Provided is a laminate having at least a base material and a fine cellulose layer which includes fine cellulose having a carboxyl group, the laminate characterized in being obtained by laminating two or more of the fine cellulose layer. Also provided is a method for manufacturing a laminate, comprising the steps of (1) coating the base material with a liquid dispersion that includes fine cellulose having a carboxyl group, (2) forming a fine cellulose layer by drying the liquid dispersion used for coating, and (3) laminating fine cellulose layers by repeating steps (1) and (2).

Highly effective gas barriers are required for containers and packaging of food products, toiletry products, drugs, medical supplies, electronic members etc., for protecting the contents. Most currently used gas barriers are things manufactured from chlorine based materials such as polyvinylidene chloride, and things manufactured by evaporating inorganic material, so that they emit enormous amounts of carbon dioxide and heat at manufacturing or disposing. Furthermore, chlorine-based materials have a problem in that dioxin is generated from them, and evaporated inorganic films have some problems in that they can damage an incinerator on burning, removal of the film is required for recycling, and so on. Therefore, gas barrier materials are desired to be converted to eco-friendly materials capable of preventing these problems.
A noteworthy eco-friendly material is cellulose. Cellulose is contained in cell walls of plants, secretion from microbes, mantles of sea squirts, etc., is the most common polysaccharide on earth, has biodegradability, high crystallinity, excellent stability and safety. Therefore, applying it to various fields is expected.
Cellulose is nearly insoluble in water and general solvent, because cellulose has strong intramolecular hydrogen bonds and high crystallinity. Therefore, studies on the improvement of the resolvability are made actively. Among them, a method where only the primary hydroxyl group at the C6 position among three hydroxyl groups which cellulose has is oxidized with TEMPO catalyst, and converted to a carboxyl group through an aldehyde group or a ketone group, is capable of oxidizing only the primary hydroxyl group selectively and performing the reaction under relatively mild conditions such as aqueous condition or room temperature. Therefore, this method attracted much attention recently. Furthermore, it is known that performing TEMPO oxidation with natural cellulose allows only the nano-order crystal surface to be oxidized keeping the crystallinity of cellulose, then only performing a slight mechanical process allow fine celluloses to water-disperse. In addition, a film formed by drying the water-dispersed fine celluloses is highly gas impermeable due to its fine structure and high crystallinity.
PTL1 discloses a gas barrier composite form which has a gas barrier layer on a base material, the gas barrier layer containing fine cellulose fibers.
PTL2 discloses that forming a fine cellulose fiber layer on a base material, furthermore forming a hydrophobizing material layer on them, and repeating these steps additionally once, twice or more allows a laminate to have a moisture barrier property.

Laminate, manufacturing method and shaped container


A ventilation device of an embodiment includes a housing, a shutter case, a fan, and a shutter. The shutter case has an opening. The fan is configured to exhaust air inside the housing to outside through the opening. The shutter partitions inside of the shutter case into a first chamber communicating with the opening and a second chamber different from the first chamber, and opens and closes the opening by a rotating operation. The fan is arranged on a first chamber side of the shutter case in the housing. The first chamber is a positive pressure region of the fan. The second chamber is a negative pressure region of the fan. The second chamber of the shutter case communicates only with the negative pressure region in the housing. The shutter is provided so that a pressure received from the second chamber is smaller than a pressure received from the first chamber.

For example, a ventilation device for cooling a heating element such as a power conversion unit provided in a housing is known. The ventilation device includes, for example, a hood provided on an outer surface of the housing, a shutter for opening and closing an exhaust port of the hood, and a fan disposed in the hood. The ventilation device opens the shutter, drives the fan, and exhausts the air in the housing to the outside through the exhaust port. Thereby, the temperature rise of the air in the housing can be suppressed, and the cooling of the heating element can be promoted.
In order to improve the cooling performance of the heating element, a plurality of ventilation devices may be provided in the housing. In such a case, only a predetermined ventilation device among a plurality of ventilation devices is driven according to the temperature and specifications of the heating element. A stopped ventilation device blocks the shutter. This can prevent a short circuit in which air circulates between the driven ventilation device and the stopped ventilation device. Therefore, the air in the housing can be reliably exhausted by the fan.
If a simple structure is used for opening and closing the shutter without using a driving device or the like, it is conceivable that the shutter is rotatably provided on the hood and the exhaust port is closed by the weight of the shutter. In this case, the air pressure of the fan is used to open the exhaust port.
However, when the shutter is rotatably provided on the hood and the opening/closing operation of the exhaust port is performed using the own weight of the shutter or the wind pressure of the fan, it is necessary to accurately position the rotation axis with respect to the shutter. In other words, if the position of the rotation axis is set so that the shutter is reliably closed by its own weight, the shutter is too heavy and the exhaust port cannot be opened by the wind pressure of the fan, so that the function of the shutter may not be satisfied.
Even if the position of the rotating shaft can be properly set, the pressure loss in the device varies depending on the power conversion device to be applied, so that the wind pressure of the fan may decrease or the rotating shaft may deteriorate over time. In such a case, the opening and closing operation of the shutter may not be performed properly.
As described above, it is necessary to design and manufacture the shutter in consideration of various factors, and there has been a problem that the design and manufacturing operations are complicated.

Ventilation device, ventilation unit, and power conversion device

TOSHIBA MITSUBISHI-ELECTRIC INDUSTRIAL SYSTEMS CORPORATION


A highly durable, environmentally and thermally stable Silver coating for mirrors, Infrared thin-film filters, or other optical coatings having very high reflection values over a large spectral and angular range where the enhanced durability and thermal stability are achieved through the selection and layer sequence of materials, which provide good chemical and environmental protection to Silver. Of particular importance are the layers directly below the Silver, and directly above the Silver (nucleation layer and barrier layer). It is important that the materials of those two layers provide diffusion barriers for Oxygen, water vapour and other corrosive gases, and are compatible in such a way that the layer below the Silver provides a good nucleation bed for Silver assuring that Silver will grow dense and highly reflective, and in some cases, when deposited in very thin layers, highly transparent in the visible spectrum, and the material of the layer directly above the Silver layer has to be compatible with Silver in a sense that it grows dense on the top of Silver, does not reduce the reflectivity of Silver, and also provides a good nucleation layer for the next layer being deposited.

There is growing interest in first surface Enhanced Silver Mirrors, coatings on glass, Aluminium, Nickel, plastics, and possible other substrates. Silver has excellent reflectance in the visible and infrared spectral regions. Very thin Silver layers with adequate antireflective layers have unique characteristics of high reflectivity in the IR region and high transmittance (low reflectivity) in the visible region, which is desired for Heat Filters. Broad use of Silver coatings has been limited because of the poor mechanical, environmental and thermal durability of this material. The largest potential for Silver mirrors is in the Solar Energy industry. There is also a need for high reflectance coatings in the lighting industry, particularly for stage reflectors. Similarly, there is need for high performance IR Filters (Heat Filters) that are highly reflective from about 750 nm to 50 μm and above, and highly transparent in the visible spectrum from about 400 nm to about 700-750 nm. However Silver based coatings have serious durability and heat resistance problems resulting from outdoor climate in the case of Solar applications, and high operating temperature in the case of high power reflectors and heat filters. This novel, highly durable, and heat resistant Silver coating was designed to overcome some of the drawbacks in using Silver as a mirror or heat filter coating while retaining it's unique reflective characteristics.
Silver is a material with excellent optical properties. The use of Silver as an optical thin-film material is extensively described for example in the publication "Thin-film Optical Filters", H. A. Macleod, Adam Hilger Ltd., Second Edition. Unfortunately, Silver has poor environmental and thermal compatibility, since it is, on the one hand, relatively soft and consequently can readily be mechanically damaged and, on the other hand, an impairment of optical properties occurs due to (chemical degradation) corrosion if the Silver is exposed without protection against the environment, a variety of chemicals, or elevated temperatures.
For this reason Silver layers are frequently interleaved in layered systems where the material selected for the remaining layers is determined by the desired optical properties, such as spectral properties, and also by the necessity of increasing the resistance of the Silver layer to environmental and mechanical degradation.
Oxides, Zinc Sulfide, Nitrides, Fluorides, or metals are frequently used in order to protect Silver in optical thin films. In particular, oxides are used due to their optical properties, their resistance to environmental factors, and also because of their hardness. Applying the oxide layer, however, can cause a degradation of the Silver. Much of the prior art has disclosed attempts to avoid this problem.
For example DR-OS-33 07 661 suggests first covering the silver layer with a further metal layer comprising aluminum, titanium, tantalum, chromium, manganese or zirconium, onto which further metal layers; and lastly an oxide layer is disposed, comprising indium oxide, tin oxide or a mixed oxide thereof. DE-OS-35 43 178 suggests a multilayer covering wherein the silver layer, in turn, is covered by a further metal layer comprising tantalum, tungsten, nickel or iron, which further metal layer, in turn, is covered by an oxide layer, wherein SnO, SiO.sub.2, Al.sub.2 O.sub.3, Ta.sub.2 O.sub.5 or ZrO.sub.2 are suggested as the oxide layers. Similarly U.S. Pat. No. 3,682,528 suggests covering the silver layer with a thin nickel layer, if any further layers are to be applied. According to an alternative embodiment, DE 33 27 256 suggests applying at least one hypostoichiometric oxide layer on the silver, comprising, for example, titanium oxide or titanium nitride or a mixture thereof. DE-A-33 29 504 further suggests covering the silver layer with a dielectric layer wherein the material composition in the region of the transition areas, changes gradually and continuously. Titanium oxide is mentioned; for example, as such a dielectric layer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,510,173 describes substantially transparent copper and silver plus noble metal coatings. These coating's ability to withstand corrosive environments is improved by over-coating the metal layers with a double coating of dielectric. The first coating is made up of a dielectric based on indium and/or zinc, the second coating is made up of a dielectric based on indium and tin.
An environmentally stable silver containing mirror having very high reflection values over a large spectral range is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,275,332 and 6,128,126 which comprises a silver containing layer disposed on a substrate, which is covered by a zinc sulfide layer. To keep the sulfur from being set free during the application, or during the vaporization of the zinc sulfide, and attacking the silver, at least one barrier or intermediate layer is placed between the silver containing layer and the zinc sulfide layer.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,839,176 describes a process that starts with a standard substrate cleaning preparation with an abrasive or chemical cleaning method. The substrate is then transferred to a vacuum coating chamber. The substrate is then exposed to an Argon rich ion stream to further prepare the surface. Next a medium index material, or mixture of materials having a combined medium refractive index, is deposed on the surface with Argon ion bombardment. The Silver is then deposited until it is maximally reflective. A second deposition of the medium index material, or mixture of materials having a combined medium refractive index, is then done, also with the Argon ion bombardment. The second medium index material, or mixture, coating is then followed with a standard ion assisted optical film deposition to maximize reflection at the desired wavelength and angle of incidence.
The highly durable Silver coating for a mirror or IR thin-film optical filter of this invention exhibits better durability and, particularly, greater resistance to elevated temperatures than the prior art while still maintaining high reflectivity in IR and visible regions, or high reflectivity in IR and high transparency in visible spectrum as needed for particular application. For example the prior art's use of Zinc Sulfide is an undesired material for use in Silver based coatings as, in the presence of humidity, it may release chemicals corrosive to Silver such as H2S. Zinc Sulfide and some oxides such as ZnO, SnO are not very durable, consequently, coatings containing those material have low environmental durability.
Resistance of Silver based coating to elevated temperatures requires separate considerations. Some materials such as Zinc Sulfide decompose at temperatures exciding 400 C, particularly if moisture is present. Most oxides listed in the prior art may cause oxidation of Silver at elevated temperatures. Most typically, such oxidation is caused by the free oxygen trapped in the coating during reactive or semi-reactive deposition. At elevated temperatures such Oxygen diffuses through the layers and may easily reach and oxidize the surface of the Silver layer causing loss of reflectivity and de-lamination of layers. Typically oxides, such as TiO2, Ta2O5, Nb2O5, are deposited reactively or at least in presence of Oxygen (semi-reactively), leading to the process described above. Particularly damaging is if such oxides are deposited below the Silver layer (between the substrate and the Silver layer).

