In one embodiment, a system detects objects in an image and generates attention regions that are positioned in the image based on first positions of the objects in the image. Focus points for the objects are generated for the attention regions at one or more second positions. Focus boxes are generated using the second positions of the focus points. Then, the system generates information for a motion effect using content of the image based on a number of the focus boxes and third positions of the focus boxes.

A motion effect may be applied to still images to make the images look more vivid and attractive. For example, one type of motion effect, referred to as a "Ken Burns" effect, is one in which a still image is displayed with a slow zooming and/or panning effect as well as fading transitions between frames. For example, the Ken Burns effect may zoom in on a character of interest in the image or zoom out from the character of interest. Also, a panning effect may pan from one side of the image to another side of the image to change focus from one object to another object. The zooming and panning effects may catch a user's eye when viewing the image as opposed to just displaying a still image.
To create a Ken Burns effect, a user may review a still image and manually create one or more boxes in the image. For a zooming motion effect, the user may create a first box around an object in the image and another larger box around the first box. The Ken Burns effect could then zoom in from displaying content in the larger box to displaying content in the smaller box or zoom out for the smaller box to the larger box. Also, the user may choose to create a panning effect by creating separate multiple boxes in the image. The Ken Burns effect then creates the panning effect by displaying content from one box to displaying content in the other box. The above manual process is inefficient and requires the user to review and analyze each image. When a video delivery service has a large amount of images for which to create the motion effects, the above process may be time-consuming. Also, the above process may rely on a user's subjective judgment to create the effects. That is, the user decides which object to zoom in on or zoom out from, or which objects to pan from and to. The user's subjective judgement may not always create the most desired effect. One way to not manually define the Ken Burns effect is to randomly select the zooming and/or panning operations. The random generation of the Ken Burns effect, however, may not always result in the most desired or attractive use of the effect.

Video motion effect generation based on content analysis


Red blood cells from a vertebrate are treated to make them effective components of a hematology control, allowing the control to be used for detecting all blood cell components, including white blood cells and platelets. The treatment includes the use of a fixative under limited conditions of concentration and exposure time, and the resulting red blood cells are stable but lysable in a hematology instrument and have a reduced tendency to form particulates.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention resides in the field of control materials for hematology instrumentation, with particular attention to red blood cell components of the control materials.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Hematology instruments for the analysis of blood components and chemistry have been used for many years, during which time the accuracy and sensitivity of these instruments have progressively advanced. The early forms of hematology instrumentation have thus been replaced by relatively complex machines that analyze the discrete components of blood based upon the intricate and subtle characteristics of each component.
The most recent iteration in automated hematology instrumentation has been the multi-part analysis of human white cells, in addition to the detection of red blood cells and platelets. White cell populations typically include lymphocytes, monocytes, neutrophils, basophiles, and eosinophils. The methods for blood cell analysis involve detection of the electrical and optical properties of each type of blood cell. A typical instrument will count and size red blood cells and platelets independently of the white cell component. To count white cells, it is necessary to destroy the red blood cells using a detergent such as a quaternary ammonium salt, leaving the white cells for counting and sizing.
The Beckman-Coulter™ five-part white cell analysis instrument uses several distinct technologies, variously based on electrical impedance, conductance (a DC mathematical manipulation that uses a low-voltage DC measurement), Rf (radio frequency) modulation, and laser technology which includes light scatter and light absorption. The Rf measurement is typically used with the DC low frequency measurement to create a parameter called opacity which is a calculation of Rf divided by DC. Instruments by other manufacturers, such as Abbott Diagnostics™, Bayer™, and TOA™ Medical Electronics, use a combination of electrical impedance, DC conductance and/or laser technology, Rf, depolarized 90° angle light scatter, and/or light absorption. Although the basic types of electronic technology may appear the same, each manufacturer has a unique implementation for the instrument hardware and software that is required to analyze blood cells. The individual implementations of this technology by the various manufacturers have resulted in a wide array of reagents and methodology for each specific instrument of each manufacturer, thereby increasing the complexity and expense of their use. No single reagent or methodology exists that can be used with a plurality of instruments.
To ensure the reliability and accuracy of hematology instruments, regulatory authorities require the use of blood controls to verify the integrity of the instruments. The optimal control contains particles that represent all of the cellular elements of fresh blood, together with a synthetic plasma, which is a liquid suspending medium artificially formulated to simulate human plasma. A synthetic plasma typically contains components that are the same as, or function in the same manner as, components of native plasma. These components include inorganic salts, organic and/or inorganic buffers, and a viscous material for maintaining a homeostasis similar to that maintained by plasma proteins. The manufacturer of a control provides all of the critical values such as cell count, cell size, and cell type. The control material should have sufficient shelf life to allow it to be used for days, weeks, or months, thereby ensuring the consistency of instrument performance over time.
The method for preparing a hematology control is dependent on the hardware and software design of the specific instrument in which the control is to be used, as well as the requirements for extended shelf life. Blood controls consist of an RBC component which is typically washed human red blood cells suspended in a synthetic plasma. The red blood cells are accompanied by one or more particles that will appear to the instrument as white blood cell sub-populations. While the white cell controls can be human white cells, are animal red cells that have been stabilized with a cross-linking agent to prevent them from being destroyed by a detergent are used as an alternative. Particles in blood control products that can serve as controls for human white cells, red blood cells, or platelets on a Coulter™-type instrument may not be effective for other instruments, such as those manufactured by Abbott Laboratories™, Bayer™, or TOA™ Medical Electronics. Moreover, because these particles are usually modified forms of various types of blood cells, they do not behave like living native fresh blood cells. For example, human white cells fixed with a cross-linking agent like glutaraldehyde may behave like a neutrophil on an Abbott™ instrument and like cellular debris on a Coulter™ instrument. Also, specially treated and cross-linked red blood cells from non-mammalian vertebrates may appear as mononuclear cells on one type of hematology instrument and as lymphocytes on another. The red blood cell component of a hematology control may serve well on a number of instruments for verifying numerical and chemical values such as count and hemoglobin content, as well as physical characteristics such as size and shape, and yet the values, particularly those of physical characteristics as mean cell volume (MCV), size distribution (RDW, i.e., red cell distribution width), and cell shape, can vary widely among different instruments. In addition, a red blood cell preparation may be read by one type of instrument as containing debris in the platelet and/or white cell counting regions and as containing no such debris by another type of instrument. For example, the red cell preparation in the Hematology (C) product manufactured by Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., has a high platelet background on the Bayer H1-E Hematology Instrument. On the Abbott CELL-DYN 4000 instrument, the same red blood cell preparation shows interference in the optical platelet and white cell regions. No platelet or white cell interference appears on the Abbott CELL-DYN 3000 series or 1000 series instruments. The red cell preparation used for the Bio-Rad Hematology (C) product shows no platelet or white cell interference on Coulter instruments as the Coulter Model MaxM but does show platelet and white cell interference on the Abbott CELL-DYN 4000 instrument.
The prior art contains reports of the addition of certain analytes to the suspending medium of a blood control to improve the performance of the red blood cell component in the control by modifying physical characteristics of the component and preventing the formation of particulate debris. Ryan et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 6,403,377 B1, teach the addition of lipoprotein to improve the size characteristics of white cell components and the addition of an anti-oxidant to prevent red blood cell lysis. The use of lipoprotein to increase the volume of the leukocyte components is likewise disclosed by Young, U.S. Published Patent Application No. US 2005/0221497 A1. In contrast to Ryan et al., the lipoprotein in Young serves to allow proper lysing of the red blood cells by a detergent used in the Coulter instrumentation. Young also describes the need for a non-ionic detergent in a blood control to further aid in red blood cell lysis without compromising the integrity of the white cell surrogates used in the blood control.
Fixation of red blood cells has been shown to be an effective method of providing non-lysable particles suitable for use as leukocyte analogs. Hunt, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,873,467, describes a fixation method for producing leukocyte analogs using human red blood cells. Ryan et al. above describe the stabilization of red blood cells using cross-linking agents. Cells that have been fixed by these methods are resistant to mechanical stress such as that induced by sonication. Young et al. above describe detailed fixation procedures for producing a number of different types of leukocyte analogs. Other fixation processes for leukocyte analogs are disclosed by Carver et al., in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,146,901, 6,514,763B2, 4,704,364, and 5,380,664. All of the patents and published patent applications cited in this section and elsewhere throughout this specification are incorporated herein by reference.

Preparation of a red blood cell component for a hematology control


A rotation angle sensing device is provided with a magnet that is placed to be integrally rotatable with a rotary shaft of a rotating body in association with a rotating body, where the shape of the magnet as viewed along the rotary shaft is substantially circular; a magnetic sensor part that outputs a sensor signal based upon a change in a direction of a magnetic field in association with the rotation of the magnet; and a rotation angle detecting part that detects a rotation angle of the rotating body based upon the sensor signal output by the magnetic sensor part. The magnet has a component of a magnetization vector in a direction that is orthogonal to the rotation axis. When a circular virtual plane that is orthogonal to the rotary shaft centering upon the rotary shaft is set in the vicinity of the magnet, the magnetic sensor part is placed at a position where the amplitudes of the magnetic field intensity Hr in the radial direction and the magnetic field intensity Ho in the circumferential direction on the virtual plane are substantially the same, and the magnetic field intensity Hr in the radial direction and/or the magnetic field intensity Ho in the circumferential direction are/is output as the sensor signal.

