An inverter circuit is configured with a reduced number of components for driving a plurality of discharge tubes. Primary coils of a plurality of drive transformers are respectively connected in series to primary coils of corresponding balancer-transformers, and then connected between output terminals of a switching circuit in parallel. The secondary coils of the balancer-transformers are connected in series, and connected between the output terminals of the switching circuit to configure an inverter circuit for driving a plurality of discharge tubes. The inverter circuit includes a voltage detecting circuit for detecting a voltage at any of connecting-midpoint of the series-connected secondary coils of the balancer-transformers, and a voltage comparing circuit for comparing an output of the voltage detecting circuit with a reference voltage. A signal designates an abnormal operation at an output of the voltage comparing circuit when the voltage of the connecting-midpoint exceeds the reference voltage.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to inverter circuits that control emission of discharge tubes such as fluorescent lights, and particularly to inverter circuits that are able to realize controls in case of abnormal operations such as an open-circuited load abnormality, a short-circuited load abnormality, and the like with a reduced number of circuit components.
2. Description of the Related Art
As well-known, a discharge tube such as a fluorescent light emits light by driven with high frequency drive signals generated by an inverter circuit. This type of discharge tube is not only used for lighting purpose, but recently also frequently used for a light source of a backlight employed in a liquid crystal display apparatus. An inverter circuit and discharge tubes are configured such that a drive transformer is provided at an output side of an inverter included in the inverter circuit, and a fluorescent light is connected to a secondary coil terminal of the drive transformer by way of connectors.
However, it happens sometimes that the fluorescent light is not connected to the secondary coil terminal due to some defects in the connection terminals. Or, if output terminals of the secondary coils of the drive transformer are short-circuited with some reason, discharges may occur at the drive transformer by the high voltages, this may causes problems of smoking, firing, and the like. Other than the above-mentioned reason, if the fluorescent light breaks, or expires its life, output terminals of the secondary coils of the drive transformer connected to the fluorescent light become an open-circuited or a shot-circuited condition, so that this also cause above-mentioned problems of smoking, firing, and the like.
Accordingly, in the inverter circuit, it is necessary to avoid any heating up state in case of the abnormal operations such as the open-circuited load condition, short-circuited load condition. For the sake, conventionally, it is common to provide an abnormality operation detecting circuit that detects an open condition or short-circuited condition of the output terminals of the secondary coils in the inverter, and stops the operation of the inverter in case of the abnormal operation.
It is possible to detect current flowing through a discharge tube by connecting a detecting resistor at a low voltage side of the fluorescent light and by detecting the voltage across the resistor. Accordingly, the current flowing through the discharge tube is controlled to be constant by forming a feedback loop for the voltage across the resistor. Further, there are provided with an over-voltage protection circuit and an over-current protection circuit in the inverter circuit, which operate in case of abnormality in the discharge tubes.
For example, Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2005-310587 discloses a circuit in which dividing capacitors are provided at secondary coils of a voltage-current conversion transformer, and an abnormal voltage detecting circuit for detecting abnormality of the discharge tubes is connected to the dividing capacitors. When a discharge tube is smashed, or broken, or when it becomes the open-circuited load condition due to non-contact of connectors, an output voltage increases, so that the abnormal voltage detecting circuit is able to detect the abnormality. On the contrary, when the connectors are short-circuited condition due to commingling of foreign particles into the connectors, the output voltage decreases, so that the abnormal voltage detecting circuit is also able to detect the abnormality.
However, it is necessary to provide the same number of abnormality detecting circuits as the number of the discharge tubes in the afore-mentioned conventional inverter circuit. Thereby, in case of inverter circuits for driving discharge tubes used in a larger LCD TV, the number of discharge tubes increases, so that the cost for the abnormality detecting circuits also resultantly increase. The conventional abnormality detecting circuit detects an increase of the detecting voltage when the discharge tube becomes an open-circuited condition, and detects the decrease of the detecting voltage when the discharge tube becomes a short-circuited condition. Accordingly, it is necessary to employ a circuit called a window comparator system. This window comparator circuit detects whether the detected voltage is between the upper limit and the lower limit or not. For the sake, this window comparator circuit requires two comparators. This also increases resultantly the number of components and costs.


A self-drilling bolt and nut assembly includes a nut which has a window to permit visual inspection of the fastener thread upon engagement with the nut. The nut also includes a protective cap or receives a protective cap so that upon threadably engaging the fastener with the nut, the drill tip of the fastener is automatically received in the cap. The nut also has at one end a plurality of projections to enhance the locking engagement. The self-drilling bolt may have an integral washer and employ a clamping plate engageable against the washer.

This disclosure relates generally to fasteners which extend through bores of adjacent members and receive a bolt for fastening together the members.
For construction applications for which the present disclosure relates, a bore is conventionally drilled through the adjacent wood members which are to be fastened together under a load. A bolt is then inserted through the bore of the members and secured by a washer and a nut. The bolt is typically quite elongated to accommodate the substantial thickness, especially when the adjacent members are 2×4, 2×6 or 2×8 beams and other relatively thick structural components.


A metering device meters and dispenses of a known volume of a liquid product. The metering device includes a receptacle and a moveable slug sized to fit within the receptacle, leaving a remaining volume within the receptacle equivalent to a desired amount of a liquid product to be dispensed. Application of a vacuum at the outlet end draws the known volume of liquid product out of the receptacle and causes the moveable slug to move from a first position at the inlet end of the receptacle to a second position at the outlet end of the receptacle. At the same time, additional liquid product is drawn in via the inlet aperture. When the vacuum is removed, the slug returns through the additionally drawn-in liquid product back to the first position.

Chemical products are often packaged in a concentrated form that, depending upon the application, may be diluted with water to create a use solution having a desired concentration. These concentrates or ultra concentrates may permit more efficient transport and storage over their less concentrated counterparts. Such concentrated chemical products may include, for example, detergents and other cleaning or sanitizing products. The concentration of the chemical product in the use solution is often important to ensure effective cleaning. In addition, there are many applications where the concentration of the use solution is regulated to ensure effective sanitizing or disinfecting.


A hopper trailer for hauling bulk material. The trailer has a hopper, a gate mounted to the hopper, and a discharge system mounted to the gate. The gate has a frame with first and second discharge outlets. The first discharge outlet is positioned to discharge material by gravity beneath the gate. The discharge system receives material passing through the second discharge outlet, moves the material to an elevation that is above the gate, and discharges the material from that elevation. Preferably, the gate frame has first and second side walls within which the first and second discharge outlets are formed, respectively. Preferably, the gate has first and second doors each of which being moveable between a closed position that blocks one of the discharge outlets and an open position in which material can pass through one of the discharge outlets.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a hopper trailer, and more particularly to a hopper trailer that is operable to discharge bulk material by both gravity and through an auger discharge system.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventional hopper trailers are either configured to discharge material through the bottom of the hopper by gravity to a surface beneath the trailer or to discharge material via an auger or conveyor system to an elevation that is above the bottom of the hopper. There are also a few trailers that have the ability to discharge material both by gravity and via an auger system, however, due to the configuration of these trailers it is difficult or impossible to quickly switch between the two discharge modes, and/or utilize both discharge modes simultaneously.

Hopper trailer with auger and gravity discharge


A slurry containing abrasive grains and a liquid medium, in which the abrasive grains include first particles and second particles in contact with the first particles, the first particles contain cerium oxide, the second particles contain a cerium compound, and in a case where a content of the abrasive grains is 2.0% by mass, a BET specific surface area of a solid phase obtained when the slurry is subjected to centrifugal separation for 30 minutes at a centrifugal acceleration of 1.1×104 G is 24 m2/g or more.

In the manufacturing steps for semiconductor elements of recent years, the importance of processing technologies for density increase and micronization is increasing more and more. CMP (Chemical mechanical polishing) technology, which is one of the processing technologies, has become an essential technology for the formation of a shallow trench isolation (hereinafter, referred to as "STI"), flattening of a pre-metal insulating material or an interlayer insulating material, formation of a plug or an embedded metal wiring, and the like in the manufacturing steps for semiconductor elements.
Regarding polishing liquids that are most commonly used, for example, silica-based polishing liquids containing silica (silicon oxide) particles such as fumed silica and colloidal silica as abrasive grains are mentioned. Silica-based polishing liquids have a feature of high flexibility of use, and by appropriately selecting the content of abrasive grains, pH, additives, and the like, polishing of a wide variety of materials can be achieved regardless of whether the material is an insulating material or an electroconductive material.
Meanwhile, as a polishing liquid mainly used for insulating materials such as silicon oxide, a demand for a polishing liquid containing cerium compound particles as abrasive grains is also increasing. For example, a cerium oxide-based polishing liquid containing cerium oxide particles as abrasive grains can polish silicon oxide at a high rate even when the abrasive grain content is lower than that in the silica-based polishing liquid (for example, see Patent Literatures 1 and 2 described below).

Slurry, method for producing polishing liquid, and polishing method


The generation of flexible sparse metrology sample plans includes receiving a full set of metrology signals from one or more wafers from a metrology tool, determining a set of wafer properties based on the full set of metrology signals and calculating a wafer property metric associated with the set of wafer properties, calculating one or more independent characterization metrics based on the full set of metrology signals, and generating a flexible sparse sample plan based on the set of wafer properties, the wafer property metric, and the one or more independent characterization metrics. The one or more independent characterization metrics of the one or more properties calculated with metrology signals from the flexible sparse sampling plan is within a selected threshold from one or more independent characterization metrics of the one or more properties calculated with the full set of metrology signals.

