A developing unit is detachably mounted on a photosensitive unit to form a combined unit called a process unit. In use, the process unit is loaded into an electrophotographic image forming device. A rotational shaft of the photosensitive drum projects out from a photosensitive unit. When the process unit is loaded into the image forming device from a top open space, both ends of the rotational shaft are engaged with a pair of guides formed in side walls of the image forming device and guided down along the guides. The process unit is accommodated in an accommodating section when both ends of the rotational shaft have been brought into abutment with stops at the ends of the guides and a trailing end of the process unit is rotated downward about the rotational shaft.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrophotographic image forming device, such as a laser beam printer, a copying machine, or a facsimile device. More particularly, the invention relates to a process unit detachably loaded into the image forming device and a structure of the image forming device for receiving and accommodating the process unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional image forming devices, such as a laser beam printer, uses a process unit. The process unit is, for example, a combined unit of a photosensitive unit and a developing unit. The photosensitive unit includes a photosensitive drum and a charger. The developing unit includes a developing roller and a toner cartridge containing developing agent (toner) therein.
During the printing operation, the developing roller is urged against the photosensitive drum, so that the developing roller transfers toner onto the photosensitive drum. Also, the transfer roller is urged against the photosensitive drum.
For the sake of maintenance and for facilitating paper jam resolving job, the process unit is detachably mounted on the image forming device. That is, the process unit is unloaded from and loaded into the image forming device when paper jam occurs, for example.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,101,350 proposes horizontally loading the process unit. The horizontally loading type requires a locking mechanism to prevent the loaded process unit from being accidentally detached. To withstand strong detaching force to be imparted upon the process unit, a rigid locking mechanism is needed. However, the image forming device cannot be structurally simplified and made compact in size and also the cost of the image forming device cannot be lowered if the rigid locking mechanism is employed.
The present intention has been made to solve the aforementioned problems, and accordingly it is an object of the invention to provide an image forming device and a process unit in which the process unit can be easily loaded into the image forming unit and the process unit thus loaded cannot be easily detached.
Another object of the invention is to provide a process unit in which a developing unit can be easily mounted on and dismounted from a photosensitive unit.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an image forming device that has a simple structure for receiving a process unit and urging the developing roller against the photosensitive drum once the process unit is received and accommodated in a process unit accommodating section.
To achieve the above and other objects, there is provided, according to one aspect of the invention, an image forming device that includes a housing, a pair of first guides, a process unit, a process unit accommodating section, and a second guide. The first guides extend down to terminals. The process unit has a bottom wall and side walls. The side walls are formed with protrusions protruding outward. The protrusions are engageable with the first guides, and guided down along the first guides toward the terminals when the process unit is loaded into the housing. The process unit accommodating section is provided for receiving and accommodating the process unit. The second guide is formed between the first guides for guiding the bottom surface of the process unit from a top open space of the housing toward the terminal. The process unit is accommodated in the process unit accommodating section when the protrusions of the process unit have brought into abutment with the terminals and a trailing end of the process unit is rotated downward about an imaginary line connecting the protrusions.
With the image forming device thus constructed, the process unit can be easily accommodated in the process unit accommodating section. This can be done by engaging the protrusions with the first guide and placing the process unit on the second guide. When the protrusions formed in the process unit are brought into abutment with the terminals, the trailing end of the process unit is automatically rotated downward due to its own weight and accommodated into the accommodating section. Also, the process unit can be easily unloaded from image forming device by lifting the trailing end of the process unit, placing it on the second guide, and moving up along the second guide.
A posture maintaining member may be formed on the process unit for maintaining a posture of the process unit when accommodated in the process unit accommodating section.
Preferably, the first guide is in the form of an elongated U-shaped groove into which the protrusion is inserted, and the second guide is in the form of a rail having an upper flat surface on which the process unit slidably moves.
A locking mechanism may further be provided for locking the process unit to the housing. It is desirable that the locking mechanism be provided in the process unit accommodating section. The locking mechanism may be constructed to resiliently engage the trailing end of the process unit.
The process unit includes a photosensitive unit and a developing unit. The developing unit is detachably mounted on the photosensitive unit. The photosensitive unit includes a photosensitive drum, and the developing unit includes a developing roller. The protrusions are provided to the photosensitive unit. The rotational shaft of the photosensitive drum may be provided to project from the photosensitive unit. In such a case, the projected portions of the rotational shaft may be used as the protrusions.
A latching mechanism may be further provided for latching the process unit to the process unit accommodating section.
The process unit includes a photosensitive drum and developing roller. It is desirable that the process unit is accommodated in the process unit accommodating section while being urged toward a predetermined direction to urge the developing roller against the photosensitive drum.
The process unit may be formed with auxiliary guide members for determining a loading direction and unloading direction of the process unit when loading into and unloading from the housing.
It is desirable that the developing unit have a bottom surface on which a first posture maintaining member is formed for maintaining a posture of the developing unit when mounted on the photosensitive unit and that the photosensitive unit have a bottom surface on which a second posture maintaining member is formed for maintaining a posture of the photosensitive unit when accommodated in the process unit accommodating section. Preferably, the first posture maintaining member and the second posture maintaining member are mated with each other.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided an image forming device that includes a housing, a process unit, a process unit accommodating section, and developing roller moving mechanism. The housing has a pair of upstanding walls each formed with a first guide extending to a first terminal. The process unit is detachably mounted on the housing. The process unit includes a photosensitive unit and a developing unit. The photosensitive unit has at least a photosensitive drum and first projections. The first projections are engageable with the first guides. The first protrusions are guided down along the first guides toward the first terminals when the process unit is loaded into the housing. The developing unit has at least a developing roller. The process unit accommodating section is provided for receiving and accommodating the process unit. The process unit is accommodated therein when a trailing end of the process unit is rotated downwardly about an imaginary line connecting the protrusions that are located in the first terminals. The developing roller moving mechanism is provided for moving the developing roller toward the photosensitive drum. At this time, the developing roller is urged against the photosensitive drum.
With the image forming device thus constructed, when the developing roller is urged against the photosensitive drum by the developing roller moving mechanism, the photosensitive unit is also urged in the same direction in which the developing roller is urged and thus can be set to a predetermined position.
The photosensitive unit is detachably mountable on the process unit accommodating section when the photosensitive unit is loaded into the housing from a top open space of the housing. Also, the developing unit is detachably mountable on the photosensitive unit mounted on the process unit accommodating section. Accordingly, exchange of the developing unit can be easily performed.
It is desirable that the developing unit be formed with an engagement protrusion. The engagement protrusion is brought into engagement with the developing roller moving mechanism when the process unit is accommodated in the process unit accommodating section.
The developing unit has a second protrusion. Also, a guide groove is formed in the photosensitive unit. The guide groove extends to a second terminal near the first terminals and guides the second protrusion to the second terminal. When a trailing end of the developing unit is rotated downward when the second protrusion is located in the second terminal, then the engagement protrusion is brought into engagement with the developing roller moving mechanism.
A separation mechanism may further be provided for moving the developing roller away from the photosensitive drum. Also, a nipping mechanism may further be provided for nipping the engagement protrusion. The developing roller moving mechanism and the separation mechanism may be used as the nipping mechanism.
Alternatively, the nipping mechanism may include a first nipping member having a first movable end, and a second nipping member having a second movable end. The engagement protrusion is nipped when the first movable end and the second movable end move toward each other. An open space is provided between the first movable end and the second movable end when the first movable end and the second movable end move away from each other. Accordingly, the nipping mechanism can easily grasp the engagement protrusion when the developing unit is downwardly moved. The developing roller moving mechanism may include an urging member that urges the first nipping member toward the second nipping member to thereby urge the developing roller against the photosensitive drum. The separation mechanism may include a moving member that moves the second nipping member toward the first nipping member to thereby move the developing roller away from the photosensitive drum.
It is desirable that each of the side walls of the developing unit be formed with the engagement protrusion. In this case, the developing roller moving mechanism and the separation mechanism are provided at each side of the pair of upstanding walls so as to engage the engagement protrusion formed in each side wall of the developing unit.
It is further desirable that the housing be formed with a pair of second guides between the first guides for guiding the process unit from the top open space of the housing toward the process unit accommodating section.
The first guide shaft may be a rotational shaft of the photosensitive drum and the second guide shaft a rotational shaft of the developing roller.
According to further aspect of the invention, there is provided an image forming device that includes a housing, a photosensitive unit, a developing unit, a pair of first guides, a photosensitive unit accommodating section, and a pair of guide grooves. The housing has first side walls. The photosensitive unit has second side walls. The developing unit has third side walls. Further, the photosensitive unit has a photosensitive drum and a first guide shaft projecting out from the second side walls. The developing unit has a developing roller and a second guide shaft projecting out from the third side walls. The developing unit is detachably mounted on the photosensitive unit.
Each first guide is formed in each first side wall and extends to a first terminal. The first guide serves to guide the first guide shaft therealong to the first terminal when the photosensitive unit is loaded into the housing from a top open space of the housing.
The photosensitive unit accommodating section is provided for receiving and accommodating the photosensitive unit. The photosensitive unit is accommodated therein when a trailing end of the photosensitive unit is rotated downward about the first guide shaft located in the first terminals.
Each guide groove is formed in each second side wall and extends to a second terminal. The guide groove serves to the second guide shaft therealong to the second terminal. The photosensitive unit has a developing unit mounting section for mounting the developing unit. The developing unit is mounted thereon when it is loaded into the housing from the top open space of the housing along the guide grooves to the second terminals. The first guides are formed substantially in parallel to the guide grooves.
According to the image forming device thus constructed, the developing unit can be mounted on or dismounted from the photosensitive unit regardless of whether the photosensitive unit is loaded into or unloaded from the image forming device. Further, the combined unit in which the developing unit is mounted on the photosensitive unit can be easily loaded into or unloaded from the image forming device at a time.
It is desirable that the photosensitive unit be provided with locking mechanism for locking the developing unit mounted on the developing unit mounting section to the photosensitive unit. Preferably, the locking mechanism is provided to a rear wall of the photosensitive unit. Accordingly, when the developing unit is locked to the photosensitive unit with the locking mechanism, both the photosensitive unit and the developing unit can be carried and moved by grasping only the photosensitive unit or the developing unit. The developing unit can easily be dismounted from the photosensitive unit merely by unlocking the locking mechanism.
The locking mechanism has a locking position for locking the developing unit to the photosensitive unit accommodated in the photosensitive unit accommodating section and an unlocking position for unlocking the developing unit from the photosensitive unit accommodated in the photosensitive unit accommodating section. As such, the developing unit can be easily mounted on and dismounted from the photosensitive unit while leaving the photosensitive unit in the photosensitive unit accommodating section.
The developing unit is pivotally movable about the second guide shaft when both end portions of the second guide shaft are located in the second terminals. Accordingly, the developing unit can be easily mounted on and dismounted from the photosensitive unit by grasping the rear end of the developing unit, orienting the second guide shaft downward, and moving the second guide shaft along the guide grooves formed in the photosensitive unit. In this case, the photosensitive unit may be accommodated in the photosensitive unit accommodating section or may be unloaded from the image forming device and placed outside the image forming device.
An urging mechanism may further be provided for urging the developing the developing roller against the photosensitive drum. By slidably moving the first guide shaft of the photosensitive unit along the first guides, the photosensitive unit is automatically accommodated in the photosensitive unit accommodating section due to its own weight when the first guide shaft is brought into abutment with the first terminals. Once the photosensitive unit is accommodated in the accommodating section, the photosensitive. Unit is not allowed to shift horizontally. Therefore, the photosensitive unit cannot be not easily taken out from the loaded position. In this condition, when the developing unit is mounted on the photosensitive unit, the urging mechanism urges the developing unit so that the developing roller is urged against the photosensitive drum. This means that the photosensitive unit is also urged by the urging mechanism and is set to a predetermined position.
The first guide shaft may be a rotational shaft of the photosensitive drum and the second guide shaft a rotational shaft of the developing roller. In this case, a center of the second guide shaft is substantially located on an imaginary line connecting a center of the first guide shaft and a point where the urging mechanism urges the developing unit.
Because the first guides are formed substantially in parallel to the guide grooves and also because there is the geometric relationship as described above, the loading of the photosensitive unit and mounting of the developing unit on the loaded photosensitive unit can be performed substantially in the same fashion.
The developing unit may be formed with an engagement protrusion. The engagement protrusion is brought into engagement with the urging mechanism when a trailing end of the photosensitive unit with the developing unit mounted on the developing unit mounting section is rotated about the first guide shaft located in the first terminals.
With such an arrangement, the engagement protrusion formed in the developing unit is automatically brought into engagement with the urging mechanism simply by accommodating the photosensitive unit in the photosensitive unit accommodating section. As such, positioning the photosensitive unit and urging the developing roller against the photosensitive roller can be achieved with one-touch operation.
The engagement protrusion is preferably formed in each third side wall. Accordingly, urging force imparted upon the photosensitive drum becomes uniform in its lengthwise direction.
According to further aspect of the invention, there is provided there is provided a photosensitive unit capable of being loaded into and unloaded from an image forming device. The photosensitive unit includes a case, a photosensitive drum rotatably disposed in the case; and projections. Each projection projects out from the side wall of the case. The projections are engageable with a pair of guides formed in the side walls of the housing. The projections are guided down along a pair of guides formed in the housing of the image forming device toward the terminals. The case is accommodated in the photosensitive unit accommodating section when the protrusions have brought into abutment with the terminals and a trailing end of the case is rotated downward.
According to further aspect of the invention, there is provided a developing unit capable of being mounted on and dismounted from a photosensitive unit. The developing unit includes a case, a developing roller rotatably disposed in the case, a protrusion, and an engaging member. The protrusion projects out from the side wall of the case. The projection is engageable with a guide formed in the photosensitive unit. The projection is guided down along the guide toward the terminal. The case is mounted on the developing unit mounting section when the projection has brought into abutment with the terminal and a trailing end of the case is rotated downward. The engaging member engages an urging mechanism provided in an image forming device. The urging mechanism urges the case toward the photosensitive unit when the case is mounted on the developing unit mounting section.
According to yet further aspect of the invention, there is provided a developing unit that is similar to the one described above but different therefrom in that the projection is guided down along the guide toward the terminal in a direction substantially in coincident with the direction in which the projections of the photosensitive unit are guided down along the guides formed in the side walls of the image forming device and in that a locking projection is formed in the trailing end of the case. The locking projection is engageable with a locking lever provided in the image forming device. Only the case can be dismounted from the developing unit mounting section by disengaging the locking lever from the locking projection while leaving the photosensitive unit in the image forming device.
According to yet further aspect of the invention, there are provided process unit that combinations of the photosensitive unit and the developing unit described above.

