A bearing provided with a rotation sensor comprises an outer ring, an inner ring and rolling elements, and a magnetic ring is engaged with the inner diametral surface of the outer ring. Thus, a highly reliable bearing provided with a rotation sensor exerting no bad influence on a magnetic sensor can be provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bearing provided with a rotation sensor, and more specifically, it relates to the structure of a bearing employed for a general-purpose motor requiring a rotation detecting function.
The present invention also relates to a bearing provided with a rotation sensor, and more specifically, it relates to a method of extracting a signal from a bearing provided with a rotation sensor.
The present invention further relates to a bearing provided with a rotation sensor, and more specifically, it relates to a bearing provided with a rotation sensor having a function of detecting the number of rotations or a rotational direction.
The present invention further relates to a bearing provided with a rotation sensor and a motor employing the same, and more specifically, it relates to a bearing provided with a rotation sensor supporting a shaft requiring a rotation detecting function. More particularly, the present invention relates to a bearing provided with a rotation sensor used in the vicinity of a general-purpose motor or the like generating a large magnetic field.
2. Description of the Prior Art
First Prior Art
The structure of a bearing 500 provided with a rotation sensor according to first prior art is described with reference to FIG. 26. FIG. 26 is a sectional view showing the structure of the bearing 500 provided with a rotation sensor. This bearing 500 provided with a rotation sensor, forming an antifriction bearing, comprises an outer ring 1, an inner ring 3 and rolling elements 2. A shielding member is provided between the outer ring 1 and the inner ring 3.
When the inner ring 3 is employed as a rotating bearing ring, a pulser ring 4 is fixed to the inner ring 3 with a mandrel 5. When the outer ring 1 is employed as a fixed bearing ring, a magnetic sensor 8 is fixed to the outer ring 1 with a sensor case 7 and a sensor case fixing ring 6. The bearing 500 provided with a rotation sensor having the aforementioned structure, which is compact and strong with no requirement for assembly control, is applied to a support bearing for the rotary shaft of a motor.
Problem of First Prior Art
FIG. 27 shows the bearing 500 provided with a rotation sensor having the aforementioned structure in a state assembled into a motor. FIG. 27 is a sectional view showing the structure of the motor into which the bearing 500 provided with a rotation sensor is assembled. A motor rotor 11 assembled into a rotary shaft 12 is supported in a housing 13 by a front bearing 14 and a rear bearing 15, and a motor stator 10 is also fixed to the housing 13. In the motor shown in FIG. 27, the rear bearing 15 stores a rotation sensor.
When a large current is fed to the motor stator 10, the flow of a magnetic flux cannot be ignored. A magnetic loop is generated to pass through the motor rotor 11, the rotary shaft 12, the inner ring 3, the outer ring 1 and the housing 13 and return to the motor stator 10 as shown by arrows in FIG. 27. At this time, a nonmagnetic part occupies most part of the space between the inner ring 3 and the outer ring 1, except the rolling elements 2. The magnetic rolling elements 2 are in point contact with the inner ring 3 and the outer ring 1, and arranged only on about six portions of a circumference. Therefore, a path through the inner ring 3, the rolling elements 2 and the outer ring 1 has high magnetic resistance.
Consequently, the bearing 15 exhibits high magnetic resistance, readily leading to leakage of a magnetic flux. The leaking magnetic flux flows to the sensor case fixing ring 6 and the mandrel 5, which are magnetic members, to disadvantageously exert bad influence on the magnetic sensor 8 and disturb a sensor signal.
Second Prior Art
Another type of bearing provided with a rotation sensor has a rotating element provided with a sensor target such as a magnetic pattern and a fixed element provided with a sensor element for detecting relative rotational movement of the sensor target with respect to the sensor element and outputting an electric signal.
FIGS. 28 and 29 show the sectional structures of bearings 600a and 600b provided with rotation sensors according to second prior art. Each of the bearings 600a and 600b provided with rotation sensors has an inner ring 601, an outer ring 603 and rolling elements 602 provided in an annular space defined between the inner ring 601 and the outer ring 603. When the inner ring 601 is employed as a rotating element, an encoder ring 604 serving as a sensor target is fixed to the inner ring 601. When the outer ring 603 is employed as a non-rotating element, a rotation detecting sensor 605 detecting rotation of the encoder ring 604 is fixed to the outer ring 603.