Fabricating semiconductor devices such as logic and memory devices typically includes processing a substrate, such as a wafer, using a large number of fabrication processes to form various features and multiple levels of the devices. For example, lithography is a fabrication process that involves transferring a pattern from a reticle/mask to a resist arranged on a wafer. Additional examples of fabrication processes include, but are not limited to, chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP), etching, deposition, and ion implantation.
As used throughout the present disclosure, the term "wafer" generally refers to substrates formed of a semiconductor or non-semiconductor material. For example, a semiconductor or non-semiconductor material may include, but is not limited to, monocrystalline silicon, gallium arsenide or indium phosphide. A wafer may include one or more layers. For example, such layers may include, but are not limited to, a resist, a dielectric material, a conductive material, and a semiconductive material. Many different types of such layers are known in the art, and the term wafer as used herein is intended to encompass a wafer on which all types of such layers may be formed. One or more layers formed on a wafer may be patterned or unpatterned. For example, a wafer may include a plurality of dies, each having repeatable patterned features. Formation and processing of such layers of material may ultimately result in completed devices. Many different types of devices may be formed on a wafer, and the term wafer as used herein is intended to encompass a wafer on which any type of device known in the art may be fabricated.
Metrology processes are used at various steps during a semiconductor manufacturing process to monitor process control during device fabrication. Types of metrology process used for process control include overlay metrology, critical dimension (CD) metrology, wafer geometry metrology and etc. For example, during a process step, such as a lithographic processing step, overlay error may occur between a current and previous layer of the semiconductor device. Overlay is defined as the misregistration between the current layer of a semiconductor device and one or multiple previous layers of the semiconductor device. Overlay errors can arise for various reasons, including lithography tool (scanner) errors, wafer geometry induced errors, etch induced errors and the like. In order to control overlay and minimize overlay errors during fabrication of a semiconductor device, a feedback control system is applied. Feedback control system rely on i) measuring overlay using a metrology tool; ii) calculating the scanner correctables that would minimize overlay; and iii) feeding these corrections back through an advanced process control (APC) algorithm. Conventional overlay control schemes rely on measuring a fixed subset of overlay targets (i.e., static sampling plan) on the wafers for modeling overlay errors and calculating the scanner correctables.
Previous applications of overlay metrology use static sampling plans, where every wafer measured in every lot receives the same sampling plan. In this case, the sampling plan represents a selected subset of all available overlay targets on the wafers. As a result, it is often the case that a periodic "dense map" measurement is performed, where some wafers are measured using a very dense overlay sampling plan (e.g., thousands of targets), so that field-by-field corrections can be generated. These periodic measurements take time and effort. In addition, this procedure must be repeated in order to correct for significantly irregular and high order overlay signatures. Additional approaches include relying on an advanced field-by-field extrapolated modeling technique, where information from the static sampling plan is used to calculate field-by-field corrections without relying on periodic dense map measurements. Such an approach requires extensive optimization and a careful setup. In addition, extrapolation techniques are less useful for some irregular overlay signatures.
As the dimensions of semiconductor devices decrease, metrology processes become even more important to the successful manufacture of acceptable semiconductor devices. As such, it would be advantageous to provide a system and method that provides improved metrology capabilities and cures the deficiencies of prior approaches as identified above.

Method and system for process control with flexible sampling


Various circuit embodiments comprise an input node to receive an input signal for a CMOS transistor stack, a first output node to deliver the input signal to a PMOS pull-up transistor of the CMOS transistor stack, and a second output node to deliver the input signal to an NMOS pull-down transistor of the CMOS transistor stack. A first passive signal path between the input node and the first output node is adapted to pass an effective rising edge of the input signal and delay an effective falling edge of the input signal to a gate of the PMOS transistor. A second passive signal path between the input node and the second output node is adapted to delay the effective rising edge of the input signal and pass the effective falling edge of the input signal to a gate of the NMOS transistor. Other aspects and embodiments are provided herein.

Power consumption is becoming a limiting factor in integrated circuits and in particular microprocessors. Currently, some microprocessors can operate at around 100 Watts, which is around the practical limit for simple air cooling. Much of the power dissipation is due to clock drivers, interconnection drivers, and output drivers of complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) inverters that are required to drive large capacitive loads at high switching speeds. In order to drive large capacitive loads, these drivers include wide devices with large channel width-to-length (W/L) ratios. These drivers have a relatively slow rise time because of the large capacitive loads, such that the rise and fall times of the input and output waveforms are a significant part of the overall period of the waveforms.
An integrated circuit consumes static and dynamic power. Static power refers to the product of the supply voltage and the direct current (DC), including both through current and leakage current. Dynamic power consumption includes capacitive power consumption, which refers to the product of the load capacitance, the square of the supply voltage and the toggle frequency. Low-power designs can include designs to avoid circuits that consume static power, designs to reduce the supply voltage which can have the undesirable effects of lowering transistor output currents and increasing signal delays, designs to reduce capacitance, and designs to reduce signal frequencies. Increased signal delays and lower signal frequencies are undesirable for fast processor and memory operations.
Dynamic power consumption also includes power dissipation from momentary short circuits, referred to as crowbar currents, that occur when a transistor stack switches states and both the p-channel metal oxide semiconductor (PMOS) and n-channel metal oxide semiconductor (NMOS) transistors are temporarily conducting current. Thus, during the switching transient of a CMOS inverter there can be a large DC current, or "crowbar" current down through both the PMOS device and NMOS device when the output is around one half of the power supply voltage. This current does not contribute to switching the capacitive loads and constitutes wasted power.

CMOS circuits with reduced crowbar current


The invention relates to an adhesive closing part, especially for foaming upholstery parts of car seats during production of the latter, comprising adhesive elements (10) arranged on one side for connection to corresponding adhesive elements of another adhesive closing part by forming an adhesive closure and connecting elements on the other side of the adhesive closing part for producing a connection to the corresponding foam material. A reliable and high-strength connection to the foam material is achieved due to the fact that the connecting elements consist of an adhesive medium, especially a fluorine gas, applied at least on the other side of the adhesive closing part.

