An abrasive article is provided which comprises a backing and at least one three-dimensional abrasive coating bonded to a surface of the backing. The abrasive coating comprises a binder formed from a cured binder precursor having dispersed therein a plurality of diamond bead abrasive particles and a filler which comprises from about 40 to about 60 percent weight of the abrasive coating. The abrasive article is particularly suitable for abrading a glass or a glass ceramic workpiece in the presence of a lubricant.

The present invention pertains to an abrasive article and to a method of using the abrasive article to abrade a glass or glass ceramic workpiece.
Glass ceramics are known to be used as substrates for magnetic memory discs, for example, those used as storage devices (e.g., hard drives) in personal computers. In order to produce an acceptable magnetic memory disc, the memory disc substrate must have precisely controlled dimensions and a precisely controlled surface finish. Typically, dimensioning and imparting the desired surface finish to memory disc substrates has involved a multi-step process using loose abrasive slurries. In the first step of the process, the glass ceramic discs are dimensioned such that they have the desired thickness and thickness uniformity. After dimensioning, the discs are textured to provide the desired surface finish.
Although loose abrasive slurries are widely used in this process, loose abrasive slurries have many disadvantages associated with them. These disadvantages include the inconvenience of handling the required large volumes of the slurry, the required agitation to prevent settling of the abrasive particles and to assure a uniform concentration of abrasive particles at the polishing interface, and the need for additional equipment to prepare, handle, and dispose of or recover and recycle the loose abrasive slurry. Additionally, the slurry itself must be periodically analyzed to assure its quality and dispersion stability. Furthermore, pump heads, valves, feed lines, grinding laps, and other parts of the slurry supply equipment which contact the loose abrasive slurry eventually show undesirable wear. Further, the processes which use the slurry are usually very untidy because the loose abrasive slurry, which is a viscous liquid, splatters easily and is difficult to contain.
In view of the many disadvantages associated with using a slurry process to abrade (i.e., dimension or texture) glass ceramic memory disc substrates, what is desired in the industry is a fixed abrasive article suitable for abrading these substrates.
The present invention provides an abrasive article which is suitable for abrading (i.e., dimensioning or polishing) a glass or a glass ceramic workpiece. The abrasive article comprises a backing and at least one three-dimensional abrasive coating bonded to a surface of the backing. The abrasive coating comprises a binder having dispersed therein a plurality of diamond bead abrasive particles and a filler. The filler comprises about 40 to about 60 percent weight of the abrasive coating, more preferably about 50 to about 60 percent weight of the abrasive coating.
It is preferred that the three-dimensional abrasive coating includes a plurality of abrasive composites. The plurality of abrasive composites can be precisely shaped composites, irregularly shaped composites or precisely shaped composites including a shape of a truncated pyramid having a flat top. Preferably, the precisely shaped composites have a bottom portion defining a surface area not more than 50%, more preferably, not more than 25% and most preferably, not more than 15% greater than the top surface area of the composites.
Preferably, the binder is formed from a binder precursor comprising an ethylenically unsaturated resin, for example, an acrylate resin. The ethylenically unsaturated monomer preferably is selected from the group of monofunctional acrylate monomers, difunctional acrylate monomers, trifunctional acrylate monomers, and mixtures thereof.
The abrasive particles in an abrasive article of the present invention comprise diamond bead abrasive particles. The diamond beads comprise a plurality of individual diamond particles which are held together by a metal oxide matrix, preferably a silicon oxide matrix. Preferably, the average size of the diamond bead abrasive particles is about 6 to about 100 micrometers.
Abrasive articles of the present invention have been found to be particularly suitable for abrading glass and glass ceramic workpieces. That is, abrasive articles of the present invention provide a high cut rate which is relatively constant over the life of the abrasive article when they are used with a lubricant to abrade a glass or a glass ceramic workpiece. Therefore, another aspect of the invention is directed to a method for abrading a glass or a glass ceramic workpiece comprising the steps of:
(a) contacting a glass or a glass ceramic workpiece with an abrasive article as described above;
(b) applying a lubricant at an interface between the workpiece and the abrasive article; and
(c) moving the workpiece and the abrasive article relative to one another.
The three dimensional abrasive coating of the abrasive article comprises a binder having dispersed therein diamond bead abrasive particles and at least one filler in the amount of about 40 to about 60 percent weight of the abrasive coating. The level of filler is chosen to provide an abrasive coating which will erode under typically use conditions thereby exposing and releasing new diamond bead abrasive particles. Diamond bead abrasive particles are believed to be particularly suitable because their relatively large size inhibits them from being pressed into the abrasive coating. Also, it is believed that the diamond bead abrasive particles are less susceptible to developing wear flats (i.e., less susceptible to dulling) which may lead to a reduced cut rate.
In a preferred embodiment, the three dimensional abrasive coating has a precisely shaped surface. xe2x80x9cPrecisely shapedxe2x80x9d as used herein, describes the abrasive composites which are formed by curing the binder precursor while the precursor is both being formed on a backing and filling a cavity on the surface of a production tool. These abrasive composites have a three dimensional shape that is defined by relatively smooth-surfaced sides that are bounded and joined by well-defined sharp edges having distinct edge lengths with distinct endpoints defined by the intersections of the various sides. This type of abrasive article is referred to as structured in the sense of the deployment of a plurality of such precisely-shaped abrasive. The abrasive composites may also have a irregular shape which, as used herein, means that the sides or boundaries forming the abrasive composite are slumped and not precise. In an irregularly shaped abrasive composite, the abrasive slurry is first formed into the desired shape and/or pattern. Once the abrasive slurry is formed, the binder precursor in the abrasive slurry is cured or solidified. There is generally a time gap between forming the shape and curing the binder precursor. During this time gap, the abrasive slurry will flow and/or slump, thereby causing some distortion in the formed shape. The abrasive composites can also vary in size, pitch, or shape in a single abrasive article, as described in WO 95/07797 (published Mar. 23, 1995) and WO 95/22436 (published Aug. 24, 1995).
xe2x80x9cBoundaryxe2x80x9d as used herein, refers to the exposed surfaces and edges of each composite that delimit and define the actual three-dimensional shape of each abrasive composite. These boundaries are readily visible and discernible when a cross-section of an abrasive article of this invention is viewed under a microscope. These boundaries separate and distinguish one abrasive composite from another even if the composites abut each other along a common border at their bases. For precisely shaped abrasive composites, the boundaries and edges are sharp and distinct. By comparison, in an abrasive article that does not have precisely shaped composites, the boundaries and edges are not definitive (i.e., the abrasive composite sags before completion of its curing). These abrasive composites, whether precisely or irregularly shaped, can be of any geometrical shape defined by a substantially distinct and discernible boundary, wherein the precise geometrical shape is selected from the group consisting of cubic, prismatic, conical, block-like truncated conical, pyramidal, truncated pyramidal, cylindrical, hemispherical and the like.
xe2x80x9cTexturexe2x80x9d as used herein, refers to an abrasive coating having any of the aforementioned three dimensional composites, whether the individual three dimensional composites are precisely or irregularly shaped. The texture may be formed from a plurality of abrasive composites which all have substantially the same geometrical shape (i.e., the texture may be regular). Similarly, the texture may be in a random pattern where the geometrical shape differs from abrasive composite to abrasive composite.

Abrasive article suitable for abrading glass and glass ceramic workpieces


A stroke sensor has two magnets, which are magnetized in a cross-section direction and are displaced in a longitudinal direction, and two magnetism sensitive sections arranged parallel to the longitudinal direction. The magnets have circular-arc-shaped swelling end edges respectively and are magnetized such that the swelling end edges have opposite polarities. Thus, a distribution of a magnetic flux density on an arrangement axis substantially coincides with a sine curve. The magnetic flux having such the distribution is displaced in the longitudinal direction together with the magnets. The magnetism sensitive sections are arranged on the arrangement axis to be distant from each other by a distance of one fourth of a cycle of the sine curve. Thus, the stroke sensor that is not affected by temperature and that has high sensing accuracy can be provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a stroke sensor that senses a linear displacement amount (i.e., stroke amount) of a sensed body, which is displaced linearly, and to a rotation angle sensor that senses a rotation angle of a sensed body, which rotates.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, many output values of stroke sensors and rotation angle sensors are used for various types of control of a vehicle and occupy important places in the control. For example, the stroke sensor has a movable member, which forms a magnetic flux and which is displaced linearly in accordance with linear displacement of a sensed body, and a fixed member, which senses the magnetic flux and converts the magnetic flux into an electric output for outputting the electric output. For example, the rotation angle sensor has a movable member, which forms a magnetic flux and which rotates in accordance with rotation of the sensed body, and a fixed member, which senses the magnetic flux and converts the magnetic flux into an electric output for outputting the electric output.
The stroke sensor and the rotation angle sensor calculate respective output values based on the electric outputs outputted from the respective fixed members. An electronic control unit (ECU) grasps a stroke amount and a rotation angle of the sensed body based on the output values and performs various kinds of control processing.
The magnetic flux formed by the movable member and the electric output outputted from the fixed member fluctuate in accordance with temperature. Therefore, sensing accuracy of the stroke sensor and the rotation angle sensor cannot be improved more than a limit based on the temperature characteristics. Therefore, in the stroke sensor, a correlation between the stroke amount and the output value does not become an ideal linear characteristic. In the rotation angle sensor, a correlation between the rotation angle and the output value does not become an ideal linear characteristic, either.
There is proposed a position sensor that forms a magnetic flux with two magnets having different polarities and forms a reversed magnetic flux with another two magnets, whereby the position sensor can obtain output values on both plus side and minus side across zero (for example, refer to Patent document 1: JP-A-2004-286017). However, the magnetic flux and the electric output fluctuate in accordance with the temperature also in the position sensor. The sensing accuracy does not improve more than the limit based on the temperature characteristics. If the magnet rotates while being displaced linearly, the sensed magnetic flux density fluctuates. Therefore, a sensing error of the stroke amount accompanying the rotation of the magnet increases.


