A stationary game machine can responds to steering by a player to change the orientation of a dummy mover such a vehicle or the like, and also to translate the dummy mover in a direction crossing the dummy mover's path of movement at a speed corresponding to the changed orientation. The game machine can comprise a stationary vehicle used as the dummy mover and an endless belt representing a road as the path of movement.. As the scenes on and in the road change in association with the movement of the endless belt, a steering wheel is rotated by the player to change the orientation of the vehicle and, at the same time, to translate the vehicle in the transverse direction. Tile translation of the vehicle is accomplished by a combination of a rotating shaft with a pressure roller contacting the rotating shaft, the cross-angle between the rotating shaft and the pressure roller being controlled to generate a thrust for translating the vehicle.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a stationary game machine and particularly to a stationary game machine which comprises a dummy mover and a path of movement displayed in front of the dummy mover, the latter being control led to move along the path of movement by a player.
2. Description of the Related Art
One such game machine; known in the art is a drive game machine to control a vehicle along a road represented on an endless belt. As the endless belt is driven, various different scenes appear on the road represented on the endless belt. When a player controls a steering wheel following such changes on the road, the vehicle is steered by the player.
The road represented on the endless belt is variable not only in the direction of belt length, but also in the direction of belt width. Merely by controlling the steering wheel to turn the vehicle, the vehicle can be moved out of the road.
In such a game machine, therefore, the vehicle is adapted to move above the endless belt in the direction of belt width. As the steering wheel is operated by the player, the position of the vehicle is turned and at the same time the vehicle translates in the direction of belt width at a speed corresponding to the turning speed. In such a manner, the player is pleasured by driving the vehicle oil the variable road while avoiding obstructions represented on the endless belt.
In order to move the vehicle in the direction of belt width, the game machines of the prior art utilize a ball screw. This requires a reversible motor for rotatably driving the ball screw in the forward direction, thereby moving the vehicle rightwardly in the direction of belt width, and in the backward direction to move the vehicle leftwardly. A motor control circuit is further required which controls the forward and backward rotations of the motor rapidly in response to the movement of the steering wheel. In addition, the reversible motor used must have a rapid response to the control signal and an increased start-up output. As a result, the game machines will be or a complicated and expensive structure.
Where the ball screw is used in a game machine to move the vehicle in the direction of belt width, it is further required to control the rotational speed of the motor to control the speed of the vehicle moving in the direction of belt width, depending on the steering angle of the steering wheel. In other words, the speed of the vehicle moving in the direction of belt width must be controlled more slowly when the steering angle is smaller and more rapidly when the steering angle is larger. This also makes the motor control circuit for driving the ball screw complex and expensive.


A method and apparatus for concentrating dilute biomolecules in samples using electrophoresis are described. The method involves using the charged nature of the biomolecules to localize them to a microspot containing a dialysis membrane. The method and apparatus may also be used for identifying the presence of a biomolecule in a mixture or to quantitate the amount of a specific biomolecule in a mixture. The method and apparatus may also be used to produce a high throughput method for analysis and quantitation of a sample containing biomolecules.

Many technologies exist to detect and quantitate biomolecules, such as DNA, mRNA, proteins, small compounds, etc. However, available assays typically require expensive reagents and/or time consuming labor-intensive steps. For example, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a proprietary method which requires the use of an expensive enzyme such as Taq polymerase. Other methods such as chemiluminescence require enzymes and substrates. Methods using fluorescent probes require no enzymes, but are less sensitive than methods using enzymatic reactions.
Furthermore, sensitive assays are usually conducted in a small volume of less than 100 μL, so very small volumes of moderate to highly concentrated biomolecules are needed. Most purification methods result in large volumes of dilute samples which are not appropriate for sensitive assays. In addition, many molecular techniques require a series of enzymatic modifications with purification in between. This can result in continuous dilution and loss of the biomolecules, making the methods inefficient.
Thus, a simple, inexpensive method is needed for concentrating dilute samples of biomolecules, detecting the presence of small amounts of biomolecules in a sample, and analyzing the concentration of biomolecules in a sample. Preferably the method can be used for high-throughput applications.
Disclosed herein is the first systematic assay for sample concentration followed by detection, characterization, and manipulation, simultaneously.

Apparatus and method for electrophoretic microspot concentration


An angle adjustment apparatus has a first member, a second member, a lock member, and a movement mechanism axially moving the lock member. The first member has first teeth on a surface facing the lock member. The lock member has second teeth and a rotation regulation portion, the second teeth being engaged with the first teeth, the rotation regulation portion being engaged with the second member. The movement mechanism has an input member and a drive member, the input member being regulated from being axially moved relative to the first member or the second member, the drive member being regulated from being axially moved relative to the lock member. A first engagement portions is provided to the external peripheral surface of the input member. A second engagement portion engaged with the first engagement portion is provided to the drive member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an angle adjustment apparatus for a vehicle seat, the apparatus angle-adjustably connecting a first seat member and a second seat member of the vehicle seat.
2. Description of Related Art
An angle adjustment apparatus is a recliner that angle-adjustably connects a seat back to a seat cushion, for example (refer to the specification of U.S. Pat. No. 5,516,198). A conventional recliner has an arm plate provided to a seat back, a base plate provided to a seat cushion, a slider axially movably provided between the arm plate and the base plate, and a movement mechanism axially moving the slider relative to the arm plate.
The arm plate has teeth on a surface facing the slider. The slider has a tubular main body and a flange provided to an end portion of the main body. The flange is provided with teeth on a surface facing the arm plate, the teeth being engaged with the teeth of the arm plate. The movement mechanism has a tubular slider guide to which the slider main body is inserted, and a lever connected to the slider guide. The slider guide is provided with a guide hole extending obliquely in axial and circumferential directions. A pin is inserted to the guide hole, and an end portion of the pin is attached to the slider.
Thus, when the slider guide is axially rotated by the lever, the pin is axially moved along the guide hole of the slider guide. The slider is axially moved concurrently with the pin, and then the teeth of the slider are disengaged from the teeth provided to the arm plate. Thereby, the arm plate is axially rotatable relative to the base plate. When the lever is returned to an original position, the teeth provided to the slider and the teeth provided to the arm plate are engaged again. Thus, the arm plate is regulated from being rotated relative to the base plate.
The lever is provided, however, to an external peripheral surface of the slider guide, and the slider is provided to an internal peripheral side of the slider guide. The slider has the end portion axially extending more than the slider guide, and the flange projecting radially externally from the end portion more than the slider guide. The flange is provided with the teeth. Thus, an input torque is transferred from the radially external side to internal side, when the torque is transferred from the lever to the slider. The teeth of the slider are positioned radially externally in order to obtain the torque. Thus, the conventional angle adjustment apparatus has a complex configuration having radially crossing members.

Angle adjustment apparatus for vehicle seat


Methods perform at least two different segments of a scan job by sequentially scanning the different segments using an optical scanner. Each of the different segments is scanned with the optical scanner manually set to different settings. The methods automatically combine the different settings to produce a recurring scan workflow. The recurring scan workflow includes such different settings of the different segments and information of the number of pages scanned in each of the different segments. Further, such methods perform at least one later scan job having later segments corresponding to the different segments of the original scan job after creating the recurring scan workflow. During the later scan job the computerized device automatically changes settings of the optical scanner between the later segments, without requiring the user to manually change the different settings between the later segments.