The invention involves a fastening part, especially for the foaming of cushion parts in the manufacture of vehicle seats, with adhesive elements on the one side to link with corresponding adhesive elements of another fastening part forming a fastening and with one connecting element in the nature of a fastening medium on the other side of the fastening part for the making of a connection with the respective foam material. The invention also involves a process for the manufacture of a fastening part to that effect as well as a device for the application of the process.
Fastening parts in a general form are known through EP 0 612 485, whereby the fastening part is laid in a foam form so that the bonding agent, in the form of loop elements on the backside of the adhesive closure part, comes into contact with the pertinent foam material, so as to produce a firm bond with it. The opposite front side of the adhesive closure part has adhesive elements in the form of bonding hooks, adhesives heads, mushroom-shaped bodies, or the like, which are protected from the penetration of foam material, for example, as described in the European document, in that they are surrounded, on their entire surface, by an uncrosslinked thermoplastic. If after the foaming process in the mold and the removal of the foamed part, the cover is removed, the adhesive elements are free and can later be joined with adhesive elements of another adhesive closure part, for example, in the form of a loop strip, with the formation of a common adhesive closure.
In this way, it is possible to affix, for example, upholstery covering materials on the foamed upholstery parts of a vehicle seat or an airplane seat or to join rotating components, for example, in the form of grinding wheels with tool rests, to traditional grinders and apparatuses. The aforementioned foam material can definitely be thinly liquid, as a function of the object to be formed, and have viscosities which are in the range of water or below. It has become evident that when using looping or noose-like material as a bonding agent or even when using a nappy cloth or the like, the nooses, which are, in fact, open, are not completely penetrated by the foam material, but rather form a kind of barrier for it, which inhibits the penetration of the foam material. In the subsequent hardening or baking process for the foam material, there are voids thenxe2x80x94that is, gaslike hollow occlusions, which work against a firm bonding between the adhesive closure part and the foam material, at the transition sites between the looping material and the foam. As a result of such reduced strength of the bonding between the fastening parts and foam material in particular in continuous stress it comes to a loosening of the connection and the fastening part pulls apart from the foam material, which in all leads to the unusability of the entire component, for example in the shape of a vehicle seat or grinding wheel adapter.
A general fastening part is known through EP-A-0809 952, which is composed of a biologically degradable synthetic material. In the known solution, the individual adhesive elements are formed of neighboring facing double-hook elements each of which has a reinforcing rib on the side facing the band-like fastening part. On the other side of the fastening part as a connecting element, a medium is arranged in the form of a water-soluble resin-like material, which after penetration of water forms a kind of separate adhesive layer on the fastening material, without thereby putting into question the biodegradability of the entire fastening. The application of an independent adhesive layer as an adhesive medium on the side of the fastening part turned away from the adhesive elements is also the object of EP-A-0754 416. In this known solution, the adhesive application as an adhesive medium to that end occurs through a coating process. It has been shown, however, that independently of the selection of adhesive no good connection comes into being between the fastening part and the foam material and that in particular in the subsequent stressing of the foam material it comes to a pulling apart and hence to a loosening of the connection between the fastening part and the foam material.
Based on this state of the art, the invention has the function of further improving a fastening part so that a more secure and high-strength connection is achieved between the fastening part and the respective foam material that is used. Furthermore the invention has the function of making available a process for the manufacture of a fastening part to that end as well as a device for the application of this process. A task to this end is resolved by a fastening part with the features of claim 1, a process with the features of claim 3, and a device with the features of claim 5.
Because the adhesive medium is fluorine in accordance with the characterizing part of claim 1, it comes to a high-strength connection between the fastening part so treated and the respective foam material, which is detachable only with difficulty, so that the result is also a long-lasting secure connection between the fastening part and the later foam body. Through the adhesive medium that penetrates into the fastening part and is incorporated into this part, a surface-selective chemical reaction is produced on the fastening part that leads to good connection values with the foam material. In contrast to the known solutions, the adhesive medium is not applied separately to the fastening material as a kind of adhesive layer but is a laid-in component of the fastening.
For a specialist in the area of fastening and foaming technology, it is surprising that through the introduction of a gaseous adhesive medium on the fastening part he can achieve a better link with the foam material than by means of the known looped materials or through the usual adhesives that are expensive and hence cost-intensive in production and in which the loops, for example, spatially penetrate and push forward far into the foam material. Instead of a mechanical hooking of looped or noose-like material with the foam, an adhesion to the foam material is produced by means of the individually introduced adhesiveness medium during its production with heat and pressure, which leads to higher strength values with the desired bonding.
If fluorine is used as the gaseous adhesiveness medium to be introduced, preferably with adhesive closure parts made of polyolefin material, the hydrogen atoms fixed on the polyolefin surface are replaced by fluorine atoms. This substitution reaction takes place at room temperature. A starting or initial reaction is not required. The hydrocarbons, which are then partially fluorinated on the surface, behave completely different from the previous base material of the adhesive closure part. As a result of its high electronegativity, the fluorine atom tries to fill its outer electron shell. To this end, electrons are drawn away from adjacent carbon and hydrogen atoms. Therefore, one speaks of an induced polarity, which with the main base, constitutes the good adhesion with the foam material, preferably made of polyurethane foam.
An advantage of the fluorine treatment is a process-reliable adhesion with all polyolefins with an otherwise low surface tension, wherein there is a uniform penetration with the fluorine material, so that complicated configurations and surfaces, including back cuts, hollow spaces, interior surfaces, or the like, also obtain a fluorine treatment which favors adhesion. In order to attain as good as possible bonding values for the foam material, one has to take care that there is a sufficient number of polar fractions, wherein with polyolefin materials, polar fractions of 40 mN/m2 and more are attained.
With the method in accordance with the invention for the production of a closure part with the previously designated features, the fluorine is applied in a nitrogen atmosphere, wherein the introduction of fluorine, continuously or discontinuouslyxe2x80x94with a moving or stationary adhesive closure partxe2x80x94can be effectively carried out. The storage of fluorine-nitrogen mixtures in high-pressure tanks has been the state of the art for many years and, as concerns the toxicology of such a gas mixture, it is similarly and safely regulated in safety data sheets and DIN standards, so that even with a large-scale use, there should be no worries about health risks.
With an apparatus in accordance with the invention for the carrying out of the previously described method, the adhesive closure parts to be treated are exposed to the fluorine-nitrogen gas atmosphere in a reduced pressure chamber. With the reduced pressure chamber, one can safely prevent the undesired emission of the fluorine-nitrogen gas mixture from the apparatus.
Such an apparatus can carry out a discontinuous method, in which the adhesive closure parts to be treated remain stationary in the apparatus for a prespecified time, or it can carry out a continuous method, in which an introduction and discharge of a continuous strip or a surface of an adhesive closure part takes place continuously.
In the following, the claimed invention is explained with the aid of the drawing in more detail. In a schematic representation, not drawn to scale, the FIGURE exhibits a longitudinal section through the apparatus with which it is possible to carry out the method of the invention to produce the claimed adhesive closure parts, in accordance with the invention.
The adhesive closure part, shown below, is used, in particular, for foamed upholstery parts of vehicle seats (not shown) during their production. The strip-like or sheet-like adhesive closure part has, on one side, adhesive elements 10 for bonding with corresponding adhesive elements of another adhesive closure part (not shown), with the formation of a common adhesive closure. The adhesive closure part shown in the FIGURE is produced by means of a common method, as shown for example by DE 196 46 318 A1. On the other side or on the underside of the adhesive closure part, a bonding agent is provided to produce a bonding with the pertinent foam material, for example, in the form of a polyurethane, which is introduced backwards into the adhesive closure part. The adhesive closure part itself is formed from a polyolefin-plastic material, wherein polyolefins are generally the all-embracing designation for polymers of the following general structure:
in which R1 can mostly stand for hydrogen and R2 for hydrogen, a straight-chain or branched, saturated, aliphatic or a cycloaliphatic group. Occasionally, polymers with aromatic groups, for example, the phenyl radical (R2C6H5, see polystyrene) are also counted among the polyolefins. Products with R1xe2x95x90H are also designated as poly(xcex1-olefin)s; they can be considered vinyl polymers.
Polyolefins with great industrial importance in the field of adhesive closures are, for example, polyethylenes, polypropylenes, polybutenes, which are also occasionally, erroneously, called polybutylenes or polybutenes, as well as polyisobutenes and poly(4-methyl-1-pentene)s. Polymers of the higher xcex1-olefins, for example, 1-polyhexene, 1-polyoctene, or 1-polyoctadecene, however, have had only very limited industrial application in this field up to now. Among the polyolefins are also copolymers of various olefins, for example, those of ethylene with propylene.
The adhesiveness medium is preferably fluorine and is introduced into the adhesive closure part via a subsequent fluorination. The aforementioned fluorine is used as F2 and hence as gas, preferably in a nitrogen atmosphere.
Preferably, the introduction of the fluorine gas at 3% is undertaken, in accordance with the method of the invention, at room temperature and a reduced pressure of ca. 650 mbar. Such a method is continuously operated, which will be explained in more detail later. With a discontinuous introduction method, a temperature of 40xc2x0 to 50xc2x0 C. is preferably selected and the fluorine charge is increased to 10% in the nitrogen atmosphere.

Adhesive closing part, method for producing the same device for implementing said method


According to some embodiments herein, systems for delivering therapeutic agents and/or methods of using such systems are provided. The systems can be configured to administer solution comprising therapeutic agent to a subject, and can further comprise an ultrasound applicator for applying ultrasound energy to the subject.

Embodiments herein generally relate to systems for therapeutic agent delivery and methods of using such systems.
Soft tissue infections are a major global health issue. About 325,000 new cases are diagnosed each year. When an inadequate concentration of antibiotic is used to treat a given infection, antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria develop that are increasingly difficult to treat. Patients with MRSA cellulitis of the lower extremity, especially those with impaired circulation, such as diabetics, are even more difficult to treat with standard delivery methods of antibiotics, such as oral or intravenous administration, because an adequate concentration of antibiotic cannot be delivered to the target tissues. Consequently over 10% of these cases end up in amputation and over $25 billion is spent annually on chronic wounds.
While recent developments in ultrasound driven drug delivery show promise against such infections and with other treatments (e.g., cancer, colonization, inflammation treatment, etc.), further improvements may be desired.

Systems and methods for therapeutic agent delivery


An infusion assembly is provided having a first outlet conduit adapted to be in fluid communication with a delivery site of a patient. The assembly further includes at least first and second fluid inlet conduits adapted to be in fluid communication with at least a first and second fluid reservoir, and an infusion switching device, including a housing and an internal valve assembly. The internal valve assembly is adapted for selective manipulation by a patient or caregiver. The valve assembly includes an off-setting, and first infusion setting, for initiating an infusion of a first fluid from a first fluid reservoir to a delivery site, and a second infusion setting for initiating an infusion of a second fluid from a second fluid reservoir to a delivery site.

Intravenous ("IV") or infusion therapy is the administration of liquid substances directly into a vein. The word intravenous simply means "within a vein". Therapies administered intravenously are often called specialty pharmaceuticals.
Current infusion therapy and treatments are accomplished using a connection device that must be sterilized and connected between each medication, treatment or flush.
Not all infusion therapies are administered by healthcare professionals in a hospital setting. Many patients also self-infuse medications at home. In-home infusion of medications and therapies is accomplished by patients who may be afflicted by one or more of many diseases and afflictions. Home infusion therapies are presently available for the treatment of multiple sclerosis, hemophilia (factor therapy), parenteral and enteral nutrition, intravenous gamma globulin (IVIG), transplant and immunology therapies, anti-infectives, colony stimulating factors, inotropics, chemotherapy, pain management, IV fluids and antibiotics.
In particular, patients with multiple sclerosis are expected to self-infuse during times of disease "flair-ups" with limited or no medical supervision. Although not limited to this particular affliction, infusion therapy in an in-home treatment environment poses many challenges with poor sterility, adulteration of infused product and improper sequence of delivery of treatment. Such risks are potentially life threatening.
The current method of drug infusion involves manual switching of tubes and connectors with each infused product. Some of the infused products can look similar thus allowing for a mistake to be made in the infusion sequence. Further, the fact that it is necessary to connect, disconnect and sterilize each part in the connection process is tedious. If a person has any dexterity problems, these procedures can be difficult and cumbersome. There appears to be a need for a device which allows for a connection with simple hand operation allowing for decreased risk of adulteration of the infused product or incorrect sequence of infusion steps.