A label applicator for separating labels from a continuous carrier strip and applying the labels to an object positioned at the applicator includes a baseplate, a supply reel, a rewind reel, a motor and a rotary encoder. The supply reel is operably mounted to the baseplate and configured for supporting the carrier strip having labels thereon. The rewind reel is also operably mounted to the baseplate and rewinds the carrier strip after label disbursement. The motor is operably connected to the rewind reel and configured for moving or advancing the carrier strip through the applicator, while the rotary encoder controls a linear speed of the carrier strip through the applicator.

The present invention is directed to a label applicator. More particularly, the present invention pertains to a label applicator that uses web-fed labels, applies those labels to a series of objects, and rewinds the label liner around a rewind reel while maintaining the web at a constant linear speed.
Automated label applicators are well-known in the art. Such a machine feeds a continuous web of material, which includes a carrier strip or liner having labels adhered to the carrier strip at intervals along the carrier strip, and dispenses the labels from the carrier strip onto products on a moving conveyor belt.
After separating the labels from the carrier strip, the carrier strip is accumulated on a rewind or take-up reel for disposal. The carrier strip generally travels over a drive roller and a nip roller before finally reaching the rewind reel. Typically, the driving force for moving the web through the applicator or label machine is provided by a first motor that drives the supply roll while the driving force for collecting the carrier strip is provided by a second motor that drives the rewind reel.
While prior known applicators may suffice, there are several drawbacks associated with known types of applicators. For example, drive rollers generally are of the type formed from a polyurethane material which has a tendency to stick or adhere to other materials. Therefore, when the applicator is to be reloaded with supply, users sometimes must first remove several feet of labels from a leading end of the web prior to installing a new roll. If the leading labels are not removed, they may adhere to the drive and/or nip roller as they pass through. The labels are subsequently very difficult to remove from the drive roller and create a great deal of waste. Another drawback is adhesive from the labels accumulating on the drive and nip rollers causing performance degradation. Other drawbacks include the nip and drive rollers wearing out or the carrier strip slipping from between the nip and drive roller. Either condition may cause the machine to misfeed.
Other issues stem from the speed at which the applicator runs. It is important for the speed of the web through the applicator to remain constant to effectively apply labels to objects; however, changes in weight on the rewind reel can affect the speed of the web through the applicator. Some solutions involve using larger and larger motors in order to maintain a constant speed of label disbursement. Large motors, however, become increasingly expensive and at some point become cost prohibitive. Smaller motors are less expensive, but typically do not sufficiently track the speed of the web to the speed of the products on a conveyor. Inadequate tracking may cause tearing, wrinkling, or other deformation of the labels and the web. In addition, the tracking accuracy of label placement is also important, for example, to prevent placing of the label over product names or logos or other marketing tags. In another example, tracking accuracy is important if the label being placed is a cautionary or directional device, such as arrows, that it need to be placed in a particular orientation on the packaging.
Accordingly, there is a need for a label applicator that uses smaller components, eliminates the drawbacks caused by drive and nip rollers, and provides an easy web path for an operator to re-stock the web material.


A method of producing a (meth)acrylic resin composition. The method comprises a step of continuously feeding a monomer mixture comprising 80 to 100% by mass of methyl methacrylate and 20 to 0% by mass of an alkyl acrylate to a tank reactor and bulk polymerizing the monomer mixture until obtaining a polymerization conversion of 40 to 70% by mass to prepare a reaction product; continuously discharging the reaction product, and heating the reaction product to 200° C. to 270° C. with a heater, and then separating the unreacted monomer with a extruder equipped with a vent; and transferring the separated unreacted monomer entrained by an inert gas flow to reuse the separated unreacted monomer as a raw material of the monomer mixture.

Molded products composed of (meth)acrylic resin compositions have excellent transparency and less optical strain and are therefore widely used as optical members such as lenses, prisms, phase difference films, light guide plates, light diffusion films, polarizing plate protective films and the like. In recent years, demands for lightweight and wide liquid crystal displays are high, and optical members are also required to be reduced in thickness and to be increased in area according to the demands. In addition, there is a demand for reproduction of highly fine images, and thereby a (meth)acrylic resin composition that is further less colored and has higher transparency is required.
The (meth)acrylic resin composition for optical members is usually mainly composed of a (meth)acrylic resin (also referred to as methacrylic polymer or (meth)acrylic polymer) produced by continuous bulk polymerization. For example, Patent Documents 1 and 2 each disclose a method of producing a methacrylic polymer. The method is characterized by continuously bulk polymerizing a monomer mixture comprising a radical polymerization initiator in an amount that is calculated from a calculation formula based on the half-life and concentration, discharging a polymer from the reactor at a specific polymer content, and continuously removing the volatile matters with a vent extruder. Patent Document 3 discloses a method of producing a (meth)acrylic polymer characterized by introducing an inert gas such as nitrogen gas into the shaft sealing portion of the vent extruder during the continuous removal of the volatile matter.

Method for producing (meth)acrylic resin composition


A current mode control apparatus generates an AC power output from a DC input source. The apparatus includes a pulse width modulator (PWM) to produce gate drive signals for driving a power output section having an output inductor and connected across the DC input source. An inner current error control loop coupled between the AC power output and the PWM, controls the average current in the output inductor by generating a current error signal for inputting to the PWM for conversion to the gate drive signals. The current error signal is the difference between the average current and a voltage controlled input signal. An outer voltage error control loop coupled between the AC power output and the inner current error control loop generates a voltage error signal based on the difference between the AC power output and a reference AC voltage. The voltage error signal represents a change in demand for current in the output inductor and serves as the voltage controlled input signal to the inner current error control loop. A voltage limiter in the outer voltage error control loop limits the voltage error signal to a maximum value to prevent the average current in said output inductor and thus in said AC power output from exceeding a predetermined limit. The current mode control apparatus is adaptable for use in an uninterruptible power supply for supplying a load with the AC power output.