Highly durable first surface silver based optical coatings and method of making the same


Apparatus for modifying the temperatures of upper and lower level building interiors including air delivery means, heat generating means and first and second temperature sensing means for sensing the temperatures of the upper and lower level interiors. Air is delivered from the upper level interior to the lower level interior when there is a first sensed temperature differential between the interiors and the air is heated when the sensed differential drops to a predetermined lesser magnitude.

Prior art systems exist which control heating and cooling of supply air to a plurality of floors or other building zones independently based on the set point of a thermostat in each zone. Conventionally, such arrangements operate by opening the damper in each zone if that zone calls for the hot or cold air which is available from a central heating/cooling system. These prior art systems are not energy efficient since they actuate the furnace or other heat source to heat the downstairs zone when the upstairs is already over heated.
It is also known in the art of building structure heating to propel air, as by means of a fan, from a lower level to an upper level. Often systems of this nature are deficient in that they require either continuous fan operation, which itself utilizes excess amounts of energy, or constant manual intervention, which is both inefficient and time consuming.
The invention disclosed in my above-identified patent application relates to a system which operates automatically to lessen the differential of temperatures in upper and lower building level interiors. The system operates by redistributing the hot air which normally rises to the upper levels of a multi-story building to a lower level, thereby providing a more uniform temperature throughout the building.

System for modifying temperatures of multi-story building interiors

Beutler Heating and Air Conditioning, Inc.


The invention forecasts a customer's annual withdrawals, manages order of withdrawal, forecasts likelihood that assets at retirement will provide needs for retirement, and provides ability to perform alternative analysis by changing various retirement goals, such as preservation of principal, amount of income desired, or expected length of retirement.

1. Technical Field
The invention relates to retirement income planners. More particularly, the invention relates to forecasting a customer's income, managing order of withdrawal, forecasting a likelihood that assets at retirement will provide needs for retirement, and providing ability to perform alternative analysis by changing various retirement goals in retirement.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the past, retirement was defined as the period following an individual's withdrawal from the labor force. Today, however, most people vary their attachment to the labor force throughout their lives, so retirement may be thought of differently, for example, in terms of an Accumulation Phase and a Drawing-Down Phase. The Accumulation Phase is the period during which individuals accumulate financial assets. The Drawing-Down Phase is the period during which individuals start using their financial assets to meet their income needs. Most Web and traditional financial advisory products and services are aimed at people in the Accumulation Phase. Despite the fact that people in the Drawing-Down Phase are currently among the most wealthy in America, most financial institutions fail to provide a broad range of services dedicated to these individuals and their on-going income (cash flow) management needs.
As individuals approach or enter retirement their investment objectives shift away from accumulation/growth and move toward income generation. Individuals seek to replace the paycheck they used to receive from their employer. During this phase an individual will generally draw income from multiple sources: part-time employment; company pensions; social security benefits; annuities; investments, and the like.
In order to begin to manage their income needs during the Drawing-Down Phase, individuals need to identify and evaluate their existing and potential sources of income. A very important potential source of funds for this group will be investment income. Therefore, identifying the timing and amount of income being currently generated by their investments and evaluating individual investments based on income in addition to traditional risk and return measures is needed in order for this group to manage effectively their overall income needs.
There is very little in the way of education and advice-type products in the market today that help individuals evaluate their investments based on their overall income needs.
Except for the assistance of a personal financial planner, very little advice and information addressing this shift to income and retirement risk management exists in the market place.
Prior art is geared toward providing customers with tools for planning for retirement, as opposed to in-retirement. Much of the prior art focuses on how to get growth in a portfolio.
One prior art reference is T. Rowe Price Associates, Retirement Income ManagerSM Analysis and Recommendation, prepared Jan. 10, 2000, provides specific advice regarding improving the user's probability of success in meeting their in-retirement goals. T. Rowe price uses simulation techniques to identify a retirement income strategy that they believe is best for the client based on the amount of retirement assets the client has and the client's personal goals. The output includes four different retirement income strategies: a recommended strategy, two alternative strategies, and the strategy that is most likely to meet the client's monthly income goal. Each strategy includes a recommended pre-tax monthly income, an estimate of the probability that the withdrawal amount can be sustained throughout retirement, a product allocation (% in variable annuities and % in mutual funds), an asset allocation for mutual funds, and an asset allocation for variable annuities. They also provide an implementation plan that includes recommendations of specific T. Rowe Price investment products and specific guidance on the amounts to withdraw over time from each account type.
Following are key assumptions made by T. Rowe's model.                The client's current portfolio is converted to cash. All taxes and transactions costs are completely ignored in this conversion process;        Cash is invested in one of 13 model asset allocation portfolios;        Asset classes included in these model portfolios are:                    U.S. large-cap;            U.S. small-cap;            Investment-grade bonds;            High-yield bonds;            Money market securities;            Foreign stocks; and            Foreign bonds.
It should be appreciated that that there is no allocation to municipal bonds because, it appears that tax efficiency is not a goal of the product.                Asset allocation becomes more conservative over time;        Assets are drawn down first from taxable accounts, then tax deferred assets. Roth IRAs are left for last in all analyses;        Beginning at age 70 and one half, minimum required distributions are included in the client's income strategy. When the minimum required distribution exceeds the draw-down amount, the excess is placed in the client's taxable account;        The projected withdrawal amounts are pre-tax, i.e. there is no attempt to adjust for the taxes a client will owe due to the withdrawal;        Each year, an estimated tax on the appreciation or depreciation of the assets in the client's taxable account is calculated. T. Rowe determines the tax rates (capital gains and ordinary income) used in this calculation and it is not the rate inputted by the client. The return on money market and bond funds is completely taxed at ordinary income rate. The return on stock mutual fund assets is taxed at 60% of the ordinary income tax rate; and        Returns on key asset classes are normally distributed; T. Rowe determines the future average return on each asset class (according to T. Rowe, they use rates lower than historical rates to be conservative); the historical standard deviations of returns on each asset class and the correlations among asset classes are set at their historical levels. T. Rowe cautions clients that their estimates of probability are probably too high because actual stock return distributions have a higher concentration of returns in the tails of the distribution than is implied by normality.


A Media Gateway proxy receives a message and parses the message. The message contains an attribute, sub-command, and a destination address. The proxy stores the message and the attributes. Each of the attributes corresponds to a selected one of a plurality of Media Gateways. Each of the gateways has an address. The proxy finds in the memory the address of the selected Media Gateway using the destination address and the attribute. The proxy then forms a message using said sub-command, said address, and said attribute and transmits the message to the destination Media Gateway.

