A tree stand for use in observing and hunting game is provided. The stand forms an elevated platform and means for connecting the stand to a tree. In one aspect of the invention, the seat and footrest can be folded up for ease of transportation. In another aspect, the ladder assembly can be dissassembled for ease of transportation. In yet another aspect of the invention, the dissassembled ladder sections of the ladder assembly can be mated with a plurality of members on the platform and tied to the platform for secure transportation and storage.

This application relates to stands for use in observing and hunting wildlife from an elevated position. More particularly, the stands involved in this application relate to tree stands or stands which are supported in part from or against a tree. More particularly, the present invention relates to a tree stand which can be easily transported, erected and used. The present invention also includes a tree stand with an improved structure for connecting the stand to the tree.
When hunting or observing game it is desirable for various reasons to be in a position elevated above the ground. The elevated position provides a better view of the surroundings and reduces the possibility of detection. In the past, various types of elevated tree stands have been in use. Prior to making the present invention I have made and marketed a single pole tree stand having a pole-type ladder leg to support a horizontal seat or platform against a tree. The platform had spikes on one side thereof and a pair of pivotally mounted spiked locking arms for gripping the sides of the tree. A cinching rope was used to force the locking arms into the sides of the tree and retain the platform in the elevated position.


An apparatus is employed for drying liquid, preferably ink, on a medium, which entails heating air and blowing it across the surface of the medium at high velocity. The heated air is recaptured and recirculated resulting in lower energy usage for heating and a reduced relative humidity of drying air to enhance drying. Various structural configurations are disclosed but each has a common feature of creating an air dam at the point of entry of a medium along a media path and at the exit point. The use of a baffle adjacent to the medium path acts as a deflector for the heated air to distribute it across the medium surface at high velocity and also creates ports for expressing and recirculating heated air.

Smudging is a problem in printing where wet ink is deposited on a medium. To overcome this problem, heated air has been used to accelerate ink drying. In the course of developing this invention it has been found that there are three factor's which control the rate of drying of a liquid deposited upon a medium, when heated air is blown across the medium surface. They are (1) the velocity of the air relative to the medium surface, (2) the temperature of the air, and (3) the relative humidity of the air. None of the earlier teachings have effectively addresses all three factors in their attempts to accelerate drying times. Each has addressed only one or two of these factors, but not all three effectively.
Previous solutions have aided drying by passing heated air over the print media. One example of this technique is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,340,893 by Ort, in which heated air is supplied through ports adjacent to the print head at the time of printing. In Ort, air flow must be regulated to avoid interaction with a stream of ink droplets. In another art, that of coating absorbent surfaces, U.S. Pat. No. 2,320,513 by Drummond, teaches drying of a liquid coating by passing a medium coated with liquid through a chamber in which heated air is directed onto the medium to dry the surface. It would appear from the disclosure that there is a recirculation of heated air within this chamber.
Two other U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,714,427 by Tsuruoka et al. and 4,720,727 by Yoshida, teach using heated air blown against an image surface to dry an image created on a medium surface. In each teaching, heated air is blown over a surface area without recirculation or control of velocity across a medium's surface.

Method and apparatus for drying liquid on printed media

International Business Machines Corporation


A cache has an address bus for receiving requests for data from a processor and a data bus for providing the requested data to the processor. As part of the mechanism for determining if there is a hit in the cache, the cache has TAG locations for storing TAG addresses. The hit signal is not generated unless a TAG address corresponds to the address received on the address bus. Associated with each TAG location are valid bits, disable bits, and LRU bits. The requested data is contained in data locations in the cache. Each data location has a corresponding TAG location. The disable bits can be set under the control of the processor for the case where a data location is defective. Additionally, in various diagnostic modes, the TAG locations, the valid bits, the LRU bits, and the data locations are directly accessible via the data bus.

The use of caches in conjunction with processors has been shown to be very effective in speeding up the rate that instructions are executed. The cache is a memory which is relatively small compared to main memory but which is very fast. The cache is used to provide very fast access to the instructions and/or data which are frequently used. There may or may not be separate caches for instructions (or code) and data. Whether the information is actually instructions or data, the information can be referred to as simply data. There has developed circuitry for keeping track of data which is contained in the cache. The common approach has been to use what is commonly known as TAGs as part of the cache to aid in identifying a request for data or an instruction which is contained in the cache. The processor submits a request for data or an instruction in the form of an address. The TAG is used to determine if the address generated by the processor is one for which the cache has the needed data. The TAG has TAG locations for storing TAG addresses for which information is contained in the cache. The address generated by the processor is compared to the TAG addresses. If the processor-generated address is also a TAG address then the cache does have the requested data. When this occurs it is generally considered a "hit," and a hit signal is generated. There have been discovered solutions to some of the problems inherent in a TAG. One of the problems is at "start-up" when none of the information in the cache and none of the addresses in the TAG have been set. A solution to this problem has been the use of a valid bit which is set when information is stored in the cache which corresponds to a TAG address. If the valid bit is not set, then the hit signal is suppressed for that generated address. The setting of the valid bit is set by the cache when information is written into the cache. As the processor processes data and instructions, the most used address locations may change. Thus, the cache may be full of valid information, but that information may not be the information which is being frequently used. A technique for keeping track of the least recently used TAG locations has been developed to keep the information in the cache not only valid but also current. Least-recently-used (LRU) logic has been developed for keeping track of the least recently used TAG locations. When there is a miss in the cache, there is then an access to main memory. When the main memory returns the information to the processor, the cache also stores this information and the corresponding TAG address in a TAG location. The LRU logic determines which TAG location is the one that should be replaced by the most recent address which missed in the cache. The replaced TAG location is the one which the LRU logic determined was the least recently used TAG address.
A cache may have, in one extreme, completely fixed addresses. If the TAG addresses are fixed, then there is no need to keep track of the least recently used TAG address because the TAG addresses are fixed. The information which corresponds to the TAG address is the only thing which can be updated. The determination of a hit on the TAG address is very simple because the TAG addresses are hard wired. In another extreme, any TAG location can have any address generated by the processor. In such a case, the determination of a TAG address hit requires reading all of the stored TAG addresses and performing a comparison of each of them with the address generated by the processor. This type of cache is known as a fully associative cache. There is a compromise approach in which certain of the TAG locations can have limited variability. There may be, for example, sets of four TAG locations in which each of the four TAG locations within a set has some bits in common and a some that are variable. The common address bits (which comprise what is known as the "index") are thus hard-wired so that in response to an address generated by the processor, one set of four TAG locations is accessed. In such a case, the address generated by the processor can be considered to have an index portion and a TAG portion. The four TAG addresses present in the four TAG locations accessed by the index portion of the processor-generated address are read and compared to the TAG portion of the generated address. If one of the TAG addresses in the accessed TAG locations and the TAG portion of the generated address are the same, then there is a TAG hit. If the data which corresponds to the hit TAG location is valid, then the hit signal is generated and the information which corresponds to the hit TAG location is provided to the processor. Another similar approach to the set-associative approach, is for there to be a single TAG location for the index portion of the generated address. In such a case, only a single TAG address is compared to the TAG portion of the generated address.
There are other problems with caches. They are generally hard to test because the TAG addresses, which are critical to the operation of the cache, are not actually output from the cache. Thus, if the circuitry in the cache which stores the TAG addresses is to be tested, it must be tested indirectly. The TAG addresses themselves are not actually read but must be verified by inference. This is also true of the valid bits and the LRU bits. Even to read data from the cache, there must first be a hit with the address so even data locations are read by inference. Another characteristic of caches is that if a single bit in the cache becomes defective, the whole cache, as is the case in a typical integrated circuit memory, is no longer usable. The whole cache or the whole integrated circuit must either be replaced or mapped out of the system by software.


The invention relates to polyurethanes comprising polyoxyperfluoroalkylene blocks of rubber-like nature and rigid segments derived from short-chain aliphatic diols, optionally from aliphatic diamines, and from aliphatic or cycloaliphatic or aromatic diisocyanate. The number of the rigid-type segments is equal to or greater than the number of the polyoxyperfluoroalkylene blocks. The polyurethane are characterized by a glass transition temperature lower than -80.degree. C., a tensile strength greater than 30 kg/cm.sup.2, a hardness between 50 Shore A and 75 Shore D, and good thermoforming characteristics.