Embodiments herein generally relate to scanners, scanning systems, and scanning methods, and more particularly to method that provide and detect errors in scanning workflows. A user who builds a scan job (e.g., scan to email, scan to workflow, etc.) that includes different scan job segments may desire to change scan settings between the scan job segments. For example, different segments of the scan job may have different resolutions, numbers of sides (1-sided or 2-sided), orientations, color modes, contrasts, etc., and the user may desire to apply different settings to these different segments. This allows for one set of pages (a segment) to be scanned and processed with one scan settings (for example black & white, 1-sided) and a subsequent segment to be scanned with different settings (for example color, 2-sided). Scan settings can be saved by a workflow creator and later recalled for use by a scan operator for another scan job. However, only one scan job segment settings are saved and recalled. The scan operator must manually change the subsequent segments' settings. Additionally, if multiple documents requiring similar build job settings need to be scanned for the same workflow, these documents need to be processed manually as individual jobs. The manual steps introduce operator error and lower productivity.
A scanner or MFD (Multi Function Device) is often used as the on-ramp to a scan workflow. Common errors during scanning are caused by both operator and the ADH (Automatic Document Handler) equipment. Problems include originals fed in wrong order, wrong orientation, misfeeds causing missing originals, skewed originals, originals fed wrong side up, originals missing, originals scanned with wrong scan settings.

Recording and recalling of scan build job and scan batch job settings


An apparatus compresses a mat against a cylindrical catalyst to provide an exhaust gas cleaning device having the catalyst and the mat wrapped around the catalyst. The apparatus has a base to which first and second rods are movably mounted, and first and second pressers connected to respective ones of the first and second rods. A first drive mechanism moves the first, but not the second, rods to bring the first pressers into contact with first peripheral surface portions of the mat so that second peripheral surface portions of the mat are formed into respective convex portions. A second drive mechanism moves the second rods to bring the second pressers into contact with the convex portions of the mat to compress the convex portions while the first pressers are maintained in pressure contact with the first peripheral surface portions of the mat.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a technique for compressing a mat wrapped about a cylindrical catalyst.
2. Background Art
Engine exhaust gas contains carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxide, and other undesirable substances. In view of this fact, an exhaust gas cleaning device is currently mounted in the exhaust systems of vehicle engines and the like. An exhaust gas cleaning device acts to remove or detoxify undesirable substances. A method for manufacturing an exhaust gas cleaning device will be described with reference to the drawings.
A catalyst 201 having a circular cross-section is prepared, as shown in FIG. 11A hereof. A mat 202 is wrapped about the catalyst 201, as shown in FIG. 11B. At this point, the outside diameter of the mat 202 is D1.
The mat 202 is then compressed until the outside diameter reaches d1, as shown in FIG. 11C and is inserted in a metal pipe 203 shown in FIG. 11D. An exhaust gas cleaning device 200 is obtained thereby. The outside diameter d1 is determined with consideration given to the inside diameter of the pipe 203.
In FIG. 11D, the compressed mat 202 attempts to return to the state prior to compression. As a result, the mat 202 presses the inside surface of the pipe 203 and the outside surface of the catalyst 201. Frictional force is generated between the pipe 203 and the mat 202 and between the catalyst 201 and the mat 202 due to the pressing force. Concern that the catalyst 201 will be separated from the pipe 203 is eliminated due to the effect of the frictional force.
In the description above, the work of compressing the mat 202 wrapped about the catalyst 201 is important, and several types of apparatuses have been proposed to provide that effect. One such apparatus is described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2005-315252 (JP 2005-315252 A). The structure of the mat compression apparatus is described below with reference to FIG. 12.
The mat compression apparatus 205 is composed of pressers 206 obtained by dividing a thick cylinder into eight partitions, and an external cylinder 207 that moveably supports the pressers 206 toward the mat 202, as shown in FIG. 12. The mat 202 is then compressed by simultaneously causing the eight pressers 206 to move toward a center point 208 of the catalyst 201.
The pressers 206, 206 move toward the center point 208 in the manner shown by arrows (1), (1), as shown in FIG. 13, which is an enlarged view of section 13 of FIG. 12. For this reason, a gap α1 between the presser 206 and an adjoining presser 206 is considerable at the position shown by an imaginary line, and a gap α2 is reduced at the position shown by a solid line. The gaps α1 and α2 are always provided because the movement of the pressers 206, 206 toward the center point 208 becomes impossible when the gap reaches zero.
The gap varies from α1 to α2 when such compression is carried out. A portion of the mat 202 at a position corresponding to the large gap α1 is drawn in by the pressers 206, 206. The portion of the mat 202 is sandwiched between the pressers 206, 206 and forms a convex section 209. The convex section 209 interferes with the cylindrical unit 203 in the process from FIGS. 11C to 11D.
In view of the above, a step for crushing and flattening the convex section 209 is required after the compression step. The labor involved in mat compression is increased when the steps for flattening become more numerous.
In view of the above, a mat compression technique is needed in which there is no concern that a convex section will be formed in the mat.

Method and apparatus for compressing a mat in exhaust gas cleaning device


Examples of a rail-mounted robotic inventory system are provided. The system includes a rail-mounted robot having an electronic tag reader configured to receive electronic tag data from electronic tags associated with inventory items. The system can include a navigation module configured to direct the rail-mounted robot along a rail through an inventory area, detect obstacles, and determine a position of the rail-mounted robot within the inventory area. The system can include an inventory identification module configured to receive the electronic tag data from the rail-mounted robot and identify and/or locate the inventory items in the inventory area based at least partly on the electronic tag data.

1. Field
The disclosure relates generally to inventory and locating systems and methods, and more particularly to inventory systems and methods for reading electronic tags.
2. Description of Related Art
A common challenge in many businesses is keeping track of inventory. This challenge is especially intense when there is high product volume, a diverse product line, and multiple sources of product movement or inventory change. In recent years, electronic systems have helped to address this challenge. For example, inventory tracking has been aided by attaching small electronic tracking devices to products that can permit an electronic system to locate products and obtain inventory information about them.
In some systems, these electronic tracking devices comprise radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology. RFID devices use radio waves to transfer data from an electronic tag, called an RFID tag or label, to an RFID reader. The RFID tag may be attached to an object for the purpose of identifying and tracking the object to which the RFID tag is attached. Generally, the RFID tag includes a small radio frequency (RF) transmitter and receiver. An RFID reader transmits an encoded radio signal to interrogate the tag. The tag receives the message and responds with its identification information, which is stored electronically. Many RFID tags do not use a battery or external power source. Instead, the tag, known as a passive RFID tag, uses the electromagnetic energy transmitted by the reader as its energy source. For example, a passive RFID tag reflects the reader's transmission back to the reader and modulates that reflection. The RFID system design can include features for discriminating between several tags that might be within the range of the RFID reader.


A method for adjusting brightness of an image, suitable for an image capturing apparatus with a flash lamp, is provided. In the method, an intensity of a main flash of the flash lamp is raised, and a sensitivity is reduced. When the main flash is fired by the flash lamp, a raw image is captured according to the reduced sensitivity for calculating a brightness mean value. A gain ratio is calculated according to the brightness mean value and a brightness target, so as to use the gain ratio to compensate the brightness of the raw image.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention is related generally to an image processing method, and more particularly to a method for adjusting brightness of an image.
2. Description of Related Art
In photography, an exposure operation is typically performed through an auto exposure function to achieve the ideal brightness for an entire image. When under insufficient ambient lighting or when the exposure time is below a safe shutter speed, a flash lamp is employed for brightness compensation so that the captured image does not become unrecognizable due to inadequate brightness.
With currently available techniques, the intensity of each flash of the flash lamp is different. Moreover, the stability of the flash lamp is determined by the magnitude of the capacitance. As the capacitor of the flash lamp reduces in size, a discharge stability thereof deteriorates. With inadequate discharge stability, variations in the brightness of each captured image is generated. Due to the nonlinearity of the capacitor discharge, even with a large capacitance, variations in the stability result because of different discharge durations. Accordingly, the deteriorated stability in the pre-flash and main flash adversely affects the brightness level of the captured image. Therefore, when capturing a plurality of images, the inadequate stability of the flash lamp results in inconsistent brightness levels for each output image.
Flash lamp compensation typically utilizes an auto exposure parameter and a pre-flash image to estimate the main flash intensity. In a conventional compensation method, a sensitivity is first reduced, then the image is captured, and a digital gain is adjusted thereafter to perform compensation. Although this method may compensate the image brightness, discontinuities in brightness occurs when capturing a plurality of images. Moreover, since a sensitivity target value is reduced, the time for flash power up is shortened. As the time for the flash lamp to energize impacts the stability of the image, the shorter the time, the more unstable the image. For example, FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a brightness distribution after undergoing a conventional brightness compensation. In FIG. 1, the sensitivity is reduced to darken the image, and the digital gain is raised thereafter to perform compensation. As shown in FIG. 1, the compensation result improves as the expected image brightness reduces, although the discontinuity phenomenon becomes more apparent.

