A rubber connector comprises a plurality of insulating portions and a plurality of conducting portions which are alternately disposed with the insulating portions and projected from adjacent insulating portions.

The present invention relates to a rubber connector in which conducting portions and insulating portions are alternately disposed with each other, and more particularly, to a rubber connector in which each of the conducting portions thereof has a projecting form.
Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 1, the rubber connector 9 is shaped in a virtually flat form in the direction of its thickness, in which insulating portions 1 and conducting portions 2 are alternately disposed with each other.
Therefore, to effect a connection of an external device with a unit having the rubber connector 9 fitted thereto, it has been necessary that they are constructed, as shown in FIG. 2. In particular, when the connection is made, the cabinet member of the unit (such as an IC card reader) 3 covering the portion at which the connector is fitted thereto may be removed to expose the whole body of the rubber connector. Also, on the side of the external device (such as a memory card and IC card) 4, a contact terminal board 5 may be exposed to the outside.
Therefore, problems arise such as the rubber connector 9 is difficult to fix in place and the unit 3 and the external device 4 are both susceptible to the influence of humidity, liable to be damaged by foreign substances, and have mechanically weak points because large portions of their contact terminals are exposed.
Incidentally, 6 and 7 in the figure denote a contact terminal and circuit board, respectively, incorporated in the unit 3, while 8 denotes a contact terminal disposed on the device 4 to be connected with the conducting portion 2 of the rubber connector 9.
In an example in which another type of conventional rubber connector is used, the rubber connector 9 in the form of a bar is inserted, as shown in FIG. 3, in an opening portion 15a made in the cabinet 15 of the body of a computer (such as an IC card reader) containing a circuit board 10. The rubber connector 9 has its conducting portions 2 in contact with contact terminals 11 on the circuit board 10 and with its upper side slightly protruded from the opening portion 15a. The external memory cabinet (such as a memory card and IC card) 14 containing on its underside a circuit board 13 having protruded contact terminals 12 thereon is adapted to come in contact with the conducting portions 2 when pressed in the direction of arrow A against the upper side of the computer body cabinet 15 to be fixed thereto. Thereby, both the circuit boards 10 and 13 are easily electrically connected with each other through the rubber connector 9 without the need for soldering.
However, since the aforementioned conventional rubber connector 9 is of the form of a bar with the insulating portions 1 and conducting portions 2 formed at the same height and it is required that rubber connector 9 as a whole protrude from the opening portion 15a, both the computer body cabinet 15 and the external memory cabinet 14 must be provided with openings therein extending over virtually the total widths thereof. Therefore, a problem arises concerning the strength of the cabinets at these portions.


Provided is a surface light emitting illumination device including: a light guide panel on which a fine pattern is formed; a channel formed in a closed curve shape inside an edge of the light guide panel; an LED strip inserted in the channel, in which a plurality of LED chips are mounted on a flexible substrate at regular intervals; a fixing band inserted in the channel to fix the LED strip so that the LED strip is not separated from the channel; a channel communication part formed in the light guide panel to communicate with the channel.

The surface light emitting illumination device is a device for emitting light through a surface, which can be operated with low power and can be manufactured in various sizes, and has recently been used for information delivery such as promotion or product advertisement as well as illumination.
Such a surface light emitting illumination device includes a light guide panel having a fine pattern on its surface, an LED strip on which a plurality of LED chips are mounted around the side surface of the light guide panel, and an edge frame in a "U" cross-sectional shape for fixing the LED strip to the side surface of the light guide panel, and is made by attaching an information sheet with information content printed thereon to the light guide panel.
In such a surface light emitting illumination device, light emitted from the LED strip is introduced into the light guide panel, is reflected from the bottom, and is diffused through the pattern. As a result, the entire surface of the information sheet is irradiated with surface light to clearly display the printed information content.
However, in such a surface light emitting illumination device, since the LED strip is fixed to the light guide panel by the edge frame, processes such as manufacturing an edge frame material and cutting it to a necessary length, and fixing the LED strip with the edge frame are complicated.
In addition, while the light guide panel has various sizes depending on illumination devices made in various sizes to order, the size of the LED strip is standardized, and the interval between LED chips is constant. Accordingly, in a case where the LED strip is mounted around the side surface of the light guide panel having a specific size, a difference may occur between a first interval between the first LED chip and the last LED and a second interval between other LED chips.
Here, in a case where the first interval is larger than the second interval, that is, in a case where the interval between the first LED chip and the last LED chip of the LED strip is larger than the interval between other adjacent LED chips, the intensity of light generated in the first and last LED chips forming the first interval may be smaller than the intensity of light generated by another adjacent pair of LED chips. In this case, a shade may occur in the light guide panel, and the shade appears more conspicuous in a case where a white area exists in the information sheet, which results in deterioration of the surface light emission quality.

Surface light emitting illumination device using closed LED strip


A semiconductor integrated circuit pattern verification method includes executing simulation to obtain a simulation pattern to be formed on a substrate on the basis of a semiconductor integrated circuit design pattern, comparing the simulation pattern and the design pattern that is required on the substrate to detect a first difference value, extracting error candidates at which the first difference value is not less than a first predetermined value, comparing pattern shapes at the error candidates to detect a second difference value, combining, into one group, patterns whose second difference values are not more than a second predetermined value, and extracting a predetermined number of patterns from each group and verifying error candidates of the extracted patterns.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor integrated circuit pattern verification method capable of efficiently performing pattern verification, a photomask manufacturing method, a semiconductor integrated circuit device manufacturing method, and a program for implementing a semiconductor integrated circuit pattern verification method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recent progress of the semiconductor manufacturing technique is very remarkable, and semiconductor elements micropatterned to a minimum feature size of 70 nm are mass-produced. Micropatterning is realized by rapid improvement of the pattern formation technique including mask process, photolithography, and etching.
When the pattern size of a semiconductor integrated circuit is large enough, the planar shape of a desired circuit pattern to be formed on a wafer is drawn as a design pattern as it is, and a mask pattern faithful to the design pattern is formed. The mask pattern is transferred onto a wafer through a projection optical system, and the substrate is etched to form almost the same pattern as the design pattern on the wafer.
However, as the patterns of semiconductor integrated circuits shrink in feature size, it becomes difficult to faithfully form a pattern by each process. The final dimension on a resultant wafer undesirably becomes different from the design pattern.
Especially in lithography and etching processes which are the most important in achieving micropatterning, the layout of patterns near a pattern to be formed greatly influences the dimensional accuracy of the pattern to be formed.
To cancel the influence of these processes, so-called OPC (Optical Proximity Correction) and PPC (Process Proximity Correction) have been developed. These techniques perform pattern correction in advance by adding a supplement pattern or increasing/decreasing the pattern width so as to adjust the dimension after processing to a desired design pattern. These techniques are reported in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication Nos. 9-319067 and 2003-107664, and SPIE Vol. 2322 (1994) 374 (D. M. Newmark et al., Large Area Optical Proximity Correction using Pattern Based Correction).
These techniques can form on a wafer a semiconductor integrated circuit pattern drawn by the designer, but require verification of whether pattern correction by OPC and PPC has been performed correctly. In order to verify the accuracy of correction, verification may be done on the basis of the mask value. However, verification using a (lithography) simulator is indispensable for accurately executing verification.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,470,489 discloses a verification tool which compares the edge of a desired pattern on a wafer with that of a pattern transferred using a layout-after OPC, and checks whether the difference between these edges falls within a predetermined allowance.
Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 9-319067 proposes a method of predicting at high precision a positional deviation between the edge of a desired pattern and that of a transferred pattern by using the same physical model for proximity correction and verification.
According to the prior arts, when patterns of the same type exist in one verification area, they are all detected. Thus, the number of detection portions is large, and it is very difficult to execute review (confirm portions at which patterns are detected).

Semiconductor integrated circuit pattern verification method, photomask manufacturing method, semiconductor integrated circuit device manufacturing method, and program for implementing semiconductor integrated circuit pattern verification method


System and method for handling substrates in a lithography manufacturing process are disclosed. In one embodiment, a system for handling substrates in a lithography manufacturing process includes a plurality of porous chucks positioned above a substrate for imaging, a plurality of pressure sources configured to apply pressured air towards the substrate through the plurality of porous chucks, a plurality of vacuums configured to apply suction force away from the substrate, and a controller with control logic configured to hold the substrate in place by controlling the pressured air applied by the plurality of pressure sources and the suction force generated by the plurality of vacuums.

Many modern display systems require projection of high resolution images or conducting image sensing across large, thin materials, such as substrates. These requirements continue to become more difficult to meet as the demand increases for greater size and resolution while simultaneously reducing cost and time. FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional system of using a vacuum chuck to hold an object in a manufacturing process. As shown in FIG. 1, a workpiece 102 (also referred to as an object, which can be a substrate) is placed on top of a vacuum chuck 104. When the air pressure of the vacuum chuck is turned off 106 (left figure), the atmosphere within the chamber maintains a constant pressure around the workpiece 102 and within the vacuum chuck 104. When a vacuum chuck is turned on 108 (right figure), the air pressure decreases below the workpiece 102 which causes higher air pressure above the object 102 to want to fill this low pressure space below it. Thus, the workpiece 102 is pressed and held against the chuck 104.
In applications where the projection is used to expose a pattern or otherwise transfer an image, conventional methodologies and systems often call for the use of manufactured masks, which require long time and high cost to fabricate. In typical production environments and in particular in production runs, a low volume production would make the time and cost of manufacturing such a mask even more significant. Therefore, it would be desirable to have methodologies and systems that can generate the pattern on the fly.