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material, which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
This present invention relates to the interworking of computer networks. Specifically, the invention relates to a proxy that groups Media Gateways.
Internet telephony encompasses a number of technologies for the transport of voice traffic over Internet Protocol (IP) networks. IP telephony can be divided into a media plane, a signaling plane, and call control plane. The media plane provides functionality required for media transport, such as packetization of voice data, packet delivery, and media playout at the destination. The signaling and call control plane provides functionality required to set up, tear down, and manage calls.
One aspect of Internet Telephony is the interworking of the IP network with the existing Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). In the context of PSTN interworking, the media and signaling planes include expanded functionality in order to connect the different network types. Thus, the media plane incorporates components which translate and map the voice data between a circuit switched network and an IP (packet) network, enabling it to act as a gateway between the two different means of media transport. Similarly, the signaling and call control plane incorporates components which translate and map signaling and call control protocols between PSTN and IP networks, in order to set up, tear down, and manage calls which traverse both types of network.
The development of common protocols and architectures for the PSTN interworking function is a major focus of several standards bodies, including the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and International Telecommunication Union (ITU). While this is a large task requiring the resolution of many technical issues, one general architecture that has emerged in which the media plane and signaling and call control plane are viewed as distinct elements. The media component is referred to as a Media Gateway (MG). The signaling and call control component is further divided into two elements. A Media Gateway Controller (MGC) both controls the MG remotely, and handles IP-side signaling and call control with peer elements on the IP network. In addition, a Signaling Gateway provides the mapping and translation between the PSTN and IP signaling and call control protocols. One problem is that the general architecture does not necessarily specify the implementation of such components. For example, the Signaling Gateway and the MGC could be implemented as a single, integrated component.
The MGC and MG are configured in a master (MGC)xe2x80x94slave (MG) relationship, and multiple MGs may be under the control of a single MGC. Regardless of the number of MGs under a given MGC, or the actual physical implementation of the MG, the MGC views each MG under its control as a distinct entity with which it communicates via a well-specified software interface. The various protocols that are being developed define standard sets of media processing capabilities, as well as the MGC-MG interface. Current protocols under development within the IETF include the Media Gateway Control (MEGACO) and Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP). Within the ITU, H.248 is the standard for the interface.
Because the MGC""s only view of the MG is via the standard interface, it has no visibility into how the actual media resources are configured behind the interface in order to support the capabilities required by the interface. The media resources may be part of an integrated hardware platform (e.g., DSPs, controlling processors, and buses), or alternatively, a collection of distinct platforms, coordinated and managed by software which presents the standard MG interface to the MGC.
Thus, it is desirable to provide a virtual Media Gateway (MG) composed of multiple standalone media gateways. It would also be desirable to allow an outside entity, for example, a Media Gateway Controller (MGC), to transmit messages to a virtual Media Gateway and receive messages from a virtual Media Gateway and allow the outside entity to view the virtual Media Gateway as a single Media Gateway.
The invention relates to a virtual Media Gateway (MG) including multiple standalone media gateways. The virtual Media Gateway is a grouping, which contains multiple individual Media Gateways. Specifically, the invention relates to a Media Gateway proxy that allows an outside entity, for example, a Media Gateway Controller (MGC), to transmit messages to a virtual Media Gateway and receive messages from a virtual Media Gateway. The Media Gateway proxy allows the outside entity to view the virtual Media Gateway as a single Media Gateway.
In one embodiment of the present invention, an external Media Gateway Controller is coupled to a Media Gateway proxy via a standard software interface (e.g., MEGACO). The proxy is coupled to a plurality of Media Gateways. The Media Gateways are organized into groups. Each group is a virtual Media Gateway.
The external MGC transmits messages to the Media Gateway proxy. In one embodiment, the Media Gateway proxy comprises a frontend, middleware, and an internal MGC. The messages contain a plurality of sub-commands, attributes, and a virtual destination address. The virtual destination address is an address of a virtual Media Gateway. Each attribute relates to a particular physical Media Gateway.
The Media Gateway proxy receives the message. In one embodiment, for each sub-command, the Media Gateway proxy extracts the sub-command and the attributes associated with the sub-command. The proxy then determines the destination physical IP address (of the destination MG) for the command. In another aspect of the present invention, the proxy receives replies from the MGs. The proxy maintains a table of activity with respect to the commands it receives. The proxy maintains a record of the messages received from the MGC. When all reply messages (associated with a particular message from the MGC) have been received, the proxy aggregates the responses and sends a reply to the external MGC.
The foregoing and the other features and advantages of an illustrative embodiment of the present invention will be more readily apparent from the following detailed description which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.


The magnetic attraction force of an electromagnetic coil in an electromagnetic clutch is increased in a limited installation space, thereby improving reliability of operation. The dimensions of a field core housing the electromagnetic coil and a rotor are optimized to increase the magnetic attraction force. The thicknesses of cylindrical portions on the inner-diameter side of the field core and the rotor have larger thicknesses than those of cylindrical portions on its outer-diameter side so that the sectional areas of both cylindrical portions will be equal to each other. Also, a rotation transmission device provided with an electromagnetic clutch is proposed which can avoid deterioration of its sealing property and damage to its bearing and avoid cost increase.