Method for adjusting brightness of image


An RFID label processing system for processing base webs comprises a conveyor device configured to feed a base web along a predetermined conveyor path. The base web includes a sequence of processing segments, with each processing segment forming an RFID label. The processing system further comprises at least two processing modules which are arranged adjacent to the conveyor path, wherein the processing modules are spaced apart by a variable distance. At least one sensor module is configured to determine the position of the processing segments on the base web along the predetermined conveyor path and to output a segment position signal, so that a positioning module that is coupled to at least one of the processing modules and the sensor module may be configured to displace the at least one of the processing modules along the predetermined conveyor path depending on the value of the segment position signal.

Carriers of RFID labels conventionally consist of paper or plastic material which exhibit an innate resilience to torque, bending and tensile stress. Thus, tolerances are very small and manufacturing of such RFID labels may be performed with very high accuracy.
However, RFID chips have become increasingly useful for labelling textiles, for example clothing or other products made from textiles. In order to ensure their proper functionality such textile RFID labels have to be provided with an RFID transponder chip and a corresponding antenna structure for sending and receiving electrical RFID signals. RFID labels may be manufactured by using an RFID chip and connecting the RFID chip to an electrically conductive strip in a substrate, such as a textile substrate having a metal strip glued to or woven therein.
Particularly textile substrates have a much higher elasticity, flexibility and pliability than corresponding paper or plastic substrates. Moreover, the base material for textile substrates is much more prone to manufacturing tolerances and missing threads.
Thus, there is a need for efficiently and reliably manufacturing RFID labels with a high throughput, particularly on textile substrates, without comprising operational reliability, fidelity and conformity of the produced labels.

Web processing system and method for processing a base web


A method for manufacturing a ceramic honeycomb structure includes kneading titania particles, alumina particles and binder ingredient such that raw material paste including the titania particles, alumina particles and binder ingredient is prepared, forming a body made of the raw material paste and having a honeycomb structure such that the body has the honeycomb structure having multiple through-holes extending in the longitudinal direction of the body and multiple partition portions formed between the through-holes, drying the body made of the raw material paste and having the honeycomb structure such that the body maintains temperature difference of 20° C. or lower between surface temperature at an outer surface of the body and temperature at a central portion of the body and a dried body having the honeycomb structure is formed, and sintering the dried body having the honeycomb structure such that a ceramic body having the honeycomb structure is formed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an aluminum-titanate-based ceramic honeycomb structural body. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method for drying a body formed by shaping raw material paste.
2. Description of Background Art
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. H04-031372 describes a method for manufacturing a sintered ceramic honeycomb structural body, where a raw material composition made by combining ceramic powder, a binder and water is shaped into a honeycomb structure having multiple cells, and the body is dried and sintered. In such a drying step, the humidity of a drying atmosphere is set at 70˜99%. The entire contents of this publication are incorporated herein by reference.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method for manufacturing aluminum-titanate-based ceramic honeycomb structure


A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor element, a semiconductor substrate including a substrate main surface and a recess that recedes from the substrate main surface and houses the semiconductor element, a conductive layer electrically connected to the semiconductor element and formed on the semiconductor substrate, a sealing resin covering the semiconductor element and including a resin main surface that faces in the same direction as the substrate main surface, and spherical conductors electrically connected to the conductive layer and protruding outward from the resin main surface.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and a manufacturing method of semiconductor devices. In particular, the invention relates to a semiconductor device, and its manufacturing method, that includes a microprocessed silicon substrate upon which a Hall-effect element is mounted.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, micromachines, or micro electro mechanical system (MEMS), have been widely used as applications of LSI manufacturing technologies. To prepare a micromachine, a silicon substrate may be subjected to microprocessing technique, and required semiconductor elements are mounted on the processed silicon substrate. In manufacturing the micromachine, for instance, anisotropic etching including wet etching with an alkaline solution is employed to implement the microprocessing of the substrate. By the anisotropic etching, minute recesses can be accurately formed on the silicon substrate, into which semiconductor elements are disposed.
For example, JP-A-No. 2002-368304 discloses a resin-packaged semiconductor device in which a Hall-effect element is mounted on a lead frame. In this semiconductor device, the Hall-effect element is located on the opposite side across the lead frame compared with a conventional device, by which the distance between the magneto-sensitive surface of the Hall-effect element and an external magnet to be located outside the semiconductor device is shortened compared with the conventional device, without changing the thickness of the package. Shortening the mentioned distance leads to improved sensitivity of the Hall-effect element with respect to the change of magnetic flux.
When the Hall-effect element is mounted in the micromachine as semiconductor element, the recess has to be made deeper so as to shorten the distance between the Hall-effect element and the magnet, in order to improve the sensitivity of the Hall-effect element. This is because the Hall-effect element is mounted on the bottom surface of the recess, and hence when the micromachine is implemented on the surface of e.g. an external circuit board, the magnet is located close to the bottom surface, outside the micromachine. In the anisotropic etching process for forming the recess, a certain area of the bottom surface has to be secured to allow the Hall-effect element to be mounted thereon. The side faces of the recess are inclined with respect to the bottom surface, and therefore securing the certain area for the bottom surface leads to an increase in plane projection area of the recess, which in turn results in an increase in size of the micromachine as a whole.


A micromechanical sensor comprising a substrate (5) and at least one mass (6) which is situated on the substrate (5) and which moves relative to the substrate (5) is used to detect motions of the sensor based on an acceleration force and/or Coriolis force which occur(s). The mass (6) and the substrate (5) and/or two masses which move toward one another are connected by at least one bending spring device (1) for a relative rotational motion. The bending spring device (1) has multiple, in particular two, spring bars (2) extending essentially parallel to one another for improving the linear spring characteristic of the bending spring device during the rotational motion, and at least one meander (3) on at least one, preferably on all, of the spring bars (2).

A. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a micromechanical sensor comprising a substrate and at least one mass which is situated on the substrate and which moves relative to the substrate for detecting motions of the sensor based on an acceleration force and/or Coriolis force which occur(s), the mass and the substrate and/or two masses which move toward one another being connected by at least one bending spring device for a relative rotational motion.
B. Background of the Invention
Micromechanical sensors are used for detecting accelerations and/or yaw rates along a spatial axis or at least one of three mutually orthogonal spatial axes. The operating principle is basically that a sensor mass is moved relative to a substrate as a response to the corresponding acceleration or yaw rate of the sensor. For this purpose, the sensor mass is movably mounted on the substrate by means of a bending spring device, which is generally composed of one or more bending springs. The design of these bending springs primarily determines the particular directions in which the sensor mass is movable. The spring stiffnesses of the bending springs are different in the individual spatial directions in order to more or less permit different bending directions. This difference in movability may be influenced by varying the cross-sectional surface area of the bending spring, and also by virtue of the spatial course of the bending spring. In particular for a meandering design of the bending spring, relatively high elasticity may be achieved in the plane of the meander. Ideally, the bending springs are linear, and in this case are characterized by a single spring constant. "Linearity" means that a constant force acting in the direction of the provided deflection direction always results in the same deflection of the spring, regardless of how strongly the spring has already been deflected. However, this is not the case for the bending springs in sensors of the prior art. Evaluation of the acting forces is therefore difficult and prone to errors.
Micromechanical sensors are known from U.S. Pat. No. 6,705,164 B2 and WO 01/20259 A1 in which sensor masses are attached to other movable masses by means of a bending spring device, or to a substrate by means of an anchoring. The bending spring device is composed of multiple individual bending springs which have meanders. Elastic movability between the two masses or between the mass and the substrate or anchoring is achieved as a result of the meanders. The meanders are each attached to the components of the sensor, which are movable relative to one another, via short stubs. The movability of the bending spring device essentially results from the meanders themselves, not from the stubs. A disadvantage of these bending spring devices of the prior art is that, for the same force, the bend of the bending spring device cannot be linearly deflected. This is particularly disadvantageous since, for example, for the same Coriolis force the path of deflection of the corresponding sensor mass becomes smaller with increasing deflection. This results in errors in detecting the associated acceleration or yaw rate values, or, in order to compensate for the errors, requires complicated computations which likewise adversely affect the accuracy and the speed of display of the acceleration or yaw rate.
A bending spring device is known from U.S. Pat. No. 6,954,301 B2 which extends in a meandering shape on both sides of short fastening stubs. Although linearity of the bending spring device may be improved in this manner, a controllable stiffness of the bending spring device is difficult to achieve. In addition, the spring is asymmetrical due to the S-shaped curve, which may result in parasitic effects which are difficult to control. Such a bending spring device is generally very soft, and it is difficult to introduce a predefined stiffness into this bending spring device.
The object of the present invention, therefore, is to provide a micromechanical sensor in which a bending spring device is present that allows a deflection of the bending spring device which is as linear as possible.
The object is achieved by a micromechanical sensor having the features of claim 1.
A micromechanical sensor according to the invention has a substrate and at least one mass which is situated on the substrate and which moves relative to the substrate for detecting linear and/or angular accelerations of the sensor. On the one hand, the mass moves in the sense of a drive motion form, which in the absence of external accelerations is stationary, and on the other hand responds with detection motions when acceleration forces and/or Coriolis forces act on the sensor. The moving sensor mass is attached to the substrate by means of at least one bending spring device. Alternatively, multiple masses which move toward one another may be connected by at least one bending spring and moved relative to one another. Consequently, it is not necessary in each case for the sensor mass to be situated directly on the substrate. In some embodiments of micromechanical sensors according to the invention, the sensor mass may also be attached to a drive mass, for example, and together with the drive mass moved as a primary motion, and moved relative to the drive mass only for indicating an acceleration force and/or Coriolis force. The sensor mass and the drive mass are then connected to one another via the corresponding bending spring device. The bending spring device is designed in the form of at least one meander.
According to the invention, the bending spring device has multiple, in particular two, spring bars extending essentially parallel to one another for improving the linear characteristic, i.e., the linear spring characteristic, of the bending spring device during the rotational motion, and at least one meander on at least one, preferably on all, of the spring bars.
The design provided according to the invention for the bending spring device by means of a multiple spring bar having at least two spring bars extending essentially in parallel allows a targeted, predeterminable flexural strength of the bending spring device. The additional provision of meanders on at least one, preferably on all, of the spring bars contributes very advantageously to the linearity of the bending characteristic of the bending spring device. The bending spring device according to the invention is therefore linearly and uniformly bendable, at least with regard to deflections in the plane in which the meanders are situated. According to the invention, not only double spring bars, but also multiple spring bars having more than two spring bars are possible, although the double spring bars described below are particularly advantageous. In addition, multiple meanders are possible. By combining the multiple spring bars, which take part in the bending of the bending spring device, with meanders associated therewith, a spring characteristic is obtained such that the linearity of the bending spring device is provided over the entire range of its deflections.
It is particularly advantageous when at least two of the spring bars, but preferably all of the provided spring bars, extend essentially parallel to one another. A particularly uniform provided stiffness of the bending spring device is thus achieved, the bending spring device being substantially linearly deflectable over a large bending range. In another embodiment of the invention, however, it may also be provided that individual spring bars or all of the spring bars extend not in parallel, but tapering toward one another, for example. A curved design of the spring bars may also be advantageous, in which case the parallelism of the spring bars no longer has to be provided. The most favorable embodiment of the invention should be selected in each case, depending on the application and the required stiffness of the bending spring device.
If the meander is designed in such a way that it merges into the spring bar in a rounded manner, stresses which are caused by bending may be achieved which are more uniform and which do not have unacceptable peaks, even in extreme bending situations.
Similarly as for the meander merging into the spring bar in a rounded manner in order to avoid stress peaks, it is advantageous when the spring bar(s) likewise merge(s) in a rounded manner into the adjacent component, in particular the sensor mass or the substrate or an anchoring for attachment to the substrate. Stress peaks are thus reduced not only in the region of the meander, but also in the remainder of the bending spring device. Of course, the rounded transition may also be provided without the rounding at the meander.
In one advantageous embodiment of the invention, another measure for reducing and evening out the stresses in the bending spring device under load may be achieved by the rounded transition having a nonuniform progression, i.e., a non-constant radius of curvature. The meanders as well as the spring bars are thus connected to the adjacent components in a particularly gentle manner with regard to their stresses. The uniformity of the relation between the applied force or applied torque and the resulting deflection, and the associated accuracy of the measurement by the sensor, are thus improved.
It is particularly advantageous when the rounded transition is elliptical. As a result, it is possible in particular to reduce peak stresses in the springs, which may be introduced into the sensor due to an externally acting shock event, and thus make damage to the sensor more unlikely.
In one particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the meander and/or the spring bar merge(s) in a branched manner into the sensor mass, the substrate, and/or an anchoring for attachment to the substrate. Stress peaks in the transition points are thus additionally reduced. The linear deflection of the bending spring device is assisted in this manner.
When the meander and/or the spring bar has/have an elliptical bend or a convex or concave curvature, this supports a bending characteristic which reduces stress peaks even in extreme situations, such as mechanical shock events, for example. Damage to the sensor is thus largely avoided. The linear bending characteristic of the bending spring device improves the signal evaluation by the sensor.
The meander is advantageously situated off-center with respect to the spring bar, in particular, closer to moving components than to the stationary anchoring of the bending spring device. This results in different lengths of the spring bar on each respective side of the meander. The length of the particular spring bar section should be selected depending on the application and the desired flexural strength. However, it has been shown that, in particular for a stationary part and a moving part, or when a less intensely moved component is connected to a more intensely moved component, the meander should be situated closer to the more intensely moved component. The spring bar section present between the meander and the more intensely moved component should therefore be smaller than the section facing the less intensely moved component or the stationary component.
The distance between the bars of the meander is preferably less than the distance between the two spring bars. It has been shown that particularly high linearity of the bending spring device is achievable using such a design. In any case, it must be ensured that contact between the individual spring bars is avoided during severe bending of the bending spring device. Such contact would result in damage and intense interference with the linearity requirements of the bending spring device.
When the distance between the two spring bars is a multiple of the width of the spring bars, a bending spring device is advantageously provided which is very elastic and has individual bending bars, but still has relatively high overall strength. In addition, contact of the individual spring bars is avoided due to the large distance.
The length of the two spring bars is advantageously greater than the length of the bars of the meander. As a result, the important bending motion of the bending spring device is provided by the spring bars themselves. Only one compensating structure is provided by the meander in order to support the linearity of the bending spring device.
When the spring bars of the double spring bar and/or the bars of the meander have a symmetrical design, uniform bending of the bending spring device in both provided directions is ensured. On the other hand, one-sided bending may be provided by an asymmetrical design of the bending spring device.
To allow particularly harmonic and uniform bending without stress peaks on individual parts of the bending spring device, it is advantageous when the meander has a radius of curvature having an internal midpoint. The radius of curvature should be as large as possible in order to obtain a small curvature of the meander. Stress peaks in the region of the turns or inflections of the spring are thus reduced.
When the meander has at least one further radius of curvature having a midpoint outside the meander, so that the meander has a convex curvature, a particularly harmonic and uniform transition is provided which likewise contributes to the reduction of stress peaks.

Micromechanical sensor with multiple spring bars


An improved light source for illuminating optical fibers includes a high-intensity gas-discharge lamp positioned within a reflector assembly that focuses radiation from the lamp onto a remote focal point, and that selectively transmits and reflects desired visible radiation and attenuates undesirable ultraviolet and infrared radiation. Alignment procedures in assembly process ensure maximization of flux intensity supplied to optical fibers positioned at the remote focal point of the reflector assembly.