Method and system for handling substrates


There are provided a double-diffused MOS (Metal Oxide Semiconductor) transistor and a fabricating method thereof. In the double-diffused MOS transistor, a buried layer of a first conductive type and an epitaxial layer of the first conductive type are sequentially formed on a semiconductor substrate, and a gate electrode is formed on the epitaxial layer of the first conductive type with interposition of a gate insulating film. Source and drain regions of the first conductive type are formed in the surface of the epitaxial layer of the first conductive type in self-alignment and non-self-alignment with the gate electrode, respectively. A body region of a second conductive type is formed in the surface of the epitaxial layer of the first conductive type to be surrounded by the source region of the first conductive type, and a bulk bias region of the second conductive type is formed in the body region of the second conductive type under the source region of the first conductive type.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and a fabricating method thereof, and in particular, to a double-diffused metal oxide semiconductor (DMOS) transistor and a fabricating method thereof, which can reduce on-resistance (Rds) by decreasing chip size.
2. Description of the Related Art
Semiconductor technology has recently been moving toward integrating power devices such as DMOS transistors, IGFETs (Insulated Gate Field Effect Transistors), and the like on a chip in a high density. These power devices, finding their wide use as individual devices and power ICs (Integrated Circuits), have channels formed by double-diffusion.
In particular, a DMOS transistor, obtained by double-diffusion, has impurity regions of different conductive types formed by sequentially diffusing impurities of different conductive types through a hole in an insulating layer. The double-diffusion structure of the DMOS transistor enables a short channel to be formed with high precision and the DMOS transistor to operate at high speed. DMOS transistors are grouped into vertical DMOS (VDMOS) transistors and lateral DMOS (LDMOS) transistors according to their current paths.
FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a conventional N-channel DMOS transistor. Referring to FIG. 1, an N+ buried layer 12 is formed on a P-type semiconductor substrate 10, and an N-type epitaxial layer 14 is formed over the substrate 10 and the N+ buried layer 12. A device isolation region 17 is formed over the N-type epitaxial layer 14, and an N+ sink region 16 is formed under a drain contact forming area by diffusing an N-type impurity of high concentration into the N+ buried layer 12.
A gate electrode 20 is formed over the N-type epitaxial layer 14 with a gate oxide film 18 formed between the two. A P-type body region 22 is formed into the surface of the N-type epitaxial layer 14, and an N+ source region 24 is formed to be surrounded by the P-type body region 22 in self-alignment with the gate electrode 20. An N+ drain region 26 is formed into the surface of the N-type epitaxial layer 14 in non-self-alignment with the gate electrode 20 from the outside thereof A channel region (not shown) is formed into the surface of the P-type body region 22 partially overlapped with the gate electrode 20.
An insulating layer 30 having a contact hole is formed over the N-type epitaxial layer 14 including the gate electrode 20. A metal layer 32 is formed in the contact hole of the insulating layer 30 to make contact with the gate electrode 20, the N+ source and drain regions 24 and 26, and the P-type body region 22 in the DMOS transistor.
In the conventional DMOS transistor as constituted above, a bulk bias region 28 should be formed to simultaneously make contact between the metal layer 32 and the N+ source region 24 and between the metal layer 32 and the P-type body region 22. In this way, the entire chip size is increased, in turn, increasing on-resistance.

Double-diffused MOS transistor and method of fabricating the same


An optical system including a beam of radiation, an optical sensing device and boresighting apparatus. The boresighting apparatus includes apparatus for sensing the location of the beam of radiation relative to a given beam reference location and for providing an output indication thereof and including computing apparatus receiving the output indication from the optical sensing device. The boresighting apparatus further includes apparatus for defining an aiming location in the optical sensing device which aiming location is related to the output indication and including apparatus for providing an optical system reference image at a predetermined spatial separation from the beam reference location which is sensible by the optical sensing device.

In an electro-optical thermal viewing and targeting system there are typically provided a radiation sensing device, such as a FLIR (Forward Looking InfraRed sensor), typically being sensitive to radiation in the infrared and a laser designator, emitting radiation in the near or medium infrared range at a wavelength different from that of the FLIR. In order to ensure that the image on the radiation sensing device reflects the position of the laser, it is necessary to ensure that the lines of sight of the laser and the FLIR are parallel. This is known as boresighting.
A conventional laser boresighting system focuses a portion of the laser energy onto a heat conductive element, such as ceramic, so as to cause it to become heated and thus emit thermal energy in the range of sensitivity of the FLIR. The thermal energy is focused onto the FLIR along an axis having a predetermined orientation relative to the line of sight of the laser. The thermal image thus produced on the FLIR provides an indication of the correlation of the respective lines of sight of the FLIR and the laser.
The system described requires that there be an optical path between the laser and the FLIR. Furthermore these systems suffer from a problem of synchronization between the laser and the FLIR since the pulse length of the laser is much shorter than the scan time of the FLIR.


A marker dot detecting device for a color image recording apparatus such as a color copying machine, color facsimile, or color printer. The marker dot detecting device includes a marker dot detecting unit for detecting a marker dot by detecting a plane size of binary image data having a preset marker color. Further, the marker dot detecting unit includes a template mask unit having a first template mask in a predetermined first size and a second template mask in a predetermined second size larger than the first size, the second template mask including the first template mask. The template mask unit outputs a marker dot detecting signal when a detected size of the marker dot is larger than that of the first template mask and smaller than that of the second template mask.

The present invention relates to a color image recording apparatus, such as a color copying machine, color facsimile, or color printer, and more particularly to a color image recording apparatus having the function of being capable of specifying an editing area by drawing a marker dot at an arbitrarily selected position in a closed area within an image.
A digital color copying machine includes an image reading means for reading an original sheet by scanning it, an image editing means for processing and editing the image data thus read, an image output means for recording the image data processed and edited, and a control means for controlling the image reading means, the image editing means, and the image output means and are capable of executing various editing processes on the image data with the image editing means. Further, the digital color copying machine has come to employ highly advanced digital color image processing techniques in the recent years, so that such a machine has realized a large number of color image editing functions.
Incidentally, an image on a black-and-white original sheet may contain a closed area such as a table or a circular graph drawn therein, and it is desired from time to time to execute such an editing process as extraction (trimming) or deletion (masking) on the inside of such a closed area. Also, it is desired in some cases to form an arbitrarily determined closed area in an image on an original sheet, using an editing pad comprised of a digitizer or drawing the closed area in the image on the original sheet by a marking pen having a predetermined color, and to give various editing processes to the image inside the closed area.
For these purposes, a method has been proposed in which a bit map plane memory (which will be hereafter referred to simply as "plane memory") is used for searching for a closed area set up by the user. A summary description of the method is given as follows.
FIG. 26 is a schematic diagram showing a construction to be used in search for a closed area. Now, it is assumed that a closed area is drawn in an original sheet in black and white and that one point in the closed area is specified by means of an editing pad. The data on the coordinates for the point specified in this manner are notified to and taken into a graphic controller 101. First, a prescanning operation is performed on the original sheet, the image data thus read being converted into binary values, further subjected to a conversion of the pixel density as appropriate, and then written to a plane memory 103 by way of a direct memory access controller (DMAC) 102 under control performed by the graphic controller 101, and the image on the original sheet as converted into binary values representing black and white is thereby written to the plane memory 103. The conversion of the pixel density is done in order to limit the capacity of the plane memory 103 to a necessary minimum. In this case, the image on the original sheet is read at 400 spi and the data thus read are subjected to a density conversion into data at 100 spi and fed into the DMAC 102. As the construction for use in performing such a conversion of pixel density is generally known in the art, it is omitted from the description given here. Moreover, various ways are conceivable for the method of determining whether the pixel should be made black or white after a density conversion, but one pixel after such a density conversion is to be made black in case even one black pixel is included in the read 4.times.4 pixels.
Now it is assumed here that 15 closed areas in the maximum can be set up in one original sheet and that mutually different editing processes can be done at the same time on the individual closed areas thus set up. Then, as data in four bits are necessary for distinguishing the 15 closed areas, the plane memory 103 is in need of four sheets of bit map plane memories, and it can be understood here that one bit can thereby be given to each plane memory, so that it is possible to construct data in four bits as a whole. Moreover, it is to be noted in this regard that these four-bit data will be referred to as "area command (ACMD)" hereinafter. In addition, the plane memory 103 also needs a plane for conducting a search for a closed area.
An example of the construction of the plane memory 103 is shown in FIG. 27. The plane memory 103 is comprised of a random access memory (RAM) having word addresses from O.sub.H to BEB8F.sub.H (wherein H indicates a hexadecimal number, and this applies in the same manner to the notations used in the subsequent part), and these areas are divided into a work plane P.sub.W, a mask plane P.sub.M, and four planes from P.sub.3 to P.sub.0 in which the area command is actually stored.
Now, it will be described, with reference to FIG. 28, how a search for a closed area is performed, and how an ACMD will be formed as the result of such a search, with the system in the construction described above. FIG. 28 is a conceptual chart illustrating the process for the formation of an ACMD in a work plane P.sub.W and a mask plane P.sub.M, and it is assumed here that the value of the pixel is "1" in the areas indicated with the slant lines and also that the value of the pixel is "0" in the other areas. First, the image data are written in regular sequence to the work plane P.sub.W as illustrated in FIG. 28A. At this moment, the mask plane P.sub.M is in a cleared state as shown in FIG. 28F. When the writing of the data to the work plane P.sub.W is completed, the graphic controller 101 paints out the pixels on the mask plane P.sub.M with "1" (FIG. 28G) with respect to those pixels present within a sphere in which the value of the pixel is "1," namely, a closed area which is defined with a contour line, in such a manner that the painting operation will center around the points Q and R (See FIG. 28B) which the user has specified, on the basis of the data on the point coordinates which a Central Processing Unit (CPU) (not shown in FIG. 26) has notified to the graphic controller 101. By the effect of this, no such painting out will be done on the mask plane P.sub.M in any closed area in which such inside points are not specified, as indicated by reference numeral 112 in FIG. 28A, and any such closed area will be ignored even if there is any other area drawn in the image of the original sheet.
Next, the graphic controller 101 copies the pattern written in the mask plane P.sub.M to the work plane P.sub.W as shown in FIG. 28C. At this moment, the mask plane P.sub.M is in the state as illustrated in FIG. 28H and is thus put in the same state as that shown in FIG. 28G. When the copying of the pattern from the mask plane P.sub.M to the work plane P.sub.W is completed, the graphic controller 101 erases the pattern present on the mask plane P.sub.M (See FIG. 28I) and copies the pattern data to the area on the mask plane P.sub.M (See FIG. 28J), painting with the address of the corner S (See FIG. 28E) on the work plane P.sub.W specified as the starting point. At this time, the values of the pixels will be reversed, so that the pixels in the value "1" will have the value replaced with "0" while the pixels in the value "0" will have the value replaced with "1".
With the operations described above, it is possible to extract the contour line for a specified closed area, and, after this operation, the graphic controller 101 develops the pattern present on the mask plane P.sub.M from the specified points Q and R to the planes P.sub.3 to P.sub.0, at which the graphic controller 101 allocates an ACMD consisting of four bits to each closed area. Now, let us assume that the CPU assigns F.sub.H to the closed area containing the specified point Q therein and E.sub.H to the closed area containing the specified point R therein. The graphic controller 101 writes values to the planes P.sub.3 to P.sub.0, taking the plane P.sub.3 as the most significant bit and the plane P.sub.0 as the least significant bit, and an ACMD as shown in FIG. 29 is thereby generated. In this regard, the area commands for the individual closed areas are designed in such a manner that the specified points will be allocated, for example, from F.sub.H to O.sub.H in the registered sequence or in the sequence reverse to the registered one.
The ACMD, which has been generated in this manner, will be read out of the plane memory 103 in synchronization with an operation for reading an image on the original sheet at the time of a copy scanning operation, which is performed for making an actual copy, being then subjected to a conversion of its pixel density from 100 spi into 400 spi, and being thereafter fed to the editorial work processing block. This series of operations will execute an editing process as set in respect of each closed area.
The description given above relates to a case in which the graphic controller 101 extracts a closed area drawn in an image on the original sheet, thereby searching for a closed area to be edited. The graphic controller 101 will perform the same operations in search for a closed area also with respect to a closed area drawn with a marking pen and a closed area indicated on an editing pad.
However, the conventional method requires that the points specified for a search for a closed area should be entered by operations on an editing pad, and, in case the operator has to execute an editing process on many closed areas, this requirement presents the problem that the operator tends to forget to which of the closed areas he has specified the points.

