and the light beam of 830 nm is reflected, so that the light beams are combined with each other to be output as an optical flux from the dichroic prism 26 in the combined state. The optical flux output from the dichroic prism 26 is shaped to have a certain light intensity distribution by the light beam shaping prism 27, and then enters the polarization beam splitter 28.
The polarization beam splitter 28 has such a spectral property as shown in FIG. 5 that it transmits P-polarized light and reflects S-polarized light. The optical flux including the light beams of the two wavelengths is transmitted, because the beams are P-polarized.
Then, the optical flux including the beams of the two wavelengths is changed into an optical flux of circular polarized light when passing through the quarter wave plate 29, and is converged by the objective lens 30. The light beams of 780 nm form three micro beam spots S1 (+ first order diffracted light), S2 (zeroth order diffracted light), and S3 (- first order diffracted light) on the optical card 1, which are used as reproducing light and as signal light for AT and AF controls. The light beam of 830 nm forms a micro beam spot S2 (zeroth order diffracted light) on the optical card 1, which is used as recording light.
Positions of the light beam spots on the optical card 1 are as shown in FIG. 2: The light beam spots S1 and S3 are located on adjacent tracking tracks 4 and the light beam spot S2 is located on an information track 2 between the adjacent tracking tracks. It is preferred as to a positional relation between S2 of 780 nm and S2 of 830 nm that the light beam spot S2 of 830 nm as recording light leads the other in the moving direction. There is, however, no theoretical restriction on the arrangement of the beam spots S2, S2. They are located at the same position in this embodiment. The light beam spots formed on the optical card 1 are reflected to pass through the objective lens 30 to become parallel. The light beams again pass through the quarter wave plate 29 to have a polarization direction rotated by 90 degrees as compared to that upon incidence thereinto. The light beams are incident as S-polarized light beams into the polarization beam splitter 28. Since the splitter 28 reflects S-polarized light as described, the light beams are reflected toward the band pass filter 31. The band-pass filter 31 has such a spectral property that it transmits light near 780 nm as shown in FIG. 6. Thus, the band pass filter 31 transmits the light near 780 nm but reflects light of other wavelengths. The band pass filter 31 guides the light of 780 nm as signals to a detection optical system. The light passing through the band pass filter 31 is converged by the toric lens 31 to enter the photo detector 34. The photo detector 34 is constructed as shown in FIG. 7, which carries out the tracking control with signals received by light receiving elements 11, 13, and the focusing control and the reproduction signal detection with a signal received by a light receiving element 12 which is divided into four sections.
In the example of the optical head as shown in FIG. 3, however, the reproducing light and the recording light are radiated from the respective light sources and a positional deviation is inevitably caused between the reproducing beam spot and the recording beam spot, which results in degradation of reproduction signals.
The positional deviation could be adjusted by moving the light sources to prevent the degradation of reproduction signals. Supposing the focal length of the collimator lens is equivalent to that of the objective lens, which is the case in common optical disk apparatuses, the light source is to be moved by 0.1 .mu.m for adjustment of position deviation of 0.1 .mu.m. If the accuracy of submicron order is required, the time and the cost for adjustment would be extremely increased.

Optical information recording/reproducing apparatus


The copy originals are scanned photoelectrically by regions and three color densities are determined for each scanning regions. Additionally, using a high resolution scanning system, a detail contrast parameter describing the detail contrast in the scanning region is determined. The detail contrast parameters are evaluated together with the color densities of the scanning regions for the determination of the copy light quantities. In particular, in the correction of densities, scanning regions with higher detail contrasts are considered stronger than those with lower density contrasts, while color corrections are carried out in exactly the opposite manner.

The invention concerns a process for the control of the exposure in a photographic color copying apparatus. More specifically, the present invention relates to a process and apparatus for the control of exposure in a photographic color copying apparatus, wherein a copy original is scanned in a plurality of scanning zones photoelectrically, a measured triplet value determined for each scanning zone from the scan values obtained, corresponding to the three color transmissions or color densities of the copy original, and from the triplet value, the necessary quantities of copying light determined with consideration of certain given criteria.
Since the introduction of the first photoprinter equipped with a color scanner enormous development has taken place in the direction of more highly integrated and less expensive structural elements. Above all, the development in the field of CCD sensors (CCD=Charge-Coupled Devices) has lead to sensors with a local resolution far above that which can be processed with a justifiable investment in computer time and computer capacity, and which are equal in price or even less costly than sensors with a resolution adapted to the task at hand (for example diode arrays). It is therefore conceivable for reasons of cost alone to use a high resolution (for example CCD) sensor as a scanner, the effective resolution of which is reduced to a measure by the summation (averaging) of the measured values of locally adjacent (relative to the measured original) measuring points, that would permit the processing of the data at a justifiable expense. In the production of color copies there are "classical" problems in which even the most recent processes of density and color correction based on a relatively high scanner resolution (approximately 1,000 measuring points per negative) fail entirely or partially.
Thus, for example, exposures with bright sky portions are often copied too dark. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,279,505 a process is described whereby image areas may be recognized with a certain degree of probability that they may be sky areas, in order to partially eliminate the problems; however, this process is capable of improvement. Another problem consists of distinguishing between flash exposures and a class of counter light exposures (street canyons, doorways, etc.). In both cases, the negative has a more or less central area of high density. Both classes of exposures therefore in the known process of exposure control frequently undergo unidirectional density corrections, even though they should be treated in the exactly opposite manner ("plus correction," i.e. higher density in the case of flash exposures, "minus corrections" in the case of the aforementioned counter light exposures). An improved recognition of sky areas would have a positive effect relative to colors also, for example in beach exposures, which often are copied with too much yellow, if measuring points of these areas flow into the correction.
Fundamentally the same problems as with sky exposures are encountered in snow images. Here again, improved density corrections would be desirable.
Amateur exposures take place frequently under less than ideal illumination conditions. This is particularly true for internal exposures under incandescent light. Most processes for exposure control comprise special measures for the correction of artificial light (see for example the operating instructions for the GRETAG high capacity printers 3139 . . . 3141), without which the aforementioned class of images would be copied with a pronounced yellow color cast. However, these measures often have a negative effect on images not created under incandescent light but hardly distinguishable relative to color from them. A typical example of cases leading to such miscorrections are outside exposures of leaves in the fall, corn fields, etc.
The second important class of artificial light exposures are the so-called neon light exposures. These again are predominantly inside exposures which in most cases are copied in view of the less than ideal illumination with a pronounced greenish color cast. The correction of artificial light in this case raises the same problems as that of incandescent light. The difficultly here in that purely by color criteria it is not possible to differentiate between neon and outside exposures with green vegetation with the desired accuracy.
The problem to be solved relative to color and density correction with photographic printers may be interpreted generally as follows: initially, the parts of importance for the image of an original must be identified and subsequently the quantities of copy light must be dimensioned so that the important parts are reproduced correctly on the copy material in relation to color and density.
Thus, for example, a process is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,668,082, and DE 35 43 076 whereby the parts important for the picture are identified by an operator, but the determination itself of the illumination parameters is carried out by a computer on the basis of the measured transmission values of the original, with consideration of the information provided by the operator. Obviously, such a process cannot be used with high capacity printers.
The present invention is intended to eliminate these difficulties and create conditions whereby the aforedescribed classic problems may be handled better.