Conventionally, a rotation angle sensing device for detecting a rotation angle of a rotating body is used for various purposes. One such rotation angle sensing device is provided with a magnet, which is fixed to rotate with a rotating body, and a magnetic sensor element for detecting a change in intensity of a magnetic field in association with the rotation of the magnet. In such rotation angle sensing device, the magnetic sensor element outputs a signal indicating a relative positional relationship between the rotating body and the magnetic sensor element.
A known conventional rotation angle sensing device, as shown in FIG. 23A and FIG. 23B, includes a magnet 200 that is disk-like and is supported by and fixed to a shaft S (rotary shaft) to allow a first surface 201 and a second surface 202 of the magnet 200 to be orthogonal to the shaft S (rotary shaft). A magnetic sensor element (Hall element) 300 is arranged immediately beneath an outer circumference of the second surface 202 of the magnet 200 and in a circumferential direction about the shaft S (rotary shaft) (see Patent Literature 1).
In the rotation angle sensing device, because shaft wobble occurs and causes the shaft S (rotary shaft) to minutely move, the magnet 200 supported by and fixed to the shaft S (rotary shaft) minutely moves in the radial direction. In the meantime, the magnetic sensor elements (Hall elements) 300 are arranged to measure magnetic flux density in a direction parallel to the shaft S (rotary shaft) at a corner portion of the outer circumference of the magnet 200. Consequently, a measured value for the magnetic flux density that is measured by the magnetic sensor elements (Hall elements) 300 varies greatly in association with the minute movement of the magnet 200, and an error in measurement of a rotation angle is accentuated.
Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 24A and FIG. 24B, a rotation angle sensing device that is provided with a magnet 210, which is supported by and fixed to the shaft S (rotary shaft), a first surface 211 and a second surface 212 opposed the first surface 211, and magnetic sensor elements (Hall elements) 310 arranged immediately beneath an outer circumference of the magnet 210. The magnet 210 has a chamfering part 213 (inclined surface) formed by eliminating corners of the outer circumference at the second surface 212 side. A portion of a detector plane in the magnetic sensor elements (Hall elements) 310 is positioned immediately beneath the chamfering part 213 (inclined surface) and a remainder is arranged to be positioned outside the outer circumference of the magnet 210 (see Patent Literature 2).


A toner is provided including toner particles A having a circularity of greater than 0.93 and not greater than 1.00 and toner particles B having a circularity of from 0.85 to 0.93, wherein the following relationships are satisfied: 70≦RA≦95, 5≦RB≦30, 0.014≦SD≦0.025, and 0.940≦ED≦0.950, wherein RA (% by number) represents a ratio of a number of the toner particles A to a total number of toner particles included in the toner, RB (% by number) represents a ratio of a number of the toner particles B to the total number of toner particles included in the toner, SD represents a standard deviation of circularity of the toner particles A, and ED represents an average envelope degree of the toner particles B.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a toner for use in electrophotography. Particularly, the present invention also relates to an image forming method and a process cartridge using the toner.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
An electric or a magnetic latent image is generally developed with a toner to become visible. The toner typically comprises colored particles in which a colorant, a charge controlling agent, and other additives are contained in a resin. Toner manufacturing methods are broadly classified into pulverization methods and polymerization methods. The pulverization method includes steps of melt-mixing toner components, such as a colorant, a charge controlling agent, and an offset inhibitor, with a thermoplastic resin so that the toner components are uniformly dispersed in the resin; pulverizing the melt-mixed mixture; and classifying the pulverized mixture.
The pulverization method is capable of providing a toner having desired toner properties to some extent. Cross sections made by the pulverization typically include cracks. When a stress is externally applied to the cracks, ultrafine particles tend to peel off therefrom. In a two-component development process, ultrafine particles tend to be produced from the cross sections (i.e., the surface of the toner particle) and adhere to the surface of a magnetic carrier, due to the application of agitation stress thereto. Thereby, the charging ability of the carrier deteriorates and the toner cannot be charged to the desired level.
In attempting to solve the above problems of the pulverization method, unexamined published Japanese Patent Application No. (hereinafter referred to as JP-A) 09-43909 discloses a suspension polymerization method as a toner manufacturing method. The suspension polymerization method is capable of providing a toner not only including few cracks, but also having a spherical shape and a narrow particle diameter distribution. The use of the spherical toner is capable of improving latent image reproducibility, resulting in producing high quality images. However, such a spherical toner is hardly charged, because the spherical toner tends to slip when triboelectrically-charged by a carrier in a two-component development process. In particular, in a development process in which fresh toner particles are successively supplied, such as a continuous printing of a high-image-proportion image, the fresh toner particles cannot be rapidly charged. Therefore, background fouling in that the background portion of an image is soiled with toner particles tends to be caused.
There is another disadvantage that spherical toner particles are difficult to remove with a cleaning blade when remaining on a photoreceptor. When an image having a low image area proportion is developed or transferred, few toner particles tend to remain on the photoreceptor, which are easily removed. In contrast, when an image having a high image area proportion (such as a photograph) is developed or transferred or paper is not efficiently supplied, toner particles which are not transferred and remain on the photoreceptor tend to cause the background fouling. Such remaining toner particles also tend to contaminate a charging roller, configured to contact-charge the photoreceptor, and deteriorate the charging ability thereof.
In attempting to solve the above problems, JP-As 08-62893 and 2007-79223 have disclosed toners in which a polymerization toner and a pulverization toner are mixed. The pulverization toner is mixed as an auxiliary component so that the resultant toner is easily removed with a blade. However, the pulverization toner, which includes cracks, cannot be prevented from producing ultrafine particles and tends to adhere to the carrier. As a result, charging ability of the carrier deteriorates. On the other hand, the polymerization toner, which is a main component of the resultant toner, tends to slip on the surface of the carrier when supplied to a development device. Therefore, the polymerization toner cannot be sufficiently frictionized and cannot be rapidly charged, resulting in causing background fouling. These problems cannot be solved even if the mixing ratio of the polymerization and pulverization toners is varied.

Toner, and image forming method and process cartridge using the toner


A method for characterizing a fibrous material having a plurality of fibers is provided. The method includes accessing an image of the fibrous material with the plurality of fibers and identifying each of the plurality of fibers based upon a magnitude and a direction of an intensity gradient of the image. The method also includes tracking each of the identified fibers based upon at least one of a diameter of the fiber, a fiber alignment angle and a vector orientation angle of the fiber and estimating a plurality of structural parameters for each of the tracked fibers of the fibrous material.

Structural characterization of fibrous materials is required for a variety of applications such as life sciences, tissue engineering and textile engineering. One method of characterizing the fibers of such fibrous materials is through images of the material obtained by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). However, such images provide only a qualitative assessment of structural properties of the fibers and are unable to provide quantitative estimates of parameters such as diameter and alignment of individual fibers.
Typically, manual measurement of width of fibers is performed in the images obtained through scanning electron microscopy to estimate the diameter of the fibers. However, such manual measurements are time consuming and may be prone to human errors thereby providing inaccurate results. One way of measuring alignment of fibers is through image analysis of Fourier transform of SEM images. However, this technique provides information regarding overall alignment of a selected area but is unable to provide individual angle distribution for each fiber and their curvature.
Further, such measurement techniques are limited to characterization of fibrous materials with large diameter fibers and are not able to characterize materials with small diameter (e.g., nanometer scale) fibers. Moreover, such techniques are unable to characterize and track individual fibers of materials when such fibers are randomly oriented, are curved and are intertwined within the material.

Image based structural characterization of fibrous materials


The present invention provides a glass support system, including methods and equipment for supporting a glass substrate on a column of air. The disclosed glass alignment equipment may be used to prevent or reduce defects or contamination on the surface of a glass substrate which may arise when the glass is aligned prior to etching. In particular, a support pin of the present invention may be used with an air circulation system to support or align glass over a column of air so as to reduce or prevent defects or contamination on the glass in dry etching processes used in the manufacturing of LCDs and other devices.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods and equipment used in etching processes, more particularly, a glass support system, a method of supporting glass, an etching system, and a support pin. The disclosed methods and equipment may be used to prevent scratches and reduce contamination on surface of glass substrates used in dry-etching processes.
2. Description of the Related Art
Typically, dry-etching equipment includes an upper electrode and a lower electrode for generating plasma; an upper ceramic and a lower ceramic for supporting the upper and lower electrodes and preventing mutual contact of them; a gas diffusion pin for diffusing an intake gas; and lift pins for seating a target glass to be etched on a loading position.
When loading a glass target in a dry-etching process, a vacuum robot is used for carrying and moving the target for to the lower electrode for etching. After the lift pin is raised, the vacuum robot disposes the carried target on the lift pin and returns to a home position. When the lift pin is lowered, the target is disposed on the lower electrode, and an etching process is performed.
FIG. 1 is a plan view of a lower electrode plate within an etching chamber according to a related art. Briefly, a susceptor 100 for performing respective processes is disposed within a dry-etching chamber or a wet-etching chamber. The susceptor 100 has a lower electrode plate 101 disposed thereon and lift pins 103 are disposed with a predetermined interval along an edge of the lower electrode plate 101.
The lift pins 103 receive a glass target carried from the outside of the chamber by a robot arm and dispose the received glass on the lower electrode plate 101 inside the chamber. After the glass is transferred to the lower electrode plate 101, the lift pins 103 deliver the glass to the robot arm in order to transfer the glass to the outside of the chamber.
When the glass is transferred to the lower electrode plate 101 by the lift pins 103, support pins 105 are arranged at predetermined intervals around the inside of the lower electrode plate 101 and rise to support the glass.
FIG. 2 illustrate a process for seating a glass substrate according to a related art, wherein the glass 100 is moved to an inside portion of an etching chamber over the lower electrode plate 101. The glass 100 is supported by support pins 105 and can be raised or lowered a predetermined distance above the surface of the susceptor 100 by lift pins 103.
Each support pin 105 includes a metal sus and a plastic peek. The glass 110 delivered by the lift pins 103 is supported by the support pins 105, whose peeks contact the glass 100.
Support pins are used to align glass (FIG. 3). When a glass substrate is transferred in from the outside of the chamber, it is seated onto support pins by the lift pins. The glass substrate is delivered to the support pins when the lift pins descend, thereby disposing the glass thereon. The support pins align the glass to allow a predetermined process to be performed on the glass inside the chamber.
Support pins have a predetermined space in which they can move left or right on the lower electrode plate. Accordingly, once the glass is disposed on and supported by the support pins, the support pins can move a predetermined distance to facilitate alignment of the glass.
FIG. 4 is a view of a support pin according to a related art. Support pins are used to complete the alignment process. The support pin 105 includes a sus 105b and a peek 105a. Glass carried into the chamber directly contacts the peek 105a of the support pin 105. With the glass disposed on the peek 105a of the support pin 105, the alignment process can be performed. When an alignment appropriate for a particular etching process is made, the support pins descend to dispose the glass on the lower electrode plate of the susceptor so that a particular etching process may be performed.
However, when glass is aligned using the support pins 105 with the above structure, the peek 105a generates friction with the glass, especially when a large-sized glass with significant weight is applied to the support pins 105. Accordingly, this can result in a scratch defect on the glass surface. The friction and weight load may also contribute to deposition of foreign substances or contaminants from the pins onto the glass.

