Cable strain relief device for a cable closure, having at least one cable guiding element, whereby a cable to be restrained can be fixed at a respective cable guiding element via a cable tie surrounding the cable to be restrained and the respective cable guiding element, whereby on both sides of the at least one cable guiding element there are positioned cable tie guiding elements providing guiding surfaces, whereby the guiding surface of a first cable tie guiding element being positioned at a first side of the cable guiding element, namely at the cable tie entry side of the same, has a smaller distance from the cable guiding element than the guiding surface of a second cable tie guiding element being positioned at a second side of the cable guiding element, namely at the cable tie exit side of the same.

The disclosure relates generally to closures and more particularly to closures having integral cable strain relief devices that are integral to the closure itself.
Cable closures are used in telecommunications cable networks for protecting spliced joints at connection points between two telecommunications cables and for protecting branch points or splitting points of telecommunications cables. In this case, the cable closures need to ensure the continuity of the telecommunications cables as though the telecommunications cables had not been interrupted.
The product catalog "Accessories for Fiber Optic Networks, Edition 1, page 75, Corning Cable Systems, 2001" discloses cable closures firstly in the form of inline cable closures and secondly in the form of dome cable closures, which all have a housing which defines an interior of the cable closure and seals off the interior thereof from the outside. Conventionally, assemblies for connecting, namely for splicing, telecommunications conductors guided in telecommunications cables are arranged in the interior defined by the housing of the cable closure.
In the case of cable closures in the form of dome cable closures, the housing is formed by a dome-like covering body and a sealing body, the sealing body de-fining cable insertion regions, which are sealed off on one side of the dome-like covering body and via which all of the cables can be inserted into the interior of the cable closure.
In the case of cable closures in the form of inline cable closures, cable insertion regions which are sealed off on two opposite sides of the covering body are formed for inserting cables into the interior of the cable closure, with the result that inline cable closures can be installed in one line with the cables.
DE 20 2010 006 582 U1 discloses an inline cable closure, having a housing, which delimits an interior of the cable closure and seals off the cable closure toward the outside, said housing comprising a covering body, said covering body comprises half-shells and provides on mutually opposite sides of the same cable insertion regions for inserting cables into said interior of the cable closure and/or for passing cables out of said interior of the cable closure, wherein compressible and/or deformable sealing elements are positioned at said mutually opposite sides of said covering body in the region of said half-shells. According to DE 20 2010 006 582 U1 the cable closure comprises on said mutually opposite sides of the covering body a cable strain relief device, each cable strain relief device having two cable guiding elements, whereby a cable to be re-strained can be fixed at a respective cable guiding element via a cable tie surrounding the cable to be restrained and the respective cable guiding element.
Against this background, the present patent application provides a novel cable strain relief device for a cable closure having improved guiding properties for the cable ties.
This is accomplished by the feature that on both sides of the at least one cable guiding element there are positioned cable tie guiding elements providing guiding surfaces, whereby the guiding surface of a first cable tie guiding element being positioned at a first side of the cable guiding element, namely at the cable tie entry side of the same, has a smaller distance from the cable guiding element than the guiding surface of a second cable tie guiding element being positioned at a second side of the cable guiding element, namely at the cable tie exit side of the same.
These guiding surfaces provide an easy and reliable guiding for the cable tie when using the same to fix a cable to be restrained at the respective cable guiding element.
According to an exemplary embodiment, on both sides of the at least one cable guiding element there are positioned cable tie guiding elements having arc segmented guiding surfaces, whereby the arc segmented guiding surface of a first cable tie guiding element being positioned at the first side of the cable guiding element, namely at the cable tie entry side of the same, has a smaller radius than the arc segmented guiding surface of the second cable tie guiding element being positioned at the second side of the cable guiding element, namely at the cable tie exit side of the same. In exemplary embodiments, a center point of the arc segmented guiding surface of a first cable tie guiding element and a center point of the arc segmented guiding surface of a first cable tie guiding element have a different distance from the respective cable guiding element. This provides an exemplary guiding function for the cable tie.
Exemplary embodiments of the disclosure will be explained in more detail, with-out any restriction being imposed, with reference to the drawing, in which:

Cable strain relief device for cable closures and cable closure having at least one such cable strain relief device


The airflow controlling device includes a bacteria counting portion counting bacteria of a controlled space; a first smoothing processing portion performing a first smoothing process on the bacteria count; a second smoothing processing portion performing a second smoothing process on the bacteria count; a bacteria reducing capability storing portion storing a bacteria reducing capability relative to each flow rate; a first flow rate evaluating portion selecting a flow rate matching a bacteria reducing capability compatible with an increase in a bacteria count forecasted from the processing result of the first smoothing processing portion; a second flow rate evaluating portion selecting a flow rate matching a bacteria reducing capability compatible with an increase in a bacteria count forecasted from the processing result of the second smoothing processing portion; and a flow rate determining portion selecting a flow rate into the controlled space based on the flow rates selected by the first and second flow rate evaluating portions.

In hygienic facilities such as foodstuff factories, pharmaceutical product factories, hospitals, or the like, there is a problem in that there is the potential for incursion of airborne bacteria or adhesive bacteria into the room accompanying entry and exit of people and objects, where the adhesion and the growth of airborne bacteria and adhesive bacteria on wall surfaces or devices within the room may cause the room to become contaminated. The room becoming contaminated is a problem that may lead to decreased product quality, or, in the case of a foodstuff, food poisoning.
Conventionally this problem has often been handled through the use of a method wherein circulating air and outside air has been filtered through an air purifying filter before being blown into the room.
Additionally, as another method, there has been an air-conditioning system proposed wherein an ultraviolet radiation device and an antimicrobial spray device have been provided, as means for reducing bacteria in circulating ducts and air supply ducts, to not only perform ultraviolet sterilization of bacteria in the air, but also to spray the antimicrobial solution within the room so as to maintain an antimicrobial atmosphere (See Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication 2005-106296 ("JP '296").
When air exchange is performed through blowing into the room air that has been filtered by an air cleaning filter, as described above, this consumes the transporting power of the air-conditioner. Conventionally, the reliable elimination of bacteria has been the priority, so operations have been performed with the airflow set on the high side so as to have a sufficient margin. In this case, even if the bacteria were actually reduced adequately, still the operation would have the high air flow, essentially resulting in waste of the transporting power. However, because variations in the number of bacteria do not increase or decrease in accordance with measurable causes, it has been difficult to set the flow rate to the low side in order to conserve the transporting power.
Additionally, even when bacteria reducing means, such as the air-conditioning system disclosed in JP '296, are used, when setting the blower flow, setting on the high side, with the emphasis on the reliable elimination of bacteria, has been unavoidable, even when aware of the waste of the transporting power.
The present invention was created in order to solve the problem set forth above, and the object thereof is to provide a blowing controlling device and method, in an air-conditioning system provided with bacteria reducing means, able to reduce the amount of air transporting power of blowing devices, and the like, for air-conditioning equipment for air exchange and for bacteria reducing equipment, in accordance with the degree of margin in the number of bacteria.


A belt comprises a plurality of metal elements. Each element has a pair of contact sides engaged with pulleys. The contact side is inclined at the same slope angle as that of the pulley. The length of the contact side is different from a length of a perpendicular opposite an angle in a right-angle triangle. The angle is equal to the slope angle, and the right-angle triangle has a hypotenuse between uppermost points of both the contact sides.