Exposure control process and photographic color copying apparatus


A method for cutting a printed circuit board includes providing a printed circuit board including a cutting region having a plurality of metal conducting wires, disposing a patterned first protection layer on the printed circuit board surface and exposing the metal conducting wires in the cutting region, forming a conducting layer on a surface of the metal conducting wires, disposing a second protection layer on the cutting region, performing a cutting process in the cutting region, and removing the second protection layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for cutting a printed circuit board, and more particularly, to a cutting method capable of reducing burrs in metal conducting wires and increasing the quality of printed circuit boards.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The window ball-grid-array (WBGA) package is a novel chip package technology. Connecting wires, which are drawn from a die, of a WBGA packaged memory pass through a window of a load board and connect with contact pads on the load board. Therefore, the connecting wires between the die and the load board are shortest of all of ball-grid-array (BGA) package technologies in existence such that the transmission speed is quicker and the inductance and the noise interference are smaller. For this reason, WBGA packaged memories are more suitable to be applied in a high frequency and high speed operation environment, and because of the short connecting wires WBGA packaged memories have lower power consumption and generate less heat. For instance, memories adopting the WBGA package technology have two to three times more memory capacity than other memories, which have the same size, and have better electric and heat conducting characteristics, so they are widely applied in portable products, for example, desktops and so forth.
A load board of a WBGA packaged memory is fabricated by using printed circuit board compatible processes, and windows of the load board and finished product separations are performed by utilizing cutting mills. FIG. 1 to FIG. 4 are schematic diagrams for illustrating a method for forming a window 26 by cutting a load board 10 of a WBGA packaged memory according to the prior art. As shown in FIG. 1, a substrate 12 is provided after an internal circuit process of the substrate 12 is finished. A plurality of metal conducting wires 14, 16, 18, 20, and 22 consisting of copper are formed on an upper and a lower surface of the substrate 12.
As shown in FIG. 2, a solder-resist ink layer 23 covers a portion of the metal conducting wires 14, 16, 18, 20, and 22. An exposure and development process are performed to increase an adhesive force between the solder-resist ink layer 23 and the metal conducting wires 14, 16, 18, 20, and 22 by light polymerization. As shown in FIG. 3, a conducting layer 24 is plated on the metal conducting wires 14, 16, 18, 20, and 22, which are not covered by the solder-resist ink layer 23. The conducting layer 24 consists of nickel (Ni) or gold (Au). As shown in FIG. 4, a cutting process is performed to form a window 26 by utilizing mill cutting on the substrate 12. The window 26 of a load board 10 of a WBGA packaged memory is finished.
According to the prior art, when a mill is used to cut the load board 10 of the WBGA packaged memory directly to form the window 26, burrs often result in edges where the metal conducting wires 14, 16, and 18 are cut, influencing the quality of the load board 10. In the past, the burrs are removed by laborers, hence manual labor is required and the quantity of output is influenced.

Method for cutting printed circuit board

Nan Ya Printed Circuit Board Corporation


The invention provides non-naturally occurring microbial organisms having a propylene pathway. The invention additionally provides methods of using such organisms to produce propylene.

The present invention relates generally to biosynthetic processes, and more specifically to organisms having propylene biosynthetic capability.
Propylene is produced primarily as a by-product of petroleum refining and of ethylene production by steam cracking of hydrocarbon feedstocks. Propene is separated by fractional distillation from hydrocarbon mixtures obtained from cracking and other refining processes. Typical hydrocarbon feedstocks are from non-renewable fossil fuels, such as petroleum, natural gas and to a much lesser extent coal. Over 75 billion pounds of propylene are manufactured annually, making it the second largest fossil-based chemical produced behind ethylene. Propylene is a base chemical that is converted into a wide range of polymers, polymer intermediates and chemicals. Some of the most common derivatives of chemical and polymer grade propylene are polypropylene, acrylic acid, butanol, butanediol, acrylonitrile, propylene oxide, isopropanol and cumene. The use of the propylene derivative, polypropylene, in the production of plastics, such as injection moulding, and fibers, such as carpets, accounts for over one-third of U.S. consumption for this derivative. Propylene is also used in the production of synthetic rubber and as a propellant or component in aerosols.
The ability to manufacture propylene from alternative and/or renewable feedstocks would represent a major advance in the quest for more sustainable chemical production processes. One possible way to produce propylene renewably involves fermentation of sugars or other feedstocks to produce the alcohols 2-propanol (isopropanol) or 1-propanol, which is separated, purified, and then dehydrated to propylene in a second step involving metal-based catalysis. Direct fermentative production of propylene from renewable feedstocks would obviate the need for dehydration. During fermentative production, propylene gas would be continuously emitted from the fermenter, which could be readily collected and condensed. Developing a fermentative production process would also eliminate the need for fossil-based propylene and would allow substantial savings in cost, energy, and harmful waste and emissions relative to petrochemically-derived propylene.
Microbial organisms and methods for effectively producing propylene from cheap renewable feedstocks such as molasses, sugar cane juice, and sugars derived from biomass sources, including agricultural and wood waste, as well as C1 feedstocks such as syngas and carbon dioxide, are described herein and include related advantages.