Polyurethanes (PU) are known, which are characterized by the presence, in their structure, of polyoxyperfluoroalkylene blocks derived from the use of perfluoropolyethers (PFPE) having hydroxylated end groups.
Products of this type are described in particular in Italian patent No. 903,446, hereby incorporated by reference. They are characterized by a Tg lower than -80.degree. C. They retain flexibility and elastic properties even at very low temperatures.
The structure of these materials, which is predominantly characterized by the perfluoropolyethereal chain, involves, however, a low mechanical resistance. To obviate this drawback, it is necessary to impart to them a three-dimensional lattice by cross-linking them either using three-functional chemical agents or through the formation of allophanate or isocyanurate.
However the materials obtained do not possess an optimal combination of mechanical characteristics such as hardness, tensile strength, modulus of elasticity, and elongation. In particular, the hardness values are lower than 50 Shore A. The tensile strength values are generally lower than 10 kg/cm.sup.2. Furthermore, these materials, as they are cross-linked, cannot be processed according to the process technologies which are typical of the thermoplastic materials, such as extrusion, injection molding, and blow molding.
Also, these materials generate processing waste problems. These materials cannot be transformed. Thus, they cannot be subsequently utilized.
A substantial improvement in the aggregate of mechanical properties has been obtained by introducing encumbering blocks consisting of aromatic or cycloaliphatic diols according to the process claimed by applicants in European patent application No. 192,190, hereby incorporated by reference.
The fluorinated polyurethanes obtained through this process are characterized by a number ratio between blocks deriving from the aromatic or cycloaliphatic diol and perfluoropolyethereal blocks less than or equal to 1. The resulting materials do not exhibit very great tensile strength values, in most cases not greater than 25 kg/cm.sup.2.
To obtain greater values, it is necessary to use bisphenols in a high ratio, about 1. See example H of the above-cited patent. In this example, the presence of the aromatic diols in the polymeric structure is a limitation to the use of the materials at high temperatures. Furthermore, the elastomeric properties at low temperatures worsen because, in spite of the low Tg, the modulus of elasticity is too great for the usual uses of the rubbers.
Thus, it is an object of the present invention to obtain fluorinated polyurethanes having a glass transition temperature lower than -80.degree. C. and being characterized by hardness values ranging from 50 Shore A to 75 Shore D and by tensile strength values greater than 30 kg/cm.sup.2.

Fluorinated polyurethanes endowed with improved mechanical properties, containing rubber-like polyoxyperfluoroalkylene-structure blocks and hydrogenated rigid blocks


A method of forming a wiring board comprises: a step of forming a receptive layer having a porous structure on a substrate; a step of forming wiring portions in a desired conductive pattern on a surface of the receptive layer by ejecting a colloidal metal solution for drawing by an ink-jet system based on image date of the conductive pattern; and a step of performing a migration-proof treatment on at least part of the receptive layer exposed between mutually adjacent wiring portions.

The present invention relates to a method of forming a wiring board and more specifically to a method of forming wiring on a printed wiring board.
The invention also relates to a wiring board obtained thereby.
Conventionally, the pattern on the conductor part (wiring part) of printed wiring boards (electronic circuit boards) has been formed by the subtractive, semi-additive and additive processes.
The subtractive process is a process in which unnecessary portions are removed from a metal layer formed on a substrate to form a pattern of a conductive part (wiring pattern), and the semi-additive and additive processes are processes in which a conductor part pattern is formed on a substrate.
In either process, the photolithographic technology has been employed to form the conductor part pattern.
The subtractive, semi-additive and additive processes are described below.
FIGS. 8A to 8F show a method of forming a pattern of a conductor part by the subtractive process.
According to the subtractive process, copper foil conductor layers 202 are formed on both surfaces of an insulating substrate 200 to obtain a copper clad laminate 204 as shown in FIG. 8A; then a through-hole 206 is formed in the copper clad laminate 204 as shown in FIG. 8B; thereafter a conductive metallic layer 208 covering the surfaces of the conductor layers 202 and the inner wall of the through-hole 206 is formed by electroless plating or electrolytic plating as shown in FIG. 8C.
Then, as shown in FIG. 8D, resist layers 210 are formed on the surfaces of the conductive metallic layer 208 on the conductor layers 202, and the resist layers 210 are selectively exposed using a photomask and developed to form the patterned resist layers 210.
Then, as shown in FIG. 8E, parts of the conductor layers 202 and the conductive metallic layer 208 which are not covered with the resist layers 210 are removed by etching, and as shown in FIG. 8F, the resist layers 210 are removed to form a printed wiring board.
Next, a method of forming a wiring pattern using the semi-additive process is shown in FIGS. 9A to 9G.
According to the semi-additive process, an insulating substrate 200 as shown in FIG. 9A is perforated to form a through-hole 206 as shown in FIG. 9B. Then, as shown in FIG. 9C, a conductive metallic layer 208 is formed by electroless plating on the surfaces of the insulating substrate 200 and the inner wall of the through-hole 206.
Then, as shown in FIG. 9D, resist layers 210 are formed on the surfaces of the conductive metallic layer 208, and the resist layers 210 are selectively exposed using a photomask and developed to form the patterned resist layers 210.
Following the patterning of the resist layers 210, a conductive metal 212 is formed by electrolytic plating as shown in FIG. 9E on part of the conductive metallic layer 208 which is not covered with the resist layers 210 and serves as a seed layer. Then, the resist layers 210 are removed as shown in FIG. 9F, and parts of the conductive metallic layer 208 which are not covered with the conductive metal 212 are removed as shown in FIG. 9G to form a printed wiring board.
Next, a method of forming a wiring pattern using the additive process is shown in FIGS. 10A to 10E.
According to the additive process, an insulating substrate (insulating layer) 200 as shown in FIG. 10A is perforated to form a through-hole 206 as shown in FIG. 10B. Then, as shown in FIG. 10C, resist layers 210 are formed on the surfaces of the insulating substrate 200, and the resist layers 210 are selectively exposed using a photomask and developed to form the patterned resist layers 210.
Following the formation of the resist layers 210, as shown in FIG. 10D, a conductive metallic layer 208 is formed by electroless plating on parts of the insulating substrate 200 which are not covered with the resist layers 210 and on the inner wall of the through-hole 206. Finally, as shown in FIG. 10E, the resist layers 210 are removed to form a printed wiring board.
The above-described method of forming the desired wiring pattern using the resist pattern formed by the photolithographic technology requires preparation of the photomask and in addition to the etching step for removing the unwanted part of the wiring metal, the step of exposing and developing the resist is also required to form the resist pattern. Hence, it takes time and cost to form the wiring pattern.
A method has recently been proposed in which the pattern of the wiring part of a printed wiring board (electronic circuit board) is formed by using a conductive fine particle dispersed ink system.
In the drawing system using conductive fine particle dispersed ink, a desired wiring pattern is formed by directly patterning a conductive, fine particulate material on the substrate in accordance with the wiring pattern using the ink-jet printing system.
Since this drawing system using conductive fine particle dispersed ink has no need to prepare a mask, it involves fewer steps than the method in which the photolithographic technology is applied to form a resist pattern to thereby form a desired wiring pattern.
However, to ensure that the fine particulate material exhibits its conductivity, baking must be performed under elevated temperatures for a prolonged period of time; this not only limits the type of substrate material on which a wiring pattern can be formed but it also increases the running cost and the size of the apparatus for performing treatment at high temperatures.
In order to solve these problems, for example, JP 2004 207558 A discloses a technique capable of forming wiring by applying for wiring drawing a colloidal metal solution to a substrate having a receptive layer formed thereon and sintering the substrate at a low temperature.
However, the inventor of the invention has made an attempt to form wiring by the method disclosed in JP 2004-207558 A and found that, although this method is an excellent technique in that it is capable of sintering at a low temperature and is also applicable to substrates including general-purpose resin films having low heat resistance, dendrite migration may occur on the periphery of the conductor part during use of the wiring board under high-temperature and high-humidity conditions to cause short circuit between mutually adjacent conductors (electrodes) just after application of current.
Migration as used herein refers to a phenomenon in which when a voltage is applied between conductors (electrodes) of a printed wiring board whose insulating properties are essentially kept at a good level and the printed wiring board is allowed to stand under high-temperature and high-humidity conditions, ions may leach out electrochemically from the conductors on or inside the insulator to lower the insulating properties between the conductors, thus causing an insulation failure or other defects of the printed wiring board.
In other words, an electrochemical reaction causes a metal on the anode of a printed wiring board to dissolve to have an ionic form and leach out to the cathode side, where the metallic ion receives an electron to be reduced and precipitated in a dendrite form from the cathode side on the electrode, thus causing migration.
Exemplary metals that may be used for the conductor include silver, lead, copper, tin, and gold, and migration easily occurs in the order of silver, lead, copper, tin, and gold. During use of silver for the conductor, migration easily occurs especially in cases where a nonconductor is not formed over the silver surface or silver is readily dissolved by the formation of a silver halide.