Device for infusion of prescription medicines or treatments


Disclosed is a method for grinding a machine part that is used as a drive shaft, for example, rotates about the longitudinal axis thereof during the grinding process, and is provided with a journal at one axial end thereof and a recess at the opposite end thereof. The grinding process is carried out in one and the same grinding machine. In said grinding method, the machine part is brought into different clamped states by means of a chuck of a workpiece spindle head with releasable clamping jaws and a centering tip, a backrest, and/or a tailstock quill. Changing the clamped states has the advantage that the machine part remains in the same position in a single grinding machine, i.e. the clamped position, in all the different clamped states such that more accurate sizes, shapes, and positions can be obtained in an economical manner and all areas of the machine part which are to be ground are successively accessible to the grinding disks.

The invention relates to a method for grinding a machine component that is driven to rotate about its longitudinal axis and that has at its one axial end a journal and at its opposing end an interior recess, wherein exterior surfaces are ground using a first grinding wheel and the circumferential surface of the interior recess is ground using a second grinding wheel and a workpiece headstock, a tailstock, and at least one steady are provided for clamping the machine component during grinding, and relates to a grinding machine like a universal, circular, or non-circular grinding machine for performing the method.
When grinding such machine components that have a relatively complicated configuration, it is known to clamp the machine component at its ends between a workpiece headstock and a tailstock and to grind different areas on the exterior contour of the machine component using different grinding wheels. If there is a recess at the end of the machine component, it has been suggested to clamp the machine component on one side and at the opposing freely accessible end of the machine component to grind both exterior areas and the contour of the interior recess using grinding wheels having different sizes. Such a method may be found for instance in DE 23 33 041. With machine components that are clamped on one side, it is also customary to support the opposing free end with a steady. DE 101 44 644 A1 describes using steadies for supporting rotating workpieces during grinding using a plurality of grinding wheels.
In all of these cases, the required machining processes can be performed in a single, unchanged clamping process on one and the same machine.
However, the machine component to be ground in accordance with the invention has at its one end a journal that has a smaller diameter compared to the other areas of the machine component. This journal must also be centered very precisely and then circle-ground on its exterior circumference. In addition, the exterior areas and the interior recess must be ground. In this case it is not possible to grind using the known methods because certain areas of the machine component are not accessible when the normal clamping methods are used. In particular if the machine component in question is a gear shaft, the demands on accuracy are very stringent with respect to dimensional accuracy and centering. In some cases even the slightest changes, which can occur due to inaccuracy when grinding, can lead to extremely disadvantageous effects.

Method for grinding a machine part, and grinding machine for carrying out said method


The present invention relates to a soft high-silicon steel sheet, and more particularly, to a soft high-silicon steel sheet which has ductility even if the silicon content thereof is greater than 4%, and can thus be manufactured into a steel sheet having a high silicon content only by means of rolling without an additional siliconizing process. The soft high-silicon steel sheet may include a silicon content greater than 4 wt % and less than or equal to 7 wt % and 1 to 20% of chromium, or may include 5 to 7 wt % of Si+Al and 1 to 20 wt % of chromium.

High-silicon steel sheets are commonly used to manufacture the cores of transformers, electric motors, generators, and other electronic devices, and are thus known as "electrical steel sheets." High-silicon steel sheets are typically required to have a high magnetic flux density and a low degree of core loss.
The term "magnetic flux density" refers to the number of magnetic flux lines per unit area. If the magnetic flux density of a core is increased, the same operational conditions may be obtained even in the case that the size of the core is reduced. That is, the size of electrical devices may be reduced by increasing the magnetic flux density of cores of the electrical devices. The term "core loss" refers to energy loss when a core is placed in a magnetic field varying with time. Core loss includes eddy current loss and hysteresis loss. When a magnetic field is induced around a core, eddy current loss may be caused by eddy currents flowing in the core.
Silicon (Si) is an element effective in reducing eddy current loss. Thus, silicon (Si) is added to electrical steel sheets as a key element. Particularly, if the content of silicon in steel sheets is increased to 6.5%, magnetostriction causing noise may almost be absent (in an amount of about 0%), and the permeability of the steel sheets may be maximized. In addition, if the silicon content of steel sheets is high, the core loss of the steel sheets is reduced at high frequencies (for example, 50 Hz or higher, 400 Hz, or 1000 Hz), and the steel sheets may be used efficiently. Therefore, high-silicon steel sheets having the above-described characteristics may be applied to high value electrical devices such as inverters, reactors, the induction heaters of gas turbine generators, or the reactors of uninterruptable power supplies.
When only the above-mentioned characteristics of steel sheets are considered, silicon may be added to steel sheets in amounts as large as possible. However, if the silicon content of steel sheets is increased, the workability of the steel sheets is decreased. In general, if the silicon content of steel sheets is 3.5 wt % or greater, it is very difficult to manufacture such steel sheets using a normal cold rolling process.
To address these problems, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. S56-3625 discloses a method of casting molten steel in a rotary die and rapidly cooling the molten steel. In addition, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. H5-171281 discloses a method of rolling high-silicon steel clad in low-silicon steel. However, these methods have not yet reached the stage of industrial production.
In addition, Korean Patent No. 10-0374292 discloses a powder metallurgy technique for making high silicon steel powder blocks to be substituted for high silicon steel sheets. According to the disclosed technique, although pure iron powder cores, high silicon steel powder cores, and Sendust powder cores are used in combination, such cores have soft magnetism, inferior to that of high silicon steel sheets, because of the characteristics of powders.
Examples of current mass production techniques using a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method are disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication Nos. S38-26263 and S45-21181 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. S62-227078. According to the disclosed techniques, a steel sheet having a silicon content of about 3% is manufactured and is then annealed using SiCl4 so that silicon (Si) may permeate and diffuse into the steel sheet. According to the disclosed techniques, when a steel sheet is manufactured, the workability of the steel sheet is guaranteed by maintaining the silicon content of the steel sheet at a relatively low level, the silicon content of the steel sheet subsequently being increased by diffusing silicon (Si) into the steel sheet. However, the disclosed techniques use toxic SiCl4, and it takes a significant amount of time to perform such a diffusion annealing process.
In addition, there have been laboratory attempts to manufacture a thin high-silicon steel sheet by performing a warm rolling process, for example, at a temperature of 350° C. or higher instead of performing a cold rolling process after a hot press forming process. Such an attempt is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. H1-299702. However, the workability of high-silicon steel sheets may be insufficient in a hot press forming process as well as in a cold rolling process. That is, the method of simply increasing a rolling temperature may not sufficiently guarantee the workability of high-silicon steel sheets. That is, after a slab is manufactured through a general continuous casting method, the slab is reheated to a hot rolling temperature. At this time, cracks may be formed in the slab because of a temperature difference between surface and center regions of the slab, and the slab may be broken when being hot rolled after removing the slab from a reheating furnace. FIG. 1 is an image illustrating breakage of a high-silicon steel sheet having a silicon content of 6.5%. The high-silicon steel sheet was broken when the high-silicon steel sheet was hot rolled after heating the high-silicon steel sheet for one and a half hours under an argon atmosphere at a temperature of 1100° C. As illustrated in FIG. 1, a high-silicon steel sheet may be likely to break during a hot press forming process as well as during a cold rolling process. Therefore, it is difficult to adjust the workability of a high-silicon steel sheet by simply adjusting the temperature of a rolling process.

Soft high-silicon steel sheet and manufacturing method thereof


A system displays a representation of an original equipment remote control device for a target device to be controlled using a macro button of a configurable controlling device. The displayed representation of the original equipment remote control device includes representations of buttons that would be used on the original equipment remote control device to control controllable functions of the target device. The system accepts input by which one or more of the displayed representations of buttons are selected. The macro button is then configured whereby an activation of the macro button will cause a transmission of commands from the configurable controlling device to control those controllable functions of the target devices that correspond to the one or more of the displayed representations of buttons that were selected.

This invention relates generally to controlling devices, such as for example universal remote controls, and more specifically to systems and methods for configuration of such controlling devices, by way of general example, to match such controlling devices to appliances to be controlled, to define favorite channels, etc., and more specifically to provide for the programming of macro command sequences for use in such controlling devices.
As is known in the art, in order to match a controlling device with an appliance to be controlled, data may be provided to the controlling device that serves to identify an intended target appliance by its type and make (and sometimes model). Such data may allow the controlling device to identify appropriate command data within a library of command data that is pre-stored in or downloaded to the controlling device, and to transmit recognizable commands in a format appropriate for such identified appliances. Multiple methods for providing such setup data have been proposed, including the setup procedures described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,959,810, 5,614,906, and 6,225,938, which describe self-contained setup of controlling devices, or published U.S. Patent Application No. 2001/0033243A1 which describes setup of controlling devices by interaction with a Web site. Still further, it will be understood that a controlling device may be configurable to provide rapid access to favorite channels, to designate that certain control functions (e.g., volume control) be always directed to specific devices (e.g., television), and in particular, may be configurable to execute user defined sequences of commands in response to a single keypress or icon activation (a so-called "macro" function).
While these variously known systems and methods for configuring a controlling device generally work for their intended purpose, a need remains for a system and method that provides a yet more convenient and user friendly way for configuring a controlling device and, in particular, macro command sequences for use therein.