Image forming device and detachably loaded process unit


A plasma gun with two gap electrodes on opposite ends of a chamber of ablative material such as an ablative polymer. The gun ejects an ablative plasma at supersonic speed. A divergent nozzle spreads the plasma jet to fill a gap between electrodes of a main arc device, such as an arc crowbar or a high voltage power switch. The plasma triggers the main arc device by lowering the impedance of the main arc gap via the ablative plasma to provide a conductive path between the main electrodes. This provides faster triggering and requires less trigger energy than previous arc triggers. It also provides a more conductive initial main arc than previously possible. The initial properties of the main arc are controllable by the plasma properties, which are in turn controllable by design parameters of the ablative plasma gun.

The present invention generally relates to plasma guns, particularly to ablative plasma guns, and also relates to triggers for electric arc devices.
Electric arc devices are used in a variety of applications, including series capacitor protection as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,259,704 of the present assignee, high power switches, acoustic generators, shock wave generators, and pulsed plasma thrusters. Such devices have two or more electrodes separated by a gap of air or another gas. A bias voltage is applied to the electrodes across the gap. A triggering device in the gap ionizes a portion of the gas in the gap, providing a conductive path that initiates arcing between the electrodes.
Conventional spark gap triggering involves application of high voltage pulses to a trigger pin. The trigger pulse magnitude depends largely on the bias voltage across the spark gap. Although such pulse triggering is widely used, the cost of the trigger source and its electronics is several times higher than the cost of the main spark gap itself. For example, in a 600V system the required trigger voltage is at least 250 KV for a gap of 20 mm.


A semiconductor device includes an electrical device and has an output capacitance characteristic with at least one output capacitance maximum located at a voltage larger than 5% of a breakdown voltage of the semiconductor device. The output capacitance maximum is larger than 1.2 times an output capacitance at an output capacitance minimum located at a voltage between the voltage at the output capacitance maximum and 5% of a breakdown voltage of the semiconductor device.

Several semiconductor devices are based on compensation structures. Such compensation devices are n- or p-channel metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors, diodes, insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBT), thyristors or other components. Compensation devices may be based on mutual compensation of a charge of n- and p-doped areas in the drift region of the transistor. The areas are spatially arranged such that the line integral over the doping along a line running vertical to the p-n-junction remains below the material-specific breakdown charge (approximately 2×1012 cm−2 for lightly doped silicon). For example, in a vertical transistor, p- and n-pillars or plates may be arranged in pairs.
For example, superjunction transistors or CoolMOS™ transistors may comprise an extremely low output capacitance Coss=Cds+Cgd and reverse transfer capacitance Cgd (gate-drain capacitance) at drain voltages above the depletion voltage (e.g. 10-50V). In this way, very low switching losses may be enabled, since the energy in the output capacitance Eoss may be low, however, on the other hand leading to extreme switching edges and—in systems with not sufficiently small parasitics as Ls (parasitic inductance) or external Cgd-portions—to ringing and EMI (electromagnetic interference). It is desired to reduce the ringing and/or EMI, for example.

Semiconductor devices and methods for forming a semiconductor device


A paint brush is attached to the rim of the mouth of a paint can such that the bristles of the brush are vertically above the mouth of the can and are oriented at an angle of between about 0 and about 90 degrees from the vertical. A notch is formed on the side of the mid portion of the brush between the handle and the bristles or in the ferrule of a paint brush where the brush is provided with one. The notch is defined by an upper face oriented toward the handle of the brush, and a lower face oriented toward the set of bristles. The upper face, the lower face as well as the space between the upper and lower faces are all dimensioned such that when the brush is attached to the rim of the paint can, the rim bears against the notch at a point adjacent to its upper face while the lower face of the notch bears against the rim sufficiently to position the brush at an angle from the vertical of less than about 90 degrees.