Glass support system, method of supporting glass, and etching equipment using the same


A device for applying an elastoplastic spacer tape as a spacer during the production of insulating glass panes has at least two supply reels for spacer tapes, several driven tape guide rollers, and a movable application head for the selected spacer tape, with whose assistance the spacer tape is pressed onto a glass pane. For coating one or the other spacer tape, a coating station with two coating nozzles is provided, from which adhesive glue is sprayed on the lateral surfaces of the selected spacer tape. The spacer tape that is unneeded in each case is stopped in the application head in such a way that one or the other of the spacer tapes as desired, depending on which spacer tape is required for the production of a special insulating glass pane, is applied to the glass pane. Thus, the laborious threading and unthreading of spacer tapes is not necessary.

The spacers between the glass panes usually consist of one, two, or else more glass panes comprising insulating glass panes made of aluminum or steel hollow sections.
A spacer tape with a rectangular cross-section, frequently referred to as "swiggle strip," is known from DE-A-30 02 904, and said tape, provided with protective film, comes from a supply drum or reel and is applied to a glass pane by means of a device that is equipped with a reversible head. This spacer tape based on butyl rubber is viscous plastic, and strongly adhesive (which is desired for a gas-tight connection first with the first and later the second glass pane of the insulating glass panes), but it has a strong temperature-dependent viscosity.
More recently, significantly less temperature-sensitive elastoplastic spacer tapes have been developed based on polyurethane or the like, which also have rectangular cross-sections, are more shape- and dimensionally-stable than the so-called "swiggle strips," have a diffusion barrier, e.g., a lamination made of aluminum foil, on the subsequent outer side, and are provided—on the narrow sides intended for adhesion with the glass panes at the manufacturer's—with a thin coating of a strongly adhesive glue that is covered with protective foil until the spacer tape is applied.
A method and a device for applying such a spacer tape on glass panes of insulating glass panes that consist of at least two glass panes are known from DE-A-102 12 359.
A device for producing insulating glass panes is known from DE-A-103 50 312, and this device has a device for applying an elastoplastic spacer tape. This device for applying a spacer tape when insulating glass panes are being produced comprises a supply reel for the tape, several driven tape-guiding rollers, and a press head for the spacer tape that can move relative to a glass pane. In contrast to the state of the art, an elastoplastic spacer tape is used whose lateral surfaces are not yet coated with an adhesive. The latter is rather applied only shortly before the application of the spacer tape on its lateral surfaces. To this end, nozzles that are opposite to one another between the supply reel and the press head, which coat the lateral surfaces of the spacer tape with an adhesive, are provided.
Frequently, the problem occurs that an elastoplastic spacer tape, which is arranged as a spacer between the glass panes of an insulating glass pane, has to be deposited (applied) with another width if insulating glass panes are to be produced with air gaps that are measured in a different way. In the known devices (see above), this requires that the elastoplastic spacer tape is pulled out from the supply device (the application head), and a new spacer tape with a width that corresponds to the desired width (thickness) of the air gap is threaded.
This is a task that requires time, which is undesirable for modern insulating glass production plants, since short cycle lengths are already targeted for the sake of cost-effectiveness.
In particular, the problem occurs of elastoplastic spacer tapes having varying widths when multi-pane insulating glass (at least three panes) are produced and are to be present between the individual glass panes with air gaps of varying width.


The optical apparatus of the present invention comprises; an optical member such as a lens; a casing containing the optical member; a gas supply device that supplies gas at a predetermined flow rate to inside the casing; and a gas introduction mechanism that reduces the flow rate of the gas supplied to inside the casing to below the predetermined flow rate. The casing has an inlet through which gas is supplied from the gas supply device to the inside. The gas introduction mechanism comprises an impingement member which is disposed between the inlet and a surface of the optical member, and the gas introduced from the inlet impinges against the impingement member. As a result, contamination of the optical member due to gas introduced to inside the casing can be reduced.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical apparatus for containing an optical member in a casing such as a lens-barrel into which nitrogen gas or the like is introduced, an exposure apparatus using the optical apparatus, and a gas introduction method.
2. Description of the Related Art
In conventional exposure apparatus, if oxygen exists in a space through which exposure light in an illumination optical system or in a projection optical system passes, when the exposure light is generated by a light source such as an ArF excimer laser, emission spectrum lines overlap on an area of oxygen absorption spectrum lines. Therefore, a phenomenon occurs where oxygen absorbs the exposure light, causing ozonization.
Therefore, there is a possibility that a tarnishing substance is deposited on the surface of the optical lens, adversely affecting the lens characteristics. Therefore, with conventional exposure apparatus, a part of the whole space around the optical path from the light source to a substrate to be processed is covered with a cover, and the inside of the cover is filled with a gas which is inert with respect to the exposure light, for example, nitrogen gas.
As a means for replacing gas in the optical path with nitrogen gas, for example, a structure as shown in FIG. 7 can be used. That is to say, in a structure where lenses 101 to 103 are clamped by spacing rings 104, 105 and surrounded by a lens-barrel 106, the nitrogen gas is introduced from a piping joint 107 which corresponds to an inflow device for the nitrogen gas. The nitrogen gas passes through an inflow passage 106a in the lens-barrel 106, and flows through a hole 104a opened in the spacing ring 104 to between the lenses 101 and 102 and the lenses 102 and 103. The space between the lenses 101 and 102, and the space between the lenses 102 and 103 are communicated with each other. The nitrogen gas flowing in between the lenses is discharged to the outside from a piping joint 108, passing through an outflow passage 106b having a similar structure.
However, with the above described conventional gas inflow device, the inflow passage 106a of the lens-barrel 106 coincides with the hole 104a of the spacing ring 104, and the nitrogen gas flowing from the hole 104a to between the lenses impinges concentratedly on one spot 102a of the lens 102 lying on an extension line of the hole 104a. Even with clean nitrogen gas, of purity of 99.999%, since dirt in the piping (outgassing of impurities generated by the piping itself) is contained therein, the above described one spot 102a is concentratedly contaminated, and the contamination rate at this spot becomes very high compared to at other places.
In view of the above situation, it is an object of the present invention to provide an optical apparatus which can reduce contamination on optical members such as lenses or the like due to the inflow gas, an exposure apparatus using the optical apparatus, and a gas introduction method.
To solve the above described problems, the optical apparatus of the present invention contains an optical member in a casing and comprises a gas introduction mechanism that reduces a flow rate of gas at the time of introducing a gas supplied at a predetermined flow rate from a gas supply device to inside the casing, to below the predetermined flow rate.
Moreover, in the gas introduction method of the present invention, when the gas supplied at a predetermined flow rate from the gas supply device is made to flow into the casing containing the optical member, the flow rate of the gas is decreased to below the predetermined flow rate.
According to the optical apparatus and the gas introduction method, when the gas supplied at a predetermined flow rate from the gas supply device is made to flow into the casing, the flow rate of the gas is decreased to below the predetermined flow rate. Therefore, when the gas reaches the surface of the optical member, the flow rate of the gas is decreased, and the gas is easily dispersed. As a result, adhesion of impurities contained in the gas onto the optical member can be suppressed, and the contamination rate of the optical member is retarded, enabling a significant improvement in the life span of the optical member.
The gas introduction mechanism is disposed between an inlet provided in the casing, and the surface of the optical member, and may comprise an impingement member or obstructer against which the gas introduced from the inlet is made to impinge. In this case, since the gas impinges against the impingement member to decrease the speed, adhesion of contained impurities onto the optical member can be suppressed.
The optical apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention contains an optical member in a casing, and comprises a gas introduction mechanism that dispersingly introduce a gas from a plurality of places around the optical member, at the time of introducing the gas into the casing.
Moreover, with an other gas introduction method of the present invention, when a gas is made to flow into a casing containing an optical member, the gas is dispersed so as to flow from a plurality of places around the optical member.
According to the optical apparatus and the gas introduction method, since the gas is dispersed so as to flow from a plurality of places around the optical member, the place on the surface of the optical member against which the gas impinges is not concentrated at one spot, and the overall flow rate can be decreased compared to a case where the gas is concentratedly made to flow from one place. Therefore, impurities contained in the gas are unlikely to adhere to the optical member. Adhesion of impurities contained in the gas onto the optical member can thus be suppressed, thereby retarding the contamination rate, enabling a significant improvement in the life span of the optical member.
The gas introduction mechanism may comprise an annular member arranged in the casing so as to surround the optical member. In the annular member, there may be formed a circulation groove formed along the circumferential direction, in a face facing an inlet for the gas formed in the casing, and a plurality of through holes which are arranged circumferentially apart from each other so as to communicate with the circulation groove. In this case, the gas can be made to flow via the circulation groove from the plurality of through holes, enabling deceleration and dispersed inflow of the gas with a simple construction.
The through holes may be arranged at positions shifted from the gas inlet. In this case, it is possible to disperse and decelerate the gas introduced from the inlet by letting it impinge against the bottom of the circulation groove without flowing directly into a through hole.
The annular member may be a spacing annular member which is disposed between adjacent optical members and regulates the spacing of these optical members. In this case, the annular member can be formed by merely machining the spacing annular member, and can thus be realized at a low cost without increasing the number of members.
The gas introduction mechanism may have a filter that passes the introduced gas and adsorbs impurities in the gas. In this case, impurities intermixed with the gas in the piping can be removed to improve the gas purity, and further improve the life span of the optical member.
The exposure apparatus of the present invention is an exposure apparatus which guides exposure energy to a mask to thereby form a pattern on the mask onto the surface of a substrate. The apparatus comprises any one of the above-described optical apparatuses, and constitutes, using the optical members in the optical apparatus, at least one of an optical system that guides exposure energy to the mask, and an optical system that guides a pattern to the substrate.
According to the exposure apparatus, since at least one of an optical system that guides exposure energy to a mask, and an optical system that guides a pattern to a substrate, is constituted by the optical members in the above described optical apparatus, adhesion of impurities onto the optical members can be decreased, thereby improving the life span of the lens and reducing the maintenance costs, as well as preventing a decrease in exposure energy such as exposure light or the like, enabling efficient exposure.