The present invention relates to a belt for a belt drive device, and more particularly to a belt for continuously variable belt-drive transmission for a motor vehicle.
A known continuously variable belt-drive transmission disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,369,675 comprises an endless belt running over a drive pulley and a driven pulley. Each pulley comprises an unmovable conical disc and a movable conical disc which is axially moved by a fluid operated servo device so as to vary the running diameter of the belt on the pulleys in dependency on driving conditions.
The belt comprises a plurality of metal elements arranged adjacent to each other in the longitudinal direction of the belt, and a pair of endless carriers inserted in opposed slits of each element, each carrier comprising a laminated metal ring.
Referring to FIG. 9, the element E has a body portion Bp, the sides S of which abut on conical faces of disks D.sub.1, D.sub.2 with each disk having a slope angle .beta.. A length .alpha. between the uppermost point a.sub.1 and the lowermost point b.sub.1 of contact side S is the same as the length of the side opposite the angle .beta. in a right-angle triangle a.sub.1 a.sub.2 b.sub.1. Namely, the length .alpha. is expressed as .alpha.=Pwsin, .beta., where Pw is a pitch width on a line P'--P' passing through the points a.sub.1 and a.sub.2.
When the element E enters the groove of the pulley at a correct attitude without distortion, as shown by a dotted line, both contact sides S of the body portion Bp appropriately rest on the slopes of the disks D.sub.1, D.sub.2. To the contrary, when the element E is inclined as shown by a solid line the element E touches the disks only at diagonal points a.sub.2 and b.sub.1. In particular, in a low belt tensioning pressure range where the tension of the carrier C is low, the inclined attitude of the element E cannot be corrected so that the element stays slanted while passing around the pulleys.
Accordingly, one of the carriers C is raised by a shoulder Sh of the element E which deviates from the normal position, so that the carrier C is excessively tensioned. As a result, the durability of the carrier C decreases. In addition, the innermost ring of the carrier C is damaged as a result of an abnormal increase in friction between the shoulder Sh and the underside of the innermost ring.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open 61-192944 discloses elements to eliminate the abovedescribed disadvantage. The element comprises a pair of support blocks and a compression block supported by the support block and having V-shaped surfaces which abut on the pulleys. However, the shape of the element is complicated.

Belt for a continuously variable transmission


An endoscope includes a control method input section provided in a bending operation input unit and configured to input a control method of a bending operation, and a control method detector provided in an operation section body and configured to detect the input control method of the bending operation. The endoscope includes an activated portion provided in the bending operation input unit and configured to change its activated state in response to the bending operation in a bending operation input section, an activated state detector provided in the operation section body and configured to detect the activated state of the activated portion, and a drive member provided in the operation section body and configured to be driven in accordance with the detected control method and the detected activated state, thereby bending a bending section.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an endoscope including a bending section configured to perform a bending motion by an operation in a bending operation input section.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, an endoscope includes a bending section configured to perform a bending motion by an operation in a bending operation input section. There is known an endoscope which includes, as a bending operation mechanism configured to bend a bending section, a drive member such as a motor provided in an operation section to a proximal direction side of an insertion section. In the case of such a bending operation mechanism, the drive member is driven by the operation in a bending operation input section, and a linear member such as a wire connected to the drive member on one end moves in longitudinal directions. The other end of the linear member is connected to the bending section. In response to the movement of the linear member in the longitudinal directions, the bending section performs a bending motion.
Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 8-224206 has disclosed an endoscope in which a bending operation switch box (bending operation input unit) including a bending operation switch that serves as a bending operation input section is removably attached to an operation section body. In this endoscope, when the bending operation switch box is attached to the operation section body, an electrical contact provided in the bending operation switch box is electrically connected to an electrical contact provided in the operation section body. Thus, by the operation in the bending operation switch, an electrical signal is transmitted to an ultrasonic motor which is a drive member provided inside the operation section body. The ultrasonic motor is driven by the transmitted electrical signal, and a bending section is bent. As the bending operation switch box is removable from the operation section body, a bending operation switch of a proper type can be used to suit each case and the preference of an operator.


Various methods and apparatus for encrypting signals in a wireless access system are disclosed. A method for selectively encrypting a management message in an MS includes steps of generating a Medium Access Control Protocol Data Unit (MAC PDU) including the selectively encrypted management message and an Fragmentation Extended Header (FEH) and transmitting the MAC PDU to the BS. The FEH includes indication information indicating whether the management message was encrypted.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to various methods for encrypting signals in a wireless access system.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
A security sublayer used for a broadband wireless access system will be described in brief.
A security service provides confidentiality (security) and integrity for network data. Integrity means that specific information can be accessed or modified by an authorized user only in data and network security. In particular, the integrity secures a message not to be randomly modified by a third party. And, confidentiality means that specific information is opened to authorized persons only. That is, the confidentiality perfectly protects contents of transferred data to prevent an unauthorized person from accessing the contents.
The security sublayer provides security, authentication, and confidentiality in a broadband wireless network. The security sublayer may apply an encryption function to Medium Access Control Protocol Data Units (MAC PDUs) transmitted between a Mobile Station (MS) and a Base Station (BS). Therefore, the BS and the MS may provide a powerful defense capability against a service theft attack of an illegal user.
The BS performs encryption on a service flow across a network to prevent a data transfer service from an unauthorized access. The security sublayer controls the BS to distribute key-related information to an MS using a key management protocol of an authenticated client/server structure. In doing so, the BS may further reinforce the function of the basic security mechanism by adding digital certificate-based MS device authentication to the key management protocol.
During a basic capabilities negotiation in progress between the BS and the MS, if the MS does not provide the security function, authentication and key exchange procedures are not performed. Moreover, although the MS is registered as not supporting an authentication function, the BS may consider that the authority of the MS has been verified. If the MS dos not support the security function, a service is not provided to the MS. Hence, a key exchange or data encryption function is not performed.
The security sublayer includes an encapsulation protocol and a Privacy Key Management (PKM) protocol. The encapsulation protocol was designed to ensure the security of packet data in the broadband wireless network. The encapsulation protocol provides a set of cryptographic suites such as data encryption and data authentication algorithms and a method for applying such algorithms to a MAC PDU payload. The PKM protocol may provide a method for safely distributing key-relevant data to the MS from the BS. The use of the PKM protocol enables the BS and the MS to share the key-relevant data and the BS to control network access.

Method for selectively encrypting control signal


The X-ray fluorescence analyzer (100) includes: an enclosure (10); a door (20) for putting the sample into and out of the enclosure; a height measurement mechanism (7) capable of measuring a height at the irradiation point; a moving mechanism control unit (9) for adjusting a distance between the sample and the radiation source as well as the X-ray detector based on the measured height at the irradiation point; a laser unit (7) for irradiating the irradiation point with a visible light laser beam; a laser start control unit (9) for irradiating the visible light laser beam by the laser unit (7) when the door is open state; and a height measurement mechanism start control unit (9) for starting the height measurement mechanism to measure the height at the irradiation point when the door is opened.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an X-ray fluorescence analyzer and an X-ray fluorescence analysis method for performing X-ray fluorescence analysis or the like of a surface of a sample.
2. Description of the Related Art
X-ray fluorescence analysis is used to perform qualitative analysis or quantitative analysis of a sample by irradiating the sample with an X-ray emitted from an X-ray source to detect, with an X-ray detector, a characteristic X-ray (fluorescent X-ray) emitted from the sample, and by obtaining a spectrum from energy of the characteristic X-ray. The X-ray fluorescence analysis enables the non-destructive and quick analysis of the sample, and therefore the X-ray fluorescence analysis is widely used in manufacturing process management, quality control, or the like. In recent years, precision and sensitivity have been increased in the X-ray fluorescence analysis, which enables trace measurement. Accordingly, the X-ray fluorescence analysis is expected to be more widely used as an analysis technique of detecting especially a harmful substance contained in a material, a composite electronic component, or the like.
By the way, in the conventional X-ray fluorescence analysis, it is necessary to manually adjust a focus (adjust height) while observing a sample in an optical manner so that a distance between the sample and the X-ray source (height in z direction) is a constant value, which lowers working efficiency. Therefore, there is disclosed a technology of setting the X-ray source and an optical system to be coaxial with each other so that the focus adjustment of a sample is performed by the optical system automatically (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. Hei 10-274518 (reference numeral 39 of FIG. 1)).
In addition, in the conventional X-ray fluorescence analysis, it is necessary to adjust an X-ray irradiation position by moving the sample in the apparatus in the x-y direction while observing the sample in the optical manner, which also lowers the working efficiency. Therefore, there is disclosed a technology of irradiating the sample with a laser beam emitted from a laser disposed in the vicinity of the X-ray source so that the X-ray irradiation position can be observed as a laser spot by the naked eye for facilitating the positioning (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2006-329944 (reference numeral 9 of FIG. 1)).
However, when the technology described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2006-329944 is used, if the laser beam is emitted also while the sample is being optically observed, the laser beam may form a bright spot that disturbs the observation or tires the eye of an operator. In addition, the work of manually turning off the laser in this case is troublesome and lowers the working efficiency.
On the other hand, when the distance between the sample and the X-ray source is adjusted by an automatic focusing device, there is a problem that an adjustment range is narrow (10 mm level) due to the focal depth.