In the interval of time between the period that a painter is not using a paint brush, it is customary for him to place the brush on the can which contains the paint. The painter does so because the paint can is a handy place to place the brush at such times and because the paint in the can is not discoloured by paint from the brush which might dribble into it. The problem with using a paint can for this purpose however is that paint can run from the can onto a surface on which it rests. Furthermore, a brush can be too easily knocked off a paint can by a painter's carelessness.
It is known to provide paint brushes with hangars or other means to facilitate the attachment of the brush to a paint can. Examples of such attachment means are described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,309,990 to Savi, no. 3,231,919 to MacDonald, no. 4,887,327 to Meimeteas and no. 6,244,559 B1 to Stanton. The attachment means described in these patents are suitable for attaching a paint brush to a paint can so that the brush does not easily fall off of the can but they do have a number of shortcomings, one of which is that they project outwardly from the paint brushes and can be a nuisance to painters when they are painting in confined spaces. As well the projecting attachment means are easily damaged and, once damaged, are not reliable for attaching a paint brush to a can. A still further shortcoming of some of the above mentioned attachment means is that the paint brush is suspended outside the paint can where paint on the brush can fall onto surfaces beside the paint can.
I have invented a paint brush and a clip for a paint brush that have none of the short-comings mentioned above. Specifically, the means by which the brush is attached to a paint can does not project outwardly from the brush when the brush is in use and, as a result, the attachment means does not interfere with the painter's use of the brush. Furthermore the attachment means is not as susceptible to breakage as are projecting attachment means such as those mentioned above. In addition, my attachment means suspends a paint brush over the mouth of a can of paint so that any paint that tans from the brush falls into the can and not outside it.


Aspects of the invention provide for updating TCAMs while minimizing TCAM entry updates to add/delete ACL rules. For example, one aspect provides a method for minimizing updates in a router forwarding table, such as a TCAM, including a plurality of rules indexed by priority. This method comprises providing a proposed rule to be added to the router forwarding table, identifying a range of candidate entries in the router forwarding table for the proposed rule, determining a minimum set of rules to relocate, and creating an empty entry in the range of candidate entries based upon the minimum set of rules to relocate. The method may further comprise reallocating the minimum set of rules by, for example, shifting the minimum set of rules in sequence based on priority, and adding the proposed rule to the empty entry in the range of candidate entries.

A Ternary Content Addressable Memory ("TCAM") is a type of computer memory used in certain high speed searching applications, such as routing information through a network. It is designed such that it receives a data word and searches its entire memory to see if that data word is stored anywhere in it. If the data word is found, the TCAM returns a list of one or more storage addresses where the word was found. The data word may consist of 1's 0's, and X's ("don't care" bits). For example, a TCAM might have a stored word of "10XX0" which will match any of the four search words "10000", "10010", "10100", or "10110".
TCAMs are often used in network routers, where each address has two parts: the network address, which can vary in size depending on the subnet configuration, and the host address, which occupies the remaining bits. Each subnet has a network mask that specifies which bits of the address are the network address and which bits are the host address. Routing is done by consulting a routing table maintained by the router which contains each known destination network address, the associated network mask, and the information needed to route packets to that destination. Using a TCAM for the routing table makes the lookup process very efficient. The addresses are stored using "don't care" for the host part of the address, so looking up the destination address in the TCAM immediately retrieves the correct routing entry.
TCAMs have been widely used in routers, switches, and network security appliances of high speed networks to implement packet classification rules, e.g., access control list ("ACL") call rules. They may be used for various applications, including packet filtering, forwarding, traffic load balancing and shaping. However, a main challenge in developing these applications using TCAM is the time complexity in TCAM updates, and consistency of rule matching during the rule updates. This is because the ternary entries (each storing an ACL rule) are arranged in priority order, and adding a new ACL rule may require many TCAM entry updates, if it is to be inserted in between two existing rules in adjacent TCAM entries. For example, if a new rule is to be inserted between two existing rules, typically one of the existing rules and all rules above or below it must be shifted one space. Further, consistency of rule matching must be maintained during these updates. That is, rule matching results for packets not matching the new rule should not be altered.

System and method for reducing required memory updates


A digital pixel driving circuit and a digital pixel driving method. The digital pixel driving circuit includes a pixel driving module, a display module, a storage module and a short-circuiting module. An output terminal of the pixel driving module is electrically connected to an input terminal of the display module, and a control terminal of the pixel driving module is electrically connected to any output terminal of the storage module. An input terminal of the short-circuiting module is electrically connected to the input terminal of the display module, an output terminal of the short-circuiting module is electrically connected to an output terminal of the display module, and a control terminal of the short-circuiting module is electrically connected to any output terminal of the storage module.

At present, common pixel circuits are divided into an analog pixel driving circuit and a digital pixel driving circuit. However, there are some problems in the analog pixel driving circuit, such as high circuit power consumption, susceptibility to signal interferences, high dependence on drive device consistency or a compensation circuit, etc. The digital pixel driving circuit has advantages of low power consumption, less susceptibility to signal interferences, high tolerance to the consistency of the drive device, etc.

Digital pixel driving circuit and digital pixel driving method

CHENGDU VISTAR OPTOELECTRONICS CO., LTD.


An illumination unit includes one or more light sources each including a solid-state light-emitting device having a light emission region configured of one or more light-emission spots, one or more traveling-direction angle conversion device each converting a traveling-direction-angle of light, and an integrator including a first fly-eye lens having cells which receive light from the traveling-direction angle conversion device and a second fly-eye lens having cells which receive light from the first fly-eye lens, the integrator uniformalizing illumination distribution in a predetermined illumination area. An optical system configured with the traveling-direction angle conversion device and the first and second fly-eye lenses has an optical magnification which allows each of light source images to have a size not exceeding a size of the cell in the second fly-eye lens, the light source images being formed on the second fly-eye lens by the respective cells in the first fly-eye lens.

This application relates to an illumination unit using a solid-state light-emitting device such as a light-emitting diode (LED), and a projection type display unit and a direct view type display unit including the same.
In recent years, projectors projecting pictures onto a screen have been widely used in homes besides offices. The projector modulates light from a light source with use of a light valve to generate imaging light, and projects the imaging light onto a screen, thereby performing display. Nowadays, palm-sized ultra-compact projectors, mobile phones with a built-in ultra-compact projector, and the like are being introduced.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Illumination unit, projection type display unit, and direct view type display unit


A laser with a quasi-top-hat pump beam has a modified intensity profile that produces a parabolic temperature gradient. The laser includes a high reflector and an output coupler defining a laser cavity. A gain medium positioned in the laser cavity. A first diode pump source produces a first pump source beam. An intensity profile of the first diode pump source beam is tailored to produce the parabolic temperature gradient across the gain medium.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to diode pumped lasers, and more particularly to a diode pumped laser with high efficiency that is achieved by tailoring an intensity profile to the pump beam rather than the laser cavity.
2. Description of Related Art
Today, mode matching is well understood. In mode matching, the laser cavity has a fundamental mode (TEMoo) of a given diameter. The laser radiation from a pump source, including but not limited to a diode or Ti: Sapphire laser, is focused into this volume in a spot diameter smaller than the diameter of the TEMoo mode. Provided the TEMoo mode is larger than the pump spot, the laser can only laze TEMoo. Regardless of where the pump spot is placed within the TEMoo mode diameter, the laser produces a consistent TEMoo mode.
In the ideal mode-matching case, the pump spot has a gaussian intensity profile and matches perfectly to the gaussian profile of the TEMoo cavity mode. Researchers have struggled to improve the beam quality of laser diodes so their outputs can be coupled into smaller spots with lower NA--i.e, to make them more a like the Ti:sapphire lasers employed in the early days of end pumping. The recent surge in porgies with fiber lasers has stemmed almost entirely from the improvements in diode "brightness" allowing 10's of Watts of diode light to be coupled into 200 .mu.m spots with low NA.
In a conventional side-pumped laser rod using flash pumps, the pump energy is deposited uniformly across the diameter of the laser rod, leading to a parabolic temperature distribution which causes a conventional spherical thermal lens. Spherical lenses can be accounted for in resonator design and also corrected using intracavity spherical lenses of opposite magnitude. In side-pumped lasers using diodes, the diode light is focused into the laser rod (especially in lower gain CW pumped systems). Such focusing maximizes gain and makes advantage of the optical quality of the diode pump light and its ability to overlap directed energy beam to a common spot in the center of the laser rod. The act of focusing induces strong aberrations in the thermal lens in such systems.
The act of end-pumping the laser places an intense heat source in the center of a crystal and causes an aberration in the parabolic temperature distribution and this aberration makes an Aspheric lens. The Aspheric lens cannot be compensated using spherical optics, and the cavity modes which have spherical wavefronts are distorted by the Aspheric lens. The result is that the cavity mode is changed in a way that cannot be predicted using the traditional laser designer's tools of ABCD matrixes which allow calculation of round-trip parameters and mode sizes using gaussian beam optics. The result is that the ensuing laser output is not TEMoo even when the pump spot is smaller that the TEMoo mode volume calculated using conventional means. Furthermore, even if the pump spot is made much smaller that the TEMoo mode size calculated by ABCD matrices, the output is far from TEMoo.
Researchers have corrected this phenomena by employing intracavity correcting optics that are fabricated with the Aspheric lens surface induced by end-pumping at the expense of additional complexity and losses caused by the imperfect surfaces of diamond turned optics. Additionally, this correction is perfect at only one pump power since the lens shape changes with pump power.
Researches have limited the lazing mode to the central region of the pump volume where the lensing is more spherical and employs special confocal or concentric laser cavities. This allows for expansion of the cavity mode in the laser crystal under strong thermal focusing. In general it is well understood that placing a strong lensing laser crystal in the center of a nearconfocal or concentric resonator will cause the TEMoo mode to expand within the crystal making mode matching between pump and TEMoo mode easier.
As pump power is scaled to higher levels, the central pump region over which lensing is spherical becomes smaller while the Aspheric region in the edges of the pump region expands. In order to extract TEMoo output the cavity mode must be constrained to this successively smaller region with a resulting reduction in efficiency.
These current methods of confining the TEMoo cavity mode to the central pump region, where the OPD is parabolic & lensing spherical, results in a dramatic reduction in extraction efficiency. This is particularly true for lasers pumped with low to moderate pump powers of 10w or less. However, at higher pump powers the thermal lensing produced in most gain media, such as Nd:YAG, or Nd:YV04, becomes significant.
There is a need for a diode pumped laser which is efficient at high pump powers equal to or exceeding 10 W. There is a further need for a diode pumped laser with high TEMoo mode extraction efficiency. Yet a further need exists for a diode pumped laser where the intensity profile is tailored to the pump beam rather than the laser cavity. Another need exists for a diode pumped laser where the gain media is pumped by a beam with a quasi-top-hat pump profile. Still another need exists for a diode pumped laser where the gain media is pumped by a beam with a sharp decrease in pump intensity at the edges of the pump region.