Optical apparatus, exposure apparatus using the same, and gas introduction method


The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for inspecting the electrodes of a battery, which inspects the arrangement state of anodes and cathodes in the battery in a non-destructive manner (using X-rays). The apparatus radiates X-ray beams onto a battery in which a plurality of plate-shaped anodes and a plurality of plate-shaped cathodes are alternately stacked and inspects an arrangement state of the anodes and the cathodes. The apparatus includes a first X-ray source part for radiating a first X-ray beam onto the battery. A first detector detects the first X-ray beam having transmitted through the battery. A control unit receives an image of the battery output from the first detector, calculates a step difference between each anode and each cathode, and then inspects an arrangement state of the anode and the cathode.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to an apparatus and method for inspecting the electrodes of a battery, and, more particularly, to an apparatus and method for inspecting the electrodes of a battery, which inspects the arrangement state of anodes and cathodes in the battery in a non-destructive manner (using X-rays).
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, the development of mobile devices such as mobile phones or notebook computers and the practicalization of hybrid vehicles have increased the need for secondary batteries such as lithium-ion batteries or nickel-hydrogen batteries. Accordingly, explosions attributable to the shorts or the heating of secondary batteries have become a hot issue, and thus the importance of inspecting batteries to provide safe and reliable batteries has currently increased.
Referring to FIG. 1, a battery 10 may include a hollow casing 13 having the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped, and anodes 11 and cathodes 12 installed in the casing 13. The anodes 11 and the cathodes 12 may be formed in such a way that a plurality of plate-shaped anodes 11 and a plurality of plate-shaped cathodes 12 are paired, and the respective pairs are stacked in the casing 13. The anodes 11 and the cathodes 12 may be alternately stacked.
It is feared that if the anodes 11 are formed to extend to be longer than the cathodes 12 when the anodes 11 and the cathodes 12 are stacked, lithium which is one of materials constituting the battery 10 is separated from the longer anodes at the time that the battery 10 is used, and thus the battery 10 may be shorted or ignition attributable to heat may occur. Due to this, it is very important to form the cross-sectional areas of the anodes 11 so that they are smaller than those of the cathodes 12. Further, it is very important to stack the anodes 11 and the cathodes 12 in a stepped manner so that the peripheral sides of the anodes 11 do not deviate from the peripheral sides of the cathodes 12. In order to inspect the state of the arrangement of the anodes 11 and the cathodes 12, that is, the step difference, X-ray fluoroscopy which is a non-destructive method has been used.
As shown in FIG. 2, a conventional apparatus for inspecting a battery employs a scheme for determining images detected by a first detector 3 by radiating a first X-ray beam 2a from a first X-ray source (source part) 2 along the first and second longitudinal sides of the battery 10 and images detected by a second detector 3′ by radiating a second X-ray beam 2a′ from a second X-ray source (source part) 2′ along the first and second lateral sides of the battery 10, and then inspecting the arrangement state of the electrodes of the battery 10.
The above-described apparatus for inspecting the battery uses a method of conducting inspection by transmitting X-rays along the lateral and longitudinal directions of the battery. Accordingly, a problem arises in that if the length for which the X-rays pass through the battery exceeds a predetermined length, accurate images cannot be obtained due to the scattering of frequencies, and the reliability of inspection is deteriorated.

Electrode inspection device for battery and method of the same


A method and material for the manufacturing or retrofitting of fluid transport systems. The material chosen for the lining, or the pipe itself, will be selected based on physical properties such as a high impact strength and a low coefficient of friction. The low coefficient of friction will be essential to prevent the initial adhesion of foreign substances to the inner surface of pipes. In particular, an improved pipe composite will be useful in the lining or construction of water intake pipes where there is a well-recognized problem of the buildup of foreign substances including algae and other marine microorganisms. Therefore, by preventing buildup, the present invention will provide a more economical and efficient method to maintain the overall piping system.

In the modern manufacturing industry, it is a well recognized problem that there is a potential for the adherence and buildup of a variety of foreign substances on the inner surface of fluid transport system pipes. Manufacturing facilities and other processes which require the use of a particular fluid medium, such as fresh water, have sought a method to keep the fluid transport system operational and free of any foreign organisms or debris.
One such foreign organism of particular concern is known as Zebra Mollusks better known as Zebra Mussels See, for example, an article published in the December 1990 issue of "Electrical World" pages 72-74 and an article published in the Jul. 1990 issue of "The Atlantic Monthly" on pages 81-87. The contents of these articles are incorporated herein by reference thereto.
When the fluid transport systems of current technology exhibit diminished capacity due to clogging by foreign substance buildup, one method of servicing a submerged piping system would be to have a person use a dragging device to pull through the fluid transport system to dislodge the buildups or clogs and subsequently pull them through to the exit for manual cleanup. Drawbacks to this method are apparent and would include the fact that it is not only labor-intensive but time-consuming. Also this method cannot be accomplished continuously, but must be done on a scheduled basis.
Another possible cleaning method used for facilities, such as water treatment plants, includes flushing the fluid transport system with large quantities of chemicals such as chlorine or potassium permanganate. While this process can be conducted continuously, it is not efficient or cost-effective to induce large quantities of chemicals into the desired fluid medium which must later be separated out.
As discussed in the above-referenced articles, three types of problems have been identified with Zebra-Mussel fouling in water systems. Initially, layers of attached mussels will reduce or block flow, even through large-diameter piping trash racks, and traveling screens. Eventually, shells or clumps of shells breaking free of their attachment will block openings in piping, heat exchangers, strainers, or traveling screens. Finally, attachment points accumulate other debris and serve as sites for corrosion. There are three EPA-approved chemical methods that have been tried in US powerplants-chlorination, the most discussed method; bromination, primarily Acti-brom, a Nalco Chemical Co (Naperville, Ill.) product; and Betz Laboratories' (Trevose, Pa) Clam-trol. Several Other chemical treatments have been tried in laboratory tests, but not in a utility environment. Chlorination is the most common chemical control for zebra-mussel fouling. Continuous chlorination at 0.3 ppm for up to three weeks is required to achieve efficacy. Intermittent chlorination programs, that feed a few hours daily are ineffective. Using other chemicals-such as ozone, hydrogen peroxide, and potassium permangenate is possible, but expensive, environmentally unsound, and/or impractical to distribute throughout a cooling system. It has been reported that Detroit Edison is trying to control mussels by scraping and hydroblasting during regular maintenance. Janiece Romstadt has received federal permission to use a commercial mollucicide. Ontario Hydro is treating some of its coolant with hypochlorite, an oxidant that chews away at the soft parts of the organism and is the active ingredient in household bleach; the utility admits, however, that this short-term solution is offensive to a public anxious about the environment. One alternative is ozonation. Like hypochlorite, ozone is an oxidant; it is also environmentally benign. But it is extremely expensive. Ontario Hydro estimates that ozonation would cost it $9 million per plant. John Stanley, of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, puts the bill for re-engineering, maintenance, and other forms of mussel abatement at almost half a billion dollars a year. But none of the emergency measures, though they may alleviate specific problems here and there, will do anything to halt the overall proliferation of Zebra Mussels. The mussels are very strongly byssate and they will attach to insides and occlude the openings of industrial and domestic pipelines, clog underground irrigation systems of farms, greenhouses, and any other facility that draws water directly from the Great Lakes, encrust navigation buoys to the point of submerging them, and encrust hulls of boats and other types of sailing craft that remain in the water over the summer and fall. . . . The mussels may also become a significant vector of parasites that are lethal to game species of waterfowl and fish.
In the November 1991 issue of "Underwater USA" a news article appeared which indicated that, the tiny but dreaded Zebra Mussel has been discovered for the first time in a section of the Mississippi River near La Crosse, Wis., a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service toxicologist reports.
Leif Marking says he expects to see the Zebra Mussel population explode by next year. Worse, it's likely boaters will inadvertently introduce the Zebra Mussels to Minnesota lakes.
The mussels have an extremely hard shell and clog water intakes at power plants and municipal water systems.
The Monroe, Mich., water supply was crippled for three days when the mussels clogged an intake pipe. Water bills increased percent to pay for removing them.
An Ontario electric company spent $10 million on chlorine to keep the mussels out of power plant water intake pipes.
Marking expects the same things to happen at power and water plants on the Mississippi. He says locks and dams also are favored by the mussels, which cause leaks and prevent gates from closing completely.
Therefore, it is apparent that it is desirable to create a fluid transport system in which the pipes are manufactured or lined with a material which would substantially minimize the initial adherence and eventual buildup of foreign substances on the inner surfaces of the pipes while submerged in a fluid medium.