Microorganisms for producing propylene and methods related thereto


Frequency-scanning interferometry is used for measuring test objects having multiple surface regions. The regions are distinguished and can be measured based on different measuring criteria. Interference data is gathered for the imageable portion of the test object from a plurality of interference patterns taken over substantially the same imageable portion at different measuring beam frequencies. The interference data is evaluated to determine topographical measures of associated points on the test object. The topographical measures are compared against a benchmark to distinguish between points on the test object that are within a first of the surface regions from points on a boundary separating the first surface region from one or more other surface regions of the imageable portion of the test object. The interference data of points within the first surface region are further evaluated to a higher accuracy.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the measurement of surface features of test objects using frequency-shifting interferometry, and in particular to such measurement of test objects having distinguishable surface regions that may be subject to differing measuring requirements.
2. Description of Related Art
Frequency-shifting interferometry, which involves the collection of interference data at multiple measuring beam frequencies for converting the accompanying variations in intensity into a measure of optical path length difference between interfering portions of the measuring beam, is noted for the capability of taking measurements over a wider range of distances than conventional phase-shifting interferometry. For example, test surfaces having discontinuities well beyond the measuring beam wavelength can be unambiguously measured using frequency-shifting interferometry.
However, considerable pixel-by-pixel processing is required to complete the measurement of test surfaces over which frequency-shifting interference data is gathered. Each pixel collects light from a finite area of the test surface, and separate calculations are carried out for each pixel of recorded interference data for measuring local height variations of the test surface (i.e., surface topographies). The calculations convert the intensity data collected for each pixel at the multiple measuring beam frequencies into a measure of surface topography, and the calculations for each pixel take time.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,741,361 entitled MULTI-STAGE DATA PROCESSING FOR FREQUENCY-SCANNING INTERFEROMETER discloses examples of the pixel-by-pixel processing in multiple stages. Increased accuracy is achieved by additional stages of processing. Although the disclosed multi-stage processing saves time, the additional processing for achieving increased accuracy takes more time than measurements of lesser accuracy.
Co-assigned U.S. application entitled PHASE-RESOLVED MEASUREMENT FOR FREQUENCY-SHIFTING INTERFEROMETER, filed on even date herewith, discloses further improved processing procedures for achieving high accuracies typical of conventional phase-shifting interferometers over a range of measurement typical of phase-shifting interferometers or beyond. Each pixel is calculated separately based on intensity measurements acquired at multiple measuring beam frequencies.
Computer processing time associated with the measurement of surface topographies, particularly when higher accuracies are required, can add considerably to the overall time required to measure the surfaces. The time for taking measurements is particularly important in the manufacturing environment where expensive operations can be slowed by the measurements. To avoid production down time, inspection criteria can be lowered, fewer test objects can be inspected, or less satisfactory inspection techniques can be applied.
The surfaces of some test objects have different regions over which different measuring criteria can be applied. For example, some regions of test surfaces can require measurement to higher accuracy than other regions of the same test surfaces, including different regions imaged by the same interference patterns. Generally, the interference patterns are evaluated as a whole or within more limited areas that are within a range of measurement.
Frequency-shifting interferometers are capable of measuring rougher surfaces and surfaces with larger discontinuities than conventional phase-shifting interferometers, including surfaces with regular variations that exceed one fringe spacing (e.g., one-half of the measuring beam wavelength). The interference patterns evaluated by frequency-shifting interferometers are often apparent as speckle patterns having no discernable fringes and extending largely without interruption over a wide range of surface variations.