Aspheric lensing control for high power butt-coupled end-pumped laser


A fire retarding and fire shielding structural panel for a vehicle, comprising at least one compressed composite composed of a thermoplastic or thermosetting resin matrix containing a multiplicity of non-flammable carbonaceous fibers.

The use of prefabricated structures or panels for constructing interiors in airplanes and automobiles is universally accepted. However, there is still a need to provide structural members which are lightweight, flame retardant, fire shielding and easy to manufacture.
Fiber reinforced composite structures comprising a binder phase and a fiber reinforcing phase are well known articles of commerce which have been employed in various engineering applications because of their very high strength-to-weight ratio, that is, tensile strength divided by specific gravity. Because of the anisotropic character of these substances, the strengths of both the reinforcing fiber and the binder material are of significance, with the fiber contributing the major portion. The binder materials, which can be thermosetting or thermoplastic, are selected on the basis of their adhesiveness, fatigue resistance, heat resistance, chemical resistance, moisture resistance, and the like.
At the present there are poor radiation barriers utilized on aircraft. Radiation induced flash over and smoke are amongst the chief causes of death in airplane accidents.
It is desired to provide novel compressed composite materials directed to a resin matrix reinforced with a carbonaceous fiber which possesses high strength and fire retarding or fire shielding characteristics.
It is further desired to provide compressed fibrous reinforced composites which can be fabricated into different structural shapes without fiber breakage.
The compressed composites of the invention are an improvement over composites which are extruded, molded or cast by providing improved fire retarding and fire shielding properties.


A microprocessor reads the information such as directions of arrival about a desired wave and an undesired wave for every terminal station and for every hopping frequency, and their receiving powers, and the like, from a desired wave/undesired wave information inputting unit. On the basis of the information items, the microprocessor calculates the weight values of a transmitting section and a receiving section for every terminal station and every hopping frequency, and stores them in a weight value table. At the time of performing radio communication, the microprocessor reads the weight values of the receiving section and the transmitting section corresponding to every terminal station and every hopping frequency from the weight value table every time the frequency is hopped, and sets them in attenuators, and phase shifters. As a result, the optimum directivity pattern is formed for every hopping frequency, and high-quality communication can be thereby achieved.

The present invention relates to a radio communication system applied to, for example, an indoor radio LAN system so as to transmit and receive the data between a base station and a plurality of terminal stations in the frequency hopping spread spectrum system.
When the radio communication is made between the base station and the terminal stations in an indoor space, for example, it is strongly influenced by the fading caused by the multipass (a multiple reflection wave) and, therefore, transmitting and receiving the data while adjusting the directivity in a direction in which a maximum receiving wave comes is effective. To implement this, there is a system capable of surely performing the radio communication between the base station and the terminal stations by using adaptive array antennas and optimally controlling the directivity while varying weight values of the outputs of the respective antennas.
For example, the system of Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 9-219615 comprises adaptive array antennas 1 composed of a plurality of antenna elements, weighting units 2 for multiplying transmitting and receiving signals of the respective antenna elements by coefficients of weighting that have been set and thereby weighting the amplitudes and phases, a dividing/combining unit 3 for distributing the transmitting signals to the respective antenna elements via the weighting units 2 and synchronizing the receiving signals from the antenna elements, a transmission/reception system 4, an interface 5 and an external operation unit 6, as shown in FIG. 11. The external operation unit 6 calculates the adaptive control of the directivity for every terminal of a communication partner at a non-real time, assigns in advance the time slots to the respective terminals at the time of transmission and reception, and switches the weight values for the respective terminals at time division.
Each weighting unit 2 varies the phase and the amplitude in a transmitting signal supplied from the dividing/synthesis unit 3 by predetermined amounts or multiply the signal by a complex weight. Thus, the radio waves radiated from the antenna elements form a desired synthetic transmission directional pattern.
On the other hand, the phase and the amplitude of each of the signals received by the plural antenna elements are controlled by the weighting units 2 or the signal is multiplied by the complex weight. Then, the signals are combined by the dividing/synthesis unit 3. The desired receiving directional pattern can be formed in this manner.
The system of this publication calculates in advance the directional adaptive control of the array antennas by the external operation unit 6 and controls the directivity by using the weight values that have already been calculated at the time of the communication with each terminal. Therefore, the system can be structurally simplified and miniaturized at lower costs as compared with a system that calculates the weight value at a real time (sequentially) during the communication.
Incidentally, the frequency hopping spread spectrum modulation that hops the frequency within a certain frequency band is known as one of the modulation systems. If the radio communication is made in such a frequency hopping spread spectrum modulation in the system of the above publication, the directivity of the array antennas is controlled by using the weight values that are calculated on the basis of a certain carrier frequency, for example, a center frequency in the carrier frequency band.
However, the frequency band used in the frequency hopping is wide. Therefore, when the communication is made with the frequencies at the edges of the frequency band.
The object of the present invention is to provide a radio communication system for performing radio communication between a base station and terminal stations in the frequency hopping spread spectrum, which allows the radio communication to be certainly made at any time between the base station and each of the terminal stations even when the hopping is executed, and which has a simple structure.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a radio communication system which allow the control of the optimum directivity to sufficiently follow the change of the radio propagation environment and can thereby perform preferable radio communication.
To achieve these objects, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a radio communication system including a base station and a plurality of terminal stations each communicate with the base station by radio in a frequency hopping spread spectrum. The base station includes a radio communication apparatus comprising a receiving section for demodulating a signal obtained by multiplying an amplitude and a phase of each of receiving signals from a plurality of antenna elements by weight values and synthesizing the signals, and a transmitting section for distributing the modulated signal into a plurality of signals, multiplying an amplitude and a phase of each of the divided signals by weight values, and radiating the signals from the respective antenna elements. The base station comprises weight value storing means for storing the weight values of the receiving section and the transmitting section in response to each of the terminal stations and each of hopping frequencies, and directivity controlling means, every time a carrier frequency is hopped at the time of performing radio communication with each of the terminal stations, for reading the weight values of the transmitting section and the receiving section responding to the frequency and each of the terminal stations from the weight value storing means, and controlling the directivity of the transmitting section and the receiving section.
The system of the present invention further comprises error rate detecting means for detecting variation in a data error rate in the signal received by the receiving section, for each of the terminal stations, and weight value rewriting means, when the error rate detecting means detects increase in the error rate of a terminal station, for calculating again and rewriting the weight values of the receiving section and the transmitting section corresponding to the terminal station in the weight value storing means.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out hereinafter.


A jump start circuit (26) for electrical connection between a battery (12) of a motor vehicle and jump start terminals (22,24) in the motor vehicle, the jump start circuit comprising a switch (28) for positioning in an electrical line (18) between one (22) of the jump start terminals and the battery, the switch being biased to a normally open position; and a logic circuit (32) having means for monitoring the polarity of a voltage across the jump start terminals, means for closing the switch on detection of a predetermined polarity, and a timer circuit for opening the switch after closing for a predetermined period of time. Provides protection against incorrect polarity connection during jump starting.

When a battery of a first motor vehicle is flat (no power), it is known to connect a battery of a second motor vehicle across the flat battery in order to start the engine of the first vehicle. Such a technique is commonly referred to as jump starting. When the battery of a motor vehicle is not located in the engine compartment, but elsewhere in the vehicle, it has become common practice to provide jump start terminals in the engine compartment which can be connected to a battery of a second vehicle should the battery of the first vehicle go flat. If the second battery is incorrectly connected (that is, the wrong polarity) to the jump start terminals, electrical components in the first vehicle (especially diodes associated with the generator of the first vehicle) may be damaged.