The use of electronic and computer systems has expanded immensely and affects almost all ways of life. Even brief interruptions of or variations in the input power source can cause failures to these systems, resulting in lost time, data, damaged equipment, and high repair bills. To overcome these problems, UPS systems have been developed and are well known in the art. These include both on-line and off-line configurations. The simplest type, single conversion or standby, uses a battery, an inverter to convert the battery voltage to an AC output voltage, and a transfer switch that connects the AC output voltage if the source voltage is lost. The transfer time during the switching can be noticeable and can become significant in some computer applications. Double conversion or on-line types eliminate this transfer time. The AC source voltage is continuously converted by a rectifier to a DC voltage and charges a battery that is in parallel with the DC voltage. This DC voltage is converted by an inverter back to an AC output voltage. If the AC source voltage is lost, the battery supplies the DC voltage to the inverter immediately and there is no interruption in power to the load. Upon the return of the AC source voltage, the load is again supplied from the AC source without any interruption in power. Since the incoming power is rectified, incoming power is inherently conditioned since surges, sags and noise can be essentially eliminated during the conversion to DC.
Many types of on-line UPS systems have been developed. Commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,916,329, describes one such device that uses a three port ferroresonant transformer having a first primary winding connected to an AC input, a second primary winding connected to a battery-inverter arrangement, and the secondary winding connected to the load. A series regulator in the first primary keeps the output voltage within certain limits when the AC input is present. The regulator also disconnects the AC line when the inverter supplies the output voltage. A synchronization circuit provides a means of having the AC output of the inverter in phase with the AC input when a transfer takes place to prevent large voltage transients.
Phase lock loops (PLL) have been commonly used as a means for locking one frequency to another to provide line synchronization and are commercially available as integrated circuit packages, such as a Harris Semiconductor type CD4046B. The possibility of a digital PLL and several algorithms are discussed in a master's thesis submitted by Thomas E. Helfrich to West Coast University and accepted on Apr. 11, 1991 entitled "Microcontroller Application In An Uninterruptible Power Supply." These algorithms are written in Basic and are not suitable for real time implementation. Compensation is required to eliminate observed frequency variations due to sampling times of the zero-crossing detectors versus the actual zero crossings.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,719,550 describes another UPS system that is adaptable for use with alternate energy sources. This system requires an input source of given frequency and amplitude. A DC bus is established that is fed from either rectified AC input power or batteries. This is converted back to output AC voltage. Various configurations using different combinations of AC/DC, DC/AC, DC/DC, and AC/AC converters are presented. Regulation of the AC output is controlled by keeping the DC bus at a predetermined energy level. Energy transfer into the bus is controlled by adjusting the magnitude and phase relationship of the AC input voltage and the AC side of an AC/DC converter feeding this bus.
These and other known types of UPS devices have various operational characteristics and features that are unique to the method employed and would be difficult to integrate into a single, cost effective device. These include high efficiency in the normal mode of operation, small size, reliability of components, regulation of the AC output voltage during both on-line and standby modes of operation, fast transfer times between modes with low electrical noise generation, extended battery life, line isolation between source and load, synchronization of the input AC phase with the output inverter phase to eliminate possible voltage spikes to the load and the device during transfer times, and diagnostic capabilities. A microprocessor based UPS device could allow the integration of these features wherein the microprocessor eliminates the need for extensive hardware, with a reduction in power requirements, without compromising performance and increasing the overall efficiency of the UPS device.
Most output inverter stages employed in UPS systems compare the voltage output with a desired output in an error amplifier to produce an error signal proportional to the error. The error signal is then applied to the input of a pulse width modulator (PWM) operating at a frequency much higher than the output frequency. The width of the output pulse is modulated with respect to the error signal and applied to switching type amplifier. The output is filtered by an inductor to remove the high frequency components caused by the switching mode of operation. This may cause a problem in system frequency response and stability since the inductor introduces a pole in the system transfer function. To overcome this problem, an inner current feedback control loop is introduced to the voltage feedback to effectively eliminate the output inductor. These types of feedback systems utilized peak current mode control. This control requires slope compensation in the circuitry and requires compensation for peak to average current errors. To improve on this drawback, a current feedback system that relies on average current rather than peak current is desired. These types of control systems have been commonly developed for DC amplifiers but do not exist for AC systems.
Another problem commonly associated with prior art UPS systems is providing adequate protection for the solid state output devices to prevent failures due to overloads, short circuits and overheating.
Applicants' invention is provided to solve this integration problem and to provide other unique features that will become readily apparent.

Average current mode control apparatus for an AC output amplifier


A charger comprises a housing, a first multi-layer printed circuit board (PCB), a second multi-layer PCB, and a third multi-layer PCB. The first PCB comprises at least a portion of a primary side circuit. The second PCB comprises at least a portion of a secondary side circuit. The third PCB is perpendicular to the first PCB and the second PCB. An isolation coupling element is disposed on the third PCB. The isolation coupling element comprises a multi-layer PCB. The first PCB comprises a high voltage (HV) semiconductor package. A surface of a die paddle of the HV semiconductor package is exposed from a molding encapsulation of the HV semiconductor package.

FIG. 1A is a simplified circuit diagram of a traditional charger based on a pulse width modulation (PWM) control fly-back AC/DC converter. A transformer TX1 transfers energy received from a primary side source to a secondary side to power a load. The transformer TX1 has a first end of its primary coil connected to an input voltage VBulk, presumably a rectification output from an AC wall outlet. A second end of the transformer primary coil is connected to a main switch Q1 to regulate a current through the primary coil of the transformer for energy to be transferred to the secondary side of the transformer. A main controller is located on the primary side of the transformer to control the on and off of the main switch. A feedback loop with an error amplifier located at the secondary side of the transformer provides the output information back to the controller on the primary side through an opto-coupler. As shown in FIG. 1B, an operation frequency of circuit in FIG. 1A is limited to 65 kHz to 85 kHz at peak load. The PWM controller has a control bandwidth (BW) limited by current mode control loop bandwidth (BW˜0.1×fs) around one tenth of the switching frequency. As a result of the low operation frequency and narrow control bandwidth, the output voltage transient response is slow. FIG. 1C shows the large fluctuations of output voltage, Vout, transient response when a load transits between no load and 100% load, due to slow transition of operation frequency fs. Furthermore, for a conventional PWM controller, in order to maintain high conversion efficiency corresponding to the load condition change, it is necessary to switch the operation of a PWM controller between different operation modes of Continue Conduction Mode (CCM) and Discontinue Conduction Mode (DCM). Constant current compensation loop and constant voltage compensation loop are usually required to maintain stable operation of the controller. Therefore, a traditional charger based on a PWM control fly-back AC/DC converter inevitably requires extra components.
FIG. 1D and FIG. 1E show respectively a top view and a cross sectional view of a conventional vertical MOSFET transistor commonly used in a traditional charger of FIG. 1A. The transistor has drain electrode D located on a bottom surface of a transistor die connected to a die paddle of a lead frame having a bottom surface exposed from an encapsulation. A source electrode and a gate electrode are located on a top surface of the transistor die. The source electrode and the gate electrode are connected to a source lead S and a gate lead G. FIG. 1F shows a PCB layout 10 for a traditional charger of FIG. 1A. The PCB layout 10 is configured to receive a conventional MOSFET device of FIG. 1D and FIG. 1E. The conventional MOSFET device has a small area source lead connected to a small copper pad 11 on the PCB and a large area drain lead 14 connected to a large copper pad area 12 on the PCB. The drain electrode of the MOSFET chip is connected to the transformer TX1 through the large contact area between drain lead 14 and copper pad area 12. The source electrode of the MOSFET chip is connected to ground through resistor R2. The performance of the PCB layout 10 is not optimized due to unavoidable tradeoff between thermal dissipation and electromagnetic interference (EMI) noise reduction. The MOSFET device Q1 is hot and needs a large copper pad area 12 (for example, larger than 10 mm in length and 5 mm in width) for cooling. However, the large area drain lead 14 has high voltage and has high dv/dt value. It couples EMI noise to the system. This may not be a problem for low voltage applications. However, for high voltage applications such as 500V or higher, the EMI noise is high due to the fast changing and high drain voltage. It requires a small copper pad area 12 to reduce the EMI noise. This is in contrary to the need of having larger copper pad area 12 for cooling purpose. The tradeoff of a large copper pad area 12 is large EMI noise. In order to meet regulation requirements, additional bulky heat sink and metal shielding are used to improve thermal performance and RFI shielding. Furthermore, for high voltage applications, the high voltage drain lead with large area will demand large safety space therefore increasing the device area, making it challenging to minimize the device size while keeping safety space for high voltage.
Desirable features of a charger for a portable device include high performance to provide safe charging without damaging the device to be charged, fast charge to save time and compact size to save space for the convenience of mobility. Such desirable features would force a charger to use less component counts and smaller size components such as smaller transformers and smaller capacitors with the capability to handle higher power density without much cost increase. The increase of the power density would cause thermal and EMI problems. The use of smaller components or less component counts would potentially impact the performance of a charger. Therefore, the best charger, currently available in the market, provides less than 0.5 W/CC power density. The present disclosure provides solutions beyond 0.5 W/CC by applying novel system circuit control, co-packaging a main switch and a control integrated circuit (IC) on a single die paddle, and using a four-layer printed circuit board (PCB). Therefore, EMI is reduced, thermal performance is improved, and fast turn-on is achieved.

Super-fast transient response (STR) AC/DC converter for high power density charging application

ALPHA AND OMEGA SEMICONDUCTOR (CAYMAN) LTD.


A bare-die first package includes a patterned insulating layer that exposes first package balls in vias. The vias enable a second package to be positioned on the first package in a proper ball-to-ball alignment without the need for flattening or coining.

