In an active matrix semiconductor display device in which pixel TFTs and driver circuit TFT are formed on the same substrate in an integral manner, the cell gap is controlled by gap retaining members that are disposed between a pixel area and driver circuit areas. This makes it possible to provide a uniform cell thickness profile over the entire semiconductor display device. Further, since conventional grainy spacers are not used, stress is not imposed on the driver circuit TFTs when a TFT substrate and an opposed substrate are bonded together. This prevents the driver circuit TFTs from being damaged.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor display device using thin-film transistors. In particular, the invention relates to a semiconductor display device in which a pixel switching circuit and driver circuits are formed on the same substrate in an integral manner.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, the techniques of forming semiconductor devices, such as thin-film transistors (TFTs), by using a semiconductor thin film formed on an inexpensive glass substrate have made rapid progress. This is because of increased demand for active matrix liquid crystal display devices.
In active matrix liquid crystal display devices, TFTs are provided for respective ones of hundreds of thousands to millions of pixel regions that are arranged in matrix and charge that enters or exits from each pixel electrode is controlled by the switching function of the associated TFT.
The basic configuration of an active matrix liquid crystal display device in which thin-film transistors are arranged will be described below with reference to FIGS. 34A and 34B. FIG. 34A is a sectional view obtained by cutting a liquid crystal display device by a plane perpendicular to a substrate, specifically taken along a chain line Axe2x80x94Axe2x80x2 in FIG. 34B.
An insulating film (not shown) is formed on the surface of a transparent base substrate 1. Reference numeral 2 denotes an active layer of a TFT; 3, a gate electrode; 4, a data line; 5, a drain electrode; 6, an interlayer insulating film; 7, a black matrix; 8, a transparent conductive film as a pixel electrode; and 9, an alignment film.
In this specification, the structure including the base substrate 1 and the other members mentioned above (including the TFTs) is called an xe2x80x9cTFT substrate.xe2x80x9d Although FIG. 34A focuses on a single pixel, actually the TFT substrate is composed of a pixel area including hundreds of thousands to millions of pixel switching TFTs (called pixel TFTs) and peripheral driver circuit areas including a number of TFTs for driving the pixel TFTs.
On the other hand, reference numerals 10-12 denote a transparent substrate, a transparent conductive film as an opposed electrode, and an alignment film, respectively. The structure including these members, which is opposed to the TFT substrate, is called an xe2x80x9copposed substrate.xe2x80x9d
As shown in FIG. 35A, the TFT substrate 20 and the opposed substrate 30 are subjected to an alignment treatment such as rubbing for giving proper alignment to a liquid crystal. Thereafter, to control a substrate interval (cell gap) between the TFT substrate 20 and the opposed substrate 30, grainy spacers 41 are uniformly scattered over the entire surface of the TFT substrate 20. Then, a sealing agent 42 is printed. The sealing agent 42 has a role of an adhesive for bonding the substrates 20 and 30 together as well as a role of a sealing material for sealing the space between the substrates 20 and 30 to prevent a liquid crystal material that will be injected there from leaking to the outside of the substrates.
FIG. 36 is a sectional view of the TFT substrate 20. Since the grainy spacers 41 are uniformly scattered over the entire surface of the TFT substrate 20 to control the cell gap, the spacers 41 exist in not only the pixel area 22 but also the peripheral driver circuit regions 23 as shown in FIG. 36. Usually, the pixel TFTs formed in the pixel area 22 are not much different in device size from the driver circuit TFTs formed in the driver circuit areas 23. However, the black matrix for covering the pixel TFTs, the pixel electrodes that are transparent conductive films, and other members are formed in the pixel area 22. Further, in reflection-type liquid crystal display devices, a reflective electrode is formed in the pixel area 22. On the other hand, connection lines necessary to constitute CMOS circuits for driving the pixel TFTs are formed in the driver circuit areas 23. Therefore, there are differences in the height (distance) from the surface of the base substrate 1 between the pixel area 22 and the driver circuit areas 23.
A description will now be made of a case where the height as measured from the surface of the substrate 1 in the pixel area 11 is greater than in the driver circuit areas 23. The grainy spacers 41 are scattered in not only the pixel area 22 but also the driver circuit areas 23 by a wet or dry method. If the grainy spacers 41 have approximately uniform sizes, they have differences in the height as measured from the substrate 1 depending on their positions. Now, the height of the top of each spacer 41 in the pixel area 22 and that of the top of each spacer 41 in the driver circuit areas 23 are represented by hp and hd, respectively. As seen from FIG. 36, a height difference xcex94h=hpxe2x88x92hd occurs due to the difference in height between the pixel area 22 and the driver circuit areas 23.
Then, as shown in FIG. 37A, the TFT substrate 20 and the opposed substrate 30 are bonded together with the sealing agent 42. Thereafter, the space between the TFT substrate 20 and the opposed substrate 30 are filled with a liquid crystal material 43 and a liquid crystal injection inlet 44 is sealed with a sealing material (see FIG. 37B). In this manner, an active matrix liquid crystal display device having the configuration shown in FIG. 34A is obtained.
However, the liquid crystal display device having the above configuration has the following problems.
Because of the height difference xcex94h that is caused by the difference in height between the pixel area 22 and the driver circuit areas 23, the cell gas cannot be made uniform, that is, a cell thickness variation occurs, when the TFT substrate 20 and the opposed substrate 30 are bonded together. Further, as shown in FIGS. 37A and 37B, strain occurs in the opposed substrate 30. Defects such as display unevenness and an interference fringe (on the top surface of the opposed substrate) may occur in a liquid crystal display device having a cell thickness variation and strain in the opposed substrate 30.
Where the height as measured from the substrate 1 in the driver circuit areas 23 is greater than in the pixel area 22, because of the above-described height difference xcex94h, unduly strong force is exerted on the spacers 41 that are scattered in the driver circuit areas 23 when the TFT substrate 20 and the opposed substrate 30 are bonded together. As a result, the driver circuit TFTs having a more complex structure than the pixel TFTs are damaged considerably, which adversely affects the yield of products.
Where grainy spacers 15 exist in the pixel area, disorder in image display (disclination) may be observed as shown in FIG. 34B because the alignment of the liquid crystal material is disordered in the vicinity of the spacers 15.
As described above, where the cell gap is controlled by using conventional grainy spacers, satisfactory display may not be obtained due to various factors.
In liquid crystal display devices that are commonly manufactured or manufactured as trial products, the cell gap appears to be set at 4-6 xcexcm irrespective of the pixel pitch. However, in the future, liquid crystal panels will be required to have higher resolution and hence the pixel pitch will be increasingly reduced.
For example, projection-type liquid crystal display devices are desired to be able to display images having as high resolution as possible in view of the fact that the images are projected onto a screen in an enlarged manner. Also from the viewpoint of the cost, the optical system needs to be miniaturized and the panel size needs to be reduced. For the above reasons, in the future, it will be necessary to manufacture liquid crystal display devices having a pixel pitch of 40 xcexcm or less, preferably 30 xcexcm or less.
In liquid crystal display devices for displaying such high resolution images, even grainy spacers of several micrometers in diameter may deteriorate display quality when they exist in the effective display area.
Further, when a liquid crystal material is injected, the flow of the liquid crystal material forces conventional grainy spacers themselves to flow. As a result, a uniform spacer dispersion density profile may not be obtained, to cause a cell thickness variation.
Because of their characteristics, liquid crystal display devices using a ferroelectric liquid crystal that attract much attention recently and reflection-type liquid crystal display devices are required to have small cell gaps.
However, with conventional grainy spacers, it is generally difficult to produce a cell having a small, uniform-profile cell gap.
An object of the present invention is to provide a semiconductor display device that is free of a cell thickness variation and display unevenness by producing a cell having a small, uniform-profile cell gap that is hard to realize with conventional grainy spacers.
Another object of the invention is to prevent TFTs from being damaged by preventing unnecessary stress that would otherwise be exerted on the TFTs in bonding substrates together when conventional grainy spacers are used.
According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided an electro-optical device comprising a first substrate comprising a pixel area having a plurality of thin-film transistors and a plurality of pixel electrodes electrically connected to the respective thin-film transistors; a driver circuit area provided at a location separate from the pixel area and having a plurality of driver circuits having a plurality of thin-film transistors for driving the thin-film transistors in the pixel area; and a base substrate; a second substrate that confronts the first substrate; a plurality of gap retaining members; and a sealing member for bonding the first and second substrates together, wherein a distance from a surface of the base substrate to a surface of the pixel area is different from a distance from the surface of the base substrate to a surface of the driver circuit area and wherein the gap retaining members are formed in an area other than the pixel area and the driver circuit area. The above objects can be attained by this electro-optical device.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided an electro-optical device comprising a TFT substrate comprising a pixel area having a plurality of pixel electrodes arranged in matrix form and a plurality of pixel thin-film transistors electrically connected to the respective pixel electrodes; a driver circuit area having a driver circuit having a plurality of thin-film transistors for driving the pixel thin-film transistors; and a base substrate; an opposed substrate that confronts the TFT substrate; a display medium held between the TFT substrate and the opposed substrate, an optical response of the display medium being controlled by an application voltage; and a plurality of gap retaining members, wherein a distance from a surface of the base substrate to a surface of the pixel area is different from a distance from the surface of the base substrate to a surface of the driver circuit area and wherein the gap retaining members are formed in an area other than the pixel area and the driver circuit area. The above objects can be attained by this electro-optical device.
The above-mentioned optical medium may be such that its optical characteristic is modulated in accordance with the application voltage.
The above-mentioned display medium may be a liquid crystal.
The above-mentioned display medium may be a mixed layer of a liquid crystal material and a polymer.
The above-mentioned display medium may be an electroluminescence element.
The above-mentioned gap retaining members may be formed around the pixel area.
The arrangement density of the above-mentioned gap retaining members may be uniform in the pixel area.
Each of the above-mentioned gap retaining members may be shaped like a cylinder.
Each of the above-mentioned gap retaining members may be shaped like an elliptical pole.
Each of the above-mentioned gap retaining members may be shaped like a polygonal prism.
Each of the above-mentioned gap retaining members may be shaped so as not to obstruct a flow of the liquid crystal when it is injected.
The side face of each of the above-mentioned gap retaining members may be tapered.
The above-mentioned gap retaining members may be made of one material selected from the group consisting of polyimide, acrylic, polyamide, and polyimideamide.
The above-mentioned gap retaining members may be made of an ultraviolet curable resin.
The above-mentioned gap retaining members may be made of an epoxy resin.
According to another aspect of the invention, the top surfaces of the respective gap retaining members on the side of one of the first and second substrates have been planarized by chemical mechanical polishing. In this electro-optical device, since the cell gap is controlled by planarizing the top surfaces of the gap retaining members, a small cell thickness having a uniform profile over the entire electro-optical device can be obtained. Even if the gap retaining members are formed on the pixel area or the driver circuits, a uniform cell thickness profile can be obtained.
To attain the above objects, according to another aspect of the invention, there is provided an electro-optical device comprising a first substrate comprising a pixel area having a plurality of pixel electrodes and switching elements connected to the respective pixel electrodes; a second substrate confronting the first substrate; and a gap retaining member that is provided on the second substrate and retains an interval between the first and second substrates.
To attain the above objects, according to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided an electro-optical device comprising a first substrate comprising a pixel area having a plurality of pixel electrodes and switching elements connected to the respective pixel electrodes; a second substrate confronting the first substrate; a liquid crystal sealed in a space between the first and second substrates; a first alignment film that is formed on a surface of the first substrate and orients a liquid crystal; a second alignment film that is formed on the second substrate and orients the liquid crystal; and a gap retaining member that is provided on the second substrate and retains an interval between the first and second substrates.
In the above two electro-optical devices, the use of the gap retaining members provides the following advantages. First, it is not longer necessary to use spacers. Second, since the height of the gap retaining members can be set as desired, the interval between the substrates can be determined as desired. Third, since the gap retaining members are fixed, they are not gathered unlike the conventional spacers. Therefore, point defects do not occur.
In the above two electro-optical devices, the position of the gap retaining members can be set as desired. For example, the gap retaining members can be provided in an area that substantially confronts the pixel area. In this case, it is preferable that the gap retaining members be provided at locations that are not used for display, for instance, on a black matrix of color filters and bus lines in the pixel area. Alternatively, by providing the gap retaining members in an area that does not confront the pixel area, the interval between the substrates can be retained without causing no influences on the display.
Where the invention is applied to an electro-optical device in which a first substrate (TFT substrate) is provided with a pixel area and a driver circuit area having driver circuits for driving switching elements that are provided in the pixel area, it is preferable that the gap retaining members be provided on a second substrate (opposed substrate) in an area that does not confront the driver circuit area. In this case, it is possible to prevent the driver circuits from being damaged or destroyed by stress that is imposed by the gap retaining members.
According to the invention, since the gap retaining members are provided on the second substrate, influences (solvent or etchant-related influences, mechanical impact, etc.) of the formation of the gap retaining members do not affect the first substrate. Provided with the pixel area and the driver circuits, the first substrate has a much higher integration density than the second substrate. In view of this, the gap retaining members are provided on the second substrate to minimize the number of processes that are executed on the first substrate.
Further, by providing the gap retaining members on the second substrate, the conditions that are set in selecting a material are relaxed. For example, where the invention is applied to a TFT-type liquid crystal display device, since pixel TFTs and driver circuit TFTs are formed in the first substrate (TFT substrate), it is necessary to select a material capable of providing a sufficiently large selective etching ratio to the material of those TFTs.
On the other hand, only such members as an opposed electrode and color filters are formed on the second substrate (opposed substrate), that is, the number of materials used in the second substrate is smaller than in the first substrate. Thus, the number of conditions to be set in selecting a material is small. Further, a material such as that of an etching liquid, an etching gas, or the like and means that are necessary to form the gap retaining members can be selected from wider ranges.
To make it possible to uniformize the interval between the substrates, it is preferable that the gap retaining members be made of a planarization material capable of canceling out the asperity of the base member. For example, the gap retaining members may be made of a resin material selected from polyimide, acrylic, polyamide, and polyimideamide, an ultraviolet curable resin, or a thermosetting resin as typified by an epoxy resin.
The above resin materials are frequently used as interlayer insulating films of the TFT substrate (first substrate). In such a case, it is difficult to provide a large selective etching ratio if the gap retaining members made of a resin material are provided on the TFT substrate. This is the reason why in the invention the gap retaining members are formed on the opposed substrate (second substrate).

Method of manufacturing an electro-optical device

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


The invention provides an optically isotropic liquid crystal composition having: a liquid crystal component comprising a liquid crystal component A consisting of one or more compounds selected from the group consisting of compounds having difluoroalkenyl and compounds having alkenyl; and chiral dopants, wherein in the liquid crystal component, the content of compounds having 3 or more ring structures is approximately 15 wt % or more.

Like the case of an isotropic phase (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "non-liquid crystalline isotropic phase") of a nematic liquid crystal material, the Kerr effect, which is a phenomenon in which a value of electric birefringence ΔnE (a value of birefringence induced when electric field is applied on an isotropic medium) is proportional to the square of electric field E [ΔnE=KλE2 (K: Kerr constant (Kerr coefficient), λ: wavelength)], is observed in a blue phase, which is an optically isotropic liquid crystal phase.
Recently, modes in which electric birefringence is exhibited by applying electric field to an optically isotropic liquid crystal phase such as a blue phase have been actively studied (see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2003-327966, No. 2005-336477, No. 2006-89622, No. 2006-299084, No. 2005-157109, and No. 2006-127707, International Publication WO 2005/90520 and WO 2005/080529 pamphlet, Japanese National-phase PCT Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2005-537520, No. 2006-506477 and No. 2007-503487, Nature Materials, 1, 64, (2002), Adv. Mater., 17, 96, (2005), and Journal of the SID, 14, 551, (2006)). In addition, not only application of the modes to display elements, but also application thereof to wavelength-variable filters, wavefront control elements, liquid crystal lenses, aberration correction elements, aperture control elements, optical head apparatuses and the like, in which electric birefringence is utilized, have been proposed (see International Publication WO 2005/080529 pamphlet, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2005-157109 and No. 2006-127707).

Liquid crystal composition and liquid crystal element


A micro adhesive nozzle for applying adhesive on a printed circuit board is disclosed. The nozzle includes a nozzle tip portion with a protruding portion arranged at a periphery of the nozzle tip portion, an adhesive discharge opening portion formed within the periphery of the nozzle tip portion, and a gap provided between the discharge opening portion and the protruding portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a micro adhesive nozzle for applying adhesive on a printed circuit board and an adhesive applying apparatus implementing such a nozzle. The present invention particularly relates to an adhesive nozzle that is capable of realizing stable application of adhesive for attaching micro components such as chip components, and preventing the occurrence of variations in the amount of adhesive being applied, the adhesive applying nozzle further being arranged so that a nozzle tip does not come into contact with the adhesive even when the space between the mounted chip components is narrow.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, in soldering chip components and insert components on a printed circuit board, a mass soldering process is conducted in a flow soldering bath. In conducting the soldering process, the chip components are provisionally attached to the printed circuit board using adhesive in order to prevent the mounted chip components from being detached even when the chip components are positioned at a bottom side of the printed circuit board.
As an exemplary method of provisionally attaching a chip component, an adhesive applying apparatus may be used to apply a suitable amount of adhesive at one or two points in between pads provided on the printed circuit board. Then, a chip component mounting apparatus may be used to mount the chip component after adjusting the positioning of the pads on the printed circuit board and the chip component electrode. Then, a mass heating process may be conducted using a hardening furnace, for example, to harden the applied adhesive and realize provisional attachment of the chip component.
In realizing the provisional attachment of chip components as is described above, an adhesive applying nozzle may be used to apply the adhesive as a micro-pattern. It is noted that exemplary applications of such a technique are described in Japanese Utility Model No. 2544122 and Japanese Patent No. 3498440.
Japanese Utility Model No. 2544122 discloses a technique of providing a pair of adhesive applying nozzle units and a pair of stopper units at a tip portion of a nozzle main body. However, according to this technique, the amount of adhesive being applied may not be sufficiently and stably controlled. Also, the nozzle may not be adaptable to different pad configurations for different types of chip components, and the space between the stopper units has to be taken into account in setting the space between the pads so that high-density component placement may be restricted.
Japanese Patent No. 3498440 discloses a technique of integrally forming a nozzle unit and a stopper unit to realize high-density mounting of micro components. However, according to this technique, the diameter of the applied adhesive may broaden beyond the allowed range, or adhesive may not be applied between a pair of nozzles.
It is noted that in recent years and continuing, miniaturization and price reduction of chip components is progressing as well as higher densification of electronic components (high-density component placement). In turn, techniques are demanded for accurately and stably supplying a suitable amount of adhesive for provisionally attaching small size chip components (micro chip components) without inducing the applied adhesive to spread to an electrode portion. However, problems exist in the prior art for suitably attaching small size chip components in such a manner, particularly with respect to 1005 size (i.e., 1.0×0.5 mm) chip components and smaller chip components. Thereby, in the prior art, small size chip components (micro chip components) of a 1005 size format or smaller may not be used in a printed circuit board that is subject to a mass soldering in a flow solder bath. Due to such a constraint, the design flexibility with respect to the placement of electronic components on the printed circuit board is limited.
In this regard, the present inventor has previously proposed a technique for enabling stable application of adhesive with little variations in the amount of adhesive being applied and narrowing of the spacing between adjacent chip components upon applying adhesive as a micro-pattern for attaching micro chip components on a printed circuit board, the technique involving providing a trench structure at a tip portion of a nozzle unit of an adhesive applying nozzle that applies adhesive on a printed circuit board.
However, according to the above proposed technique, when the space between adjacent chip components is narrow, the applied adhesive may come into contact with an adjacent chip component, and the applied adhesive may also come into contact with the tip of the nozzle so that the nozzle may have to be cleaned afterwards.

Micro adhesive nozzle and adhesive applying apparatus


A device for increasing the braking power of a multi-cylinder internal combustion engine of a vehicle during engine braking operation includes a turbo supercharger and an exhaust gas turbine for each stage thereof. A respective bypass line branches off from a region of two exhaust gas header pipes that can be blocked by throttle valves. Each bypass line communicates with a nozzle bore in a turbine wall. During an engine braking operation, two partial exhaust gas streams are branched off by the bypass lines from exhaust gas retained in blocked header pipes and strike turbine wheel blades at high pressure and high speed, whereupon the turbo supercharger is driven in an accelerated manner and compressed air is supplied to combustion chambers of the engine and is there effective to increase braking power.

The present invention relates to a device for increasing the braking capacity or power of a multi-cylinder internal combustion engine of a vehicle during an engine braking operation.
The present invention starts with internal combustion engines that have an engine braking device internal to the engine as well as a single or multi-stage turbosupercharger including, for each stage, an exhaust gas turbine and a charge air compressor, and in addition are provided with two exhaust gas header pipes via which the exhaust gas respectively discharged from a plurality of cylinders, combined in groups, can be conveyed to a turbine inlet. An engine braking device is known, for example, from EP 0736672 B1 in conjunction with an engine braking process. Such a process has been successful in hundreds of thousands of internal combustion engines installed in MAN trucks and buses, and is known to those of skill in the art as the MAN-EVB (exhaust valve-brake/EVB®). With this engine braking process, during the engine braking operation the throttle valves that are disposed in the exhaust gas line are in a throttling position in which the pertaining exhaust gas line is not entirely closed, so that a portion of the retained exhaust gas can pass the throttle valve via a narrow gap that remains open at the edge. This exhaust gas leakage is necessary in order to prevent a stopping or stalling of the internal combustion engine, even until it stops running, during overheating of the engine.
Although this known engine braking process produces excellent braking power, for many applications it is desirable to have an increase in braking power during an engine braking operation in order to provide greater relief for the further braking systems, such as retarders and service brakes, that are present in the vehicle, or to make them smaller. For this purpose, auxiliary measures are necessary to enable raising of the supercharged pressure during the engine braking operation, so that significantly higher exhaust gas counter pressures are established.
Various devices and methods are already known for achieving such an increase in supercharged pressure for increasing braking power. For this purpose IVECO uses a turbosupercharger having variable turbine geometry (VTG), whereby for increasing the braking power the turbine cross-section is varied. The drawback of this is that VTG turbochargers are considerably more expensive than normal turbo super charges and due to the many small movable parts in the turbine do not achieve the surface life and efficiency required for turbochargers. Instead of a VTG charger, Daimler Chrysler, for their version known as "Turbobrake" uses a turbosupercharger with which, via a displaceable ring in the turbine of the turbocharger, the throughput thereof can be changed over from engine operation to braking operation in the sense of small throughputs and a very high pressure drop so that the charge pressure can be raised during a braking operation. However, this turbosupercharger has similar drawbacks to a VTG turbocharger. Further examples for increasing braking power can be found in EP 077 0772 B1 and EP 082 1147 B1. In both cases, upstream of a throttle valve branching off from an exhaust gas line is a bypass line that either opens out into a collection chamber within the turbine housing and from which nozzle openings proceed in the direction of the turbine wheel, or the bypass line communicates with a single nozzle bore in an intermediate wall or partition of the turbine housing that on the outlet side is disposed ahead of a nozzle ring or guide baffles via which a nozzle stream is deflected and directed in the direction of the outer periphery of the turbine wheel. These two known solutions also have the drawback that they require modifications within the turbine or special turbines, and are therefore relatively expensive.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a device for increasing the braking power of a multi-cylinder internal combustion engine of a vehicle according to which in the exhaust gas turbine of the turbosupercharger, or with a dual-stage turbosupercharger in the high pressure stage thereof, complicated components and modifications can be eliminated, so that the device can be realized in a straightforward and complicated manner, yet produces a relatively high increase in braking power.

Device for increasing the braking power of a multi-cylinder internal combustion engine of a vehicle during an engine braking operation


The invention provides a system and method of milking and feeding a dairy animal, wherein feed is dispensed in portions during the milking. At a predetermined moment the portion size is reduced, in order to increase the chance that the animal has actually eaten the last allocated portion at the moment when the milking has been ended, so that it will not hesitate to leave the milking parlor. This will result in a reduction of the time during which the milking parlor is unnecessarily occupied, and in an enhanced efficiency.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of feeding and milking a dairy animal by means of a milking system comprising a milking parlour with a milking device and a feeding device. More particularly, the invention relates to a feeding and milking method and system that reduces dispensed feed portions when a predetermined sub-phase of the milking is reached, prior to the ending of the milking.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional methods and systems for feeding and milking dairy animals has been described in documents such as for example WO2005/092084, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. WO2005/092084 discloses a method and a system for feeding dairy animals in a milking box, wherein an estimated end time for the milking is determined, and wherein the feeding stops before said end time is reached. The object is to prevent that feed remains in the milking box after the milking itself has been ended, because the dairy animal would in that case occupy the milking box unnecessarily long.
WO2005/092084 thus recognizes the problem that a dairy animal is not always willing to leave the stable in time. However, a disadvantage of the disclosed method and system is that it does not take unexpected deviations in a milking into account. If, for example in the period in which no more feed is dispensed, a situation occurs that prolongs the milking, such as kicking off of a teat cup, or a milk flow that only showed a temporary decrease, the dairy animal is found to become restless.

Method of milking a dairy animal by means of a milking system


A heald supporting frame constituted by a pair of horizontal cross-members for supporting the healds which are mutually rigidly locked by removable side members. The cross-members of the frame are formed by box-like structures made of composite material, in the ends of which inserts with high mechanical strength, made of metallic or composite material, are embedded so as to couple them, and the side members, as well as bushes for connecting the frame to the loom, are mechanically fixed to the inserts.

The present invention relates to a heald supporting frame with composite structure for weaving looms.
As is known, heald supporting frames are used in weaving looms to support a plurality of healds, or heddles, each of which has a warp thread associated therewith. Said frames are constituted by rectangular structures which have a modest thickness, are as long as the maximum, width of fabric which can be processed on the loom for which they are intended, and are formed by two parallel cross-members, respectively an upper one and a lower one, to which the healds are coupled, and by a pair of side members which have the purpose of rigidly connecting the cross-members and must be easily removable in order to allow the insertion of the healds. The heald supporting frames are furthermore connected to a movement system which can move them vertically in order to achieve coordinated movements of the sets of warp threads connected to each frame, opening the pitch for the insertion of the weft according to the particular pattern to be provided in the fabric.
According to the known art, both the healds and the frames which support them are made of metallic materials in order to ensure adequate rigidity and solidity of the assembly. Since these are mechanical elements which perform a rapid or very rapid reciprocating motion, the current trend is naturally to make these elements using aluminum or light alloys in order to minimize their mass and thus their inertia. In order to maintain the necessary rigidity of the frame, this minimization cannot, in any case, exceed a certain limit, unless one uses special metallic alloys with low specific gravity and high mechanical strength, which however would increase the cost of the frame to excessively high levels.
A typical problem of known metallic heald supporting frames is noise. In fact, since the healds are coupled to the frame with a certain play, multiple mutual impacts between the frame and the healds occur during the movement of the frame, with metal-on-metal contacts which cause very high noise.
It has therefore been proposed to manufacture heald supporting frames made of different materials, particularly synthetic ones, but these proposals have not been able to achieve the intended aims of lightness and low cost at the same time.


An arcade type amusement game is disclosed having a housing with a playing field therein, the game further comprising a turntable and a counter rotating pointer. A pair of motors control the rotation and counter rotation of the turntable and pointer, initiated and stopped by player controls. The coincidence of the pointer over the turntable's sectors determine a reward for the player, modified by a quadrant of the playing field to which the pointer comes to rest.

The present invention relates generally to arcade style entertainment apparatus, and more particularly to a coin or token actuated amusement game wherein a player attempts to stop a rotating pointer above a counter-rotating playing field in order to win credits or tickets.
Arcade games that measure a player's skill and luck are well known in the art. The present inventor is the named inventor of many popular games found in today's arcades. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,272,082, entitled "Coin Projecting Amusement Device," discloses an amusement wherein coins may be controllably deposited by the player on a playing surface having a multiplicity of surface interruption means thereon. A vertical dam translates over at least a portion of said playing surface and pushes said deposited coins against a random pattern of accumulated coins, causing some of said accumulated coins to fall over an edge into a collecting and counting means. This game is marketed and sold under the trademark "Wedges and Ledges." U.S. Pat. No. 4,303,248, also invented by the present inventor, discloses an amusement game where coins are dropped onto a flat surface over which a vertical dam is horizontally translated. The vertical dam translates over a portion of the flat surface and drops a certain of the accumulated coins over the edge. As the coins drop over the edge, they are collected in a counting chute to be synchronously counted in a memory which is then unloaded to vend out a corresponding number of tokens.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,726,585 also discloses an amusement apparatus in which a player controls a pushing device to push items off of a playing field. A moveable surface is driven in a first pre-determined path and the pusher device is moveable in a linear path traverse to the path travel of the moveable surface. A delivery passage at one end of the path of the pusher device is arranged to deliver any item swept off the surface to a retrieval bin. U.S. Pat. No. 4,822,045 is directed to an amusement device comprised of a pair of spaced apart elongate members defining a track, and a rolling member for rolling along that track under control of an operator. The elongate members are spaced a fixed distance apart at their first ends establishing the normal home position of the rolling member. The opposite, second ends of the elongate members are moveable relative to one another to adjust their spacing and to control the movement of the rolling member along the track. The operator controls the separation of the elongate member so that the rolling member can roll from its home position to the opposite end of the track without falling between the opening separating the elongate members.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,553,865 discloses a rotary arcade game including a turntable having a central aperture. Prizes are positioned on the surface of the turntable and moved by a pivoting arm member operated by the player. The player attempts to manipulate an arm member to push prizes into a collection pocket where they are detected and dispensed to the player. U.S. Pat. No. 5,855,374 is directed to a crane game using a vacuum to selectively pick up prizes within a bin. The prizes are arrayed on a rotating turntable, and the player manipulates a vacuum pick up device linearly along a radial direction of the turntable to pick up prizes below. U.S. Pat. No. 6,139,429 discloses another crane game using a video screen for displaying images. A maneuverable sensor contacts the display screen to select prizes displayed thereon. U.S. Pat. No. 6,095,519 discloses an arcade game including a directing mechanism for aiming a game piece such as a token. U.S. Pat. No. 6,598,881 discloses a crane game with a prize redistribution mechanism for dispersing prizes to a substantially level configuration. Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 6,770,001 discloses a vacuum crane game with targets having beaded portions that vary the difficulty of acquiring said targets.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,991,230 discloses an amusement device in the form of an arcade game that comprises a rotating playing field arrayed with targets at the perimeter. Using a projectile such as a token or coin, the player drops the projectile into a chute in an attempt to knock down the targets on the rotating playing field. If the player knocks over a target with the projectile, the target is recognized by a detector and then returned to its original position for subsequent play.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,168,702 invented by the present inventor discloses an arcade type amusement device wherein a projectile such as a token is aimed at a target via a guidance mechanism such as an elongate chute. A deflector may be used to alter the path of the projectile, where the deflector is intermittently present along the trajectory of the projectile so as to require timing to engage the deflector. Upon a successful strike of the target, a ball is released down a helical track toward a rotating playing field interspersed with holes assigned various values. When a ball reaches the rotating playing field, it will rebound and roll until it falls within one of said holes, whereupon a point value is awarded based on the particular value of the hole. The player may receiver redemption tickets or points based on the point value awarded.
The foregoing illustrate some of the many arcade type games credited to the present inventor. The games are predominantly skill-based with an element of luck woven into the overall operation of the games. The present invention is the inventor's most recent creation in this line of arcade type games.

Arcade game with rotating and counter rotating pointer and turntable


An illumination device (100) includes a solid-state light source device (10), a pickup lens unit (20) on which light from the solid-state light source device is incident, and a polarization conversion element (40). A lens (22) constituting the light exit surface of the pickup lens unit (20) is an aspherical lens having a light exit surface shaped like a rotationally symmetric shape centered on a light axis (40ax) when viewed from a direction of the light axis (40ax), and having a cross-section of an aspherical shape when cut with a plane parallel to the light axis (40ax). The light exit surface of the aspherical lens has a function of collimating and then emitting the light having been emitted from the center of the solid-state light source device (10) in an area near to the light axis (40ax), and emitting the light so as to converge toward the light axis in an area far from the light axis (40ax).

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an illumination device and a projector.
2. Related Art
Liquid crystal projectors are devices of modulating the light emitted from an illumination device in accordance with image information using a liquid crystal device, and then projecting the image thus obtained in an enlarged manner using a projection lens.
In recent years, as such liquid crystal projectors, extremely small projectors (so-called pico projectors) aiming at installation into portable equipment such as cellular phones or digital cameras have been under development.
Here, in a small-sized projector, it becomes necessary to simplify the configuration of the power supply circuit or the optical system, or to miniaturize these constituents.
As such a small-sized projector, there has been known a device having, for example, an illumination device composed of a solid-state light source device, a collimator lens unit, and a polarization conversion element, a liquid crystal panel as a light modulation device, and a projection optical system.
In this projector, since a single liquid crystal panel is used as the light modulation device, and further, the optical members such as integrator optical system, which is typically disposed between the light source and the polarization conversion element, are eliminated, it is possible to achieve reduction in size.
Incidentally, in the liquid crystal projectors, those arranged to separate the light from the collimator lens into a P-polarized light component and an S-polarized light component, and further convert, for example, the P-polarized light component into the S-polarized light component are used as the polarization conversion element (see, e.g., JP-A-2010-72138). An example of such a polarization conversion element is shown in FIG. 12.
The polarization conversion element 200 shown in FIG. 12 is for converting the light L input from a collimator lens unit not shown into the light composed of an S-polarized light component. The polarization conversion element 200 is composed of an optical block 200A and an optical block 200B. The configuration of the optical block 200A is the same as the configuration of the optical block 200B, and the optical block 200A and the optical block 200B are each composed of a polarization beam splitter 201 provided with a polarization splitting film 203, and an internal total reflection prism 202 provided with a total reflection film 204. Further, the optical block 200A and the optical block 200B are disposed symmetrically about an illumination light axis 200ax. Therefore, in the following explanation, only the optical block 200A will be explained, and the explanation related to the optical block 200B will be omitted.
Among the plurality of surfaces provided to the polarization conversion element 200, the surface on the side to which the light L emitted from the collimator lens unit is input is referred to as a light entrance surface S21 of the polarization conversion element 200. In the light entrance surface S21, the region corresponding to the light entrance surface of the polarization beam splitter 201 constitutes a light guide port B3 through which the light L is introduced into the polarization conversion element 200.
Further, among the plurality of surfaces provided to the polarization conversion element 200, the surface opposed to the light entrance surface of the polarization conversion element 200 is referred to as a light exit surface of the polarization conversion element 200. In the light exit surface S22 of the polarization conversion element 200, the region corresponding to the light exit surface of the polarization beam splitter 201 is referred to as a "first region B1." Further, in the light exit surface S22 of the polarization conversion element 200, the region corresponding to the light exit surface of the internal total reflection prism 202 is referred to as a second region B2." The first regions B1 are provided with a wave plate 206 for converting the P-polarized light component into the S-polarized light component.
The tilted surface located inside the polarization beam splitter 201 is provided with the polarization splitting film 203 for reflecting the S-polarized light component, which is input from the light guide port B3 of the light entrance surface S21, in a direction perpendicular to the illumination light axis 200ax, and at the same time transmitting the P-polarized light input from the light guide port B3. Further, the tilted surface located inside the internal total reflection prism 202 is provided with a total reflection film 204 for reflecting the S-polarized light component, which is reflected by the polarization splitting film 203, in a direction parallel to the illumination light axis 200ax.
In such a polarization conversion element 200, the light L emitted from the collimator lens unit proceeds to the inside of the polarization conversion element 200 through the light guide port B3, and then enters mainly the polarization splitting film 203. In the light having entered the polarization splitting film 203, the S-polarized light component with respect to the polarization splitting film 203 is reflected by the polarization splitting film 203 and the total reflection film 204, and thus the light path thereof is translated from the polarization beam splitter 201 toward the internal total reflection prism 202. Then, the S-polarized light component is emitted from the second region B2 as the illumination light. On the other hand, in the light having entered the polarization splitting film 203, the P-polarized light component with respect to the polarization splitting film 203 is transmitted through the polarization splitting film 203. The P-polarized light component having been transmitted through the polarization splitting film 203 is transmitted through the wave plate 206 to thereby be converted into the S-polarized light component, and is then emitted from the first region B1 as the illumination light.
However, in the configuration of inputting the light, which is emitted from the collimator lens unit, to the polarization conversion element 200, there arises the following problem.
That is, since the light from the collimator lens is collimated light, although the light emitted from the inner peripheral area of the collimator lens goes straight, and then enters the light guide port B3, the light emitted from the outer peripheral area of the collimator lens enters the outside of the light guide port B3, and is therefore reflected by the total reflection film 204 to the outside of the polarization conversion element 200. Therefore, there arises a problem that the use efficiency of the source light is lowered, which makes it difficult to increase the intensity of the illumination light. Therefore, it has been proposed that the reflecting film is disposed in the area outside the light guide port B3 of the light entrance surface S21, and the light having entered the area is reflected toward the solid-state light source device to thereby be reused as the source light. However, the effect thereof is not so significant.
Further, in such a configuration, although the illumination light emitted from the first region B1 is the light having proceeded straight while being transmitted through the polarization splitting film 203 and the wave plate 206, the illumination light emitted from the second region B2 is the light having passed through the reflection path from the polarization splitting film 203 toward the total reflection film 204. Therefore, the light path length of the illumination light emitted from the second region B2 corresponds to what is obtained by adding the length of the light path corresponding to the reflection path to the length of the light path through which the illumination light from the first region B1 has passed. Therefore, according to the law of illumination, the intensity of the illumination light emitted from the second region B2 is lower than the intensity of the illumination light emitted from the first region B1, and there arises a problem that there occurs the illuminance unevenness that the area irradiated with the light from the second region is darker than the area irradiated with the light from the first region.


A heat treating method for a golf club head includes preparing a golf club head having at least one heat treating zone. A protrusion is provided on the heat treating zone. Heat treatment is carried out on the protrusion by a high-energy beam, and the protrusion is removed after the heat treatment. The properties of the material of the golf club head are improved without sacrificing appearance of the golf club head.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a heat treating method. In particular, the present invention relates to a heat treating method for a golf club head.
2. Description of Related Art
Heat treating methods for a golf club head generally comprise vacuum heat treatments and high-frequency heat treatments. In a vacuum heat treatment, the whole golf club head is placed in a vacuum heat treatment furnace. Heat treatment on a particular portion of the golf club head is impossible. Further, in a case that the golf club head consists of at least two materials, the vacuum heat treatment furnace can proceed with heat treatment of only one of the materials. The properties of the other materials cannot be fully utilized. In a high-frequency heat treatment, high-frequency waves are used to proceed with local heat treatment on a particular portion of the golf club head. However, it is difficult to precisely control the temperature, the treating path, and the position of heat treatment, failing to provide uniform high-frequency heat treatments.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,776,726 discloses a golf club head comprising a ball striking face provided with a central region and a peripheral region surrounding the central region. A solution heat treatment and an aging treatment are made for the entirety of the golf club head basal body. Then, a peripheral heating treatment is made on the peripheral region by irradiating a high-energy laser beam until the surface hardness of the peripheral region is in a range of from 0.45 to 0.9 times the surface hardness of the central region. However, a portion of the surface in the heat treating zone of the peripheral region may melt and thus collapse, generating cavities, depressions, dimples, or the like during the laser treatment and adversely affecting the qualified product ratio. The irradiating time and the irradiating intensity of the high-energy beam have to be reduced to eliminate or mitigate the above problem, leading to limitation of the irradiating time, the irradiating intensity, and the depth of the heat treatment.


User exposure to media items is detected and measured. A mobile client device carried by a user digitally samples the audio environment of the user on a regular basis. These samples are transformed into a stream of data signatures and compared with reference media items to detect user exposure to the reference items. Purchase behavior following exposure to selected media content items can be detected and tracked as well, so as to gauge effectiveness of media items such as advertisements.

Producers and distributors of media content, as well as advertisers, are very interested in accurately measuring the size of their audiences. Such measurements ideally indicate the number of people that are exposed to, or that consume, the media content. There is also considerable interest in the demographics and other characteristics of media consumers.
Existing audience measurement techniques overlook many types of media consumption, consumer exposure to purchased music (on CD or mp3), video games, and movies. Initial sales data is available, but usage data is not. In other words, there may be information as to how many copies of a CD were purchased, but there is no information as to how often each consumer has listened to the CD (i.e., how often the consumer was exposed to the media item).
In addition, television viewing and radio listening are typically measured independently from each other and independently of other media consumption. Thus, there is no easy way to determine overall exposure to (consumption of) a particular content item such as an advertisement across various media, nor to obtain an overview of aggregate exposure to various media items and types of media items.
Another disadvantage of conventional media measurement techniques is that the effectiveness of advertising is typically measured in very broad terms. In particular, the effectiveness of advertising targeted at a particular demographic market segment is not easily determined, nor is it easy for advertisers to obtain quick feedback to confirm that their advertising has reached its intended target market.
Yet another disadvantage of conventional media measurement techniques is that such techniques are typically associated with the playback device (such as a particular television set, radio, or the like) and not directly associated with the consumer him- or herself (the viewer of the television set, listener to the radio, or the like). In addition, conventional measurement techniques do not provide a mechanism for tracking exposure both inside the home and outside the home (for example at a bar, or a friend's house, or the like).
Yet another disadvantage of conventional media measurement techniques is that they require active participation by the consumer and can often be quite burdensome. For example, in a "Nielsen family", users must interact with the measuring device (or fill out a paper diary) to identify which family members are watching the television at any given time. Such requirements result in inaccuracy, lowered and/or unreliable participation, skewed results, and the like.
Finally, existing media measurement techniques do not correlate user exposure to media items with store visits or purchases.
What is needed, therefore, is a media measurement technique that addresses the above-described limitations of the prior art.
What is further needed is a media measurement technique that reliably tracks user exposure to media content, regardless of how the content is delivered to the user. What is further needed is a technique that does so without unduly burdening the user and without requiring action on his part.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Detecting and measuring exposure to media content items


Provided herein is an apparatus for optically isolating a light beam from a laser, comprising an optical isolator configured to isolate a light beam having a beam quality; a reference plane; an output connector disposed at the output of the optical isolator, wherein the output connector is configured with a common collimator interface to connect to a collimator which is capable of being mechanically referenced to the reference plane; a first lens arrangement disposed proximal to a distal end of the output connector, wherein the first lens arrangement is selected to provide an output light beam having a predetermined divergence. The laser can be selected from the group consisting of a fiber laser, a disk laser and a rod laser. Also provided herein are a system, a plurality of lasers, and a method of providing a light beam that has a consistent divergence and distance from a reference plane.

There are many applications for lasers that require the output beam of a laser to be optically isolated to prevent back reflections damaging the laser or causing undesirable optical interactions. Examples include welding, cutting, drilling, cladding, brazing, marking, engraving, and slicing materials, especially highly reflective materials such as copper, brass, gold, silver and diamonds. The optical isolation is typically performed using an optical isolator through which the output beam of the laser is coupled. Back reflected light is then prevented from returning to the laser by the isolator. For low power laser systems, it is usually satisfactory to collimate the laser beam through the isolator. The laser beam would then be expanded by a beam expanding telescope and then coupled into a mechanical scanning optics which directs the beam to the material to be processed.
Mechanical scanning optics come in standard formats each of which is optimized for a collimated light beam of a specific beam diameter. Beam diameters (1/e2) of 5 mm, 7.5 mm and 10 mm are very common choices. The laser manufacturer thus needs to provide beam expanding optics, such as beam expanding telescopes (BET), that output collimated laser beams that have these beam diameters.
As the average power of the laser system increases above approximately 1 W, the size of the collimator generally increases because of the need to avoid laser induced damage at optical surfaces of the crystals within the isolator. If size, cost (of an individual isolator) and isolation performance is not critical, the laser beam can still be collimated through the isolator, and expanded with beam expanding telescopes.
However, if cost is an issue (for example in lasers manufactured in high volumes for consumer electronics and marking applications), then isolator crystal size must be kept to a minimum. This leads to a requirement to focus the laser beam through the isolator in order to optimize the isolation performance. The light beam emerging from the isolator is therefore not collimated. A conventional approach would be to provide a collimating lens to collimate the light from the isolator to a standard beam diameter which is compatible with standard beam expanding telescopes. The benefits of this approach is that it reduces design effort as standard optics can be used.
The situation becomes more complicated when the same isolator product is being used with a family of high power lasers, where each laser type within the family has a different beam quality. This is because the optimization of the beam profile through the isolator is usually different for each laser, and in addition, different collimating lenses must be selected to collimate the output light to be compatible with the standard beam expanding telescopes.
Beam quality is usually defined in terms of M2 or the beam parameter product. The M2 of a laser beam defines how rapidly the beam diverges from a given aperture compared to a Gaussian beam from the same aperture: an M2 of 2 means that the beam diverges twice as fast, and an M2 of 3 three times as fast. The beam parameter product (BPP) is related to the M2 by the equation:BPP=M2·λ/π(mm.mrad)where the wavelength λ is given in micrometers (μm). Thus a ytterbium-doped fiber laser emitting at 1.06 μm and with an M2=1.0 would have a BPP=0.338 mm.mrad. If the laser had an M2=2, then the BPP=0.672 mm.mrad, and if the laser had an M2=3, the BPP=1.01 mm.mrad.
If a product family of lasers were designed comprising three lasers having M2=1, M2=2, and M2=3, then the difference in the beam quality (and hence beam divergence) would result in three different beam optimizations being required at the input to the respective optical isolator. There would also be three different beam collimator designs required for each of the three fiber lasers in order to match the output beams to the mechanical scanners described previously. These nine different collimator designs would not be interchangeable between the lasers without there being additional functionality to adjust the output beam to provide a collimated beam matched to the individual mechanical scanner units. Each of the lasers would have a single collimator design at its output to match the output beams to the expanded beam telescopes.
However, this conventional approach is not the option with the lowest cost materials. This is because the collimating lens at the output of the isolator is serving a similar purpose as the first lens in the beam expanding telescope. There is therefore a redundant optical element within the system. Although acceptable for systems produced in low quantities where the additional expense of designing special optics is more than the cost of using standard beam expanding telescopes, it is not the optimum solution for a high volume product where cost and space is at a premium.
There is therefore a need for an isolator design that removes the additional collimating lens at the output of the isolator. Unfortunately, removal of this lens causes a major design problem for a product family of lasers defined by different beam qualities. In the example quoted above, there would need to be three different beam expanding telescopes for each of the three lasers. These beam expanding telescope designs would not be interchangeable between the lasers without additional functionality such as additional lenses or adjustability) being provided. Thus there is a need to provide nine different beam expanding telescopes in order to match the beams to the three mechanical scanner units. The complication described above increases rapidly with the number of different laser beam qualities and the number of mechanical scanner units being catered for. And it is for this reason that prior art laser systems for high volume requirements are provided with a range of beam adaption accessories, which need to be designed, manufactured and supported in customer applications
It would be advantageous if there were optical isolators and laser systems that enable greater commonality of laser accessories between different laser types. Such an advance would lead to fewer accessories that need to be designed, manufactured and controlled by the laser user. An aim of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method for optical isolation which reduces the above aforementioned problem.

Apparatus and method for optical isolation


A film blowing head for the production of film tubing from a single or multi-layer film includes an extrusion gap to form a film layer. The extrusion gap is embodied between two boundary walls, with at least one melt pipeline mouthing into the extrusion gap, which converts inside the extrusion gap into a first melt channel, which is formed in a section of the progression of the first melt channel by recesses in the two boundary walls of the extrusion gap, and which distributes melt in the extrusion dap. The first melt channel tapers in the progression in the direction of transportation of the melt (h), and in an end section, entirely converts into the extrusion gap. The first melt channel is formed at one of the sections only by the recesses in one of the two boundary walls.

1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to a film blowing head for the production of film tubing comprising a single or multi-layer film. Such film blowing heads are known.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally they have in common that they are fed with melt from one or more extruders. This melt frequently passes through a pre-distributor, by which the melt is divided over a larger number of melt pipelines. During their further travel through the blowing head the melt pipelines mouth in extrusion gaps, which by its flat, planar embodiment can convert the melt strand, showing a circular cylindrical cross-section, which exits the melt pipelines, into a film or a film layer. If a single-layer film is produced, a single such gap is required. For the production of a film with a number n of layers generally here n number of such gaps is needed as well.
After a mouthing of the melt pipeline in the extrusion gap, the melt pipelines convert into melt channels, which are formed by recesses in one or both of the boundary walls of the extrusion gap. The melt channels extend along the boundary walls of the extrusion gap, in order to distribute the melt in said extrusion gap. During their progression in the extrusion gap the melt pipelines increasingly taper until they finally convert entirely into the extrusion gap.
The publications EP 1055504 B1, DE20307412 U1, as well as U.S. Pat. No. 5,716,650 B show, among other things, the above-mentioned facts. When comparing the general design of the blowing heads shown in the three publications here general differences are striking, though:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,716,650 B shows a film blowing head, which essentially comprises a stack of round plates, which show a round recess in their center (round perforated disks). The exterior diameter and the diameter of the round recess are identical in the round plates of a blowing head. The stack of round plates, in the area of said round recess, is provided with an inner mandrel and shows an overall circular cylindrical shape. The melt is fed from the outside to the multi-layer blowing head via initially externally extending melt pipelines in the radial direction. The individual plates define the individual extrusion gaps, which form the respective film layer. The melt pipelines feed the melt to the gaps. After the gap is reached the melt pipelines convert into melt channels, which in the film gap point helically towards the center of the circular cylinder. Generally the melt pipelines are only formed by a groove in one of the two plates limiting the respective gap. U.S. Pat. No. 5,716,650 B shows however a blowing head, in which the channels are formed by grooves in both plates limiting the respective gap.
Over their path in the direction towards the center of the blowing head the helically extending grooves taper (their depth in the walls of the gap reduces) until the grooves end entirely. At the points the grooves end the melt has entirely converted into the gap. Over its remaining path through the gap the melt is further formed into its "new" planar shape. Finally the gaps forming the individual layers of the film end by mouthing in the multi-layer gap, which exists between the inner mandrel and the plates. By the individual layers of film mouthing here a melt flow develops, which already includes the layers of the future multi-layer film. The extrusion of this melt flow occurs by an annular gap, which is typical for film blowing heads. Film blowing heads of the above-described type, which are formed by a stack of plates, are frequently called "stack die," as common in the English language.
EP 1055504 B1 shows such a stack die, which however comprises a few structural differences in its design in reference to the stack die of U.S. Pat. No. 5,716,650 B.
Individual gaps mouth in the multi-layer gap, which are guided in the radial direction of the blowing head from the inside and from the outside towards the multi-layer gap. Individual disks show conical forms.
In the context with such a film blowing head, frequently the use of a melt pre-distributor is recommended, which distributes the melt inside a closed component over several pipelines.
An alternative design of a film blowing head is shown in DE 203 07 412 U1. In these blowing heads the extrusion gap, forming the individual layers, already extends circular and cylindrical around the primary axis of symmetry of the blowing head, which is also circular and cylindrical.
Melt channels extend along this extrusion gap like helixes, which also taper in the direction towards the mouthing of the melt channel to a common melt channel at the upper axial end of the blowing head by their reduction in depth in the boundary walls of the melt channels until they entirely convert into said melt channel. Here, it must be stated that, contrary to many other documents of prior art, DE 203 07 412 U1 also shows melt channels formed by recesses in both boundary walls of the melt channels.
Obviously here, both by DE 203 07 412 U1 as well as by U.S. Pat. No. 5,716,650 B, the formation of striations or exudation marks in the film should be avoided. However, the measures suggested in these two publications cannot entirely prevent the formation of striations or exudation marks, so that professional users still need a solution for these two problems.


A protective pouch (26) for storing eyeglasses (24) or small objects such as keys or money that can be rolled up into a compact configuration (44). The pouch is provided with an eyeglass strap (21) with ends (20) capable of releasably attaching to the eyeglass arms (22) so that it is always available for use and cannot be lost. The two ends of the strap pass through holes (25) into the interior cavity (46) of the pouch, pass out the open end (48) of the pouch and are attached to the eyeglass arms. The pouch can slide along the strap to adjust the strap length for tensioning the eyeglasses to a one's head. A cover flap (30) is provided to fasten the pouch in its compact configuration or to close off the pouch opening. When the eyeglasses and strap are stored inside the pouch, the entire package can be worn on one's belt (50) from a loop (28) provided.

This Invention relates generally to eyeglass cases and neckstraps. More specifically, this invention relates to a compact storage pouch attached to an eyeglass neckstrap which is capable of deploying and storing the eyeglasses and neckstrap when they are not in use, or for carrying small objects such as keys or money.

Storage pouch and eyeglass neckstrap tensioning device


A method for preparing a modified sodium fluoride adsorbent includes the following steps: S1. producing spherical particles of NiCl12.6H2O and porous NaF with a mass ratio of 1:3.0-3.5; S2. sintering the spherical particles in a vacuum environment at a temperature of 120-130° C. for 10-40 hours and at a temperature of 280-300° C. for 10-40 hours, respectively, to form an adsorbent intermediate with a NiCl2—NaF framework, wherein, a vacuum degree is less than or equal to 500 pa; and S3. treating the adsorbent intermediate by fluorine-nitrogen mixtures with high purity to obtain the novel sodium fluoride adsorbent having NiCl2—NaF framework. The modified sodium fluoride adsorbent can effectively separate chlorine trifluoride and hydrogen fluoride molecules, and the optimal adsorption rate of hydrogen fluoride is upgraded to more than 98%. While, the optimal adsorption rate of chlorine trifluoride is lowered down to around 3%.

Chlorine trifluoride (ClF3) is easy to have chemical association with hydrogen fluoride (HF) and form aggregates, which makes it difficult to separate chlorine trifluoride with hydrogen fluoride by current methods. Researches have shown that conventional sodium fluoride exhibits strong stability when encountering both chlorine trifluoride and hydrogen fluoride. The conventional sodium fluoride can adsorb hydrogen fluoride with an adsorption rate, however, less than 90%, and can also adsorb chlorine trifluoride with an adsorption rate around 10%. Therefore, conventional sodium fluoride has the drawbacks of low adsorption rate of hydrogen fluoride and large loss of chlorine trifluoride, etc.

Modified sodium fluoride adsorbent for special purpose, preparation and application thereof


In one embodiment, a storage subsystem includes a plurality of storage arrays each including a plurality of storage devices. The storage subsystem also includes a plurality of array controllers each coupled to one or more of the plurality of storage arrays. One or more of the arrays corresponds to a failure group. Each array controller may create a storage volume including storage devices belonging to one or more of plurality of storage arrays. In addition, the storage subsystem includes a redundancy controller that may be configured to implement N+K redundancy. The redundancy controller includes configuration functionality that may determine a number of redundant system data blocks to be stored on different storage devices for a given stripe of data that is dependent upon particular values of N and K and upon physical system configuration information.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to storage systems employing redundant arrays of inexpensive disks (RAID) techniques and, more particularly, to the dynamic configuration of RAID sets within the storage systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many computer systems employ mass storage systems that may include multiple storage subsystems. These mass storage systems may use arrays of storage devices, such as hard disks, for example. The use of storage arrays grew, in part, from the need to increase storage system performance. In such systems, storage performance may be increased by performing multiple I/O operations in parallel over an array of disks. By reading and writing multiple disks simultaneously, the storage system performance may be greatly improved.
However, using arrays of multiple disks comes with the disadvantage of increasing failure rates. For example, in a small array containing four disks, the mean time between failure (MTBF) for the array will generally be one-fourth that of a single disk. It is not uncommon for storage device arrays to include many more than four disks, shortening the mean time between failure from years to months or even weeks. Modern systems address this reliability issue by employing fault protection, or "redundancy", so that data lost from a device failure may be recovered.
One common approach to providing fault protection in arrays of disks is to use one or more of the array architectures defined in redundancy schemes known as Redundant Arrays of Inexpensive Disks (RAID). A fundamental approach to RAID schemes includes the "striping" or partitioning of each drive in the array into multiple sections which are referred to as stripe units. Depending on the RAID implementation, a stripe may be as small as a single sector or as large as multiple blocks. Common RAID schemes include RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 2, RAID 3, RAID 4, RAID 5 and RAID 6. In addition there are several variants or hybrid RAID schemes such as RAID 0+1, RAID 10, and RAID 53. Each of the RAID schemes has advantages and disadvantages. Some of the schemes may target increased performance, while others target increased availability.
In a typical data center, a given storage sub-system array or group of arrays may have common components in which a failure of such a component may take down the entire system or sub-system. Such failures are commonly referred to as Single-Points-of-Failure (SPoF). Depending on specific storage implementations, an array or arrays that have common components may define a failure group. More generally, any group of components or storage devices that share a common SpoF may be referred to as a failure group. These SpoF's often exist in storage subsystems, rack-mounted arrays comprising multiple disc drives, control logic, power systems and signal and power distribution schemes. One such SPoF is often a system component referred to as the midplane, which affects the interconnection of signals and power between the various components in a storage sub-system. An SPoF may negate any precautions that system administrators may use such as traditional RAID striping across drives in an array. For example, if a midplane fails, attached hosts are unable to access any drive in an array, regardless of any local striping.
One common technique used to mitigate an array SPoF is vertical striping. One conventional vertical striping technique uses a RAID 5 stripe that is composed of drives that physically reside in distinct arrays, such that two drives in a stripe do not reside in the same array. Since conventional vertical striping using a RAID 5 scheme may only be successful if each drive resides in a distinct array, this scheme is difficult if not impossible to use efficiently in small systems. In addition, conventional vertical striping is sometimes limited in its flexibility.
The RAID 5 scheme is also known more generally as an N+K scheme, where N drives are augmented with a K=1 extra drive to create a single parity group. Such a single parity group is tolerant of single drive failures, but intolerant of multiple drive failures. Several schemes have been proposed that define other RAID protection schemes involving K drives worth of redundant information, where K≧2 extra drives are used in conjunction with logic and control to statically protect a data store from up to K drive failures.
However, modern storage systems are typically a dynamic environment in which configurations may change rapidly due the dynamic and high-growth nature of application and storage volume administration, changing global sparing schemes, the desire to be able to expand storage in a storage subsystem without complete volume reconfiguration (i.e., online expansion and concatenation while maintaining application availability), the desire to maximize efficient use of storage and minimize storage costs, and so on. Thus, it may be desirable to have flexibility in storage system configuration, where system administrators may wish to dynamically configure a volume with a certain capacity without particular attention to where the physical drives reside in the storage system while still maintaining a given level of protection and/or availability.

Method for dynamically implementing N+K redundancy in a storage subsystem


The present invention relates to a genetically-engineered Mycobacterium strain and a use thereof in the preparation of steroidal compounds. The genetically-engineered Mycobacterium strain is a Mycobacteria which lacks of acyl-CoA dehydrogenase genes fadE31, fadE32 and fadE33, wherein acyl-CoA dehydrogenase genes fadE31, fadE32 and fadE33 respectively encode proteins as follows: having amino acid sequences according to SEQ ID NOs 4, 6 and 8; derived by substituting, deleting or inserting one or more amino acids in the amino acid sequence defined by preceding protein and having the same function as that of the preceding protein. The present invention constructs a genetically-engineered Mycobacterium strain and applies it in preparing steroidal compounds, thereby enriching the types of valuable intermediates, improving the production efficiency and product quality of steroid drugs, reducing energy consumption in the steroid drugs production, simplifying production steps, and reducing production costs.

Steroidal compounds, also known as steroids, are a class of compounds with perhydrocyclopentanophenanthrene as mother nucleus and having similar structures. As illustrated below, the basic structure consists of three six-membered rings and a five-membered ring, respectively known as A, B, C, and D rings. Taking the four-membered ring sterane mother nucleus as the matrix, the type, configuration and substitution site of substituents can determine the characters and the functions of different steroidal compounds, and form a series of compounds with unique physiological functions. Among them, the steroid having a hydroxyl substituent at C-3, two methyl groups at C-18 and C-19 and a long hydrocarbon side group mostly in β-configuration at C-17 can be collectively referred to as sterol (3-β sterol), for example, cholesterol, ergosterol and the like. In humans and animals, steroids are the main endogenous hormones, which are secreted by sexual organs and the adrenal cortex, and is closely related to reproduction, brain and bone development, steady state maintenance and regulation of biological effects and so on. As an exogenous hormone, steroid hormone drugs also are a class of indispensable clinical drugs, which play an important role in regulating the body and have extremely important medical value. For example, an adrenocortical hormone has anti-inflammatory, antiallergic, antiallergy, anti-shock response and other effects. In addition, the steroid also has many non-hormonal functions, such as antiviral, neoplastic ailments therapy and the like. Therefore, steroidal drugs are widely used in clinical practice, and are the second largest class of drugs with the production only after antibiotics.

The high demand for steroidal drugs has promoted a vigorous development of another important industry—the extraction and preparation of steroidal drug intermediates (steroidal drugs precursor). The preparation of the steroidal drug intermediate is mainly based on the microbial metabolism of sterol. Mycobacterium has gained widespread attention for its excellent biological metabolism among many microorganisms which could degrade the sterol. Therefore, it's particularly important to analyze the sterol metabolism mechanism of Mycobacterium species. The progress of sterol degradation by Mycobacterium is complicated, and can be divided into two major parts, namely, the degradation of the mother nucleus and the degradation of the side chain. The degradation of the mother nucleus can be divided into the degradation of A and B rings and the degradation of C and D rings, wherein, the research on the degradation mechanism of A and B rings is more adequate and detailed than that of C and D rings.
The acyl-CoA dehydrogenase, as shown in FIG. 1, was speculated by the researchers to be one of the key enzymes involved in degradation of the C and D rings of sterol nucleus, which can participate in the dehydrogenation reaction during the degradation of the C and D rings. The C and D rings are opened and eventually degraded to form CO2 and H2O. Therefore, deletion of the gene encoding acyl-CoA dehydrogenase in Mycobacteria is likely to prevent the degradation process of the C and D rings, thereby producing valuable steroidal drugs intermediates. Until now, valuable intermediates produced from sterol metabolized by Mycobacteria can be mainly divided into C19-steroids (AD, ADD, 9-OHAD, testosterone, boldenone) and C22-steroids (20-carboxy-pregn-4-en-3-one, 4-BNC; 20-hydroxymethyl-pregn-4-en-3-one, 4-BNA; and corresponding 9α-hydroxylation and/or C1 (2) dehydrogenation compounds of each substance and so on). Since the degradation mechanisms of C and D rings have not been thoroughly analyzed, the Mycobacteria strains used to produce the steroidal drug intermediates that retain only the C and D rings are very rare. A valuable compound that can be used for commercialization in the degradation of C and D rings is a lactonization product (sitolactone, HIL) of 5-OHHIP which retains the complete C and D, and it can be used in production of mifepristone, estrogen, and the other steroid drugs. In the steroid medical industry, for the production of sitolactone, the Nocardia bacteria are used to ferment sterol to form 5-OHHIP, followed by pH adjustment, so that 5-OHHIP is lactonized to form commercial sitolactone. The sitolactone production strain is relatively inefficient, and the steps are cumbersome, and thus it has certain defects.
Therefore, it's necessary to study the acyl-CoA dehydrogenase gene to overcome the problems that the degradation mechanism of C and D rings that are unknown, and the sitolactone production strain is lacking, and thus to achieve the transformation and development of high-efficiency production strain, enrich the types of valuable intermediates, improve the production efficiency and product quality of steroids drugs, reduce energy consumption in the steroid drugs production, simplify production steps, and reduce production costs.

Genetically-engineered mycobacterium strain and a use thereof in the preparation of steroidal compounds

East China University Of Science And Technology


A load balancing apparatus for balancing the current supplied on each phase of a multiple phase supply, Each supply phase feeds an AC load, as well as an AC-DC converter. The apparatus measures the current supplied from each phase of the supply as well as the power consumed by each of the AC loads. The power consumed by each of the AC-DC converters is adjusted so that the sum of the current drawn by any one of the AC loads, plus the current drawn by the AC-DC converter on the same supply phase, is substantially balanced between the supply phases. Typically the AC-DC converters supply a common DC battery. In some embodiments each AC load includes a DC-AC converter configured to supply power from the common DC battery to one or more of the AC loads.

3-phase AC mains supply is typically used for distributing generated power to end consumers. In a 3-phase system each AC supply is shifted by 120° (2π/3 radians) with respect to the other phases. One advantage of 3-phase power systems is the ease with which rotating machinery can generate the necessary phase shifted AC currents.
An important requirement when loading a 3-phase circuit is that each phase is loaded equally; in other words the loads on each of the 3 phases are roughly equivalent. When the loading on the phases are roughly equivalent the loading is said to be balanced. Because the phase currents are 120° out of phase the instantaneous sum of the currents for a balanced load is zero.
When the phase loading is balanced the system losses are reduced and lower rated conductors can be utilised. Unbalanced loads are also undesirable for generation. In a 3-phase generator the phase windings are typically distributed around the stator, spaced apart by 120° (2π/3 radians). When phase loads are unbalanced (phase currents varying more than 10%), rotor overheating may result in the generator. The rotor heating is caused by negative sequence currents in the field pole face.
Furthermore, when one of the phase windings is more heavily loaded than the others the stator experiences a greater resistance to its rotation when inducing current into the heavily loaded winding versus a less heavily loaded winding. The differing loading on the stator results in mechanical vibration, stress and accelerated wear and tear on the generator.
In addition to undesirable mechanical stresses an unbalanced load can cause problems with automatic voltage regulation (AVR) circuitry. An AVR circuit regulates the output voltage of the phases at a desired level, for example 110 VAC or 230 VAC. When an unbalanced load is applied to a generator the AVR circuitry attempts to maintain the voltage on each phase at the desired level, however due to one phase being heavily loaded one phase may be disproportionally lower than the voltage on the other phases, this can result in instability of the AVR circuitry.
Unbalanced loads on a generator can cause load imbalance alarms and generator shut-down. Due to the issues caused by unbalanced loads utility power providers can charge penalties to consumers of 3-phase power who do not balance their demand across all phases.
Typically issues of unbalanced loads are avoided by consumers by ensuring that the loading on each phase is equal, usually by installing phase balancing circuitry. However typical phase balancing circuitry is extremely expensive. Traditional phase balancing circuitry is not well suited to rapidly changing loads, such as when loads are spasmodic, or unpredictable. Examples of such loads include automated compressors or pumps such as would be found in air-conditioning and refrigeration equipment.
Traditional phase load balancing systems utilise equipment that automatically switches AC loads from phase to phase to try to attain a balanced load. This generally involves switching equipment off momentarily as it transfers to a different phase, and the load steps are limited by the actual loads attached, and as such the balancing may be relatively coarse.
The most common technique for balancing loads is to simply distribute single-phase loads evenly across phases at the time of design. This does not however address the problem of single phase loads turning on and off.
It would be useful for a system to exist in which the individual loading can be varied dynamically to adjust for spasmodic or unpredictable loading.
It is an object of the present invention to address the foregoing problems or at least to provide the public with a useful choice.
All references, including any patents or patent applications cited in this specification are hereby incorporated by reference. No admission is made that any reference constitutes prior art. The discussion of the references states what their authors assert, and the applicants reserve the right to challenge the accuracy and pertinency of the cited documents. It will be clearly understood that, although a number of prior art publications are referred to herein, this reference does not constitute an admission that any of these documents form part of the common general knowledge in the art, in New Zealand or in any other country.
Throughout this specification, the word "comprise", or variations thereof such as "comprises" or "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated element, integer or step, or group of elements integers or steps, but not the exclusion of any other element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps.
Further aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the ensuing description which is given by way of example only.


A water heater for a carpet cleaning system has a first chamber and a main heat exchanger disposed within the first chamber, the main heat exchanger utilizing heat from a first source, preferably an engine, to heat water to be used in the carpet cleaning process. A second chamber substantially surrounds the first chamber and utilizes heat from a second source, preferably a blower in fluid communication with the carpet cleaning system's water tank. The second chamber substantially surrounds the first chamber to provide a thermal barrier between the first chamber and the ambient environment. The use of such a thermal barrier substantially reduces undesirable heat loss from the first chamber to the ambient environment and thus increases the efficiency of the water heater. A third chamber in fluid communication with the second chamber is heated by a second source and provides heat from the second source to the second chamber. A preheating heat exchanger disposed within the third chamber is in fluid communication with the main heat exchanger such that water flowing through the preheating heat exchanger is heated to a first temperature and then flows through the main heat exchanger where it is further heated to a second, higher, temperature.

Carpet cleaning systems that utilize heated water or steam to clean carpets are well known in the art. Typically, these systems direct a source of water through a pump driven by an engine. The pump then directs the water through a safety valve and from there to a heat exchanger. Heated water exits the heat exchanger, passes through a thermostat, and is then directed to a hand held carpet cleaning wand.
The wand houses a trigger mechanism that controls the flow of fluid through the wand and onto the carpet. The wand further includes a vacuum suction inlet port which collects residual waste water and directs the waste water back to a waste water recovery tank maintained under a vacuum by an engine driven blower or vacuum pump.
The heat exchanger may utilize the hot exhaust gases of the engine which drives the water pump and blower. Thus, the exhaust gases are generally directed onto coiled tubing or the like through which the water to be heated flows. However, such systems suffer from the inherent deficiency that the heat exchange process between the hot exhaust gases and the water to be heated is generally inefficient. That is, heat transfer between the engine's exhaust gases and the water to be used in the carpet cleaning process requires a larger heat exchanger than is generally desired. As such, it is desirable to provide an improved heat exchanger which maximizes the efficiency of the heat transfer process such that the size of the heat exchanger may be reduced while maintaining heating of the water to a desired temperature.
Furthermore, the exhaust from both the engine and the blower contribute a significant amount of undesirable sound. Thus, it would also be desirable to provide a means for quieting the carpet cleaning device by reducing the amount of sound produced by the engine and blower.

Water heater for carpet cleaning systems