Feature isolation for frequency-shifting interferometry


The scroll gas compressor of the invention is so constructed that an enclosed container is partitioned by a fixed scroll member into a high pressure chamber and a low pressure chamber for gas-liquid separating intake refrigerant and storing it, the low pressure chamber being disposed at the lower portion and the high pressure chamber at the upper portion of enclosed container, the high pressure chamber disposing therein a drive unit related to a scroll compression mechanism and a lubricating oil sump, and the fixed scroll member serving also as part of the bottom of the lubricating oil sump, thereby providing that is small-sized, wide in an operational speed range, and superior in durability, and that prevents absorption of heat and noise propagation from the low pressure chamber serving as both the gas-liquid separation chamber and the reservoir of fluid, thereby improving the compression efficiency and lowering noise.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a scroll fluid compressor which partitions the interior of an enclosed container into a high pressure section and a low pressure section serving as an accumulator.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Scroll compressors have generally been known which are provided at the outer periphery with a suction chamber and at the center of a spiral with a discharge port so that fluid is taken-in and compressed at a spiral compression space symmetrical with respect to the discharge port, the compressed fluid flowing in one direction and compression torque less in variation than a reciprocation compressor or a rotary compressor, thereby extremely reducing vibrations or noises.
A usual refrigeration system, as shown in FIG. 17, constitutes a refrigeration cycle of a compressor 111, a condenser 112, an expansion valve 113 and an evaporator 114 sequentially connected, in which in order to restrain storage of intake refrigerant and compression of liquid refrigerant apt to occur in a compression chamber of compressor 111 to thereby improve durability of compressor, an accumulator 110 for gas-liquid separation and storage of refrigerant is provided between the suction side of compressor 111 and the evaporator 114, the accumulator 110 is mounted in the vicinity of the side surface of compressor 111, and heat insulation is applied between the accumulator 110 and the compressor 111, whereby intake gas refrigerant is heated following heating of the accumulator 110 so as to prevent the compression efficiency from lowering.
The accumulator 110, as shown in FIG. 18, is so designed that a baffle plate 103 is disposed at the upper end of a center pipe 104, so that the liquid refrigerant returning from the evaporator 114 is prevented from directly flowing into the upper opening of the center pipe 104 connected to the suction side of compressor 111, thus forming a bypass B through which the refrigerant passes (refer to Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Publication No. 59-84378).
When such an accumulator 110 for gas-liquid separation and storage of refrigerant is mounted on the scroll refrigerant compressor for lessening vibrations and noises, a problem is created in that the intake liquid refrigerant strikes the inner wall or the like at the scroll refrigerant compressor to cause vibrations by the accumulator itself, thereby exciting the scroll refrigerant compressor, and that the refrigerant collision noise transmits to the body 101 that is small in thickness for weight reduction to thereby deteriorate low vibration and low noise characteristics of the scroll compressor.
Another problem is created in that the compressor and accumulator are separate in construction regardless of construction of the compressor so that the compressor and accessories thereof require a large space for disposing them.
To eliminate the above-mentioned problems, it is proposed that the compressor houses therein an accumulator unit for gas-liquid separation as disclosed in the Japanese Patent Publication No. 43-2518. However, this construction is disadvantageous in that the wall area forming the accumulator unit is large and the intake gas refrigerant passes through an electric motor unit, so that the intake gas refrigerant is heated which significantly lowers compression efficiency. Especially, when a large quantity of liquid refrigerant is returned to the compressor in the scroll compressor, liquid compression is apt to occur in the permanently enclosed space in the compression chamber that does not connect with both the suction chamber and the discharge chamber, and an excessive compression load causes damage in the compression chamber-constructing members or breakdown in the bearings, so that some means for reducing the compression load and preventing the liquid compression must be provided.
FIG. 19 shows another scroll compressor, in which an enclosed container 206 is partitioned therein from a scroll compression unit through a frame 209, a low pressure chamber 206b being formed above the frame 209 and a high pressure chamber 206a below the frame. The low pressure chamber 206b gas-liquid separates the refrigerant, and heat quantity transmitted from the high pressure chamber 206a through the enclosed container 206 is used to completely evaporate the intake refrigerant by being heated to a certain extent, after which the refrigerant is taken into the compression chamber through a suction pipe 210 provided at a fixed scroll member 202, thereby preventing the occurrence of liquid compression. After the compressed gas refrigerant is discharged to the high pressure chamber 206a through an outflow path 211, a lubricating oil is separated from the discharged gas refrigerant, an O-ring 214 provided between the frame 209 and the enclosed container 206 is used to seal between the low pressure chamber 206b and the high pressure chamber 206a, a heat insulating material 213 of Teflon mounted on the upper surface of the fixed scroll member 202 reduces heating to liquid refrigerant 219 at the low pressure chamber 206b, and the gas-liquid separation chamber is integral with the enclosed container, thereby expecting space saving, low noises and low vibrations at a time when the compressor is installed (refer to Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 57-70984).
A scroll compressor with a structure similar to the above-mentioned is also described in specification of the U.S. Pat. No. 4,522,575.
With the structure shown in FIG. 19, since the low pressure chamber 206b is disposed at the upper portion of the scroll compression unit, the liquid refrigerant 219 directly contacts at the outer periphery thereof with the enclosed container 206 at a high temperature and forming the high pressure chamber 206a, thereby creating the problem in that the outer periphery of liquid refrigerant 219 that is higher in density than gas refrigerant and that is superior in thermal conductivity and the intake gas refrigerant above the liquid refrigerant 219 are heated to lower the compression efficiency.
When the wall constituting the low pressure chamber 206b at the enclosed container 206 is larger in thickness, refrigerant noises caused by the intake gas refrigerant flowing into the low pressure chamber 206b to strike the inner wall thereof and the resonant noises of enclosed container 206, are not propagated to the exterior of the compressor, but a sectional area of the enclosed container 206 becomes large, thereby creating a problem in that a heat quantity at the high pressure chamber 206a side is apt to be transferred to the liquid refrigerant and/or the intake gas refrigerant to thereby further lower the compression efficiency.
Conversely, when the wall of the low pressure chamber 206b is smaller in thickness, the refrigerant noise or the resonant noise of the enclosed container 206 are propagated to the exterior of the compressor, thereby creating a problem in that especially the low noise characteristics of the scroll compressor are deteriorated.
It is required to ensure a distance between the end of the motor and the oil level at a lubricating oil sump provided at the bottom of the high pressure chamber 206a in order to prevent an outflow of lubricating oil to the exterior of the compressor and/or a power loss caused by agitating the lubricating oil in the sump when a rotor of a motor disposed above the sump rotates at high speed. As the result, the high pressure chamber 206a is larger in height, thereby creating a problem in that the compressor is large-sized. Moreover, since the lubricating oil sump is at the bottom apart from the compression unit, during the stopping the compressor for a long time, the lubricating oil at a bearing slidable portion flows into the sump, thereby creating a problem in that, when the compressor restarts, the bearing slidable portion may seize.
In the construction that the fixed scroll 202 contacts at one side with the low pressure chamber 206b and at the other side with the compression chamber, as disclosed in FIG. 2b of Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 55-46046, pressure in the compression chamber swells the central portion of fixed scroll 202 toward the low pressure chamber 206b. As the result, an axial gap at the compression chamber is enlarged to increase a leakage amount of compressed gas refrigerant, thereby creating a problem in that the compression efficiency remarkably lowers.
To solve the above-mentioned problems, as disclosed in FIG. 4 of Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 55-46046, a construction has been proposed in which a back pressure chamber is formed at the rear of the fixed scroll, fluid pressure of the back pressure chamber is applied to the fixed scroll, so that the compression chamber pressure restrains the swollen central portion of the fixed scroll, thereby preventing lowering of compression efficiency while keeping a proper axial gap at the compression chamber.
However, it is required for the above-mentioned construction of Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 55-46046 to provide a particular back pressure chamber at the rear side of fixed scroll, thereby creating a problem in that the member of parts increases to raise the manufacturing cost, the space for installing the low pressure chamber is reduced, and the gas-liquid separation efficiency of the intake refrigerant deteriorates. Hence, a scroll gas compressor has been desired which is small-sized, high in compression efficiency, superior in low vibrations, low noise characteristics, durability, and processes a wide range of operating speeds.

Scroll compressor with heat insulating and soundproof cover in bottom disposed low pressure chamber

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A three-dimensional structure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes: a plurality of resin layers including a light curable resin, the light curable resin including a coloring compound, a color developing-reducing agent, and a photothermal conversion agent, the plurality of resin layers being stacked, the color developing-reducing agent having an average particle diameter of 10 μm or more and 100 μm or less.

In recent years, as technology for manufacturing a three-dimensional object having an optional three-dimensional shape, additive manufacturing technology for solidifying a fluid material on the basis of three-dimensional data has been developed, and the technology is generally known as 3D printer.
The 3D printer makes it possible to easily produce a three-dimensional shape having a free-form surface or a complicated structure, which is difficult to cut in a method of creating a three-dimensional object by machining. In addition, the 3D printer makes it possible to obtain a desired three-dimensional shape by fully automated processes without causing wear of necessary tools for machining, noise, cutting chips, etc. For example, PTL 1 discloses an optical modeling apparatus including a first light source, an operation device, a second light source, and a spatial light modulator. The first light source emits a light beam for drawing on a light curable resin. The operation device performs scanning over the light curable resin with the light beam emitted from the first light source. The second light source emits light that is applied to each fixed region on the light curable resin. The spatial light modulator spatially modulates the light emitted from the second light source to perform one-shot exposure on a predetermined region of the light curable resin.