Package-on-package (PoP) structures have been developed for applications such as cellular telephones in which circuit board space must be conserved. The top package is typically a memory package whereas the bottom package is generally a processor package. Package-on-package technology has proven to be quite popular as compared to other approaches such a stacked-die circuit. For example, a manufacturer can readily substitute different memory packages in a PoP circuit, which thus lowers costs as opposed to being tied to a particular memory. Moreover, the top and bottom packages may be tested independently. In contrast, a bad die in a stacked-die design requires rejection of the remaining good die.
Although the packaging of integrated circuits using a PoP architecture is thus quite popular, challenges remain in this packaging process. For example, one challenge involves accommodating a decreased interconnect pitch. As technology advances, a circuit needs ever more signal pathways to achieve greater speed and versatility. To accommodate more signal pathways in the same package size, a PoP structure needs finer interconnect pitch. But the bottom package has a certain standoff height with regard to the top package (a required height or separation between the top package substrate's bottom-package-facing surface and the bottom package substrate's top-package-facing surface). In a conventional low-density PoP circuit with relatively large pitch, the standoff height of the die is readily accommodated because the solder balls can be made correspondingly large such that they can reach the bottom package substrate by spanning across the standoff height separation between the top and bottom package substrates. But as the pitch is decreased in modern designs, the solder ball size must also be decreased. This means there is a stand-off issue between the upper and lower packages for high-density (low-pitch) designs because the solder balls on the upper package cannot extend to the lower package due to the standoff height for the die on the lower package.
This standoff height issue will now be explained further using the terms "first package" and "second package" as compared to the use of bottom package and top package, respectively. The art-recognized definitions of "top package" and "bottom package" as known to those of ordinary skill in the PoP arts are not tied to any coordinate system such that a bottom package does not become a top package merely because a PoP is flipped upside down. But to avoid any ambiguity, the following discussion will designate the bottom package as a "first package" and the top package as a "second package." With these concepts in mind, the standoff height issue may be better understood with reference to a conventional PoP 100 of FIG. 1. A second package substrate 105 rests on a first package die 110 to minimize the standoff issue. Since first package die 110 is not encapsulated in mold compound, the first package may be denoted as a bare-die first package. In a fine-pitch design such as less than or equal to 0.4 mm pitch, a plurality of second package solder balls 115 projecting from a first-package-facing surface of second package substrate 105 must be made sufficiently small to accommodate such a fine pitch. Thus, second package solder balls 115 cannot contact a first package substrate 120 due to the standoff issue. Second package balls 115 are thus not providing electrical continuity between the first and second packages.
To achieve electrical continuity despite the standoff issue, a set of first package solder balls (not illustrated) may be placed on a set of pads 125 on the second-package-facing surface of first package substrate 120. Second package solder balls 115 may then reach to these first package solder balls, thus solving the stand-off problem. But it is problematic to have unguided ball-to-ball coupling in that the round shapes inherently lead to misalignment. Thus, it is often necessary to flatten or coin the first package solder balls such that they have a flat surface instead of a rounded surface. Such processing steps add cost and complication to modern high-density designs. To reduce the standoff issue further, first package die 110 can itself be ground down to achieve a lower standoff height. For example, first package 110 may need to be ground to approximately 0.06 mm to achieve a standoff height of approximately 0.13 mm. In this fashion, second package solder balls 115 having a pitch of 4 mm or less can reach to first package substrate 120. But that leaves the ground-down die very fragile and prone to breaking. Moreover, the grinding of the die is expensive.
To avoid the need for solder ball flattening or coining, it is also conventional to use an over-molded first package in which the first package solder balls and first package die 110 on first package substrate 120 are encapsulated with an suitable encapsulating agent such an epoxy mold compound (EMC) or resin 130 as shown in FIG. 2 for an over-mold PoP structure 200. Vias are then laser ablated or mechanically cut through EMC 130 to expose the first package solder balls on first package substrate 120. These vias help guide the second package solder balls into an appropriate ball-to-ball alignment with the first package solder balls when the second package is stacked onto the first package. PoP structure 200 may then be reflowed to form uniform solder structures 205 from the aligned solder balls. But the laser ablation or mechanical cutting step increases manufacturing cost and complexity for over-molded PoPs.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for improved high-density PoP architectures.


A probe includes a tubular conductor having an aperture at one end thereof. An electromagnetic wave transmitting unit for transmitting an electromagnetic wave, via the tubular conductor, to a position distant from the aperture is disposed at one of the inside and the outside of the tubular conductor, and an electromagnetic wave receiving unit for receiving an electromagnetic wave, via the tubular conductor, from the position distant from the aperture is disposed in the other of the inside and the outside of the tubular conductor. The size of the aperture is smaller than or equal to the wavelength of the electromagnetic waves. The electromagnetic waves transmitted and received at the outside and the inside of the tubular conductor are coupled through the aperture. When an analyte to be observed is disposed so as to face the aperture, information of the analyte is obtained on the basis of a change in the coupling of the electromagnetic waves through the aperture.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a probe and a near-field microscope capable of obtaining information, such as dielectric properties, of an analyte using electromagnetic waves. More specifically, the present invention relates to a probe and a near-field microscope capable of observing physical properties, such as dielectric properties, of a minute region of an analyte using electromagnetic waves in the frequency region from the millimeter waveband to the terahertz band (30 GHz to 30 THz) (hereinafter also referred to as "high-frequency electrical signal").
2. Description of the Related Art
As a method for observing dielectric properties of a minute region of an analyte or a minute analyte, there is known a method in which the reflection of a high-frequency electrical signal from an analyte is measured using a high-frequency transmission line, such as a coaxial line or a high-frequency co-planar strip line, with a minute tip. This method is used in a wide frequency region from the microwave region to the visible region, and is called microwave probe (or microwave probe microscope) in the microwave region. Since a microwave probe uses a minute structure smaller than the wavelength, dielectric properties of a region smaller than the wavelength of the high-frequency electrical signal to be used can be measured. Therefore, the distribution of dielectric properties of an analyte can be imaged with high spatial resolution. In addition, the information of dielectric properties of an analyte can be read from the phase retardation and the decrease in amplitude of the high-frequency electrical signal reflected from the analyte. The phase retardation reflects the real part of the dielectric constant of the analyte, and the decrease in amplitude reflects the imaginary part of the dielectric constant of the analyte. Therefore, by analyzing these, dielectric properties of the analyte can be quantitatively evaluated.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-121422 discloses an apparatus that measures the complex dielectric constant of an analyte with a microwave probe according to the above-described principle. In the configuration of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-121422, a generator transmits a high-frequency electrical signal to a coaxial line with a minute tip, and a reflected wave from an analyte is received by a detector via a directional coupler. In addition, it is also possible to provide a resonance structure of the high-frequency electrical signal in a high-frequency transmission line so as to make a high-frequency signal reflected from the analyte a standing wave, and to use a shift of resonance frequency or a change in resonator Q-value with the change in dielectric properties of the analyte, for imaging.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-189043 also discloses an apparatus that measures the complex dielectric constant of an analyte with a microwave probe according to the above-described principle. In the configuration of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-189043, a generator transmits a high-frequency electrical signal to a multi-conductor transmission line with a minute tip via a first coupling probe, and a reflected wave from an analyte is received by a detector via a second coupling probe. By appropriately terminating the tip and the opposite end of the multi-conductor transmission line, the reflected wave from the analyte is made a standing wave in the multi-conductor transmission line.
The spatial resolution of these microwave probes is 1/1000 or less of the wavelength of the microwave. Therefore, they are so-called near-field probes (or near-field probe microscopes) in the visible region.
There are a variety of high-frequency transmission lines. Kanglin Wang, Daniel M. Mittleman: Nature, vol. 432 (2004) discloses a wire waveguide consisting of a single conductor. The wire waveguide features a capability of transmission of a high-frequency electrical signal across a comparatively wide frequency band. For example, it is known that its propagation loss is smaller than those of other multi-conductor high-frequency transmission lines in the frequency region from the millimeter waveband to the terahertz band, and its dispersion is also comparatively small.
However, in the microwave probe of the Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-121422, it is necessary to use a directional coupler or the like in order to branch the reflected wave of the high-frequency electrical signal from the analyte. This complicates the apparatus. In addition, in the frequency region from the millimeter waveband to the terahertz band, when the frequency of the high-frequency electrical signal to be used is high, the propagation loss in the high-frequency transmission line is not negligible. In the multi-conductor high-frequency transmission line as in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-189043, the propagation loss is comparatively great, and therefore the sensitivity is low. Kanglin Wang, Daniel M. Mittleman: Nature, vol. 432 (2004) discloses only a wire waveguide consisting of a single conductor.


An installation for lifting and stacking or unstacking sheets of glass and particularly sheets of small dimension (i.e. one meter by 1.5 meters). The installation has a secondary conveyor (1), an elevator and a panel (24). The elevator has at least one arm (5) provided with suction cups (7) mounted on the sliding support. The arm is driven in rotation through an angle of about 90 degrees by a connecting rod-crank system (13) provided with at least one balancing jack (18) as well as a jack for laterally displacing the elevator and the secondary conveyor. The installation makes it possible to obtain very rapid operating rates (of the order of two seconds) at a reduced power output.

The invention relates to an installation for lifting sheets of glass, this operation consisting in guiding a sheet gripped in a substantially horizontal position to a substantially vertical position, where it is deposited, this in order to form stacks (stacking), or in guiding a sheet gripped in a substantially vertical position on a stack to a substantially horizontal position on a conveyor (unstacking).
In production units, the glass is obtained in the form of a web (by the "float glass" process, for example) which is then cut out into sheets.
The web and the sheets are conveyed by one (or more) horizontal principal conveyor(s).
These sheets are then lifted to a so-called gripping station in order to be stacked on handling trucks provided with panels (comprising a substantially horizontal plane and a substantially vertical plane) on which they come into abutment.
The glass web being directly cut out on the principal conveyor in the longitudinal direction (direction of the axis of the conveyor) and the transverse direction (direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction in the plane of the conveyor), the delivery of objects increases and the lifting machines must operate (i.e. handle each sheet) at rapid rates (2 to 4 secs.) or very rapid rates (of the order of 2 secs.).
French Patent FR 86 05656 published under No. 2 597 453 describes a compact rapid elevator (lifting machine), in which rates of 2 to 4 secs. are obtained by multiplication of the number of gripping arms. In this way, in this elevator according to the prior art, there are two retractable gripping arms provided at each of their ends with gripping means (suction cups), which makes a total of four gripping points of which two are simultaneously active (one per arm).