Marker dot detecting device for color image recording apparatus


A carrier having a platform or deck mounted on a subframe tiltable relative to the vehicle chassis. The platform is preferably slidable relative to the subframe. Sufficient clearance is provided such that the subframe is preferably located between the vehicle chassis frame and the rear wheels, and below the top of the chassis frame. The resulting carrier has a platform with a height substantially lower than that of previous carriers, providing it with a lower center of gravity, enabling a reduction in load angle, an increase in payload height, and enhanced dynamic road stability.

The present invention generally relates to tilting bed carriers. More specifically, the invention is directed to the art of tilting bed carriers using a tilting platform having a low center of gravity and relatively small loading angle.
Various carriers, including car carriers as well as industrial carriers (for carrying forklifts, tractors and machines, etc.), are known, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,750,856 ('856 patent) to Lapiolahti and U.S. Pat. No. 5,061,147 ('147 patent) to Nespor. These patents disclose a bed carrier or tiltable platform mounted on a truck chassis which moves from a horizontal position on the truck frame to a tilted position in which the rear end of the bed or platform engages the ground. The tiltable platform of the '856 patent is attached to the frame of a truck chassis, and a hydraulic cylinder tilts the platform rearwardly from the horizontal position to an inclined position by simultaneous upward and rearward movement of the front end of the bed and downward and rearward movement of the rear end of the bed, to enable the loading of a disabled vehicle. The carrier platform of the '147 patent is situated on a subframe with parallel beams that, in a generally similar fashion, support independent sliding and tilting movement of the platform.
Carriers, such as those disclosed in the '856 and '147 patents, utilize a tiltable platform with main longitudinal rails or beams mounted above the truck frame of a dual rear wheel chassis. Conventional commercial truck chassis have been equipped with dual rear wheels in single and tandem axle configurations.
Recently, another truck chassis rear wheel configuration has been developed and commercialized, known as a "Super Single" wheel and tire system. The Super Single wheel system employs one wide wheel and tire on each end of a truck axle, as compared to two narrow wheels and tires on each end of dual-wheeled truck axle. Each style of wheel configuration has advantages and disadvantages. The Super Single wheel configuration is less expensive and provides better fuel economy than dual rear wheel configurations. Dual rear wheel configurations provide redundancy in the event of a single flat tire.
Whatever the axle and wheel configuration, conventional carriers 100 have utilized a truck/vehicle frame chassis 120 including chassis rails 120a which have been located below both the subframe rails 108a as well as below the platform rails 111a, as shown in prior art FIGS. 1-4A. (For background and comparison purposes with the invention to be described below, the carrier shown in FIGS. 1-4 also includes dual rear wheels 140, platform/bed 111 with platform/bed side rails 111a, controls 61, stabilizer 170 tiltable about pivot 171 using cylinder 127, vehicle chassis 108 including subframe rails 108a.)
Dual rear-wheeled chassis have approximately 7 inches of clear space between the tires and the truck frame, whereas the Super Single wheel configuration provides about 12 inches of such clearance. It was discovered that using a Super Single wheel configuration which provides this additional 5 inches of space between the rear wheels and truck frame, together with the use of air bag rear suspensions, enables the location of a carrier's longitudinal slide or platform beams beside the truck frame, and adjacent the rear wheels. This lowers the subframe and sliding platform about 6 inches relative to the top of the truck frame, as compared to conventional carriers.
The Super Single wheel configuration is not currently available on light-duty and medium-duty chassis. Therefore, it would also be advantageous to provide another low center-of-gravity carrier (LCG) design for dual, rear-wheel chassis. The present invention discloses this design, as well, enabling the use of a deck height that is 4-5 inches lower than comparable conventional carriers. As explained below, the carriers of the present invention have a design configuration in which the top of the vehicle/chassis rails is preferably above the bottom of at least one of the subframe rails and the bed/platform rails, and preferably above the bottom of both the subframe rails and the bed/platform rails.
Lowering the subframe and sliding platform about 4-6 inches has several advantages compared to conventional carriers with slide beams located above the truck frame. Typical commercial (e.g.) heavy-duty truck chassis have truck frame heights ranging from 36-44 inches relative to the ground, depending on the size of the truck frame and the type of rear suspension used. Traditional carriers have deck heights about 12-13 inches above the truck frame, which equates to conventional deck heights of about 48-57 inches above the ground. A lower tiltable platform height translates into a lower center of gravity, since the deck height relative to the ground is now in the range of about 42-51 inches, which provides improved truck handling. More available payload height is also provided. A lower platform height also means that the tiltable platform will have a lower load angle relative to the ground, which can facilitate loading (e.g., a large counterweight on a forklift can be more easily loaded, etc.).

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


One feature discloses a method operational at a multimedia mobile call transfer device, the method comprising: receiving a first video data associated with a multimedia call from a mobile device; receiving a first audio data associated with the multimedia call from the mobile device; processing the received first video data and the received first audio data; transmitting the processed first video data to a multimedia device for display on the multimedia device; and transmitting the processed first audio data to the multimedia device for play on speakers of the multimedia device.

1. Field
Various embodiments of the present application pertain to systems, devices, and methods for transferring a multimedia mobile call from a mobile device to a multimedia device having a display.
2. Background
In recent years, mobile phones and mobile device networks have increased their ability and capacity to transfer data at exceedingly higher data rates. With the advent of 3G and 4G wireless networks, mobile phones and mobile device networks are now better equipped to process multimedia applications, such as streaming video and music. Moreover, mobile phones are now commonly equipped with cameras that are able to take pictures as well as record video data. Additionally, mobile phones can now initiate (e.g., place) and receive (e.g., answer) multimedia mobile calls (e.g., mobile calls having video and audio content) with other similarly equipped multimedia call devices, such as other mobile phones, laptops, and fixed terminals. Technology advances in mobile device networks, including increased bandwidth per user, have made it possible to efficiently transmit and receive high data rate mobile video calls.
However, mobile phones, due to their small size, have small display screens that may make it difficult or undesirable to display multimedia calls having video content. For example, a small 4 inch mobile phone display makes it difficult for a user to see significant detail of video images received from a multimedia call. Moreover, mobile phones typically have a small speaker(s) that significantly limits the volume. Therefore, there is a need for systems, methods, and devices that allows a mobile phone to transfer image and/or sound data received during a multimedia call to a larger display that may include larger speakers, such as a television set, or computer display terminal. This would allow a user to initiate or receive a video call, for example at home, with a large display in order to better view the video images being sent by the other party to the video call.