X-ray fluorescence analyzer and X-ray fluorescence analysis method


When a plurality of images is printed on both the surfaces of a continuous sheet, an optimum scheduling is carried out including maintenance of a print head, thereby suppressing amount of consumption of a sheet as a whole. For such a purpose, acquiring information regarding on which of the first and second surfaces and where on the surface of the continuous sheet a unique portion exists, the unique portion is unsuitable for image printing that exists on the continuous sheet; and setting, based on the acquired information, a print unavailable region including the unique portion and a maintenance region posterior thereto on a specific sheet surface having the unique portion existing thereon, and another print unavailable region and a maintenance region posterior thereto on a reverse side of the specific sheet surface, the another print unavailable region being set so as to include a region corresponding to the maintenance region.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technology for executing duplex printing of a plurality of images on a continuous sheet.
2. Description of the Related Art
A continuous sheet for printing may include a unique portion which is region composed of a part of the sheet whose characteristic differs from the rest of the sheet, the unique portions unintentionally created in the sheet manufacturing process. If the image is printed on such the region in which unique portion exists, the image cannot be obtained as a good product.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2011-240493 discloses a method for executing duplex printing on a continuous sheet including unique regions inappropriate for printing, wherein the printing is executed while avoiding the unique regions on the obverse surface and the reverse surface of a sheet in consideration of the unique regions on both the surfaces of the sheet. In this method, when the unique portion on the continuous sheet is detected during the printing on the first surface, a unavailable region is set in the print schedule for a first surface, and a unavailable region at the position corresponding to the unique portion on the first surface is also set in a second surface print schedule, thereby continuing the printing.
The apparatus described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2011-240493 is not one in which an optimization is done to the extent of a schedule of maintenance (head maintenance) for a preliminary ejection 3 and the like, which is necessary for ink jet printing, so that it is susceptible to improvement.

Method of setting maintenance regions posterior to unavailable printing regions in duplex printer


It is an object of the invention to provide a power tool that effectively prevents leakage of lubricant while regulating the internal pressure of a housing space for a driving mechanism.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a power tool and more particularly, to a power tool which can regulate internal pressure of a housing space for a driving mechanism.
2. Description of the Related Art
An electric hammer is known including a driving mechanism housed within a housing and driven by a motor to drive a tool bit for performing a striking movement in its axial direction and a rotation in its circumferential direction. Lubricant such as grease for lubricating the driving mechanism is provided within the housing space that houses the driving mechanism. The housing space is enclosed for preventing the charged lubricant from leaking to the outside. In such a construction, when the known hammer is operated, air within the housing is heated by an operation of the driving mechanism, such that the air within the housing expands to increase inside pressure. As a result, lubricant may possibly leak from the housing to the outside.
In this respect, Japanese laid-open Patent Publication No. 2008-36754 discloses an electric hammer which is capable of regulating the pressure of the housing space. According to this electric hammer, a pressure regulating path is formed by a filter chamber, an inner passage that communicates the filter chamber with the housing space of the housing, and an outer passage that communicates the filter chamber with the outside. Further, a filter is disposed in the filter chamber and spaced apart from a peripheral edge of an opening of the outer passage which is open to the filter chamber, so that lubricant within the housing space can be prevented from leaking to the outside.
While the above-described known art prevents leakage of lubricant from the housing space, further improvement is desired.

Abstract: The object can be achieved by a representative power tool that includes a too bit 119, a driving mechanism 113, 115, an enclosed housing space 107a which houses the driving mechanism and in which lubricant is sealed in, and a path 151 which regulates pressure of the housing space 107a. On the path, a filter chamber 154 having a predetermined capacity, an inner passage 155c that communicates the filter chamber 154 with the housing space 107a, and an outer passage 159c that communicates the filter chamber 154 with the outside are formed. A filter 157 is disposed in the filter chamber 154 and spaced apart from a peripheral edge of an opening of the outer passage 159c which is open to the filter chamber 154, so that a space 161 is created on the opening edge side of the filter chamber 154. A throttle member 163, 167 is disposed in the space 161 and throttles flow of air which flows out to the outer passage 159c through the filter 157.


A memory controller is disclosed, in which upon receipt of an access request from a device, the memory controller activates a page designated by a row address of a first bank at a predetermined memory cycle, based on the access request. After that, before the read access to a page of the first bank, a second bank next to be accessed is precharged. In the case where a page mishit occurs due to the access from the first bank to the second bank by the graphic processing after the access to the first bank by the read operation, the memory controller activates the second bank immediately without precharging.