System and method for configuration of macro commands in a controlling device


Vaccine compositions for boosting immunity to mycobacteria when administered in mid-life in a subject who has been vaccinated neonatally or in early childhood with BCG and in whom protective immunity has waned comprise one or more purified immunogenic proteins from Mycobacterium tuberculosis from a group of 30 proteins that stimulate T cell immunity and interferon-γ secretion. A preferred protein is Ag85A, the secreted product (SEQ ID NO:31) of the Rv3084c gene. Also disclosed are methods for boosting immunity in such BCG-vaccinated subjects comprising administering an effective amount of the above vaccine composition.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention in the fields of microbiology, immunology and medicine is directed to vaccine compositions and methods for preventing or treating mycobacterial diseases that are particularly suited to immunize a subject in mid-life who has been vaccinated neonatally or in early childhood with BCG and in whom protective immunity has waned. Thirty proteins from Mycobacterium tuberculosis are disclosed as having the desired immunogenicity and T cell stimulatory activity for such use. A preferred protein is Ag85A, the secreted product (SEQ ID NO:31) of the Rv3084c gene.
2. Description of the Background Art
Current epidemiologic data indicates that disease caused by the facultative intracellular bacterial parasite Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis or "Mtb") remains a serious global problem with around 8 million new cases per year, and with recent disturbing evidence that the death rate may be increasing (B. R. Bloom et al., Science 257:1055-64 (1992); M. C. Raviglione et al., Lancet 350:624-9 (1997); P. J. Dolin et al., Bull World Health Organ 72, 213-20 (1994); D. E. Snider, Jr., et al., N Engl J Med 338:1689-90 (1998).
For several decades the M. bovis-derived bacillus Calmette Guerin (BCG) has been the only widely used vaccine for tuberculosis ("TB"). BCG organisms, a strain of M. bovis, has been the only widely used vaccine for TB. However, accumulating data from clinical trials and subsequent meta-analysis (G. A. Colditz, et al., JAMA 271:698-702 (1994); J. A. Sterne et al., Int J Tuberc Lung Dis 2:200-7 (1998)) are revealing its general ineffectiveness in adults. It is noteworthy that adults vaccinated with BCG as young children become relatively unprotected. As a result many investigators are seeking to develop a new TB vaccine (I. M. Orme, Adv Vet Med 41:135-43 (1999); 1. M. Orme, Infect Dis Clin North Am 13:169-85, vii-viii (1999)); virtually all efforts are directed towards discovering new candidate vaccines that can be used in either or both prophylactic or immunotherapeutic modes (P. Andersen, Scand J Immunol 45:115-31 (1997). M. A. Horwitz et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 92, 1530-4 (1995); D. B. Lowrie, et al., Nature 400:269-71 (1999)).
The mechanism underlying the gradual loss of effectiveness of BCG as the neonatally inoculated subject reaches 10-15 years of age is poorly understood. One possibility is that immunological memory generated by BCG has disappeared so that the subject is now the functional equivalent of a naive host that should be vaccinated with a new candidate vaccine that is designed to induce primary immunity as does BCG. An alternate possibility is slowly declining immunological memory can be re-induced by boosting with a candidate antigen that is specifically recognized by host memory cells (primarily T cells). The present invention is directed to the latter possibility and indeed discloses a number of Mtb antigens that can restimulate T cell memory and protective immunity.
The recent elucidation of the entire genome sequence of M. tuberculosis strain H37Rv (Cole, S. T. et al., Nature 1998, 393:537-544) is one of the most significant advancements to occur in tuberculosis research over the last decade and this data is now the backbone for several facets of tuberculosis research, including detailed analyses of the proteome of M. tuberculosis. Several laboratories have published two-dimensional ("2-D") protein maps of the subcellular-fractions of M. tuberculosis (Jungblut, P R. et al., Mol. Microbiol. 1999, 33:1103-1117; Sonnenberg, M G and Belisle, J T, Infect. Immun. 1997, 65:4515-4524). Others have applied this technology to evaluate the proteins produced by Mycobacterium spp. during intracellular growth (Sturgill-Koszycki, S et al. Electrophoresis 1997, 18:2558-2565; Bai-Yu, L. et al., J. Clin. Invest. 1995, 96: 245-2496). Proteomics is also a facile approach to identifying immunodominant molecules. Through the use of 2-D PAGE and Western blot analysis, Samanich et al., J. Infect. Dis. 1998, 178, 1534-1538, recently defined 26 proteins of M. tuberculosis that reacted with antibodies of tuberculosis patients, and three of theses were determined to have potent serodiagnostic potential. See also, Laal et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,245,331. However such an approach has not been applied on a large scale to the molecular identification of the T cell antigens of M. tuberculosis.
T cells mediate the protective immune response to an M. tuberculosis infection (Orme, I M et al., J. Infect. Dis. 1993, 167:1481-1497), and elucidation of the T cell antigens has been a driving force in the identification of M. tuberculosis proteins. However, many of the proteins assessed for T cell reactivity were selected because they were abundant, easily purified or reactive to existing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). Realizing that the study of T cell antigens required a systematic approach, Andersen and Heron, J. Immun. Methods 1993. 16, 29-39, developed a whole-gel elutor to systematically fractionate short-term M. tuberculosis culture filtrate proteins (CFPs) by size. This group and others have used this technique to identify T cell antigens and develop 1-D patterns of proteins inducing T cell reactivity (Boesen, H et al., Infect. Immun. 1995, 63:1491-1497; Roberts, A D et al., Immunol. 1995, 85:502-508). Andersen's group (Weldingh, K et al., FEMS Immunol. Med. Microbiol. 1999, 23:159-164) recently coupled this technique with preparative IEF to provide greater resolution. However, this work was focused on characterization of a small number of proteins. Similarly, Gulle et al., Vet. Immunol. Immunopath. 1995, 48:183-190) performed T cell proliferative studies of M. bovis BCG proteins that were electroeluted from 2-D polyacrylamide gels. Although this work revealed a detailed 2-D pattern of potential T cell antigens, those proteins found to be immunogenic were not identified. Moreover this approach had several inherent limitations such as, the amount of protein obtained by elution from a single gel was insufficient for multiple analyses, and the concentration of individual proteins tested varied.
Several laboratories, including the present inventors', have shown that proteins found in Mtb culture filtrates are highly immunogenic and have promise as candidate vaccines (Orme, supra). One member of this pool, disclosed herein to be a preferred boosting antigen, is the mycolyl transferase A enzyme also termed Ag85A (J. T. Belisle, et al., Science 276:1420-2 (1997)) (and also known as FbpA, encoded by the Mtb gene Rv3804c (available in GenBank).
The present inventors and their colleagues demonstrated that the majority of CD4+ T cells accumulating in the lungs of immune mice after challenge infection recognize this antigen (A. M. Cooper et al., Tuber Lung Dis 78:67-73 (1997)).
Mice infected with M. tuberculosis generate T cells that recognize the Ag85 protein. As a consequence, investigators have attempted to use Ag85 protein as a primary vaccine. It appears that no one has shown any vaccine or antigen preparation that approaches the protection conferred by the "gold standard" vaccine, BCG.
Horwitz MA et al., 1995, supra, claimed that Ag85 protein protected guinea pigs against aerosol TB. This study was said by the authors to demonstrate that immunization with the Mtb 30-kDa major secretory protein (Ag85A), alone or in combination with other abundant extracellular Mtb proteins induced strong cell-mediated immune responses and substantial protective immunity against aerosal challenge with virulent Mtb bacilli in the highly susceptible guinea pig model of pulmonary tuberculosis. Protection was manifested by decreased morbidity (including decreased weight loss and mortality), and decreased growth of Mtb in the lungs and spleens compared with sham-immunized controls. The authors concluded that purified major extracellular proteins of Mtb are candidate components of a subunit vaccine against TB. It is noteworthy that Ag85 was given mixed with other proteins, and an adjuvant that cannot be used in humans. Moreover, the experiment had no positive control, it was halted before the negative control animals died. This paper has been widely criticized for its lack od proper scientific methodology.
In contrast, the present inventors conducted a controlled, uncontaminated test of Ag85 as a primary vaccine in guinea pigs and found no reduction in lung bacterial load.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,736,524 discloses the use of primary DNA vaccines that encode Ag85. However, experience since this document became public has shown that the vaccines disclosed therein are even less effective than BCG.
Moreover, booster inoculation of BCG has proven ineffective. Thus, people who were neonatally vaccinated with BCG are at risk for TB as their T cell reactivity and antibody titers decline over time after primary vaccination.
While there is a desperate need to develop new TB vaccines to deal with the global emergency in general, in more advanced countries TB continues to be relatively more common in the elderly (W. W. Stead et al., Annu Rev Med 42: 267-726 (1991); W. W. Stead, Int J Tuberc Lung Dis 2: S64-70 (1998)). In the United States, for instance, people over the age of 65 have for some time now represented the fastest growing segment of the overall population (US Census Bureau. Worldwide Web page having the URL:.census.gov/socdemo/www/agebrief.html). While primary TB sometimes occurs in these individuals, the majority of cases are thought to be due to reactivation of latent disease acquired many decades earlier (Steadl, 1998, supra). h view of this, the vaccine strategy disclosed herein is applicable for preventing reactivation TB in the elderly.
Citation of the above documents is not intended as an admission that any of the foregoing is pertinent prior art. All statements as to the date or representation as to the contents of these documents is based on the information available to the applicant and does not constitute any admission as to the correctness of the dates or contents of these documents.

Mid-life vaccine and methods for boosting anti-mycobacterial immunity

Colorado State University Research Foundation


A limiter device for a "dead tank" high voltage circuit breaker having a grounded metal tank, the circuit breaker having two terminals for connection respectively to a high voltage electricity line and to a link leading to a source that is situated upstream and that enables the line to be fed via the circuit breaker. It comprises a capacitor placed outside the tank of the circuit breaker and which is electrically connected between the two terminals of the circuit breaker to limit voltage recovery speeds both upstream and downstream of the circuit breaker, following an interruption due to a line fault.