Devices and methods for transferring a multimedia mobile call data from a mobile device to a device having a display


A computer-readable medium storing a support program that causes a computer to execute operations, the operations including reading out, from a memory that stores arrangement information on a component on a circuit and analysis information indicating a result of an analysis on the component, the arrangement information on the component and generating image information, reading out the analysis information that is information related to whether or not an examination is to be carried out with respect to the component from the memory, and changing a display attribute of the component which is included in the image information in accordance with the analysis information.

Up to now, an apparatus configured to support a circuit design by a user is proposed. For example, at a stage of the circuit design on a printed circuit board, the apparatus in related art stores a changed part and an unchanged part in a storage apparatus while being distinguished from each other. Then, the apparatus in related art performs a physical design on the unchanged part by using already designed data.
Also, according to the technology in related art, a circuit such as a printed circuit board is produced through a process including a conceptual design by a designer or the like, the circuit design, the physical design, and a fabrication. Also, the produced circuit may be revised through a carryover design in some cases because of various reasons such as an addition of a function, a component revision, and a reduction in size of a casing that accommodates the circuit. In this case, the designer converts physical design data into conceptual design data and examines a wiring, an arrangement, and the like again from the conceptual design.
See Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 3-88071.

Support program, support apparatus, and support method to change a display attribute of a component in a displayed circuit


In order to enable reducing a possibility of being unable to connect to an AP in which a failure of a network connection occurs and also lessening a decline in a communication rate, a wireless communication method includes: detecting occurrence of a failure of a network connection in a first wireless communication device, when detecting the occurrence of the failure, determining whether or not to make a first wireless connection to the first wireless communication device, when making the determination to make the first wireless connection, making the first wireless connection to the first wireless communication device, and relaying a first communication between the first wireless communication device and a network.

When a wireless local area network (LAN) network is introduced in a private corporation or a school, a plurality of access points (hereinafter referred to as APs) are arranged in a building or the like. Further, in many cases, the APs are installed on the same network, and are bidirectionally communicable through a wired network between the APs. Further, the wired network is connected to the Internet.
One of primary factors of wireless LAN network failures is a failure that an AP cannot be connected to a wired network. Causes of the failure vary from a simple cause such as disconnection of a LAN cable or a bad contact at a wired LAN port part to a cause that needs to be investigated by a specialized network technician, or the like.
When a failure occurs in an AP, a troubleshooter approaches the AP, regardless of a cause of the failure, and for example, checks details of the failure by visually observing a lighting state (such as a color of a lit LED or a light emission pattern) of a light emitting diode (LED) provided on the AP device. Alternatively, the troubleshooter tries whether wireless LAN communication recovers by restarting the AP by plugging in and unplugging a power source of the AP. Alternatively, the troubleshooter checks a connection status of a LAN cable connected to the AP.
Regardless of a cause of the failure, while the AP cannot be connected to the wired network, a slave device belonging to the AP cannot be connected to the Internet in spite of being normally connected through wireless LAN to the AP. At this time, since the wireless LAN connection is normal, the slave device falls into a state of being unable to access the Internet in spite of not detecting a failure. Such a problem that a slave device falls into a state of being unable to access the Internet in spite of being connected to an AP is referred to as a "black hole problem."
In order to resolve the "black hole problem," many APs stop all of their own wireless networks when a failure of a wired network connection occurs. When the AP stops the wireless network, a slave device belonging to the AP up to that point tries to connect to an adjacent AP. Then, when connection to an adjacent AP succeeds, a number of wirelessly belonging slave devices of the adjacent AP increases. However, when the number of wirelessly belonging slave devices of the AP is restricted, some of slave devices may not be able to belong to the AP. Further, a slave device which is distant from an adjacent AP may not be able to belong to the adjacent AP.
On the other hand, in a method described in PTL 1, an AP detects occurrence of a failure of its own wired network connection and transmits a request for becoming a mesh access point portal to another AP closest to the AP. Then, the AP becoming a mesh access point as a result of the occurrence of the failure wirelessly connects to the another AP becoming a mesh access point portal. Consequently, a slave device belonging to the AP in which the failure occurs may connect to the Internet through the AP in which the failure occurs and the another AP.

Wireless communication device, method, and recording medium


An active vibration control device includes: a housing; a movable part including at least one movable mass member; an exciting coil that generates a magnetic field with an intensity corresponding to a current supplied to the exciting coil; a magnetic viscoelastic elastomeric member whose viscoelastic property changes in accordance with a magnitude of the magnetic field generated by the exciting coil; and a support member made of a non-magnetic material. The housing and the movable part are elastically connected with each other by both the magnetic viscoelastic elastomeric member and the support member.

Dynamic dampers are widely used to reduce vibrations that occur in machines. A dynamic damper is made up of movable mass member and a spring with an eigenvalue of vibration that corresponds to a target frequency of vibration to be damped. The vibration is reduced by an inertial force of the movable mass member by utilizing the phenomenon that the movable mass member moves in an opposite phase to a vibration at the eigenvalue.
In this case, an eigenvalue of vibration ω, an eigenfrequency f, a spring constant K, and a mass M of the movable mass member have the following relationship.
                    f        =                              ω                          2                                                                                π                                =                                    1                              2                                                                                π                                                                                K                M                                                                        [                  Equation                                                              1                ]
A generally used dynamic damper vibrates at an eigenfrequency that is determined by a ratio of the mass M of the movable mass member of the dynamic damper to the spring constant K in an opposite phase to inputted vibration, to reduce the vibration by utilizing an inertial force of the movable mass member. Thus, it is necessary to use one dynamic damper per one frequency of vibration to be damped. When using a plurality of dynamic dampers to handle a plurality of frequencies, the dynamic dampers may interfere with each other when their eigenfrequencies are close to each other, which may even possibly amplify the vibration instead of reducing the vibration.
When damping vibrations and noises that occur in a rotating machine entailing torque variations, a representative example of which is an engine of an automobile, the target frequency of vibration to be damped varies in accordance with the rotational speed of the engine. As a result, there are several frequencies of vibration that should be dealt with.
In view of this, there has been proposed a device in which a member made of magnetic viscoelastic elastomer (MRE) is used as a spring to realize a dynamic damper with variable eigenfrequency (see patent document 1). This is a variable dynamic damper technique that varies stiffness of rubber by mixing magnetic material into the rubber and controlling the intensity of a magnetic field applied to the rubber.


Compositions for suppositories comprising (A) a fatty base, (B) monodecanoyl-glycerol, (C) monolauroyl-glycerol, (D) a powder insoluble in fatty base and (E) a drug for suppositories capable of giving highly useful suppositories which sustain a melting point higher than the body temperature under dry storage conditions and thus remain stable without melting during storage but, when inserted into body cavity, quickly melt or gel.

Suppository bases are classified into fatty bases and water-soluble bases. Although they are both excellent bases, the fatty bases have been widely employed, since they are superior to the water-soluble ones in less irritation to the administration sites, etc. It has been a practice to design suppositories containing fatty bases to melt at the body temperature. When inserted into a body cavity, therefore, such a suppository would migrate upward from the administration site.
In the case of antihemorrhoidal suppository, drugs should be retained around the affected part. Accordingly, there have been reported a number of compositions for suppositories for preventing drugs from spreading over the rectum by, for example, JP-A-54-26325, JP-A-6-40889, JP-A-63-280016, JP-A-1-143825, JP-A-61-109710, JP-A-2-15024, JP-A-4-164023 and EP No. 103995 (the term "JP-A" as used herein means an "unexamined published Japanese patent application").
However, there has been reported no suppository which sustains a melting point higher than the body temperature and thus never melts during storage but, when inserted into a body cavity, melts or gels at the body temperature owing to a decrease in its melting point.


A device for modifying light distribution includes a transparent body including a first surface, a second surface on an opposite side of the transparent body, and a third surface joining the first surface. The second surface defines a cavity opening away from the first surface. The second surface reflects, towards the third surface, at least a part of light received via the first surface. The third surface reflects, towards the second surface, the light reflected from the second surface. The second surface acts as a light egress surface for the light reflected from the third surface. The third surface includes a groove so that a part of the light reflected from the second surface propagates across the groove prior to being reflected from the third surface. The light distribution can be tuned by adjusting the shape, the size, and/or the location of the groove.