The present invention relates to a memory controller, or in particular to a memory controller suitable for accessing a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) for storing image data or the like.
In recent years, with rapid extension of ownership of personal computers or the like, an increased number of DRAMs have been supplied as a main memory of the personal computers. At the same time, the price of the DRAM has decreased to such an extent that it has come to be employed also for an electronic equipment other than personal computers. The DRAM includes a synchronous DRAM (hereinafter referred to as SDRAM) which can be continuously written into and read from at higher speed in synchronism with the clock of an interface (hereinafter referred to as the burst transfer), a double data rate SDRAM (hereinafter referred to as DDR-SDRAM) having a burst transfer increased to a double speed by executing the burst transfer of the SDRAM in synchronism with both the leading edge and the trailing edge of the clock signal, and a Rambus DRAM (hereinafter referred to as RDRAM). Of these DRAMs, SDRAM can constitute an inexpensive, large-capacity memory, and therefore has come to be employed by more and more equipment. The SDRAM also has come to be used in place of the conventional expensive dedicated memory (VRAM) as a frame memory for temporarily holding the image data displayed on a display unit. The SDRAM are regulated by JEDEC Standard 21-C.
Examples of devices for accessing image data of the SDRAM include a display processing device for reading and transferring image data to a display unit and a graphic processing device for generating graphics data and writing them as image data to draw arbitrary graphics. The image data generated by a video input device can also be written and stored in the SDRAM. Further, a SDRAM can be configured as a unified memory in which a main memory and a frame memory for storing image data are integrated into a single memory. With an SDRAM configured as a unified memory, not only image data but also instruction codes and various data are accessed by processors, and therefore an efficient memory access is required.
In storing image data in a frame memory, the image data is assigned to a two-dimensional address space which is finite in horizontal and vertical directions in order to hold the image data in a data storage area. The image data are held as an arrangement in horizontal and vertical directions corresponding to a display screen (display pixels) of a display device. The image data of each pixel corresponding to the display screen is configured of several to several tens of bits, and the bit length of the image data of one pixel is determined by the data format.
In storing image data in the SDRAM as a frame memory, on the other hand, the data storage area is divided into a plurality of, say four, banks, each of which is in turn divided into several pages, and each page is assigned a row address. In setting an address in the frame memory having this configuration, the linear address mapping and the tile address mapping are employed.
The linear address mapping is a method in which assuming that a horizontal arrangement of pixel data is a line, the pixel data arranged in horizontal direction (image data corresponding to the pixels of the display screen arranged in horizontal direction) are assigned horizontally continuous addresses and all the display pixels in a line are assigned the same row address, i.e. the row address of the same page. In this case, the pixel data of a different line is assigned a different row address of the same bank, or the row address of a different bank. In other words, the pixel data of a different line are assigned a different page.
The tile address mapping, on the other hand, is a method in which the pixel data in a rectangle (hereinafter referred to as the tile) having 32 bytes in horizontal direction and 16 lines in vertical direction are assigned continuous addresses, and all the pixel data in each tile are assigned the same row address, i.e. the same page. In this case, the pixel data (image data) of a different tile are assigned a different row address of the same bank, or the row address of a different bank. In other words, the pixel data of a different tile are assigned a different page.
The SDRAM requires the refresh operation for holding data, and in accessing the SDRAM, the page to be accessed is designated by a row address, and all the data belonging to the designated page are activated by being transferred to and amplified by a sense amplifier. Of the data thus activated, only the data designated by a column address are accessed by the read or write operation. In this case, the data of the same page can be continuously accessed. For different pages, however, all the data in the sense amplifier are required to be precharged by being returned to the original page, after which all the data belonging to the page to be accessed are activated by being transferred to and amplified by a sense amplifier.
In this way, the data belonging to the same page can be continuously accessed, and therefore the access efficiency can be improved. When accessing a different page, however, a page mishit occurs. In this case, the page to be accessed is precharged and activated before being accessed, resulting in a lower memory access efficiency. In accessing the SDRAM, therefore, a page mishit is desirably reduced, and in setting the address mapping in the SDRAM, the requirements of the device functions must be met.
Specifically, assume an application of the linear address mapping to the SDRAM used for a display processing device. In view of the fact that the display processing device makes access in one direction either from left to right or from right to left on a line, a page mishit is not caused and can be suppressed as long as the same line is being accessed. In an application of the tile address mapping to the SDRAM used for the display processing device, however, a page mishit is often caused. This is by reason of the fact that the display processing device can start access with an arbitrary address, and the scroll of the image displayed and the boundaries of a plurality of display image planes (hereinafter referred to as the planes) are set at arbitrary positions. An access from the display processing device to the pixel data continuous along a line of the SDRAM using the tile address mapping, therefore, goes over the tile boundary (the boundary between tiles). Thus, a page mishit occurs each time a tile boundary is crossed, resulting in a reduced memory access efficiency.
In the case where a graphic processing device accesses the SDRAM using the linear address mapping, in contrast, the continuous access is possible and the page mishit can be reduced for horizontal drawing. In the case of vertical or diagonal plotting, however, a different page is accessed for each cycle, and therefore a page mishit occurs for each drawing cycle, thereby reducing the memory access efficiency.
Specifically, the graphic processing device is adapted to generate arbitrary graphics in accordance with a draw instruction code given and write the image data on the generated graphics in a two-dimensional address space of the SDRAM. Also, the graphics drawn are configured of straight lines and curves of arbitrary angles. Therefore, the addresses to be accessed are continuous in horizontal direction, in vertical direction or in diagonal direction. As a result, as long as the tile address mapping is set in the SDRAM used for the graphic processing device, a page mishit occurs only when crossing a tile boundary regardless of the direction of access, horizontal, vertical or diagonal. It is therefore possible to reduce the page mishit more than when using the linear address mapping. For this reason, the tile address mapping is more preferable for the graphic processing, and many equipment with a frame memory realized by the SDRAM employ the tile address mapping.
A sort of real time operation is required for reading image data by the display processing device. Specifically, unless the read operation of the image data is completed within a predetermined time, the image displayed on the display unit comes to flicker. For preventing the image flicker, the arbitration of accesses to the SDRAM is important as well as improving image data access efficiency by suppressing the page mishit of the SDRAM. Especially, the unified memory configuration often causes the contention between the access from the graphic processing device and the accesses from other devices such as processors. Therefore, how to suppress the delay of image data access due to the access contention is crucial.
A method for accessing a SDRAM efficiently as a frame memory is proposed in JP-A-8-255107. In this method, the address to be accessed is compared with the address of the preceding access to decide on a page hit. In the case where a page mishit occurs, the bank is precharged and a new page is activated. Then, the write or read operation is executed. In the case of a page hit, on the other hand, the write or read operation is executed immediately without bank precharge or page activation. Further, an address counter is included which is incremented successively by a predetermined unit count. Thus, it is possible for the display processing device to read the image data efficiently by suspending access to a given page immediately before access to a different page when the different page is to be accessed while the given page is being continuously accessed.
In JP-A-8-255107, however, the address to be accessed and the address of the preceding access are simply compared with each other for page hit decision of the SDRAM. Therefore, the interleave access to a plurality of banks (a method of distributing the accesses to a plurality of banks to improve the access efficiency by individual activation of the pages of each of two or four banks) which is the feature of the SDRAM cannot be utilized for improving the access efficiency.
Also, according to JP-A-8-255107, for reading the image data by the display processing device, in the case where a different page is accessed while the data of a given page are being continuously accessed, a page mishit is prevented by suspending the ongoing access. When executing the succeeding access, however, a page mishit occurs after all, and therefore the precharge and the activation of the banks are not avoidable.
Further, JP-A-8-255107 fails to take into consideration the arbitration to meet the requirement for the real time operation by the display processing device in the case where a plurality of accesses compete with each other.
The object of the present invention is to provide a memory controller making possible efficient access to a dynamic random access memory.
In order to achieve the object described above, according to the present invention, there is provided a memory controller comprising means for receiving a request for accessing a dynamic random access memory having a data storage area divided into a plurality of banks each divided into a plurality of pages, and memory control means for activating the page to be accessed, based on the access request and, before executing the access to the activated page, executing the advance precharge of the page to be accessed subsequently.
In the memory controller according to this invention, after activation of the page to be accessed and before accessing the activated page, the bank or the page to be accessed next or subsequently is precharged in advance. When accessing the bank or the page to be accessed next or subsequently, therefore, the particular bank or the page, as the case may be, is not required to be precharged and can be accessed by the read or write operation after activation without precharge. Even in the case where a different page is accessed due to a page mishit, therefore, the time is saved after precharge to activation. Thus, the time overhead can be shortened and an efficient access can be achieved. As a result, the data amount accessible per unit time can be increased thereby contributing to an improved band width.
On the other hand, assume that while an access request from a given processor unit is selected and under execution, an access request of higher priority, e.g. an access request of higher requirement for real time operation is newly input and access requests from a plurality of processor units (devices) contend each other. The access based on the selected access request is suspended, and the newly input access request is given priority of access. Even in the case where a plurality of access requests contend each other, therefore, an access request of higher priority (access request of higher requirement for real time operation) can be executed in priority, thereby suppressing the access delay for image data which otherwise might be caused by the contention between access requests.
In the case where the advance precharge is not conducted, on the other hand, the status of the dynamic random access memory is managed in such a manner that an access is executed in accordance with the status of the memory. Therefore, the memory can be accessed positively in accordance with the memory status. Further, in the case where the advance precharge is not conducted and a page mishit is caused, the precharge and activation are carried out within the shortest timing in keeping with the minimum cycles between activation and precharge and the minimum cycles between precharge and activation by reference to the information on the active flag, the row address buffer RAS counter and the RP counter.


A circular knitting machine of elastic needle type provided with a cam for flexing all the needles into their trick before they are raised to seize the feed yarn, in which the selection between those needles to be maintained flexed and those needles to be allowed to return to their normal configuration is made by axially slidable sliders positioned below each needle contained in the tricks.