Three-dimensional structure and method of manufacturing three-dimensional structure


A disc playback apparatus capable of effectively utilizing an image display function is provided. When an instruction for setting a still image is made, a selection screen creation section performs processes for creating and displaying a predetermined selection screen. The selection screen contains a plurality of reduced still images, so that one of the still images can be selected. When one still image is selected on the selection screen, a still image information setting section associates the selected still image with the track of the audio information to be played back at that time. When the audio information of this track is to be played back at a subsequent playback time, the still image which is associated by the previous process is displayed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a disc playback apparatus for playing back audio information and still image information recorded on a disc-type recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hitherto, disc-type recording media in which audio information required to play back audio and still image information required to play back still images are recorded, and disc playback apparatuses for playing back such disc-type recording media have been known.
For example, in the DVD-audio standard which has recently attracted attention, DVDs (Digital Versatile Discs) are used as disc-type recording media, so that audio with high sound quality exceeding that of existing CDs (Compact Discs) can be recorded, or a large number (for example, several thousands) of still images to be played back together with audio can be recorded. By playing back such disc-type recording media with a disc playback apparatus, for example, while music is being played back, a still image for the artist who plays that music and a still image created to match the image of the music can be displayed.
In the above-described disc-type recording media, it is not always necessary to record still image information in such a manner as to correspond to the entire audio information region. There are cases in which corresponding still image information is provided in some of the audio information regions, but corresponding still image information is not provided in the other regions. For this reason, when audio information of a region having no associated still image information is played back, a still image is not displayed on the screen, and the image display function provided in the disc playback apparatus cannot be utilized effectively.
Furthermore, in a case where the content of the still image information which is associated with audio information in advance does not match the preference of the user, it is not possible for the user to freely set and display a desired still image. For this reason, when a still image does not match the user's preference, the user views the still image display less frequently, and it cannot be said that the image display function provided in the disc playback apparatus is utilized effectively.

Disc playback apparatus and disc playback method


A filter medium includes at least one filter membrane (10) having a fabric ply (12) as a supporting and protective layer. At least one additional filter membrane (14) with another fabric ply (16) as a supporting and protective layer is also provided. A third fabric ply (18) extends between both adjacent filter membranes (10, 14). Both adjacent filter membranes (10, 14) are connected together by the threads (26) of the other two plies (12, 16) which reach through to the third ply (18).

EP 0 761 292 A1 discloses self-supporting capillary membranes for use at higher pressure with an internal separating layer. This known capillary membrane is provided with a seamless outside jacket made as a closed, liquid-permeable diagonal reinforcement. The diagonal reinforcement has individual threads including for their part either of monofilaments or multifilaments. The material selection for these monofilaments or multifilaments is almost unlimited. For example, polyester yarns, polyaramides, polymer fibers, glass fibers, or metal filaments are used. The individual threads of the diagonal reinforcement are applied to the capillaries in a 1:1 to 2:1 or even 2:2 braid binding in a continuous process as a seamless outer jacket. Depending on the wall thickness of the monofilaments or multifilaments, capillaries with outside diameters from 0.5 mm to 15 mm are produced. The capillaries themselves must have a mechanical stability that resists the thread tension in the reinforcing process. This known capillary membrane can be continuously produced. Due to the indicated diagonal reinforcement, it has a correspondingly high burst pressure; but the performance in filtration is limited. In spite of support by the liquid-permeable diagonal reinforcement, in severe filtration operation the membrane material surrounded in this way can fail.
DE 41 42 417 A1 discloses an ion exchanger membrane which, in order to eliminate these disadvantages, calls for reinforcement with a multiaxial, preferably triaxial, yarn system. In a chlor-alkali cell, using an open reinforcing fabric and a thin membrane to obtain low cell tension and good stability for handling of the reinforcing fabric and for the reinforced membrane is considered to be advantageous. A thin membrane in turn requires a thin fabric and low total thickness of the film layers used for lamination of the reinforced cation exchanger resin. By definition, an open fabric is one which, when there is illumination from one direction perpendicular to the plane of the fabric, enables a large portion of the incident light to pass through the fabric. This fabric with a high percentage of open points (fabric gaps) is desirable according to the known solution, because the open sites allow the cations to pass from the anolyte to the catholyte in a chlor-alkali process. An open fabric then enables a low cell tension, and therefore, lower power consumption. The known fabrics in the form of a basket weave or a cross weave are regarded as disadvantageous because they lack dimensional stability and have a low modulus and low strength in the oblique direction of the fabric laminate. Accordingly, the known solution proposes a triaxially woven article, that is, a fabric produced by a weaving process, in which three yarns at an angle of 60° each to one another are used. In particular, if the triaxial fabric is produced from fine yarns, a thin fabric can be obtained that is stable under various loads, even if the fabric has the desired high degree of open sites. The disadvantage in this known solution is that the indicated multiaxial fabric is relatively complex and expensive to produce, making the membrane material more expensive. Furthermore, this solution is limited in filtration performance by its basic structure of the membrane material.
EP 0 355 400 A2 discloses a filter medium for caking filtration processes with a filter membrane embedded on either side in a fabric construction assuming a mechanical protective function. With this known filter medium, within filter systems in which the filter medium is mechanically loaded to an extremely heavy degree, suspensions can be processed and particles in the submicroporous range filtered out of the fluid flow. In one preferred embodiment of the known solution the membrane mass can be located between two fabric plies. The membrane mass is applied to a compact, strong carrier fabric ply. A protective fabric ply is embedded into the upper layer of the membrane mass. This protective fabric ply is made as an open-mesh fabric, achieving a sandwich structure for the filter medium for caking filtration processes. This generic filter-medium has risen to the robust mechanical requirements conventionally imposed by filtration technology. Especially when the filter cake is removed or discarded, the filter medium is exposed to considerable mechanical loads which can be managed with the known filter medium. Still, the filtration performance is not satisfactory even in this durable solution.


An interchangeable and reversible pierced ear protector kit that includes a sleeve which can be inserted into an ear lobe, and separates the ear from an earring post that extends through the sleeve and is fastened by a retainer clip. Between the retainer clip and the ear is a disk that provides a relatively large surface area to distribute the weight and balance the earring on the ear lobe. The disk also protects the ear lobe from the retainer clip. The kit contains a plurality of shields that have different diameters which corresponds to different earring sizes. Larger shields are used for relatively large earrings, while the smaller shields are installed for relatively small earrings. The shields each have an aperture that has a diameter that is slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the shank. Along an end of the shank are a pair of slits that allow the outer shank wall to deflect when the shield is assembled to the ear. The sleeve deflection provides a spring force which maintains the shield adjacent to the ear.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to pierced earrings.
2. Description of Related Art
Earrings typically come with two types of fasteners, clip on or pierced. Pierced earrings include a post that is inserted through the ear lobe and held in place with a spring clip. Pierced earrings provide a more secure attachment to the ear than "clip ons" and are therefore preferred by many wearers.
The posts of pierced earrings are frequently constructed from steel or another similar type of material. Steel post can irritate and even infect the ear lobe of some users. Although using gold post can eliminate the physiological reaction of pierced earrings, gold is relatively expensive and therefore economically impractical for many users.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,154,068 issued to DiDomenico; U.S. Pat. No. 5,018,365 issued to Luceno and U.S. Pat. No. 4,067,341 issued to Ivey all disclose earring assemblies that include a sleeve that is inserted into the lobe of an ear. The post of an earring is inserted through the sleeve and fastened to the ear by a spring clip or other fastening means. The sleeve is typically constructed from gold or another material that will not irritate or infect the ear. Although effective in protecting the ear hole, the prior art devices are limited and do not provide for the concept and technique of versatility. It would therefore be desirable to have a pierced earring assembly that would provide versatile structural support and protection that is commensurate with the size and weight of the earring.