Method of and lining for water intake pipes


A capacitance measurement system precharges first terminals (21-0 . . . 21-k . . . 21-n) of a plurality of capacitors (25-0 . . . 25-k . . . 25), respectively, of a CDAC (capacitor digital-to-analog converter) (23) included in a SAR (successive approximation register) converter (17) to a first voltage (VDD) and pre-charges a first terminal (3-j) of a capacitor (CSENj) to a second voltage (GND). The first terminals are coupled to the first terminal of the capacitor to redistribute charges therebetween so as to generate a first voltage on the first terminals and the first terminal of the capacitor, the first voltage being representative of a capacitance of the first capacitor (CSENj). A SAR converter converts the first voltage to a digital representation (DATA) of the capacitor. The capacitance can be a touch screen capacitance.

Touch screen controller circuits for use in touch screen, touch pad, and touch button applications have generally included digital controller circuitry and analog circuitry for detecting the presence of capacitance if a user touches a point on a touch screen (or a touch pad or touch button). The presence or movement of a user's finger in the vicinity of the electric field associated with the capacitance of the touch screen, touch button, etc., disturbs or impedes the electric field and therefore modifies the capacitance. The capacitance measurement circuit therefore indicates the presence of the finger as a change in the modified touchscreen or touch button capacitance. The prior art typically utilizes current sourcing/sinking circuitry, RC networks, and counters to provide a digital indication of the measured capacitance, which, in a touch screen controller, can be used to precisely identify/indicate the screen location being touched.
FIG. 1A illustrates part of a touch screen panel 1-1 which includes a suitable number of horizontal transparent conductors 2 disposed on one surface of a thin, transparent transparent insulative layer (not shown). A suitable number of vertical transparent conductors 3 are disposed on the other surface of the insulative layer. The left end of each of the horizontal conductors 2 can be connected to suitable current sourcing or drive circuitry. The bottom end of each of the vertical conductors 3 can be connected to suitable current sinking or receiving circuitry. A cross-coupling capacitance CSENj occurs at an "intersection" of each horizontal conductor such as 2-I and each vertical conductor such as 3-j,the intersection being located directly beneath a "touch point" 13. Note that the touching by a user's finger does not necessarily have to occur directly over a touch point. If multiple touch points 13 are sufficiently close together, then a single touching may disrupt the electric fields of a number of different cross-coupling capacitances CSENj. However, the largest change in the value of a particular cross-coupling capacitance CSENj occurs when the touching occurred directly over that particular cross-coupling capacitance.
FIG. 1B illustrates any particular horizontal conductor 2-I and any particular vertical (as in FIG. 1A) conductor 3-j and the associated cross-coupling capacitance CSENj between them, I and j being row and column index numbers of the horizontal conductors 2 and the vertical conductors 3, respectively. (By way of definition, the structure including the overlapping conductors 2-I and 3-j which result in the cross-coupling capacitance CSENj is referred to as "capacitor CSENj". That is, the term "CSENj" is used to refer both to the capacitor and its capacitance.)
The drive circuitry for horizontal conductor 2-I can include a drive buffer 12 which receives appropriate pulse signals on its input 4. The output of drive buffer 12 is connected to the right end of conductor 2-I, which is modeled as a series of distributed resistances RA and distributed capacitances CA each connected between ground and a node between two adjacent distributed resistances RA. The receive circuitry for conductor 3-j is illustrated as being connected to the right end of vertical conductor 3-j. A switch S1j is A switch S1j is connected between conductor 3-j and VSS. A sampling capacitor CSAMPLE has one terminal connected to conductor 3-j and another terminal connected by conductor 5 to an input of a comparator 6, one terminal of a switch S2j, and one terminal of a resistor RSLOPE. The other terminal of switch S2j is connected to VSS. The other terminal of resistor RSLOPE is connected to the output of a slope drive amplifier 9, the input of which receives a signal SLOPE DRIVE. The other input of comparator 6 is connected to VSS. The output of comparator 6 is connected to an input of a "timer capture register" 7, which can be a counter that, together with resistor RSLOPE and capacitor CSAMPLE, perform the function of generating a digital output signal on bus 14 representing the value of CSENj.
A problem of the above described prior art is that the time required for the capacitance measurement is time-varying in the sense that a lower value of the capacitance CSENj requires less counting time by timer capture register 7, whereas a higher value of the capacitance CSENj requires more counting time by timer capture register 7. The widely variable capacitance measurement times may be inconvenient for a user. Also, the system is quite susceptible to noise because comparator 6 in Prior Art FIG. 1B is connected via CSAMPLE during the entire capacitance measurement process.
Thus, there is an unmet need for a capacitance measurement system that is capable of making accurate measurements of a broader range of capacitances than the prior art.
There also is an unmet need for an improved digital circuit and method for making touch screen capacitance measurements in a touchscreen controller circuit or a touch button circuit.
There also is an unmet need for a digital capacitance measurement system and method having greater capacitance measurement sensitivity than the prior art.
There also is an unmet need for a digital capacitance measurement system and method having greater capacitance per LSB measurement sensitivity than the prior art.
There also is an unmet need for a digital capacitance measurement system and method having greater touch screen capacitance per LSB measurement sensitivity than the prior art.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Capacitance measurement system and method


An electrical connector (2) has a dielectric housing with contact terminals (22) which extend therethrough. The contact terminals (22) are provided to electrically connect a mother board (4) to a daughter card (6). A board-receiving opening (20) is provided in the housing for reception of the daughter card (6) therein. Proximate to the board-receiving opening (20) are latch receiving openings (24) which are dimensioned to receive insertable latch members (40) therein. The latch members (40) are manufactured from material having the desired resilient and strength characteristics, thereby insuring that the latch members (40) will be effective over many cycles. Each latch member (40) has a resilient section (42) for cooperating with the daughter card (6) and a mounting section (44) for cooperating with the mother board (4). The resilient section (42) is able to accommodate a range of board sizes without taking a permanent set. If required the latch members (40) can have enhanced electrical characteristics so that the power and ground connections between the mother board (4) and the daughter card (6) can be made through the latch members (40).

Many electrical connectors are known which provide electrical connection between contact surfaces of a daughter board and contact areas of a mother board. In general, the connector has contacts positioned therein which extend from a first mating surface of the connector to a second mating surface. The contacts have posts which extend from the connector and make electrical engagement with the contact areas of the mother board. The daughter board is then inserted into the connector and rotated to its operating position. As this rotation occurs, contact projections of the contacts engage the contact surfaces of the daughter board. In order for this electrical engagement to be maintained, it is essential that latch arms be provided to cooperate and maintain the daughter board in the operational position.
An example of this type of electrical connector is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,737,120. As is shown in FIG. 1 of that patent, the latch members are provided at the ends of the connector, and are integrally molded with the housing. The configuration of the latch members provides the latch members with the resilient characteristics required in order to allow the latch members to cooperate with the daughter board to maintain the daughter board in electrical engagement with the terminals of the connector.
However, several problems are associated with the configuration of the latch member described above. As the latch members are molded from plastic material, and as the resilient characteristics of plastic is not significant, the latch members are likely to take a permanent set, particularly when the connector is used over many cycles. This likelihood is increased due to the fact that the latch members must have a relatively thin width when molded. This requirement reduces the durability of the latch members, so that the latch members are only strong enough to support approximately 25 cycles (insertions and removals of the printed circuit board). Consequently, if the electrical connector is to be used over many cycles, the risk of failure of the electrical connector is greatly increased.
It is also important to note that a relatively small displacement of the molded latch is enough to cause the latch to take a permanent set. Consequently, as the daughter board can vary in size, and still fall within the tolerance limits for the connector, it is possible that a relatively large board will be inserted into the slots, and then be followed by a relatively small board. The insertion of the large board into the slot can cause the plastic latch to take a permanent set, so that as the small board is inserted, the latch will not be effective in maintaining the board in the slot, resulting in an ineffective connector.
It would therefore be advantageous if the latch members could be made from a material having the desired resilient characteristics. This requires the latch members to be separately manufactured and inserted into the housing after the housing has been molded.
Another problem associated with the connector disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,737,120, and other similar connectors, relates to the mounting posts. Generally, mounting posts cooperate with openings in the mother board to position and maintain the connector and terminals in place until soldering or the like occurs. However, it is important to note, that the dimensions of the posts must be minimized, as the space available on printed circuit boards is at a premium. Consequently, the width of the posts must be held to a minimum in order for the connector to occupy a minimal amount of board real estate. This miniaturization of the post causes the post to be relatively weak, particularly because the post is manufactured from molded plastic. Therefore, as the post is relatively weak, it is possible that damage will occur to the post during the shipping of the connector, thereby resulting in an ineffective connector.
It would therefore be advantageous if the post could be strengthened without the need to increase the area which the post occupies. The utilization of this type of post would require the post to be attached to the connector in some manner, as the post would no longer be able to be molded at the same time as the housing of the connector.