Problem of Second Prior Art
In order to extract an output signal from the rotation detecting sensor 605, a cable must be extracted from a circuit board into which the rotation detecting sensor 605 is assembled. When the outer diameter of the bearing 600a or 600b is larger than 30 mm, a cable 610 can be extracted from an axial end surface of the bearing 600a provided with a rotation sensor as shown in FIG. 28 or from the outer peripheral surface of the bearing 600b provided with a rotation sensor as shown in FIG. 29.
If the outer diameter of the bearing 600a or 600b is smaller than 30 mm, however, no space for extracting the cable 610 is defined but it is difficult to extract a signal from the rotation detecting sensor 605.
Third Prior Art
FIG. 30 is a sectional view showing a bearing provided with a rotation sensor according to third prior art. Referring to FIG. 30, this bearing provided with a rotation sensor is an antifriction bearing formed by an outer ring 701, an inner ring 703 and rolling elements 702, and a pulser ring 704 is fixed to the rotating element (the inner ring 703, for example) while a magnetic sensor 705 is fixed to the non-rotating element (the outer ring 701, for example) through a sensor case 706. A magnetic encoder is formed on the surface of the pulser ring 704. Such a bearing provided with a rotation sensor, which is miniature and strong with no requirement for assembly control, is utilized for supporting a motor or the like.
Alternatively, the outer ring 701 and the inner ring 703 may be employed as a rotating element and a non-rotating element respectively.
The sensor of such a bearing provided with a rotation sensor generates an analog output shown in FIG. 31A or a rectangular wave output shown in FIG. 31B. An analog output type sensor must have repetitive reproducibility of a sinusoidal waveform, and hence uniformity of magnetization intensity is important for the magnetic encoder. A rectangular wave output type sensor utilizes an output signal in a saturated waveform, and hence large magnetization intensity is more strongly required as compared with uniformity of the magnetization intensity. When the magnetization intensity is large, magnetic field strength steeply changes to advantageously improve pitch accuracy or increase a sensor gap.
Problem of Third Prior Art
In general, anisotropic magnetic powder is employed for the magnetic encoder regardless of the output signal. When anisotropic magnetic powder is employed for an analog output type encoder, however, the amplitude of a sinusoidal wave output is disadvantageously largely dispersed.
Fourth Prior Art
FIG. 32 is a longitudinal sectional view of a bearing provided with a rotation sensor according to fourth prior art. Referring to FIG. 32, the bearing provided with a rotation sensor is an antifriction bearing formed by an outer ring 801, an inner ring 803 and rolling elements 802, and a pulser ring 804 is fixed to a rotating side (the side of the inner ring 803, for example) through a mandrel 805 while a magnetic sensor 808 is fixed to a non-rotating side (the side of the outer ring 801, for example) through a sensor case 807 and a sensor case fixing ring 806. Such a bearing provided with a rotation sensor, which is miniature and strong with no requirement for assembly control, is employed as a bearing for supporting a motor or the like.
Problem of Fourth Prior Art
When the bearing provided with a rotation sensor shown in FIG. 32 is assembled into the magnetic path of a coil or a magnet generating a large magnetic field, however, an output of the bearing provided with a rotation sensor may malfunction by a leakage flux caused by the external magnetic field.
FIG. 33 shows the bearing provided with a rotation sensor assembled into a motor, for example. Referring to FIG. 33, a front bearing 814 and a rear bearing 815 provided with a rotation sensor support a motor rotor 811 assembled into a rotary shaft 812 in a housing 813, to which a motor stator 810 is fixed. When a large current is fed to the motor stator 810, the flow of a magnetic flux cannot be ignored but a magnetic loop is generated to pass through the motor rotor 811, the rotary shaft 812, the inner ring 803, the outer ring 801 and the housing 813 and return to the motor stator 810 as shown by arrows in FIG. 33.
When the direction of the current is reversed, the magnetic loop is also reversed. At this time, a nonmagnetic part dominantly occupies the space between the inner ring 803 and the outer ring 801 except the rolling elements 802 and a retainer 819 and to increase magnetic resistance, and hence a magnetic flux readily leaks to influence the magnetic sensor 808 and disturb a sensor signal or cause a malfunction.