Field of the Invention
This invention relates to light sources particularly suitable for illuminating optical fibers, and more particularly to an assembly including arc-discharge lamp and reflector which efficiently transfers visible radiation and inhibits ultraviolet and infrared radiation between light source and fibers.
Numerous fiber-optic illumination applications require a light source that is capable of launching light flux into an optical fiber to propagate along the length of the fiber in low-order modes for long distance propagation, or in higher-order modes, for example, for lateral emission through the side surface of the fiber. Applications of the former type commonly use glass optical fibers, and applications of the latter type commonly use plastic optical fibers. For plastic optical fibers, care must be taken to minimize heat and ultraviolet radiation along with visible illumination because of the deleterious effect on plastic fiber materials of radiation at both ends of the spectrum around the visible spectrum. In addition, a light source for illuminating optical fibers ideally should supply all of the visible output flux to a focal point at which the end of an optical fiber is positioned for maximally efficient transfer of light flux into the optical fiber.


Cosmetic composition for cosmetic treatment of keratinous fibers, comprising:    (a) from about 0.1 to about 5.0 wt % fibers    (b) from about 5.0 to about 19 wt % ethanol    (c) from about 78 to about 94 wt % propellant.

Nowadays, an elegant hairstyle is generally considered to be an indispensable element of a well-groomed appearance. An aspect of hair care is reviving and cleaning the hair.
In the realm of cleaning, reviving and deodorizing keratin-containing fibers, the sprayed application of solid cosmetic agents has some degree of importance. As a rule, these agents are starch or starch derivatives, which are applied to the hair as an component of dry shampoos and then either left in the hair or brushed out.
As with other sprayed applications as well, a disadvantage of the sprayed application of dry shampoos containing solids is the technical difficulty of guaranteeing that the sprayed cosmetic will be spread evenly. To solve this problem in the past, various configurations particularly of the spray apparatus including the spray head have been described.


A hydraulic drive and method for controlling such a drive includes two drive motors configured to be controlled by at least one continuously adjustable distribution valve. The two drive motors are configured as adjustable hydraulic machines.

The disclosure relates to a hydraulic drive and to a method for controlling a drive.
Hydraulic drives of this type are implemented in the case of mobile working implements, for example compact and mini diggers, in which each wheel or each chain is assigned a hydraulic motor, which hydraulic motors are individually controllable in order to change the movement parameters, for example the direction of travel and the drive speed.
DE 43 25 703 A1 discloses a hydrostatic drive, in which hydraulic motors assigned to each wheel of a wheeled vehicle are hydraulically connected via continuously adjustable directional control valves to a pump assigned to the two hydraulic motors. Said pump is designed as an axial piston pump which is pivotable about zero, wherein the volumetric flow of pressure medium and the direction of flow of the pressure medium to the respectively assigned hydraulic machine is settable by individual control of the continuously adjustable directional control valves.
A drive of this type may be used, for example, in a hydraulic system of a mobile working implement, in which, in addition to the hydrostatic drive, all or some working functions are also supplied via the variable displacement pump. Hydraulic control arrangements of this type are designed as an LUDV system, as described, for example, in DE 10 2006 002 920 A1 belonging to the applicant. In this case, a continuously adjustable directional control valve with an LUDV pressure balance connected downstream is assigned in each case to each working function, for example to differential cylinders for adjusting a boom, a leg, a shovel or a hydraulic motor for adjusting the slewing gear. Said LUDV pressure balance is acted upon by the maximum load pressure of all of the consumers, with the effect of reducing a throttle cross section, and by the pressure downstream of a metering diaphragm, which is formed by the assigned directional control valve, with the effect of increasing a throttle cross section. In the regulating position of each LUDV pressure balance, the pressure in the pressure medium flow path between the assigned metering diaphragm and the respective LUDV pressure balance corresponds to the maximum load pressure which is then throttled via said LUDV pressure balance to the individual load pressure of the particular consumer. Via said LUDV pressure balance, the pressure drop across the metering diaphragms is kept constant irrespective of the load pressure, wherein, in the event of a saturation deficit, the volumetric flow of pressure medium to all of the controlled consumers of a circuit is reduced by the same ratio. In this case, the variable displacement pump is preferably likewise controlled depending on the maximum load pressure of all of the connected consumers such that the pump pressure is at a predetermined pressure differential above said maximum load pressure.
During cornering, the load moment at the hydraulic motor on the outside of the curve rises and correspondingly drops at the hydraulic motor on the inside of the curve. The resulting large pressure difference is compensated for by the LUDV pressure balance of the directional control valve which supplies the drive motor on the inside of the curve. High hydraulic losses occur and the power regulator of the variable displacement pump may reduce the volumetric flow because of the high pressure load on the drive motor on the outside of the curve, which leads to a significant reduction in the cornering speed. A further disadvantage of conventional solutions of this type consists in that, due to manufacturing tolerances, the maximum volumetric flows of pressure medium to the two drive motors cannot be set precisely to the same value, and therefore additional measures have to be taken in order to assist straight line stability.
In the publication "Hydrostatische Antriebe mit Sekunddärregelung [Hydrostatic drives with secondary regulation]", Der Hydraulik-trainer volume 6; Vogel-Buchverlag, Wurzburg, 1989, a drive for a dipper dredger with secondary regulation is shown, wherein each drive and the additional working functions are supplied with pressure medium via a variable displacement pump arrangement, and each chain of the dipper dredger is assigned two adjustable drive motors. The system is implemented with secondary regulation, in which the rotational speed regulated drive motors are connected to a pressure network and are therefore charged with an impressed pressure. That is to say, in this solution, the rotational speed of the drive motors is regulated in such a manner that said rotational speed is achieved with the impressed network pressure irrespective of the respective load pressure.
A secondary regulation of this type requires a considerable outlay in terms of regulation technology. A further disadvantage of this known solution is that, if the regulating unit breaks down, the drive motors break down, and therefore the mobile working implement is only able still to be moved with great difficulty.
By contrast, it is the object of the disclosure to provide a simply constructed hydrostatic drive which is operable with low hydraulic losses and has improved operational reliability. It is furthermore the object of the disclosure to provide a method for controlling such a hydrostatic drive.

Hydraulic drive and method for controlling such a hydraulic drive


The instant invention generally provides a porous filter medium, a porous composite filter medium, a filter assembly, processes of making the same, and processes suitable for filtering contaminants from liquids.

Filter media for filtering liquids, also interchangeably referred to herein as liquid filtration filter media or LF filter media, are generally categorized in one of two types. A first type of filter media is comprised of conventional woven or nonwoven fibers. These LF filter media frequently have pore sizes greater than 1 micrometer (μm). A second type of LF filter media is porous film membranes, which are normally used in conjunction with a porous support layer. The porous film membranes usually have pore sizes less than 1 μm and are typically used to accomplish fine filtration of a liquid containing particulates. Examples of fine filtration are microfiltration, in which particulates having diameters in the range of from about 0.1 μm to about 10 μm are filtered from the liquid, ultrafiltration, in which particulates having diameters in the range of about 5 nanometers (nm) to about 500 nm are filtered from the liquid, and reverse osmosis, in which particulates having diameters in the range of about 1 angstrom (Å) to about 1 nm are filtered from the liquid. Sometimes the term "nanofiltration" is used for the filtration process to separate particles in the range of from 0.5 nm to 50 nm. Conventional LF filter media and porous film membranes are each suitable for use in microfiltration.
In order to try for particle size retention performance with nonwoven fiber-type LF filter media that is equivalent to performance obtained with porous film membranes having pore sizes of less than 10 μm, the nonwoven media have been made with increased depth, basis weight, or both. This results in increased tortuosity through which a particle would have to pass in order to escape capture by the medium, and increased particle holding capacity of the medium. Increasing the depth of fibers (e.g., number of fiber layers) in a nonwoven fiber-type LF filter medium, however, undesirably increases the pressure drop (also referred to as medium resistance) across the medium when in use. Increased pressure drop translates into increased energy for the filter medium user and shorter filter medium lifetime. Membranes offer a desirable improvement in fine particle retention but suffer increased pressure drop and reduced liquid flow rate (also referred to as flux).
Membranes also tend to be cost-prohibitive and do not provide a satisfactory contaminant-holding capacity over an entire range of pressure drop. These drawbacks limit the useful applications of porous film membrane-type LF filter media.
PCT International Patent Application Publication Number WO 2007/041311 mentions LF filter media having mean flow pore sizes of between about 0.5 μm and about 5.0 μm, inclusive. In WO 2007/041311, Table 1 mentions a lowest mean flow pore size of 0.55 μm for a filter medium of Example 8 having a basis weight of 88.1 grams per square meter (g/m2).
There is a need in the art for improved filter media.