Insertable latch means for use in an electrical connector


A semiconductor memory device includes a memory cell array, first bit lines, second bit lines, first sense amplifiers and second sense amplifiers. The memory cell array includes memory cells arranged in a matrix. The first bit line connects commonly the memory cells in a same column. The second bit line connects commonly two or more of the first bit lines. The first sense amplifier is provided for the second bit line and controls not only the connection between the second bit lines and the first bit lines but also the potential on the second bit lines according to the data read from the memory cells onto the first bit lines. The second sense amplifier precharges the first bit line via the second bit line and the first sense amplifier and, when reading the data from the memory cells, amplifies the potential on the second bit lines.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a semiconductor memory device and a controlling method of the semiconductor memory device. More particularly, this invention relates to a nonvolatile semiconductor memory device including MOS transistors, each having a floating gate and a control gate.
2. Description of the Related Art
One known semiconductor memory reading method is to set a bit line to a specific precharge potential and determine the data, depending on whether or not the bit line is discharged as a result of reading the data from a memory cell. This method has also been applied to a flash memory. A flash memory has been disclosed in, for example, Wei-Hua Liu, "A 2-Transistor Source-select (2TS) Flash EEPROM for 1.8-V-Only Application," Non-Volatile Semiconductor Memory Workshop 4.1, 1997. Hereinafter, this type of flash memory is referred to as a 2Tr flash memory.
Furthermore, in one known data sensing method, a local sense amplifier is combined with a global sense amplifier. In this method, one local sense amplifier is provided for every two or more local bit lines. A global bit line is provided for each local sense amplifier. A global sense amplifier is provided for every two or more global bit lines. The local bit line is precharged by the local sense amplifier.
In the above method, however, not only the local sense amplifier corresponding to the selected global bit line but also the local sense amplifiers corresponding to the unselected global bit lines are activated. Therefore, the unnecessary local bit lines are also precharged. As a result, a large current is supplied to the memory cell array in precharging, which leads to high power consumption.

Semiconductor memory device with MOS transistors each having floating gate and control gate and method of controlling the same


An improved flash suppressor for attachment to the muzzle end of the barrel of a firearm comprising a generally cylindrical body member having a first portion adapted to receive a projectile from the barrel and a second portion adapted to receive a projectile from the first portion, the first portion having a longitudinal smoothbore passage therethrough through which a projectile discharged from the barrel passes, the second portion having a longitudinal passage with an inside diameter significantly greater than the inside diameter of the first portion passage, a smooth tapered transition wall connecting the longitudinal passages of the first and second portions, a pair of diametrically opposed longitudinal vent slots in the second portion and extending from the distal end of the second portion toward the first portion whereby the second portion comprises a pair of furcations, and at least one radially directed vent opening formed in each of the furcations.

In the past, many different types of devices have been proposed for attachment to the muzzle end of the barrels of firearms for accomplishing a variety of purposes. Most notably, such devices have been intended for reducing or silencing the noise produced by the firing of the weapon or for reducing the recoil of the gun. Some such attachments have been proposed for stabilizing the flight of the projectile.
For example, Durnford U.S. Pat. No. 587,802 and Fosberry U.S. Pat. No. 323,303 disclose attachments for shotgun type barrels for stabilizing a single projectile when used in such weapons, whereas Alsop U.S. Pat. 37,193 discloses a rifled section of barrel attached to the end of a smoothbore section to stabilize the projectile.
Another early effort resulted in DeBrame U.S. Pat. 32,685, which provided a so-called "skeleton" barrel, in which the groove portions of the barrel were removed leaving only the land portions separated by slots. The purpose was to reduce gas pressure in the barrel and to reduce friction.
Belgium patent No. 633,617 relates to a flash suppressor attached to the end of a barrel, and having a flared opening provided with slots in the flared portion as opposed to the cylindrical portion of the walls.
An early flash "hider" is disclosed in Burton U.S. Pat. No. 1,283,465, this device being little more than an enlarged extension of the muzzle end to literally (and hopefully) "hide" the muzzle flash. Experience has determined, however, that the ability to hide the flash by such a device is rather limited, in that the flash, which is caused by unburned gases which ignite when they reach the outside air, continues beyond the practical end of such a device.
An improved flash suppressor is disclosed in applicant's prior U. S. Pat. No. 4,570,529 which provided the added benefit of increased muzzle velocity and accuracy of the projectile, by combining the use of a smoothbore barrel extension with a plurality of radial slots in an extended portion of the flash suppressor body to permit a fuller burn of the propellant before exiting the barrel, thereby reducing the flash.
The present invention provides an improvement over the applicant's prior Pat. No. 4,570,529 in terms of a still greater flash reduction, and with the additional benefits of reduced muzzle lift on firing, reduced blowback of gases into the barrel, and a cooler barrel during prolonged firing, thus further enabling the use of lighter weight alloys for the barrel.
Accordingly, a primary object of the present invention is to provide an improved flash suppressor for firearms.
Another object of the invention is to provide an improved flash suppressor of the type adapted to be removably secured to the muzzle end of rifled barrels.
A further object of the invention is to provide a flash suppressor which reduces the muzzle jump or lift upon firing.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a flash suppressor of the type which uses a smoothbore extension of the conventional rifle gun barrel in combination with a further extension allowing dissipation of unburned gases without significant ignition thereof.
Yet a further object of the invention is to provide an improved flash suppressor which provides a cooler gun barrel during prolonged firing.


A dispenser for dispensing a fluid includes a rigid vial that has a main fluid chamber containing a fluid, and a pump assembly that is in fluid communication with the main fluid chamber and is configured to dispense a predetermined quantity of fluid from the main fluid chamber. A flexible bladder is provided which is located within the main fluid chamber and is configured to expand to fill the ullage created within the main fluid chamber during dispensing of fluid by the pump assembly. The resilient bladder tends to force itself outwardly toward the rigid vial and, in turn, increases the pressure within the main fluid chamber in comparison to the interior of the bladder to thereby prevent the ingress of air or vapors through the bladder or otherwise into the main fluid chamber.