Interchangeable and reversible pierced ear protector kit


A system is provided that includes an audio source configured to drive at least one audio output and a module under calibration integrated in a vehicle. The module under calibration is configured to receive a calibration command sequence from the audio source and decode the calibration command sequence into a digitally-encoded calibration command. The module under calibration is further configured to select a set of calibration data from a plurality of sets of calibration data to configure the module under calibration based on the digitally-encoded calibration command.

Vehicles typically include one or more vehicle information busses for inter-module communication. However, not all vehicle modules are connected to the vehicle information busses. For example, an active noise cancellation module can be connected to a microphone and to vehicle speakers through an amplifier, but the active noise cancellation module may not be connected to vehicle information busses where inter-module communication is unnecessary. Vehicle information busses can also be used to remotely program or reconfigure vehicle modules that are connected thereto. In the absence of a connection to a vehicle information bus, programming of a vehicle module while integrated in a vehicle is not typically possible.
Some vehicle modules share a common design such that they are substantially similar except for constant values that are customized for particular vehicle configurations. For example, a given automobile model may have multiple engine options, upholstery options, sun/moon roof options, and the like. Numerous possible combinations of options may result in different configuration data. When in-vehicle module programming is not possible, each unique configuration results in a different vehicle module part number, which must be correctly installed in the corresponding vehicle. As the number of possible configurations increases, the chances of incorrectly installing a mismatched configuration can also increase. A greater variety of part numbers for similar parts can also lead to inventory control issues.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide systems and methods for calibration data selection for vehicle modules without a vehicle information bus interface.


The present invention provides a compound or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof having an inhibitory action on the interaction between menin and an MLL protein. The compound represented by the formula (1) or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.

Chromosomal translocation of MLL (Mixed-Lineage Leukemia) gene is observed in infant leukemia and some poor-prognosis leukemia cases. As a result of chromosomal translocation, MLL fuses with 70 or more various translocation partner genes at its amino-terminus to express an MLL fusion protein. Wild-type MLL constitutes a transcriptional regulatory complex that modifies the chromatin structure, specifically methylates lysine at the 4th position of histone H3, and plays an extremely important role in the transcriptional regulation of gene cluster (e.g., HOX gene cluster, etc.) involved in hematopoiesis and development. Meanwhile, the MLL fusion protein, whose expression is induced by chromosomal translocation, has lost the histone methylase activity, but permanently activates gene cluster (e.g., HOX and MEIS1 genes, etc.) involved in cell differentiation control. As a result, abnormal cell growth and inhibition of differentiation induction of hematopoietic cells are triggered, which leads to onset of leukemia. Leukemia with MLL gene mutation has poor prognosis, and the standard treatment methods currently used for leukemia treatment have not been sufficiently effective. For this reason, development of a new treatment method is strongly desired.
Menin is a tumor-suppressor protein identified as a causal factor of multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1), which is one of autosomal dominant hereditary tumor syndromes, and characterized by tumorigenesis in multiple endocrine organs. Menin is an ubiquitously expressed nucleoprotein that interacts with a wide variety of proteins and is involved in various cellular processes. It is considered that the biological functions of menin can be tumor-suppressing or tumor-promoting, and dependent on the cell context. Menin interacts with the amide-terminus of MLL1, and functions as a carcinogenic cofactor that increases the transcription of gene cluster such as HOX and MEIS1. It is known that the interaction between menin and an MLL fusion protein is essential for abnormal activation of a series of gene cluster caused by the MLL fusion protein, and onset of leukemia (Non-Patent Documents 1 and 2). Thus, it is expected that inhibition of the interaction between menin and an MLL fusion protein contributes to the treatment and/or prophylaxis of leukemias involving chromosomal translocations of MLL gene and other leukemia/blood cancers accompanied with constant expression of HOX and MEIS1 genes. Accordingly, for example, the creation of a drug that inhibits the interaction between menin and an MLL fusion protein is extremely significant in terms of providing a new option for cancer treatment.
A plurality of compounds having an inhibitory activity on the interaction between menin and an MLL protein have been already known (Patent Documents 1 to 4, Non-Patent Documents 3 to 5).

Abstract: wherein, in the formula (1), the dotted circle, R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, R6, R7, R8, Ring Q1, W, m and n are each as defined in the description.


A display device includes a display region including a plurality of pixels, a plurality of first electrodes formed by wiring included in a first layer, and aligned in a first direction above the display region, a plurality of second electrodes formed by wiring included in the first layer, and aligned in a second direction intersecting the first direction, a connection wiring formed by wiring included in a second layer, and electrically connecting each of the plurality of first electrodes respectively, an insulating layer separating wiring included in the first layer and wiring included in the second layer, and a light shielding layer located at a different position to the connection wiring and overlapping a space between the plurality of first electrodes and the plurality of second electrodes in the first layer, in a plan view.

In recent years, liquid crystal display devices or organic EL display devices are widely being used as display screens in mobile information terminals and the like. In particular, an organic EL display device has the advantage in which a flexible structure can be provided which is thinner than a liquid crystal display device. In the case when these display devices are used as a display screen, a touch sensor is generally arranged as a user interface.
For example, an on-cell touch sensor is known as a touch sensor mounted on an organic EL display device. An on-cell touch sensor is formed using thin film formation technology above a light emitting element. A metal layer is used an electrode in an on-cell touch sensor. Therefore, a plurality of wirings which form the touch sensor are arranged between a plurality of light emitting elements so that the visibility of the display region is not lost (US Patent Application Publication No. 2018/0032188).


A system for testing synchronous TTP communication networks is provided. The system includes a first and second nodes coupled to a transmission bus. The first node is configured to generate a test command, which includes a test flag and a test round field, set the test flag, and transmit the test command and a plurality of parameters via the transmission bus using data frames. The second node is configured to receive the test command and the plurality of parameters from the transmission bus, determine whether the test flag is set, and compare parameter values in the received data frames with expected values in a test vector stored on the second node, for each of the plurality of parameters, in response to determining that the test flag is set. The first and second nodes are configured to communicate with each other using a TTP on a time slot basis.