Method of forming wiring board and wiring board obtained


The present invention is directed to a method for hydroprocessing Fischer-Tropsch products. The invention in particular relates to an integrated method for producing liquid fuels from a hydrocarbon stream provided by Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. The method involves separating the Fischer-Tropsch products into a light fraction (FT condensate) and a heavy fraction. The heavy fraction is subjected to hydrocracking conditions, preferably through multiple catalyst beds, to reduce the chain length. The products of the hydrocracking reaction following the last catalyst bed are subjected to a separation step. The lighter material is combined with the Fischer-Tropsch condensate and hydrotreated. The hydrotreatment conditions hydrogenate double bonds, reduce oxygenates to paraffins, and desulfurize and denitrify the products. The heavier material from the separation step is sent to the lube plant for hydroisomerization, or is subjected to subsequent fraction steps to produce fuels and middle distillates.

The majority of combustible liquid fuel used in the world today is derived from crude oil. However, there are several limitations to using crude oil as a fuel source. For example, crude oil is in limited supply; it includes aromatic compounds believed to cause cancer and contains sulfur and nitrogen-containing compounds that can adversely affect the environment.
Alternative sources for developing combustible liquid fuel are desirable. An abundant source is natural gas. The conversion of natural gas to combustible liquid fuel typically involves converting the natural gas, which is mostly methane, to synthesis gas, or syngas, which is a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. An advantage of using fuels prepared from syngas is that they typically do not contain appreciable amounts of nitrogen and sulfur and generally do not contain aromatic compounds. Accordingly, they have less health and environmental impact than conventional petroleum-based fuels. Fischer-Tropsch synthesis is a preferred means for converting syngas to higher molecular weight hydrocarbon products.
Fischer-Tropsch synthesis is often performed under conditions which produce a large quantity of C20+wax, which must be hydroprocessed to provide distillate fuels. Often, the wax is hydrocracked to reduce the chain length, and then hydrotreated to reduce oxygenates and olefins to paraffins. Although some catalysts have been developed with selectivity for longer chain hydrocarbons, the hydrocracking tends to reduce the chain length of all of the hydrocarbons in the feed. When the feed includes hydrocarbons that are already in a desired range, for example, the distillate fuel range, hydrocracking of these hydrocarbons is undesirable.
It would be advantageous to provide a method for hydroprocessing Fischer-Tropsch wax which minimizes the hydrocracking of hydrocarbons in the distillate fuel range. The present invention provides such methods.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,583,186 discloses a means of hydroprocessing Fischer-Tropsch products without overcracking distillate components. In this scheme, however, all of the heavier, hydrocracked material is recombined with lighter materials, such as Fischer-Tropsch condensate and subsequently hydrotreated. There is no interstage separation step following hydrocracking, as in the instant invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,224,747 discloses hydrocracking a VGO stream in a hydrocracking reaction zone within an integrated hydroconversion process. Effluent from the hydrocracking reaction zone is combined, without interstage separation with a light aromatic-containing feed stream, and the blended stream is hydrotreated in a hydrotreating reaction zone. The hydrocracked effluent serves as a heat sink for the hydrotreating reaction zone. The integrated reaction system provides a single hydrogen supply and recirculation system for use in two reaction systems. This patent is not directed to hydroprocessing of Fischer-Tropsch products, as is the instant invention. Furthermore, there is no interstage separation between the hydrocracking and hydrotreating stages.

Process for the upgrading of the products of Fischer-Tropsch processes


According to an exemplary embodiment, an amplification module includes a bias circuit coupled to an input of an amplifier, where the bias circuit is configured to charge the input of the amplifier to a final bias voltage. The amplification module further includes a fast charge circuit configured to provide a low impedance path between the bias circuit and the input of the amplifier when a voltage at the input of the amplifier is less than the final bias voltage, thereby reducing an enable time of the amplifier. The fast charge circuit is further configured to open the low impedance path when the voltage at the input of the amplifier is substantially equal to the final bias voltage. The fast charge circuit includes a comparator configured to cause the low impedance path to open when the voltage at the input of the amplifier is substantially equal to a reference voltage.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of electrical circuits. More particularly, the invention relates to amplifier circuits.
2. Background Art
An amplifier, such as low-noise amplifier (LNA) used in cellular handsets, can be required to meet specific linearity and enable time requirements. The linearity of an amplifier, such as an LNA, is typically determined at a particular frequency and can be characterized as a function of input power. For example, the linearity of an amplifier, such as an LNA, can be specified in terms of input third-order intermodulation intercept point (IIP3) performance at a particular tone spacing frequency, which refers to the spacing, i.e., difference in frequency, between two test tones that are used to determine the value of IIP3. The enable time, i.e., turn-on time, of an amplifier, such as an LNA, corresponds to the amount of time required to achieve a final, i.e., steady-state, bias voltage at the bias input of the amplifier.
In a conventional amplifier, such as an LNA, a tank circuit can be utilized at the output of the bias circuit to provide a low impedance at a particular tone spacing frequency so as to meet a linearity specification for IIP3 at that tone spacing frequency. However, for a low tone spacing frequency, such as 15.0 kHz, a large capacitance is typically required in the tank circuit to provide the low impedance necessary to meet IIP3 requirements, which can undesirably increase the enable time of the amplifier by increasing the RC time constant at the bias input of the amplifier. Thus, it is difficult for a conventional amplifier, such as a conventional LNA, to meet IIP3 specifications at low tone spacing frequencies, such as 15.0 kHz, and also meet a fast enable, i.e., turn-on, time specification.

Fast charge circuit for use in amplifiers


An optical measurement system for evaluating a reference sample that has at least a partially known composition. The optical measurement system includes a reference ellipsometer and at least one non-contact optical measurement device. The reference ellipsometer includes a light generator, an analyzer and a detector. The light generator generates a beam of quasi-monochromatic light having a known wavelength and a known polarization for interacting with the reference sample. The beam is directed at a non-normal angle of incidence relative to the reference sample to interact with the reference sample. The analyzer creates interference between the S and P polarized components in the light beam after the light beam has interacted with reference sample. The detector measures the intensity of the light beam after it has passed through the analyzer. A processor determines the polarization state of the light beam entering the analyzer from the intensity measured by the detector, and determines an optical property of the reference sample based upon the determined polarization state, the known wavelength of light from the light generator and the composition of the reference sample. The processor also operates the optical measurement device to measure an optical parameter of the reference sample. The processor calibrates the optical measurement device by comparing the measured optical parameter from the optical measurement device to the determined optical property from the reference ellipsometer.