This invention relates to an electromagnetic clutch which couples and uncouples two rotary shafts under an electromagnetic force. It also relates to a rotation transmission device provided with such an electromagnetic clutch for carrying out change over of transmission and shutoff of a driving force in a drive line of various machines and vehicles.
An electromagnetic clutch is used as a device for connecting and disconnecting power in a power transmission line to selectively change over transmission and shutoff of power in various machines and vehicles, such as front and rear wheels of a 4WD car.
FIGS. 9-12 show a conventional rotation transmission device provided with an electromagnetic clutch.
The device has an inner member (inner ring) 1 coupled through a serration 38 to an input shaft 7 so as to rotate together, and has an outer member (outer ring) 2 rotatably mounted concentrically around the inner member 1. A plurality of cam surfaces 9 are formed on the inner member 1, while a cylindrical surface 10 is formed on the outer member 2 to define an annular space between these surfaces. A retainer 5 is provided in the annular space, and rollers 6 performing as engaging elements are retained in a plurality of pockets 8 formed in the retainer 5 to mount the rollers in the annular space. A switch spring 11 is engaged between the retainer 5 and the inner member 1 to bias the retainer 5 to a neutral position where the rollers 6 do not engage the cylindrical surface 10 or the cam surfaces 9.
By changing the phase of the retainer 5, the rollers 6 will engage and disengage between the inner member 1 and the outer member 2. This arrangement forms a clutch.
The electromagnetic clutch portion comprises a rotor 15 having a -shaped section and fixed to a cylindrical rotor support 17 formed of a nonmagnetic material, and comprises an armature 13 provided at one end of the retainer 5 so as to be axially movable but relatively nonrotatable. The rotor is and armature 13 are arranged with a suitable gap kept therebetween by a separating spring 18. An electromagnetic coil 16 for pressing the rotor 15 and the armature 13 against each other by a magnetic force is nonrotatably arranged in the rotor 15 through a field core 3 fixed to the housing 4. By turning on and off a current to the electromagnetic coil 16, the rollers 6 are engaged and disengaged between the inner member 1 and the outer member 2.
When a current to the electromagnetic coil 16 is off, the rollers 6 are biased by the switch spring 11 through the retainer 5 to their neutral position on the cam surfaces 9 formed on the inner member 1, so that the inner member 1 and the outer member 2 can idle.
When it is desired to engage the inner member 1 with the outer member 2, a current is supplied to the electromagnetic coil 16. The armature 13 coupled to the retainer 5 is attracted by magnetic force toward and pressed against the rotor 15.
Frictional torque due to pressing acts between the retainer 5 and the outer member 2 through the armature 13 and the rotor 15. When the inner member 1 and the outer member 2 rotate relative to each other, the frictional torque overcomes the torque of the switch spring 11, so that the retainer 5 and the rollers 6 as the engaging elements rotate with the outer member 2. As a result, the rollers 6 as the engaging elements move from the neutral positions on the cam surfaces to wedge-engagement positions where the inner member 1 and the outer member 2 are engaged together and driven.
The rotor 15 of such an electromagnetic clutch comprises cylindrical portions 15a and 15b formed on the inner-diameter and outer-diameter sides, respectively, and a disk portion 15c that opposes the armature 13 (FIG. 12).
The field core 3 for mounting the electromagnetic coil 16 comprises cylindrical portions 3a and 3b formed on its inner-diameter and outer-diameter sides, respectively, and an end face portion 3c through which it is fixed to the housing 4.
A lead wire 20 for supplying a current to the electromagnetic coil 16 is led out of the field core 3 through the end face portion 3c of the field core 3 out of the housing 4.
As described above, since an electromagnetic clutch is engaged by the attraction force produced by the electromagnetic coil 16, if the attraction force is weak, the armature 13 and the rotor 15 may be kept separate from each other, so that the clutch may not be engaged.
Thus, it is desired to ensure engagement of the clutch by increasing the magnetic attraction force of the electromagnetic coil 16 as much as possible, thereby improving reliability of operation.
But in many applications, the space for installing the electromagnetic clutch portion in the housing 4 is limited, so that the ability to increase the size of the electromagnetic coil 16 is limited.
Thus, a first object of this invention is to increase the magnetic attraction force of the electromagnetic coil as much as possible in a limited installation space, thereby improving reliability of operation.
FIG. 13 shows another conventional rotation transmission device.
In this prior art device, the housing 4 and the outer member 2 are supported through a bearing 33, and entry of foreign matter into the rotation transmission device is prevented by sealing devices 50, 51 provided at both ends of the housing 4.
As the sealing device 50, which is provided on the open side of the housing, a combination of a sealing plate such as a slinger and a sealing lip is used. The sealing device 50 is pressed into the end face of the housing 4 on its open side.
Thus, if during operation the housing 4 and the outer member 2 are displaced relative to each other in the axial direction due to rattling, and the sealing plate of the sealing device 50 protrudes outside through the opening of the housing 4, the sealing properties may deteriorate.
Under use conditions where there are many flying stones, if the sealing device 50 is located at the end face of the housing 4 on its open side, a flying stone may hit, for example the sealing plate of the sealing device 50, thus deforming it and deteriorating the sealing property.
Also, in this rotation transmission device, a bearing 33, which supports the outer member 2 and the housing 4, is provided on the outer peripheral side of the portion forming the clutch. The bearing 33 comprises an inner ring 33a, an outer ring 33b and a plurality of rolling elements 33c. When the clutch engages, the rollers 6 engage the outer member 2 and the inner member 1, so that the outer diameter of the outer member 2, which forms the clutch, increases. This increases the load acting between the inner ring 33a and the rolling elements 33c of the bearing 33, so that if the interference between the outer ring 2 and the bearing 33 is large, the bearing 33 may be damaged.
Also, in conventional rotation transmission devices, grease is sealed by providing sealing members 33d on both sides of the inner ring 33a and the outer ring 33b of the bearing 33. However, separately carrying out lubrication of the bearing 33 and lubrication of the clutch portion causes costs to increase.
Thus, a second object of this invention is to prevent deterioration of sealing, damage to the bearing and cost increase in the rotation transmission device.
According to this invention, in order to solve the first object, the dimensions of the field core are optimized to increase the magnetic attraction force of the electromagnetic coil as much as possible.
Heretofore, the field core 3 was formed by press molding, and as shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 12, the thickness A of the cylindrical portion 3a on the inner-diameter side of the field core 3 had the same thickness as the thickness B of the cylindrical portion 3b on the outer-diameter side. Thus, if the sectional area of the cylindrical portion 3a on the inner-diameter side is compared with that of the cylindrical portion 3b on the outer-diameter side, the sectional area of the cylindrical portion 3a on the inner-diameter side is smaller, so that magnetic saturation tends to occur in only part of the cylindrical portion 3a on the inner-diameter side. Magnetic efficiency is thus bad.
According to this invention, the thickness A of the cylindrical portion 3a on the inner-diameter side of the field core 3 is larger than the thickness B of the cylindrical portion 3b on the outer-diameter side. In other words, the relation A greater than B is met so that the sectional areas of both cylindrical portions 3a, 3b are equal to each other, and thus the magnetic flux density distribution is uniform. By making the magnetic flux density distribution uniform, a magnetic circuit is formed efficiently, so that a large electromagnetic force is obtained in a limited installation space.
Similarly, in this invention, the dimensions of the rotor are also optimized to increase the magnetic attraction force of the electromagnetic coil as much as possible. Heretofore, as shown in FIG. 12, in the rotor 15 too, the thickness C of the cylindrical portion 15a on the inner-diameter side had the same thickness as the thickness D of the cylindrical portion 15b on the outer-diameter side. That is, they meet the relation C=D. Thus, the sectional area of the cylindrical portion 15a on the inner-diameter side is smaller than that of the cylindrical portion 15b on the outer-diameter side, so that magnetic saturation tends to occur only in part of the cylindrical portion 15a on the inner-diameter side, thus worsening magnetic efficiency.
According to this invention, the thickness C of the cylindrical portion 15a on the inner-diameter side is larger than the thickness D of the cylindrical portion 15b on the outer-diameter side, i.e. the relation C greater than D is met so that the sectional areas of cylindrical portions 15a and 15b are equal to each other, thus making the magnetic flux density distribution uniform.
Further, according to this invention, the wall thickness of the end face portion 3c forming the field core 3 is equal to or larger than that of the cylindrical portion 3a on the inner-diameter side to prevent magnetic saturation at the inner-diameter portion of the end face portion 3c and make the magnetic flux density distribution uniform.
Also, according to this invention, in order that mis-engagement will not occur at the electromagnetic clutch portion due to viscous resistance of grease that stays between the rotor 15 and the armature 13, grease discharge holes 21 are formed in the outer periphery of the attraction surfaces of the rotor 15 and the armature 13.
Further, heretofore, the lead wire that supplies current to the electromagnetic coil 16 was pulled out of the field core 3 through the end face portion 3c of the field core 3 and was directly pulled out of the housing 4 to outside. Thus, if the lead wire 20 is pulled by accident, the mounting portion of the lead wire to the field core 3 may be broken.
In view of this possibility, according to this invention, a lead wire 20 that has been led out into the housing 4 through the end face portion 3c of the field core 3 is wound on a cylindrical portion in the housing and its end is pulled out of the housing so that the tension of the lead wire 20 will not directly act on the mounting portion of the lead wire 20 to the field core 3.
Also, according to this invention, in order to solve the second object, a sealing device for preventing entry of foreign matter into the housing is provided between the housing and at least one of the inner member and the outer member, and the sealing device is recessed from an end face of the housing, thereby preventing deterioration of sealability.
By recessing the sealing device from the end face of the housing, even if the housing and the outer member become displaced relative to each other due, for example, to axial rattling, it is possible to prevent the seal plate of the sealing device from protruding to the outside through the opening of the housing.
Also, by recessing the sealing device from the end face of the housing, flying stones are less likely to hit the sealing device, so that it is possible to lessen damage to the sealing device itself.
Further, by providing a shield plate outside of the sealing device, it is possible to protect the sealing device against foreign matter such as flying stones, mud and grass.
Also, the sealing device may comprise two annular sealing plates each having an L-shaped section, having a cylindrical portion, and having an upright plate portion, and a sealing lip.
On the open side of the housing, a bearing sealing member for sealing the bearing may be provided and a sealing member on the opposite side of the housing may be omitted. This reduces the cost of the bearing sealing member itself. Also, due to the fact that the bearing portion and the clutch forming portion communicate with each other, grease for the bearing portion and grease for the clutch forming portion can be used in common.
Also, if the bearing is formed of an outer ring, an inner ring and a plurality of spherical rolling elements, and if the bearing is arranged on the outer-diameter side of the outer member as the clutch forming portion, by setting the interference between the bearing and the outer member such that when a predetermined torque is loaded on the clutch, the contact stress at the center of the contact points between the inner ring of the bearing and the rolling elements will be 4200 MPa or below, and it is possible to prevent damage to the bearing.
In the rotation transmission device of this invention, either rollers or sprags may be used as the engaging elements.

Electromagnetic clutch and rotation transmission device


A heat sink capable of being surface-mounted, the heat sink having a 3D shape and comprising a body made of metal, having a rear side which is horizontal and a front side which is at least partially horizontal, such that the front side is partially surface-mounted on a conductive pattern of a printed circuit board (PCB) by pick-and-place and the rear side is attached to the conductive pattern by reflow-soldering.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a heat sink, and more particularly, to a heat sink, a front side of which is picked and placed and surface-mounted and a rear side of which is reflow-soldered to a conductive pattern of a printed circuit board (PCB) by a solder paste.
In addition, the present invention relates to a small-sized heat sink capable of more efficiently diffusing and cooling heat generated from a heating element through a conductive pattern of a PCB disposed adjacent to the heating element, and also capable of being conveniently mounted on the conductive pattern at low costs.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, portable electronic communication devices such as a mobile phone have been reduced in size and weight while having increased in data processing speed and capacity. Accordingly, much heat is generated from a semiconductor chip that supplies main functions of the devices, which deteriorates the performances, for example a radio frequency (RF) performance of the semiconductor chip.
Also, a semiconductor chip such as a light emitting diode (LED) effecting high brightness generates much heat and the heat shortens the lifespan of the LED chip.
In general, a metal heat pipe having a high thermal conductivity, a heat sink, a polymer thermal pad and the like are used to effectively cool heat of a heating element or a heating module of a semiconductor, such as a field effect transistor (FET) mounted on a conductive pattern of a printed circuit board (PCB).
Additionally, for efficient cooling of heat, thermally conductive ceramic or metal may be used for the material of a PCB in a light emitting diode (LED) lighting device which generates much heat. In this case, a part performing cooling in the ceramic or metal circuit board requires a uniform thickness, a complicated process, and a high cost. For example, if the whole circuit board is made of a high-thermal-conductivity material for cooling of the heating element, an expensive material is used even for a part insusceptible to heat, accordingly increasing the material cost.
General heat sinks are manufactured by processing a high thermal-conductive metal such as Al with various methods including die-casting, powder injection molding (PIM), and casting, and mounting the processed metal on a heating element. Therefore, heat of a heating part is transferred to the heat sink and radiated and diffused to the air through the heat sink. To this end, an exemplary heat sink has a wide area for contact with the heating element, a wide outer surface for contact with air, a high thermal conductivity, and a high thermal diffusion efficiency.
For this purpose, according to a related art, a heat sink made of metal such as Al is formed to have predetermined volume and shape having a horizontal rear side and a wide-area front side for contact with air. The metal heat sink is attached on a heating element mounted on a PCB using an adhesive made of any one of thermally conductive elastic rubber, a pad, and an adhesive tape.
However, when the heat sink is mounted using such elastic adhesive, pad, or adhesive tape, an adhesion strength and a thermal conductivity are reduced compared to the case of using a soldering method. Also, according to the related art, mounting of the heat sink is hard to automate and therefore is manually performed. Accordingly, the mounting cost is increased while reliability of the product and convenience of rework are reduced.
In other words, it is difficult to apply a pick-and-place method and a surface mounting technology (SMT) by reflow soldering with a solder paste to the heat sink.
Furthermore, the related-art heat sink is large and heavy. Especially in a personal terminal device such as a mobile phone and a personal digital assistant (PDA) restricted in size and weight, the large and heavy heat sink is limited to be applied.
Especially, in a small device such as the personal terminal device, it is difficult to secure height for mounting the heat sink on a heating element.
In addition, when an insulation coating process to prevent corrosion, such as anodizing, is performed with respect to the heat sink made of Al, the thermal conductivity is reduced.
In addition, the mounting position of the related-art heat sink is usually limited to a position on the heating element.
Also, being mounted on the heating element, the related-art heat sink merely radiates and diffuses heat but is not expected to increase an electrical ground area on the conductive pattern in the PCB.
Furthermore, the related-art heat sink is incapable of cooling a specific electrical contact terminal which is especially susceptible to heat, more than a plurality of other electrical contact terminals mounted on the heating element. Furthermore, the related-art heat sink costs a lot.
Meanwhile, in the case where the heating element is a semiconductor part constituted by a bare chip, a lead frame which connects the bare chip to an electrical circuit of a PCB, and an epoxy molding compound (EMC) which protects the bare chip and the lead frame, the EMC having a low thermal conductivity is ineffective to radiate and diffuse heat of the bare chip to the outside through a heat sink mounted thereon.
Heat of the heating element can be efficiently removed by increasing the volume of a heat sink, using a high-thermal-conductivity material, and improving the structure of a heat sink or a heat pipe and the adhesion method. However, the related-art technology is insufficient to effectively remove heat of a heating element equipped in a relatively small terminal device.