Jump start circuit for a vehicle battery


The present invention relates to an improved tuning arrangement to linearise the sensitivity to frequency changes within a certain frequency range in response to tuner displacements relative to a resonator body. The tuning arrangement comprises a tuner and/or resonator having a non-uniform distribution of the effective dielectric permittivity along the axis of tuner displacement. The non-uniform distribution of the effective dielectric permittivity is realised by subdividing the tuner into an arbitrary number of sections, each of which distinguishable at least by their geometrical shape and the value and distribution of the dielectric coefficient ∈r.

Filter units for combining signals in radio base stations are conventionally built up of various units. FIG. 1 shows an example of a combiner unit 10 that is arranged within a chassis 13 consisting of a resonator 15 and a tuner 14, which is movably arranged within said resonator 15. The tuner 14 is adjusted to a position relative to a resonator axis, in the figure denoted the z-axis, in order to achieve a certain resonator frequency. This adjustment is often performed by means of a motor unit 11 and a threaded shaft 12 that is connected to said motor unit 11 and inserted into a threaded hollowness of the tuner 14 or other wise connected to it such that the radial movement of the shaft 12, which is caused by the motor unit 11, can be transformed into a linear movement of the tuner 14 along said resonator axis. This arrangement, however, achieves a non-linear frequency tuning and provides insufficient precision for frequency adjustments.
A tuning arrangement according to the state of the art may consists of a resonator 15 of a first dielectric material comprising a hollowness within which a tuner 14 of cylindrical shape and consisting of a second dielectric material can be inserted. The tuner 14 is movable arranged along an axis 12 of displacement, in this example z-axis, and can be moved within a range from a first position that corresponds to a maximum insertion into the hollowness of the resonator 15 to a second position where the tuner has been completely protruded out of said resonator. For the sake of simplicity, tuner movements are only considered in direction of the positive z-axis. However, it is apparent that is would be likewise possible to adjust the resonator frequency for tuner movements in the opposite direction.
FIG. 2 illustrates a sketch of the distribution of the electrical field for a TE01δ-mode in a resonator 31 comprising a hollowness 32 within which a tuner could be inserted. It can be observed that the field strength in the resonator hollowness is relatively weak; hence the perturbation of the field in the hollowness allows a tuning of the resonator frequency in a selected band. The resonator frequency depends on the dielectric properties of the building block consisting of resonator and tuner, in particular on the choice of the dielectric materials and the amount of the tuner mass that is interposed in the resonator hollowness. Frequency adjustments are achieved by varying the amount of dielectric material within the resonator hollowness. The main influence results from the resonator while the variation of the tuner position is applied for precision adjustments of the desired resonator frequency. For instance, each tuner position within the resonator implies a certain amount of dielectric material in the resonator hollowness and corresponds thus to a certain resonator frequency. The size of the frequency change depends on the amount and the dielectric properties of the protruded part of the tuner. The resonator frequency increases as long as the tuner is protruded out of the resonator hollowness within the tuning area.
A known system for tuning high-frequency dielectric resonators has been presented in EP 0 492 304. Said system comprises a male dielectric resonator having an external diameter d that penetrates to a certain degree p into a female dielectric resonator having an external diameter D. U.S. Pat. No. 4,728,913 shows another dielectric resonator which is capable of adjusting the dielectric resonator frequency through a wider frequency range without deteriorating Q0.

Dielectric resonator having a non-uniform effective dielectric permittivity along an axis of tuner displacement


A configuration method, detection method and equipment for control channels of a relay system are provided in the present invention. The configuration method comprises: the network side transmits a Relay-Physical Downlink Control Channel (R-PDCCH) of a control channel to its service relay equipment, the related control information of said relay equipment is included in said R-PDCCH, said R-PDCCH is a dedicated R-PDCCH of said relay equipment. In the present invention, the dedicated control channel of the relay system is configured according to the number of Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols occupied by a R-PDCCH, and the mapping from a R-PDDCH/Relay-Physical Downlink Shared Channel (R-PDSCH) to a Resource Element (RE), and the demand that one relay node dedicates a R-PDCCH is satisfied.

With the introduction of RN (Relay Node), there are three wireless links of mobile communication system comprising Relay: the direct link between eNB (evolved NodeB) and macro UE (macro User Equipment), the backhaul link between eNB and RN, and the access link between RN and R-UE (the user equipment served by RN). Considering the wireless communication signal interference, the three links need to use orthogonal wireless resources. In the same band, in order to avoid self-interference, relay node cannot transmit and receive data simultaneously. In the LTE-A (Long Term Evolution-Advanced), relay node can exchange backhaul data with its donor eNB using MBSFN (Multicast Broadcast Single Frequency Network) sub-frames, as shown in FIG. 1.
In more detail, as shown in FIG. 2, in one MBSFN sub-frame, a relay node transmits PDCCH (physical downlink control channel) to the user equipment (R-UE) served by the relay node on one or two OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) symbols. On the other OFDM symbols of this MBSFN sub-frame, the relay node can receive control information (R-PDCCH) and data information (R-PDSCH, Physical Downlink Shared Channel) from the donor eNB. In the frequency domain, R-PDCCH can be transmitted on a set of pre-configured resource blocks. Different relay nodes can share these R-PDCCH resource blocks, and each relay node blindly detects its DL grant and UL grant in this set of resource blocks. An example is shown in FIG. 2 where RN1 and RN2 share the same set of R-PDCCH resource blocks. Relay node derives its R-PDSCH resource allocation according to the DL grant blindly detected from the set of R-PDCCH resource blocks. Base station can schedule macro UE and relay node in one sub-frame, as long as the allocated resources are orthogonal for the macro UE and relay node. The downlink data of Macro-UE is called PDSCH, as shown in FIG. 2.
While the set of R-PDCCH resource blocks can be shared by multiple relay nodes as shown in FIG. 2, the set of R-PDCCH resource blocks can also be specific to one relay node (RN specific), as shown in FIG. 3, where the R-PDCCH resource blocks of RN1 is specific to RN1, i.e. each resource block used to transmit R-PDCCH of RN1 only comprises the R-PDCCH of RN1. The control signaling for RN1 transmitted in RN1's R-PDCCH resource blocks comprises DL grant and UL grant etc. Others R-PDCCH resources can exist, and may be shared by several relay nodes, for example, by RN2 and RN3.
However, there is no detailed design of relay node dedicated R-PDCCH, thus not able to satisfy the need to have relay node dedicated R-PDCCH.

Transmission method, detection method and equipment for control channels of a relay system