Installation for rapidly lifting and stacking sheets of glass

Societe Generale pour les Techniques Nouvelles S.G.N.


A clip includes a head having a thumbscrew protrusion and a body with spaced apart threads. The clip is of various widths and lengths to accommodate, most preferably, different widths and depths of holes in peg board. Most preferably, the clip is sized to accommodate ¼ inch peg board, and is used to releasably secure items such as advertisements and promotional material to the peg board.

In retail environments promotional and marketing display material is commonly affixed to open wall space near, or in anticipation of the arrival of, goods or services for sale. Conventionally, these materials, which can include posters, displays, product samples, or other materials, are affixed to a backing adapted for repeated display and removal of the items. A common type of backing is referred to as peg board, which consists of a durable material with a pattern of perforations located in a predetermined pattern. Connectors, fasteners, or brackets are designed to secure materials to the peg board in a secure manner. Also, due to the fact that these displays are frequently changed the connectors and fasteners must be reasonably capable of removal to allow for such updates.
Prior art connectors include devices that include a generally flat head connected to an extended body that is sized to be captured in the spaced apart holes of the peg board. The connectors pass through holes in the material to be displayed and then into the peg board and thereby provide a reasonably stable mounting mechanism. Such connectors include so called "canoe clips." These clips have a body that includes an elongated center gap and are sized slightly wider than the peg board holes, such that upon insertion the body is compressed about the gap to form sufficient tension to retain the clip. The head of the clip is flat without any indentations or grooves for removal. In fact, the clips do not include any particular structural elements to allow for removal. When the display is replaced the clips are pulled or pried out of place, normally in a destructive manner, thrown away and new clips are used for the next display. In this manner the clips are disposable and not suitable for reuse.
Another such device is the "Christmas tree" clip. These clips also contain a head and body, however, in this case the body includes a plurality of teeth disposed along the axis of the body, each tooth comprised of a circumferential flange angled to resist removal after insertion. Again, the clips do not include any convenient means of removal and are therefore designed for one-time disposable use.
While these prior art clips are generally inexpensive plastic articles, ultimately the cost of continued replacement of used clips becomes very significant. Furthermore, the environmental impact of disposable clips is detrimental. Additionally, because these clips are not designed to be removed easily, over time they damage the peg board requiring further costs and expense.
Another use of such clips is to assemble displays, and in particular assembly of cardboard or corrugated display material. One such prior art device is known as the Viking clip, which is comprised of plastic and consists of a flathead screw with a nut or wing nut that affixes to the screw. The Viking clip, however, requires manipulation from both sides of the assembly since the nut must be placed on the screw after the screw is placed through the assembly. Frequently, given the size of the assemblies, this requires two people to perform the assembly.
Accordingly, a need exists for a fastener or clip that overcomes the difficulties of the prior art.

Peg board display fastener and connector


A method for forming a SAC structure, for a SRAM device, has been developed. The SAC structure is comprised of a narrow portion, located in a narrow region of the SAC opening, contacting an active device region, in narrow spaces between polysilicon gate structures. The SAC structure is also comprised of a wide portion, located in a wide region of the SAC opening, overlying a non-active device region. A metal contact structure, connects an overlying metal interconnect structure, to the wide portion of the underlying SAC structure. The SAC structure is comprised of a tungsten plug, enveloped by a titanium nitride-titanium layer.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to processes used to fabricate semiconductor devices, and more specifically to a process used to create an extended, self-aligned contact region, for a static random access memory, (SRAM), device.
(2) Description of Prior Art
Static random access memory, (SRAM), cells are usually designed to include six, metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors, (MOSFET), usually four N channel, and two P channel, MOSFETs. The SRAM performance and cost objectives have been successfully addressed by the ability of the semiconductor industry to fabricate SRAM devices, using sub-micron features. The smaller features result in a decrease in performance degrading capacitances and resistances, while also allowing a greater number of smaller SRAM chips, to be obtained from a specific size starting substrate, thus reducing the manufacturing cost of a specific SRAM chip. In addition the processes and structures, needed to create metal contacts to source and drain regions, have been optimized via use of a self-aligned contact, (SAC), structure, contacting underlying source and drain regions located in the semiconductor substrate, between gate structures. The use of SAC structures, have also resulted in additional miniaturization of SRAM devices, allowing performance and cost objectives to be further enhanced.
The use of SAC structures, for contact to source and drain regions of SRAM devices, has however made it difficult to reduce the pitch between the source and drain regions, and the adjacent gate structures. The shrinking space between gate structures, has resulted in the creation of narrow SAC structures, thus resulting in SAC structures with higher resistance than counterparts fabricated using wider SAC structures. This invention will describe a new SAC design in which the SAC opening is comprised of a narrow opening, between gate structures, allowing the desirable SRAM miniaturization to be achieved, but also comprised with a wider opening component, extended to overlay a non-active SRAM region. Thus a tungsten fill of the two shaped SAC opening creates a SAC structure that offers: a low resistance local interconnect level; a narrow spacing between gate structures; and a wide landing area for an overlying metal contact structure.
Prior art, such as Kiyono, et al, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,460,995, show a contact structure, for an SRAM device, however the SAC design and process, used for this invention, were not similar to this invention.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company


A liquid ejecting head includes a first member on which a flexible members is arranged, a second member having a facing surface facing the flexible member, an elastic body that is interposed between the flexible member and the facing surface, a first support portion disposed on the flexible member which supports one end of the elastic body, a second support portion disposed on the facing surface which has a recess of which a side surface has a tapered portion formed therein to guide the other end of the elastic body toward a bottom surface of the recess, and a protruding portion that is disposed on either the flexible member or the facing surface and that becomes interposed between the flexible member and the facing surface around the periphery of the recess when the flexible member is flexibly bent toward the facing surface.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a technique for ejecting liquid such as ink or the like onto a medium.
2. Related Art
In a liquid ejecting apparatus, such as an ink jet printer, in which a plurality of constituent members are bonded to one another to form a flow path, a liquid ejecting head that ejects liquid circulating in the flow path from nozzles has been proposed. A plurality of elastic bodies, such as coil springs, for example, are installed between the constituent members of the liquid ejecting head. In a liquid ejecting head in JP-A-2010-228148, for example, the constituent members have between them multiple arrangements where an elastic body is installed between a flexible member (a diaphragm) and a recess on a constituent member facing the flexible member. To install the plurality of elastic bodies at the same time in this configuration, a constituent member should be stacked on the flexible member in such a manner that a protruding portion on the flexible member is inserted into the inner side of one end of each elastic body to support the elastic body and that the outer side of the other end of each elastic body is inserted into the recess.
When the plurality of elastic bodies are installed at the same time in the configuration in JP-A-2010-228148, however, there is a possibility of causing a faulty installation. The elastic body supported by the protruding portion on the flexible member may be at an angle, for example. The larger the angle is, the more likely the constituent member that is stacked is to be caught by an edge of the recess, thereby causing a faulty installation. Moreover, in the configuration in JP-A-2010-228148, when the flexible member is flexibly bent, the protruding portion on the flexible member enters the recess of the constituent member together with the elastic body. This means that there is also a problem that the flexible member is likely to cling to the constituent member.


A package includes first package component and a second package component. The first package component includes a first electrical connector at a surface of the first package component, and a first solder region on a surface of the first electrical connector. The second package component includes a second electrical connector at a surface of the second package component, and a second solder region on a surface of the second electrical connector. A metal pin has a first end bonded to the first solder region, and a second end bonded to the second solder region.

With the evolving of semiconductor technologies, semiconductor chips/dies are becoming increasingly smaller. In the meantime, more functions need to be integrated into the semiconductor dies. Accordingly, the semiconductor dies need to have increasingly greater numbers of I/O pads packed into smaller areas, and the density of the I/O pads rises quickly over time. As a result, the packaging of the semiconductor dies becomes more difficult, which adversely affects the yield of the packaging.
The increase in the density of the I/O pads results in the reduction in the pitch of the IO pads. As a result, the closely located solder regions that are used for bonding processes are more likely to bridge.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.


A security service of a computing resource service provider provides security scores for application program interfaces (APIs) and other security information to an API marketplace or other endpoints. The security score may be based at least in part on component information associated with computing resources implementing the API. The security service may obtain access to the computing resources and collect various components from the computing resources. The components may then be used to determine a security score of an API offered from consumption on the API marketplace. The security service may then publish the security score to the API marketplace or other endpoint.