The present invention relates to optical analyzers, and more particularly to a thin film optical measurement system having a calibrating ellipsometer.
There is considerable interest in developing systems for accurately measuring the thickness and/or composition of thin films. The need is particularly acute in the semiconductor manufacturing industry where the thickness of these thin film oxide layers on semiconductor substrates is measured. To be useful, the measurement system must be able to determine the thickness and/or composition of films with a high degree of accuracy. The preferred measurement systems rely on non-contact, optical measurement techniques, which can be performed during the semiconductor manufacturing process without damaging the wafer sample. Such optical measurement techniques include directing a probe beam to the sample, and measuring one or more optical parameters of the reflected probe beam.
In order to increase measurement accuracy and to gain additional information about the target sample, multiple optical measuring devices are incorporated into a single composite optical measurement system. For example, the present assignee has marketed a product called OPTI-PROBE, which incorporates several optical measurement devices, including a Beam Profile Reflectometer (BPR), a Beam Profile Ellipsometer (BPE), and a Broadband Reflective Spectrometer (BRS). Each of these devices measures parameters of optical beams reflected by, or transmitted through, the target sample. The BPR and BPE devices utilize technology described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,999,014 and 5,181,080 respectively, which are incorporated herein by reference.
The composite measurement system mentioned above combines the measured results of each of the measurement devices to precisely derive the thickness and composition of the thin film and substrate of the target sample. However, the accuracy of the measured results depends upon precise initial and periodic calibration of the measurement devices in the optical measurement system. Further, recently developed measurement devices have increased sensitivity to more accurately measure thinner films and provide additional information about film and substrate composition. These newer systems require very accurate initial calibration. Further, heat, contamination, optical damage, alignment, etc., that can occur over time in optical measurement devices, affect the accuracy of the measured results. Therefore, periodic calibration is necessary to maintain the accuracy of the composite optical measurement system.
It is known to calibrate optical measurement devices by providing a reference sample having a known substrate, with a thin film thereon having a known composition and thickness. The reference sample is placed in the measurement system, and each optical measurement device measures the optical parameters of the reference sample, and is calibrated using the results from the reference sample and comparing them to the known film thickness and composition. A common reference sample is a xe2x80x9cnative oxidexe2x80x9d reference sample, which is a silicon substrate with an oxide layer formed thereon having a known thickness (about 20 angstroms). After fabrication, the reference sample is kept in a non-oxygen environment to minimize any further oxidation and contamination that changes the thickness of the reference sample film away from the known thickness, and thus reduces the effectiveness of the reference sample for accurate calibration. The same reference sample can be reused to periodically calibrate the measurement system. However, if and when the amount of oxidation or contamination of the reference sample changes the film thickness significantly from the known thickness, the reference sample must be discarded.
For many optical measurement devices, reference samples with known thicknesses have bees effective for system calibration. Oxidation and contamination that routinely occurs over time with reference samples is tolerable because the film thickness change resulting from the oxidation/contamination is relatively insignificant compared to the overall thickness of the film (around 100 angstroms). However, new ultra-sensitive optical measurement systems have been recently developed that can measure film layers with thicknesses less than 10 angstroms. These systems require reference samples having film thicknesses on the order of 20 angstroms for accurate calibration. For such thin film reference samples, however, the changes in film layer thickness resulting from even minimal oxidation or contamination are significant compared to the overall xe2x80x9cknownxe2x80x9d film layer thickness, and result in significant calibration error. Therefore, it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to provide a native oxide reference sample with a known thickness that is stable enough over time to be used for periodic calibration of ultra-sensitive optical measurement systems.
There is a need for a calibration method for ultra-sensitive optical measurement devices that can utilize a reference sample that does not have a stable or known film thickness.
The present invention is a thin film optical measurement system with a wavelength stable calibration ellipsometer that precisely determines the thickness of a film on a reference sample. The measured results from the calibration ellipsometer are used to calibrate other optical measurement devices in the thin film optical measurement system. By not having to supply a reference sample with a predetermined known film thickness, a reference sample having a film with a known composition can be repeatedly used to calibrate ultra-sensitive optical measurement devices, even if oxidation or contamination of the reference sample changes the thickness of the film over time.
The calibration reference ellipsometer uses a reference sample that has at least a partially known composition to calibrate at least one other non-contact optical measurement device. The reference ellipsometer includes a light generator that generates a quasi-monochromatic beam of light having a known wavelength and a known polarization for interacting with the reference sample. The beam is directed at a non-normal angle of incidence relative to the reference sample to interact with the reference sample. An analyzer creates interference between S and P polarized components in the light beam after the light beam has interacted with reference sample. A detector measures the intensity of the light after the beam has passed through the analyzer. A processor determines the polarization state of the light beam entering the analyzer from the intensity measured by the detector. The processor then determines optical properties of the reference sample based upon the determined polarization state, the known wavelength of light from the light generator and the at least partially known composition of the reference sample. Wherein the processor operates at least one other non-contact optical measurement device that measures an optical parameter of the reference sample. The processor calibrates the other optical measurement device by comparing the measured optical parameter from the other optical measurement device to the determined optical property from the reference ellipsometer.
Other aspects and features of the present invention will become apparent by a review of the specification, claims and appended figures.