CHINA ACADEMY OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY


The present invention relates generally to carboxylated amino-1,3,5-triazines and the preparation thereof via carboxylation of amino-1,3,5-triazines with carbon dioxide and a base. These carboxylated amino-1,3,5-triazines find use, for example, as intermediates in the production of other useful amino-1,3,5-triazine derivatives, and particularly carbamate and isocyanate functional 1,3,5-triazines. The present invention also relates to the preparation of such carbamate and isocyanate functional 1,3,5-triazines.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to carboxylated amino-1,3,5-triazines and the preparation thereof via carboxylation of amino-1,3,5-triazines with carbon dioxide and a base. These carboxylated amino-1,3,5-triazines find use, for example, as intermediates in the production of other useful amino-1,3,5-triazine derivatives, and particularly carbamate and isocyanate functional 1,3,5-triazines. The present invention also relates to the preparation of such carbamate and isocyanate functional 1,3,5-triazines.
2. Description of Related Art
Various derivatives of amino-1,3,5-triazines are described in the literature as being utilized in a wide variety of fields. An important use of certain of these derivatives, such as the alkoxymethyl derivatives of melamine and guanamines, is as crosslinkers and/or reactive modifiers in curable compositions which contain resins having active hydrogen groups. While alkoxymethylated melamines and guanamines provide excellent results in a number of aspects, they also have the disadvantage of releasing formaldehyde as a volatile by-product under curing conditions. Because of this, it has long been a desire of industry to find acceptable alternatives which do not emit formaldehyde during cure.
One such alternative which has shown great promise is carbamate and isocyanate functional 1,3,5-triazines, which are disclosed in one or more of commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 4,939,213, U.S. Pat. No. 5,084,541, U.S. Pat. No. 5,288,865, U.S. Application Ser. No. 07/998,313 (filed Dec. 29, 1992 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,574,103), U.S. Application Ser. No. 08/061,905 (filed May 14, 1993 now abandoned), U.S. Application Ser. No. 08/138,581 (filed Oct. 15, 1993) and U.S. Application Ser. No. 08/239,009 (filed May 6, 1994 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,336,971), all of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein for all purposes as if fully set forth. Specifically, the carbamate and isocyanate functional 1,3,5-triazines disclosed in these references have been found to be particularly useful as crosslinkers in coating compositions based upon hydroxy functional resins, with the cured coatings possessing a wide range of desirable properties.
The ability of the carbamate and isocyanate functional 1,3,5-triazines to perform as efficient non-formaldehyde emitting crosslinking agents, particularly in curable coating compositions, has initiated intensive research directed towards the discovery of practical and economical processes for their production, a number of which are disclosed in the previously incorporated references. While a number of these processes have shown great promise, certain of them also have some drawbacks including, for example, the required use of exotic and/or expensive starting materials.
In addition to the processes of the aforementioned references, it now been surprisingly discovered that carbamate and isocyanate functional 1,3,5-triazines can also be prepared by carboxylation of amino-1,3,5-triazines in the presence of a base to initially produce a carboxylated amino-1,3,5-triazine intermediate, followed by further reaction thereof with (i) a hydrocarbylating agent to produce the desired carbamate functional 1,3,5-triazine, or (ii) a dehydrating agent to produce the desired isocyanate functional 1,3,5-triazine.
It should be noted that it is generically known to react amines with carbon dioxide under a variety of conditions to form carboxylated derivatives of such amines. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,102,801, 4,192,815, 4,400,526, 4,467,089, 5,055,577, 5,189,205, 5,200,547 and 5,223,638; European Patent Application Publication Nos. 0511948 and 0556538; International Application Publication Nos. WO94/08951, WO94/08952 and WO94/08953; Yoshida and Inoue, "A New Synthesis of Carbamic Esters from Carbon Dioxide, Epoxies, and Amines," J. Chem. Soc. Perkin I, 3146-50 (1979); Tsuda et al, "Preparation of Urethanes from Carbon Dioxide via a Copper(I) Carbamato Complex," J.C.S. Chem. Comm., 815-16 (1978); Yoshida et al, "A Direct Synthesis of Carbamate Ester from Carbon Dioxide, Amine and Alkyl Halide," Chemistry Letters, 1571-72 (1984); Yoshida et al, "Novel Synthesis of Arylcarbamaic Esters from Carbon Dioxide and Aromatic Amine via a Zinc Carbamate," Bull. Chem. Soc. Jpn., 61, 2913-16 (1988); Yoshida et al, "Novel Synthesis of Carbamate Esters from Carbon Dioxide, and Amines, and Alkyl Halides," Bull. Chem. Soc. Jpn., 62,1534-38 (1989); Yamazaki etal, "Polycarbonate, -Urethane and -Urea from Carbon Dioxide and Carbonates," Polymer Preprints, National ACS Meeting, 146-49 (Honolulu, Hi. 1979); Arresta and Quaranta, "Role of the Macrocyclic Polyether in the Synthesis of N-alkylcarbamate Esters from Primary Amines, CO.sub.2 and Alkyl Halides in the Presence of Crown-Ethers," Tetrahedron, 48(8), 1515-30 (1992); and McGhee et al, "Highly Selective Generation of Urethanes from Amines, Carbon Dioxide and Alkyl Chlorides," J. Chem. Soc., Chem. Commun., 699-700 (1994). None of these references, however, disclose or even suggest that such reactions are applicable to amino-1,3,5-triazines.
Indeed, it is well known to those of ordinary skill in the art that the amine functionality of amino-1,3,5-triazines, such as the amino groups of melamines and guanamines, is not equivalent to other types of typical amine functionality. Significantly, melamines and guanamines are among the least reactive of the "amines" and the most difficult to functionalize, and their behavior cannot normally be correlated to that of other known amines, even structurally similar amines such as pyrimidines.
For example, most "typical" amines are highly reactive with acid halides. In a publication by E. M. Smolin and L. Rappaport entitled "S-Triazines and Derivatives," Interscience Publishers Inc., New York, page 333 (1959), it is reported that attempts to react an acid halide with the amino group on a 1,3,5-triazine such as melamine were not successful. Further, attempts to functionalize amino-1,3,5-triazines often results in substitution at the nitrogen on the triazine ring. For example, it is known that the reaction of melamine with alkyl halides, such as allyl chloride, results in alkyl substitution at the nitrogen on the triazine ring resulting in isomelamine derivatives.
It is, therefore, clearly surprising in light of the state of the art that amino-1,3,5-triazines can be carboxylated and further derivatized to produce the desired carbamate and isocyanate functional derivatives via the present inventive process, as described in further detail below.

Carboxylated amino-1,3,5-triazines, derivatives thereof and processes for preparing the same


A method of injection-moulding includes separating an injection nozzle from a mould during every moulding cycle. An apparatus for carrying out the method is also disclosed.

The present invention relates to a method of injection-moulding in which an injection nozzle is separated from a mould every moulding-cycle, and to an injection moulding machine for carrying out the method.
Generally, the moulding cycle of an injection moulding machine comprises the processes of injection, holding pressure, cooling, weighing, and opening and closing the mould. These processes are repeatedly carried out in this order. When the moulding is carried out with an injection nozzle kept in contact with the mould, heat from the nozzle is transferred to the mould, prolonging the cooling time. That is, the time taken for the moulding cycle cannot be reduced. Thus, an injection moulding machine is known in which the nozzle is separated from the mould every moulding cycle, so that the transfer of heat between the nozzle and the mould is kept to a minimum.
FIG. 5 shows an example of a known injection moulding machine. The injection moulding machine comprises an injection unit 100 having an injection nozzle 101, a mould 102, and a mould opening-closing unit 103. Furthermore, the injection moulding machine is provided with a hydraulic cylinder 104 which causes the injection unit 100 to move towards or away from the mould 102 so that the nozzle 101 comes into contact with, or is separated from, the mould 102.
However, to operate the hydraulic cylinder 104, hydraulic pressures must be switched by valve-operation. Thus, the switch-over operation is slow. For this reason, the moulding cycle cannot be achieved. Moreover, the hydraulic cylinder 104 needs to be operated synchronously with the opening and closing of the moulds. It is necessary to control the injection moulding machine 104 accurately at high speed. It is problematic that the mechanism for controlling the machine becomes complicated.
In the injection moulding machine of the related art, the mould opening-closing unit 103, which is a mechanism for opening and closing the moulds, and the hydraulic cylinder 104, which is a nozzle-touch mechanism, are driven independently of each other. Thus, the hydraulic cylinder 104 is caused to operate following opening and closing of the moulds at high speed with much difficulty. Therefore, problems are caused in that heat from the nozzle tip is readily transferred; defects in fluidity of resin such as so-called cold slag are easily caused, and the qualities of the moulded product become unstable.
The invention aims to address the above mentioned problems.
According to the invention there is provided a method of injection-moulding, comprising the steps of: operating a first mould (31) to move in a mould clamping direction and come into contact with a second mould (30); further operating the first mould (31) to move in the mould clamping direction while the first mould (31) is in contact with the second mould (30) and bring the second mould (30) into contact with an injection nozzle (11); operating the first mould (31) to move in the mould clamping direction integrally with the second mould (30) and the injection nozzle (11) until the second mould (30) reaches a retention position, while the second mould (30) is in contact with the injection nozzle (11); injecting a plasticated resin into the first and second moulds (31, 30) through the injection nozzle (11), while the second mould (30) is maintained at the retention position; operating the first mould (31) to move in a mould-opening direction after the injection to separate the second mould (30) from the injection nozzle (11); and further operating the first mould (31) to move in the mould-opening direction to separate the first mould (31) from the second mould (30).
The invention also provides an injection moulding machine comprising: a mould unit (B) and an injection unit (A) having an injection nozzle for injecting a plasticated resin into the mould unit (B) through the injection nozzle (11), the mould unit (B) comprising a mould opening-closing means, a first mould (31) drivable for opening or closing by the mould opening-closing means, a second mould (30) operable together with the first mould to define a cavity therebetween and to be brought into contact with the injection nozzle (11), a first guide means (39) for guiding the second mould (30) so that the second mould (30) can be moved in the mould opening-closing direction, a stroke-regulating means (40) for regulating the length of stroke in the mould opening-closing direction of the second mould (30), and a first energizing means (41) for energizing the second mould (30) in the direction of the first mould (31), and the injection unit (A) comprising a second guide means for guiding the injection nozzle so that the injection nozzle (11) can be moved in the mould opening-closing direction, a stopper means for defining a limit position of movement of the injection nozzle (11) in the direction of the second mould (30) and a second energizing means (9) for energizing the injection nozzle (11) in the direction of the second mould (30), wherein the length of stroke S1 of the second mould (30) caused by the stroke regulating means (40) is set to be equal to or larger than the gap S2 between the second mould (30) and the injection nozzle (11) defined when the moulds are open.
The objects of the present invention have the advantage that the injection-moulding nozzle can be separated from a mould every moulding cycle by means of a simple mechanism and can correspond to opening and closing the mould at high speed.
In an first aspect of the invention, the first mould, when moved in the mould clamping direction, comes into contact with the second mould, and then the first and second moulds are moved together in the direction of the injection nozzle. The first mould is further moved in the mould clamping direction, so that the second mould comes into contact with the injection nozzle. In this state, the first mould is moved until the second mould reaches the retention position. Therefore, clamping of the first and second moulds and moreover, contact of the second mould with the injection nozzle can be securely achieved. In this state, a plasticated resin is injected into the first and second moulds through the injection nozzle.
Thereafter, when the first mould is moved in the mould-opening direction, the first and second moulds and the injection nozzle integrally move away. Then, the injection nozzle stops, and is separated from the second mould. The first mould is further moved in the mould-opening direction. The second mould then stops. The first and second moulds are then opened, and the moulded product therebetween is removed.
In the first aspect of the invention described, the stroke length S1 of the second mould is set to be larger than the gap S2 between the second mould and the injection nozzle. Therefore, the clamping and opening of the first and second moulds and also the contact and separation of the injection nozzle from the second mould can be carried out only by moving the first mould in the mould-clamping direction and in the mould-opening direction. Thus, the injection nozzle can be securely separated from the mould every shot, following the clamping and opening of the moulds. Accordingly, thermal conduction from the injection nozzle to the mould can be suppressed, and the cooling time for the moulds can be reduced. As a result, the time required for each moulding cycle can be reduced. Moreover, the tip of the nozzle and its vicinity can be maintained at high temperature, since the time when the tip of the injection nozzle is in contact with the mould can be reduced.
Moreover, according to the present invention, the second mould, while it is in contact with the injection nozzle, is further moved by a predetermined length in the mould-clamping direction. Therefore, the second mould can be securely brought into contact with the injection nozzle, and leakage of a plasticated resin can be prevented, even if thermal expansion and dimensional errors occur.
In a second aspect of the invention, the method of injection-moulding of the first aspect of the present invention can be applied by using a simple mechanism. In addition to the mould opening and closing means, the machine comprises the first and second moulds, the first guiding means for guiding the second mould so that the second mould can be moved in the mould opening and closing direction, the stroke-regulating means for regulating the length of stroke in the mould opening-closing direction of the second mould, and the first energizing means for energizing the second mould in the direction of the first mould, the second guiding means for guiding the injection nozzle in such a manner that the injection nozzle can be moved in the mould opening-closing direction, the stopper means for defining a limit position of the injection nozzle at which the movement of the injection nozzle in the direction of the second mould is limited, and the second energizing means for energizing the injection nozzle in the direction of the second mould. The stroke length S1 of the second mould caused by the stroke regulating means is set to be equal to or larger than the gap S2 between the second mould and the injection nozzle defined when the moulds are in the open state. Thus, for the purpose of moving the injection unit, no special operational mechanism is required. The injection nozzle can be securely separated from the mould, even if the moulds are opened and closed at high speed.
Spring, a hydraulic cylinder, a motor, and other possibilities may be used as the first and second energizing means. Where springs are used, the mechanism for opening and closing the moulds is the sole power source required for the springs. Thus, an injection moulding machine can be provided which is small in size and inexpensive.