Customers of computing resource service providers may be provided with a wide range of choices with regard to the computing resources that may be selected and utilized by the customer as well as how these computing resources are set up and utilized. Furthermore, customers may utilize these computing resources to develop and implement a variety of applications including web services or other applications accessible over a network connection. Depending on how the computing resources are set up and utilized, customers may experience different levels of performance and security of these computing resources. As described above, these resources may be provided and managed in the form of services such as data storage services or web services built on top of services and computing resources provided by the computing resource service provider. Many data storage services, web services, and/or computing services offer many different resource usage and/or allocations as well as different security configurations. For example, a web service may be distributed, may be virtual, may provide different types of encryption, and/or may provide various security options.
In addition, software development, including web application development, has greatly increased in recent years. Organizations increasingly develop multiple applications in order to support a variety of different hardware platforms with different capabilities and features. These organizations may include customers of the computing resource service provider. Furthermore, the applications may be provided to other customers and organizations through an application program interface (API). Due to the vast number of different security and computing resource configurations, it may be difficult for consumers of these APIs to determine the risks associated with using these APIs (e.g., incorporating an API into a web application developed by a particular customer). Additionally, these APIs may not be configured to ensure the security of other applications utilizing the APIs.

Assessing and reporting security risks of an application program interface


A swab is impregnated with a test reagent such that a test for a specific substance can be effected by rubbing the impregnated swab over the surface to be tested and then viewing the swab for a reagent reaction. The swab may have a hollow stem, and within the hollow stem is a cartridge within another cartridge. An activator solution is in one of the cartridges and a reagent is in another of the cartridges. A method for testing for a substance includes impregnating a swab, and rubbing the swab over a surface suspected of containing the substance. If the substance is present in the surface, a reaction with the substance produces an easily detectable color on the swab tip.

Contamination of the environment has been increasing steadily for years as the use of metals, chemicals, pesticides, and bacterial organisms has increased. Even though the toxicity of various metals has been known for centuries, it is only recently that there has been a serious increase in interest in minimizing human exposure to such metals. Current public awareness of such pollutants and their associated hazards has created a consumer demand for products that are capable of determining the presence of unwanted and potentially dangerous materials.
Some of the more toxic metals include lead, cadmium, mercury, barium, chromium and beryllium. Lead, in particular, has been subject to much attention due to its presence in articles or paints commonly found in the home. See, for example, "A Simple Direct Estimation of Ultramicroquantities of Lead in Drinking Water Using Sodium Rhodizonate" by E. Jungreis and M. Nechama, Microchemical Journal, vol. 34, pp. 219-221 (1986); U.K. Patent Application No. 2 025 047 A; "A Simplified Method for Detection of Lead Contamination of Soil" by J. Preer and G. Murchison, Jr., Environmental Pollution (Series B), vol. 12, pp. 1-13; and "A Spot Test for Detection of Lead in Paint" by J. Sayre and D. Wilson, J. Pediatrics, vol. 46, pp. 783-785 (1970).
As the titles of some of the prior art publications indicate, there is a recognized need in the industry for a simple or simplified test or method for determining the presence of lead. However, as will become apparent from the remaining descriptions of the prior art, prior to the present invention, an effective and simple test for lead had not been developed.
In a popular prior art method of detecting lead in paint, sodium sulfide (Na.sub.2 S) is reacted with lead to form lead sulfide (PbS), a black precipitate. The presence of lead is thus confirmed by the appearance of the black precipitate, lead sulfide. This method has several disadvantages: (1) the sodium sulfide is potentially toxic, especially to young children; (2) the black precipitate is difficult to see on dark surfaces; (3) the sodium sulfide releases volatile hydrogen sulfide (H.sub.2 S), which has a noxious odor; and (4) the reagents react with many cations to form black precipitates and thus tends to give false readings on many metallic surfaces.
Another common analytical reagent is a metal complexing agent, rhodizonic acid. For over forty years, rhodizonic acid and salts thereof have been used as analytical reagents to detect heavy metals, including lead, in both qualitative and quantitative analyses. The methodology for using rhodizonate dye is based on two types of tests:
(1) a quantitative determination of heavy metals in solutions using a spectrophotometer to obtain quantitative information; and PA1 (2) qualitative determinations which use filter papers impregnated with the reagent.
In addition, semi-quantitative information can be derived from the use of columns packed with silica gel impregnated with rhodizonate dye. See U.K. Patent Application No. 2 025 047 A.
The Macherey-Nagel Company (Duren, Germany) manufactures a test paper for the determination of lead under the trademark PLUMBTESMO. The PLUMBTESMO strips comprise a heavy filter paper with a reagent impregnated therein. To test for lead in a solution, a strip is dipped into the solution, and observed for a color change that indicates the presence of lead. The PLUMBTESMO strips can also be used to detect lead deposits in motor vehicle tailpipes.
The instruction sheet that is distributed with the PLUMBTESMO strips indicates that the PLUMBTESMO strips may be used to detect the presence of lead on a degreased surface. However, the instruction sheet impliedly recognizes that the PLUMBTESMO strips are not entirely satisfactory for testing for the presence of lead on a surface. Specifically, the instruction sheet indicates that the PLUMBTESMO strip may have to be held firmly against a test surface for as long as fifteen minutes before an indication of lead develops. Clearly, for nonprofessional, household use, a test strip that must be held firmly for fifteen minutes is entirely unsatisfactory in that many users will become impatient after only a few minutes and will discontinue the application of the PLUMBTESMO strip against the test surface. That type of usage may, of course, result in dangerous false readings, leaving the user with the erroneous impression that lead is not present when in fact lead may be present.
A further disadvantage of the PLUMBTESMO strips is that the test operator must directly handle the test strips, thus being unnecessarily exposed to chemicals. Yet another disadvantage of the PLUMBTESMO strips is that the strips are flat and comparatively stiff, and are thus not readily conformable to curved or otherwise unusually contoured surfaces, such as those that one is likely to encounter on moldings in older houses.
Thus, it should be clear that the lead tests, known prior to the present invention, are not entirely satisfactory.
Although not a test for lead, U.S. Pat. No. 4,707,450 discloses a biological specimen collection and test unit. The teachings of U.S. Pat. No. 4,707,450 are quite different from the present invention. In summary, U.S. Pat. No. 4,707,450 discloses a specimen collection device that utilizes a swab to collect biological specimens for testing after the swab has been removed from the specimen collection location. Since lead and other metals do not readily collect on a swab when rubbed on a metal-containing surface, the disclosed swab is not useful for testing for metals. This is especially true because the success of the disclosed swab depends upon the removal of a specimen from the collection site for subsequent testing. Because metals will not usually collect on the swab, the swab will not work well for metals testing.
Thus, there is a need in the art for a test or method for determining the presence of toxic metals, such as lead and cadmium. While lead toxicity is better known, cadmium is toxic by inhalation of dust or fume and is a carcinogen. Cadmium plating of food and beverage containers has led to outbreaks of gastroenteritis or food poisoning. Other metals are just as toxic. Thus, a simple test for metals and other toxic substances would serve to protect consumers from the toxic effects caused thereby.

Test swab and method of making and using same


Methods and apparatus to form biocompatible energization elements are described. In some examples, the methods and apparatus to form the biocompatible energization elements involve forming cavities comprising active cathode chemistry. The active elements of the cathode and anode are sealed with a biocompatible material. In some examples, a field of use for the methods and apparatus may include any biocompatible device or product that requires energization elements.