TTP enables a group of nodes to communicate using a time division multiple access (TDMA) scheme where the nodes employ a distributed clock synchronization algorithm to synchronize their local clocks to one another. Fault-tolerance or graceful degradation is the property that enables a computer based system to continue operating properly in the event of the failure of some of its components. As the need for safety critical systems has expanded into embedded applications in automotive, aerospace, industrial, medical, etc. systems, TTP has been widely used in a variety of such embedded applications, primarily due to its deterministic property and high fault tolerance. Given the need for safety in critical systems, the ability to efficiently and reliably test periodic parameters in such systems is highly advantageous.

Host-to-host test scheme for periodic parameters transmission in synchronized TTP systems


Methods, systems, apparatus, and computer-readable media for validating components of a dynamic user interface in an on-demand multi-tenant service environment are disclosed. Organizations corresponding to tenants in the on-demand multi-tenant service environment are identified. A multi-tenant database system residing on multiple servers is provided for each of the identified organizations. Dynamic user interface pages associated with the organizations are identified. First and second compilation outputs based upon respective first and second invocations of a compiler configured to compile the one or more dynamic user interface pages are produced with reference to respective first and second builds of computer program code. Differences between the first and second compilation outputs are identified and presented in a user interface on a display device of the multi-tenant service environment. The differences can be identified by performing a comparison and selecting one or more differences that match a pattern specifier.

Computer programs and data, such as computer program source code or a markup language definition of a web page, can be interpreted, translated, or compiled by a compiler to produce instructions more readily executable by a computer. These actions are often performed with reference to external program code or markup language definitions that are used as building blocks for the computer program or markup language definition. The compiler, external program code, and markup language definition building blocks can be provided by a software vendor or service provider, who may upgrade, i.e., change or enhance, the building blocks, and provide new versions to be used in place of previous versions.
With some conventional approaches, "client" computer programs access the features of the building blocks through defined interfaces, e.g., particular function names with particular parameters, or particular markup language definition names. The interfaces are meant to allow the provider to change and enhance the details of the building block implementations without affecting the interfaces used by the client programs. Thus, the building blocks are upgraded from time to time by replacing an existing file of external program code or markup language definitions with a new version of the file. The new version may contain the same interfaces, in which case the client program interactions with the new version are expected to remain the same as in the previous version, and the features of the new version are ordinarily expected to be substantially compatible with those of the previous version. In some cases, however, the client program does not continue to work properly with the new version. For example, unexpected problems may occur if there are errors in the new version or ambiguities or misunderstandings in the client's use of the interfaces.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


In a spinning preparation machine, a machine element lies opposite the clothing of a roller, bearing surfaces of end portions of the machine element are in engagement with respective bearing surfaces of stationary bearings, and an adjustment means is arranged in the region of each of the end portions and the bearings, the adjustment means being able to alter the radial spacing between the roller and the machine element. To enable the carding nip to be adapted or kept constant, adjusting elements of the machine element and adjusting elements of the bearings each have inclined bearing surfaces, and the machine element, in the event of undergoing thermally induced expansion in its longitudinal direction, is so displaceable along the inclined surfaces that the radial spacing remains the same.

The invention relates to an apparatus on a spinning preparation machine, especially a flat card, roller card or the like, in which at least one clothed and/or non-clothed, basically stationary machine element lies opposite and spaced apart from the clothing of a roller, for example a cylinder.
In certain known arrangements the bearing surfaces of the end portions of the machine element are in engagement with respective bearing surfaces of stationary bearings and there are arranged in the region of each of the end portions and the bearings an adjustment means which is able to alter the radial spacing between the clothing of the roller and the machine element.
The spacings between the cylinder clothing and surfaces lying opposite the cylinder clothing (counter-surfaces) are of major importance for the technical characteristics of the machinery and fibres. The carding result, that is to say in terms of cleaning, nep formation and fibre shortening, is substantially dependent upon the carding nip, that is to say the spacing between the cylinder clothing and the clothings of the revolving and fixed card tops. Guiding air around the cylinder and directing away heat are likewise dependent upon the spacing between the cylinder clothing and clothed or non-clothed surfaces lying opposite, for example take-off blades or casing elements. The spacings are subject to a variety of influences, some of which act counter to one another. The wear to clothings lying opposite one another results in an increase in the size of the carding nip, which is associated with a rise in the number of neps and with a reduction in fibre shortening. Increasing the speed of rotation of the cylinder, for example in order to enhance the cleaning action, entails expansion of the cylinder, including the clothing, as a result of centrifugal force and, consequently, brings about a reduction in the size of the carding nip. Also, during the processing of large amounts of fibre and certain kinds of fibre, for example synthetic fibres, as a result of a rise in temperature the cylinder expands to a greater extent than does the rest of the surrounding machinery, so that the spacings become smaller for that reason also. The machine elements lying radially opposite the cylinder, for example fixed carding segments and/or take-off blades, also expand.
The carding nip is affected especially by the machine settings on the one hand and by the condition of the clothing on the other hand. The most important carding nip of the revolving card top carding machine is located in the main carding zone, that is to say between the cylinder and the revolving card top assembly. At least one clothing which limits the working spacing of the carding zone as a whole is in motion. In order to increase the production rate of the carding machine, it is sought to select an operating rotational speed, i.e. the operating speed of the moving parts, that is as high as fibre processing technology allows. The working spacing is effected in the radial direction (starting from the rotational axis) of the cylinder.
During carding, increasingly large amounts of fibre material are processed per unit of time, which requires higher working component speeds and higher outputs. The increasing throughput of fibre material (production rate), even when the working surface area remains constant, results in increased generation of heat as a result of the mechanical work. At the same time, however, the technological carding result (sliver uniformity, degree of cleaning, nep reduction etc.) is constantly being improved, which requires a greater number of effective surfaces in carding engagement and narrower settings of those effective surfaces with respect to the cylinder (tambour). The proportion of synthetic fibres being processed, which—compared with cotton—generate more heat as a result of friction when in contact with the effective surfaces of the machine, is continually increasing. The working components of high performance carding machines are nowadays totally enclosed on all sides in order to conform to the high safety standards, to prevent the emission of particles into the spinning room environment and to minimise the need for servicing of the machines. Grids or even open, material-guiding surfaces allowing exchange of air are a thing of the past. The said circumstances markedly increase the input of heat into the machine, while the discharge of heat by means of convection is markedly reduced. The resulting more intense heating of high performance carding machines leads to greater thermoelastic deformation which, on account of the non-uniform distribution of the temperature field, affects the set spacings of the effective surfaces: the gaps between cylinder and card top, doffer, fixed card tops and take-off stations having blades are reduced. In an extreme case, the set gap between the effective surfaces can be completely consumed by thermal expansion, so that components moving relative to one another collide, resulting in considerable damage to the affected high performance carding machine. Accordingly, particularly the generation of heat in the working region of the carding machine can lead to different degrees of thermal expansion when the temperature differences between the components are too great.
In a known apparatus (EP 0 422 838) the cylinder of a carding machine is associated with a plurality of stationary carding segments (fixed carding segments) each of which is attached by way of its end portions to the associated side frame of the carding machine. On each end face of each carding segment there is a plate having a lug towards the outside, on which a fixing screw having an adjustment nut is mounted. By manual operation of the adjustment nut, the radial spacing of the clothing of the carding segment with respect to the cylinder clothing can be adjusted individually. The adjustment operation by way of the adjustment nuts for the purpose of obtaining a desired and uniform carding nip at the beginning of assembly or in the event of readjustment is complicated. Adjustment can be made only with the machine at a standstill with the result that, in addition, the ongoing production operation of the carding machine is interrupted.