Injection moulding machine and moulding method


Systems, methods, and devices for analyzing small volumes of fluidic samples, as a non-limiting example, less than twenty microliters are provided. The devices are configured to make a first sample reading, for example, measure an energy property of the fluid sample, for example, osmolality, make a second sample reading, for example, detecting the presence or concentration of one or more analytes in the fluid sample, or make both the first sample reading and the second sample reading, for example, measuring the energy property of the fluid sample as well as detecting the presence or concentration of one or more analytes in the fluid sample.

Tears fulfill an essential role in maintaining ocular surface integrity, protecting against microbial challenge, and preserving visual acuity. These functions, in turn, are critically dependent upon the composition and stability of the tear film structure, which includes an underlying mucin foundation, a middle aqueous component, and an overlying lipid layer. Disruption, deficiency, or absence of the tear film can severely impact the eye. If unmanaged with artificial tear substitutes or tear film conservation therapy, these disorders can lead to intractable desiccation of the corneal epithelium, ulceration and perforation of the cornea, an increased incidence of infectious disease, and ultimately pronounced visual impairment and blindness.
Keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS), or "dry eye", is a condition in which one or more of the tear film structure components listed above is present in insufficient volume or is otherwise out of balance with the other components. Fluid tonicity or osmolarity of tears increases in patients with KCS. KCS is associated with conditions that affect the general health of the body, such as Sjogren's syndrome, aging, and androgen deficiency.

Systems and methods for integration of microfluidic tear collection and lateral flow analysis of analytes of interest


The invention is drawn to a new enzyme that selectively hydrolyzes D-pantolactone in D,L-pantolactone and has the following characteristics:. (a) action: acts on pantolactone to produce the corresponding acid;. (b) specificity for substrate: acts specifically on D-pantolactone but not on L-pantolactone;. (c) pH stability: stable at pH5-9;. (d) optimal pH: 7.0-7.5;. (e) optimal temperature: ca. 50.degree. C.; and. (f) effect of various metal ions or inhibitors: inhibited by Cd.sup.2+, Hg.sup.2+ or Cu.sup.2+ EDTA, as well as a process for the preparation thereof. The enzyme is preferably produced by cultivating the microorganisms of the genera Fusarium, Cylindrocarpon, and Gibberella, and most preferably the microorganism Fusarium oxysporum IFO 5942.

D-pantolactone has heretofore been prepared through optical resolution of chemically synthesized D,L-pantolactone.
Such process, however, requires the use of costly resolving agents such as quinine or brucine, and suffers from the drawback that the recovery of D-pantolactone is not easy.
Processes of optical resolution of D,L-pantolactone by enzymatic asymmetric hydrolysis have also been known from Japanese published unexamined patent application No. 57-52895 (JP, A, 57-152895) and Japanese published unexamined patent application No. 62-294092 (JP, A, 62-294092). In these processes, the L-pantolactone in D,L-pantolactone is selectively subjected to asymmetric hydrolysis using microorganisms to afford D-pantolactone. These processes have the disadvantage that L-pantolactone, not being completely hydrolysable, does not yield D-pantolactone of high optical purity, and they are also of little significance as practical processes for the preparation of D-pantolactone due to the fact that both the substrate concentration and the reaction rate are low.
As a result of extensive research on the asymmetric hydrolysis of D,L-pantolactone, the present inventors have previously found that D-pantolactone can be obtained efficiently from D,L-pantolactone through selective asymmetric hydrolysis by certain microorganisms of the D-pantolactone only in D,L-pantolactone to form D-pantoic acid, followed by separation, and conversion into D-pantolactone of the D-pantoic acid (see Japanese patent application No. 1-200347).
Thus, the present inventors have succeeded in providing a process for the preparation of D-pantolactone, characterized in that the D-pantolactone in D,L-pantolactone is selectively subjected to asymmetric hydrolysis using a microorganism possessing lactone-hydrolyzing ability selected from microorganisms belonging to the genera Fusarium, Cylndrocarpon, Gibbrella, Aspergillus, Penicillium, Rhizopus, Volutella, Gliocladium, Eurotium, Nectria, Schizophyllum, Myrothecium, Neurospora, Acremonium, Tuberculina, Absidia, Sporothrix, Verticillium or Arthroderma, to form D-pantoic acid, which is then separated and converted into D-pantolactone. The invention has many advantages over the above-mentioned known processes of selective asymmetric hydrolysis of the L-pantolactone in D,L-pantolactone, for example in that considerably higher substrate concentrations may be used, that shorter reaction times may be employed, and that D-pantolactone of extremely high optical purity can be obtained.

D-pantolactone hydrolase and process for the preparation thereof


The present disclosure includes calculating coordinates of a midpoint of one of a plurality of first tool teaching points and the subsequent first tool teaching point, and calculating coordinates of a midpoint of one of a plurality of second tool teaching points that corresponds to the one first tool teaching point and the subsequent second tool teaching point, calculating an inter-midpoint distance between the midpoint of the first tool teaching points and the midpoint of the corresponding second tool teaching points, determining whether the inter-midpoint distance is within a given tolerance range, and reporting, when the inter-midpoint distance is out of the given tolerance range, the corresponding first tool teaching points and second tool teaching points as poor.

As a machining method using a machining device, such as a robot, an incremental forming method has been known in which a workpiece is machined by attaching a bar-like tool (machining jig) to a movable part, such as a robotic arm, and moving a tip-end part of the tool relatively with respect to the workpiece while pressing the tip-end part of the tool against the workpiece (e.g., see Patent Document 1). By using such an incremental forming method, a plate-like workpiece can be fabricated with a high degree of freedom without using a die.

Method of verifying operating command, method of controlling machining device, recording medium recorded with operating-command verification program, and operating-command verification system


A light straightener for supporting a wire strand of lights separate from adjacent strands to prevent the strands from bunching up. The strands are retained in the straightener so they will not fall out regardless of the orientation of the straightener.

This device allows the individual strands of lights in for example an icicle light set to hang perfectly straight and elegantly instead of bunching up (zigzagging) due to the aberrant shape of the wires connecting the individual lights.
Icicle lights are decorative holiday lights that incorporate individual strands of wire with lights that hang down from one main wire. These individual strands typically comprise a set in a repetitive series. The set is usually three or four strands of varying lengths, generally from approximately 16xe2x80x3 to 28xe2x80x3 and usually in 4xe2x80x3 or 8xe2x80x3 increments, and containing anywhere between four (4) and seven (7) lights per strand respectively.
In every case, due to the inherent properties of this shielded wire and due to the method of packaging, the individual strands of wire (icicles) never hang straight, but typically in very angular patterns that cause each strand to blend into one another.
This is not only less attractive because the distinction of the individual icicles can no longer be ascertained, but the length of the individual strands are shortened, thereby reducing the entire effect. In addition, discounting the light bulbs, the zigzagging of the wires themselves is very unattractive and looks very sloppy, particularly in the daylight.


The invention provides methods, proteins, nucleic acids and antibodies for preventing or treating a C. difficile infection in a mammal.