A video endoscope, in particular a video mediastinoscope, comprises an elongate rigid shaft and a handle detachably attached to a proximal end section of the shaft, wherein the shaft comprises an optics shaft comprising an imaging optics and an electronic image sensor, wherein the optics shaft and a plug connector housing arranged at a proximal end of the optics shaft form a hermetically sealed unit enclosing the imaging optics and the image sensor, and wherein the handle comprises a handle housing in which an electronics unit is accommodated, wherein the electronics unit is hermetically sealed. The invention also relates to a method for configuring a video endoscope.

Endoscopes for medical or non-medical applications have an elongate shaft configured for being introduced into an internal cavity of a human or animal body or another object to be examined. In a distal (i.e. distant from a user) end section of the shaft an imaging optics is arranged for generating an image of an object field in the cavity of the body or object. Further, the endoscope has a handle attached to a proximal (i.e. close to a user) end section of the shaft. In video endoscopes, which also are denoted electronic endoscopes, the generated endoscopic image is picked up by an electronic image sensor. According to a widespread design, the elongate shaft is rigid, and the imaging optics and the electronic image sensor are contained in an optics shaft arranged in the shaft of the endoscope.
Reusable medical endoscopes require cleaning and sterilization after each use. During sterilization the endoscope is exposed to chemically aggressive media and/or, in an autoclave process, to high temperature and pressurized steam. On the other hand, video endoscopes comprise delicate and expensive optical and electronic components which need to be protected against contamination, in particular against moisture that may intrude into the endoscope in a sterilization process. Frequently endoscopes are designed to be disassembled for cleaning and sterilization, such that the different parts can be subjected to different sterilization processes, or some parts are protected by a sterile cover during a medical endoscopic intervention. Further, it is known to enclose optical and electronic components of an endoscope in a hermetically sealed chamber.
As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,083,151, a medical instrument has a tube-like element, a handle bent-off from the tube-like element, an endoscope having a shaft, a camera module connected to the endoscope, a light pipe and a guide provided on the tube-like element for receiving the shaft of the endoscope. The endoscope is provided with two coupling elements extending in a direction of the handle and into an inside of the handle, one of the coupling elements being coupled to the light pipe and another of the coupling elements being coupled to the camera module, and the camera module being disposed inside of the handle. After completion of an operation, the medical instrument is disassembled for sterilizing the different parts.
According to US 2014/0371530 A1, an endoscope shaft of a sideways viewing video endoscope comprises a tube that hermetically encloses the elements of the video endoscope that are essential for viewing. The shaft is closed at the distal end with an oblique window. The proximal end of the tube is closed by an insulating plate or a hermetic feed-through formed as a glass mold, and is penetrated by contact pins.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,063,663 B2 discloses an endoscopic system that includes an endoscope and an illumination assembly connected to a proximal body of the endoscope. The illumination assembly includes a solid-state light source assembly that provides illumination to a working area from multiple LEDs. A fiber-optic bundle conveys light from the solid state light source assembly to a distal end of the endoscope. At the interface of the solid state light source, the fiber-optic bundle is epoxied into a bushing, thereby creating a hermetic seal. However, it has turned out that it can hardly be completely avoided that traces of moisture pass through a sealed feed-through of a bundle of glass fibers in an autoclaving procedure.
In U.S. Pat. No. 9,107,573 B2 a flexible endoscope is disclosed comprising a handle having a first sealed enclosure, a flexible shaft having a second sealed enclosure, and a coupling mechanism releasably attaching the handle to the proximal end of the flexible shaft. In the second sealed enclosure an illumination unit and an imaging unit are disposed. A check valve is mounted on a proximal end of the flexible shaft, the check valve being configured to connect an interior of the second sealed enclosure to outside. The first and second sealed enclosures seal off fluid-tight internal components of the handle and the flexible shaft from outside in a coupled state and a decoupled state of the endoscope. Flexible endoscopes, however, are generally not subjected to an autoclave, and thus do not face the same challenges for sterilization as an autoclavable rigid endoscope.
Video endoscopes, in particular rigid video endoscopes, are subject to high requirements regarding usability, handling, and sterilization. Prior art rigid video endoscopes have shown to be non-optimal in these respects. In particular, in most such prior art endoscopes some components are not autoclavable and need a treatment different from that of other components, which imposes additional working steps and may incorporate potential risks. Moreover, in case of damage or malfunction of one of the optical and electronic components, the endoscope as a whole must be replaced or sent to the manufacturer for service, thereby increasing cost and instrumentation downtimes.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an endoscope in which the above mentioned drawbacks are largely avoided. In particular, it is an object of the invention to provide a rigid video endoscope having improved autoclavability and serviceability. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a corresponding method for configuring an endoscope.

Video endoscope and method for configuring a video endoscope


The present disclosure relates to a method and device for performing an elliptic curve cryptography computation comprising: twisting, by a first device based on a first index of quadratic or higher order twist (d), a first point (P′KB) on a first elliptic curve over a further elliptic curve twisted with respect to the first elliptic curve to generate a twisted key (PKB); transmitting the twisted key (PKB) to a further device; receiving, from the further device, a return value (ShS) generated based on the twisted key (PKB); and twisting, by the first device based on the first index of quadratic or higher order twist (d), the return value (ShS) over the first elliptic curve to generate a result (ShS′) of the ECC computation.

Elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) is used for a variety of cryptographic tasks, including for key generation/agreement and signature generation and verification. An advantage of ECC over non-elliptic curve cryptography is that a far smaller key can provide equivalent security.
However, such ECC tasks generally involve relatively complex computations, which, for computational efficiency, are generally performed by a dedicated cryptographic coprocessor.
In some applications, it would be desirable to allow devices with relatively low levels of processing resources, and in particular devices that do not include a dedicated cryptographic coprocessor, to benefit from the advantages of ECC. However, there are technical difficulties in providing such a solution while maintaining security among the actors involved in the system.