A display arrangement for displaying in two different directions, comprising a first display (D1) displaying in a first direction and a second display (D2) displaying in a second, essentially opposite direction. The display arrangement comprises a component common to the first (D1) and second (D2) display, which component comprises a display material layer (2xe2x80x2, 2xe2x80x3, 8xe2x80x2, 8xe2x80x3, 14) of a certain size, and a first part (2xe2x80x2, 8xe2x80x2, 14) of the display material layer forms a part of the first display (D1) and a second part (2xe2x80x3, 8xe2x80x3, 14) of the display material layer forms a part of the second display (D2).

The present invention relates to a display arrangement with display to two directions comprising a first display displaying to a first direction and a second display displaying to an essentially opposite second direction. The invention also relates to a terminal device comprising such a display arrangement.
Liquid crystal displays (LCD, Liquid Crystal Display) are at present very common especially in small size devices. They are displays thin in construction, consisting of transparent electrodes, a medium containing liquid crystals and polarization filters. One of the most common constructions is the so called twisted nematic (TN, Twisted Nematic) LCD-display. In it the molecules of a layer of liquid arranged between glass plates are directed in a desired direction using control voltages, at which the optical properties of the display elements change and create the desired pattern in the display.
FIG. 1 presents a cross section of the most commonly used twisted nematic liquid crystal display 12. Liquid crystal display 12 consists of transparent electrodes 3, liquid crystal layer 5 containing liquid crystal molecules 15 and polarization filters 1 and 9. Closest to the viewer (topmost in the figure) there is polarization filter 1, which is located on top of glass plate 2 protecting liquid crystal layer 5. Under glass plate 2 electrodes 3 (figures seen in the display) have been arranged using a conductive, transparent layer (for example indiumtinoxide, ITO). The glass plates can also be replaced with plastics, if a lighter and more robust construction is desired. The disadvantages of plastics are the high price and so far difficulties in manufacturing. A so called orientation layer 4 has been integrated on the surface of electrode 3. Liquid crystal molecules 15 in liquid crystal layer 5 which touch it are oriented and thus orient the whole liquid crystal layer 5 (the layer between orientation layers 4 and 6 containing liquid crystal molecules 15) in the desired way. On the other side of liquid crystal layer 5 there is orientation layer 6, and as next transparent electrode 7 alike electrode 3. The next layer is protective glass layer 8, in the bottom surface of which polarization filter 9 has been arranged. On the other side of polarization filter 9 there is reflector 10 which in the figure is reflecting light upwards.
The electric field controlling the display is arranged by connecting an electric field between display elements, or electrodes 3, arranged in a desired form, and electrode 7 using voltage supply 13 and switch 11. The operation of a liquid crystal display is based upon the fact that when there is no electric field in the display, light passes through layers 1-9 and is reflected back by reflector 10. In this case the background of the display seems light. When controlling control voltage 13 is connected between electrodes 3 and 7, the electric field generated by it twists liquid crystal molecules 15 in medium 5 in such a way that the light polarized using polarization filters 1 and 9 cannot pass through the construction but is absorbed in the construction. In this case the background of electrode 3 seems black. Different shades of darkness can be obtained by adjusting the control voltage level. The crossing of electrodes 3 and 7 forms a pixel. A multicolor liquid crystal display is manufactured by adding a color filter in each pixel. All colors can be produced with pixels provided with red, green and blue filters. In practice the color filter is a single layer, placed for example between lower glass plate 8 and electrode 7 (or between upper glass plate 2 and electrode 3), in which case the desired color is obtained when light is reflected upwards (in FIG. 1). The display can further be provided with a background light placed under reflector 10, in which case light passes through the reflector upwards in the figure and illuminates the display. The background light can be realized as an electroluminescense layer (a so-called EL-background light), which is illuminated when a voltage is brought over it.
Other kinds of prior known liquid crystal displays are a display based on dynamic scattering and a display based upon induced rotation (guest-host).
Even if a liquid crystal display is flat and as such requires little space, space can be a problem in small size devices, such as mobile telephones, in which it is striven for devices with as small outer dimensions as possible and which are as light as possible. At present there are devices with several displays. An example of these is Nokia 9000 Communicator, with two displays opposite to each other, one display of the telephone section towards the outside of the device and a second display of computer/organizer section towards the inside of the device. The display of the telephone section is smaller and thus requires less surface area. Both displays however have the same thickness and they thus increase the thickness of the device when folded against each other. The situation has been illustrated in more detail in FIG. 2, in which telephone section display D1 is topmost with the viewing direction from top downwards in the figure, and in which computer/organizer section display D2 is lower with the viewing direction from bottom upwards in the figure. The structure of the displays has been simplified a little here. In telephone section display D1 there are top- and bottom polarizers 1xe2x80x2 and 9xe2x80x2, and glass plates 2xe2x80x2 and 8xe2x80x2, between which there is structure 14xe2x80x2 (presented in FIG. 1 with reference 14), which has been omitted here because of simplicity, and reflector 10xe2x80x2. In computer/organizer section display D2 there are respectively top- and bottom polarizers 1xe2x80x3 and 9xe2x80x3, and the glass plates 2xe2x80x3 and 8xe2x80x3, between which there is structure 14xe2x80x3 (presented in FIG. 1 with reference 14), which has been omitted here because of simplicity, and reflector 10xe2x80x3. Displays D1 and D2 have been fixed in printed circuit boards PCB1 and PCB2, which in the device have been fixed to each other. In the printed circuit board it has preferably been fixed display driver circuits Drxe2x80x2 and Drxe2x80x3, which control the display (realizing the functions 11 and 13 in FIG. 1 for each pixel). The solution presented in FIG. 2 is vertically rather thick in the figure and thus significantly increases the size of the device in the direction in question. In a more advanced version of Nokia 9000 Communicator-device, which will be released in the summer of 1997, the construction has been made smaller by using only one printed circuit board and by fixing displays D1 and D2 on both sides of the printed circuit board.
Now a two-sided display element has been invented, by using which a display to two opposite directions can be realized and the thickness of said display construction can be reduced compared with previous solutions. In the invention the one and same display component or display material element is utilized in the realization of a first display displaying in a first direction and of a second display displaying in a second opposite direction. In this way a part of said display component (display material element) is used for the realizing of a first display displaying in a first direction and a second part of said component is utilized in the realization of a second display displaying in a second opposite direction. The common Display Material Element is preferably such a part of the display the direction of which as to the direction of viewing has no importance. Other parts (layers) of the display, the direction of which as to the direction of viewing has importance, are arranged in such a way that they are in the first and second display in reversed order and turned into opposite directions if required. The displays are formed next to each other displaying information to opposite directions.
The invention is particularly suitable for use in connection with a liquid crystal display, when both a first display displaying to a first direction and a second display displaying to a second, opposite direction are realized using the same liquid crystal layer and the same electrode layers.
Also other kinds of flat displays can be used in the realizing of the invention, at least as far as their structure is similar to that of a liquid crystal display, or comprises (when the cross section of the display is examined) in the middle a layer of display medium and on both sides of it electrodes (longitudinal and transverse conductors). The display medium layer usually defines the type of a display. Said display medium layer is for example in the case of a plasma display a gas (a layer of gas between the electrodes) and in the case of an electroluminescense display a semiconductor/phosphorus compound (a compound between the electrodes, usually ZnS:Mn).
In addition to a common display component flat displays often have layers, the order of which in the direction viewing has importance. At least a part of such layers are arranged for the first display on the same level with the in order same layer for the second display on the opposite side of the common display component. In this way it is obtained an approximately equally thick construction, in which the surface of a part of the element forms a first display displaying to a first direction and a second part of the element forms a second display displaying to a second opposite direction. In the case of a liquid crystal display such parts, the order of which as to the direction of viewing has importance, are polarizers and a reflector, when the upper polarizer, counted in the direction of viewing, of the first display is mounted on the same level with the lower polarizer and reflector of the second display and vice versa.
Preferably, a display element according to the invention is not fixed to any printed circuit board, but the driver circuits of the display can be fixed directly on (one of) the glass plates of the display for example using the chip-on-glass technique. The omitting of the printed circuit board further makes the construction thinner. Driver circuits are used to control the display element area in such a way that in the area of the first display the figures desired in the first display are obtained and in the area of the second display the figures desired in the second display are obtained.
The invention is characterized in that it comprises a component common to a first and a second display, the component comprising a display material layer of a certain size, and a first part of said display material layer forms a part of said first display and a second part of said display material layer forms a part of said second display.