1. Field of the Invention
Methods for manufacturing biocompatible cathode slurry for use in biocompatible batteries are described. In some examples, the methods involve manufacturing an electrical conductor through which an electric current enters or leaves a vacuum or fluent. In some examples, a field of use for the methods for manufacturing biocompatible cathode slurry for use in biocompatible batteries may include any biocompatible device or product that requires energy.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Recently, the number of medical devices and their functionality has begun to rapidly develop. These medical devices may include, for example, implantable pacemakers, electronic pills for monitoring and/or testing a biological function, surgical devices with active components, contact lenses, infusion pumps, and neurostimulators. Added functionality and an increase in performance to many of the aforementioned medical devices has been theorized and developed. However, to achieve the theorized added functionality, many of these devices now require self-contained energization means that are compatible with the size and shape requirements of these devices, as well as the energy requirements of the new energized components.
Some medical devices may include electrical components such as semiconductor devices that perform a variety of functions and may be incorporated into many biocompatible and/or implantable devices. However, such semiconductor components require energy and, thus, energization elements should preferably also be included in such biocompatible devices. The topology and relatively small size of the biocompatible devices may create challenging environments for the definition of various functionalities. In many examples, it may be important to provide safe, reliable, compact and cost effective means to energize the semiconductor components within the biocompatible devices. Therefore, a need exists for biocompatible energization elements formed for implantation within or upon biocompatible devices where the structure of the millimeter or smaller sized energization elements provides enhanced function for the energization element while maintaining biocompatibility.
One such energization element used to power a device may be a battery. A common element in batteries that may contain various types of chemical based energy storage materials is the battery cathode. The function of batteries may depend critically on the design of structure, materials, and processes related to the formation of the battery cathode. Furthermore, in some examples, the containment of battery cathode materials may be an important aspect of biocompatibility.
Cathode slurry may be a component of the biocompatible battery. The choice of cathode slurry may have an effect on integration, manufacturing, logistics, reliability, and yield of the biocompatible battery. Slurry technology has evolved to keep pace with the demanding requirements of the slurry industry. Cathode slurry manufacturing may require expertise in the areas of particle synthesis; dispersion, mixing, and filtration; electrochemistry, colloid science and surface chemistry; fluid dynamics; and numerical analysis. Operations expertise may be useful for a supplier to flawlessly manufacture a cathode slurry day in and day out, and deliver the cathode slurry for high volume manufacturing. In addition, when designing battery elements and the manufacturing systems used to make them as biocompatible energy sources for ophthalmic devices, expertise in ophthalmics and ophthalmic devices may be important for the safety profile of biocompatible devices formed using the cathode slurry. Therefore a need exists for novel examples of manufacturing small biocompatible cathodes for use in biocompatible energization elements.


A micro lens, from an object side to an image side, sequentially includes a stop, a first lens having a positive refractive power, a second lens having a negative refractive power, a third lens having a positive refractive power, and a fourth lens having a negative refractive power. The third and fourth lenses respectively comprise at least one aspherical surface. The negative refractive power gradually decreases from the center to the periphery of the fourth lens, and the refractive power of the periphery of the fourth lens is turned to positive. The relationship of the first lens and the focal length of the micro lens of the micro lens and the relationship of the third lens and the first lens satisfy the desired requirements, thus, to reduce the total length of the micro lens, tolerance sensitivity and cost.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a micro lens, and more particularly to a micro lens suitable for installation in a portable electronic device.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the progress of the technical skills, portable electronic devices such as notebook computers, mobile phones or personal digital assistants incorporating electro-optical technologies have proliferated. A mobile phone with camera, for example, offers high-resolution optics, and is lightweight and inexpensive.
A spherical lens is typically used in a camera, however, optical defects such as spherical image aberration and axial diffraction cause blurry images and out of focus images, thus additional lenses are provided for compensating image aberration. Traditionally, image quality can be improved by increasing the length, outer diameter, weight and cost of the lens, however, the total weight and cost of the camera are relatively increased. Clumsy and heavy lens are no longer a trend in the present market.
To attain a small camera with low manufacturing cost, the total length of the lens must be reduced. An aspherical lens can overcome spherical image aberration caused by a spherical lens. Further, a single aspherical lens can compensate for spherical image aberration requiring several spherical lenses. Thus, the size, weight and optical design of the lens can be simplified.
spherical and aspherical lenses can be made of glass and plastic. A glass lens typically provides a greater light-transmission coefficient and a better image quality than plastic. Glass and plastic lenses are assembled to form a desired lens based on material characteristics.
Current mobile phones typically employ glass and plastic lenses such as 1G(glass)2P(plastic) or 1G3P. U.S. Pat. No. 6,441,971 discloses a compact lens assembly related to 1G2P. From an object side to an image side, the compact lens assembly sequentially comprises a first lens element, a second lens element and a third lens element. The first lens element is a glass spherical lens, and the second and third lens elements are plastic aspherical lenses. The compact lens assembly is tiny and only suitable for an image sensor having a resolution of about 640×480 pixels. Although the 1G3P lens can provide good resolution, the weight and cost of the 1G3P is still high.


A shooting rest is provided herein. The shooting rest may include a magazine floor coupling configured to couple to a bottom portion of a firearm magazine. The shooting rest may also include a lower extension extending downward from the magazine floor coupling. The lower extension may include a forward extension extending downward from a forward portion of the magazine floor coupling and a rearward extension extending downward from a reward portion of the magazine floor coupling. The forward extension may have a length greater than the rearward extension.

It is an advantage to use a stabilizing support when shooting, particularly if the target is far away. Movement while aiming can cause significant shifts in the point of impact downrange, so it is desirable to stabilize the firearm as much as possible when shooting. Conventional shooting rests for firearms in the form of bipods or monopods are known in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,669,357 to Moody et al, U.S. Pat. No. 7,478,496 to Bender, U.S. Pat. No. 7,197,844 to Benson, U.S. Pat. No. 7,124,528 to Long, U.S. Pat. No. 5,377,437 to Underwood and U.S. Pat. No. 4,393,614 to Pickett are all illustrative of the prior art.
While these inventions accomplish the task of stabilizing a firearm for improved accuracy, these devices add a significant amount of additional weight and bulk in order to provide the desired function. Likewise, said devices require some form of manipulation by the user prior to being used. Furthermore, due to the complexity of parts or materials used, the cost of manufacturing can be quite high. Accordingly, there exists a need in the art for a low cost and reliable shooting rest.

Magazine floorplate monopod attachments for firearms


A member moving mechanism according to the present invention includes: a first moving member that moves in a first positive direction and a first negative direction opposite to the first positive direction; a second moving member that moves in a second positive direction that is different from each of the first positive direction and the first negative direction, and in a second negative direction opposite to the second positive direction; a belt member that connects the first moving member and the second moving member; and a belt-member guiding member that controls a moving direction of the belt member, and changes the moving direction of the belt member at least once.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a member moving mechanism that connects two members and moves one member so as to cause another member to move, and to an image forming apparatus such as a printer, which includes the member moving mechanism.
2. Related Art
Image forming apparatuses such as printers may have a mechanism (member moving mechanism), in which a member provided inside a housing of an image forming apparatus is moved in conjunction with opening of a cover member. In such a member moving mechanism, a link or wire is used as a connection member connecting two members. With such a member moving mechanism, it is possible to move one member so as to cause another member to move via the connecting member.

Member moving mechanism and image forming apparatus


A polymer material, in particular for a medical instrument such as a balloon catheter, is provided. The polymer material comprising a combination at least of a first constituent comprising a partly crystalline polymer and a second constituent for increasing the flexibility of the material, wherein the polymer material is in the form of a polymer alloy, and wherein the first constituent is formed of a polyamide or a polyether block amide and the second constituent is formed at least partly by a thermoplastic elastomer based on polystyrene (TPE-S). A process for producing the polymer material and a medical device incorporating the polymer material are also provided.