Circular knitting machines consist generally of one or two needle cylinders 1 which, as shown in FIG. 1, comprise tricks 2 in their outer cylindrical surface. The tricks represent the guides for the needles 3 which during their vertical travel form the stitch loops in cooperation with the sinkers.
The number of tricks is equal to the number of needles which slide within them with reciprocating motion by the effect of raising and lifting cams not shown in FIG. 1. Generally, in hosiery machines the number of tricks and needles is between 200 and 400. The cylinder is rotated and with it there rotate the needles which during their reciprocating movement are fed with yarn in fixed angular positions when in their highest point of travel by yarn feed stations consisting of one or more yarn guides which are selectively presented to the needle hooks so that they seize the yarn from them.
To produce hosiery articles generally only a fraction of the available needles are used at the same time and in the same manner, except for the plain knitwork parts, for which all the needles are operated between their maximum and minimum level, all being fed with yarn at each knitting course, and all being moved in the same manner.
When the machine is not producing plain knitwork, in order to produce other types of knitwork some needles are required to produce stitch loops and therefore be raised to the maximum level at the feed station in order to seize the yarn, while others have to be raised to an intermediate level to take up yarn without clearing the previous stitch in order to form a tuck stitch, or have to be raised with a certain delay so that they do not seize the yarn fed in that feed station and therefore do not form new loops with it. In other words a needle selection has to be made. This means that before each feed it has to be determined which and how many needles must undergo a certain travel and which and how many other needles must undergo a certain different travel or indeed undergo no travel.
With reference to FIG. 1, in the known art this selection is effected by the jacks 4 which slide in the same tricks 2 as the needles lying above them, to urge the needles upwards and move them to a higher level in order to seize the yarn. After seizing the yarn the needles are controlled in their reciprocating movement by their own cams and counter-cams which are fixed relative to the cylinder, and which are not shown in FIG. 1 but are shown in the subsequent figures.
FIG. 1 shows an elastic jack 4, able to radially flex its lower end. When the jacks 4 have moved the needle into its working position they withdraw from the needle butt and return downwards. If the needle, after completing its task of seizing the yarn and forming the stitch loop and therefore being at its minimum level, is not required to seize a further yarn from another feed it remains at this level until its control jack or other machine members move it upwards again.
The shank of the jack 4 comprises in its middle part a projection 5, i.e. the upper guide butt, which comes into engagement with its own control cam 6 for urging the jack downwards when it has completed its task of raising the needle 3. Proceeding downwards along the jack shank there is a lower butt 7 which comes into engagement with the cam ring 8 provided with a raising contour 9 which raises the jack together with its overlying needle, this thus being selected to seize the yarn, and with a contour 10 which with its inner face engages the vertical face of the butt 7 to urge the foot of the elastic jack 4 into the interior of the trick 2. When in this position of approach to the interior, the butt 7 is unable to engage the raising contour 9 of the ring 8 and the jack remains lowered. The lowering cams 6 and the raising and approach contours 9 and 10 are obviously offset angularly and operate at different times on each jack.
In circular knitting machines, needle selection is generally conducted by maintaining those jacks corresponding to the needles to be raised by the raising butt in a position withdrawn outwards to cause them to engage the raising contours, while maintaining those jacks corresponding to the needles not to be selected in their position of approach to the interior of the trick, whether elastic jacks or conventional rigid jacks are used.
When elastic jacks are used, they tend spontaneously to move their lower butt 7 outwards to engage the raising contour 9 and be raised, whereas with conventional jacks their approach and withdrawal are effected by suitably positioned cams fixed relative to the cylinder.
The jacks 4 are maintained in position so that the flexure or displacement of their lower part does not cause their upper part to escape from the trick, this being achieved for example by one or more circular springs 12 rigid with the cylinder and surrounding their upper part. They are held in position by circumferential grooves in the cylinder, so that the springs lie internal to the face of the needle cylinder 1.
In FIG. 1 the selection device, indicated schematically by 11, can either allow the jack 4 to move outwards and rise on the cam 9, or can urge it into its trick so that it remains low. Conventional selection uses mechanical selectors acting on a series of intermediate butts, but this type of selection has considerable limits in terms both of operation and of the number of possible selections.
The most recent machines use electromagnetic selection devices which allow a greater selection speed and a greater number of programmable selections, with advantages in terms of machine productivity and the greater variety of possible patterns.
These selection devices are divided essentially into two categories, namely fixed devices which do not rotate with the cylinder and are positioned to precede each feed station, and to which the jacks are presented in sequence as they rotate, and selection devices which rotate together with the cylinder (and with its jacks) and which are therefore always positioned at the jacks and can act on them at any moment, rather than only during the very short time in which the jack passes in front of them. This second type of selection is also effected before the jacks pass in front of the feed stations, but there is greater freedom with regard to the requirements of synchronization and the constraints on the time available for the selection, however a larger number of selection actuators are required, these being equal in number to the number of needles rather than to the number of feed stations. Needle selection devices and methods of the two described types, operating on both rigid and elastic jacks, are described in European Patent Applications Publication Nos. 0379234, 0431674, 0441005, 0479371 and Italian patent Application N. 22172 A/90 of the present applicant.
Those methods which use jacks in circular knitting machines for needle selection involve a selection linkage which is complicated and requires a cylinder 1 of sufficient length to contain the needles 3, the jacks 4 and possibly vertical selection actuators, in accordance with the aforestated patent applications.
The object of the present invention is to provide a circular knitting machine which does not use vertically moving jacks 4 and instead effects selection directly on the needles.

Circular knitting machine of elastic needle type with a slider selection device


A fixation system includes a plate intended to be positioned against a bone, a plurality of bone screws for securing the plate along an non-fractured portion of the bone, and a plurality of bone pegs which extend from the plate and into bone fragments of the fracture to provide a supporting framework. The pegs can be oriented at various angles relative to an axis normal to the lower surface of the plate. For each peg, once the peg has been appropriately positioned within the peg hole, a set screw is threaded into the peg hole and tightened, thereby securing the peg in the selected orientation.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates broadly to surgical devices. More particularly, this invention relates to a bone fixation system having multidirectional bone fragment support pegs.
2. State of the Art
Referring to FIG. 1, a Colles"" fracture is a fracture resulting from compressive forces being placed on the distal radius 10, and which causes backward displacement of the distal fragment 12 and radial deviation of the hand at the wrist 14. Often, a Colles"" fracture will result in multiple bone fragments 16, 18, 20 which are movable and out of alignment relative to each other. If not properly treated, such fractures result in permanent wrist deformity. It is therefore important to align the fracture and fixate the bones relative to each other so that proper healing may occur.
Alignment and fixation are typically performed by one of several methods: casting, external fixation, interosseous wiring, and plating. Casting is non-invasive, but may not be able to maintain alignment of the fracture where many bone fragments exist. Therefore, as an alternative, external fixators may be used. External fixators utilize a method known as ligamentotaxis, which provides distraction forces across the joint and permits the fracture to be aligned based upon the tension placed on the surrounding ligaments. However, while external fixators can maintain the position of the wrist bones, it may nevertheless be difficult in certain fractures to first provide the bones in proper alignment. In addition, external fixators are often not suitable for fractures resulting in multiple bone fragments. Interosseous wiring is an invasive procedure whereby screws are positioned into the various fragments and the screws are then wired together as bracing. This is a difficult and time consuming procedure. Moreover, unless the bracing is quite complex, the fracture may not be properly stabilized. Plating utilizes a stabilizing metal plate typically against the dorsal side of the bones, and a set of parallel pins extending from the plate into the holes drilled in the bone fragments to provide stabilized fixation of the fragments. However, the currently available plate systems fail to provide desirable alignment and stabilization.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an improved fixation and alignment system for a Colles"" fracture and other fractures.
It is another object of the invention to provide a fixation system which desirably aligns and stabilizes multiple bone fragments in a fracture to permit proper healing.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a fixation system which is highly adjustable to provide a customizable framework for bone fragment stabilization.
In accord with these objects, which will be discussed in detail below, a fracture fixation system is provided which generally includes a plate intended to be positioned against a non-fragmented proximal portion of a fractured bone, a plurality of bone screws for securing the plate along the non-fragmented portion of the bone, and a plurality of bone pegs coupled to the plate and extending therefrom into bone fragments adjacent the non-fragment portion.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the plate is generally a T-shaped volar plate defining an elongate body, a head portion angled relative to the body, a first side which is intended to contact the bone, and a second side opposite the first side. The body portion includes a plurality of countersunk screw holes for the extension of the bone screws therethrough. The head portion includes a plurality of threaded peg holes for receiving the pegs therethrough. The pegs are angularly adjustable relative to the peg holes and can be independently fixed in selectable orientations; i.e., the pegs are multidirectional.
To stabilize a Colles"" fracture, the volar plate is positioned with its first side against the volar side of the radius and bone screws are inserted through the bone screw holes into the radius to secure the volar plate to the radius. The bone fragments are then aligned and, through the peg holes, holes are drilled into and between the bone fragment at angles chosen by the surgeon. The pegs are then inserted into the peg holes and into the drilled holes, and a set screw (or screw cap) is inserted over each peg to lock the peg in the volar plate at the chosen orientation. The volar fixation system thereby stabilizes and secures the bone fragments in their proper orientation.
The various adjustably directable pegs can also be used in conjunction with fracture fixation plates adapted for fractures of other bones, e.g., the proximal and distal humerus, the proximal and distal ulna, the proximal and distal tibia, and the proximal and distal femur.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reference to the detailed description taken in conjunction with the provided figures.