Dual display arrangement and a terminal device


An opto-electronic system includes a substrate, an opto-electronic chip mounted on the substrate, a frame, and a lens device retained in the frame. A frame mounting portion of the frame is in contact with an upper surface of the opto-electronic chip. A lens mounting portion of the frame is spaced above the frame mounting portion. A lower surface of the lens device is in contact with the lens mounting portion. The spacing of the lens mounting portion and frame mounting portion determines the spacing between the upper surface of the opto-electronic chip and the lower surface of the lens device.

In an optical communication system, it is generally necessary to couple an optical fiber to an opto-electronic transmitter, receiver or transceiver device and to, in turn, couple the device to an electronic system such as a switching system or processing system. These connections can be facilitated by modularizing the transceiver device. Such optical transceiver modules include a housing in which are mounted opto-electronic elements, optical elements, and electronic elements, such as one or more light sources (e.g., lasers), light sensors (e.g., photodiodes), lenses and other optics, digital signal driver and receiver circuits, etc. In addition, a transceiver module typically includes an optical connector that can be coupled to a mating connector at the end of a fiber-optic cable.
Various optical transceiver module configurations are known. For example, a configuration commonly referred to as "Small Form Factor Pluggable" or SFP refers to a transceiver module having an elongated housing with a rectangular cross-sectional shape, where the rear of the module has an electrical connector that plugs into a bay of a front-panel cage, and the front of the module has an optical connector that accepts an optical fiber plug. Another module configuration, for example, is commonly referred to as "mid-plane" mounting. A mid-plane mountable transceiver module includes an electrical connector, such as a Landing Grid Array (LGA) or a MEGARRAY™, which are mountable on the surface of a printed circuit board. Mid-plane mountable transceiver modules include "parallel" transceivers that transmit and receive multiple optical signals in parallel, using arrays of light sources and light sensors.
As illustrated in FIGS. 1-2, one type of mid-plane mountable transceiver module system includes a transceiver module 10 and an optical connector 12 that attaches to transceiver module 10. Transceiver module 10 includes an opto-electronic system that transmits and receives optical signals (i.e., beams) in a direction normal to the printed circuit board (PCB) 26 that forms the base of transceiver module 10. For purposes of clarity, only a single-laser chip 14 (e.g., a chip having a single vertical cavity surface-emitting laser or VCSEL) of such an opto-electronic system is shown in FIG. 2. Optical connector 12 is user-connectable to a receptacle (not shown for purposes of clarity) on the top of transceiver module 10. When connected to transceiver module 10, a portion of optical connector 12 abuts or contacts the top of a lens block 16 (FIG. 2) of the opto-electronic system. Optical connector 12 includes a reflective surface 18 that redirects the parallel optical signals 20 emitted by laser chip 14 at a 90-degree angle into the end of an optical fiber of a ribbon cable 22. Lens block 16 includes at least one lens element 24 in the path of optical signals 20. Lens element 24 collimates the beam or optical signals 20 emitted by laser chip 14.
The accuracy of the spacing or distance D shown in FIG. 2 between laser chip 14 and lens element 24 is critical. If the distance D is too large or too small by even a small amount the beam will not be collimated properly, and signal integrity will be impaired. At least two mechanical tolerances can affect the distance D. Both lens block 16 and laser chip 14 are commonly mounted on the same substrate, such as PCB 26. The height H of laser chip 14 has a tolerance that can affect the distance D. Also, as laser chip 14 is commonly mounted on PCB 26 using an adhesive layer 28 (e.g., epoxy), the tolerance of the thickness of adhesive layer 28 can affect the distance D.
It can further be noted that the force exerted by optical connector 12 against the top of lens block 16 can undesirably displace lens element 24 by a small but optically significant amount, potentially adversely affecting the optical alignment (e.g., the distance D). Excessive force can even potentially crack a lens block 16 made of fragile optical glass.
It would be desirable to provide an optical communication module having a lens arrangement that helps minimize the adverse impact of mechanical tolerances and forces.

Lens standoff and protection for optical communication systems

Avago Technologies General IP (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.


Embodiments of the present disclosure include an apparatus employing two or more members arranged in a mounting configuration to pierce a ceiling and reconfigurable into a deployment configuration to suspend a load from the ceiling.

Maximizing the utilization of space in one's dwelling to store items has become a keen interest in the last few decades. Maximizing the utilization of one's space has expanded beyond footprint and square footage considerations to the use of walls and ceilings and considering the volume of one's dwelling. Conventional wall and ceiling based storage often includes mounted hooks requiring drilling tools and load bearing hardware or screw into place limiting load capacity.


A safety device and method for stairs, escalators and moving sidewalks that moves a person sitting or sliding on a handrail onto the steps to avoid accidents. The safety device includes a sloped surface that can be part of an elongated pyramid. The sloped surface is at an angle of between about 30xc2x0 and about 45xc2x0 from the direction of the handrail, with 45xc2x0 being preferred. The safety device is free of sharp edges and is configured to avoid catching on a person""s clothing. The safety device may include illumination.

The present invention relates generally to a safety device and method for handrails and the like, and more particularly a safety device and method for escalator and stair handrails.
Sliding down handrails on stairs and escalators occasionally results in accidents where individuals fall off the handrail or crash into others. This can be especially dangerous where falling over the handrail results in a long drop. Accidents may also occur when individuals sit on an escalator handrail instead of standing. This kind of accident is most prevalent when an individual sits on an escalator handrail while there is a wall at their back that does not go the full length of the escalator. Such a person sitting on the handrail might lean back or reach back to push off against a wall that is no longer there and fall as a result. Accordingly, there is a strong need to insure that people do not injure themselves as is described above.
An aspect of the invention is to provide a method of improving a person""s safety including locating a sloped surface vertically higher than a handrail such that a vertical projection of the sloped surface is between a support and the handrail. The sloped surface is at an angle capable of moving a person toward the handrail.
Another aspect of the invention is to provide a safety device including a sloped surface vertically higher than a handrail such that a vertical projection of the sloped surface is between a support and the handrail. The sloped surface is at an angle capable of moving a person toward the handrail.
Another aspect of the invention is to provide a method of improving a person""s safety including locating an elongated pyramid having a sloped surface vertically higher than a handrail such that a vertical projection of the sloped surface is between a support and the handrail. The sloped surface is at an angle between about 30xc2x0 and about 45xc2x0 from the direction of the handrail.
Another aspect of the invention is to provide a safety device including an elongated pyramid including a sloped surface. The elongated pyramid is vertically higher than a handrail such that a vertical projection of the sloped surface is between a support and the handrail and the sloped surface is at an angle between about 30xc2x0 and about 45xc2x0 from the direction of the handrail.


An apparatus is disclosed for dehydrating gas in a system having control gas and supply gas. A first housing is fluidly connected to supply gas and a first membrane member is in the first housing flow path, with a plurality of tubes having interstitial spaces therebetween, each tube being more permeable to water vapor than to gas. Supply gas exiting the first membrane member is drier. Drier supply gas is metered to the first membrane member interstitial spaces, whereby dried supply gas sweeps water or water vapor from the first membrane member interstitial spaces to surrounding environment. A second housing similar to the first has a similar second membrane member therein and fluidly connected to control gas. Control gas exiting second membrane member is drier. Drier supply gas is also metered to second membrane member interstitial spaces, and sweeps water or water vapor from second member interstitial spaces through the second housing vent.