Thin film optical measurement system and method with calibrating ellipsometer


A wet-type friction clutch plate which keeps lubricant on a frictional slide face, stabilizes frictional torque transmission and suppresses shuddering noise. The wet-type friction clutch plate has the frictional slide face on which a grid of grooves is formed. The frictional slide face frictionally engages with an opposite clutch plate. At least one of the sectional shape and plan shape of each of the grooves is configured to provide the frictional slide face with a xcexc-v characteristic such that xcexc increases with an increase in v to prevent self-excited vibration during frictional engagement of the wet-type friction clutch plate with the opposite clutch plate, wherein xcexc is a coefficient of friction on the frictional slide face and v is a relative rotational speed of the wet-type friction clutch plate relative to the opposite clutch plate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wet-type friction clutch plate achieving frictional engagement between frictional slide faces to transmit torque between rotary members.
2. Description of the Related Art
An example of a wet-type friction clutch plate is in a power transmission device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid Open Publication No. 11-208303.
The power transmission device is installed on, for example, a propeller shaft of a 4WD (four-wheel drive) vehicle. Between an outer rotary member on the propeller shaft and an inner rotary member on a drive pinion shaft, wet-type friction clutch plates are arranged to engage in a rotation direction. When the clutch plates receive axial thrust and the propeller shaft and drive pinion shaft rotate relative to each other, the clutch plates frictionally engage with each other to transmit torque between the shafts.
A space between the outer and inner rotary members is sealed to contain lubricant and accommodate the clutch plates. The lubricant maintains lubrication between the clutch plates.
An example of a wet-type friction clutch plate applicable to the power transmission device is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid Open Publication No. 01-145438. This clutch plate has a grid of grooves on a frictional slide face to secure engagement and prevent detrimental slippage. The grooves keep lubricant within them while maintaining the drainage thereof.
Simply forming such a grid of grooves on a frictional slide face of a wet-type friction clutch plate, however, reduces friction only to some extent, destabilizes torque transmission, and sometimes produces excessive torque. To cope with such excessive torque, reinforced parts must be employed in the power transmission device, thereby increasing the size and weight of the device. In addition, the grooves cause shuddering noise when clutch plates slide on each other.
The wet-type friction clutch plate has a xcexc-v characteristic, wherein xcexc is a coefficient of friction on a frictional slide face of the clutch plate and v is a relative rotational speed of the clutch plate relative to an opposite clutch plate that slides on the clutch plate in question. When xcexc increases with an increase in v, it is a positive xcexc-v inclination, and when xcexc decreases with an increase in v, it is a negative xcexc-v inclination. The negative xcexc-v inclination causes self-excited vibration, destabilizes torque transmission, and produces shuddering noise.
In this way, simply forming a grid of grooves on a frictional slide face of a wet-type friction clutch plate causes various problems.
An object of the present invention is to provide a wet-type friction clutch plate capable of stably transmitting torque and preventing shuddering noise.
A first aspect of the present invention provides a wet-type friction clutch plate having a grid of grooves formed on a frictional slide face that frictionally engages with an opposite clutch plate. At least one of the sectional shape and plan shape of each of the grooves is configured to provide the frictional slide face with a xcexc-v characteristic that xcexc increases with an increase in v to prevent self-excited vibration during frictional engagement of the wet-type friction clutch plate with the opposite clutch plate, wherein xcexc is a coefficient of friction on the frictional slide face and v is a relative rotational speed of the wet-type friction clutch plate relative to the opposite clutch plate.
A second aspect of the present invention provides each of the grooves of the first aspect with a wedge-shaped cross section.
A third aspect of the present invention provides each of the grooves of the second aspect with a V-shaped cross section having symmetrically inclined side walls.
A fourth aspect of the present invention provides each of the grooves of any one of the first to third aspects with a cross section having a curve between each groove side wall and the frictional slide face.
A fifth aspect of the present invention provides each intersection of the grooves of any one of the first to third aspects with a cross section having a curve between each side wall of the intersection and the frictional slide face.
A sixth aspect of the present invention provides each intersection of the grooves of any one of the first to third aspects with rounded corners in a plan view to widen the area of the intersection.
A seventh aspect of the present invention sets the depth of the grooves of any one of the first to third aspects in a range of 0.004 mm to 0.03 mm.
An eighth aspect of the present invention forms the grooves of any one of the first to third aspects by pressing the frictional slide face with the depth of the grooves set in a range of 0.004 mm to 0.03 mm in a radially intermediate area on the frictional slide face.
A ninth aspect of the present invention provides an electromagnetic friction clutch employing the wet-type friction clutch plate of any one of the first to eighth aspects. The electromagnetic friction clutch includes inner and outer rotary members coaxially arranged to rotate relative to each other, a main clutch interposed between the inner and outer rotary members to increase and decrease frictional engagement in response to axial thrust and transmit torque between the inner and outer rotary members through the frictional engagement when the inner and outer rotary members rotate relative to each other, a pilot clutch to achieve frictional engagement in response to electrically controlled electromagnetic force, and a converter acting on the frictional engagement of the pilot clutch, to convert the frictional engagement into thrust to the main clutch. At least one of the main clutch and pilot clutch employs the wet-type friction clutch plate of any one of the first to eighth aspects.
The first aspect forms a grid of grooves on a frictional slide face of a wet-type friction clutch plate that frictionally engages with an opposite clutch plate. At least one of the sectional shape and plan shape of each of the grooves is configured to provide the frictional slide face with a xcexc-v characteristic that xcexc increases with an increase in v to prevent self-excited vibration during frictional engagement of the wet-type friction clutch plate with the opposite clutch plate, wherein xcexc, is a coefficient of friction on the frictional slide face and v is a relative rotational speed of the wet-type friction clutch plate relative to the opposite clutch plate. The first aspect stabilizes torque transmission between the wet-type friction clutch plate and the opposite clutch plate and prevents shuddering noise.
In addition to the effects of the first aspect, the second aspect provides each of the grooves with a wedge-shaped cross section. Lubricant in the grooves produces fluid pressure due to a wedge action to smoothly move onto the frictional slide face and increase a lubricant film thickness between the wet-type friction clutch plate and the opposite clutch plate. The second aspect reduces a time lag in a clutch residual torque diminishing period.
The grooves include those oriented in a rotation direction of the clutch plate and those oriented in a direction orthogonal to the rotation direction. If the grooves orthogonal to the rotation direction have sharp edges, they will damage the opposite clutch plate. Providing the grooves with wedge-shaped cross sections is helpful to form an obtuse angle between a side wall of each groove and the frictional slide face, thereby eliminating sharp edges from the grooves and preventing the damage of the opposite clutch plate.
In addition to the effects of the second aspect, the third aspect provides each of the grooves with a V-shaped cross section having symmetrically inclined side walls. The third aspect realizes the effects of the second aspect on each side wall of the grooves.
In addition to the effects of the first to third aspects, the fourth aspect provides each of the grooves with a cross section having a curve between each groove side wall and the frictional slide face. The fourth aspect prevents the damage of the opposite clutch plate, smoothly passes lubricant, maintains a uniform lubricant film thickness, and suppresses a stick-slip phenomenon.
The curves at the grooves prevent the damage of groove edges during a surface hardening process that employs, for example, a polishing process such as shot peening or shot blasting or barrel polishing to remove an oxide film from the frictional slide face.
In addition to the effects of the first to third aspects, the fifth aspect provides each intersection of the grooves with a cross section having a curve between each side wall of the intersection and the frictional slide face. The fifth aspect prevents the damage of the opposite clutch plate, smoothly passes lubricant, maintains a uniform lubricant film thickness, and suppresses a stick-slip phenomenon.
The curves at the groove intersections prevent the damage of intersection edges during a surface hardening process to remove an oxide film.
In addition to the effects of the first to third aspects, the sixth aspect provides each intersection of the grooves with rounded corners in a plan view to widen the area of the intersection and sufficiently maintain lubricant at the intersection.
In addition to the effects of the first to third aspects, the seventh aspect sets the depth of the grooves in a range of 0.004 mm to 0.03 mm, to sufficiently maintain lubrication on the frictional slide face.
The seventh aspect secures fine pitches and fine frictional slide areas among the grooves, to smoothly transmit torque through frictional engagement and prevent shuddering noise.
In an electromagnetic friction clutch employing the wet-type friction clutch plates each of the seventh aspect driven by electrically controlled electromagnetic force, the grooves shallower than 0.03 mm secure magnetic lines of force to provide a required electromagnetic force. If the grooves are too deep, they increase a clutch-to-clutch space, to block magnetic lines of force. The grooves shallower than 0.03 mm stabilize magnetic attraction and realize sufficient frictional engagement.
The grooves having wedge- or V-shaped cross sections of fixed opening angles reduce frictional slide areas as the depth of the grooves increases. The grooves shallower than 0.03 mm maintain proper frictional slide areas to secure proper frictional engagement.
In addition to the effects of the first to third aspects, the eighth aspect forms the grooves by pressing the frictional slide face with the depth of the grooves set in a range of 0.004 mm to 0.03 mm in a radially intermediate area on the frictional slide face. At the location where the grooves tend to become shallower during pressing, the eighth aspect secures the depth of the grooves within the range of 0.004 mm to 0.03 mm, so that all grooves on the frictional slide face may secure the depth of 0.004 mm to 0.03 mm. The eighth aspect easily controls the depth of the grooves.
In addition to the effects of the first to eighth aspects, the ninth aspect provides an electromagnetic friction clutch employing the wet-type friction clutch plate of any one of the first to eighth aspects. The electromagnetic friction clutch includes inner and outer rotary members coaxially arranged to rotate relative to each other, a main clutch interposed between the inner and outer rotary members to increase and decrease frictional engagement in response to axial thrust and transmit torque between the inner and outer rotary members through the frictional engagement when the inner and outer rotary members rotate relative to each other, a pilot clutch to achieve frictional engagement in response to electrically controlled electromagnetic force, and a converter acting on the frictional engagement of the pilot clutch, to convert the frictional engagement into thrust to the main clutch. At least one of the main clutch and pilot clutch employs the wet-type friction clutch plate of any one of the first to eighth aspects.
When the pilot clutch employs the wet-type friction clutch plate, it shows a good transient characteristic of torque transmission with respect to current ON/OFF operations and minimizes magnetic flux variations under a predetermined current value. The grooves on the clutch plate block magnetic lines of force at a current OFF operation.
When the main clutch employs the wet-type friction clutch plate, it improves the response of the main clutch with respect to a change in transmitted torque or a change in a torque transmission direction. Namely, the wet-type friction clutch plate improves the torque transmission response of the main clutch with respect to the engagement of the pilot clutch that is changed by controlling a current. It also improves the torque transmission OFF response of the main clutch when a control current to the pilot clutch is cut. These effects prevent shuddering noise in the main clutch.

Wet-type friction clutch and electromagnetic friction clutch


Disclosed are oriented, shaped articles such as, for example, film, fibers, bottles, and tubes, with excellent strength, toughness, clarity, chemical resistance, and UV resistance. The articles can be prepared from cycloaliphatic polyesters and from compositions comprising cycloaliphatic polyesters and cycloaliphatic polyester elastomers. The articles may be oriented by stretching in at least one direction and have a modulus which results in a soft feel. Also disclosed are polyester compositions comprising cycloaliphatic polyesters and polyester elastomers.