The invention concerns a polymer material, in particular for a medical instrument.
In a number of technical areas, but in particular in relation to medical instruments, for example balloon catheters used in interventional cardiology, components of different polymer materials are frequently used in combination with each other. The consideration of which polymer material to use arises out of the different demands which are to be made with regard to the respective components. For example, the demands made on the balloon of a medical balloon catheter are in part different from those made on the stem of the balloon catheter. Although both the balloon and stem portions of the catheter must exhibit sufficient flexibility so that they can be passed through the bloodstream to the vessel to be dilated, the balloon must expand in a defined fashion when subjected to the action of a pressure applied therein, while that is undesirable in the case of the stem.
Numerous conventional polymer materials are known which fulfil the widely varying flexibility and strength requirements for uses of this kind. For example, European patent application EP 0 697 219 A2 discloses a polymer material which is particularly suitable for a medical balloon catheter and which comprises a combination, more specifically a blend, of at least a first constituent consisting of a partly crystalline polymer, and a second constituent for enhancing the flexibility of the material. However, these conventional polymer materials suffer from the disadvantage that components produced therefrom can be connected to components of polymer materials of a different structure only to a limited extent, or with considerable complication and cost. Components of these conventional polymer materials are therefore of only limited suitability for use with components constructed using other polymer materials in a situation requiring a strong connection between the components, as is necessary, for example, in the case of the connection between the stem and the balloon in a balloon catheter. At the least, a considerable amount of complication and a considerable level of additional cost is involved in forming connections between components that are exposed to large mechanical loads. In some cases, it is even necessary to utilize expensive positively locking or adhesive connections.
Accordingly, a need still exists for a polymer material of the kind set forth above, which permits a simple connection between components produced therefrom and components produced from other polymer materials.
This invention is directed to a polymer material in the form of a polymer alloy, which is particularly suited for use in a medical instrument such as a balloon catheter. The polymer material comprises a combination of at least a first constituent, comprising a partly crystalline polymer, and a second constituent for increasing the flexibility of the material, wherein the first constituent is formed of a polyamide or a polyether block amide, and the second constituent is formed at least partly of a thermoplastic elastomer based on polystyrene (TPE-S).
In one exemplary embodiment, the polymer material of the invention comprises in a proportion in weight % of at least 30% by weight, and preferably at least 50% by weight of a copolymer of the first constituent and a thermoplastic elastomer based on polystyrene (TPE-S).
In another exemplary embodiment, the polymer material of the invention is characterized in that the proportion of the first constituent is at most 80% by weight.
In still another exemplary embodiment, the polymer material of the invention is characterized in that the proportion of the second constituent is at least 20% by weight.
In yet another exemplary embodiment, the polymer material of the invention is characterized in that the proportion of amide groups is at most substantially 15% by weight.
In still yet another exemplary embodiment, the polymer material of the invention is characterized in that the copolymer is in the form of a graft copolymer with side chains comprising polyamide or polyether amide on a principal chain comprising a thermoplastic elastomer based on polystyrene (TPE-S).
In still yet another exemplary embodiment, the polymer material of the invention is characterized in that the thermoplastic elastomer based on polystyrene (TPE-S) is formed of a styrene-butadiene-styrene copolymer (SBS), a styrene-ethene butene-styrene copolymer (SEBS), a styrene-isoprene-styrene copolymer (SIS) or a styrene-ethene propene-styrene copolymer (SEES).
In still yet another exemplary embodiment, the polymer material of the invention is characterized in that at least a part of the thermoplastic elastomerbased on polystyrene (TPE-S) of the second constituent is grafted with a compatibilizer, in particular maleic acid anhydride.
In still yet another exemplary embodiment, the polymer material of the invention is characterized in that the proportions of the constituents are matched to each other for connecting the polymer material to polyolefins, in particular polyethylene, by a connection involving joining of the materials.
In still yet another exemplary embodiment, the invention is directed to a process for forming a polymer material characterized in that at least a first constituent formed of a polyamide or a polyether block amide and a second constituent formed of a thermoplastic elastomer based on polystyrene (TPE-S) are reactively compounded to form a copolymer.
In still yet another exemplary embodiment, the invention is directed to a process for forming a polymer material characterized in that the reactive compounding operation is effected in a co-rotating twin-screw extruder, which in particular is optimized for a maximum shearing action.
In still yet another exemplary embodiment, the invention is directed to a process for forming a polymer material characterized in that the reactive compounding operation is effected in such a way that essentially all starting products are substantially completely consumed.
In still yet another exemplary embodiment, the invention is directed to a process for forming a polymer material characterized in that after the extrusion operation the polymer material is subjected to an irradiation cross-linking procedure, in particular by means of gamma radiation.
In still yet another exemplary embodiment, the invention is directed to a medical balloon catheter characterized in that its stem and/or its balloon is produced from a polymer material as set forth above.
In still yet another exemplary embodiment, the invention is directed to a medical balloon catheter characterized in that its balloon is welded to the distal catheter stem and/or the inner tube by a connection involving intimate joining of the materials concerned.

BioTronik Mess-und Therapiegeraete GmbH and Co. Ingenieurbuero Berlin


A near field communications (NFC) device is disclosed that interacts with other NFC devices to exchange information and/or the data. Another NFC device inductively couples a received communications signal onto an antenna circuit of the NFC device to provide a recovered communications signal. An overvoltage protection module regulates a power level of the recovered communication signal by detuning the antenna circuit when the power level of the recovered communication signal may cause damage the NFC device. Active components of the overvoltage protection module, such as voltage controlled impedances, operate in their linear mode of operation to reduce unwanted emissions during this regulation process.

1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to near field communications (NFC), and more specifically to reducing emission from a NFC capable device.
2. Related Art
Near field communications (NFC) requires that NFC devices to be present within a relatively small distance from one another so that their corresponding magnetic fields can exchange information. Ranges of up to several centimeters (generally a maximum of 1 meter) are common for NFC devices. Typically, a first NFC device transmits or generates a magnetic field modulated with the information, such as the credit information or the ticket fare information. This magnetic field inductively couples onto a second NFC device that is proximate to the first NFC device. The second NFC device may respond to the first NFC device by transmitting or generating its own modulated magnetic field and inductively coupling this magnetic field to the first NFC device. There are several standards in existence which set out certain communication protocols and functional requirements for NFC and other communications using the near field, such as ISO/IEC 14443, ISO 15693, ISO/IEC 18092 and ISO/IEC 21481.
A NFC communicator is a type of NFC device that is capable of operating in an initiator mode to initiate a communication with another NFC enabled device and in a target mode to respond to the initiation of a communication by another NFC enabled device. The term "NFC enabled device" includes not only the NFC communicator but also other initiator NFC enable devices, such as a RFID transceiver or reader that are capable of initiating a near field RF communication and/or a RFID transponder or tag that are capable of responding to initiation of a NFC by another NFC enabled device to provide some examples. Hence, the NFC communicator can act as both a RFID transceiver and a RFID transponder and are able to communicate with other NFC communicators, RFID transceivers and RFID transponders.
NFC devices are being integrated into mobile devices, such as mobile telephones to provide an example, to facilitate the use of these mobile devices in conducting daily transactions. For example, instead of carrying numerous credit cards, the credit information provided by these credit cards could be stored onto a NFC device. The NFC device is simply tapped to a credit card terminal to relay the credit information to it to complete a transaction. As another example, a ticketing writing system, such as those used in bus and train terminals, may simply write ticket fare information onto the NFC device instead of providing a ticket to a passenger. The passenger simply taps the NFC device to a reader to ride the bus or the train without the use of a paper ticket.
Commonly, the mobile devices include a high frequency receiver and transmitter for long range communications over large distances. When the NFC device is integrated into these mobile devices, it is advantageous to reduce unwanted emissions from the NFC device in frequency bands employed by the mobile devices. Thus, there is a need to reduce unwanted emissions from the NFC device when it is integrated into a host device. Further aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the detailed description that follows.
The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like reference numbers generally indicate identical, functionally similar, and/or structurally similar elements. The drawing in which an element first appears is indicated by the leftmost digit(s) in the reference number.

Reducing emissions in a near field communications (NFC) capable device


Provided are compounds, methods, and pharmaceutical compositions for reducing the amount or activity of UBE3A-ATS, the endogenous antisense transcript of ubiquitin protein ligase E3A (UBE3A) in a cell or subject, and in certain instances increasing the expression of paternal UBE3A and the amount of UBE3A protein in a cell or subject. Such compounds, methods, and pharmaceutical compositions are useful to ameliorate at least one symptom or hallmark of a neurogenetic disorder. Such symptoms and hallmarks include developmental delays, ataxia, speech impairment, sleep problems, seizures, and EEG abnormalities. Such neurogenetic disorders include Angelman Syndrome.

Angelman Syndrome (AS) is a developmental disorder that affects ˜1/15,000 live births and is caused by a deficiency of ubiquitin protein ligase E3A (UBE3A). Of the two copies of the UBE3A gene in neurons, the maternal gene is typically expressed, while the paternal gene is subject to genetic imprinting and silencing. Angelman Syndrome is caused when a functional copy of the UBE3A gene is not inherited from the mother, either because of a mutation, a deletion, paternal uniparental disomy of chromosome 15, or an imprinting defect. See, Buiting, et al., "Angelman Syndrome—insights into a rare neurogenetic disorder", Nature Rev. Neuro., 2016, 12:584-593.
Angelman Syndrome patients experience developmental delays and speech impairment, and commonly experience sleep problems, seizures, and EEG abnormalities. The disorder is usually diagnosed in the first few years of life and the diagnosis can be confirmed by genetic testing. However, therapies for Angelman Syndrome remain limited and focus mainly on symptomatic management. See, Williams, C. A. et al., Genet. Med., 12: 385-395, 2010.
Recently, topoisomerase inhibitors currently used in cancer treatment were found to "unsilence" paternal UBE3A expression in both a neuronal culture system and mice. See, Huang, H. S. et al., Nature, 481: 185-189, 2012. However, the exact mechanism of unsilencing paternal UBE3A expression remains unknown and topoisomerase inhibitors are fraught with safety concerns because they are known to be non-specific and capable of inducing DNA damage, such as single and double-strand breaks.
Currently there is a lack of acceptable options for treating neurogenetic disorders such as AS. It is therefore an object herein to provide compounds, methods, and pharmaceutical compositions for the treatment of such diseases.

Compounds and methods for modulating UBE3A-ATS


A dental articulator incorporates members which are models of the patient's upper jaw and mandible, and incorporates six servo motors connected to the mandible member, for movement of the same about three orthogonal translation axes, and three orthogonal axes of rotation.

In the past, for the study of mandibular motion of a patient, articulators which have been available are extremely limited in accuracy and versatility. Such articulators are not able to reproduce the entire range and motion of movement of a patient's jaw, or to simulate the actual speed of such motion, or to faithfully reproduce the path of motion from a rest position to a position of extension in several different directions, or to reproduce a path between different extended positions.
It is desirable to provide a robotic articulator capable of improved accuracy, and to provide a more realistic simulation, in order to allow the study of mandibular motion, such as that involved in bruxism, for example, to facilitate diagnosis of disfuction, and to aid in design and construction of bridge work or other prosthetic appliances.