Fixation system with multidirectional stabilization pegs


A semiconductor exposure apparatus includes a light exposure portion irradiating light on a semiconductor wafer through a reticle; a pellicle particle detector detecting a particle existing on a surface of the reticle; a particle cleaner cleaning the reticle when the particle exists on the surface of the reticle; a robot arm moving the reticle to a desired location in response to a control signal generated from a main controller; and the main controller controlling an operation of the semiconductor exposure apparatus.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor exposure apparatus and a method of driving the same.
2. Description of Related Art
A semiconductor manufacturing process includes a photolithography process to form a pattern. The photolithography process includes a light exposure process to irradiate light on a reticle to copy the same pattern as the reticle on photoresist coated on a semiconductor wafer. In the light exposure process, it is very important to remove particles remaining on the reticle.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a conventional semiconductor exposure apparatus. The semiconductor exposure apparatus includes a light exposure unit 2 for performing a light exposure process to copy a pattern of the reticle on the photoresist coated on the semiconductor wafer.
The light exposure unit 2 includes a lighting portion 10 having a light source and a reflex mirror, a reticle table 12 in which a reticle having a circuit pattern is placed, and a projection lens (not shown) for focusing light passing through the reticle and irradiating it on the semiconductor wafer.
A reticle loader 20 is arranged at a location facing the light exposure portion 2. The reticle loader 20 includes slots 22 in which a plurality of reticles 24 are inserted and stacked.
A pellicle particle detector 30 is arranged under the reticle loader 20 as shown in FIG. 3. The pellicle particle detector 30 irradiates a laser beam on the top surface or the bottom surface of the reticle 24 through an opened door 32 thereof and detects scattered the laser beam so as to detect particles remaining on a top surface or a bottom surface of the reticle 24.
A robot arm 40 is arranged between the light exposure portion 2 and the reticle loader 20 as shown in FIG. 2. The robot arm 40 transfers the reticle 24 stacked in the reticle loader 20 to the pellicle particle detector 30 while moving up and down or left and right. After detection of particles is finished, the robot arm 40 transfers the reticle in the pellicle particle detector 30 to the reticle table 12 and transfers the reticle 24 on the reticle table 12 to the reticle loader 2.
The robot arm 40 is coupled to a second driving unit 45. The second driving unit 45 is arranged to be guided by a moving rail 44. A pair of first driving units 43a and 43b is coupled to both end portions of the moving rail 44. The first driving units 43a and 43b are arranged to be guided by a pair of stationary rails 42a and 42b spaced apart from each other. That is, the robot arm 40 moves up and down along the stationary rails 42a and 42b by the driving units 43a and 43b and moves left and right along the moving rail 44 by the driving units 45.
When it is determined by the pellicle particle detector 30 that particles do not exist on the reticle 24, the robot arm 40 transfers the reticle 24 in the pellicle particle detector 30 to the light exposure portion 2. The lighting portion 10 of the light exposure portion 2 irradiates light on the reticle 24 on the reticle table 12, and light passing through the reticle 24 is irradiated on the photoresist coated on the semiconductor wafer through the projection lens, whereby the photoresist is exposed to light.
When it is determined that particles exist on the reticle 24, the reticle 24 in the pellicle particle detector 30 is drawn out by the robot arm 40. The reticle 24 is transferred and stacked on the reticle loader 20 by the robot arm 40. The reticles 24 on the reticle loader 20 are transferred to a cleaning room, thereby cleaning the reticle 24 using, for example, an air gun. The cleaned reticle 24 is then stacked on the reticle loader 20 and is loaded into the pellicle particle detector 30 by the robot arm 40. The pellicle particle detector 30 detects whether particles remain on the reticle 24. The reticles 24 having particles are transferred to the reticle table 12 by the robot arm 40.
However, the conventional semiconductor exposure apparatus does not include a cleaning apparatus which can clean the reticle 24 having particles directly after detecting whether particles exist on the reticle 24. Therefore, exposure process time is lengthy because the reticle having particles has to be transferred to the cleaning room.
In addition, the cleaning process is performed such that the entire surface of the reticle is cleaned by the air gun without considering the particle size, the particle location, and so on. Consequently, reticle cleaning cannot be performed efficiently.
To overcome the problems described above, preferred embodiments of the present invention provide a semiconductor exposure apparatus which can perform a cleaning process directly after detecting whether particles exist on a reticle.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a semiconductor exposure apparatus which can remove particles remaining on a reticle efficiently.
The present invention is directed to a semiconductor exposure apparatus, comprising: a light exposure portion irradiating light on a semiconductor wafer through a reticle; a pellicle particle detector detecting a particle existing on a surface of the reticle; a particle cleaner cleaning the reticle when the particle exists on the surface of the reticle; a robot arm moving the reticle to a desired location in response to a control signal generated from a main controller; and the main controller controlling an operation of the semiconductor exposure apparatus.
The reticle cleaner includes nozzles exhausting a filtered gas such as air at a predetermined pressure. The nozzles move to a location to efficiently remove the particle on the reticle according to a detection resulting signal of the pellicle particle detector. The nozzles move up and down or left and right by driving units, the driving units being guided along rails. The nozzles rotate at a predetermined angle by a driving unit, the driving unit being guided along rails. The nozzles have an inclined cross-section.
The nozzles are arranged to remove the particles on both of a top surface and a bottom surface of the reticle.
The semiconductor exposure apparatus further includes a particle removing unit arranged in front of an inlet of the pellicle particle detector to remove the particle on the reticle. The particle removing unit includes a plurality of nozzles, the pluraliy of the nozzles exhausting a filtered gas such as air at a constant pressure to remove the particle on the reticle. The nozzles have a cross-section inclined in a direction opposite to a direction that the reticle is loaded into the pellicle particle detector. The particle removing unit further includes an air filter filtering an air and an air pressure controller controlling a pressure of an air exhausted through the nozzles.
The present invention further provides a method of driving a semiconductor exposure apparatus, comprising: a) loading a reticle into a pellicle particle detector; b) detecting a particle existing on the reticle by the pelliticle particle detector; c) moving the reticle to a cleaning location when the reticle exists on the reticle; d) moving a reticle cleaner to the reticle; and e) cleaning the reticle by the reticle cleaner.
The method further includes removing the particle on the reticle directly before the reticle is loaded into the pellicle particle detector.