Polyesters are often used to manufacture shaped articles for use in a wide range of applications, including films, sheets, profiles, bottles, and the like. The most commonly used polyesters are based on terephthalic or isophthalic acid monomers and include, for example, poly(ethylene terephthalate) ("PET"), poly(1,4-butylene terephthalate) ("PBT"), poly(cyclohexylenedimethylene terephthalate) ("PCT"), and their copolyesters. These polyesters are inexpensive, widely available and, because of their aromatic content, have a high glass transition temperature (Tg), which gives a shaped article thermal resistance, stiffness (i.e. modulus) and toughness. Recently, much of the emphasis in the polyester arts has been to develop polyesters with higher glass transition temperatures by incorporating greater aromaticity into the polymer (e.g. liquid crystal polyesters, PEN). For certain applications, however, these aromatic polyesters are not acceptable, particularly those applications in which the article requires UV or chemical resistance, good light transmission, and/or a "soft feel". The term "soft feel" refers to tactile properties similar to those found in polyolefins in which the material is soft to the touch, but still retains structural integrity, elasticity and resiliency. For example, shaped articles prepared from these aromatic polyesters often require a protective cap layer to guard against UV and chemical exposure. In addition, the high modulus of aromatic polyesters makes them unacceptable for use in soft-feel and "low noise" applications, except where a high level of plasticizer is added.
By contrast, aliphatic and cycloaliphatic polyesters typically have good UV and chemical resistance and a lower modulus in comparison to aromatic polyesters. These polyesters, however, have undesirably low glass transition temperatures making them unfit for many applications. For example, many aliphatic and cycloaliphatic type polyesters have glass transition temperatures below room temperature which results in an excessively soft and rubbery polymer with little or no structural integrity. In contrast, aliphatic and cycloaliphatic polyesters with glass transition temperatures above room temperature are glassy but lack adequate toughness and thermal resistance in comparison to aromatic polyesters because their Tg is still too low. Thus, shaped articles prepared from aliphatic and cycloaliphatic polyesters are often inadequate for many applications such as, for example, wall coverings, fibers, packaging, labels, and soft films. Some examples of various cycloaliphatic polyester compositions and their applications are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,306,785; 5,859,119; 5,907,026; 6,011,124; 5,486,562; 5,907,026; 4,665,153; 6,084,055; 6,455,664; and 6,136,441; U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2003/0030172 A1; European Patent Application No. 0 902 052 A1; and in PCT Application No.'s WO 93/04124 and WO 02/31020 A2.
Other non-aromatic polyesters do not cure these deficiencies and present additional shortcomings when used for shaped articles. For example, polyester elastomers such as, for example, PCCE copolyesterethers (a copolymer of 1,4-cyclohexane-dicarboxylic acid, 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol, and polytetramethylene glycol (available under the trademark ECDEL® polyester from Eastman Chemical Company) have many desirable properties, such as the toughness and UV/chemical resistance mentioned above. They also have a soft feel, but are too soft and rubbery, and lack the thermal resistance needed to be used in many structural applications. Furthermore, because of these rubber-like properties in combination with their slow crystallization characteristics, extruded films and fibers from these polyester elastomers tend to stick to take up rolls or spinning guides during extrusion. Fluoropolymer and matte rolls/tooling tend to alleviate the sticking problem but such materials are expensive and require dedicated processing lines. Thus, it would be desirable to prepare shaped articles such as, for example, bottles, films, sheets, profiles, fibers, tubes, and molded objects, that have good UV and chemical resistance while simultaneously retaining strength, toughness, thermal resistance, and soft feel characteristics. Such articles would have applications in wall coverings, bottles, soft films, packaging, labels, and fibers.

Shaped articles from cycloaliphatic polyester compositions


A front surface opened welding mask, in which an LCD shielding screen is simply attached to and detached from a welding plane and the LCD shielding screen is safely connected to the welding plane. The front surface opened welding mask includes a connection opening formed through the front surface of the welding plane, a front cover having a transparent window formed through the central portion thereof and attached to and detached from the connection opening, and buttons for connecting the front cover to the connection opening. The front cover having the transparent window is easily attached to and detached from the connection opening of the welding plane so that the LCD shielding screen is simply attached to and detached from the welding plane and a receiving portion fixes the LCD shielding screen without movement so that the LCD shielding screen is safely connected to the welding plane.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a welding mask put on by a user during a welding process for protecting user's eyes and face, and more particularly to a welding mask employing a connecting structure of an LCD shielding screen, in which the LCD shielding screen is easily attached to and detached from a welding plane of the welding mask and the LCD shielding screen is safely connected to the welding plane.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, various welding operations generate several dangers, such as strong harmful rays and splashing of base metal onto a user's face due to momentary heat of a high temperature and resistance. Accordingly, it is well known that a welding mask for protecting user's eyes and face from the above dangers during welding is used.
As shown in FIG. 1, a welding mask comprises a welding plane 10 having a transparent window 12 formed through the front surface thereof for covering a user's whole face, a wearable band 20 put on by a user at his/her head and connected to the welding plane 10 using a rotary shaft 22 for rotating the welding plane 10 up and down at a designated angle, and an LCD shielding screen 30 installed in the rear of the transparent window 12 of the welding plane 10 for protecting user's eyes from harmful rays generated from a welding operation.
The LCD shielding screen 30 comprises an LCD panel installed in a case for allowing a user to look outside therethrough and shielding harmful rays, a control unit for detecting the harmful rays generated during welding to operate the LCD panel, and a power supply unit for supplying power to the LCD panel and the control unit.
Accordingly, the LCD shielding screen 30 contacts the rear surface of the transparent window 12 of the welding plane 10, as described above, and is simultaneously fixed to the welding plane 10 using bolts so that the LCD shielding screen 30 is not easily detached from the welding plane 10.
The above-mentioned connecting structure of the LCD shielding screen 30 to the welding plane 10 of the welding mask causes an inconvenience in replacing the LCD shielding screen 30 with a new one. That is, when the LCD shielding screen 30, which is damaged, needs to be replaced with a new one or the transparent window 12 of the welding plane 10, which is used for a long time, needs to be replaced with a new one, the LCD shielding screen 30 must be separated from the welding plane 10, thereby causing an inconvenience in loosening and fastening a plurality of the bolts. Accordingly, an improved connecting structure of an LCD shielding screen for a welding mask has been required.


A scale is provided on a back side edge of an intermediate transfer belt for detecting an amount of movement of the belt. In a tandem type image forming apparatus, a sensor is provided as a scale-reading unit that reads the scale. Materials used for the intermediate transfer belt and the scale satisfy a relation that the Young's modulus of the intermediate transfer belt is greater than the Young's modulus of the scale.

1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technology for an image forming apparatus.
2) Description of the Related Art
In a conventional image forming apparatus, there are a couple of types of rotating belts, including an intermediate transfer belt used in an intermediate transfer system and a transfer sheet conveying belt used to support and carry the transfer sheet and let the transfer sheet pass through a transfer nip.
An example of an image forming apparatus that uses an intermediate transfer belt is, for instance, an image forming apparatus of a tandem type intermediate transfer system. The image forming apparatus of the tandem type intermediate transfer system includes a plurality of photosensitive drums, each of which has an individual developing device. A single color toner image is formed on each photosensitive drum and each color toner image is sequentially copied on to the intermediate transfer belt. Consequently, a combined color image is formed on the intermediate transfer belt, and the combined color image on the intermediate transfer belt is then batch-transferred on to the transfer sheet.
An example of an image forming apparatus that uses a transfer sheet conveying belt is, for instance, an image forming apparatus of a tandem type direct transfer system. The image forming apparatus of a tandem type direct transfer system includes a plurality of photosensitive drums, each of which has an individual developing device. A single color toner image is formed on each photosensitive drum, and each color toner image is sequentially superimposed on to a single transfer sheet, which is supported and carried by the transfer sheet conveying belt, and consequently a combined color image is formed on the transfer sheet.
The rotating belt (hereinafter, 'belt') is usually suspended by a plurality of rollers. A driving roller from among the rollers drives the belt in an endless movement.
Conventionally, a material is attached on one portion of the front or the back in the width direction of the belt for various purposes, such as a sheet used as a scale (hereinafter, 'scale') to detect and read an amount of movement of the belt by means of a sensor (see, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. H11-24507) or a protection seal that is attached on both edges of the belt to prevent cracks being developed at the edges of the belt. At the time of driving the belt, in order to prevent biasing of the belt towards one end of the axis direction of a roller, a stopper is also attached in such a way that it protrudes within both edges of the belt. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a belt V provided in an image forming apparatus. At both edges of the belt in the width direction, a material (hereinafter, 'affixed material S') is attached. When the belt V is driven in the image forming apparatus, it rotates in direction α, as shown in FIG. 13.
In the image forming apparatus that employs the belt V, in which the affixed material S is attached to a portion on the front or the back of the belt, there is a chance to occur a problem as follows.
When the belt V continues to rotate, both edges of the belt in the width direction are about to bend inwards. FIG. 14 is a cross section of the belt cut along X in FIG. 13, illustrating that the edges of the belt are bent inwards. FIG. 15 is a magnified view of the end of the belt encircled in FIG. 14. As shown in FIG. 14, when the affixed material S is provided at both edges in the width direction on the inner surface of the belt, both ends of the belt bend towards the side of the affixed material S. If the belt V is suspended by a plurality of rollers and a tension is applied, a uniform tension is applied in the width direction in the belt V. However, an amount of stretch at the edges of the belt, where the affixed material S is provided, is smaller than an amount of stretch at the center part of the belt, where the affixed material S is not provided. Due to a difference in the amount of stretch, a peripheral length of the part where the amount of stretch is smaller and the affixed material S is provided is shorter than the peripheral length of the part where the amount of stretch is greater. As a result, as shown in FIG. 15, a deformation appears at a boundary d between the portion where the amount of stretch is smaller and the portion where the amount of stretch is greater, which causes both the edges of the belt to bend inwards.
Such a belt deformation in the image forming apparatus causes further problems.
In a structure in which a detecting mark is provided at one place of the inner surface of the belt and a sensor is provided at a position opposite to the detection mark, when the edges in the width direction of the belt bend inwards, the transit position of the detection mark gets shifted from the position opposite to the sensor. As a result, the detection timing goes off or the detection cannot be carried out.
When a belt suspended by a plurality of rollers is driven, in order to prevent biasing of the belt toward an edge side, a stopper is provided, which protrudes into the inner surface of both the edges in the width direction of the belt. In a belt in which the stopper is provided, when both the edges in the width direction bend inwards, instead of touching the ends of the roller, the stopper collide with the corners of the rollers or climb on to the side surfaces of the roller. This leads to a malfunction in the driving of the belt.
Moreover, the affixed material S is the scale for detecting the movement speed. When driving the belt, in a structure in which a sensor provided at a position opposite to the scale is used to carry out the belt movement speed detection, the following problem may arise. As shown in FIG. 16, as the angle of the scale becomes tilted with respect to a sensor 12, precision in the movement speed detection deteriorates and in some cases the detection cannot be carried out. In a structure in which various controls are carried out based on a result of the detection, malfunction occurs in those controls.
However, the tilt at the boundary d, which is caused due to the difference in the amount of stretch of the belt where the affixed material S is not provided and the part where the affixed material S is provided, is not necessarily confined to the edges in the width direction of the belt. For instance, when an affixed material is disposed along the center in the width direction of the belt, the stretch at the center of the belt is less while the stretch at both the edges is more, and the tilt occurs at the boundary. According to the deformation in the belt V, some unexpected malfunction may occur.