Distribution of light produced by a light source can be important or even critical in some applications. The light source can be, for example but not necessarily, a light emitting diode "LED", a filament lamp, or a gas-discharge lamp. FIG. 1 shows a section view of an exemplifying device 101 according to the prior art for modifying the distribution of light produced by a light source 102. The section plane is parallel with the xz-plane of a coordinate system 199. The device 101 comprises a transparent body 103 that is made of transparent material such as for example acrylic plastic, polycarbonate, optical silicone, or glass. The transparent body 103 can be rotationally symmetric with respect to a geometric line 125. It is, however, also possible that the transparent body 103 has a non-circular shape when seen along the z-axis of the coordinate system 199. The transparent body 103 comprises a first surface 104 that acts as a light ingress surface, a second surface 105 that acts as a light egress surface, and a third surface 106 that constitutes a zone around the first surface and joins the first surface. The second 105 surface is configured to reflect, towards the third surface 106, at least a part of light received via the first surface from the light source 102. The third surface 106 is configured to reflect, towards the second surface 105, the light reflected from the second surface so that the light penetrates the second surface 105. In FIG. 1, some of the light beams produced by the light source 102 are depicted with dashed line arrows.
In many cases, there is a need to design a device of the kind illustrated in FIG. 1 so that a combination of a light source and the device produces a desired illumination pattern on a surface being illuminated. For example, there might be a desire to avoid ring-shaped areas having higher and lower light intensities in the above-mentioned illumination pattern. An inherent challenge related to devices of the kind illustrated in FIG. 1 is that the above-mentioned second and third surfaces 105 and 106 have to be shaped so that the condition for total internal reflection "TIR" is fulfilled at all locations on the third surface 106 because light should not leak out through the third surface 106. This requirement limits the freedom to design the shapes of the second and third surfaces 105 and 106, and thereby there may be a need for compromises.


Disclosed is an organic electroluminescent device including: a panel; a partition that defines a plurality of hollows arranged in an anisotropic form in a plan view on the panel; a luminescent portion formed by individually coating a coating solution containing an electroluminescent material on each of the plurality of hollows and drying out the coating liquid coated on the hollows; and a drain means that is formed in the partition to drain part of the coating liquid coated on the hollow so that a surface of the luminescent portion can be flattened.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an organic electroluminescence device such as an organic electroluminescence display unit manufactured using, for example, an inkjet method and an optical device such as a color filter.
2. Related Art
In an organic electroluminescent device manufactured using an inkjet method, a low-molecular luminescent material or a polymer luminescent material is used to form an organic electroluminescent layer as a light-emitting layer. The luminescent layer formed of the low-molecular luminescent material is typically formed using a dry method such as a vacuum deposition method. For this reason, it is thought that it is difficult to form the luminescent layer made of a low-molecular material on a large panel in a uniform thickness. The luminescent layer made of a polymer material is typically formed by coating a coating solution obtained by diffusing and dissolving the polymer luminescent material in a solvent on a panel using a coating method such as a spin coat technique. Therefore, it has been thought that it is difficult to manufacture a full color display panel by coating a coating solution containing luminescent materials for each color.
In this situation, JP-A-10-153967 discloses an organic electroluminescent device capable of implementing a full-color display by coating organic electroluminescent materials having red and green colors using an inkjet method and depositing a luminescent material having a blue color on a predetermined area and the organic layers emitting red and green colors. This document also suggests that this organic electroluminescent display device can be applied to an organic electroluminescent display device manufactured on a large panel.
In addition, when the luminescent layer is formed using an inkjet method, a flat luminescent layer can be provided by coating a liquid droplet containing an organic electroluminescent material on the areas defined by a partition for partitioning the luminescent layers and then drying out the liquid droplet. In this case, the behavior of liquid droplet when the solvent is vaporized from the liquid droplet depends on the solvent and the organic electroluminescent material contained in the liquid droplet, and a drying condition, Therefore, in order to provide uniform brightness from the luminescent layer in each pixel and an entire panel, a manufacturing should be carefully processed so as not to damage the flatness of the luminescent layer obtained by drying out the liquid droplet. In consideration of this point, JP-A-2002-252083 proposes to coat the liquid droplet even on areas originally not functioning as a pixel area in order to prevent the liquid droplet from being dried out too fast.
In addition, JP-A-2002-148429 discloses a technique for improving wetness of the liquid droplet on the surfaces of the partitions to flatten the luminescent layer formed after the dry-out process by performing a surface roughening for the surfaces of the partitions that define the areas where the liquid droplet containing the organic electroluminescent material is coated, i.e., the area where the luminescent layer is to be formed.
In this kind of organic electroluminescent device, the luminescent portion formed by coating the organic electroluminescent material to further improve a numerical aperture is preferably not circular but noncircular in a plan view. More specifically, in order to further Improve the numerical aperture of the entire organic electroluminescent device, an arrangement where the luminescent portions having an anisotropic cylindrical form extending along a certain direction in a plan view are arranged in an array form is more efficient than an arrangement where the luminescent portions having a circular shape in a plan view are arranged in an array form.
However, when a liquid droplet is coated on the cylindrical form area surrounded by the partitions to provide the luminescent portions having an isotropic shape in a plan view, a force applied from the side wall surface of the partition to the coated liquid droplet is anisotropic, and a force applied from each side surface wall adjoining the liquid droplet to the liquid droplet when the liquid droplet is dried is irregular for each direction. Therefore, it is technically difficult to provide a flat luminescent layer.
In consideration with the aforementioned technical problems, it is difficult to provide a luminescent layer having a sufficiently uniform thickness based on the JP-A-10-153967and the JP-A-2002-252083. Even when the technique disclosed in JP-A-2002-148429 is used, it is difficult to flatten the surface of the liquid droplet by adjusting the force applied from the side wall surface that defines the anisotropic area on which the liquid droplet is coated to the liquid droplet in each direction just through a surface roughening on the side wall surface of the partition, and it is also difficult to provide a flat luminescent layer through the dry-out process. When the luminescent layer is formed on each of a plurality of pixels defined by the partitions on a large panel using an inkjet method, it is difficult to provide a flat luminescent layer by drying out the coated liquid droplet coated in each area due to inconsistent drying rate generated depending on locations between a portion near edges of the panel and a portion near the center of the panel.

Organic electroluminescent device and optical device


Method and apparatus for automatically cleaning a roll for handling sheet stock while in service, including signale ended reciprocally actuated scrubbing of a fully roll surface width polishing surface swingingly engaged with the roll surface to provide effective cleaning action without leaving residual scars on the roll surface. Single ended actuation of the scrubbing action is enhanced with special self aligning bearings.

The present invention relates to roll cleaning systems, and more particularly to apparatus for an automatic self adjusting roll cleaning system.
Sheet stock, such as steel, plastic, aluminum and paper, is generally fed through a series of rolls, such as guide rolls and wringer rolls, as part of the manufacturing process. Such rolls serve to provide contact with the sheet stock for a variety of purposes, such as to guide or dry the sheet stock either before or after a coating process, as it is being cut to width, or as it is wound into large coils for ease of handling, storage and transportation. The surfaces of such rolls have a tendency to accummulate abrasive contaminants, corrosive coatings and particles of sheet stock on their surfaces, which can seriously mar and damage the surface of the sheet stock. Furthermore, such accumulations on the roll surfaces may embed themselves in the roll surfaces, scar the roll surfaces, or otherwise seriously damage them. It is therefore desirable to clean the surfaces of the rolls to prevent such accumulations from damaging both the sheet stock and the rolls themselves. Although it is possible to shut down a manufacturing operation to periodically change the rolls with fresh ones that have been cleaned, or to manually clean the rolls in service, it is generally uneconomic to do so, because the down time involved to stop and start the manufacturing operation is excessive.
Consequently, roll cleaning apparatus which functions during the manufacturing process is preferred. One such cleaning system in the prior art has been devised and developed by the Applicant of the present invention. This cleaning apparatus comprises a series of polishing blocks arranged on a polishing block support assembly in a tandem block arrangement having a total combined width at least as wide as the roll surface, and mounted tandem to a lever operated engagement system so that the operation of the lever engages the polishing blocks over the entire width of the roll surface. The polishing blocks are each resiliently mounted so that they each provide substantially the same surface pressure within a wide range of variation of polishing block wear between the different polishing blocks. However, their cleaning system is not completely satisfactory because the stationary polishing blocks so used have a tendency to leave a scarring pattern of their own.
An improved roll cleaning apparatus is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 193,596 entitled "Apparatus for Cleaning and Polishing Roll Assemblies", filed May 13, 1988, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,841,675 also to the Applicant of the present invention. This apparatus automatically engages and oscillates the tandem arrangement of polishing blocks described above on the roll surface. The oscillating motion of the blocks laterally scrub the roll surface as they polish to prevent any polishing block scarring pattern to develop. The oscillating feature of this apparatus is secured with a pneumatically actuated positioning cylinder for one end of the tandem polishing block arrangement on its polishing block support assembly and a hydraulically operated dampening cylinder for the other end. Each of the cylinders is individually supported into position with its own pneumatic support assembly. This arrangement provides automatic alignment of the polishing block support assembly with the roll surface at a regulated pressure. Furthermore, separate cylinders for each end of the polishing block support assembly prevent bearing misalignment problems.
Although this apparatus is very satisfactory from the standpoint of performance, it is bulky, complex and expensive. A roll cleaning apparatus which has a simpler polishing block engagement system, combined with a simple single ended positioner for reciprocally oscillating the polishing block support assembly, is more suitable for many applications with restrictive economic or physical space requirements. However, a simple end driven block support assembly requires some sort of means for preventing axial misalignment during operation, or alternatively, some means for successfully operating with large amounts of axial misalignment.
A major limitation of axial misalignment tolerance for axially reciprocating systems is bearing design. Although various bearing designs allowing axial motion are known which have a certain amount of either rotational freedom of movement about a point, or lateral freedom of movement relative to an axis, there are none that have a tolerance for both rotational and lateral misalignment combined.