Semiconductor exposure apparatus and method of driving the same


A liquid crystal display panel (LCD) having display capability on both sides. The LCD comprises a liquid crystal module, a first front polarizer, a first rear polarizer, a first reflector, a second front polarizer, a second rear polarizer, and a second reflector. By replacing a portion of the original front polarizer with the first rear polarizer and the first reflector, and replacing a portion of the original rear polarizer and the original reflector with the first front polarizer, the LCD having display capability on both sides can be attained.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a liquid crystal display panel; in particular, to a liquid crystal display panel having display capability on both sides.
2. Description of the Related Art
Notebook computer manufacturers use a variety of liquid crystal display (LCD) panel types in the manufacture of notebook computers to reduce cost and to increase production levels. Recently, there is also a growing need for mobile is communication devices using the LCD panels. For example, the LCD panels can be applied in mobile phones and personal digital assistant (PDA) devices.
A conventional LCD panel 10 is shown in FIG. 1a, FIG. 1b and FIG. 1c. Numeral 11 represents a liquid crystal module. The liquid crystal module 11 comprises a substrate, liquid crystal molecules and other material. However, since the detail structure of the liquid crystal module 11 is irrelative to the characteristic of this invention and is well known by persons skilled in the art, their detail description is omitted.
The liquid crystal display module 11 is provided with a front polarizer 12 at one side and a rear polarizer 13 at the other side. Generally, the polarized axis of the front polarizer 12 and the polarized axis of the front polarizer 13 are perpendicular, and the alignment of the liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal module 11 is well controlled. Specifically, light passes through the polarizer 12, 13 by the arrangement of the polarizer 12, 13 and the alignment of the liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal module 11. As a result, depending on whether the light passes through or not, different images are shown on the LCD panel 10.
The rear polarizer 13 is provided with a reflector 14. By means of the reflector 14, characters and graphs can be shown on the front polarizer 12. That is, viewing from a direction by an arrow A of FIG. 1b, characters shown in FIG. 1c can be seen on the LCD panel 10.
Furthermore, there is a need for mobile communication devices with an LCD panel having display capability on both sides.
For example, a PDA mobile phone 30 is shown in FIG. 2a and FIG. 2b. The PDA mobile phone is a communication device with PDA function and mobile phone function. When a keyboard portion 31 and a display portion 32 combine, a first screen 33 of the display portion 32 is used as a screen for the mobile phone function. When a keyboard portion 31 and a display portion 32 separate, a second screen 34 of the display portion 32 is used as a screen for the PDA function.
However, in the conventional PDA mobile phone, two LCD panels are used as the first screen and the second screen respectively. Thus, the cost is increased, and the whole thickness is also increased. As a result, it is difficult to miniaturize the PDA mobile phone.
In order to address the disadvantages of the aforementioned LCD panel, the invention provides an LCD panel having display capability on both sides.
Another purpose of this invention is to minimize the thickness of a PDA mobile phone.
Accordingly, the invention provides a liquid crystal display panel. The LCD panel comprises a liquid crystal module, a first polarizer, a second polarizer, a first reflector, and a second reflector. The liquid crystal module is provided with a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface. The first polarizer is disposed on the first surface of the liquid crystal module, and the second polarizer is disposed on the second surface of the liquid crystal module. The first reflector is disposed on part of the first polarizer, and the second reflector is disposed on part of the second polarizer. The other part of the second polarizer and the first reflector overlap completely in a direction perpendicular to the first surface of the liquid crystal module.
Furthermore, the liquid crystal module comprises a substrate, and liquid crystal molecules.
In another preferred embodiment, this invention provides another liquid crystal display panel. The LCD panel comprises a liquid crystal module, a first front polarizer, a first rear polarizer, a first reflector, a second rear polarizer, a second front polarizer, and a second reflector. The liquid crystal module is provided with a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface, and the first front polarizer is disposed on one portion of the first surface of the liquid crystal module. The first rear polarizer is disposed on the second surface of the liquid crystal module. The first front polarizer and the first rear polarizer overlap completely in a direction perpendicular to the first surface of the liquid crystal module. The first reflector is disposed on the first rear polarizer, and the second rear polarizer is disposed on the other portion of the first surface of the liquid crystal module. The second front polarizer is disposed on the second surface of the liquid crystal module. The second front polarizer and the second rear polarizer overlap completely in a direction perpendicular to the first surface of the liquid crystal module. The second reflector is disposed on the second rear polarizer.
In another preferred embodiment, this invention provides another adapted for a PDA mobile phone having a first screen and a second screen. The LCD panel comprises a liquid crystal module, a first polarizer, a second polarizer, a first reflector, and a second reflector. The liquid crystal module is provided with a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface. The first polarizer is disposed on the first surface of the liquid crystal module, and the second polarizer is disposed on the second surface of the liquid crystal module. The first reflector is disposed on one portion of the first polarizer, and the second reflector is disposed on one portion of the second polarizer. The other portion of the second polarizer and the first reflector overlap completely in a direction perpendicular to the first surface of the liquid crystal module. The other portion of the first polarizer is used as the first screen, and the other portion of the second polarizer is used as the second screen.
In another preferred embodiment, this invention provides another adapted for a PDA mobile phone having a first screen and a second screen. The LCD panel comprises a liquid crystal module, a first front polarizer, a first rear polarizer, a first reflector, a second rear polarizer, a second front polarizer, and a second reflector. The liquid crystal module is provided with a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface. The first front polarizer is disposed on one portion of the first surface of the liquid crystal module and used as the first screen. The first rear polarizer is disposed on the second surface of the liquid crystal module. The first front polarizer and the first rear polarizer overlap completely in a direction perpendicular to the first surface of the liquid crystal module. The first reflector is disposed on the first rear polarizer, and the second rear polarizer is disposed on the other portion of the first surface of the liquid crystal module. The second front polarizer is disposed on the second surface of the liquid crystal module and used as the second screen. The second front polarizer and the second rear polarizer overlap completely in a direction perpendicular to the first surface of the liquid crystal module. The second reflector is disposed on the second rear polarizer.


A driving force transmission mechanism includes a connection for integrally rotating a driving shaft on the driving source side and a driven shaft of a rotary member. The connection includes a tubular boss portion; and a fitting shaft portion fitted into the tubular boss portion. An inner shaft portion is provided in a projecting manner from bottom center of the tubular boss portion toward inside the tubular boss portion. An inner recessed portion into which the inner shaft portion fits is provided in center of a leading edge plane for fitting of the fitting shaft portion. Micro gaps are provided between an inner surface of the tubular boss portion and an outer surface of the fitting shaft portion and between an inner surface of the inner recessed portion and an outer surface of the inner shaft portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a driving force transmission mechanism and an image forming apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, along with the improvement of image quality and speed in an image forming apparatus, if any rotary member included in a photosensitive element, a developing unit, a transfer unit, or the like has rotational fluctuation, uneven density in an image tends to occur. Therefore, rotational accuracy of such a rotating member, in particular, a shaft of a developing roller, which has the greatest impact on image quality, is strictly required.
As conventional art, there has been proposed that an output shaft (a driving shaft) on a driving source side is coupled to an input shaft (a driven shaft, which is a rotational driving force receiving part) on a developing unit side by using a triball-type constant velocity joint (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2009-24829, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2009-30646, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2009-30645, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2009-41640, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2010-121740). By using the triball-type constant velocity joint, the driven shaft on the developing unit side (the rotational driving force receiving part) can be rotated at the same speed as that of the driving shaft on the driving source side even if a deflection angle is generated therebetween, thereby forming a high quality image without defects such as uneven density.
When the triball-type constant velocity joint is used as described above; however, the following problems occur as illustrated in FIGS. 11A and 11B. In an image forming apparatus in which a constant velocity joint 100 is used, a tubular portion 101a is provided so as to project from a bottom wall 10b of a joint outer ring 101, while a shaft end portion 102a of a driven shaft 102 fits into the tubular portion 101a as illustrated in FIG. 11A.
In order to integrally rotate the outer ring 101 of the constant velocity joint 100 and the driven shaft 102, a flat surface 103 is provided on an inner diameter surface of the tubular portion 101a, while a flat surface 104 corresponding to the flat surface 103 is provided on an outer diameter surface of the shaft end portion 102a.
Furthermore, in order to fit the shaft end portion 102a into the tubular portion 101a, a micro gap A needs to be provided between the inner diameter surface of the tubular portion 101a and the outer diameter surface of the shaft end portion 102a. However, such a micro gap A generates a so-called fitting backlash, which causes an inclination (i.e., shaft misalignment) B between the driven shaft 102 and the outer ring 101 of the constant velocity joint 100 as illustrated in FIG. 11B. Such shaft misalignment in turn generates banding on an image due to pitch variation.
Therefore, there are needs for a driving force transmission mechanism that causes no shaft misalignment, whereby rotational driving force from the driving source is stably transmitted to the driven shaft, and an image forming apparatus that can form a high quality image using the driving force transmission mechanism.