The present invention relates generally to dispensers for dispensing fluids or other substances and, more particularly, to a dispenser having a rigid vial, a flexible bladder disposed within the rigid vial and defining a chamber between the flexible bladder and rigid vial for receiving therein a fluid or other substance, and a nozzle and pump assembly coupled in fluid communication with chamber for dispensing fluids or other substances therefrom.
Typical fluid dispensers include a container defining therein a chamber for receiving a fluid to be dispensed, a nozzle and pump assembly mounted on the container, and a dip tube extending downwardly from the nozzle into the chamber for pumping the fluid from the bottom of the chamber, through the dip tube, and out of the dispenser. Other known dispensers include a vial and a flexible bladder received within the vial. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,062,430 to Fuchs shows in FIG. 1 a dispensing container with variable volume compensation including a bottle-shaped vessel 2 in the form of a thin-walled, hollow body made from soft elastic plastic, and a reception container 15 formed of a wrinkle film encapsulated within the vessel body 2.
One of the drawbacks associated with typical prior art fluid dispensers is that the fluid chamber(s) are not maintained in a substantially airless condition throughout the storage, shelf life and/or usage of the dispenser. For example, the nozzles and/or valves used in typical prior art dispensers frequently are incapable of maintaining the dispenser in a hermetically sealed condition. Such nozzles and/or valves allow the passage of air or other gases therethrough and into contact with the medicament or other substance contained within the fluid chamber(s). In addition, such nozzles and/or valves frequently allow vapor loss therethrough either during the storage, shelf life or usage of the dispensers.
Another drawback associated with prior art dispensers is that the materials of construction may undergo creep that, in turn, causes seals formed within the dispensers to leak. Many medicaments are maintained in storage and/or on store shelves for at least several, and in some instances, many months. During transportation and storage, the dispensers can be subjected to varying atmospheric conditions involving large variations in atmospheric temperature, pressure and/or humidity. As a result, the dispensers are frequently subjected to substantial differential thermal expansion and/or contraction that, in turn, cause the materials of construction to undergo creep. The seals and other components of such prior art dispensers typically are not designed to address such creep, and as a result, the dispensers develop leaks or otherwise allow air ingress and/or vapor loss when subjected to such long periods of storage or varying atmospheric conditions. For example, some polyethylene dispensers have been known to lose between about 10% to 25% of the weight of their contents during storage. Such weight loss is believed to be due to vapor loss from the medicament or other fluid-containing chambers through the polyethylene walls of the dispensers and/or through leaks otherwise created in the seals or other structural interfaces of the containers. The vapor loss is typically offset by air ingress into the chambers. Vapor loss and/or air ingress is particularly problematic for dispensers containing medicaments, such as pharmaceutical preparations or vaccines, because they tend to dilute each predetermined dosage of the medicament dispensed from the container, and/or cause the dispenser to dispense inconsistent concentrations of medicament from one dose to the next.
Yet another disadvantage associated with prior art dispensers is that because they cannot reliably maintain the medicament or other substance contained therein in an airtight condition, they cannot be used for either multiple dose applications or preservative-free formulations. The use of single dose dispensers can be substantially more expensive than multiple dose dispensers. In addition, the preservatives used in many medicaments, such as pharmaceutical preparations and vaccines, can cause adverse reactions in patients and/or dilute the effect of the medicament on the patient.
Another drawback of prior art dispensers is that the ullage or xe2x80x9cdead spacexe2x80x9d inherent in such dispensers allows sediment build-up. Many medicaments and other formulations contained within such dispensers are suspensions. The ullage or dead space in the prior art dispensers allows the solutes or other solid components of such suspensions to form sediment therein. Such settling of the suspensions dilutes the medicaments or other substances contained within the dispensers and, in turn, alters the medicament and/or the concentration of medicament in each patient dose.
Another drawback associated with many prior art dispensers is that they can only dispense the medicament or other substance contained therein in an upright or other single orientation. This drawback prevents such dispensers from being used effectively in other orientations, such as upside down. In addition, because such dispensers do not maintain the medicament or other substance contained therein in an airless condition, they cannot be used in low gravity environments, such as outer space.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to overcome one or more of the above-described drawbacks and disadvantages of the prior art.
The present invention is directed to a dispenser for dispensing a fluid. The dispenser comprises a rigid housing, and a flexible bladder mounted within the housing and defining an interior chamber within the flexible bladder, and a fluid-receiving chamber between the flexible bladder and the rigid housing. The dispenser further comprises means for creating a first pressure within the fluid-receiving chamber greater than a second pressure within the interior chamber of the bladder to thereby prevent the ingress of gases or vapors into the fluid-receiving chamber. In a currently preferred embodiment of the present invention, the means for creating the pressure differential is formed by a resilient material of the bladder that flexes the bladder outwardly toward an expanded condition, and thereby creates the first pressure within the fluid-receiving chamber greater than the second pressure in the interior chamber of the bladder. Preferably, the resilient bladder is molded in the expanded condition, and therefore the resilient bladder will inherently tend to force itself into the expanded condition and thereby create the desired pressure differential between the fluid-receiving chamber and the interior chamber of the bladder.
A currently preferred embodiment of the dispenser further comprises a pump coupled in fluid communication with the fluid-receiving chamber for pumping a fluid received therein from the dispenser; and a one-way valve coupled in fluid communication with the pump for allowing the passage of the pumped fluid therethrough and preventing the passage of fluids in the opposite direction. The one-way valve is preferably formed by a nozzle, and a flexible cover overlying the nozzle and creating the one-way valve at the interface of the nozzle and cover.
The preferred dispenser of the present invention further comprises a seal formed between the flexible bladder and the rigid vial for sealing the fluid-receiving chamber. The seal includes a first protuberance extending radially outwardly on an outer surface of the flexible bladder, and a second protuberance axially spaced relative to the first protuberance and extending radially inwardly on an inner surface of the bladder. The first and second protuberances are subject to radial compression to seal the interface between the flexible bladder and rigid vial. Preferably, the first protuberance extends about an outer peripheral surface of the bladder and defines an outer annular sealing surface, and the second protuberance extends about an inner peripheral surface of the bladder and defines an inner annular sealing surface. In addition, the first protuberance defines a tapered surface for directing bladder material in approximately the direction of the second protuberance to thereby facilitate maintaining a fluid-tight seal in the event of bladder material creep. The seal preferably further includes a peripheral flange extending about an open end of the flexible bladder and subject to axial compression for further sealing the interface between the bladder and rigid vial.
The dispenser of the present invention further comprises a plug receivable within an open end of the rigid vial and engageable with at least one of the first and second protuberances for radially compressing the protuberances to seal the interface between the flexible bladder and rigid vial. The plug defines at least one aperture therethrough in fluid communication with the interior chamber of the flexible bladder. Preferably, a two-way valve of the dispenser is coupled in fluid communication between the interior chamber of the flexible bladder and the aperture of the plug for preventing fluid communication between the interior chamber of the bladder and the ambient atmosphere when a pressure differential across the two-way valve is less than a threshold level. The two-way valve preferably is formed by a flexible, annular protuberance extending radially inwardly from an inner peripheral surface of the flexible bladder, and engageable with an annular surface of the plug to thereby seal the interface between the flexible bladder and plug. In a currently preferred embodiment of the present invention, the annular protuberance defines axially-opposed surfaces that taper inwardly in the radial direction to facilitate flexing of the protuberance in response to the pressure differential across the protuberance exceeding the predetermined threshold level.
The flexible bladder of the dispenser further defines an open end and a closed end, and is movable between a collapsed condition and an expanded condition. Upon expansion of the flexible bladder from the collapsed condition into the expanded condition, the flexible bladder and rigid vial define an annular gap therebetween. In a currently preferred embodiment, the annular gap defines an increasing width in the axial direction from the open end toward the closed end of the flexible bladder, to facilitate removal of fluid from the fluid-receiving chamber upon expansion of the bladder. Preferably, the flexible bladder initially contacts the rigid vial adjacent to or near the open end of the bladder, and then progressively engages the rigid vial in the axial direction from the open end toward the closed end of the flexible bladder with further expansion thereof. Also in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the dispenser, the flexible bladder defines an external morphology in an expanded condition, the rigid vial defines an internal morphology, and the external and internal morphologies are substantially the same to thereby allow the flexible bladder to conformably contact the rigid vial and substantially eliminate any dead space in the fluid-receiving chamber therebetween.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the pump of the dispenser comprises a piston, and a slide for slidably receiving the piston therein. At least one of the piston and the slide is reciprocable relative to the other. In addition, the piston is made of a relatively hard material, the slide is made of a relatively soft material, and the piston causes a compression zone of the slide to flex outwardly upon moving at least one of the piston and the slide relative to the other to thereby effect a fluid-tight seal between the piston and slide. In addition, forming the slide from a relatively flexible material allows the slide to be formed integral with a nozzle, such as by molding the two components in a single part, wherein the integral nozzle and slide may be released from a core pin by injecting pressured air therebetween.
The dispenser of the present invention preferably further comprises means for controlling the flexible bladder to collapse into a predetermined collapsed condition. In one embodiment of the present invention, the means for controlling includes a plurality of legs extending axially inwardly into the interior chamber of the flexible bladder for conformably contacting the flexible bladder upon collapse thereof. In another embodiment of the present invention, the means for controlling is defined by at least one axially elongated surface discontinuity formed in the flexible bladder.
In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, the flexible bladder is capable of being penetrated by a needle or like injection member for introducing a predetermined substance into the fluid-receiving chamber. In this embodiment, the flexible bladder includes a first portion substantially infusible in response to the application of thermal energy thereto and compatible with the substance to be received within the fluid-receiving chamber, and a second portion overlying the first portion and fusible in response to the application of thermal energy thereto. Thus, the second portion enables the formation of a substantially fluid-tight seal between the flexible bladder and fluid-receiving chamber in a region thereof penetrated by the needle or like injection member. In one embodiment of the present invention, the second portion is formed of either a thermoplastic or an elastomeric material, and the bladder, including the first portion thereof, is formed of vulcanized rubber.
One advantage of the dispenser of the present invention is that the pressure differential between the fluid-receiving chamber and the internal chamber of the bladder and ambient atmosphere substantially prevents the ingress of air or other gases or vapors through the flexible bladder, or otherwise into the fluid-receiving chamber. As a result, the dispensers of the present invention may maintain the medicaments or other substances contained therein in an airless condition throughout substantial periods of storage, shelf life and/or use. Accordingly, the dispensers of the present invention are particularly well suited for dispensing multiple doses of non-preserved medicaments or other substances requiring storage in an airless condition.
Another advantage of the dispensers of the present invention is that the seal formed between the flexible bladder and the rigid vial radially and axially directs the material of the flexible bladder to persistently maintain a fluid-tight seal regardless of any creep of the material during the storage or shelf-life of the dispenser. In addition, the one-way valve employed in the preferred embodiments of the present invention further maintains the fluid-receiving chamber in a hermetically-sealed condition throughout the storage, shelf-life and/or use of the dispenser.
Yet another advantage of the dispensers of the present invention is that because the medicament or other substance is maintained in an airless condition in the fluid-receiving chamber, the dispensers may be used in virtually any orientation, and furthermore, may be used in low gravity environments.
Another advantage of the dispensers of the present invention is that the flexible bladder preferably defines an external morphology substantially matching the internal morphology of the rigid vial. As a result, the flexible bladder may expand and conformably contact the rigid vial throughout the interface between these two parts and, in turn, eliminate any dead space within the fluid-receiving chamber.
Yet another advantage of the dispensers of the present invention is that the two-way valve coupled in fluid communication between the interior chamber of the flexible bladder and the ambient atmosphere prevents any exchange of gases or vapors between the interior chamber of the bladder and ambient atmosphere, provided the pressure differential across the valve is less than a predetermined level. As a result, the two-way valve creates a relatively stable micro-atmosphere within the interior chamber of the flexible bladder, thus insulating the interior chamber from fluctuations in pressure and/or humidity in the ambient atmosphere and thereby further preventing the ingress of gas or vapors into the fluid-receiving chamber.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in view of the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.