This invention relates to a gas dehydrating apparatus for gas controlled and powered systems, and more particularly to a membrane air dehydrating apparatus for use in pneumatically controlled and powered systems.
Compressed air systems are widely used to operate a number of devices, and find particular use in braking systems for commercial vehicles. These systems include an air compressor which compresses ambient air and charges a storage reservoir(s).
The air compressor is engine driven and sized to have a capacity to rapidly pressurize the reservoir(s) so that brakes are available as soon as possible after engine start, or for high duty cycles as would be required when descending winding mountain roads. Due to this, the air compressor has excess capacity during normal vehicle operation. To aid in fuel economy, the air compressor may be selectively decoupled (for example by a clutch) from the engine when the air pressure in the reservoir(s) is at a predetermined level. The control of the decoupling means is based upon reservoir pressure feedback.
Air dryers commonly employ a drying material or desiccant through which air passes to remove entrained moisture and limit potential problems stemming from moisture associated with brake system components. Moisture is adsorbed by the desiccant and removed from the compressed air before it is communicated to the storage reservoir. In these known systems, periodic or cyclic purging of the air dryers is desirable in order to purge or regenerate the desiccant.
International Publication No. WO 01/19657 discloses a trailer air dryer/moisture buffering system to separately protect devices that may not be protected by the tractor""s air dryer. This trailer buffering system allows the trailer braking and trailer suspension systems to be associated with the trailer dryer system, thereby avoiding contamination, the introduction of foreign particles, leakage, and freeze-up of the pneumatic valves. The disclosed trailer buffering system simultaneously filters and dries wet air sent to the trailer. This trailer buffering system uses an active drying material which may act as a moisture buffer, adsorbing moisture from the air during wet air consumption. The active drying material then slowly releases the previously captured moisture in vapor phase during a purge cycle, thereby regenerating the desiccant.
This type of buffering system is not an active air dryer, meaning the buffering system does not actively expel moisture from the air. For the supply air, a purge cycle could be incorporated with appropriate timing. Such a system generally would be rather complex and may be cost prohibitive.
With regard to the control air in this desiccant-type buffering system, a purge cycle could not simply be incorporated since it would be highly undesirable to interrupt the flow of control air, even for a very short time. Further, pressure swing adsorption (PSA) may be less effective with control air because it may consistently remain at rather low pressures. As such, in order to incorporate a purge cycle, the control air system would need two separate desiccant members, one for use and the other for purging, with appropriate timing for switching between the two. This added complexity renders the system cost prohibitive.
As may readily be appreciated, it is desirable to provide a gas dehydrating apparatus for gas controlled and powered systems, for example pneumatically controlled and powered braking systems for truck trailers, which continuously purges moisture removed from the control and supply gas. It is also desirable to provide such an apparatus which is relatively simple to manufacture and does not need electronically controlled timing and complex valving. Still further, it is desirable to provide such an apparatus which advantageously utilizes higher pressure supply gas to sweep extracted moisture from lower pressure control gas.
The present invention provides a method and apparatus for continuously removing moisture from a compressed air system. In one embodiment, the apparatus includes two membrane dryers acting in concert to dry a supply and a control gas for a pneumatically controlled and powered braking system.
In one specific embodiment, the air dryer system has a first housing having an inlet and an outlet and a flow path therebetween, and connected to a supply gas. A first membrane member is disposed within the first housing and in the flow path, and includes a plurality of tubes with interstitial spaces therebetween, each tube being more permeable to water vapor than to air. Supply gas passes through the first membrane member, thereby becoming substantially dehydrated. A portion of the dehydrated supply gas is channeled to the first membrane member interstitial spaces, whereby the dehydrated supply gas sweeps water and water vapor from the first membrane member interstitial spaces to the surrounding environment. A second housing has an inlet and an outlet and a flow path therebetween, and connected to a control gas. A second membrane member is disposed within the second housing and in the second housing flow path, and includes a plurality of tubes with interstitial spaces therebetween, each tube being more permeable to water vapor than to air. Control gas passes through the second membrane member, thereby becoming substantially dehydrated. A second portion of the dehydrated supply gas is directed from the first housing outlet gas to the second membrane member interstitial spaces, whereby the dehydrated supply gas sweeps water and water vapor from the second membrane member interstitial spaces to the environment.
Another aspect of the present invention is a method of drying compressed air used in a pneumatically controlled and powered braking system. In one embodiment, the method employs two membrane dryers that receive and dehydrate compressed air in a supply gas stream and a control gas stream.

Membrane gas dehydrating apparatus for gas controlled and powered systems


An electric connector including a first connector half having a plurality of terminals, a second connector half having a plurality of corresponding terminal and a pair of leaf springs secured to opposite side also of the first connector half for detachably coupling he first and second connector halves with each other. Each leaf spring includes a fitting portion, a bent portion, an unlocking portion, an intermediate portion, an end portion with a locking aperture, and a reinforcing portion having one end connected to a junction between the bent portion and the unlocking portion. The fitting portion is secured to the first connector half and an end of the reinforcing portion is urged against a side wall of the first connector half. When the second connector half is inserted into the first connector half, a locking projection formed on a side wall of the second connector half engages with the locking aperture for locking the first and second connector halves together. When the unlocking portion of the leaf spring is pushed toward the side wall of the first connector half, locking projection is disengaged from the locking aperture to release the connector halves. The reinforcing portion increases the resiliency of the leaf spring for preventing accidental unlocking and insuring a positive displacement of the end portion when unlocking.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for detachably coupling first and second connector halves of an electric connector, including a leaf spring having a fitting portion at one end of the leaf spring, by means of said fitting portion the leaf spring is secured to the first connector halves, a locking aperture into which a locking projection formed on a side wall of the second connector half is inserted to couple the first and second connector halves with each other by means of the leaf spring, and an unlocking portion, by pressing said unlocking portion toward a side wall of the first connector half, the leaf spring being deformed such that the locking aperture is removed from the locking projection to release a locking condition of the first and second connector halves.
2. Description of the Related Art
The above mentioned locking device is most conventionally used for a connector which is used in an environment subjected to a high temperature such as an engine room of an automobile. In this case, each of the first and second connector halves includes a housing made of plastics and the locking projection is integrally formed on the housing of the second connector half.
FIG. 1 is a cross sectional view showing a known connector locking device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication Toku Kai Hei 3-159078. In FIG. 1, a first connector half 1 and a second connector half 2 are coupled with each other to form an assembly and are locked in a given position by means of a locking leaf spring 3. It should be noted that FIG. 1 shows only a half of the assembly and a second locking leaf spring provided on an opposite side wall of the assembly is not shown. The locking leaf spring 3 is formed by punching out of a metal plate and is shaped into a desired configuration. The leaf spring 3 comprises a fitting portion 4 at its one end and a locking aperture 5 at the other end thereof. The fitting portion 4 is inserted into a recess formed in a housing of the first connector half 1. On a housing of the second connector half 2 there is formed a locking projection 6. In the coupled condition illustrated in FIG. 1, the locking projection 6 is inserted into the locking aperture 5 of the leaf spring 3, so that the first and second connector halves 1 and 2 are locked by the engagement of the locking aperture 5 and locking projection 6. The leaf spring 3 further includes an intermediate portion 7 and an unlocking portion 8. When the unlocking portion 8 of the leaf spring 3 is pressed upward in FIG. 1, i.e. toward the side wall of the first connector half 1, the leaf spring is deformed as shown by a chain line and the locking projection 6 is removed from the locking aperture 5. That is to say, when the unlocking portion 8 of the leaf spring 3 is pressed toward the side wall of the first connector half 1, the intermediate portion 7 of the leaf spring 3 is urged against a fulcrum portion 9 formed in the housing of the first connector half 1, so that the end of the leaf spring 3 where the locking aperture 5 is formed is effectively moved away from the side wall of the housing of the second connector half 2. In this manner, a portion of the leaf spring 3 including the locking aperture 5, intermediate portion 7 and unlocking portion 8 serves as a lever.
As depicted in FIG. 1, the leaf spring 3 is bent over between the fitting portion 4 and the unlocking portion 8 by a substantially 360 degrees to form a bent portion 10, so that the bent portion is subjected to a large stress. When the unlocking portion 8 of the leaf spring 3 is pressed toward the first connector half 1 in order to disengage the first and second connector halves 1 and 2 from each other, the bent portion 10 is further bent. Therefore, when the locking and unlocking operations is repeated, the mechanical strength of the bent portion 10 of the leaf spring 3 becomes weak. This results in that when the unlocking portion 8 is pressed, the unlocking portion itself is deformed largely and the end portion of the leaf spring 3 at which the locking aperture 5 is formed could not be displaced away from the second connector half 2 and thus the locking condition could not be released positively. Moreover, in the known connector locking device shown in FIG. 1, the unlocking portion 8 of the leaf spring 3 is exposed from the housing of the first connector half 1, so that the unlocking portion is liable to be pressed accidentally. Therefore, it is difficult to attain the positive locking function.
Another locking device is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication Toku Kai Hei 4-220974 (EUROPAISCHE PATENTANMELDUNG 446467 A1). The locking device also involves same problems as the above mentioned locking device.

Device for detachably coupling first and second halves of electric connector


Sustainable composite materials for interior spaces and related methods of manufacture are provided. In one aspect of the invention, the sustainable composite materials include a load-bearing stud. The load-bearing stud includes a plurality of woven burlap layers impregnated with a magnesium oxide resin. The load-bearing stud is formed by creasing a woven burlap sheet to form multiple foldable panels, wetting the foldable panels with a curable resin, layering the foldable panels to achieve a multi-layered prepreg, pressing the multi-layered prepreg to distribute the resin therethrough, compacting the multi-layered prepreg within a mold cavity having the exterior shape of the load-bearing stud, and curing the multi-layered prepreg, wherein the resin includes a mixture of mono-potassium phosphate and magnesium oxide. The load-bearing stud provides a lightweight, dimensionally stable, and environmentally-friendly composite structure to replace lumber studs and metal studs in building constructions.