Low profile roll cleaning apparatus and self aligning bearing used therein


The present invention is a generally circular rotary seal that establishes sealing between relatively rotatable machine components for lubricant retention and environmental exclusion, and incorporates seal geometry that interacts with the lubricant during relative rotation to distribute a lubricant film within the dynamic sealing interface. A preferably curved elevated contact pressure zone serves to maximize interfacial lubrication in critical areas during severe operating conditions by utilizing lubricant that would otherwise escape at the trailing edge of the hydrodynamic waves. The zones are produced by geometry that serves to minimize lubricant shear area, seal torque, seal volume, and wear, while ensuring retrofitability into the seal grooves of existing equipment.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to hydrodynamic rotary seals for bi-directional or uni-directional rotation that are used to retain a lubricant and exclude an environment. More specifically, this invention relates to a feature that improves seal lubrication in adverse conditions such as high operating temperature, skew-resisting confinement, high differential pressure, high initial compression, adverse tolerance accumulation, circumferential compression, high modulus seal materials, dynamic runout, reversing differential pressure, thin viscosity lubricants, third body seal surface wear, and/or material swell (collectively referred to as "severe operating conditions").
2. Description of the Related Art
The following commonly assigned patent documents represent prior art that is related to the invention:
United States Patents:
U.S. Pat. No. 7,562,878 Low torque hydrodynamic lip geometry for bi-directional rotation seals;
U.S. Pat. No. 7,052,020 Hydrodynamic Rotary Seal;
U.S. Pat. No. 6,767,016 Hydrodynamic Rotary Seal With Opposed Tapering Seal Lips;
U.S. Pat. No. 6,685,194 Hydrodynamic Rotary Seal With Varying Slope;
U.S. Pat. No. 6,561,520 Hydrodynamic Rotary Coupling Seal;
U.S. Pat. No. 6,494,462 Rotary Seal With Improved Dynamic Interface;
U.S. Pat. No. 6,382,634 Hydrodynamic Seal With Improved Extrusion Abrasion and Twist Resistance;
U.S. Pat. No. 6,334,619 Hydrodynamic Packing Assembly;
U.S. Pat. No. 6,315,302 Skew Resisting Hydrodynamic Seal;
U.S. Pat. No. 6,227,547 High Pressure Rotary Shaft Sealing Mechanism;
U.S. Pat. No. 6,120,036 Extrusion Resistant Hydrodynamically Lubricated Rotary Shaft Seal;
U.S. Pat. No. 6,109,618 Rotary Seal With Enhanced Lubrication and Contaminant Flushing;
U.S. Pat. No. 6,036,192 Skew and Twist Resistant Hydrodynamic Rotary Shaft Seal;
U.S. Pat. No. 6,007,105 Swivel Seal Assembly;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,873,576 Skew and Twist Resistant Hydrodynamic Rotary Shaft Seal;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,823,541 Rod Seal Cartridge for Progressing Cavity Artificial Lift Pumps;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,738,358 Extrusion Resistant Hydrodynamically Lubricated Multiple Modulus Rotary Shaft Seal;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,678,829 Hydrodynamically Lubricated Rotary Shaft Seal With Environmental Side Groove;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,230,520 Hydrodynamically Lubricated Rotary Shaft Seal Having Twist Resistant Geometry;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,195,754 Laterally Translating Seal Carrier For a Drilling Mud Motor Sealed Bearing Assembly;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,610,319 Hydrodynamic Lubricant Seal For Drill Bits;
United States Patent Applications:
Pub. No. 2005/0093246 Rotary Shaft Sealing Assembly;
Pub. No. 2006/0214379 Composite, High Temperature, Dynamic Seal and Method of Making Same;
Pub. No. 2009/0250881 Low Torque Hydrodynamic Lip Geometry for Bi-Directional Rotation Seals;
Pub. No. 2007/0013143 Filled Hydrodynamic Seal With Contact Pressure Control, Anti-Rotation Means and Filler Retention Means;
Pub. No. 2007/0205563 Stabilizing Geometry for Hydrodynamic Rotary Seals; and
Pub. No. 2009/0001671 Rotary Seal with Improved Film Distribution.
Assignee Kalsi Engineering manufactures various configurations of hydrodynamic rotary seals, based on the above-referenced patents and patent applications, and sells them under the registered trademark "KALSI SEALS." The rotary seals that are marketed by Kalsi Engineering are typically installed with radial interference (i.e., compression), and seal by blocking the leak path. Such seals are being challenged to operate at ever-greater temperatures and differential pressures. For general examples of such seals, see FIG. 3 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,230,520, FIG. 4 of U.S. Pat. No. 6,315,302, and FIG. 6 of U.S. Pat. No. 6,382,634.
Upon installation in a compressed condition, hydrodynamic seals define an "interfacial contact footprint" (sometimes just called the "footprint") that represents the shape of the "dynamic sealing interface," and the terms are generally interchangeable. Examples of footprints are shown in FIG. 2 of assignee's U.S. Pat. No. 4,610,319 and FIG. 13 of assignee's U.S. Pat. No. 5,230,520. The seals employ various variable width dynamic lip geometries that cause a lubricant-side edge of a dynamic sealing interfacial contact footprint to be wavy. The environment side of the interfacial contact footprint is intended to be substantially circular, to avoid hydrodynamic activity with the environment, and thereby exclude the environment.
As a consequence of the wavy lubricant-side footprint edge, the rotary motion of the lubricant-wetted shaft drags lubricant into the dynamic sealing interface. This hydrodynamic operating regime is intended to allow the seal to operate cooler and with less wear. Although a good level of lubrication is achieved in many cases, in some cases certain designs fall short when exposed to severe operating conditions.
Smaller seal cross-sections are desirable because shaft and housing wall thickness can be maximized. Miniaturization impacts seal lubrication, as described in U.S. Pat. Appl. Pub. 2007/0205563, paragraphs [0036]-[0039]. For a given dimensional compression, interfacial contact pressure increases as a seal cross-section is miniaturized. With radial seals, circumferential compression increases as diameter is miniaturized, increasing footprint spread and contact pressure.
The skew-induced wear mechanism described and illustrated in FIG. 3-27 of the Kalsi Seals Handbook, Rev. 1 is addressed with skew-resisting confinement of the seal, which increases interfacial contact pressure and footprint spread. The term "skew-resisting confinement," as used herein, encompasses (1) constraint imposed by seal contact with fixed location gland walls as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,315,302, and (2) spring-loading through a moveable gland wall, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2009/0001671.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,109,618 teaches the use of abrupt, skewed trailing edge geometries, that are unsuitable as hydrodynamic inlets, on seals suitable only for uni-directional rotation. This abrupt geometry is on the trailing edges of the waves, and is coupled with a very gently converging inlet geometry on the leading edges. Due to the high hydrodynamic leakage of such geometry, and the small reservoir size of downhole tools, such seals cannot be used in downhole oil well applications.
The prior art seals are constructed from elastomers that suffer accelerated degradation at elevated temperature. For example, media resistance problems, gas permeation, swelling, compression set, and pressure related extrusion damage all become worse at elevated temperature. A bi-directional rotation seal that operates with less torque and produces less seal-generated heat would be desirable, in order to moderate such degradation.
U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2009/0001671, "Rotary Seal with Improved Film Distribution" teaches that in the prior art, interfacial lubrication is impaired when the size of a dimensional variable changes due to the effects of certain severe operating conditions. That patent application teaches a lubrication enhancement solution that involves adding more elastomer volume to the seal. This solution is less than perfect in a seal that is axially constrained in accordance with the teachings of U.S. Pat. No. 6,315,302, "Skew Resisting Hydrodynamic Seal," because the increased seal volume is difficult to accommodate from geometric and interfacial contact pressure standpoints due to the need to accommodate differential thermal expansion between the seal and the hardware it is mounted in. Secondly, the exclusion edge issue disclosed in U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2007/0205563, "Stabilizing Geometry for Hydrodynamic Rotary Seals," is exacerbated by certain aspects of the U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2009/0001671 solution.
FIG. 1 of U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2009/0001671 is a graph that schematically represents an interfacial contact pressure plot at any circumferential location of a typical seal manufactured according to one of assignee's U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,610,319, 5,230,520, 6,315,302, 6,382,634, and so forth. In that patent application, the labels and dimensions (i.e., first footprint edge L, second footprint edge E, Location P, Dimension A, Dimension B and Width W) are, when necessary, given a subscript "1" or "2" to refer to specific locations of the interfacial contact footprint, width-wise. The portion of the footprint that is circumferentially aligned with Dimension A2 contributes little to overall interfacial lubrication because of lubricant loss at the trailing edge of the wave.
Dimension A2 is related to the size and the shape of the hydrodynamic inlet, and contact pressure at Location P2 is also related to the size and the shape of the hydrodynamic inlet. This precludes independent manipulation of the size of Dimension A2 and the contact pressure at Location P2, and means that the size of Dimension A2 is undesirably large, especially in high temperature operation and/or operation with skew-resisting confinement.
The term "un-swept zone" refers to that portion of the footprint that is circumferentially aligned with Width W1, and the tell "swept zone" refers to the remainder of the footprint. In other words the swept zone is that portion of the footprint that is circumferentially aligned with the footprint wave height. The swept zone is directly lubricated by the sweep of the First Footprint Edge L across the lubricant-wetted shaft. It is a significant undesirable characteristic of the prior art bi-directional rotation seals that lubrication of the un-swept zone is impaired in severe operating conditions.
Elastomers have a high coefficient of thermal expansion. Because there is more material at the widest parts of the dynamic lip, part of the differential thermal expansion between the seal and the housing is relieved circumferentially, causing material displacement from the widest to the narrowest parts of the dynamic lip, and reducing the width of the swept zone while increasing the sizes of Dimension A1 and A2, Dimension B1 and B2, and Width W1 and W2. This effect is exacerbated by skew-resisting confinement.
As the aforementioned sizes increase and the size of the swept zone decreases, lubrication is impaired, causing the seal to generate more and more heat due to increasing asperity friction, and causing a loss of lubricant film viscosity. These factors further increase seal temperature, compounding the problem and leading to an unsustainable runaway operating condition.
Initial compression also causes circumferential compression, which is increased by thermal expansion. Since the seal circumference is relatively long compared to the seal cross-section, circumferential compression can cause buckling in a manner similar to the classic textbook example of a long, slender structural column under compressive loading. This buckling tendency is augmented by the variable stiffness of the prior art seal about its circumference that is caused by the varying dynamic lip width and volume. A seal that has less lip size variation around its circumference would be more desirable than a seal that has more variation, assuming adequate lubrication. Lubricant passing through the region between first footprint edge L2 and Location P2 does little to benefit overall lubrication, because the lubricant film exits at the trailing edge of the wave. Dimension A2 increases significantly when a seal is used in skew-resisting confinement because the footprint spreads as more of the hydrodynamic inlet is brought into contact with the shaft due to seal thermal expansion.
It is desirable to be able to overcome the shortcomings described above. A sealing arrangement that provides a better way to enhance interfacial lubrication would be an advantage in many applications where long sealing life is needed to protect critical components in severe operating conditions.