Method and device for elliptic curve computations by low resource devices


A spread illuminating apparatus includes a light conductive plate provided with a light entry face at its corner, having a spot-like light source disposed close to or in contact with the light entry face, and having a light reflection pattern formed on its major surface. The light reflection pattern comprises a plurality of arced grooves and is configured such that the grooves have their depths increasing with an increase in the distance from the light source, and that each of the grooves has its depth increasing with an increase in the light emission angle made by a line of a light emission direction with respect to a diagonal line from the light source. Thus, the light reflection pattern is adapted to reflect more light at an area farther from the light source and the diagonal line as well, thereby further improving uniformity in brightness all over the light conductive plate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a spread illuminating apparatus, and more particularly to a spread illuminating apparatus used with a liquid crystal display.
2. Description of the Related Art
A liquid crystal display (hereinafter referred to as LCD), which is small in power consumption, low in profile, and light in weight, is heavily used in electric products such as a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as PC), a cellular phone, and the like, and is increasingly demanded.
Since a liquid crystal of the LCD does not emit light by itself, the LCD requires an illuminating means to radiate light on the liquid crystal when used in a place where sunlight or interior lighting is not fully available.
A PC, particularly notebook-type PC, and a cellular phone are required to be lower in profile and smaller in power consumption, and the requirements are fulfilled by a spread illuminating apparatus of side light type, an example of which is shown in FIG. 10 (disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2000-11723).
In FIG. 10, a spread illuminating apparatus 1 is disposed over a front shoe F (upper side of the figure) of a reflection-type liquid crystal element 2. The spread illuminating apparatus 1 comprises: a light conductive plate 3 shaped substantially rectangular and made of a light transmissible material; a light conductive bar made of a light transmissible material; and spot-like light sources 5, 5 such as light emitting diodes (LEDs).
The light conductive plate 3 has a major surface 6 (upper aide in the figure, hereinafter referred to as xe2x80x9ctop surfacexe2x80x9d) which is an observing surface, and another major surface 7 (hereinafter referred to as xe2x80x9cbottom surfacexe2x80x9d) which faces the reflection-type liquid crystal element 2.
The light conductive bar 4 is disposed with its side surface 8 positioned close to or in contact with an end surface 9 of the light conductive plate 3, and has the light sources 5, 5 disposed on its both end surfaces 10, 10, respectively. The light conductive bar has an optical path conversion means 12 formed on its side surface 11 opposite to the side surface 8 facing the end surface 9 of the light conductive plate 3. The optical path conversion means 12 comprises a plurality of grooves 13 substantially triangular in section and a plurality of flat portions 14 present between adjacent grooves 13, 13, and is adapted to guide light rays emitted from the light sources 5, 5 toward the end surface 9 of the light conductive plate 3.
The light conductive plate 3 has a light reflection pattern 15 formed on the top surface 6. The light reflection pattern 15 comprises a plurality of grooves 16 shaped substantially triangular in section and extending parallel to the end surface 9 of the light conductive plate 3 and a plurality of flat portions present between adjacent grooves 16, 16, and is adapted to reflect light rays exiting out from the light conductive bar 4 toward the bottom surface 7.
In the spread illuminating apparatus 1 thus structured, light rays emitted from the light sources 5, 5 and introduced into the light conductive bar 4 have their optical paths changed at the optical path conversion means 12, and travel into the light conducive plate 3 through the end surface 9.
The light rays introduced into the light conductive plate 3 repeat reflections and reflections at the light reflection pattern 15 and other portions, progress toward an end surface opposite to the end surface 9, and exit out in the meantime from the bottom surface 7 to illuminate the reflection-type liquid crystal element 2 disposed close to the bottom surface 7, whereby the reflection-type liquid crystal element 2 performs emission (indirect emission) display function.
In the above described spread illuminating apparatus 1, the light rays emitted from the light sources 5, 5 are consumed while traveling inside the light conductive bar 4, and have their amounts decreased. To overcome this problem, a spread illuminating apparatus was disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2001-35222.
The spread illuminating apparatus disclosed therein is shown in FIG. 11. A light entry face 21 is provided at a corner 18 of a light conductive plate 3 so as to be substantially orthogonal to a line 20 (hereinafter referred to as xe2x80x9cdiagonal linexe2x80x9d) defined by connecting the corner 18 and a corner 19 diagonally opposite to the corner 18. A spot-like light source 5, for example an LED, is disposed close to or in contact with the light entry face 21. A light reflection pattern 15A is formed on a top surface of the light conductive plate 3. The light reflection pattern 15A comprises a plurality of arced grooves 16A and a plurality of flat portions 17A present between adjacent grooves 16A, 16A. The arced grooves 16A correspond to partial circumferences of circles which are concentric with one another about the light source 15 and which have respective different radii. Since this spread illuminating apparatus eliminates the light conductive bar 4 used in the apparatus shown in FIG. 10, light rays emitted from the light source 5 are introduced immediately into the light conductive palate 8, thereby preventing the loss of light conventionally incurred due to light traveling inside the light conductive bar 4.
Light rays are desired to exit out from the light conductive plates 3 in a uniform manner so as to ensure excellent illumination precision. For example, in the spread illuminating apparatus 1 disclosed in the aforementioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2000-11723 (see FIG. 10), the grooves 16 of the light reflection pattern 15 have their depths increasing and/or have their in-between intervals decreasing with an increase in the distance from the light conductive bar 4. With this structure, light rays are reflected at the light refection pattern 15 toward the bottom surface 17 in a larger amount at a portion farther from the light conductive bar 14, whereby uniform emission is ensured all over the light conductive plate 3.
This is the case with the apparatus shown in FIG. 11, and the arced grooves 16A have their depths increasing and/or have their in-between intervals decreasing with an increase in the distance from the light source 5 in order to ensure uniform emission all over the light conductive plate 3. In this case, however, as shown in FIG. 12, the brightness decreases from an area positioned at and near the diagonal line 20 (hereinafter referred to as xe2x80x9cdiagonal line areaxe2x80x9d) toward an area positioned circumferentially away from the diagonal line area, specifically the brightness decreases with an increase in the emission angle xcfx86 made by the light direction line with respect to the diagonal line 20. This happens because the LED as the light source 5 has a light emission characteristic shown in FIG. 12, where with a datum luminous intensity defined by the luminous intensity of an LED whose emission angle xcfx86 of a direction along the paper surface of FIG. 11 (Xxe2x80x94X direction in FIG. 12) is 0xc2x0 and whose emission angle (referred to also as xe2x80x9cxcfx86xe2x80x9d for the sake of convenience) of a direction orthogonal to the paper surface of FIG. 11 (Yxe2x80x94Y direction in FIG. 12) is 0xc2x0, the ratio of the luminous intensity (relative luminosity) of the LED at a prescribed emission angle xcfx86 (Xxe2x80x94X direction or Yxe2x80x94Y direction) to the datum luminosity intensity is taken along the ordinate and shown as a function of the emission angle xcfx86 taken along the abscissa. As shown in FIG. 12, the relative luminosity decreases gradually as indicated by the solid line while the emission angle xcfx86 (Xxe2x80x94X direction) increases from 0xc2x0, hence the area corresponding to a larger emission angle xcfx86 has a lower luminous intensity in the spread illuminating apparatus shown in FIG. 11.
The present invention has been made in the light of the above, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a spread illuminating apparatus which ensures prevention of loss of light and improvement of illuminating precision
In order to achieve the object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, the spread illuminating apparatus comprises: a light conductive plate shaped substantially rectangular and made of a light transmissible material; a spot-like light source disposed close to or in contact with a light entry face provided at a corner of the light conductive plate; and a light reflection pattern which is formed on a major surface of the light conductive plate, comprises a plurality of arced grooves corresponding to circumferences of circles being concentric with one another about the light source and having respective different radii, and which is configured such that the depths of the arced grooves increase with an increase in a distance from the light source, and/or such that the intervals between adjacent arced grooves decrease with an increase in a distance from the light source, while each of the arced grooves has its depth increasing continuously and gradually with an increase in a distance from a line orthogonal to the light entry face.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the spread illuminating apparatus of the first aspect, each of the arced grooves has its depth determined according to an angle made by the line orthogonal to the light entry face with respect to a line defined by connecting a point concerned and the light source.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the spread illuminating apparatus of the first or second aspect, the light reflection pattern further comprises a plurality of flat portions each present between any two adjacent ones of the arced grooves.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the spread illuminating apparatus of the first or second aspect, the light reflection pattern is configured such that the plurality of arced grooves are continuously arrayed.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the spread illuminating apparatus of any one of the first to fourth aspects, the plurality of arced grooves are shaped substantially triangular in section.
The spread illuminating apparatus according to the present invention eliminates the light conductive bar conventionally used, whereby light rays emitted from the light source are introduced directly into the light conductive plate, thus preventing the loss of light conventionally incurred due to light traveling inside the light conductive bar. Further, the light reflection pattern of the spread illuminating apparatus is structured such that not only the grooves have their depths increasing with an increase in the distance from the light source but also each of the grooves has its depth increasing continuously and gradually with an increase in the distance from the diagonal line, whereby the light reflection pattern reflects more light toward the front surface of the reflection-type liquid crystal element at an area positioned far from the light source and the diagonal line than at an area positioned at or close to the light source and the diagonal line, thus achieving further uniform spread emission all the way over the light conductive plate, resulting in improvement of illuminating precision.