Composite materials generally include a combination of two or more constituent materials to achieve a finished product having superior mechanical or chemical qualities. Composite materials are increasingly common across a range of technology areas. For example, composite materials have been used in the manufacture of sporting equipment, automobile bodies, and aerospace structures.
More recently, composite materials have been used in the manufacture of exterior building materials, including both structural and non-structural materials. For example, composite decking includes a combination of wood and plastic fibers, and is generally more resistant to animals, insects and warping than traditional wood decking.
Despite their advantages, composite materials can in some instances be harmful to the environment. For example, composite building materials can include component ingredients that are not recyclable or that do not originate from sustainable sources. Also by example, composite building materials can take many decades to decompose, and can release chemicals that are harmful to local ecosystems.
The use of naturally occurring biomaterials in the manufacture of composite building materials can overcome at least some of the shortcomings noted above. Accordingly, there remains a need for improved composite building materials including component biomaterials. In particular, there remains a need for improved interior composite building materials that are biodegradable, that are generally free of harmful chemicals, and that meet or exceed the structural qualities of existing materials.

Sustainable composite building materials and related methods of manufacture


A circuit characteristics controller (10) changes the supply voltage to circuit (12) on the basis of the characteristics of at least one transistor in circuit (12) so as to control the characteristics of circuit (12). The power source for compensation includes a threshold sensor that detects the threshold of the transistor in circuit (12) and a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the transistor in circuit (12). These sensors, for example, can be composed of transistors.

For example, a conventional LVDS (LVDS: Low Voltage Differential Signaling) transmitter is composed of two current sources, an op amp (OPAMP), P-channel (PCH) switch/N-channel (NCH) switch for controlling the flow direction of the drive current, and a timing controller for controlling said switches. The current sources provide drive currents, and the op amp controls the common mode voltage of the transmitter output. Said PCH/NCH switches control the flow direction of the drive current. When the drive current is switched, the timing controller changes the switching timing for each switching cycle in order to prevent large changes in the drive current. The rise time and fall time are determined to a certain extent by the interval in which the timing is changed. However, because the conventional timing controller made up of a conventional inverter chain (having plural inverters connected in series), variations in the power source, the manufacturing process and temperature lead to an increase in the variation of the switching timing of the timing control signal. As a result, variations in the rise time and fall time in the transmitter output increase.
In the prior art, in order to realize a lower power consumption corresponding to the inherent characteristics of an LSI, and for other purposes, there is a technology that adopts an autonomous function of the LSI chip, see "Non-Patent Reference 1 Autonomous LSI, seeking homogeneity," Nikkei Electronics, Mar. 29, 2004, pp. 109-129.
More specifically, in the power control technology for reducing power consumption used in a portable information terminal controller, in order to realize lower power consumption, a "delay synthesizer circuit" is used (see p. 123, FIG. 3). This delay synthesizer circuit approximately reproduces the delay time of the critical bus. The virtually reproduced delay time is compared with a target value. If the delay time is less than the target value, the power source voltage supplied to the LSI chip is further reduced. As a result, the lowest necessary power source voltage is supplied to LSI.
In the power control technology for lower power consumption using said delay synthesizer circuit, it is necessary to use circuits for delay time generation, measurement and comparison, so that the circuit scale required for realizing lower power consumption is increased.
A general object of the present invention is to provide a circuit characteristics controller that can control the characteristics of the circuit on the basis of the characteristics of the transistors without using a large scale circuit. Another object of the present invention is to provide a circuit device using said circuit characteristics controller.


A system and method for enhancing a lazy loading operation is disclosed. The system and method, in general, retrieves a plurality of subsets of a dataset via the lazy loading operation and increments a counter for each of the plurality of subsets retrieved by the processor. Then, the system and method detects a first event that navigates away from the retrieving of the plurality of subsets and also detects a second event that navigates back to the retrieving of the plurality of subsets. Next, the system and method returns to the retrieving of the plurality of subsets in accordance with the counter in response to the detecting of the second event.

The disclosure relates generally to improved browser interaction for lazy loading operations, and more specifically, to utilizing a counter to identify previously loaded information to provide efficient back browsing when a browser employs lazy loading operations.
In general, lazy loading techniques, such as JQuery or Dojo lazy loading, cause a browser to load a dataset in sub-sets rather than loading the dataset on an initial browser load in its entirety. While lazy loading techniques can provide faster response times for websites and mobile applications, these techniques can be frustrating to users.
For instance, after a user has clicked on an item of the dataset and the browser has loaded corresponding sub-data, the browser must reload the dataset from the beginning when that user performs back browsing (e.g., by hitting their browser back button to return to the dataset from the corresponding sub-data). Particularly, the browser reloads each sub-set from the beginning, which forces the user to wait for the item to be reloaded when that item is not at the beginning of the dataset. This is predominantly frustrating when the dataset contains a very high number of separate sub-set loads and the item is in one of latter sub-set loads. In fact, this sort of frustration is very common for users browsing a set of data that has been lazy-loaded because those users typically will want to continue browsing where they left off rather than start all over from the beginning.

Browser interaction for lazy loading operations

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


The present invention provides novel clathrate compounds using tetrakisphenols as host. The clathrate compounds are obtained easily and efficiently by reacting tetrakisphenols represented by the general formula [I] as host and various organic compounds such as alcohol, ether, ester, ketone, heterocyclic compounds containing nitrogen, essential oil, perfume and the like as guest under the condition of solvent-free or diluted with solvent if required. ##STR1## wherein X represents (CH.sub.2)n, n represents 0-3, and R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 represents each independently hydrogen atom, a lower alkyl group, a pheny group optionally having substituents, a halogen atom or a lower alcoxy group.. The clathrate compounds specified in the present invention are useful in the technological field of selective separation, chemical stabilization, conversion to non-volatility, powder processing and the like.

Clathrate compound is a compound having a structure where the guest molecules invaded into the space formed in host molecules and it is recently expected to be applied for various technological field such as selective separation, chemical stabilization, conversion to non-volatile property, powder processing and the like.
As clathrate compounds previously known, 1,1,6,6-tetraphenyl-2,4-hexazine-1,6-diol or 1,1-di(2,4-dimethylphenyl)-2-propyne-1-ol are described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.(Sho)61-53201(53201/1986) and 1,1'-bis-2-naphthol as host and 5-chloro-2-methyl-4-isothiazoline-3-one (CMI) as guest are described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. (Sho)62-2701(22701/1987).
And as the clathrate compound using tetrakisphenols as host, the one using tetrakis(4-hydroxyphenyl)ethane as host is known (See Tetrahedron Letters., 33(42),6319(1992)).

Clathrate compounds comprising tetrakisphenols as host


In various embodiments, a method of estimating odds that a player will win a round of a card game is disclosed. Information is received pertaining to cards that have been dealt from a deck at a particular point during a round of a card game. The information identifies cards that have been revealed to the player and a number of cards that have not been revealed to the player. An estimation of odds that the player will win the round of the card game is generated. The generating includes repeatedly, for each of the number of cards that has not been revealed to the player and for each remaining card to be dealt in the round, randomly selecting a card from remaining cards in the deck. The estimation of the odds is communicated for integration into a presentation of information pertaining to the card game.

During a round of a card game, a player has an exact chance of winning the round at any particular point. Having knowledge of this exact chance may increase enjoyment of viewers of the card game, such as one or more of the players or an audience. However, in some contexts, calculating the exact chance (e.g., using a mathematical formula) is computationally intensive and can cause excessive computational load on a computer device executing the game.

Automated hand strength estimation for card games


In the present embodiment, an energy storage apparatus includes: a plurality of energy storage devices arranged in a first direction; a pair of end members disposed on both ends in the first direction of the plurality of energy storage devices; a connecting member that extends in the first direction and connects the pair of end members; and an intermediate member disposed between adjacent two of the energy storage devices, wherein the connecting member is decouplable at a position corresponding to the intermediate member in the first direction, and the intermediate member includes a first intermediate part and a second intermediate part that are separable in the first direction and are engaged with each other.

Conventionally, there has been known a battery module which includes a plurality of battery cells (see JP 2017-37789 A). To be more specific, the battery module has: a plurality of battery cells; a plurality of bus bars; a frame formed of two frame bodies; and two leaf springs.
The battery cells are arranged in a row in the frame, and form a stacked product. The bus bars electrically connect the plurality of battery cells to each other. The frame fixes the plurality of battery cells by surrounding the battery cells as one unit. To be more specific, the frame has: a first frame disposed on an upper side; and a second frame disposed on a lower side. The stacked product is disposed inside the frame. That is, an upper surface side of the stacked product is confined by the first frame in a stacking direction, and a lower surface side of the stacked product is confined by the second frame in the stacking direction. The leaf spring is connected to the first frame and the second frame, and is disposed such that the leaf spring is sandwiched by an end surface of the stacked product and the frame. The leaf spring suppresses an expansion of the battery cells caused by the increase of an internal pressure in the battery cells from the outside of the battery cells.
In the battery module having the above-mentioned configuration, when a failure occurs in some (for example one) of the plurality of battery cells, the battery cell cannot be exchanged unless the whole battery module is disassembled by removing the bus bars, the frame formed of two frame bodies, the leaf springs and the like. Accordingly, an operation of exchanging the battery cell in which a failure occurs is extremely cumbersome. Particularly, when the bus bars are welded to the battery cells, it is necessary to remove the plurality of respective welded bus bars from the battery cells and hence, an operation of exchanging the battery cell in which a failure occurs becomes further cumbersome. Accordingly, in a battery module having a plurality of battery cells, when a failure occurs in some battery cells, there may be a case where it is necessary to exchange the whole battery module.