A first object of the present invention is to provide a highly reliable bearing provided with a rotation sensor exerting no bad influence on a magnetic sensor, in order to solve the aforementioned problem of the first prior art.
A second object of the present invention is to provide a bearing provided with a rotation sensor capable of readily extracting a signal from a rotation detecting sensor also when the outer diameter thereof is smaller than 30 mm, in order to solve the aforementioned problem of the second prior art.
A third object of the present invention is to provide a bearing provided with a rotation sensor employing isotropic magnetic powder for an analog output to be capable of reducing dispersion of the amplitude of a sinusoidal wave output, in order to solve the aforementioned problem of the third prior art.
A fourth object of the present invention is to provide a bearing provided with a rotation sensor capable of cutting off a loop of a leakage flux flowing to a magnetic sensor and reducing influence on the magnetic sensor and a motor employing the same, in order to solve the aforementioned problem of the fourth prior art.
A bearing provided with a rotation sensor according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises an inner ring, an outer ring and a plurality of rolling elements stored between the aforementioned inner ring and the aforementioned outer ring and stores a sensor detecting the rotational speed of a rotor, and further includes a pulser ring mounted on a first end of a rotating bearing ring formed by either the aforementioned inner ring or the aforementioned outer ring, a sensor mounted on a first end of a fixed bearing ring formed by the remaining one of the aforementioned inner ring and the aforementioned outer ring on a position opposed to the aforementioned pulser ring and a magnetic ring mounted on second ends of the aforementioned inner ring and the aforementioned outer ring for forming a magnetic path between the aforementioned inner ring and the aforementioned outer ring.
In the bearing provided with a rotation sensor according to this aspect, leakage of a magnetic flux can be prevented in a bearing part by arranging a magnetic body between the outer ring and the inner ring and reducing magnetic resistance in the bearing part. Consequently, a magnetic sensor is prevented from bad influence exerted by leakage of the magnetic flux, and the bearing provided with a rotation sensor can be improved in reliability.
In the aforementioned aspect, the aforementioned magnetic ring is preferably a seal sealing an annular space defined between the aforementioned inner ring and the aforementioned outer ring. More preferably, the aforementioned seal is a rubber seal containing magnetic powder. According to this structure, the magnetic ring can be provided with a function of forming a magnetic path between the aforementioned inner ring and the aforementioned outer ring and a function of sealing the annular space defined between the aforementioned inner ring and the aforementioned outer ring.
In the aforementioned aspect, the aforementioned magnetic ring is preferably provided with an outwardly directed projection. Thus, when the bearing provided with a rotation sensor is applied to a bearing for the rotary shaft of a motor, a detent for the fixed bearing ring can be implemented by engaging the projection with a housing of the motor.
In the aforementioned aspect, the bearing provided with a rotation sensor preferably further comprises a sensor case holding the aforementioned sensor, a sensor case fixing ring fixing the aforementioned sensor ring and a mandrel holding the aforementioned pulser ring, and at least either the aforementioned sensor case fixing ring or the aforementioned mandrel is preferably a nonmagnetic member.
When at least either the sensor case fixing ring or the mandrel is formed by a nonmagnetic member as described above, the magnetic resistance of the magnetic sensor part can be so increased that no magnetic flux passes through the magnetic sensor part.
A motor according to the present invention comprises a housing, a stator fixed to the aforementioned housing and a rotor opposed to the aforementioned stator and fixed to a rotary shaft, and employs the bearing provided with a rotation sensor according to the first aspect for supporting the aforementioned rotary shaft.
When the bearing provided with a rotation sensor according to the first aspect of the present invention is employed for supporting the rotary shaft of the motor, a rotation signal of the motor can be correctly obtained.
A bearing provided with a rotation sensor according to a second aspect of the present invention comprises an inner ring, an outer ring and a plurality of rolling elements stored between the aforementioned inner ring and the aforementioned outer ring and stores a rotation detecting sensor detecting the rotational speed of a rotor, and further comprises an electric terminal for coming into contact with an externally provided connection terminal for supplying power to the aforementioned rotation detecting sensor and outputting an electric signal from the rotation detecting sensor.