As is known, a high voltage circuit breaker placed upstream on a high voltage electricity line must be capable of interrupting line faults that can happen downstream at distances of as much as several kilometers and that are characterized by very high levels of current. For example, when operating with 145 kV at 60 Hz, the current can be at great at 57 kA.
A problem which arises after an interruption due to a fault of that kind lies in satisfying the conditions laid down at network level for voltage recovery, and in particular the conditions relating to the speed du/dt at which voltage recovers. For example, in the above-envisaged context of 145 kV at 60 Hz, it can be required that voltage recovery takes place at a speed of 13.6 kv/.mu.s.
Since circuit breakers are not capable, at present, of complying with such a constraint, it is conventional to provide a capacitor between ground and the line downstream from a circuit breaker so an to limit the speed at which voltage recovers to a value that is lower than the value which can be withstood by the circuit breaker. Nevertheless, the capacitor provided in such a device can be effective only for reducing a recovery voltage downstream from the circuit breaker, and it has no effect on the upstream or "source-side" voltage.
A dead tank circuit breaker is connected directly to a feed busbar on the upstream side and has no significant capacitance capable of acting thereon, the capacitance of the outlet feeder being small, of the order of 50 pF to 100 pF. It must nevertheless be capable of withstanding the sum of the voltage recoveries both upstream and downstream.
In the above-mentioned example of a network, a usual value for the speed du/dt of upstream voltage recovery is 2 kV/.mu.s to 7.8 kV/.mu.s, with the value for the speed of downstream voltage recovery being 13.6 kV/.mu.s. The high value for the upstream voltage recovery speed, i.e. 7.8 kV/.mu.s, is the consequence of high frequency voltage oscillation due to reflections on the first major discontinuity present in the set of busbars linked to the source.
Even if it is possible to envisage halving the speed of downstream voltage recovery by installing a capacitor of high capacitance, e.g., 6 nF to 12 nF for a 145 kV line, it nevertheless remains that the voltage recovery speed at the terminals of the circuit breaker remains very high and much greater than that which can be accepted by a circuit breaker when breaking.
It is also possible to place a capacitor between a phase and ground on the source side, upstream from a circuit breaker in order to reduce the speed of upstream voltage recovery to a value which is compatible with the limit set, i.e. a capacitor in addition to the above-mentioned capacitor placed on the line side. Nevertheless, that solution is not to be recommended since it can be highly damaging if failure of the capacitor upstream from the circuit breaker gives rise to a ground fault.

Limiter device for a high voltage circuit breaker having a grounded metal tank


Systems and methods for changing a speed ratio between a compressor boost stage (12) and at least one power turbine (16) of a gas turbine engine (10) are described. Such a system may comprise a coupling device (20) configured to selectively transmit energy from the at least one power turbine (16) to the boost stage (12) according to at least a first speed ratio and a second speed ratio. The system may also comprise an auxiliary power device (22, 26) configured to cause a rotational speed of the boost stage (12) to change from a first speed corresponding substantially to the first speed ratio to a second speed corresponding substantially to the second speed ratio when the boost stage (12) is decoupled from the at least one power turbine (16).

Compressor boost stages are commonly utilized to increase an overall pressure ratio in gas turbine engines. A compressor boost stage pressurizes the air upstream of a core section of an engine and is typically part of a low pressure spool of the engine driven by at least one low pressure turbine. The coupling between the boost stage and the low pressure spool is typically at a fixed speed ratio such that the rotational speed of the boost stage may only be varied by varying the rotational speed of the low pressure spool. Hence, the fixed speed ratio between the boost stage and the low pressure spool limits the ability to vary the overall pressure ratio during operation of the engine.
Improvement in driving of compressor boost stages in gas turbine engines is therefore desirable.

Systems and methods for changing a speed of a compressor boost stage in a gas turbine


A structure for securing lamp wires of a backlight assembly within an LCD module includes a liquid crystal panel, a mold frame, a lamp, and a structure for securing lamp wires within a backlight assembly within the LCD module. The structure includes an through which the lamp wires extend, lower and upper inserting grooves in lower and upper portions of the opening for receiving the lamp wires, and a tube for covering portions of a lamp wire to which a high voltage is applied. The tube covers portions of the lamp wire between a location at a junction wherein the lamp wire and the lamp are connected and a portion where the lamp wire extends through the opening.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to backlight assemblies within liquid crystal display (LCD) modules, and more particularly to a structure for securing lamp wires of the backlights within LCD modules.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Compared to cathode-ray tubes (CRTs), flat panel displays (e.g., liquid crystal displays (LCDs), plasma display panels (PDPs), field emission displays (FEDs), etc.) display high quality images, consume a relatively low amount of power, produce a low amount of heat, and may be fabricated in small sizes. Due to these characteristics, LCDs in particular are extensively used in devices such as watches, calculators, personal digital assistants (PDAs), cellular phones, notebook computers, monitors for personal computers (PCs), televisions, TV receivers, monitors in airplanes, etc.
LCDs typically include an LCD panel formed with two thin glass substrates having specially treated surfaces being connected to, and separated from each other via a layer of injected liquid crystal material. The phase of the injected liquid crystal material is between a solid phase and a liquid phase. An orientation of molecules within the injected layer of liquid crystal material may be selectively manipulated by applying a voltage to electrodes formed on the two thin glass substrates. By manipulating the orientation of the liquid crystal molecules, light transmittance characteristics of the LCD panel may be selectively controlled. Accordingly, images may be expressed to varying degrees of brightness by the LCD panel. It should be noted, however, that LCD panels are not, by themselves, capable of emitting light. Accordingly, a light source (e.g., a lamp) is required to display images on the LCD panel.
Generally, light sources included within LCD modules are provided as backlight assemblies arranged behind or along the LCD panel. Referring to FIG. 1, a backlight assembly of an LCD module includes a rectangular mold frame 26, a lamp 27, a metal reflecting plate 29, a light guide 24, a reflecting sheet 25, and a plurality of diffusion and prism sheets 21, 22, and 23.
The mold frame 26 is formed of plastic while the lamp 27 emits light and is mounted within an inner portion of the mold frame 26. The metal reflecting plate 29 is arranged within an inner portion of the mold frame 26 to surround one portion of the lamp 27 and reflect light emitted from the lamp 27. The light guide 24 is mounted within the mold frame 26 and adjacent the lamp 27 to guide light emitted from the lamp 27 uniformly toward the surface of the substrate 10. The -reflecting sheet 25 is arranged under the light guide 24 while the diffusion and prism sheets 21, 22, and 23 are arranged on the light guide 24.
Referring to FIG. 2, each of the first and second lamp wires 28a and 28b, respectively, are connected to respective first and second ends of the lamp 27. Connected to the first and second lamp wires 28a and 28b, the lamp 27 is electrically connected to an external power source. A low voltage is applied to the first end of the lamp 27 via the first lamp wire 28a and a high voltage is applied to the second end of the lamp 27 via the second lamp wire 28b. The first and second lamp wires 28a and 28b extend outside the LCD module via an opening 26b formed at a corner of the mold frame 26.
The first lamp wire 28a is connected to a junction at the first end of the lamp 27 arranged away from the opening 26b. Accordingly, in order for the first lamp wire 28a to be connected to the external source, the first lamp wire 28a must be guided along a receiving groove 26a formed at an edge of the mold frame 26 through the opening 26b and outside the LCD module. The second lamp wire 28b is connected to a junction at the second end of the lamp 27 arranged near the opening 26b. Accordingly, the second lamp wire 28b may be guided directly through the opening 26b without the use of a structure such as the receiving groove 26a.
As tension is applied to the first and second lamp wires 28a and 28b, tensile forces are directly transmitted through the second lamp wire 28b to second end of the lamp 27 thereby bending the second lamp wire 28b and/or disconnecting the second lamp wire 28b from the second end of the lamp 27. Accordingly, as tension is applied to the first and second lamp wires 28a and 28b, the lamp 27 may become disconnected from the external power supply and the second end of the lamp 27 may further become damaged.
Referring to FIG. 3, the inventors of the present invention have disclosed a structure for securing lamp wires of backlight assemblies within LCD modules. The lamp wires 28 are arranged within the mold frame 126, and a metal chassis 30, similar to the metal chassis shown 30 in FIG. 1, contacts the edge of the liquid crystal display panel 10 and the mold frame 126 to connect the liquid crystal panel 10 to the backlight assembly. Accordingly, first and second lamp wires 28a and 28b may extend through an opening 126b formed within a portion of the mold frame 126 and spaced a predetermined distance from a corner of the mold frame 12 such that the second lamp wire 28b is bent at two locations when a portion of it extends outside the LCD module. Based on the structure shown in FIG. 3, tension applied to the second lamp wire 28b does not result in disconnection of the lamp 27. However, portions of the lamp wires 28 extending out from the opening 126b may become damaged due to sharp edges on the metal chassis 30 when the metal chassis 30 is connected to the mold frame 126.

Structure for assembling lamp wire for backlight assembly into liquid crystal display module


The present invention relates to a lift-and-strike welding process. In a first step, e.g. an aluminum surfaces (5) of a component is cleaned by striking an arc and then the element (4) to be connected is welded on by means of at least one second voltage. Besides a lift-and-strike welding apparatus, a further lift-and-strike welding process is also provided, wherein an electric cleaning current flows between a surface (5) of a component and an element to be welded thereon, in that the component rests on the surface (5) and then the element (4) is lifted off the surface (5) up to an approximately, in terms of time, constant distance for removing a coating from the surface (5) by means of an arc, then the current changes its polarity, wherein afterwards at least one welding current is produced and then the element (4) is welded to the surface (5).