Spread illuminating apparatus without light conductive bar


A thin non-punch-through semiconductor device with a patterned collector layer on the collector side is proposed. The thin NPT RC-IGBT semiconductor device has a collector layer with a pattern of p/n shorts, an emitter side structured as a functional MOS cell, a base layer arranged between the emitter and the collector sides, but without the use of a buffer/field-stop layer. A low doped bipolar gain control layer having a thickness of less than 10 μm may be used in combination with a short pattern of the collector to reduce the bipolar gain and achieve thinner devices with lower losses and high operating temperature capability. The doping concentration of the base layer and a thickness of the base layer are adapted such that the distance from the end of the electric field region to the patterned collector, at breakdown voltage, is less than 15% of the total device thickness.

Power electronics applications such as in grid systems, renewables, industrial drives and automotive, require high power semiconductor devices with low losses and high efficiency. One development trend to achieve this target is the reduction of the total device thickness. Typically, in power semiconductor devices that include a pn-junction, substrates having a thickness being larger than the maximum thickness of a depletion layer in reverse operation are used. Thus, even at maximum reverse voltage, i.e. slightly below a breakdown voltage of the device, the depletion layer and the electrical field prevailing therein do not reach to a collector of the device. Such devices are also referred to as non-punch-through devices (NPT).
In the ISPSD 1996 paper Optimizing the Vertical IGBT Structure—The NPT Concept as the Most Economic and Electrically Ideal Solution for a 1200V-IGBT by T. Laska et. al., a typical non-punch-through (NPT) insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) is described. A cross section of such an NPT-IGBT 10 is schematically shown in FIG. 1 and a representation of the corresponding doping concentration profile and electrical field at breakdown voltage Vbd is schematically shown in FIG. 2.
For devices rated below 2000V with final device thicknesses below 300 μm, the device may be produced by using an n-doped wafer having a homogeneous doping concentration for forming a base layer 4. On top of the wafer all processes for manufacturing layers on an emitter side 31, also called cathode side, are performed, i.e. active area, junction termination and metallization on the emitter side are produced. Afterwards, the wafer is thinned to the desired thickness leaving a "safe distance" or "space charge free (SCF) zone" of typically above 15% or more typically above 20% of the total device thickness between the electric field (or space charge region) edge 50 and the collector side 21 also called anode side of the wafer at break down voltage Vbd of the semiconductor, since the semiconductor device can be destroyed if the electric field reaches the collector layer 6. The collector side is opposite to the emitter side. Then p-type particles are implanted on the collector side of the wafer for forming a collector layer. The wafer is then annealed at 400° C. to 500° C. in order to activate the p-type particles without damage to the structure on the emitter side.
However, it has been observed that electrical losses in electronic power devices strongly depend upon the thickness of the device. Accordingly, devices with reduced thickness have been developed as punch-through semiconductors by using an additional buffer or field-stop layer 5. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,762,080 B2 a punch-through (PT) insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) is described. Alongside the NPT-IGBT, a cross section of such a PT-IGBT 20 is schematically shown in FIG. 1 and a representation of the corresponding doping concentration profile and electrical field at Vbd is schematically shown in FIG. 2 while depicting the potential thickness reduction achieved with PT structure compared to a NPT structure. The PT device may be produced in a similar way to the NPT method described above but the wafer further includes a highly doped n-type buffer layer 5 formed on the collector side 21 opposite to the emitter side 31. The buffer layer 5 for devices rated below 2000V can be formed before or after thinning the device by means of implantation and/or deep diffusions, proton irradiation and low temperature anneal below 450° C., or high energy phosphorus implantation and laser anneal to mention a few methods. In principle, due to the continuously rising doping concentration in the buffer layer 5 towards the collector side, the reduction of the electric field during operation of the device increases within the buffer layer 5. Thus, the buffer layer 5 serves mainly, in the blocking case, for decelerating and stopping the electric field (shown in FIG. 2 by the dotted line) before reaching the collector and thus keeping it away from said collector. Such devices with n-buffer layers may show reduced electrical losses due to the effect of the thickness reduction and low leakage current at higher temperatures due to the low pnp bipolar gain. However, they may not always provide satisfying electrical characteristics with respect to turn-off softness and short circuit performance. Typically, the buffer layer has a thickness in the range of 3 μm to 30 μm with many concept variants found in prior-art. Furthermore, introducing the n-type buffer layer 5 is a complicated process for implementing with thin wafer devices due to necessary deep diffusions and/or defect introduction and activation.
Thus, NPT devices are much more economic to produce compared to punch-through devices and have other inherent benefits such as softness and higher short circuit ruggedness. However, with conventional design rules, the NPT devices are severely limited by the thickness of the base layer. In order to reduce the losses, reducing the thickness of the base layer by just conventional means leads to significant deterioration of device blocking performance due to the increase in the pnp bipolar gain amplification factor. Therefore, as a typical example, all commercially available NPT-IGBTs rated at 1200V are currently designed with a typical wafer thickness around 180 um compared to a thickness of about 130 μm for punch-through type devices. In addition, such NPT devices are also limited in operation to a maximum junction temperature of 125 C.
In the ISPSD 1990 paper Effect of a shorted collector on characteristics of IGBTs by H. Akiyama et. al., a NPT-IGBT 100 with collector shorts (CS) or NPT CS-IGBT is described while in the ISPSD 1995 paper Punch-through IGBTs with homogeneous n-base operating at 4 kV line voltage by H. Dettmer et. al., a PT IGBT 200 with collector shorts (CS) is described or PT CS-IGBT. The cross sections of both devices are schematically shown in FIG. 3 and a representation of the corresponding doping concentration profile and electrical field at Vbd is schematically shown in FIG. 4 while depicting the potential thickness reduction achieved with PT CS-IGBT compared to a NPT CS-IGBT structure. The basic device structures may be produced in a similar way to the NPT and PT methods described above but the wafer further includes a very highly doped n-type short layer 8 formed on the collector side 21 opposite to the emitter side 31. The n-type shorts are typically introduced for devices rated below 2000V after device thinning with a standard photolithography masking process of the n-type short layer 8 implantation on the collector side 21 and subsequent activation at low temperatures below 500° C. or laser anneal.
The collector shorting provides another method to control the collector injection efficiency in power devices. However, for an IGBT, a collector short also introduces a reverse conducting path which is undesirable when an IGBT is utilized with an external free-wheeling diode in most applications. The device characteristics can be altered depending on the p-type collector 6 and n-type short 8 dimensions and area ratios.
However, by adjusting the collector short design and IGBT design, a fully functional Reverse Conducting (RC) IGBT can be realized by eliminating the need for an external anti-parallel free-wheeling fast diode. In the US patent application US2005/0017290 a non-punch-through NPT RC-IGBT 100 is described, which comprises within one wafer an insulated gate bipolar transistor with a built-in freewheeling diode. A punch-through PT RC-IGBT 200 can also be realised as described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,212,283B2. The PT RC-IGBT shows typically strong on-state IV snap-back behaviour due to the high buffer doping concentration. The snap-back phenomenon is highly undesirable and can lead to unstable current sharing between parallel devices during switching. Therefore, improved short layout designs are needed for PT RC-IGBTs to lower or eliminate the snap-back phenomenon as described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,212,283B2.
Due to the absence of a buffer layer in an NPT RC-IGBT, the device exhibits lower diode snap-back behavior. This advantage comes at the expense of increased static and dynamic losses due to the increased device thickness. In addition, due to the absence of an n-type buffer to limit the higher bipolar gain as described previously, NPT devices have to be operated at lower junction temperatures, which increases the challenge of cooling of the power electronic systems.

Non-punch-through reverse-conducting power semiconductor device and method for producing same