Thus, no cable may be directly extracted from the bearing provided with a rotation sensor for outputting a signal from the rotation sensor. Consequently, the bearing provided with a rotation sensor can be miniaturized and a space for assembling the same into a housing of a motor or the like can be reduced.
In the aforementioned aspect, the outer diameter of the aforementioned outer ring is preferably not more than 30 mm. In the aforementioned aspect, the aforementioned electric terminal is preferably in the form of a pad. In the aforementioned aspect, the aforementioned electric terminal is preferably in the form of a pin. In the aforementioned aspect, the aforementioned rotation detecting sensor is preferably any of a magnetic sensor, an eddy current sensor or a photosensor.
In the aforementioned aspect, the aforementioned electric terminal is preferably provided on the outer peripheral surface of a sensor case for fixing the aforementioned rotation detecting sensor. In the aforementioned aspect, further, the aforementioned electric terminal is preferably provided on an axial end surface of a sensor case for fixing the aforementioned rotation detecting sensor.
Thus, no space is required for extracting a cable for outputting a signal but the bearing provided with a rotation sensor can be miniaturized and a space for assembling the same into a housing of a motor or the like can be reduced.
In the aforementioned aspect, the bearing provided with a rotation sensor is preferably provided with rotational direction positioning means for positioning the aforementioned connection terminal, which is externally provided, with respect to the aforementioned electric terminal along the rotational direction. In the aforementioned aspect, further, the bearing provided with a rotational sensor is preferably provided with axial direction positioning means for axially positioning the aforementioned connection terminal, which is externally provided, with respect to the aforementioned electric terminal.
Thus, an operation for assembling the bearing provided with a rotation sensor to a housing of a motor or the like can be improved in efficiency, and the electric terminal and the connection terminal can be readily connected with each other by simply assembling the bearing provided with a rotation sensor into the housing.
In the aforementioned aspect, the bearing provided with a rotation sensor preferably further includes at least one of a temperature sensor, a vibration sensor and a load sensor.
A bearing provided with a rotation sensor according to a third aspect of the present invention comprises an inner ring, an outer ring and a plurality of rolling elements stored between the inner ring and the outer ring and stores a sensor detecting the rotational speed of a rotor so that one of the inner ring and the outer ring forms a rotating bearing ring and the other one forms a fixed bearing ring, and further includes a pulser ring mounted on an end of the aforementioned rotating bearing ring and a sensor mounted on the aforementioned fixed bearing ring in opposition to the aforementioned pulser ring. The pulser ring is a magnetized encoder consisting of elastomer containing magnetic powder, and isotropic magnetic powder is employed when the sensor outputs an analog signal while anisotropic magnetic powder is employed when the sensor outputs a rectangular wave signal.
Thus, dispersion of magnetization intensity can be reduced, thereby reducing dispersion of the amplitude of the output from the sensor.
When the encoder outputs an analog signal, an MR element is employed as the sensor.
The magnetic powder is ferrite.
A bearing provided with a rotation sensor according to a fourth aspect of the present invention comprises an inner ring, an outer ring and a plurality of rolling elements stored between the inner ring and the outer ring and stores a sensor detecting the rotational speed of a rotor so that one of the inner ring and the outer ring forms a rotating bearing ring and the other one forms a fixed bearing ring, and further comprises a pulser ring mounted on an end of the rotating bearing ring, a sensor mounted on the fixed bearing ring in opposition to the pulser ring and a magnetic ring arranged between the rolling elements and the sensor in an annular space defined between the inner ring and the outer ring for forming a magnetic path.
Thus, influence exerted by a leakage flux on a magnetic sensor or the pulser ring can be minimized and the sensor can be prevented from disturbance of the waveform of its output or a malfunction, to be resistant against an external leakage flux.
An air gap between the magnetic ring and the rotating bearing ring is selected to be not more than 0.5 mm.
The bearing provided with a rotation sensor further comprises a sensor case holding the sensor, a sensor case fixing ring fixing the sensor case and a mandrel holding the pulser ring, and the sensor case fixing ring and the mandrel are formed by magnetic members.