The invention relates to a lift-and-strike welding process as well as to a lift-and-strike welding apparatus. The process and the apparatus are suitable in particular for welding a weld stud onto an aluminium surface or steel sheet surface, which have in each case a surface coating, e.g. a lubricant coating.
A lift-and-strike welding process, in particular a stud lift-and-strike welding process, has the advantage of industrial-scale capability combined with processing reliability with regard to, for example, reliable ignition of an arc. The lift-and-strike welding process is also less noisy than other welding processes. The lift-and-strike welding process is therefore used in numerous fields especially on account of its being economical to operate. Especially in the automobile industry, lift-and-strike welding has become an established technique. Aluminum and aluminum composite components are becoming increasingly popular as materials in the automobile industry on account of their low weight. From DE 195 244 90, for example, a lift-and-strike welding process is known, wherein an aluminum weld stud is welded to a workpiece made of aluminum. In such a process, the height of lift of the weld stud will vary depending upon the measured arc voltage. It is also known from said document that, to prevent a short circuit from being caused by melted material dripping from the weld stud, by reversing the polarity at either the weld stud or the workpiece during the welding operation. It is also known that, by reversing the polarity, the formation of the molten bath may be varied.
The object of the present invention is therefore to provide a lift-and-strike welding process and a corresponding lift-and-strike welding apparatus, with which an element may be welded reliably and with a high quality onto a surface, even if a coating should be disposed on the surface.
The lift-and-strike welding process is such that, as a first step, a surface of a component is cleaned, namely by applying a first voltage so as to strike an arc between a stud to be connected to the surface, and the surface. In a second step, a polarity of the first voltage is reversed. Then the element is welded on by means of at least one second voltage.
This process is particularly suitable for use with both steel sheets and aluminium sheets, which have either an organic or zinc coating. The zinc coating may be electro-plated or galvanised or may be Bonazink. The coating may also consist of accumulated dirt or the like. For example, it has proved particularly suitable to use the process for the welding of steel sheets having a sheet thickness of 1 to 0.5 mm and less which has a zinc protection layer, e.g. in the case of hot galvanising, of 70 xcexcm and less, e.g. also in the case of thin zinc protection layers, of 30 to 3 xcexcm or even less. The cleaning process is very precisely adaptable to the surface to be cleaned and is also suitable for very thin coatings. There now follows a detailed description of the mode of operation of the invention with reference to a machining of a component made of aluminium. The features described below are however also applicable to the welding of a corresponding steel sheet.
Aluminium components which are cold formed, in particular deep drawn, have a surface coating in the form of a lubricant. Said lubricant prevents cold welding between the aluminium workpiece and a machining tool. The lubricant moreover reduces the friction force which arises. An organic coating, in particular a wax or oil-based coating is often used. By striking a cleaning arc, the effect is achieved that the organically based coating as a result of overheating by the arc volatilises leaving no significant residues, in particular leaving no residue, and/or is displaced from the welding region. The subsequent actual welding operation by means of e.g. a pilot current and subsequent welding current of the lift-and-strike welding process allows the element, which is to be welded on, to be dipped into a weld pool of the aluminium surface which is not contaminated with the previous coating.
For cold-formed aluminium sheets a wax-based lubricant coating is customary. During an arc welding process, the wax releases hydrogen which would bond with the molten aluminium during the welding operation. The moment the molten aluminium hardens again, the ability of the aluminium to bond with the released hydrogen is lost. The hydrogen is exhaled and leaves behind a high porosity in the region of the joint zone. Said porosity leads to an enormous deterioration of the welding quality. Through use of the aluminium lift-and-strike welding process it is possible to avoid a poor welding quality. The process also allows its users to dispense with previous cleaning of the aluminium components used. Cold deep-drawn sheets, for example, prior to subsequent welding previously had to be sent through a washing lane in order to prepare the surface of the aluminium sheets for the welding process. Said cleaning operation is now no longer necessary. As a result, aluminium-containing components having a coating may even without basic preliminary cleaning be reliably welded e.g. with a weld stud. The quality of the weld joint therefore depends on the ambient conditions in the joint zone which are created by the cleaning arc, wherein the surface is advantageously rendered dry and metallically pure.
It is advantageous when, after the first step of applying the cleaning voltage, in a second step a polarity of the first voltage is reversed. By said means the cleaning may be influenced by altering the arc. It is further advantageous when, after the first voltage used as a cleaning voltage has dropped, the actual lift-and-strike welding process ensues after a specific period of time. The process is improved by reversing the polarity between the first and subsequent second voltage. Said reversal is effected preferably in the period of time, during which the first voltage has dropped, in particular to zero. In said case, during the cleaning phase a positive polarity is preferably adjusted for the first voltage. This means that at the aluminium surface of the component there is a negative potential, while the weld-on element has a positive potential. It is therefore possible to heat the aluminium sheet up to temperatures at which the coating is volatilised. The aim is in particular to clean a region of the surface which, for example, approximately corresponds to, or is optionally slightly smaller or slightly larger than, the subsequent joint zone. Given use of a weld stud, the aim is to achieve a circular cleaned surface having a diameter which preferably corresponds to the diameter of the weld stud. Given a different geometry of the weld-on component, e.g. an oval or angular cross section, the cleaned surface is advantageously of a corresponding sise. This is assisted by a polarity of the type described above. For the subsequent welding operation a negative polarity is preferably selected. A negative polarity during the cleaning operation might give rise to the problem of rust particles arising and/or remaining in the region of the surface to be cleaned.
The first voltage is moreover preferably set higher, in terms of its magnitude, than the immediately following voltage of reverse polarity. It is set, for example, by appropriate adjustment of the height to which the weld-on element is lifted above the surface. By increasing the distance, the voltage may likewise be increased while the current intensity, for example, remains constant. This enables a requisite energy density to be produced for the cleaning operation while, e.g. given use of a subsequent pilot current for the lift-and-strike welding process with reverse polarity, the aluminium surface is heated up and the arc stabilised in such a way that a weld pool of suitably required depth is produced when the subsequent welding voltage is applied.
The application of a first cleaning voltage may be effected separately from a subsequent application of a pilot welding voltage. For reversal of the polarity of the arc, it is advantageous when the polarity is reversed when the first voltage reaches a zero value. For said purpose, the zero value is advantageously maintained for a short time. Said voltage-free time is provided, for example, when the weld-on element is being moved in the direction of the surface. It is only after said time that a second voltage, e.g. a pilot voltage, is built up. For said purpose, the weld-on element is situated, after the cleaning operation, back in contact with the surface. By lifting the element off the surface, the welding arc e.g. in the form of a pilot arc is then ignited. Said machining steps are however preferably combined with one another. As a result, the machining time of a component is reduced. According to a development, said time reduction is achieved in that a drop of the first voltage is immediately followed by the welding process preferably using a pilot voltage and subsequent welding voltage, wherein the last two voltages have a different polarity to the fist voltage. In said manner, a reliable ignition of the arc after the polarity reversal is possible.
The possibility moreover exists of applying the welding voltage directly after the first voltage and the subsequent polarity reversal.
A second aluminium lift-and-strike welding process is further provided. Said process may, for example, be combined with the first aluminium lift-and-strike welding process. The second aluminium lift-and-strike welding process comprises the following steps:
an electric cleaning current flows between an aluminium surface of a component and an element to be welded thereon, in that the component rests on the aluminium s and then the element is lifted off the aluminium surface up to an approximately, in terms of time, constant distance for removing a coating from the aluminium surface through ignition of an arc as a cleaning agent,
then the current changes its polarity, wherein afterwards at least one welding current is produced and
then the element is welded to the aluminium surface.
The particular effect realised with said process is that during reversal of the polarity the current continues to flow between the surface and the element to such an extent that, despite the polarity reversal, the arc does not collapse. The element need not therefore be brought back into contact with the surface for ignition of the arc.
Preferably a cleaning current is used, which assumes a current intensity of between 15 and 120 amperes, in particular 500 amperes, before it drops. Said cleaning current intensity is sufficient for complete removal of the coating, which is situated e.g. on one aluminium surface, by means of the arc. In said case, the duration of the cleaning operation may be influenced by the level of the current intensity: the higher the arc current, the shorter the duration of the cleaning operation. The cleaning current intensity is however preferably set low enough to prevent a weld pool area from starting to form on the aluminium surface. The temperature is taken into account in such a way that there is, in particular, not yet any melting of material during the cleaning operation. This is simultaneously regulated or controlled e.g. likewise by the duration of the effective cleaning current intensity. It has moreover proved advantageous when after a reversal of the polarity an, in terms of its magnitude, maximum current is produced. Said current is then the welding current which ensures the formation at the aluminium surface of a weld pool of corresponding molten material, into which the element to be connected, e.g. an aluminum stud with a melted end face, is subsequently dipped. Preferably, the element is brought back into contact with the aluminium surface only after disconnection of the welding current. In particular, such a time delay is observed, that the weld pool has become doughy again but nevertheless still retains its bonding capacity.
According to a development of the aluminium lift-and-strike welding process, the cleaning current lasts approximately as long as or longer, in particular at least 3 times longer, than a pilot current flowing prior to the welding current. It is further advantageous when the welding current is equal to or stronger, in particular at least 1.2 times stronger, than the cleaning current. The injection of power into the workpiece achieved in each case thereby is therefore appropriate to the respective objectives of the individual process steps. The maximum power injection is effected during the actual welding operation and a power injection for cleaning purposes, which is adapted to the respective coating of the aluminium surface, is accordingly lower.
The nature of the power injection may moreover also be regulated by means of the durations. This is dependent, on the one hand, upon the type of coating and, on the other hand, upon the thickness of the coating. In particular, the volatilising of the coating is recorded by a suitable apparats and used as the basis for adjusting, e.g. regulating or controlling, a power injection by means of the cleaning current or the cleaning voltage. This also enables later evaluation of corresponding parameters of the cleaning operation for a subsequent quality inspection, e.g. while also taking into account parameters of the subsequent welding operation. Volatilising of the coating is measurable, for example, through a variation of the arc voltage or the current. Through measurement of a suitable parameter, the duration of the cleaning step may also be regulated so that, given a corresponding variation of the measured value, e.g. of the voltage, the cleaning operation is terminated, the polarity is reversed and the welding process ensues. When, for example, the surface is being cleaned to remove an organic coating containing hydrogen, a voltage drop of the arc voltage is to be observed once the hydrogen, which is to be removed, has been removed. A corresponding lift-and-strike welding apparatus therefore comprises, for example, a suitable measuring, regulating and/or control device which provides appropriate functions. Such an apparatus also comprises a suitable evaluation device e.g. with a suitable memory etc.
It has further proved advantageous when the element, during cleaning of the aluminium surface, assumes a distance from the aluminium surface which is at least 2 times greater than the distance from the aluminium surface particularly when a pilot current flows prior to the welding current. It is therefore possible, on the one hand, to clean a larger area of the aluminium surface. On the other hand, the possibility exists of using a variation of the distance to adapt the intensity of the cleaning in accordance with the respective coating without having a negative effect upon the base material.
Besides the previously described features, the measures for controlling and/or regulating the weld stud which are known from DE 195 244 90 are moreover also applicable for effecting both the steel sheet and the aluminium lift-and-strike welding process. In particular, it has proved advantageous to use, for welding-on, stud geometries of the type disclosed in DE 196 11 711.
An aluminium lift-and-strike welding apparatus is further provided in the present invention. The apparatus comprises a guide for a weld-on element and a control device for the guide. The guide is, for example, a welding head, a welding gun or a housing for fixing and lifting the weld-on element. The apparatus further comprises a device for controlling or regulating the electric current and/or the voltage used for welding, wherein the apparatus has a polarity reversing means for the voltage used for welding. The device for controlling or regulating the electric current and/or the voltage is programmed or designed so as to produce, prior to the welding operation, a cleaning current which has a reverse polarity relative to the welding current. The apparatus may be used in particular to effect a process in accordance with the above description.
The invention further provides a polarity reversing means for a lift-and-strike welding apparatus, The polarity reversing means comprises a circuit element which produces an arc current during the reversal of the polarity, in particular in the form of a circuit acting as a reactor in order to maintain a struck arc during a reversal of the polarity of the arc voltage. The polarity reversing means advantageously comprises a first and a second power source, wherein the first power source supplies a cleaning current and the second power source supplies a welding current. A coil is advantageously connected to the first and the second power source in such a way that a struck arc continues to be maintained during reversal of the polarity. An extinction of the arc is therefore prevented when the current passes through zero.

Lift-and-strike welding process with cleaning stage


An integrated circuit package system is provided providing an integrated circuit die, and enclosing the integrated circuit die in a heat dissipation enclosure comprises mounting the integrated circuit die on a die paddle attaching a heat block ring to the die paddle around the integrated circuit die, and attaching a heat slug on the heat block ring over the integrated circuit die.

Every new generation of integrated circuits with increased operating frequency, performance and the higher level of large scale integration have underscored the need for back-end semiconductor manufacturing to increase the heat management capability within an encapsulated package. It is well acknowledged that when a semiconductor device becomes denser in term of electrical power consumption per unit volume, heat generated is also increases correspondingly. More and more packages are now designed with an external heat sink or heat slug to enhance the ability of heat being dissipated to the package ambient environment. As the state of the art progresses, the ability to adequately dissipate heat is often a constraint on the rising complexity of package architecture design, smaller footprint, higher device operating speed and power consumption.
Modern consumer electronics, such as smart phones, personal digital assistants, and location based services devices, are packing more integrated circuits into an ever shrinking physical space with expectations for decreasing cost. Contemporary consumer electronics expose integrated circuits and packages to more demanding and sometimes new environmental conditions, such as cold, heat, and humidity requiring integrated circuit packages to provide robust thermal management structures. As more functions are packed into the integrated circuits and more integrated circuits into the package, more heat is generated degrading the performance, the reliability and the life time of the integrated circuits. Numerous technologies have been developed to meet these requirements. Some of the research and development strategies focus on new package technologies while others focus on improving the existing and mature package technologies. Research and development in the existing package technologies may take a myriad of different directions.
One proven way to reduce cost is to use mature package technologies with existing manufacturing methods and equipments. Paradoxically, the reuse of existing manufacturing processes does not typically result in the reduction of package dimensions. Existing packaging technologies struggle to cost effectively meet the ever demanding thermal requirements of today's integrated circuits and packages. Most integrated circuit devices use molded plastic epoxy as an epoxy molding compound (EMC) for protecting package. But the poor heat dissipation property of EMC sometimes leads to device malfunctions.
The plastic ball grid array (PBGA) is a surface mount package in which the input/outputs are arrayed on the backside of the package in the form of various matrices of solder balls. This construction usually limits the electrical and thermal performance. Some applications require improved thermal and electrical performance in the same BGA package outline, which even utilized the same substrate material and design.
The generated heat at the integrated circuit die surface is used to emit to package top (˜30%), package bottom (˜60%) and package side (˜10%) during device operation. To provide a thermal solution, many kinds of technology have been developed. The most representative technology is a heat slug mounting. But a heat slug by itself provides limited improvements in thermal performance. Current thermally enhanced ball grid array (TEBGA) packages use heat slugs to improve thermal performance, but these packages only provide a 15% improvement in thermal performance over a conventional plastic ball grid array (PBGA) package. However, even a TEBGA package is subject to performance problems because it uses EMC, which is low thermal conductivity material.
Thus, a need still remains for an integrated circuit package system providing low cost manufacturing, improved thermal performance, and reduce the integrated circuit package dimensions. In view of the ever-increasing need to save costs and improve efficiencies, it is more and more critical that answers be found to these problems.
Solutions to these problems have been long sought but prior developments have not taught or suggested any solutions and, thus, solutions to these problems have long eluded those skilled in the art.

Integrated circuit package system with heat dissipation enclosure


A lens barrel for imaging a subject; and a lens frame which holds the lens. The lens frame includes a body structure opened at a tip and an end; and a lens base which fixes the lens and is adhered to a tip opening of the body; the lens base includes: a tip base including an opening which exposes a tip side lens optical surface and an inner side which supports the lens; and a circle or arc sidewall extending axially from the tip base; the inner surface of the sidewall is formed along an outer circumference surface of the lens; the inner side surface and the outer circumference are adhered to each other; and a portion of the upper surface of the sidewall is provided toward an end side separated from the far end of the lens to be exposed inside the body.

In a typical camera lens barrel, an outer diameter of the lens is relatively large. Therefore, the flange portion of the lens is held with tweezers and the lens is dropped into the lens frame to manufacture the lens barrel. Instead of using tweezers, air is sucked to adsorb the lens with an adsorption pad to hold the lens.
In a lens barrel composing a tip portion of an endoscope with a small diameter of about 1 mm, when the lens frame is a small diameter or the lens frame is long in an optical axis direction (therefore, the lens inserting hole is deep), it is difficult to insert the lens. Undoubtedly, using tweezers to hold such a very small lens is very difficult, and accurately inserting the lens into the lens frame by free fall is also very difficult.
An endoscope is used to be inserted in a live body lumen to observe live body tissue. As a structure of a tip of the endoscope, there is a structure providing a lens which images an image of an object of an observation target and an imaging element or an imaging fiber such as a CCD (charge coupled device) in which the image is input. When the imaging element is used, an image signal converted to an electric signal with the imaging element is transmitted outside the body with a transmitting cable, and when the imaging fiber is used, the image is transmitted outside the body with the imaging fiber as is, and after going through the image processing apparatus, the image can be displayed and observed on the image display apparatus.
As described in patent literature 1 to 5, the lens is positioned inside the lens frame and the outer circumferential portion of the lens is adhered to the inner circumferential surface of the lens frame to fix the units in order to include the lens in the optical device. When the lens is fixed with adhesive, it is important that a sufficient amount of adhesive can be filled in the necessary portion and that the adhesive is not attached to the optical surface of the lens so that there is no bad influence to the optical performance.
According to patent literature 1 to 3, a ring shaped groove is provided to prevent the adhesive from flowing out to the effective face of the lens. The ring shaped groove is provided in the lens and one or both holding planes.
According to patent literature 4, in order to prevent the lens from rising in the thrust direction, a tapered portion is provided in the lens or the inner circumferential portion of the frame and the portion is filled with adhesive. The hardening shrinkage of the adhesive causes pulling force in the thrust direction.
According to patent literature 5, a through hole is provided to insert adhesive in a gap between the lens supporting frame and the lens circumferential surface.
Patent literature 6 and 7 describe a tip structure of an endoscope in which the lens and the imaging fiber are positioned on the same axis and fixed with a cylinder shaped frame.

Lens barrel, image obtaining unit, and method for assembling same