A system and method are described for holding and releasing a workpiece for electrochemical machining. In one embodiment, a workpiece holder has a workpiece surface that couples to the workpiece when negative pressure is applied to provide a seal between the workpiece and the workpiece surface. A plenum located within the workpiece holder has a proximal end capable of being removably coupled to the workpiece. A piston is configured to move upward in the plenum and to lift the workpiece off of the workpiece surface in response to positive pressure being applied.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to electrochemical machining and more specifically to a system and method for holding and releasing a workpiece for electrochemical machining.
2. Description of the Background Art
As set forth in the related application, a very small and consistent machining gap must be maintained between a workpiece and an electrode to electrochemically machine grooves into the workpiece effectively. In fact, the accuracy and consistency of the machining gap are oftentimes the most important factors in controlling the width and depth as well as the variability of electrochemically machined grooves. For example, in certain applications, the machining gap must be 20 microns or less and must not vary by more than 2 to 3 microns over the entire machining area for proper electrochemical machining of the grooves.
Current workpiece holders normally use mechanical clamps or some other mechanical means to secure the workpiece during electrochemical machining. One drawback to using these types of workpiece holders is that they tend to be too large and/or cumbersome to use where the machining gaps are 20 microns or smaller. Another drawback is that these types of workpiece holders create too much variability in the machining gap over the machining area (i.e., they cause the machining gap to vary by more than 3 microns over the machining area). Yet another drawback is that the mechanical clamps or other mechanical means used by current workpiece holders usually couple to the face of the workpiece that is being machined, thereby decreasing the amount of workpiece surface area available for machining.

System and method for holding and releasing a workpiece for electrochemical machining


There is provided an optical fiber composite ground wire (OPGW). The optical fiber composite ground wire (OPGW) includes a central wire at the center of the optical fiber composite ground wire (OPGW), a steel tube disposed around the central wire, at least one optical fiber ribbon inserted into the steel tube and containing a plurality of optical fibers arranged in coplanar alignment, a filling material filled in the steel tube, at least one inner layer wire surrounding the central wire, and at least one outer layer wire surrounding the steel tube and the inner layer wire.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an optical cable used for transmission of an optical signal, and in particular, to an optical fiber composite ground wire (OPGW) using a steel tube, which functions as both a communication line and a ground wire.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electric lines are divided into an underground line and an aerial line. The aerial line is usually installed in areas other than cities for electric transmission. Due to probable lightening strikes on an electric line, an electric wire is installed as a lightning rod above the electric line. The electric wire is called a ground wire. The electric line, especially an electric transmission line needs a communication line for remote monitoring or remote control. The ground wire and the communication line are separately installed but it is preferable to integrate them.
However, a widely used conductor, such as copper or aluminum, is typically not suitable for the communication line because a nearby power line can generate an induced voltage or current and can thus cause a communication failure. The communication failure increases in proportion to the voltage and current strength of the power line and in inverse proportion to the distance between the communication line and the power line. In particular, an electric transmission line on which a high current flows at hundred thousands of volts, for example, can incur a serious communication failure on a nearby communication line. Nonetheless, a communication line should be provided to an electric transmission line. To overcome this problem, an optical fiber composite ground wire (OPGW) has been explored.
In this regard, an optical fiber composite ground wire (OPGW) using a steel tube exemplary of contemparory practice in the art includes acryl-coated optical fibers having an outer diameter of about 250 .mu.m, jelly on the circumference of the optical fibers, for protecting the optical fiber against water, a steel tube for inserting at least one optical fiber having the jelly, a central wire, inner layer wires surrounding the central wire and being aluminum-coated steel wires or aluminum wires, and outer layer wires surrounding the inner layer wires and being aluminum-coated steel wires or aluminum wires. In the optical fiber composite ground wire (OPGW) exemplary of contemparory practice in the art, the optical fibers are individually inserted into the steel tube and, thus, can be of different lengths due to application of different tensile forces on the optical fibers in a fabrication process, which can result in deterioration of optical transmission characteristics.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,078,853 to Kempf, et al. entiled Optical Communication Cable, disclose an optical communication cable including one or more cores of light-transmitting optical fibers substantially decoupled mechanically from the rest of the cable structure. It is disclosed each core can include linear arrays of optical fibers packaged in a plurality of ribbon structures which are stacked and hellically stranded for further strain-relief.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,359,598 to Dey, et al. entitled Overhaead Electric Transmission Systems, disclose a flexible stranded body, such as an electric conductor of an overhead electric transmission or distribution system, including at least one stranded layer of elongate elements of metal or metal alloy, at least one elongate compartment within and extending throughout the length of the stranded body and, loosely housed in the elongate compartment, at least one separate optical fibre and/or at least one optical bundle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,491,386 to Negishi, et al. entitled Optical Fiber Cable And Process For Production Thereof, disclose an optical fiber cable including a linear center member having at least one longitudinal and spiral groove in the surface thereof, one coated optical fiber received in each groove, an outer sheath that encloses the center member, and a jelly-like material with which the space around each optical fiber is entirely filled.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,491,387 to Dey, et al. entitled Overhead Electric And Optical Transmission Systems, disclose a flexible stranded body, such as an electric conductor of an overhead electric transmission or distribution system, which includes at least one stranded layer of elongate elements of metal or metal alloy, at least one elongate compartment within and extending thoughout the length of the stranded body and, loosely housed on the elongate compartment, at least one separate optical fibre and/or at least one optical bundle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,944,570 to Oglesby, et al. entitled Fiber Optic Cable Having An Extended Elongation Window, disclose a fiber optic cable including a central core which has one or more helical channels in its periphery. It is disclosed one or more tubes containing a dielectric water-blocking compound and one or more optical fibers are positioned in the channels. It is disclosed the fibers are randomly arranged within the tubes in such a way that tensile stresses on the cable are not transmitted to them, thus providing an elongation window. It is disclosed the assembly formed by the core and the tube or tubes is wrapped with a serving of metal wires.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,630,887 to Taylor entitled Optical Fiber Ribbon Structure, discloses an optical fibre ribbon structure suitable for use in an optical cable or other application where there is a risk that optical fibres will be subjected to a tensile force and includes a plurality of optical fibres and flexible reinforcing elements of resilient material arranged side by side and embedded in an elongate plastics body.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,666,244 to Van der Velde, et al. entitled Flat Type Optical Cable And An Optical Cable Composed Of Several Flat Type Cables, disclose a flat type optical cable including parallelly extending optical fibers which are interconnected by a light-cured lacquer of acrylic acid esters. It is disclosed the lacquer is present only on the facing circumferential parts of the optical fibers.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,775,213 to Kitayama entitled Composite Overhead Stranded Conductor Having A Filler Between Optical Fibers And A Protective Tube, disclose a composite stranded conductor bundle in which one of the cable strands is a fiber optic unit having a protective tube enclosing a plurality of optical fibers. It is disclosed the protective tube is filled with a fiber filler to hold the optical fibers.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,784,461 to Abe, et al. entitled Optical Cable With Improved Strength, disclose an optical cable having a central core with grooves along the outside, the grooves housing tubes containing optical fibers. It is disclosed the structure also allows for a different water blocking material to be used within the tubes than outside the tubes and within the grooves so as to satisfy different property requirements.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,793,686 to Saito entitled Optical Fiber Composite Overhead Transmission Line And Method For Producing Same, discloses an optical fiber composite overhead transmission line that includes a spacer formed with spiral grooves filled with a jelly-like material into which optical fibers are buried. It is disclosed a cover or sheath surrounds the spacer member to protect the internal components.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,865,415 to Kitayama entitled Composite Fiber-Optic Overhead ground wire, disclsoes a composite fiber-optic overhead ground wire having an optical unit which includes an optical fiber protecting tube, a spacer having helical grooves formed in its outer periphery, and multiple optical fiber units accommodated in the grooves of the spacer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,195,158 to Bottoms, et al. entitled Tight Buffered Fiber Optic Groundwire Cable, disclose a fiber optic groundwire or static cable for use between spaced-apart support towers of an electrical power transmission network, for ground fault protection from lightning strikes and other electrical faults, with an integral fiber optic telecommunications bundle. It is disclosed a bundle of optical fibers tightly enclosed by a pliable thremally insulating strain jacket is firmly affixed into a helically-wound channel within an electrically conductive core, and at least one layer of stranded electrical conductors serving as strength members completely surrounds the core.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,204,926 to Bottoms, Jr., et al. entitled Tight Buffered Fiber Optic Groundwire Cable, disclose a fiber optic groundwire or static cable for use between spaced-apart support towers of an electric power transmission network, for ground fault protection from lightning strikes and other electrical faults, with an integral fiber optic telecommunications bundle. It is disclosed a bundle of optical fibers tightly enclosed by a pliable thermally insulating strain jacket is firmly affixed into a helically-wound channel within an electrically conductive core, and at least one layer of stranded electrical conductors serving as strength members completely surrounds the core. It is disclosed the wire can include at least one fiber optic subunit firmly affixed into a helically-wound channel within an electrically conductive core of the cable. It is disclosed the fiber optic subunit includes a plurality of optical fibers wound about a fiberglass central strength member having an overcoating layer of a pliable semicompressible material, and tightly enclosed by a pliable thermally insulating strain jacket.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,274,725 to Bottoms, et al. entitled Tight Buffered Fiber Optic Groundwire Cable, disclose a fiber optic groundwire or static cable for use between spaced-apart support towers of an electrical power transmission network, for ground fault protection from lightning strikes and other electrical faults, with an integral fiber optic telecommunications bundle. It is disclosed a bundle of optical fibers tightly enclosed by a pliable thermally insulating strain jacket is firmly affixed into a helically-wound channel within an electrically conductive core; and at least one layer of stranded electrical conductors serving as strength members completely surrounds the core. It is disclosed the wire can include at least one fiber optic subunit firmly affixed into a helically-wound channel within an electrically conductive core of the cable. It is disclosed the fiber optic subunit includes a plurality of optical fibers wound about a fiberglass central strength member having an overcoating layer of a pliable semicompressible material, and tightly enclosed by a pliable thermally insulating strain jacket.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,495,546 to Bottoms, et al. entitled Fiber Optic Groundwire With Coated Fiber Enclosures, disclose an optic static wire assembly including a central core which has one or more helical channels in its periphery. It is disclosed one or more tubes containing a dielectric water-blocking compound and one or more optical fibers are positioned in the channels. It is disclosed the tubes are coated with a thermal insulation material, and then a heat reflective material. It is disclosed the optical fibers are randomly arranged within the tubes in such a way that tensile stresses on the cable are not transmitted to them. It is disclosed the assembly formed by the core and the tube or tubes is wrapped with a serving of metal wires.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,524,164 to Hattori, et al. entitled Coated Tape Form Optical Fiber Wire, disclose a tape form optical fiber wire including at least one set of at least two optical fibers each of which has a protective coating layer and which are arranged in parallel in the same plane, at least one set of the optical fibers being integrated by at least one common coating layer, in which the common coating layer contains a main component of a common coating resin and a component having a poor compatibility with the main component.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,787,217 to Traut, et al. entitled Fiber Optic Ground Wire Cable, disclose a fiber optic cable core structure that includes a plurality of fiber optic mini-bundles, each of which includes a plurality of optical fibers bonded together in a first curable material. It is disclosed the fiber optic mini-bundles in turn are bonded together as a unitary structure by a second curable material, and the resulting structure is wrapped in a metal tube-like ring.
U.S. Pat. Reissue No. RE032,374 to Dey, et al. entitled Overhead Electric And Optical Transmission Cables, disclose a flexible stranded body, such as an electic conductor of an overhead electric transmission or distribution system, including at least one stranded layer of elongate elements of metal or metal alloy, at least one elongate compartment within and extending throughout the length of the stranded body and, loosely housed in the elongate compartment, at least one separate optical fibre and/or at least one optical bundle.