Driving force transmission mechanism and image forming apparatus


On the assumption that a phase difference caused by a birefringence at the substrate is .phi..sub.br while a one caused by the magneto-optic Kerr effect of the recording layer is .phi..sub.MO, the magneto-optical recording medium formatted to record information in the groove meets the conditions: -20.degree.<.phi..sub.br <+10.degree. and -45.degree.<(.phi..sub.br +.phi..sub.MO)<+15.degree., the magneto-optical recording medium formatted to record information on the land meets the conditions: -20.degree.<.phi..sub.br <+10.degree. and -15.degree.<(.phi..sub.br +.phi..sub.MO)<+45.degree., and the magneto-optical recording medium formatted to record information at both the land and groove meets the conditions: -20.degree.<.phi..sub.br <+10.degree. and -15.degree.<(.phi..sub.br +.phi..sub.MO)<+15.degree..

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a magneto-optical recording medium having a recording layer formed on a substrate thereof on which grooves and embossed pits are formed.
2. Description of Related Art
As one of magneto-optical recording media, a magneto-optical disc is schematically illustrated in FIG. 1. As shown, the magneto-optical disc has a recording track or tracks formed spirally or concentrically thereon. Such a magneto-optical disc has on a substrate thereof a recording layer of which the Kerr effect is used to write and/or read information signal to/from the magneto-optical disc.
It should be noted that in the plane of the recording layer of the magneto-optical recording medium, a direction perpendicular to the recording track will be referred to herein as "x-direction" while a direction tangential to the recording track will be referred to as "y-direction". Therefore, in the magneto-optical disc shown in FIG. 1, the radial direction of the magneto-optical disc is the x-direction while the tangential direction of the recording track is the y-direction.
To read information signal from the magneto-optical disc, a linearly polarized laser light is irradiated from a laser source 100 having a semiconductor laser or the like, and it is focused on the recording layer of a magneto-optical disc 102 by an objective lens 101 as shown in FIG. 2. A return light from the recording layer is taken out through a first polarizing beam splitter 103, and passed through a phase compensator plate 104 and 1/2-wavelength plate 105. It is thus incident upon a second polarizing beam splitter 106. A laser light transmitted through the second polarizing beam splitter 106 is detected by a first photodiode 107, while a light reflected by the second polarizing beam splitter 106 is detected by a second photodiode 108.
The return light from the magneto-optical disc 102 has a plane of polarization thereof rotated due to the Kerr effect correspondingly to the information signal recorded at the recording layer. As the plane of polarization of the return light is rotated, the output from the first photodiode 107 which detects a polarized component of the return light having been transmitted through the first polarizing beam splitter 106 is increased or decreased depending upon the rotating direction of the return light plate of polarization as shown in FIG. 3A. Similarly, the output from the second photodiode 108 which detects a polarized component of the return light having been reflected by the second polarizing beam splitter 106 is increased or decreased depending upon the rotating direction of the return light plane of rotation as shown in FIG. 3B.
When the output from the first photodiode 107 is increased, the output from the second photodiode 108 is decreased. Reversely, when the output from the first photodiode 107 is decreased, the output from the second photodiode 108 is increased. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3C, a differential is determined between the output from the first photodiode 107 and that from the second photodiode 108 to detect the rotated status of the plane of polarization of the return light, thereby detecting an information signal. That is, an information signal recorded at the recording layer of the magneto-optical disc 102 is detected and reproduced as a signal of a differential between the output from the first photodiode 107 and that from the second photodiode 108. The differential signal will be referred to as "MO signal" hereinunder.
Recently, magneto-optical discs adopting a recording format called "ZCAV (zone constant angular velocity) format" have been developed to attain a further higher recording density.
The ZCAV format is such that to eliminate a difference in linear density between lead-in and lead-out areas, the recording area of a magneto-optical disc is divided into a plurality of concentric bands 110a, 110b, 110c and 110d, as shown in FIG. 4, in each of which a fixed frequency is used for write and/or read of information signal. That is, in a ZCAV-formatted magneto-optical disc, areas where a basic frequency is used to record information signal are grouped as one band and thus the whole surface of the magneto-optical disc is divided into some bands different in recording frequency from one another.
In the ZCAV format, each of the bands is divided into sectors 111 disposed to have the same angle so that a fixed frequency can be used for read and/or write of information signal from/to the sectors 111 in the same band. Therefore, the sectors 111 are disposed in a circumferential series in the same band, but sectors in one band are displaced from those in the other band adjacent to the one band. That is, the ZCAV format provides sectors 111 formed in one band and circumferentially displaced from those formed in a band adjacent to the one band.
Usually, in a magneto-optical disc, the sector 111 has an embossed pit area 112, in the leading portion thereof, where there are pre-formed embossed pits of which the convex-concave pattern indicates information such as address, and a magneto-optical recording area 113, in the other portion thereof, where no embossed pits are formed and data is written by magneto-optical recording.
From the embossed pit area 112, a signal indicative of a change in reflected quantity of light is read, and a signal is read by the Kerr effect from the magneto-optical recording area 113 where data is written by the magneto-optical recording.
In the ZCAV format, the sectors 111 formed in one band are circumferentially displaced from those in a adjacent band. Thus, at the boundary between the bands, the embossed pit area 112 disposed in the leading portion of the sector 111 will be adjacent to the magneto-optical recording area 113 in the adjacent track as shown in FIG. 5 being a view, enlarged in scale, of the portion A in FIG. 4.
Usually, as a substrate of magneto-optical disc, a disc-like substrate formed by injection molding of a polymeric material such as polycarbonate is used because it will contribute very much to a reduced cost in mass production of the magneto-optical disc. Generally, the substrate formed from such a polymeric material has such a photoelasticity that a ZCAV-formatted magneto-optical disc is disadvantageous as in the following:
In the ZCAV-formatted magneto-optical disc, the embossed pit area 112 and magneto-optical recording area 113 are adjacent to each other at a boundary as shown in FIG. 5. When the embossed pit area 112 adjoins the magneto-optical recording area 113, stresses B developed around embossed pits 114 will cause a local change of the optical characteristic of the magneto-optical. In a substrate having a large coefficient of photoelasticity like the polycarbonate substrate widely used as the substrate of magneto-optical disc, the stresses around the embossed pits 114 will cause a local change of the optical characteristic of the magneto-optical disc.
Such a local change of the optical characteristic will cause a distortion of MO signal. That is to say, since the optical characteristic is locally changed at the boundary between the bands in the ZCAV formatted magneto-optical disc, the signal distortion at the band boundary will be a cross-talk which will deteriorate the quality of MO signal.
Such a cross-talk will take place not only at one adjacent directly to the embossed pit area 112, of the recording tracks in the magneto-optical recording area 113, but at a recording track not adjacent directly to the embossed pit area 112 within a range affectable by the local change of optical characteristic. Thus, even at a recording track 10 tracks apart from the embossed pit area 112, the cross-talk will take place as the case may be.
The magnitude of the cross-talk caused by the aforementioned local change of optical characteristic of the substrate depends upon a phase difference caused by an optical system of a magneto-optical disc drive, macroscopic birefringence at a disc substrate, etc. The intensity of MO signal depends upon a phase difference caused due to the magneto-optic Kerr effect of the recording layer, for example, in addition to the above-mentioned phase difference and birefringence. In a magneto-optical disc having grooves and lands formed along the recording tracks, the intensity of MO signal depends upon a phase difference caused by the effect of diffraction at the groove and land.
As in the above, the magnitude of a cross-talk in the MO signal depends upon various factors. Therefore, the magneto-optical disc should be considered from various aspects to suppress a cross-talk caused by the aforementioned local change of optical characteristic of the substrate in the ZCAV-formatted magneto-optical disc and assure a sufficiently high output of reproduction from the disc.