Clostridium difficile is a Gram-positive, rod shaped, anaerobic spore-forming bacterium. The first fully sequenced C. difficile genome was published in 2006 [1] and 3776 predicted coding sequences were identified. C. difficile is a normal component of the gut flora, estimated to be present in 3% of the general population without signs of disease. In situations where the natural balance of the gut flora is disturbed, then C. difficile can become more prevalent. This overgrowth causes the bacterium to start producing toxins under the control of a quorum signalling regulator. The most frequent cause of a disruption to the natural balance of the gut flora is the administration of antibiotics which are deleterious to some gut bacteria, but which do not affect C. difficile. C. difficile is the primary cause of antibiotic associated diarrhoea (AAD), though symptoms may extend to life-threatening pseudomembraneous colitis. The highest prevalence of infection is in elderly hospitalised patients, though infections are on the increase in non-typical groups, such as adolescents and pregnant females [2]. It is has been observed that between 12% and 35% of those infected with C. difficile relapse within 2 months [3].
C. difficile was only identified as the causative agent of AAD in the 1970s. Since then a number of strategies for combating the infection have been attempted. Specific antibiotics, such as vancomycin, metronidazole, nitazoxanamide, bacitracin or fusidic acid were used initially to treatment for C. difficile infection, and continue to be employed today (see references 4, 5 and 6). Widespread treatment with these antibiotics is not favoured, though, due to the risk of C. difficile and also other gut bacteria becoming resistant over time. Recently, treatment with vaccines based upon the toxoids secreted by the bacterium and passive immunotherapy targeting such toxins have been adapted (references 7 and 8). A toxoid vaccine with and without adjuvant is in phase II trials in patients 18-85 years old to determine efficacy in preventing recurrent CDI in the nine week period after the third dose of this vaccine. Toxoid vaccines typically require repeat administrations and an adjuvant in order to elicit an immune response. Further, their administration is frequently associated with injection site immune reactions. However, toxin-based vaccines only prevent toxin binding, neutralising inflammatory effects; such vaccines are generally unable to prevent colonization completely or clear an existing pathogen from the body. For example, spores may remain meaning that further infection or recurrence of infection with associated symptoms is likely.
Thus there is a need for improved compositions and methods of treating or preventing C. difficile infection. In particular, there is need for polypeptides that will be useful as vaccine components and that may be used to limit or eliminate the colonization—including spores—in vaccinated subjects, further preventing C. difficile transmission. It is an object of the invention to provide polypeptides and compositions which are effective in raising immune responses against C. difficile for use in the development of vaccines for preventing and/or treating C. difficile associated diseases.

Clostridium difficile polypeptides as vaccine


A throttle body includes a housing that accommodates a connector for a rotation shaft of a throttle valve disposed in the throttle body and a throttle position sensor, a fuel return passage that communicates the housing with an air intake passage in the throttle body, a T-shaped pipe that communicates with the air intake passage upstream from the throttle body to function as a pressure control chamber, and an air inflow passage that communicates the housing with the T-shaped pipe. The throttle body smoothly returns the fuel accumulated in a housing that accommodates a connector that connects a throttle position sensor to the end of the rotation shaft of a throttle valve to an air intake passage.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a throttle body having a fuel return passage.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional throttle bodies often have a throttle position sensor for detecting the opening of a throttle valve on the side of a bore of the throttle body. The throttle position sensor has a rotation shaft for operating a potentiometer. The throttle bodies have a connector for connecting the rotation shaft to one end of the rotation shaft on the side of the bore. Particularly, JP-A-2002-309968 discloses a structure having a housing for the connector to prevent adhesion of soil or water to the connector during driving of the vehicle, and a drain opening in the housing for discharging water accumulating in the housing to the outside.
However, for saddle type four wheel vehicles (e.g., four wheel buggies) that may drive on marshy or swampy ground, the drain opening may allow water to flow into the housing. Thus, a saddle type four wheel vehicle may have a closed drain opening which creates the possibility that fuel leaks gradually from the air intake passage of the throttle body to the housing and accumulates in the housing. In this case, the accumulated fuel may come into contact with the connector in the housing so that the throttle position sensor may not be able to detect a correct throttle opening.
In that respect, JP-A-2-7368 discloses a technique in which a fuel return passage is provided which connects the portion downstream from a control valve in a bypass passage that connects the upper stream and the lower stream of the throttle body and the portion upstream from a throttle valve in the throttle body, and the fuel accumulated in the bypass passage is returned to an air intake passage using a negative pressure in the air intake passage.
The technique described in JP-A-2-7368 may be applied to the above described throttle body including the throttle position sensor. Specifically, the throttle body may have a fuel return passage that communicates the housing with the portion of the air intake passage downstream from the throttle valve, and an air inflow passage that communicates the housing with the portion of the air intake passage upstream from the throttle valve.
However, the throttle body has a single piece structure, so that a relatively small pressure difference occurs in the air intake passage in the throttle body. This may increase the possibility that the fuel accumulated in the housing cannot be returned smoothly into the air intake passage even with the fuel return passage and air inflow passage. Especially, it is difficult that the fuel having a higher viscosity than water circulates under a small pressure difference.

Throttle body having fuel return passage and vehicle


A magnetic random access memory (MRAM) is compensated for write current shunting by varying the bit size of each MRAM cell with position along the write line. The MRAM includes a plurality of magnetic tunnel junction memory cells arranged in an array of columns and rows. The width of each memory cell increases along a write line to compensate for write current shunting.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to electronic devices, especially magnetic random access memories, and more specifically to magnetic random access memory arrays compensated for write current shunting.
2. Description of the Related Art
Magnetic random access memory (MRAM) typically is made up of memory cells that store information based on a direction of magnetization of a ferromagnetic region. MRAM cells can hold stored information for long periods of time, and are thus nonvolatile.
MRAM memory generally takes the form of an array of intersecting, electrically-conductive column and row lines formed on a substrate. An MRAM memory cell is located at each intersection of the array.
Various types of MRAM memory cells are known in the prior art. U.S. Pat. No. 5,640,343, issued Jun. 17, 1997 to Gallagher et al., discloses an MRAM device that utilizes an array of Magnetic Tunnel Junction (MTJ) memory cells. Each MTJ MRAM memory cell includes a magnetic tunnel junction. As shown in FIG. 7, a magnetic tunnel junction 70 includes three functional layers: a free ferromagnetic layer 72, a tunnel barrier 74, and a fixed or pinned ferromagnetic layer 76. The magnetization direction of pinned layer 76 is fixed by exchange coupling with an antiferromagnetic material. The magnetization direction of the free ferromagnetic layer 72, in the absence of an applied field, is oriented along either a positive or a negative axis, as indicated by the double-headed arrow.
Conductance of the MTJ memory cell is determined by the alignment of the magnetization in the fixed and free ferromagnetic layers. Accordingly, binary information can be stored in each memory cell based on the relative alignment of the magnetization direction in each layer. When the alignment is parallel (both magnetizations oriented in the same direction) the MTJ has a lower magnetoresistance, representing a logic 0, for example. When the alignment is antiparallel (the magnetizations oriented in opposite directions), the resistance of the MTJ is higher, representing a logic 1. The magnetoresistance is the result of spin-polarized tunneling of conduction electrons between the ferromagnetic layers. Measuring the magnetoresistance indicates the alignment, and thus the logical state, of the cell.
Changing the orientation of the magnetization of the free ferromagnetic layer changes the logic state of the cell. The magnetization of the free layer will rotate in the presence of an applied magnetic field. The magnetic field is applied by way of an electric current flowing in the conductive word and bit lines. A current in both lines generates a magnetic field of sufficient strength to change the orientation state of the memory cell. The current of at least one of the lines has to be reversible to write the two different magnetic states of the cell.


A toy band which comprises a bistable spring that can be dynamically deployed from an elongated rigid position to a coiled position around one's wrist, forearm, other part of the body, or any suitably-shaped object through striking the band against that part of the body or object and that also broadcasts a pre-recorded audio message when the band is deployed. The toy band includes an audio broadcast unit removably affixed the bistable spring and includes a housing, a speaker, a battery, an electrical impact switch, and a read-only memory or other memory chip that can store a pre-recorded audio message which is broadcast upon closure of the impact switch. The audio broadcast can be actuated, while affixed to the bistable spring by the striking of the device against any suitably-shaped object, or independently of the spring, by simply removing the unit from the spring and applying pressure to the unit thereby activating the audio messages stored therein.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a toy band that can be attached to one's wrist, forearm, or other part of the body and dynamically deployed through the spring action of the band, and specifically to a dynamic band that includes a pre-recorded message that is played upon impact with a part of the body as the wrist band is dynamically employed.
2. Description of Related Art
The use of a metal spring band as a wrist band is known in the prior art. Typically, a bistable spring with a fabric or plastic housing that is sized in length to surround the wrist of a wearer has been used as a novelty toy. The bistable spring wrist band has essentially two different physical states or possible positions. One position is elongated and somewhat rigid with the metal spring portion including an arcuate cross-section that houses potential energy that maintains the elongated spring in its semi-rigid position or at least fixed position. The bistable spring wrist band can also be deployed in a second position by impact along the arcuate mid-portion and its mid-section causing the entire spring body to coil up which if done correctly will wrap itself dynamically around the limb of the operator. Such wrist bands have been commercially sold under the Trademark SLAP WRAP.TM..
The present invention is an improvement over the initial SLAP WRAP.TM. in that it provides for a more interactive relationship when the operator engages the toy wrist band of the present invention around the wrist, forearm, or other appropriate object. With the present invention, when the toy band is deployed on the wrist through dynamic action, the wearer or operator will also receive a pre-recorded audio message.