Apparatus for suppressing deformations in a belt of an image forming device


A method and apparatus for performing group marking on a uniform transform unit mode and an electronic device are provided. The method includes: marking group units according to uniform transform unit modes of coding units included in the group units; wherein when the uniform transform unit modes of the coding units in the group units have a first value, a flag is set to be of a second value, and the group units are marked by using the first flag; and marking the coding units in the group units according to the uniform transform unit modes of the coding units included in the group units. According to this disclosure, when the uniform transform unit modes of the coding units in the group units are identical, the uniform transform unit modes of the coding units in the group units are not marked, thereby saving storage capability, transmission capability and processing capability.

In the field of video coding, a uniform data structure may be used to denote an image structure of a video image, such a uniform data structure being referred to as a uniform transform unit structure. In the uniform transform coding structure, a coding unit (CU) of a video image may be divided into a number of uniform transform units, a shape of each uniform transform unit may be rectangular, and all uniform transform units in a coding unit have identical shapes and areas.
For a coding unit of a size of 2m×2n(m>=n), it may be divided into a number of uniform transform units in the following possible division manners that: 1. take the coding unit as a uniform transform unit, that is, the coding unit contains only one uniform transform unit; 2. a size of each uniform transform unit in the coding unit is 2n×2n, hence, the coding unit contains 2m-n uniform transform units; 3. a size of each uniform transform unit in the coding unit is 2n-1×2n-1, hence, the coding unit contains 4×2m-n uniform transform units; 4. a size of each uniform transform unit in the coding unit is 2n-2×2n-2, hence, the coding unit contains 16×2m-n uniform transform units; . . . , and so on. And in the last possible division manner, a size of each uniform transform unit in the coding unit is 2×2.
The above division manners may correspond to a uniform transform unit (UTU) mode, respectively; wherein the UTU mode may be denoted as a numerical value. For example, the above manner 1 corresponds to UTU mode=0, the above method 2 corresponds to UTU mode=1, the above method 3 corresponds to UTU mode=2, and the above method 4 corresponds to UTU mode=3.
In coding a video image, a uniform transform unit mode is set for each coding unit (CU), and the uniform transform unit mode may indicate how many uniform transform units the coding unit is divided into.
It should be noted that the above description of the background is merely provided for clear and complete explanation of this disclosure and for easy understanding by those skilled in the art. And it should not be understood that the above technical solution is known to those skilled in the art as it is described in the background of this disclosure.

Method and apparatus for performing group marking on uniform transform unit mode and electronic device


In a first aspect, the current invention provides a method for manipulating a computer aided design (CAD) model, comprising the following computer-implemented steps of: —obtaining a composite object comprising a 3D geometry; —defining a 2D cross section of the composite object; —selecting a pattern of an event; —displaying the pattern; —applying modifications to the pattern, whereby the modifications are saved as a 2D patch, directly linked to the 3D geometry. The method according to an embodiment of the invention is particularly suitable for linking the maps providing 2D details, used on a construction site, to 3D composite objects and is particularly useful to avoid incompatibilities between the 2D and 3D information. In a second aspect, the present invention provides a computer program product for manipulating a CAD model. In a third aspect, the present invention provides a server for manipulating a CAD model.

CAD software applications provide users with the capability to create and edit geometry, models and drawings using actions or commands. Typical CAD software applications are AutoCAD, Inventor, Solidworks, Spaceclaim, BricsCAD, etc.
Currently, the 3D models help users to visualize the design of a building, which can streamline collaboration. The use of 3D models is advantageous, as it enables to automate the quantity survey (measuring state) to compute volumes. Moreover, the 3D models are useful for the normalization of the heating.
In practice, it is hard/impossible to provide all details in the 3D view of the model (like different foils between a floor and a wall), because the level of detail (LOD) needs to remain feasible. Too much detail (like the inclusion of foils) in the 3D model is not profitable, as the drawing time increases drastically and the amount of data to be stored is excessive. Therefore, these details are often provided on separate, external 2D plans, which can be intersections of the 3D model. However, these amended 2D plans are currently autonomous and are not directly linked to the 3D model, which can result in incompatibilities (e.g. when the 3D model is changed afterwards, the autonomous amended 2D plan is not automatically updated). On a construction site, these 2D sections are often used and the discordances can result in issues on site, leading to downtime. This increases the production cost drastically, due to inefficient time use of expensive contractors.
U.S. Pat. No. 9,020,783 discloses a method and apparatus for enabling direct manipulation techniques in a building information model (BIM) CAD application. The method of U.S. Pat. No. 9,020,783 selects sub-objects of a composite object 3D model in a 2D or 3D view and enables amending the sub-objects in a separate drawable interface. The 3D model is dynamically updated and displayed according to the changes of the sub-objects. Nevertheless, using this method it is time-consuming to apply similar changes to other sub-objects, which require similar adjustments. Each of the different sub-objects is presented in a separate drawable interface instance, complicating the management of sophisticated composite objects comprising a large number of sub-objects. Moreover, the updating of the minute details to the 3D model is memory exhaustive and is pointless in many cases, as in practice only 2D cross sections are used to get detailed structural information. The method of U.S. '783 is designed for corrections at the macro-level, but is less suitable for providing details on smaller scales.
There remains a need in the art for an improved method that enables refining a conceptual 3D model, providing detail in more accurate 2D cross sections, which remain compatible with the 3D model at all stages of a project. In practice, the architect needs to determine any problem areas and get a feel for the type of requirements a particular building may have as the design progresses. In the preliminary analysis, engineers are often looking for quick early-stage approximate answers to make quick decisions that can later be refined into more accurate solutions for the (2D) production drawings. At all stages, the detailed 2D cross sections should be synchronized with the general 3D model (e.g. in case the 3D model is modified, the software needs to check the consistency of the 2D detailed plans with the modified 3D model and/or warn the user that incompatibilities could have emerged due to the changes in the 3D model). Often similar modifications need to be applied throughout the composite object on cross sections comprising/containing the same objects. For the sake of efficiency, it is therefore important that these modifications can be recycled and can be reused on other positions of the composite object or in new projects. Said software is by preference compatible with standard software applications like AutoCad. The prior art fails to provide such capabilities.
The present invention aims to resolve at least some of the problems mentioned above.
The invention thereto aims to provide a single set of tools that can be used from concept through completion, in the same environment, while allowing the user to design in a natural, interactive, direct, and desirable manner.