Optical fiber composite ground wire and method using steel tube


A system and method of processing a CT scan includes receiving a plurality of radiographs and determining an axis of rotation per scan from the plurality of radiographs prior to CT reconstruction.

A computed tomography scan ("CT scan") typically involves placing a physical object on a rotating platform inside a CT scanner between an x-ray source and x-ray detector and rotating the object around a physical axis of rotation to generate radiographs from the x-rays detected by the detector. Conventionally, the CT scanner can tomographically reconstruct the radiographs into a 3D representation of the object scanned ("CT reconstruction"). One example of CT reconstruction can be found in, for example, in the publication Principles of Computerized Tomographic Imaging (A. C. Kak and Malcolm Slaney, Principles of Computerized Tomographic Imaging, IEEE Press, 1988), the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein. Other types of CT reconstruction can also be performed.
Tomographic reconstruction can use information regarding the physical axis of rotation's location and orientation to perform CT reconstruction on each scan. Although the axis of rotation's location and orientation can be calibrated for all scans by scanning a specially designed artifact prior to scanning objects, this can, for example, be inefficient and time-consuming, slow down CT scanning, reduce the number of useful scans per day, and lack precision. Additionally, the same calibration is typically used for each scan, thereby not compensating for variations per scan.

Determining rotation axis from x-ray radiographs

James R. Glidewell Dental Ceramics, Inc.


A method for assembling a micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) device that includes a micro-machine is described. The method comprises forming the micro-machine on a die, the die having a top surface and a bottom surface, providing a plurality of die bonding pedestals on a surface of a housing, and mounting at least one of the top surface of the die and components of the micro-machine to the die bonding pedestals such that a bottom surface of the die at least partially shields components of the micro-machine from loose gettering material.

This invention relates generally to manufacturing of Micro Electromechanical System (MEMS) devices, and more specifically to, getter devices and problems caused by gettering materials within MEMS devices.
Micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) include electrical and mechanical components integrated on the same substrate, for example, a silicon substrate. Substrates for MEMS devices are sometimes referred to as dies. The electrical components are fabricated using integrated circuit processes, while the mechanical components are fabricated using micromachining processes that are compatible with the integrated circuit processes. This combination makes it possible to fabricate an entire system that fits within a chip carrier using standard manufacturing processes.
One common application of MEMS devices is utilization within inertial sensor. The mechanical portion of the MEMS device provides the sensing capability for the inertial sensor, while the electrical portion of the MEMS device processes the information received from the mechanical portion. One example of an inertial sensor that utilizes a MEMS device is a gyroscope.
The MEMS production process involves the placement of the operational portion of the MEMS device, sometimes referred to as a micro-machine, within a chip carrier or housing, which is then hermetically sealed. Getters are sometimes attached to the housing to facilitate removal of water vapor and hydrogen, for example.
Getters can however, release particles that can interfere with operation of the MEMs device. In one example, a MEMS gyroscope and other MEMS based inertial devices can be exposed to high-G forces that may cause an amount of particles to be released from the getter, and come into contact with moving components of the MEMS device.

Methods and apparatus for particle reduction in MEMS devices


A cosmetic or dermatological composition contains as an active ingredient at least one arbutoside derivative with the following general formula: ##STR1## wherein: R represents an unsaturated aliphatic or aromatic hydroxylated residue having 4 to 16 carbon atoms, and R' represents a hydrogen atom or the ##STR2## radical. Ar represents a phenyl radical that may be substituted by one or more hydroxyl groups. Applications of the composition include the bleaching of skin and the treatment of pigmented spots.

The mechanism by which skin pigmentation is formed, namely by which melanins are formed, is particularly complex and schematically involves the following main steps: EQU Tyrosine .fwdarw. Dopa .fwdarw. Dopaquinone .fwdarw. Dopachrome .fwdarw. Melanins
with the enzyme involved in this series of reactions being essentially tyrosinase.
The substances in widest use at the present time as depigmentors are in particular hydroquinone and its derivatives, particularly its ethers such as hydroquinone monomethylether.
These compounds, while they are definitely effective, are unfortunately not bereft of side effects, which can make their use delicate or even dangerous.
Thus, hydroquinone, whose use is moreover limited to a concentration of 2%, is a compound that is particularly irritating and cytotoxic to the melanocyte, and whose total or partial replacement has been considered by numerous authors.
Hence the use of various natural substances including arbutoside and methylarbutoside has been considered. These arbutoside-based compositions are the subject of French Patent No. 85 04288 (2.577.805) and Japanese Patent Applications Nos. 86/152,196 and 88/011,585.
It is well established that a substance has a depigmenting effect if it acts directly on the vitality of the epidermal melanocytes where melanogenesis normally occurs and/or if it interferes with one of the stages in melanin biosynthesis, either by inhibiting one of the enzymes involved or by intercalation as a structural analog in the synthesis pathway which can accordingly be blocked, hence the depigmenting effect.
The use of topical depigmentors that have good efficacy and are harmless is particularly desirable with a view to treating regional hyperpigmentation caused by melanocytic hyperactivity such as idiopathic melasma occurring during pregnancy (mask of pregnancy or chloasma) or secondary to estrogen-progesterone contraception; local hyperpigmentation caused by benign melanocytic hyperactivity and proliferation such as lentigo senilis, known as liver spots; accidental hyperpigmentation such as postlesional photosensitization and scarring; and certain forms of leukoderma such as vitiligo where, if the injured skin cannot be repigmented, the residual zones of normal skin are depigmented to impart a homogeneous white color to the entire skin.

Depigmenting cosmetic or dermatological composition containing arbutoside derivatives