Fluid dispenser having a housing and flexible inner bladder


An aqueous viscoelastic surfactant (VES) fluid foamed or energized with carbon dioxide, in which the VES is more compatible with the carbon dioxide, is made by the addition of one or more than one synergistic co-surfactant. The synergist co-surfactant includes quaternary amines and ethoxylated carboxylates having a hydrophobic chain shorter than the hydrophobic chain of the VES. Improved compatibility is evidenced for a given surfactant concentration either by formation and maintenance of a foam under conditions at which the foam could not otherwise have been formed or maintained, or by either higher viscosity of the foamed fluid at a given temperature or longer foam life at a given temperature or a higher temperature at which useful fluid viscosity can be generated or maintained for a useful time. The aqueous carbon dioxide foamed fluids may be used in acidizing, acid fracturing, gravel packing, diversion, and well cleanout.

Foamed fluids are used in many applications, for example as fracturing fluids in the oil field. Although such fluids are commonly called foams, when the second phase is CO2 the fluids are more like an emulsion of water and supercritical CO2 under most application conditions. Furthermore, when the fraction of the non-aqueous phase (called the "foam quality" and sometimes abbreviated here as FQ) is less than about 54%, such fluids are commonly called "energized". When we say "foamed" we include any quality, including an emulsion; when we say "energized" we mean a quality of less than about 54%. CO2 "foamed" fracturing fluids are often preferred over N2 (or other gas) foamed fracturing fluids under certain circumstances. For instance, CO2 provides additional cleanup energy (relative to N2) when it is gasified as the pressure drops after a treatment is completed. Also, for deeper and hotter wells, CO2 foamed fluids require less horsepower due to their higher density than N2 foamed fluids of equal foam quality. Therefore N2 fluids are rarely pumped over about 180° F. (about 82° C.), and CO2 fluids are routinely used up to about 240° F. (about 116° C.) and higher.
It is a desirable feature to have a fracturing fluid compatible with CO2. Surfactant-based fluids ("VES" or "viscoelastic surfactant" fluids) provide many benefits over conventional polymer fluids when used in fracturing (and for other uses), but most VES fluids are not very compatible with CO2. Not to be limited by theory, but it is believed that this is because the solvency of supercritical CO2 disrupts the micellar structure (for example but not limited to a worm-like micelle structure) that is essential for fluid viscosity. It would be advantageous to make VES/CO2 foamed fluids stable for longer times and/or at higher temperatures.


To provide superior hit feel, a high coefficient of restitution, superior spin characteristics (controllability) and in addition thereto superior abrasion resistance when it is hit with an iron club, a golf gall includes a center core, an intermediate layer and a cover, wherein: the center core has a diameter of 25 to 40 mm, and a surface hardness (B) and a center hardness (A), the surface hardness (B) being at least 15 greater than the center hardness (A), as measured in Shore D hardness; the intermediate layer has a surface hardness (C) 20 to 50 greater than the center hardness (A) of the center core, as measured in Shore D hardness; the cover has a hardness (D) of 40 to 60, as measured in Shore D hardness; and the surface hardness (C) of the intermediate layer is 5 to 25 greater than the hardness (D) of said cover, as measured in Shore D hardness.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a golf ball providing superior hit feel, large ball flight distances (impact resilience), superior spin characteristics (controllability), and superior abrasion resistance.
2. Description of the Related Art
Golf balls providing large ball flight distances and high spinning performance in approach shots have been proposed to have a center core of soft rubber, an intermediate layer overlying and covering the core and formed of relatively hard rubber, and a cover thereon formed of soft material to allow the golf balls to have a dual-layer core or a dual-layer cover structure.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,553,852 discloses a golf ball having a center core of having a diameter of no less than 29 mm, and an intermediate layer having a JIS-C hardness of no less than 85, with the center core greater in specific gravity than the intermediate layer. The intermediate layer, however, is formed of ionomer and the golf ball thus provides a small coefficient of restitution and thus cannot provide large ball flight distances.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,899,822 discloses a golf ball having a solid core with a deformability of no less than 2.5 mm for a load of 100 kg, and an intermediate layer harder than the cover by a Shore-D of no less than 13, with a moment of inertia of no less than 83 g cm2. The cover, however, is formed of urethane resin and the golf ball thus provides a small coefficient of restitution and thus cannot provide large ball flight distances.
Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 6,248,029 discloses a multi-piece golf ball having a solid core formed of inner and outer cores, and an intermediate layer outer than the solid core, wherein the solid core and the intermediate layer is formed of a rubber composite containing polybutadiene as a main component and the inner core has a diameter of 15 to 22 mm and a Shore-D hardness of 40 to 70. However, the diameter of the inner core is too small and the golf ball thus provides a small coefficient of restitution and it also has a large spin rate at impact and thus cannot provide large ball flight distances when it is hit with a driver.
Using various types of soft material for covers has also been proposed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,884,814 discloses using soft ionomer resin to form a cover. More specifically, ethylene-(meth)acryl acid-(meth)acrylate ester terpolymer, a relatively soft ionomer resin, blended with ionomer resin of ethylene-(meth)acryl acid copolymer of a physical property extent to an extent is used to provide a cover of a blend of soft and hard ionomers. This technique improves the inferior hit feel and poor controllability of conventional golf balls having a cover of ionomer resin of ethylene-(meth)acryl acid copolymer.
However, the cover of the blend of soft and hard ionomers is soft, which helps to increase spin rate for ion shot, while it increases friction between a club face and the cover and in particular when a two-piece solid golf ball or any other similar golf ball having a hard core member is hit with an iron club the grooves of the iron club abrade the cover surface and the ball would thus have a rough surface. This ionomer cover has a low level of hardness and the cover itself has small impact resilience resulting in the exact ball having small impact resilience.
Accordingly GB 2264302 proposes using a metallic salt of ethylene-unsaturated carboxylic acid-unsaturated carboxylate terpolymer having at least two types of low bending moduli to form a cover of a golf ball to reduce abrasion of the cover of the golf ball hit with an iron club. However, when the ball with the cover thus produced is hit with an iron club it exhibits insufficient abrasion resistance and also reduces in impact resilience.
Furthermore, Japanese Patent Laying-open No. 10-179802 proposes a golf ball having a cover with a base material of resin containing two components, ionomer resin and an epoxy group containing, stylene-butadiene-stylene block copolymer or an epoxy group containing, stylene-isoprene-stylene block copolymer, heated and mixed together, as main components, the cover being of a composite providing a flexural rigidity of 50 to 300 MPa, with a Shore-D hardness of 40 to 60.
Furthermore, GB 2311530 proposes a golf ball having a cover with a base resin containing three components, ionomer resin, an acid-modified, thermoplastic elastomer or a thermoplastic elastomer having a terminal with OH group added thereto, and an epoxy group containing, stylene-butadiene-stylene block copolymer or an epoxy group containing, stylene-isoprene-stylene block copolymer, heated and mixed together, as main components, the cover being of a composite providing a flexural rigidity of 50 to 300 MPa, with a Shore D hardness of 40 to 60.
These inventions do improve hit feel, spin characteristics (controllability) and cut resistance, although they do not provide sufficient ball flight distances
The present invention provides a golf ball providing superior hit feel, large ball flight distances, superior spin characteristics (controllability), and superior abrasion resistance for the golf ball hit with an iron club.
The present golf ball includes a center core, an intermediate layer and a cover, wherein:
the center core has a diameter of 25 to 40 mm, and a surface hardness (B) and a center hardness (A), the surface hardness (B) being at least 15 greater than the center hardness (A), as measured in Shore D hardness;
the intermediate layer has a surface hardness (C) 20 to 50 greater than the center hardness (A) of the center core, as measured in Shore D hardness;
the cover has a hardness (D) of 40 to 60, as measured in Shore D hardness; and
the surface hardness (C) of the intermediate layer is 5 to 25 greater than the hardness (D) of the cover, as measured in Shore D hardness. Preferably the center core and the intermediate layer are formed of a rubber composite containing cis-1, 4 polybutadiene rubber as a main component.
Furthermore in the present invention desirably a cover composite contains a polymer component containing 10 to 80 parts by weight of ethylene-(meth)acrylic acid copolymer-type ionomer resin (a component A), 0 to 60 parts by weight of ethylene-(meth)acrylic acid-(meth)acrylic ester terpolymer-type ionomer resin (a component B), and 5 to 60 parts by weight of a styrene block containing, thermoplastic elastomer (a component C).
Preferably the styrene block containing, thermoplastic elastomer (the component C) is a polymer alloy of a styrene-butadiene-styrene block copolymer (SBS), a styrene-isoprene-styrene block copolymer (SIS), a styrene-isoprene-butadiene-styrene block copolymer (SIBS) or a hydrogenation thereof and olefin. In the present invention desirably the intermediate layer is greater in specific gravity than the center core.
The foregoing and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.