Adjustable machine element assembly for a spinning preparation machine


A power converter (100) includes a power converter circuit (1), a cooler (2), and a cover member (3). The power converter circuit is configured to convert input electric power into DC power or AC power. The power converter circuit is placed on the cooler. The cooler is configured to cool the power converter. The power converter circuit is housed between the cooler and the cover member. The cooler (2) includes a main body (20), a coolant flow passage (21), and a coolant input/output portion (22). The coolant flow passage is formed inside the main body. A coolant is circulatable through the coolant flow passage. The coolant input/output portion is coupled to the coolant flow passage. The coolant input/output portion includes a coolant introduction pipe (22a) and a coolant discharge pipe (22b). The coolant introduction pipe introduces the coolant from outside the cooler. The coolant discharge pipe discharges the coolant to outside the cooler. The coolant input/output portion (22) is joined to the main body. The joined part (23) has a joining strength lower than a strength of the main body.

In order to improve durability against an external force input to a coolant introduction pipe and a coolant discharge pipe to introduce coolant from outside or discharge the coolant in a cooler provided with a power converter, JP2014-225938A has disclosed a structure in which the coolant introduction pipe and the coolant discharge pipe are coupled to one another with a coupling plate and are fastened with bolts at a plurality of parts to a case covering the cooler via clamps.


A control apparatus includes a differential speed acquisition unit that acquires a differential speed representing a difference in speed between an input side drivingly connected to the input member of the fluid coupling and an output side drivingly connected to the transmission; a state determination unit that determines a shift speed in the transmission and an operating state of the direct connection clutch based on an accelerator opening and a vehicle speed of a vehicle; and a direct connection control unit that engages, if the differential speed is equal to or less than a predetermined engagement permitting threshold value when the state determination unit determines an upshift of the shift speed and a transition from a disengaged state to an engaged state of the direct connection clutch in a condition in which the accelerator opening is decreasing, the direct connection clutch regardless of an upshift operation of the shift speed.

The present invention relates to a control apparatus for controlling a vehicle drive system that has a fluid coupling including a direct connection clutch, and a transmission, and that outputs rotation of an input member that is drivingly connected to an engine and a rotating electric machine to an output member.
In recent years, hybrid vehicles using both an engine and a rotating electric machine as driving force sources to achieve improved fuel economy and reduced exhaust emissions of the engine are put into practical use. As an example of a vehicle drive system used for such a hybrid vehicle, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. JP-A-2003-278910 detailed below, for example, describes a vehicle drive system that has a fluid coupling including a direct connection clutch, and a transmission, and outputs rotation of an input member that is drivingly connected to an engine and a rotating electric machine to an output member via the fluid coupling and the transmission.
In the vehicle drive system described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. JP-A-2003-278910, when an accelerator opening is brought into a fully closed position as operated according to the intention of the driver of the vehicle, a control apparatus controls the direct connection clutch into an engaged state, regardless of whether the direct connection clutch is in the engaged state or a disengaged state. At the same time, a shift speed of the transmission is upshifted in order to keep energy consumed by engine braking low by decreasing the speed of the engine and improve energy regeneration efficiency. As such, a situation can occur in which an upshift operation of the shift speed is requested at timing substantially equal to timing at which an engagement operation of the direct connection clutch is requested.
Under these circumstances, the vehicle drive system described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. JP-A-2003-278910 is controlled such that the direct connection clutch is kept in the disengaged state while the upshift operation of the shift speed is being performed and the direct connection clutch is engaged after the upshift operation is completed. This reduces impact on the vehicle caused by shifting (shift shock).


A method and apparatus for selecting a beam direction is for use in a beamforming system. The beam direction selection method of a reception device having a plurality of antenna elements in a wireless communication system using beamforming according to the present disclosure includes acquiring a first reception beam angle estimated as optimal by allocating a first predetermined number of antenna elements to each of beam ports and scanning signals and acquiring a second reception beam angle estimated as optimal by allocating a second predetermined number of antenna elements, which is greater than the first predetermined number, to some of the beam ports and scanning the signals using the first reception beam angle.

With the rapid development of wireless communication technology, user requirements have increased. The applications of the wireless communication terminal are required to process large amounts of communication data. The users want to transmit and receive data at a higher speed. There are many methods proposed to meet such requirements with efficient use of radio frequency resource.
In the beamforming system, the User Equipment (UE) or Mobile Station (MS) has no way of knowing the optimum beam among the beams transmitted by the evolved Node B (eNB) or Base Station (BS) at the time of initial access or after the MS location or other environmental condition changes. The MS also has no way of knowing the best beam among the beams received. This is the case too for the beams transmitted by the MS and received by the BS. Thus, it is necessary for the MS and the BS to search for the best transmission/reception beam efficiently.
In Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.15.3c and IEEE 802.11ad, a beam search method for Wireless Local Area Network (LAN)/Personal Area Network (PAN) has been proposed. The standard specifies the beamforming in the wireless PAN/LAN environment in the 60 GHz band which is higher than the legacy mobile communication frequency band. In this case, the significant power reduction occurs as the distance between the transmitter and the receiver increases due to the high frequency band. Accordingly, the beamforming technique is important in the high frequency band.

Beam direction selection method and apparatus for use in beamforming system

Abstract: The beam selection apparatus and method of the present disclosure is capable of selecting a reception beam direction efficiently in a beamforming system.

Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology