In a substrate stage device, a substrate is held by a substrate support member mounted on a Y step surface plate. The substrate support member moves in the scanning direction in long strokes on the Y step surface plate. The part corresponding to an exposure area of the substrate is held by suction in a non-contact manner from below by a fixed point stage, and other parts are supported by levitation by the plurality of air floating devices placed on the Y step surface plate. The part corresponding to the exposure area of the substrate is controlled so that surface position of the substrate is located in the depth of focus of the projection optical system by the fixed point stage.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to movable body apparatuses, object processing devices, exposure apparatuses, flat-panel display manufacturing methods, and device manufacturing methods, and more particularly to a movable body apparatus which moves an object along a predetermined two-dimensional plane, an object processing device which performs a predetermined processing on an object held by the movable body apparatus, an exposure apparatus which forms a predetermined pattern on an object held by the movable body apparatus, a flat-panel display manufacturing method which uses the exposure apparatus, and a device manufacturing method which uses the exposure apparatus.
2. Description of the Background Art
Conventionally, in a lithography process for manufacturing electron devices (microdevices) such as liquid crystal display devices and semiconductor devices (such as integrated circuits), exposure apparatuses such as a projection exposure apparatus by a step-and-repeat method (a so-called stepper), or a projection exposure apparatus by a step-and-scan method (a so-called scanning stepper (which is also called a scanner) is mainly used.
In this type of exposure apparatus, the object (a glass plate, or a wafer (hereinafter, generally referred to as a "substrate")) subject to exposure is mounted on a substrate stage device. And a circuit pattern formed on a mask (or a reticle) is transferred onto a substrate by irradiation of an exposure light via an optical system such as a projection lens. (e.g., refer to Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0018950).
Now, in recent years, substrates subject to exposure of exposure apparatuses, especially rectangular shaped glass plates used for liquid crystal displays, tend to increase in size such as, for example, one side being 3 meters or more, which causes the size of the substrate stage device to increase, as well as the weight. Therefore, development of a compact lightweight stage device that can control the position of an exposure object (substrate) at a high speed with high precision was desired.

Movable body apparatus, object processing device, exposure apparatus, flat-panel display manufacturing method, and device manufacturing method


The present invention discloses a single-camera system for measuring a vehicle distance and measurement method thereof. The single-camera system for measuring the vehicle distance comprises a variable-magnification single-camera module, an operational control module and an infrared emission module, wherein the operational control module is respectively connected with the variable-magnification single-camera module and the infrared emission module. The variable-magnification single-camera module is used for performing real-time video recording on a front scene, capturing the position information of a highlight speckle in a video image from a video and capturing the number of pixels occupied by the width/height of a vehicle license plate. The present invention combines the video processing technology with the infrared control technology of a camera, enhances the measuring reliability of short distance of a vehicle, facilitates the usage, reduces the cost and can be widely applied to an active safety assisting system of the vehicle.

The camera is a consumable electronic product generally applied to the fields of industry, agriculture, traffic, etc., such as security, traffic monitoring, digital video recording and the like, while the camera also improves the life quality of people at the same time of being generally applied.
In recent years, with the sharp increase of the number of vehicles, the safe driving of the vehicles also becomes a worldwide social problem. To guarantee the driving safety of the vehicles, it is critical to develop the intelligence of the vehicles. A safety system of the vehicles is an important component of an intelligent traffic system, and performs an important role at the aspects of risk early warning systems, anti-collision systems, etc. A distance measuring technology is a critical part for realizing such system. For traditional single ultrasonic wave, microwave and laser light sensor, in case of short-distance measurement, either the reliability is not high, or the cost is too high.

Single-camera system for measuring a vehicle distance and measurement method thereof


An apparatus arranged to record or reproduce signals on or from a tape-shaped recording medium contained in a cassette, with tape reels and a pinch roller disposed within the cassette, by guiding and causing the medium to travel in an oblique posture relative to a cylindrical drum having magnetic heads comprises a moving mechanism arranged to move a first chassis which holds and carries the cassette and a second chassis which carries the drum relative to each other, a capstan disposed on the second chassis, and an urging member arranged to urge the capstan to be in pressed contact with the pinch roller. The capstan is thus arranged to be brought into pressed contact with the pinch roller by the urging force of the urging member.

1. Field of the Invention:
This invention relates to a recording or reproducing apparatus and more particularly to an apparatus arranged to record or reproduce signals on or from a tape-shaped recording medium (hereinafter referred to as the tape) by guiding and allowing the tape to travel obliquely around a head drum on which heads are mounted.
2. Description of the Related Art:
Recording density has increased of late. As a result, it has become possible to advance the reduction in size of the recording or reproducing apparatus of the above-stated kind. In connection with the reduction in size, cassette type tape recorders have been contrived to wrap the tape around the head drum without pulling the tape out of a cassette in which the tape is contained.
FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings shows a tape recorder of this kind which is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. SHO 63-36536 (hereinafter referred to as the prior art example). FIG. 1 shows in an oblique view the relative movement of a head drum 1 and a tape cassette 6 of the prior art example as in a state of having the upper half of the cassette removed.
Referring to FIG. 1, pinch rollers 9 and 10 and tape guides 11 and 12 are disposed within the tape cassette 6. A tape transport system is arranged to be completed when the tape 14 is wrapped around the head drum 1 with the head drum 1 set in a given position by bringing the head drum 1 close to an aperture provided in the middle part of the tape cassette 6. This arrangement obviates the necessity of any additional tape loading mechanism, so that the mechanism of the tape recorder can be simplified for reduction in cost.
As described above, the prior art example is arranged to form a tape path with the head drum 1 allowed to come into the tape cassette 6 by moving either the head drum 1 or the tape cassette 6. With the tape path formed in this manner, however, it is hardly possible to have a constant pressed contact force between the pinch roller 9 and a capstan 13, because the pressed contact force of the capstan 13 on the pinch roller 9 is determined only by the position of the capstan 13 relative to the pinch roller 9. Therefore, the pressed contact force is inconstant to become either insufficient or excessive. The inconstant pressed contact force might cause slipping of the tape or a deformation of the tape cassette and thus has presented a problem.
Further, the capstan 13 is in pressed contact with the pinch roller 9 with the tape 14 in a state of being wrapped around the head drum 1. The capstan 13, however, must be sometimes rotated at a high speed when recorded signals are to be reproduced at a high tape transporting speed, for example, in a cue or review mode. To meet this requirement, it is necessary to use a large motor for driving the capstan 13. Therefore, while the size of the mechanism is reducible, the use of the large capstan driving motor has prevented a reduction in size and weight of the tape recorder as a whole.


A positive photoresist composition comprising the components of: (a) a resin which decomposes by the action of an acid, thereby having an increased solubility in an alkali developer; and (b) a compound which is represented by the formula (1) and generates an acid by exposure to active rays or radiation, and a compound which is represented by the formula (2) and generates an acid by exposure to active rays or radiation.

The present invention relates to a positive photoresist composition used for the production of semiconductor integrated circuit devices, masks for fabricating integrated circuits, printed circuit boards, liquid crystal panels, and the like.
As positive photoresist compositions, chemically amplified resist compositions are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,491,628 and European Patent No. 29,139.
Chemically amplified positive resist compositions are materials for forming patterns on a substrate by generating an acid on a region exposed to radiation such as far ultraviolet rays, and changing a solubility in a developer between the exposed region and non-exposed region to active radiation.
The above-described chemically amplified positive resist compositions can be can be roughly classified into three groups, that is, a three component system formed of an alkali soluble resin, a compound (photoacid generator) which generates an acid by exposure to radiation, and a dissolution inhibitive compound having an acid decomposable group and inhibiting dissolution in the alkali soluble resin; a two component system formed of a resin having a group which decomposes by the reaction with an acid and becomes alkali soluble and a photoacid generator; and a hybrid system formed of a resin having a group which decomposes by the reaction with an acid and becomes alkali soluble, a low-molecular dissolution inhibitive compound having an acid decomposable group, and a photoacid generator.
Various techniques for improving the performance of such chemically amplified positive resist compositions by mixing at least two resins (acid decomposable resins) which decompose by the action of an acid, thereby having a heightened solubility in an alkali developer are known.
In European Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1024406, described is a technique of improving the performance by mixing an acid decomposable resin with at least 2 photoacid generators.
There is however a demand for suppressing deteriorations in resolving power and size accuracy which owe to miniaturization of patterns, and for improving PED stability to control size fluctuations.
The term xe2x80x9cPED (Post Exposure Delay) stabilityxe2x80x9d means stability of the film allowed to stand in an exposure apparatus or an applicator until heating operation is started after exposure.
An object of the present invention is therefore to provide a chemically amplified positive photoresist composition excellent in both the depth of focus and PED stability.
With the foregoing in view, the present inventors have carried out an extensive investigation. As a result, the above-described object has been attained by using a positive photoresist composition containing an acid decomposable resin and at least two photoacid generators, leading to the completion of the present invention.
The positive photoresist composition according to the present invention has the following constitution:
(1) A positive photoresist composition comprising:
(a) a resin which decomposes by the action of an acid, thereby having an increased solubility in an alkali developer; and
(b) at least one compound which is represented by the following formula (1) and generates an acid by exposure to active rays or radiation, and at least one compound which is represented by the following formula (2) and generates an acid by exposure to active rays or radiation:
xe2x80x83wherein R1 and R2 each independently represents one of an alkyl group, an alkenyl group, an alkynyl group, a cycloalkyl group and a cycloalkenyl group each of which has 1 to 16 carbon atoms and may have at least one substituent, an aryl group and a heteroaryl group each of which may have at least one substituent and a cyano group,
at least one of R1 and R2 may be bonded to at least one of R1 and R2 of another compound represented by the formula (1) via one of an alkylene chain, an alkenylene chain and an alkynylene chain each of which has 2 to 8 carbon atoms and may have at least one substituent and a connecting chain comprising one of phenylene, furylene and thienylene each of which may have at least one substituent and a connecting chain comprising one of xe2x80x94Oxe2x80x94, xe2x80x94Sxe2x80x94, xe2x80x94Nxe2x80x94 and xe2x80x94COxe2x80x94,
R3 represents one of an alkyl group and a cycloalkyl group each of which has 1 to 16 carbon atoms and may have at least one substituent and an aryl group may have at least one substituent and
R4 and R5 each independently represents one of an alkyl group, cycloalkyl group and aryl group each of which may have at least one substituent.
According to the present invention, chemically amplified positive photoresist compositions excellent in both the depth of focus and PED stability are provided.
The present invention will hereinafter be described more specifically.
(a) A resin which decomposes by the action of an acid, thereby having a heightened solubility in an alkali developer (the resin of (a)).
The term xe2x80x9cresin having a group decomposable by the action of an acid (which may be called xe2x80x9cacid decomposable groupxe2x80x9d)xe2x80x9d as used herein means a compound which has a structure obtained by introducing an acid decomposable group into a compound available by polymerization of a monomer and having a molecular weight distribution, and becomes alkali soluble by the action of an acid.
The resin having an acid decomposable group means a resin having this acid decomposable group in either of the main chain or side chain thereof or in both of these chains. Of these, the resin having an acid decomposable group in its side chain is preferred.
The parent resin having such an acid decomposable group bonded thereto as a side chain is an alkali soluble resin having, in the side chain thereof, a group xe2x80x94OH or xe2x80x94COOH, preferably a group xe2x80x94R0xe2x80x94COOH or xe2x80x94Arxe2x80x94OH in the side chain.
Here, xe2x80x94R0xe2x80x94 represents a substituted or unsubstituted aliphatic or aromatic hydrocarbon having at least two valences, while the group xe2x80x94Arxe2x80x94 represents a monocyclic or polycyclic aromatic group which have at least two valences and may have a substituent.
In the present invention, alkali soluble resins having a phenolic hydroxyl group are preferred as the parent resin.
As the alkali soluble resin usable in the invention and having a phenol hydroxyl group, preferred are copolymers or homopolymers each containing at least 30 mole %, preferably 50 mole % of repeating units corresponding to o-, m- or p-hydroxystyrene (which will hereinafter be called xe2x80x9chydroxystyrenexe2x80x9d, collectively) or o-, m- or p-hydroxy-xcex1-methylstyrene (which will hereinafter be called xe2x80x9chydroxy-xcex1-methylstyrenexe2x80x9d, collectively), or resins wherein the benzene nucleus of the units has been partially hydrogenated. Of these, a p-hydroxystyrene homopolymer is more preferred.
Examples of a monomer other than hydroxystyrene and hydroxy-xcex1-methylstyrene to be used for preparation of the copolymer include acrylate esters, methacrylate esters, acrylamides, methacrylamides, acrylonitrile, methacrylonitrile, maleic anhydride, styrene, xcex1-methylstyrene, acetoxystyrene, alkoxystyrenes and alkylstyrenes. Of these, styrene, acetoxystyrene and t-butylstyrene are more preferred.
In the invention, although no limitation is imposed on the resin (a) insofar as its solubility in an alkali developer can be increased, the following ones are usable:
In the above formulas, W represents an acid decomposable group and R14 represents an inert group.
Examples of the acid decomposable group as W include groups of the below-described formulas (X), (X1), (X2) and (X3), of which those of the formula (X) are preferred.
In the formula (X), R1 and R2 may be the same or different and each independently represents a hydrogen atom or an alkyl or cycloalkyl group which may have a substituent,
Z represents a C1-10 alkyl or cycloalkyl group which may have a substituent, and
m stands for an integer of 1 to 20.
In the formulas (X1) to (X3), R, Rxe2x80x2 and Rxe2x80x3 may be the same or different and each independently represents a C1-12 alkyl group which may have a substituent, or
Rxe2x80x2 and Rxe2x80x3 may be coupled each other to form a 3- to 12-membered ring.
In the formula (X), R1 and R2 may be the same or different and each independently represents a hydrogen atom or an alkyl or cycloalkyl group which may have a substituent.
The alkyl group as R1 or R2 may be either linear or branched. As the linear alkyl group, preferred are linear C1-30 alkyl groups, with linear C1-20 alkyl groups being more preferred. Examples include methyl, ethyl, n-propyl, n-butyl, n-pentyl, n-hexyl, n-heptyl, n-octyl, n-nonyl and n-decanyl groups.
As the branched alkyl group, preferred are branched C1-30 alkyl groups, with branched C1-20 alkyl groups being more preferred. Examples include i-propyl, i-butyl, t-butyl, i-pentyl, t-pentyl, i-hexyl, t-hexyl, i-heptyl, t-heptyl, i-octyl, t-octyl, i-nonyl and t-decanoyl groups.
The cycloalkyl group as R1 or R2 is preferably a C3-30, more preferably C3-20 one and examples include cyclopropyl, cyclobutyl, cyclopentyl, cyclohexyl, cycloheptyl, cyclooctyl, cyclononyl and tetracyclododecanyl groups.
In the formula (X), Z represents a C1-10 alkyl or cycloalkyl group which may have a substituent.
The alkyl group as Z has 1 to 10 carbon atoms. Examples include methyl, ethyl, n-propyl, i-propyl, n-butyl, i-butyl, t-butyl, n-pentyl, i-pentyl, t-pentyl, n-hexyl, i-hexyl, t-hexyl, n-heptyl, i-heptyl, t-heptyl, n-octyl, i-octyl, t-octyl, n-nonyl, i-nonyl, t-nonyl, n-decanyl, i-decanyl and t-decanyl groups.
The cycloalkyl group as Z has 3 to 8 carbon atoms. Examples include cyclopropyl, cyclobutyl, cyclopentyl, cyclohexyl, cycloheptyl and cyclooctyl groups.
In the formulas (X1) to (X3), R, Rxe2x80x2 and Rxe2x80x3 may be the same or different and each independently represents a C1-12 alkyl group which may have a substituent.
The alkyl group as R, Rxe2x80x2 or Rxe2x80x3 has 1 to 12 carbon atoms and examples include methyl, ethyl, n-propyl, i-propyl, n-butyl, i-butyl, t-butyl, n-pentyl, i-pentyl, t-pentyl, n-hexyl, i-hexyl, t-hexyl, n-heptyl, i-heptyl, t-heptyl, n-octyl, i-octyl, t-octyl, n-nonyl, i-nonyl, t-nonyl, n-decanyl, i-decanyl and t-decanyl groups.
Examples of the substituent for the above-described groups include a hydroxyl group, halogen atoms (fluorine, chlorine, bromine, iodine), a nitro group, a cyano group, the above-exemplified alkyl groups, the above-exemplified cycloalkyl groups, alkoxy groups such as methoxy, ethoxy, hydroxyethoxy, propoxy, hydroxypropoxy, n-butoxy, isobutoxy, sec-butoxy and t-butoxy, alkoxycarbonyl groups such as methoxycarbonyl and ethoxycarbonyl, aralkyl groups such as benzyl, phenethyl and cumyl, acyl groups such as aralkyloxy, formyl, acetyl, butyryl, benzoyl, cyanamyl and valeryl; acyloxy groups such as butylyloxy, the above-exemplified alkenyl groups, alkenyloxy groups such as vinyloxy, propenyloxy, allyloxy and butenyloxy, aryloxy groups such as phenoxy and aryloxycarbonyl groups such as benzoyl.
These substituents may have a substituent further.
R14 represents a group which does not decompose by the action of an acid (inert group), more specifically, a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, an alkyl group, an alkoxy group or an acyloxy group.
In the inert group as R14, preferred as the alkyl group are C1-4 alkyl groups such as methyl, ethyl, propyl, n-butyl, sec-butyl and t-butyl.
As the alkoxy group, preferred are C1-4 alkoxy groups such as methoxy, ethoxy, hydroxyethoxy, propoxy, hydroxypropoxy, n-butoxy, isobutoxy and sec-butoxy.
As the acyloxy group, preferred are C2-7 acyl groups such as acetoxy, propanoyloxy, butanoyloxy and benzoyloxy.
The group represented by the formula (X) is specifically exemplified below, but it is not limited to these examples.
In the invention, any resin is usable as the resin (a) insofar as its alkali developability increases by the action of an acid. A resin having a group of the formula (X) and decomposing by the action of an acid, thereby having an increased solubility in an alkali developer (which resin may be called xe2x80x9ca resin having a group of the formula (X)xe2x80x9d) is preferred.
In the invention, the content of repeating units (structural units) having a group of the formula (X) in such a resin is preferably 5 mole % to 50 mole %, more preferably 5 mole % to 30 mole %, based on the whole repeating units.
In the invention, the resin having a group of the formula (X) may contain another acid decomposable group as well as a group of the formula (X).
The resin having a group of the formula (X) is available by synthesizing the corresponding vinyl ether and then reacting it with a phenolic hydroxyl-containing alkali-soluble resin, which has been dissolved in a proper solvent such as tetrahydrofuran, in a known manner.
The above-described reaction is carried out in the presence of an ordinarily employed acid catalyst, preferably an acidic ion exchange resin, hydrochloric acid, p-toluenesulfonic acid or a salt such as pyridinium tosylate. The above-described corresponding vinyl ether can be synthesized from an active raw material such as chloroethyl vinyl ether by the nucleophilic substitution reaction or the like, or can be synthesized using a mercury or palladium as a catalyst.
Alternatively, it can be synthesized by acetal exchange reaction using the corresponding alcohol and vinyl ether. This reaction is carried out, in the presence of p-toluenesulfonic acid or pyridinium tosylate, using an alcohol imparted with a substituent which is to be introduced and vinyl ether having a relatively unstable vinyl ether such as t-butyl vinyl ether mixed therein.
In the resin (a), the repeating units having a group of the formula (X) are, for example, those represented by the following formula (VI):
The substituent W1 in the formula (VI) represents the group of the formula (X).
Such a structural unit represented by the formula (VI) will next be exemplified specifically, but it is not limited to the following ones.
As preferable repeating units copolymerizable with the unit of the formula (VI), those represented by the formulas (VII) and (VIII) can be given as examples.
By incorporation of these structural units in the resin, the resulting resin can be decomposed by the action of an acid, making it possible to control its solubility in an alkali developer. In addition, introduction of these structural units into the resin can impart profiles with excellent rectangularity and moreover, is effective for controlling the amount of the structural units represented by the formula (VI).
The group (inert group), as R14, which does not decompose by the action of an acid is a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, an alkyl group, an alkoxy group or an acyloxy group.
As the inert group of R14, examples of the alkyl group include C1-4 ones such as methyl, ethyl, propyl, n-butyl, sec-butyl and t-butyl.
Examples of the alkoxy group include C1-4 alkoxy groups such as methoxy, ethoxy, hydroxyethoxy, propoxy, hydroxypropoxy, n-butoxy, isobutoxy and sec-butoxy.
Examples of the acyloxy group include C2-7 ones such as acetoxy, propanoyloxy, butanoyloxy and benzoyloxy groups.
A polymerizable monomer having structural units of the formula (VIII) will next be exemplified specifically, but it is not limited to the following ones.
A Resin having the structural unit of the formula (VII) or the formula (VIII) is available by reacting a phenol resin or its monomer with an acid anhydride in the presence of a base or with the corresponding halide in the presence of a base.
Examples of the resin (a) of the present invention include those made of the formulas (VI) and (VII), the formulas (VI), (VII) and (VIII), and the formulas (VI) and (VII) and t-butyl acrylate.
As the resin (a) of the present invention, a mixture containing the structural units of the formulas (VI), (VII) and (VIII) (Resin (Axe2x80x2) is preferred.
In the formulas (VI) to (VIII), R14 represents the above-described inert group, W1 represents a group represented by the formula (X) and x and y each independently stands for 1 to 100 and z stands for 0 to 100 with the proviso that x+y+z=100.
In the resin (a) of the invention formed of the formulas (VI) and (VII), the content of the repeating units of the formula (VI) is at least 10 mole % but not greater than 45 mole %, preferably at least 15 mole % but not greater than 40 mole %.
In the resin formed of the repeating units of the formulas (VI) and (VII), and t-butyl acrylate, the content of the repeating units of the formula (VI) is at least 0 mole % but not greater than 20 mole %, preferably at least 5 mole % but not greater than 20 mole %; and the content of the t-butyl acrylate is at least 5 mole % but not greater than 25 mole %, preferably at least 10 mole % but not greater than 20 mole %.
In the invention, it is preferred to set a x:y:z ratio of the resin (Axe2x80x2) which may be incorporated in the resin (a) so as to satisfy the below-described conditions. In the case of z=0,
0.05 less than x/(x+y) less than 0.50, more preferably 0.1 less than x/(x+y) less than 0.45.
In the case of z greater than 0,
0.05 less than x/(x+y+z) less than 0.35xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(1)
0.005 less than z/(x+y+z) less than 0.25xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(2)
xxe2x89xa7z,xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(3)
and
0.5 less than x/(x+z) less than 0.95,xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(4)
more preferably,
0.1 less than x/(x+y+z) less than 0.25xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(1)
0.01 less than z/(x+y+z) less than 0.15xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(2)
x greater than z,xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(3)
xe2x80x830.5 less than x/(x+y) less than 0.85.xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(4)
When the above-described conditions are satisfied, the resin of the invention is improved in the rectangularity of the profile and particularly, reduced in development defects.
Repeating units of each of the formulas (VI), (VII) and (VIII) and another polymerizable monomer may be incorporated in the resin either singly or as a mixture of two or more kinds thereof.
With the resin (a) contained in the positive photoresist composition of the invention, another appropriate polymerizable monomer may be copolymerized to introduce an alkali soluble group such as phenolic hydroxyl group or carboxyl group to the resin, thereby maintaining its good developability in an alkali developer.
Specific structures of such resin (a) of the invention will next be exemplified, but the invention is not limited thereto.
The resin (a) has a weight-average molecular weight (Mw: in terms of polystyrene) of 2,000 or greater, preferably 3,000 to 200,000, more preferably 5,000 to 70,000. The molecular weight distribution (Mw/Mn) is preferably 1.0 to 4.0, more preferably 1.0 to 3.5especially 1.0 to 3.0. The smaller the distribution, the better the heat resistance and image formation (pattern profile, defocus latitude, etc.).
The content of the resin (a) in the positive photoresist composition (except a coating solvent) is preferably 50 to 99 wt. %, more preferably 75 to 98 wt. %. (b) Compounds (which may each be called xe2x80x9cphotoacid generatorxe2x80x9d) represented by the formulas (1) and (2) generating an acid when exposed to active rays (active radiation) or radiation.
In the formula (1), R1 and R2 each independently represents a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group having 1 to 16 carbon atoms, alkenyl group, alkynyl group, cycloalkyl group, cycloalkenyl group, aryl group, heteroaryl group or cyano group.
Alternatively, R1 and R2 may be coupled with R1 or R2 of another compound represented by the formula (1) via a substituted or unsubstituted alkylene chain (alkylene has 2 to 8 carbon atoms), alkenylene chain or alkynylene chain or a connecting chain containing substituted or unsubstituted phenylene, furylene, thienylene, xe2x80x94Oxe2x80x94, xe2x80x94Sxe2x80x94, xe2x80x94Nxe2x80x94 or xe2x80x94COxe2x80x94.
In other words, the compound of the formula (1) embraces compounds having two or three oxime sulfonate structures coupled via a connecting chain.
R3 represents a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group having 1 to 16 carbon atoms, cycloalkyl group or aryl group.
Examples of the substituted or unsubstituted C1-16 alkyl group as R1, R2 or R3 include methyl, ethyl, propyl, i-propyl, butyl, i-butyl, t-butyl, t-amyl, n-hexyl, n-octyl, i-octyl, n-decyl, undecyl, dodecyl and hexadecyl, a trifluoromethyl group, a perfluoropropyl group, a perfluorobutyl group, a perfluoro-t-butyl group, a perfluorooctyl group, a perfluoroundecyl group and 1,1-bistrifluoromethylethyl group.
Examples of the substituted or unsubstituted alkenyl group as R1 or R2 include allyl, methallyl, vinyl, methylallyl, 1-butenyl, 3-butenyl, 2-butenyl, 1,3-pentadienyl, 5-hexenyl, 2-oxo-3-pentenyl, decapentenyl and 7-octenyl.
Examples of the substituted or unsubstituted alkynyl group as R1 or R2 include ethynyl, propargyl, 2-butynyl, 4-hexynyl, 2-octynyl, phenylethynyl and cyclohexylethynyl.
Examples of the substituted or unsubstituted cycloalkyl group as R1, R2 or R3 include substituted or unsubstituted C3-8 cycloalkyl groups such as cyclopropyl, cyclopentyl and cyclohexyl.
Examples of the substituted or unsubstituted cycloalkenyl group as R1 or R2 include cyclobutenyl, cyclohexenyl, cyclopentadienyl, and bicyclo[4.2.4]dodeca-3,7-dien-5-yl.
Examples of the substituted or unsubstituted aryl group as R1, R2 or R3 include substituted or unsubstituted C6-14 aryl groups such as phenyl, tolyl, methoxyphenyl and naphthyl.
Examples of the substituent for the substituted groups include alkyl groups, cycloalkyl groups, alkoxy groups, halogen atoms (fluorine atom, chlorine atom, iodine atom), a cyano group, a hydroxy group, a carboxy group, a nitro group, aryloxy groups, alkylthio groups, aralkyl groups and groups represented by the below-described formula (1A).
These alkyl groups and cycloalkyl groups have the same meanings as described above.
Examples of the alkoxy group include C1-4 ones such as methoxy, ethoxy, hydroxyethoxy, propoxy, n-butoxy, isobutoxy, sec-butoxy and t-butoxy.
Examples of the aralkyl group include benzyl, naphthylmethyl, furyl and thienyl.
In the above-described formula, R1 and R2 have the same meanings as those in the formula (1).
Specific examples of the compound represented by the formula (1) will next be described, but the present invention is not limited thereto.
In the above-described formula (2), examples of the substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group as R4 or R5 include C1-4 ones such as methyl, ethyl, propyl, n-butyl, sec-butyl and t-butyl.
Examples of the substituted or unsubstituted cycloalkyl group as R4 or R5 include C3-8 ones such as cyclopropyl, cyclopentyl and cyclohexyl.
Examples of the substituted or unsubstituted aryl group as R4 or R5 include C6-14 ones such as phenyl, tolyl, methoxyphenyl and naphthyl.
Examples of the substituent for the substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, cycloalkyl or aryl group as R4 or R5 include alkyl groups, cycloalkyl groups, alkoxy groups, halogen atoms (fluorine atom, chlorine atom, iodine atom), a cyano group, a hydroxy group, a carboxy group and a nitro group.
These alkyl, cycloalkyl and alkoxy groups have the same meanings as described above.
Specific examples of the compound represented by the formula (2) will next be described, but the present invention is not limited to them.
The compound of the formula (1) serving as the component (b) is available, for example, by the reaction of a ketone with hydroxylamine or salt thereof as described in S. R. Sandler and W. Karo, Organic functional group preparations, Vol. 3, (Academic Press) or the reaction of an oxime compound, which has been synthesized by nitrosation of an xe2x80x9cactivexe2x80x9d methylene group with nitrous acid or an alkyl dinitrate, with a desired acid halide.
The compound of the formula (2) can be synthesized by diazotization of bis-sulfonylmethane with toluenesulfonyl azide, which method is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 3,024,621.
In the invention, the compound of the formula (1) generating an acid by exposure to active rays or radiation and the compound of the formula (2) generating an acid by exposure to active rays or radiation are incorporated as the component (b).
As the component (b), the compound of the formula (1) and the compound of the formula (2) are added at a molar ratio (the compound of the formula (1)/the compound of the formula (2)) of usually 90/10 to 15/85, preferably 80/20 to 20/80, more preferably 70/30 to 40/60.
The compound (1) is added in an amount of 0.5 to 7 wt. %, preferably 0.5 to 5 wt. %, more preferably 1 to 4 wt. %, based on the solid content in the composition.
The compound (2) is added in an amount of 0.5 to 7 wt. %, preferably 0.5 to 5 wt. %, more preferably 1 to 4 wt. %, based on the solid content in the composition.
The photoacid generator (b) is usually added in an amount ranging from 1 to 40 wt. %, preferably 1 to 20 wt. %, more preferably 1 to 10 wt. %, each based on the solid content in the composition.
At amounts of the photoacid generator less than 0.001 wt. %, sensitivity lowers, while amounts exceeding 40 wt. % cause excessive light absorption of a resist, leading to a deterioration in profile or narrowing of a process margin (particularly, upon baking). Amounts outside the above-described range are therefore not preferred.
In the invention, another compound which decomposes and generates an acid by exposure to radiation or active rays may be used as the component (b) in combination with the compounds of the formulas (1) and (2).
To the composition of the invention, an organic basic compound may be employed. Addition of it is preferred, because it brings about an improvement in the storage stability and a reduction in the fluctuations of the line width due to PED.
In the invention, compounds having stronger basicity than phenol are usable preferably as the organic basic compound. Of these, nitrogen-containing basic compounds are preferred.
The structures represented by the formulas (A) to (E) can be mentioned as preferred chemical environments.
wherein R250, R251 and R252 are the same or different and each independently represents a hydrogen atom, a C1-6 alkyl group, a C1-6 aminoalkyl group, a C1-6 hydroxyalkyl group, or a substituted or unsubstituted C6-20 aryl group, or R251 and R252 may be coupled each other to form a ring.
wherein, R253, R254, R255, and R256 are the same or different and each independently represents a C1-6 alkyl group.
More preferred as the organic basic compound are nitrogen-containing cyclic compounds (which may be called xe2x80x9ccyclic amine compoundsxe2x80x9d) or nitrogen-containing basic compounds having, in the molecule thereof, at least 2 nitrogen atoms being under different chemical environments.
The cyclic amine compounds are preferred to have a polycyclic structure. Preferred specific examples of the cyclic amine compounds include compounds represented by the following formula (F):
wherein, Y and Z each independently represents a linear, branched or cyclic alkylene group which may contain a hetero atom or may have a substituent.
In the above-described formula, examples of the hetero atom include nitrogen, sulfur and oxygen. The alkylene group preferably has 2 to 10, more preferably 2 to 5 carbon atoms. Examples of the substituent for the alkylene group include halogen atoms and halogen-substituted alkyl groups as well as C1-6 alkyl groups, aryl groups and alkenyl groups. Specific examples of the compound of the formula (F) include the following compounds.
Of these, 1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undeca-7-ene and 1,5-diazabicyclo[4.3.0]nona-5-ene are especially preferred.
Particularly preferred as the nitrogen-containing basic compound having, in one molecule thereof, at least two nitrogen atoms being under different chemical environments are a compound of a cyclic structure containing both a substituted or unsubstituted amino group and a nitrogen atom, and an alkylamino-containing compound. Preferred specific examples include substituted or unsubstituted guanidines, substituted or unsubstituted aminopyridines, substituted or unsubstituted aminoalkylpyridines, substituted or unsubstituted aminopyrrolidines, substituted or unsubstituted indazoles, substituted or unsubstituted pyrazoles, substituted or unsubstituted pyrazines, substituted or unsubstituted pyrimidines, substituted or unsubstituted purines, substituted or unsubstituted imidazolines, substituted or unsubstituted pyrazolines, substituted or unsubstituted piperazines, substituted or unsubstituted aminomorpholines, and substituted or unsubstituted aminoalkylmorpholines. Preferred substituents for these compounds include an amino group, aminoalkyl groups, alkylamino groups, aminoaryl groups, arylamino groups, alkyl groups, alkoxy groups, acyl groups, acyloxy groups, aryl groups, aryloxy groups, a nitro group, a hydroxyl group, and a cyano group.
Especially preferred examples of the organic basic compound include guanidine, 1,1-dimethylguanidine, 1,1,3,3-tetramethylguanidine, 2-aminopyridine, 3-aminopyridine, 4-aminopyridine, 2-dimethylaminopyridine, 4-dimethylaminopyridine, 2-diethylaminopyridine, 2-(aminomethyl)pyridine, 2-amino-3-methylpyridine, 2-amino-4-methylpyridine, 2-amino-5-methylpyridine, 2-amino-6-methylpyridine, 3-aminoethylpyridine, 4-aminoethylpyridine, 3-aminopyrrolidine, piperazine, N-(2-aminoethyl)piperazine, N-(2-aminoethyl)piperidine, 4-amino-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine, 4-piperidinopiperidine, 2-iminopiperidine, 1-(2-aminoethyl)pyrrolidine, pyrazole, 3-amino-5-methylpyrazole, 5-amino-3-methyl-1-p-tolylpyrazole, pyrazine, 2-(aminomethyl)-5-methylpyrazine, pyrimidine, 2,4-diaminopyrimidine, 4,6-dihydroxypyrimidine, 2-pyrazoline, 3-pyrazoline, N-aminomorpholine, N-(2-aminoethyl)morpholine, trimethylimidazole, triphenylimidazole and methyldiphenylimidazole. However, the organic basic compounds usable in the present invention are not limited thereto.
These nitrogen-containing basic compounds can be used either singly or in combination. The amount of the nitrogen-containing basic compound is usually 0.001 to 10 parts by weight, preferably 0.01 to 5 parts by weight, based on 100 parts by weight of the positive type photoresist composition (exclusive of a solvent).
Amounts less than 0.001 part by weight do not bring about the above-described effects, whereas amounts exceeding 10 parts by weight tends to lower the sensitivity or deteriorate developability at an unexposed region.
In the chemically amplified positive photoresist composition of the present invention, a surfactant, dye, pigment, plasticizer, photo-sensitizer, and a compound for promoting solubility in a developer, which compound contains at least 2 phenolic OH groups, can be incorporated as desired.
The positive photoresist composition of the present invention preferably contains a surfactant.
Specific examples of the surfactant include, as a nonionic surfactant, polyoxyethylene alkyl ethers such as polyoxyethylene lauryl ether, polyoxyethylene stearyl ether, polyoxyethylene cetyl ether, and polyoxyethylene oleyl ether; polyoxyethylene alkyl aryl ethers such as polyoxyethylene octyl phenol ether and polyoxyethylene nonyl phenol ether; polyoxyethylene/polyoxypropylene block copolymers; sorbitan fatty acid esters such as sorbitan monolaurate, sorbitan monopalmitate, sorbitan monostearate, sorbitan monooleate, sorbitan trioleate, and sorbitan tristearate; and polyoxyethylene sorbitan fatty acid esters such as polyoxyethylene sorbitan monolaurate, polyoxyethylene sorbitan monopalmitate, polyoxyethylene sorbitan monostearate, polyoxyethylene sorbitan trioleate, and polyoxyethylene sorbitan tristearate; as fluorine type surfactants, xe2x80x9cFTOP EF301, EF303 and EF352xe2x80x9d (each, trade name; product of Shin-Akita Kasei Co., Ltd.); xe2x80x9cMegaface F171, F173, F176, F189 and R08xe2x80x9d (each, trade name; product of Dainippon Ink and Chemicals, Inc.); xe2x80x9cFlorad FC430 and EC431xe2x80x9d (trade name; product of Sumitomo 3M Co., Ltd.); and xe2x80x9cAsahi Guard AG710xe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cSurflon S-382, SC101, SC102, SC103, SC104, SC105 and SC106xe2x80x9d (each, trade name; product of Asahi Glass Co., Ltd.); an organosiloxane polymer xe2x80x9cKP341xe2x80x9d (trade name; product of Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.); acrylic acid type or methacrylic acid type (co)polymers, xe2x80x9cPolyflow No.75 and No.95xe2x80x9d (each, trade name; product of Kyoei-Sha Oil and Fats Co., Ltd.).
Of these surfactants, fluorine type and silicone type surfactants are preferred for application properties and a reduction in development defects.
The surfactant is usually added in an amount of 0.01 wt. % to 2 wt. %, preferably 0.01 wt. % to 1 wt. % relative to the solid content of the whole composition of the present invention.
The above-described surfactants can be used either singly or in combination.
By adding a spectral sensitizer as exemplified below to the chemically amplified positive resist composition of the present invention, thereby sensitizing it to a region of wavelengths longer than far ultraviolet rays wherein the photoacid generators added to the composition do not exhibit absorption, it is possible to impart the composition with sensitivity to i rays or g rays.
Preferred examples of the spectral sensitizer include, but not limited to, benzophenone, p,pxe2x80x2-tetramethyldiaminobenzophenone, p,pxe2x80x2-tetraethylethylaminobenzophenone, 2-chlorothioxantone, anthrone, 9-ethoxyanthracene, anthracene, pyrene, perylene, phenothiazine, benzyl, Acridine Orange, benzoflavine, Setoflavine-T, 9,10-diphenylanthracene, 9-fluorenone, acetophenone, phenanthrene, 2-nitrofluorene, 5-nitroacenaphthene, benzoquinone, 2-chloro-4-nitroaniline, N-acetyl-p-nitroaniline, p-nitroaniline, N-acetyl-4-nitro-1-naphthylamine, picramide, anthraquinone, 2-ethyl-anthraquinone, 2-tert-butylanthraquinone, 1,2-benzanthraquinone, 3-methyl-1,3-diaza-1,9-benzanthrone, dibenzalacetone, 1,2-naphthoquinone, 3,3xe2x80x2-carbonyl-bis(5,7-dimethoxycarbonylcoumarin), and coronene.
Examples of the compound for promoting solubility in a developer, which compound contains at least two phenolic hydroxyl groups, include polyhydroxy compounds. Preferred examples includes phenols, resorcin, phloroglucin, phloroglucide, 2,3,4-trihydroxybenzophenone, 2,3,4,4xe2x80x2-tetrahydroxybenzophenone, xcex1,xcex1xe2x80x2,xcex1xe2x80x3-tris(4-hydroxyphenyl)-1,3,5-triisopropylbenzene, tris(4-hydroxyphenyl)methane, tris(4-hydroxyphenyl)ethane, and 1,1xe2x80x2-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)-cyclohexane.
The chemically amplified positive resist composition of the present invention is applied to a substrate after being dissolved in a solvent capable of dissolving each of the above-described components. Preferred examples of the solvent include ethylene dichloride, cyclohexanone, cyclopentanone, 2-heptanone, xcex3-butyrolactone, methyl ethyl ketone, ethylene glycol monomethyl ether, ethylene glycol monoethyl ether, 2-methoxyethyl acetate, ethylene glycol monoethyl ether acetate, propylene glycol monomethyl ether, propylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate, toluene, ethyl acetate, methyl lactate, ethyl lactate, methyl methoxypropionate, ethyl ethoxypropionate, methyl pyruvate, ethyl pyruvate, propyl pyruvate, N,N-dimethylformamide, dimethylsulfoxide, N-methylpyrrolidone, and tetrahydrofuran. These solvents may be used either singly or in combination.
The chemically amplified positive photoresist composition of the present invention is applied to a substrate (ex. coated with silicon/silicon dioxide) as used for fabrication of precise semiconductor integrated circuit devices by a spinner, a coater, or the like appropriate method, exposed through a certain mask, and then developed by baking, whereby a satisfactory resist pattern can e formed.
As the developer for the chemically amplified positive photoresist composition of the present invention, aqueous solutions of the following alkalis are usable. Examples of the alkalis include inorganic alkalis such as sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, sodium carbonate, sodium silicate, sodium phosphate, sodium metasilicate, and aqueous ammonia; primary amines such as ethylamine and n-propylamine; secondary amines such as diethylamine and di-n-butylamine; tertiary amines such as triethylamine and methyldiethylamine; alcohol amines such as dimethylethanolamine and triethanolamine; amides such as formamide and acetamide; quaternary ammonium salts such as tetramethylammonium hydroxide, trimethyl(2-hydroxyethyl)ammonium hydroxide, tetraethylammonium hydroxide, tributylmethylammonium hydroxide, tetraethanolammonium hydroxide, methyltriethanol-ammonium hydroxide, benzylmethyldiethanolammonium hydroxide, benzyldimethylethanolammonium hydroxide, benzyltriethanol-ammonium hydroxide, tetrapropylammonium hydroxide, and tetrabutylammonium hydroxide; and cyclic amines such as pyrrole and piperidine.


A storage cap for use with a container includes a first structure having a first wall at least partially defining an inner storage chamber operable for storing a first substance and defining a first annular opening having a first annular convex surface facing toward the storage chamber. The storage cap includes a second structure coupled to the first structure and has a plunger element located within the storage chamber having a domed-end with a convex surface facing to the annular opening and a radius greater than one-half of the diameter of the first opening. The second structure is moveable to make and break contact with the annular opening. When the domed end is in contact with the first annular convex surface, a seal is formed between two convex surfaces along an annular path.

1. Field
This disclosure relates to devices for the storage and mixing of different substances using a portable and inexpensive container.
2. Background
There are a plethora of consumer and medical products on the market that have a very limited shelf life, or otherwise depend on refrigeration to extend shelf life to a tolerably extent. For example, the nutritional value of various vitamin-enriched drinks on the market seriously degrades to a small fraction of the original value (when bottled) before such drinks make it to store shelves. Similarly, various medications that must be dissolved in liquid before being administered degrade very rapidly once introduced into the liquid.
While there have been various bottle/container caps, or containers containing multiple chambers to address these issues, such containers suffer from a number of shortcomings. For example, some caps require the puncturing of a membrane separating the different substances to be combined. As a result, there is a likelihood that a portion of the membrane could break off and consequently be ingested. Other solutions that don't involve piercing a membrane have other flaws, such as questionable seals or production difficulty issues. Thus, new technology directed toward containers that accommodate the storage and mixing of different substances is desirable.

Container top having sealable chamber for the storing and mixing of two or more substances


A machine for binding sets of sheets with a wire binding element of the kind having a series of curved prongs with points and roots. The machine comprises a holding mechanism for holding the binding element in a predetermined position. A selectively movable guide plate is located adjacent to and at a constant preset distance from the binding element points. The guide plate is also located to receive perforated edges of the sheets thereagainst so that the sheets' perforations can be aligned with the points in order to aid in guiding the perforated sheets into assembly with said binding element. A first adjustment mechanism is provided for moving the guide plate relative to the binding element points. The first adjustment mechanism permits the position of said guide plate to be adjusted relative to the points so as to maintain the constant pre-set distance between said guide plate and the points for any sized binding element.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to apparatus for binding pads of perforated sheets to book form, such as, for example, notebooks, calendars, instruction manuals and the like, with wire binding elements.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The wire binding elements for use with such apparatus are formed from a length of wire which is bent to form a series of curved, hair-pin shaped prongs. Each prong has a closed end, or "point", an open end, or "root", and a curved wall therebetween. The curvature of the prongs is such that the element has the appearance of an open-sided cylinder with a substantially C-shaped cross-section. Such binding elements will hereinafter be described as "binding elements of the type described".
To bind pads of perforated sheets to book form, a binding element of the type described is cut to a predetermined length and a pad of perforated sheets is moved relative to the binding element, or vice versa, so that the points of the binding element pass through the perforations. The binding element is then closed to ring shape by bringing its points into the vicinity of its roots thereby binding the pads.
The step of aligning the pad of perforated sheets with the binding element and moving the pad so that the points of the binding elements pass through the perforations is commonly carried out automatically, see for example our prior British Patent No. 2213769. However, apparatus which can carry out this step reliably is complicated and expensive. Furthermore, it is often a requirement to bind pads of differing sizes with binding elements of varying sizes and apparatus which can meet this requirement is yet more complicated and expensive.


A method includes receiving information associated with a first data request from a base station at a server of a wireless communication network. The first data request is received at the first base station from a first mobile device. The method includes selecting a second base station to transmit data responsive to the first data request to the first mobile device based on a data type of the data and based on a location of the first mobile device. The method further includes transmitting the data from the server to the second base station.

Conventional television broadcasts are transmitted via designated frequency spectrums. For example, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has designated certain frequency spectrums (e.g., frequency bands) for television stations to broadcast television content. Conventional television broadcasts may be inefficient, as transmission resources are used to broadcast the television content regardless of a number of consumers that are watching the broadcast.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Wireless network architecture for providing media content


According to a liquid crystal display panel and a display device in the present disclosure, since at least one of a first polarizer and a second polarizer has a light scattering structure, polarized light of corresponding colors transmitted by sub-pixel units with different colors in a liquid crystal display structure can be uniformly diffused by the light scattering structure. That is to say, the light scattering structure plays a role for uniformly mixing the polarized light of different colors. Therefore, the rainbow pattern phenomenon is effectively improved or even eliminated, and the display quality is improved.

Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) panel is an important flat panel display equipment, and has been widely used in the fields of mobile phones, vehicles, displays, televisions, public displays, and the like. With the widespread use and increase in size of the liquid crystal display panel, more and more people use the liquid crystal display panel to watch movies and play games, so that the focus on display quality is also increasing.

Liquid crystal display panel and display device

Beijing BOE Technology Development Co., Ltd.


A notification apparatus includes a notification unit configured to notify a connected network of routing information, and a restriction unit configured to restrict notification of the routing information when a connected network is not a registered network.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a notification apparatus and a notification method.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional apparatus having a function of controlling a route on a network releases routing control information to the public. Further, there is an apparatus having a function of providing network setting information on a network.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 05-056080 discusses a technology which adds network tree topology information to a packet format and updates old routing control information so as to transmit correct routing control information to a network system.
According to a technology discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-78952, when a user selects a function of a portable terminal at a certain place, the apparatus executes the selected function if the user has used it before around the place. However, the apparatus requires the user to input a password, etc., if the user has not used the selected function before around the place.
However, an electronic apparatus not only operates as a network node but also includes a function of performing routing control. Such an electronic apparatus can be connected to a network different from previous one owing to a user's movement, or a route change can occur with respect to an upstream side network. In such a case, a problem may arise.
That is, when an apparatus moves and changes a network, a network topology change occurs. However, if a connected routing control apparatus detects the change and only advertises new routing control information on a network, the apparatus can advertise incorrect routing control information and destroy an Internet connection environment at a movement destination or on a home network.

Notification apparatus and notification method


A rotor blade assembly for a wind turbine. The rotor blade assembly includes a rotor blade having surfaces defining a pressure side, a suction side, a leading edge, and a trailing edge extending between a blade tip and a blade root. The rotor blade assembly also includes at least one noise reducer secured at the trailing edge. The noise reducer(s) includes at least one serration having a base portion and at least one side edge feature extending from the base portion. Further, the base portion extends along a first plane. The side edge feature(s) extends out of the first plane so as to reduce vortices generated by the serration(s).

Wind power is considered one of the cleanest, most environmentally friendly energy sources presently available, and wind turbines have gained increased attention in this regard. A modern wind turbine typically includes a tower, a generator, a gearbox, a nacelle, and a rotor. The rotor typically includes a rotatable hub having one or more rotor blades attached thereto. A pitch bearing is typically configured operably between the hub and the rotor blade to allow for rotation about a pitch axis. The rotor blades capture kinetic energy of wind using known airfoil principles. The rotor blades transmit the kinetic energy in the form of rotational energy so as to turn a shaft coupling the rotor blades to a gearbox, or if a gearbox is not used, directly to the generator. The generator then converts the mechanical energy to electrical energy that may be deployed to a utility grid.
As the size of rotor blades increase, the noise produced by the rotor blades may also increase. As such, in certain instances, various blade add-on components may be attached to the rotor blades to assist with reducing noise generated thereby. More specifically, certain blade add-on components may be attached adjacent to the trailing edges of the rotor blades.
In some instances, conventional noise reducers may generate noise-causing vortices. More specifically, a pressure differential from a pressure side of the noise reducer to a suction side of the noise reducer may create vortices at one or more boundaries of the noise reducer. For instance, for noise reducers having serrations, vortices may form at the edges of the serrations, which can generate noise.
Accordingly, the present disclosure is directed to noise reducers having at least one serration with an edge that minimizes the aforementioned noise-producing vortices.

Serrated noise reducer for a wind turbine rotor blade


The invention comprises a lighting and/or signalling device in particular for a motor vehicle, comprising: at least one light source illuminating a light guide, part of whose surface has locally diffusing and/or reflective areas able to diffuse/reflect towards the inside part of the light propagating in the guide, at least one end face of the guide remote from the source comprising a means of reflecting light towards the inside of the guide, the reflection means comprising: at least one cube corner projecting outwards having three facets in a trirectangular trihedron, this cube corner being provided in the material of the light guide so as to cause three successive reflections of rays falling on one of the facets under total reflection conditions, in order to return them in the guide in a direction substantially parallel to the incident direction of the said rays, or at least one said cube corner and at least one corner projecting outwards and bevelled, having two facets, this corner being designed to return the incident rays in the guide.

The invention concerns more particularly, but not exclusively, such a lighting and/or signalling device for a motor vehicle.
Devices of this type are known, for example, from EP-0 515 921. The end of the light guide opposite to that of the source is made reflective, generally by aluminising, in order to return the light towards the inside of the guide. In the absence of this reflection means, the light would emerge and would be lost. However, the process for making the end reflective, in particular by aluminising, is expensive and requires heavy investment. In addition, it is tricky to aluminise the end of the guide without touching the sides of the guide itself. Finally, reflection on an aluminised face takes place with an additional loss of energy of around 10%.
It will be possible to improve the homogeneity of the appearance of the guide by providing at least one light source at each end of the light guide, but such a solution is much more expensive and an electrical circuit must extend along the guide. This is all the more a nuisance when the light guide is a light emitting diode controlled by an electronic circuit.
The aim of the invention is in particular to provide a lighting and/or signalling device of the type defined above which, whilst being illuminated at only one end, makes it possible to obtain an even appearance with improved light yield, whilst remaining relatively economical to manufacture.

Lighting and/or signalling device with light guide


A micro lens array includes a plurality of convex micro lenses formed on a transparent substrate in an array. The micro lenses are convex toward a surface of the substrate in a position inward of the surface of the substrate and the top of the convex surface of the micro lenses is lower than the surface of the substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a micro lens array where a plurality of convex micro lenses are formed on a transparent substrate in an array, and an optical member using the micro lens array and to a method of producing the micro lens array.
2. Description of the Related Art
There has been known a micro lens array where a plurality of convex micro lenses which are not larger than several hundred μm in their diameter are formed on a transparent substrate in an array as disclosed in, for instance, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 6(1994)-194502. Recently, the micro lens array of this type has come to be used in various fields as an optical member for forming, for instance, a liquid crystal display or a pickup for a solid state imaging system, an optical communication, or an optical disk. Since being fine in size of the micro lenses, the micro lens array is generally produced on the basis of a semiconductor fine processing technique.
For example, there has been known a method in which a resist pattern is formed on a transparent substrate by photolithography, the resist is heated to a temperature above its softening point, to form the convex shape by surface tension, and the convex shape is transferred to the substrate by dry etching to form a micro lens as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 6(1994)-194502.
In the micro lens array, there has been a plurality of factors which deteriorate the optical performance such as transmitted light transmitted through a flat substrate surface since the micro lens array has a flat substrate surface and curved lens surfaces, and stray light entering a micro lens from other micro lenses.
In the past, it has been conceived to cut such stray light that light-shielding film is provided on the transparent substrate in the area other than the areas where the micro lenses are formed, and there have been proposed various methods of producing a micro lens array with such light-shielding film. For example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7(1995)-174902, a method where micro lenses are formed above light-shielding film by heat-melting a resin is disclosed, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 8(1996)-313706, a method where light-shielding film is patterned on the surface of the micro lenses by photolithography is disclosed, and in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10(1998)-160905, a method where light-shielding film is formed by plating the area other than the areas where the micro lenses are formed is disclosed.
However, in the conventional micro lens array, since the micro lenses project upward from a surface of the transparent substrate, there has been a problem that a handler's hand or a jig can be brought into contact with the lens surface to damage or stain the same. Further, when the micro lens array is bonded to another optical member, the tops of the convex micro lenses can be brought into contact with said another optical member, which deteriorates the optical properties of the system that, for instance, the portions do not function as a lens. In this case, it is necessary, for instance, to provide a spacer around the lens portion. However, this approach involves another problem that deflection is generated by a difference in stress between the light-shielding film and the substrate and the length of the optical path changes since the light-shielding film is formed on the substrate.

Micro lens array, optical member and method of producing micro lens array


An improved mechanism for sharing information across a plurality of wireless content providers is disclosed. Users make requests for, and display, content through a mobile device. These requests for content are translated by a WAP gateway and sent to a web server to service the request. Data from the request for content that can be reused is stored externally to a mobile device. Upon a request for content, the user may, in lieu of manual entry, select from a list of data presented through a mobile device that will be used in servicing the request for content. Data manually entered or displayed in a mobile device in interacting with one content provider is available for selection in subsequent content requests with any content provider. By reducing the number of manual entries, the present invention significantly increases the usability of content services through mobile devices.

The use of wireless technology has quickly become an accepted and popular method of enabling communication. Many enjoy mobile devices for the convenience of engaging in conversation from any location. Wireless carriers, in addition to offering voice communication, have begun to provide a variety of content services to provide information from a variety of sources. These content providers, in many cases, extend the capability of Internet applications to the wireless environment. For example, many people access the Internet through a cell phone to obtain stock quotes or driving directions, or use a personal digital assistant to obtain weather reports or access local yellow pages.
Unfortunately, due to several limitations, entering information through a mobile device is generally awkward and inconvenient. Due to the portable nature of mobile devices, most are not large enough to accommodate a keyboard, which makes entering information slow and cumbersome. Also, even after information is entered, it cannot easily be reused. Additionally, information retrieved from one content provider is not easily made available for use by another content provider.
For example, assume that you wish to find a restaurant for dinner and a nearby theatre for a show. Using your web-enabled cell phone, you may browse through a restaurant content provider to select a particular restaurant. To obtain driving directions to your selected restaurant from your current location, you must manually enter in your current location to the restaurant content provider. To find a theatre near your selected restaurant, you must access a theatre content provider and make a second manual entry in the theatre content provider of the address of your selected restaurant. Note that you must enter in the name or location of your selected restaurant even though that information was just presented to you by the restaurant content provider. Further, to generate driving directions from the theatre back to your current location, you will need to make a third manual entry of the address of your current location. Note that it is necessary to reenter your current address even though it has already been entered once before.
This process requires a significant amount of manual entry, as there is no mechanism for storing information manually entered or generated from a content provider for use with another. As manually entering information through a mobile device is a time intensive and repetitive act, it is clearly desirable to minimize data entry through a mobile device as much as possible. However, there is currently no effective mechanism to do so.

Sharing information across wireless content providers


An image capturing apparatus including: an image sensor generating an image signal; a photographing control section performing a photographing operation in which an exposure of the image sensor is divided into a plurality of exposures in accordance with a predetermined exposure time; an addition section adding sequentially the image signals obtained at each exposure; an amplification ratio calculation section calculating an amplification ratio of the added image signal on the basis of the predetermined exposure time; an amplification section amplifying the added image signal by using the amplification ratio to compensate for insufficient exposure for the predetermined exposure time; and a display control section displaying information related to the amplified image signal; wherein the photographing control section ends the photographing operation when instructed by a user, and determines that the amplified image signal is a captured image obtained by performing the photographing operation with the predetermined exposure time.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image capturing control technique.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a digital camera including an image sensor, image sensor sensitivity (hereinafter also called "imaging sensitivity") can be generally changed. For example, when assuming that an inherent sensitivity of the image sensor is a minimum sensitivity, a sensitivity equal to or higher than the minimum sensitivity can be realized by amplifying the output of the image sensor. More specifically, when the inherent sensitivity of the sensor is equivalent to an ISO sensitivity of 100, an ISO sensitivity of 200 can be realized by amplifying the output of the image sensor twofold, and an ISO sensitivity of 400 can be realized by amplifying the output of the image sensor fourfold.
Since the amplification of output by such a sensitivity change results in amplification of not only an image signal but also noise included in the image signal, when the imaging sensitivity is set to an ISO sensitivity of 200, the amount of noise doubles compared with a case in which the imaging sensitivity is set to an ISO sensitivity of 100.
When the imaging sensitivity is high, the output of the image sensor is amplified; therefore, the exposure time is short. On the other hand, when the imaging sensitivity is low, the exposure time is long. Therefore, when performing exposure for a relatively long time, such as when capturing an image of a night view or a celestial body, the exposure time largely varies depending on the set ISO sensitivity. For example, a subject which typically has to be exposed for one minute at an ISO sensitivity of 100 can be photographed with an exposure time of 7.5 seconds at an ISO sensitivity of 800.
As described above, since the imaging sensitivity affects exposure time and noise included in a captured image, it is preferred that, when capturing an image, the imaging sensitivity is appropriately set to shorten exposure time, while suppressing the amount of noise to an acceptable level. In other words, when capturing an image, the imaging sensitivity is preferred to be set considering the balance between the exposure time and the amount of noise.
The imaging sensitivity is set automatically in accordance with the use of ambient light or flash light, or set manually by a photographer on an experimental basis.
In a normal photographing operation, the photographing operation is completed instantly. Therefore, it is relatively easy to perform a photographing operation again if the imaging sensitivity is determined to be inappropriate after checking the captured image by using a display section such as an LCD after capturing the image. However, in a case of performing a photographing operation with a long exposure time (also called "long time exposure image capturing"), the time necessary for the photographing operation is long, so that a wait time until the captured image is checked using the display section is long. When performing a photographing operation again due to an inappropriate imaging sensitivity, more time is consumed. Therefore, it is very troublesome for a photographer who is not sure about the set imaging sensitivity to perform long time exposure image capturing.
As a technique which deals with the problems associated with long time exposure image capturing, there is a technique in which an image being photographed is displayed by a display section at any time during the exposure time, so that the image can be checked in long time exposure image capturing (for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-69897). By using this technique, changes in an image being photographed which occurs as the exposure time passes can be checked. Therefore, it is possible to determine whether the exposure amount is sufficient or not during exposure.

Image capturing apparatus and control method thereof using amplification ratio based on current accumulated exposure time


The disclosure relates to enzyme producing Bacillus strains that provide benefits to animals and methods of using these strains. In one embodiment, the disclosure relates compositions comprising the enzyme producing Bacillus strains. In yet another embodiment, the disclosure relates to a feed for an animal comprising enzyme producing Bacillus strains.

The global swine industry has seen increased feeding of by-products (dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS), wheat midds, etc.) initially from 0-10% to the current extremes of 30-60%. These diet cost savings have been a great opportunity for industry to save on feed input costs, but come with a set of challenges as well. The fermentation process to extract ethanol from corn removes almost all of the starch, leaving the resulting DDGS feed by-product containing approximately 40% fiber. This higher fiber content relative to corn results in reduced dry matter digestibility and approximately 10 percentage units less digestibility of most amino acids in DDGS compared to corn (Stein and Shurson, 2009).
Consequently the inclusion of DDGS in livestock diets can have negative impacts on animal growth performance and carcass characteristics. In addition to the negative effects on animal growth and carcass quality, alterations in nutrient digestibility as a result of adding DDGS with a high fiber content have implications for swine manure handling, storage, and decomposition. The commercial swine industry has indicated that manure holding capacity is less in anaerobic deep-pit swine manure storage units, and that the manure from pigs fed high level of DDGS has more solids accumulation, as well as ammonia, methane, and hydrogen sulfide gas emissions.
In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to provide Bacillus strains producing enzymes that provide benefits to animals and methods of using these strains.


A dendron (2) comprising a focal point (4) and a plurality of fluorinated end groups (9) is disclosed, including one having a thiol, a silane, a carboxylic acid, a phosphonate or another moiety at the focal point suitable for chemisorption to a substrate (3). A self-assembled monolayer comprising a plurality of dendrons bonded to a substrate and a device comprising the self-assembled monolayer are also disclosed.

Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) have attracted much attention in areas such as device engineering because of the versatility they provide for surface modification. SAMs are highly ordered molecular assemblies that form spontaneously by chemisorption of functionalised molecules on a variety of substrates such as metals, Indium Tin Oxide (ITO), silicon, and glass. These molecules organise themselves laterally, most commonly via van der Waals interactions between long aliphatic chains. The principles and practice of deposition of monolayers are described in detail in a publication by A Ulman entitled "Introduction to Thin Organic Films: From Langmuir-Blodgett to Self-Assembly", published by Boston Academic Press, 1991. SAMs have found widespread research interest because of potential applications related to control over wettability, biocompatibility and corrosion resistance of surfaces.
For many electronic, optical and electro-optical devices for example, the ability to modify the properties of surface areas of the devices makes SAMs attractive for many applications, such as modification of surface hydrophobicity, packaging and electrical insulation. Furthermore, as SAMs exhibit excellent barrier properties, they are considered very appropriate for use as protective coatings on metal surfaces because they form thin highly crystalline barrier films. Gold has found widespread application and, for example, is used extensively in the electronics industry in integrated circuit technology. Also, as a relatively inert metal it has also been used as a protective layer in certain chemical environments, such as a liner material for the ink chambers in ink jet print heads. However, gold will dissolve under appropriate chemical or electrochemical conditions, so the ability of SAMs to provide a very thin protective layer to such metal layers in harsh chemical environments where metal layer corrosion is known to occur is also considered extremely attractive. However, SAMs have been found to exhibit certain drawbacks which, to date, have severely limited their commercial application in industrial processes.
To date, the SAM material is deposited by dissolving the material in an appropriate solvent and, as such, the monolayer formation over the required flat surface areas, which usually include surface discontinuities arising from design features dictated by the practical application of devices, is difficult to control. As the layers are self-aligning, they often exhibit molecular sized defects or holes in the layer. These defects can limit their use as barrier or passivation layers in certain industrial applications because the barrier properties provided by the densely packed molecules of the SAM material can be breached through the molecular sized defects.
Furthermore, although SAMs are typically in the order of only about 2 nm thickness, they are relatively slow to deposit. Typical deposition times range from several hours to a few days with the normal solvents used for the compounds. Heavily fluorinated compounds, such as thiols carrying aliphatic tails with multiple fluorine substituents, have been used to form hydrophobic SAMs on gold substrates. A measure for the hydrophobicity of a surface is the contact angle between a drop of water and that surface. These SAMs are quite robust and are stable up to 150° C. as described by Fukushima et al in The Journal of Physical Chemistry, B, (2000) 104, pages 7417 to 7423, so it can be appreciated that such monolayers could find widespread industrial application if the concerns associated with fabrication can be met.
Typically, SAM molecules comprise a head that is attracted to and bonds with the substrate material and a functionalised tail, such as an alkyl tail. Such single chain, linear perfluoroalkyl SAMs have been fabricated on metallic, glass and silicon type substrates. For metallic substrates, the head preferably comprises a thiol and for glass and silicon type substrates the head preferably comprises a silane.
In particular, for metallic substrates, which may consist of a layer of Au, Ag, Cu, Pd, Fe, Hg, GaAs, ITO, or Fe2O3 on a suitable supporting medium, the SAM may typically comprise a substance including semi-fluorinated, sulphur-containing compounds of the formula:
wherein X can be (but is not necessarily limited to) R—SH, RS—SR, or R—S—R (where R denotes the rest of the molecule). Preferably, X is a thiol.
The numbers m and n denote the number of fluorinated and non-fluorinated carbon atoms, respectively, and lie within the range of 1-20. Y preferably indicates a CF3 functional group. Y may be further modified to incorporate one or more substituents such as vinyl, styryl, acryloyl, methacryloyl or alkyne for further functionalisation or cross-linking, with one or more spacer group such as CH2 to facilitate attachment.
Self-assembled monolayers on glass, mica, SiO2, Al2O3, or Ga2O3 typically involve semi-fluorinated silane derivatives of the formula:
wherein Si can be (but is not necessarily limited to) SiCl3, Si(OCH3)3, Si(OCH2CH2CH3)3, Si(OCH3)2Cl, or Si(CH2CH3)2Cl. Preferably, Si is SiCl3. The numbers m and n denote the number of fluorinated and non-fluorinated carbon atoms, respectively, and lie within the range of 1-20. Y preferably indicates a CF3 functional group. Y may be further modified to incorporate one or more substituents such as vinyl, styryl, acryloyl, methacryloyl or alkyne for further functionalisation or cross-linking, with one or more spacer group such CH2 to facilitate attachment.
Compressed carbon dioxide (CO2) is known to be a clean and versatile solvent medium for a wide range of materials, including heavily fluorinated compounds. Supercritical CO2 has been used for polymer synthesis and polymer processing. Such use is described in an article by A Cooper entitled "Polymer Synthesis and Processing using Supercritical Carbon Dioxide", published in The Journal of Materials Chemistry, 2000, 10, pages 207 to 234. A supercritical fluid may be defined as a substance for which both temperature and pressure are above the critical values for the substance and which has a density close to or higher than its critical density. For CO2 the critical density is recognised to be 0.47 g cm−3, and the critical temperature and pressure are recognised to be 31.1° C. and 73.8 bar. Compressed CO2 has also been proposed as a solvent for the preparation of organic molecules, as described in a Special Issue of Chemical Review, 1999, 99 Volume 2.
Dendrimers are a type of regular-branched polymeric molecule. Their unusual structures can be precisely controlled at the molecular level and they have unique properties. In particular, they are spherical, have a single molecular weight and can be tailored to provide desired functions. A schematic view of a dendrimer 1 is shown in FIG. 1.
Dendrons are also regular-branched polymeric molecules and their structures can also be precisely controlled. However, they are wedge-shaped rather than spherical and comprise a focal point from which the branches originate. A schematic view of three dendrons 2 attached to a surface 3 is shown in FIG. 2. As shown in the figure, one chain extends from the focal point 4. The chain has two branches 5, 6 extending from it. Two further branches extend from each of the branches 5, 6 and so on. Each fork in a branch may be considered as the start of a different "layer" in the dendron. Thus, the dendrons 2 shown in FIG. 2 have five layers referenced 4, 5, 7, 8 and 9 respectively. Different dendrons may have different numbers of branches extending from each branch and different numbers of layers.
Dendron thiols, that is dendrons with a thiol group at the focal point are also known and have been considered as building blocks in nanotechnology.

Fabrication of self-assembled dendron monolayers

Cambridge University Technical Service, Ltd.


A shuttlecock-throwing machine is provided to permit delivery of successive shuttlecocks at different frequencies, trajectories and speeds. The machine includes a shuttlecock dispenser, a feeding mechanism and an ejecting unit. The ejecting unit consists of two motors-driven recoiling counter rotating wheels being fed successively by the feeding mechanism therein gripping the shuttlecock""s cap or nose and propelled the shuttlecock in the path of wheels plane. The shuttlecock dispenser comprising a pair of parallel or spiral bar, spaced apart and set at an incline to queue shuttlecocks with the noses side down over the feeding mechanism. The feeding mechanism consists of a motor-driven four-spoke rotor which draw the shuttlecocks from its dispenser and deliver one by one into the ejecting device.

The present invention relates to the automatic launching of badminton shuttlecocks at different frequencies, trajectories and speeds to a desired direction relative to a player. More particularly, this invention relates to the simplicity and reliability for launching shuttlecocks notwithstanding the varying quality and condition of the shuttle, for purposes of recreation, training aid or shuttlecock speed testing.
A wide variety of ball throwing machines employing counter rotating wheels have been used in the past for activities such as tennis, ping pong, baseball and volley ball practice. These machines propel spherical objects or the like such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,082,350 and WO9411069. They are not suitable for propelling a non spherical object such as a shuttlecock. Although mention is made for the use in the game of badminton in these patents, an adaptation of the device for that purpose is neither shown nor a claim sought. Moreover, applying a pair of concave rotating wheels to propel a shuttlecock through a gap formed between two concave wheels is not viable due to the lack of surface contact available on a conical shape projectile such as a shuttlecock. Additionally, the mechanism for the delivery of the shuttlecock into the gap formed between the two concave wheels would require a high degree of mechanical complexity.
GB2355411 and WO9319822 disclose shuttlecock throwing apparatus which utilize compressed air to propel shuttlecocks. Such devices need some degree of mechanical complexity for loading and positioning the shuttlecock from the magazine into the shooting tube.
DE3644607, JP1227775, JP1236075, JP7163694 employ swing arms, spring loaded mechanisms or mechanical impact plates to propel the shuttlecock. These prior art machines suffer from the same limitations of operating rigidity, mechanical complexity, high manufacturing cost and relatively high operating cost.
JP9117539, FR2799133 and other prior art machines employ a hopper tube for having plural shuttles stacked on each other axially, a shuttle transfer mechanism comprising a pair of rotary bodies rotated to each other by a drive source for dropping the shuttle. At the outset these mechanisms are complicated and often fail as two or more shuttlecocks tend to stick to one another when stacked and consequently two or more shuttles will be propelled at one time. Another drawback in prior art devices is the inability to cope with lightly worn shuttles-feathers which may impede or prematurely fall into the ejecting mechanism resulting in a miss or accidental launching.
Likewise, a shuttlecock shooting machine manufactured by Sport and Teknik, Sweden, employs an external pneumatic supply and uses a hopper tube to contain stacked shuttles on top of each other. Therefore, there is a need for a device that is inexpensive to manufacture having simpler and improved means for automatically ejecting shuttlecocks in a wide range of trajectories for use in shuttlecock speed grading, recreation or as a training aid.
The basic concept of this invention employs a pair of articulated counter rotating wheels for gripping and propelling the shuttlecock nose or cap member, a shuttlecock dispenser which positions shuttlecocks led in queue and a loading mechanism which simply pushes the queue shuttlecock into the gap of the rotating wheels thereby causing contact between the shuttlecock cap and the ejecting wheels. This invention provides a highly versatile shuttlecock launcher avoiding the foregoing and other shortcomings and disadvantages of prior constructions. Accordingly, it is also the objective of the present invention to provide a launcher that is capable of simulating most of the shuttlecock trajectories experienced in the actual playing of badminton. To achieve the foregoing and other objects and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, a shuttlecock-throwing machine is provided to permit delivery of successive shuttlecocks at different frequency, trajectory and speed in a desired direction of a player""s court and which is of relatively simplified construction for economical manufacture and minimum cost of maintenance and repair.
The foregoing and other objects and advantages of this invention will appear in the cited claims and the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings of a preferred embodiment.

Shuttlecock launcher and method for launching


Disclosed is an exposure head including a light emitting element array including light emitting elements disposed in a first direction, a light blocking member including an aperture stop through which lights emitted from the light emitting elements pass, and an image forming optical system that makes an image by using the lights having passed through the light blocking member. An absolute value of a magnification in the first direction of the image forming optical system is equal to or more than 0.7 times and is equal to or less than 0.8 times.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an exposure head for making an image by using lights from light emitting elements through an image forming optical system and an image forming apparatus using the same.
2. Related Art
JP-A-2009-098613 discloses an exposure head including a plurality of light emitting elements arranged in a zigzag manner in the main scanning direction, and an image forming optical system facing the plurality of light emitting elements. That is, in the exposure head, by making an image by using a plurality of lights emitted from the light emitting elements through the image forming optical system, spots of the plurality of lights are arranged in the main scanning direction and the plurality of lights are irradiated onto a surface to be exposed. Then, the surface to be exposed is exposed by the spots.
As described above, the exposure head exposes the surface to be exposed by the plurality of spots arranged in the main scanning direction. Thus, in order to realize exposure with high accuracy, it is necessary to form each spot such that various conditions are satisfied. Among the conditions, it is most important to reduce aberration of the image forming optical system and sufficiently ensure the amount of lights supplied for spot formation. For compatibility of these two conditions, the magnification in the main scanning direction of the image forming optical system serves as an important parameter. That is, if the magnification in the main scanning direction is large, the aberration is increased. Meanwhile, if the magnification in the main scanning direction is small, light use efficiency is reduced, so that the amount of lights supplied for spot formation is reduced. However, these points have not been sufficiently considered in the related art.

Exposure head and image forming apparatus


In a training operation for optimizing a multiplication coefficient for each tap of an FIR equalizer equalizing a read signal read from a recording medium, as a restricted coefficient updating vector applied for updating the multiplication coefficient for each tap of an FIR filter, a vector is utilized which is obtained by projecting, onto a plane perpendicular to a predetermined restricting conditioning vector, a coefficient updating vector determined based on an equalizer error between the output of the FIR equalizer and a reproduction output determined therefrom and a delayed input value for each tap of the FIR equalizer. As the restricting conditioning vector, a vector is utilized which is a difference between a subsequent coefficient vector obtained in the same condition immediately subsequent to and an antecedent coefficient vector obtained in the same condition immediately antecedent to a reference coefficient comprising the multiplication coefficient for the equalizer obtained upon calculating the equalizer error.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of training a recording medium reproduction equalizer and to a recording medium reproduction apparatus, and, in particular, to a recording medium reproduction apparatus including a read channel LSI or so applied for reading data recorded in a magnetic recording medium such as a hard disk or so, and to a method of training a so-called adaptive equalizer, so as to obtain equalization characteristics which are optimum upon reproducing digital data from an analog waveform read from the recording medium via a reproduction head in the above-mentioned recording medium reproduction apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In case of decoding digital data from an analog signal read out from a recording medium in which the digital data is magnetically recorded, processing is performed such as to equalize the thus-obtained read signal into an equalization target according to a PR (partial response) technology as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,999,355 to Behrens et al. An equalizer applied for performing the above-mentioned equalization processing equalizes the read signal into the target PR characteristic through an adjustment control operation for predetermined coefficients of the equalizer performed according to a frequency characteristic of the read signal obtained via the reproduction.
As a method of adjusting the coefficient of the equalizer so as to adapt to the characteristic of the read signal each time with a reproduction apparatus such as a read channel LSI having the above-mentioned function (simply referred to as 'training', hereinafter), a so-called LMS (least mean square) algorism may be applied. However, in this method, in case a signal having a periodicity such as that from a preamble of a recording medium or so is processed, a result of the above-mentioned training may not converge into an optimum value but may rather diverge.
In order to avoid such a problematic situation, the training operation of the equalizer may be made ineffective for such a portion having a periodic pattern such as the preamble provided at the top of sectors in a hard disk which is a magnetic recording medium. Thereby, for the preamble, signal processing is performed only by means of an AGC (automatic gain control) loop by which the gain of the read signal is maintained at a constant value and a TR (timing recovery) loop by which a read timing in synchronization with the read signal is ensured.
Alternatively, as a method of performing the above-mentioned equalizer training operation at any time including a timing of handling a reproduction signal from the preamble, a method may be considered in which change in the coefficients occurring due to the training is restricted in a predetermined manner for the preamble. That is, according to this method, a restricting conditioning by which the equalization characteristics (gain and phase) are fixed is applied to the LMS method for a frequency of a sinusoidal wave of the read signal from the preamble. In this method, a variation vector of the coefficient vector is restricted onto a plane perpendicular to a signal vector (equalizer tap length) which is used as the restricting conditioning. Thereby, the frequency response to the signal vector for restricting conditioning is maintained at a fixed value. In other words, according to this method, the equalizer training is not substantially performed for the preamble.

Training method for recording medium reproduction equalizer and recording medium reproduction apparatus


A stackable electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection clamp (21) for protecting a circuit core (24) comprises, a bipolar transistor (56, 58) having a base region (74, 51, 52, 85) with a base contact (77) therein and an emitter (78) spaced a lateral distance Lbe from the base contact (77), and a collector (80, 86, 762) proximate the base region (74, 51, 52, 85). The base region (74, 51, 52, 85) comprises a first portion (51) including the base contact (77) and emitter (78), and a second portion (52) with a lateral boundary (752) separated from the collector (86, 762) by a breakdown region (84) whose width D controls the clamp trigger voltage, the second portion (52) lying between the first portion (51) and the boundary (752). The damage-onset threshold current It2 of the ESD clamp (21) is improved by increasing the parasitic resistance Rbe of the emitter-base region (74, 51, 52, 85), by for example, increasing Lbe or decreasing the relative doping density of the first portion (51) or a combination thereof.

Modern integrated circuits (ICs) and the devices therein are at risk of damage due to electrostatic discharge (ESD) events. This is well known in the art. Accordingly, it is commonplace to provide an ESD clamp (voltage limiting device) across the input and/or other terminals of such devices and IC's. FIG. 1 is a simplified schematic diagram of circuit 20 wherein ESD clamp 21 is placed, for example, between input-output (I/O) terminal 22 and ground or common terminal 23 of an IC to protect other devices on the chip, that is, to protect "circuit core" 24 also coupled to I/O and common terminals 22, 23. Person of skill in the art will understand that ESD clamp 21 may be placed across any terminals of the IC or other device or circuit, and reference herein to I/O terminals is intended to include any and all other terminals not merely those used for input or output signals. Further, the Zener diode illustrated in block 21 of FIG. 1 is merely for convenience of identifying the voltage limiting function of ESD block 21 and not intended to imply that a Zener diode is present therein.
FIG. 2 is a simplified schematic diagram illustrating internal components of ESD clamp 21 utilizing bipolar transistor 25, having emitter 26, collector 27, base 28, and internal resistance 29. When the voltage across terminals 22, 23 rises beyond a predetermined limit, bipolar transistor 25 turns on, limiting the voltage across terminals 22, 23, desirably to a level below that capable of damaging circuit core 24.
FIG. 3 shows simplified plot 30 of transmission line pulse current (I) versus voltage (V) for a typical electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection device such as, for example, the device of FIG. 2. As the applied voltage is increased, very little current flows until triggering voltage 31 is reached at voltage Vt1. Once triggered into operation, the ESD device conducts and the current increases to holding point 32 with current Ih and voltage Vh. Depending upon the internal impedance of the voltage source, current and voltage may further increase to point 33 at current It2 and voltage Vt2, beyond which destructive failure may occur leading to further current increase accompanied by voltage decrease. It2 is also referred to as the damage onset current threshold.
Electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection devices are intended to remain quiescent during normal operation of the associated semiconductor (SC) device(s) or non-SC device(s) or integrated circuit (IC) (i.e., the protected element(s) of circuit core 24) having a normal operating voltage Vo, but turn on when excessive voltage arises, thereby preventing damage to the protected element(s). The triggering voltage Vt1 of the ESD device should exceed the maximum normal DC operating voltage Vo(MAX) of the protected elements; otherwise the ESD device will interfere with normal operation of the protected elements. Further, Vt1 should be less than, for example, a voltage VTR (usually a transient voltage) large enough to damage the protected element(s), hereafter referred to as the protected element break-down voltage, abbreviated as VTR(PEBD). Thus, the ESD device should be designed so that Vo(MAX)<Vt1<VTR(PEBD).

ESD protection with increased current capability