Method for providing details to a computer aided design (CAD) model, a computer program product and a server therefore


A golf club head includes: a face portion; a crown portion, furrows being formed on an interior surface of at least a part of the crown part in a mesh-like pattern; a side portion; a sole portion, at least a front part of the sole portion being made of metal, and furrows being formed on an interior surface of at least a part of the front part in a mesh-like pattern; and a hosel portion.

The present invention relates to a hollow golf club head, more particularly to a golf club head, at least the front part of a sole portion of which is made of metallic plate so as to adjust stiffness of the front part of the sole portion.
Hollow, metallic golf club heads have been widely used as a wood-type golf club such as a driver and a fairway wood. Generally, the hollow wood type golf club head includes a face portion for hitting a ball, a crown portion which constructs a top surface portion of the gold club head, a sole portion which constructs a bottom surface portion of the golf club head, a side portion which constructs a toe side, a back side and a heel side of the golf club head, and a hosel portion. A shaft is inserted into the hosel portion and is fixed thereto with adhesive or the like.
Although as a metal material for constructing the hollow golf club head, aluminum alloy, stainless steel, and titanium alloy have been used, in particular, titanium alloy has been widely used in recent years.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2007-054200 discloses a golf club head in which the back side and the face side of the sole portion is formed with a large thickness whereas an area therebetween is formed with a small thickness. Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2011-030836 discloses a golf club head in which the heel side of the sole portion is made with a large thickness whereas a toe side of the sole portion is made with a small thickness.


The present invention relates to inks for silk-screen printing technique, as well as the corresponding printing technique, designed to bestow upon the reproduction obtained by means of the use of said inks on an appropriate substrate, preferably of a paper type, a particular feel, preferably a particular roughness or coarseness. In particular, the present invention relates to an ink for silk-screen printing of catalogues or advertising leaflets for products designed for decorative wall coatings that will reproduce also the feel of the final decoration applied on the wall substrate.

Silk-screen printing is a printing process which uses a form—referred to as frame or sieve—constituted by a fabric with a very fine mesh, which is left permeable to the ink in the areas of image to be reproduced and impermeable in the other areas.
The frame is formed by a network that can be made with threads of polyester, nylon or steel stretched over iron or aluminium frames of variable size at a tension of 4-7 bar with a more or less fine mesh according to the chromatic effect that it is desired to obtain, and bears the form of the pattern to be reproduced. Frames normally used for silk-screen printing have a woof that can range from 10 to 150 threads/cm2 according to the type of ink or paint product used and the amount thereof to be released onto the substrate.
Preparation of the frame can be performed manually by tracing thereon with a lithographic crayon the pattern that it is intended to reproduce. This closes with its trace the underlying layers between the woof and the warp. Next, with a special glue, all the spaces not involved in the pattern are closed, and then, using a solvent (alcohol or benzene), all of the thick trace of the crayon is removed, exposing the holes that had been occluded. Preparation of the frame can also be performed mechanically, in particular photomechanically.
Printing may be manual or carried out using special machines. In the first case, the ink is distributed using a spatula, referred to as doctor blade or doctor knife, over the sieve stretched over the appropriate frame.
The doctor blade, in fact, by applying pressure as it slides from one end to the other of the frame causes passage through the network of the ink on the substrate that is to be printed. The average thickness of dry ink deposited for each pass is between 50 and 100 μm.
The machinery used for silk-screen printing is substantially made up of surfaces that apply suction pressure and/or that use special glues either in line or rotating on a carousel with one to eight colours and intermediate drying hoods with IR or UV lamps or hot-air lamps. Said drying devices may moreover be equipped with travelling bands or belts of the length necessary for polymerization of the ink of the paint product used or can carry out manual drying on frames, which can be set on top of one another. This machinery may moreover be equipped with a sheet-in/sheet-out device.
The silk-screen printing system is used generally for printing of fabrics, packaging made of paper, aluminium or plastic materials, road signs and also in the decoration of furniture, crockery and toys.
Printing inks are generally formed by a dyeing part and by a binding part. The dyeing part can be obtained with pigments and with soluble dyes, where by "pigment" is meant an insoluble coloured compound in the binder of the ink, whilst by "soluble dye" is meant a coloured compound that is soluble in the binder. In turn, the binder is constituted by a vehicle, a modifier of the vehicle, and a solvent.
The typical composition of an ink is given in Table 1.
TABLE 1Dyeing partBinding partPigmentSoluble dyeVehicleModifierSolventOrganic(transparent)NaturalPlastifiersAliphatic(transparent)resinsWaxescompoundsOilsAromaticInorganicSyntheticWetting agentscompounds(covering)resinsStabilizing agentsKetonesAnti-foamingEstersagentsWaterDrying agents
The dyeing part determines the chromatic characteristics of the ink. The organic pigments are characterized by a good transparency, with the exception of carbon black, which is semi-covering, and fluorescent pigments which are covering.
The inorganic pigments possess high covering-power characteristics with the exception of some colours that are transparent (iron blue) or semi-covering (china clay, calcium carbonate, aluminium hydrate). The soluble dyes are, instead, characterized by a very high transparency.
The intensity of the colours is adjusted with covering or transparent thick white inks.
The binding part of a printing ink is constituted, as has been seen, by a vehicle, a modifier, and a solvent.
The vehicle is constituted basically by natural or synthetic resins that bestow upon the ink fundamental characteristics from the chemico-physical standpoint.
Natural resins have had a considerable importance in the formulation of printing inks. Currently, the tendency is, however, to replace them with resins of a synthetic type.
Synthetic resins can be used by themselves or mixed together, and, in a few cases, also mixed with natural resins, should there exist a good degree of compatibility, where by "compatibility" is meant the possibility for two or more resins to form a homogeneous and stable solution that does not give rise over time to phenomena of separation, precipitation, or clouding.
The main resins used are resins of an epoxy, vinyl, hydrocarbon, nitro-cellulose, maleic, melamine, phenol-formaldehyde, urea-formaldehyde, alkyd, polyester, acrylate, or polyurethane type.
Modifiers are used to bestow upon the inks particular characteristics, such as for example plasticity, flexibility, mechanical surface resistance, etc. Esters of phthalic, sebacic and glycolic acids are generally used as plastifiers; as regards waxes, natural ones, such as for example carnauba wax, or synthetic ones, for example polyethylene, are used; as regards oils, linseed, soya and wood oils may be used; finally, as dessicators the salts of manganese, zinc, cobalt and zirconium of naphthene, octoic and linoresinic acids are used.
The solvents have an extremely important dual function: they must bestow upon the ink the fluidity necessary for enabling transfer from the printing form (sieve or frame) to the substrate, and must moreover constitute the mobile phase of the ink-drying process, i.e., the component that must be removed either by penetration or by evaporation or by selective filtration at the moment of application of the ink on the substrate.
The film of ink that remains on the material has a constant thickness, in all cases much greater than that of the typographic and lithographic processes; as a result it achieves much greater covering-power effects. This enables prints with high resistance to light and to chemical agents to be obtained. Furthermore, the system does not call for high printing pressures that are necessary in other processes.

Ink for silk-screen printing and corresponding printing technique


A printing apparatus includes a media support assembly, a scanning module, and a control module. The media support assembly may position a respective media portion in a print zone to receive a printing fluid thereon. The scanning module may scan the media portion in the print zone and generate a media shape signal corresponding to a shape of the media portion. The control module may compare the media shape signal to a reference signal to form a resultant comparison and determine a media malfunction event based on the resultant comparison.

A printing apparatus may include a media support assembly and a printhead. The media support assembly may sequentially position a respective media portion of a plurality of media portions in a print zone to receive a printing fluid thereon in accordance with a print job. The printhead may apply the printing fluid to the respective media portion in the print zone in a form of swaths to form an image thereon.

Determination of a media malfunction event based on a shape of a media portion

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.