A magnetic bypass reducing magnetic resistance is provided between the sensor case fixing ring and the rotating bearing ring.
The sensor case fixing ring is formed with a slit on the side of the fixed bearing ring on which the sensor case fixing ring is mounted and in the vicinity of the sensor.
The pulser ring is formed by a magnetized encoder consisting of elastomer containing magnetic powder.
The thickness of the elastomer in the magnetized encoder is at least 2 mm.
Another motor according the present invention comprises a housing, a stator fixed to the housing and a rotor opposed to the stator and fixed to a rotary shaft, and employs the bearing provided with a rotation sensor according to the fourth aspect.
The foregoing and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Bearing provided with rotation sensor and motor employing the same


A divider for providing an output signal having an output frequency by dividing a reference frequency of a reference signal by a divider value is disclosed. The divider includes at least a first divider element configured to provide a first divider output signal having a first divider output signal frequency which is half of the reference frequency and a last divider element configured to provide a last divider output signal having a last divider output signal frequency which half of the preceding divider output signal frequency. Furthermore, the divider comprises an output signal provider for providing the output signal.

Multi-Modulus Dividers (MMDs) are key circuit building blocks in PLL-based frequency generation for RF transceivers. Basically, a MMD divides the frequency of its input signal by a programmable divider value. Consider an exemplary transceiver PLL incorporating three MMDs: feedback MMD, LO (Local Oscillator) MMD for receive, and TX MMD for transmit.
As MMDs have to cope with multi-GHz signals, problems arise when the maximum speed of the MMD is not sufficient or the power consumption is too high. Furthermore, the duty cycle of the MMD output signal can be important. While this is not the case for the feedback divider, the TX MMD has to deliver 50% duty cycle output. Otherwise the linearity of the output stage suffers and harmonics occur in the transmit spectrum.

Divider, method for providing an output signal and edge tracker


A motorized walker, comprising a wheel mounted frame supporting a seat and retractable motor driven mid-drive drive wheels. Other features include the motor and drive wheels being mounted on a retractable sub-frame, with the retractable sub-frame comprising a pair of triangular frames, and a foot rest pivotally mounted on the retractable sub-frame. A method of making the motorized walker is also provided.

Walkers are used by people with walking difficulties to support them while walking. An exemplary walker is the Hugo Rollator™. Walkers need to be manipulable by a user, and thus need to be relatively light. Consequently, walkers tend not to be motorized. One walker, shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,390,753, is provided with drive wheels, but the rear wheels are lifted up to cause the drive wheels to contact the ground (thus reducing stability) and the design does not include a seat. On the other hand, motorized wheelchairs, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,199,647, are known that have a mid-wheel drive, but these tend to be heavy and the drive wheels are permanently engaged. There is a need for a new motorized walker.


A method of producing a methane-rich liquid stream from a stream of natural gas predominantly consisting of methane and also containing nitrogen, entailing:. (a) supplying said natural gas stream at a pressure above atmospheric pressure, PA1 (b) cooling and liquefying said natural gas stream using one or more refrigeration cycles, and PA1 (c) expanding said liquefied natural gas to lower pressure in two or more stages in series, phase separating the gas and liquid phases produced during the expansion, thereby concentrating the nitrogen into the vapor phase, and producing a methane-rich liquefied natural gas.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of liquefying natural gas.
2. Description of the Background
The liquefaction of natural gas has been carried out for many years for the purpose of storing the same for later use and for reducing the volume thereof so that it can be economically transported.
Various refrigeration cycles have been used to provide the refrigeration required to liquefy natural gas. One typical refrigeration cycle used is a cascade refrigeration cycle employing three individual refrigerants in series, each of which is circulated in closed cycle in heat exchange relationship with the feed stream and with each other. This type of cycle is relatively efficient but has a high capital cost due to the fact that numerous heat exchangers, compressors and interconnecting pipelines are required.
Another refrigeration cycle used for liquefaction of natural gas employs a multicomponent refrigerant fluid which is first cooled by heat exchange with cooling water or ambient air and is then totally condensed and subcooled by heat exchange with the same multicomponent refrigeration stream after it has been expanded to low pressure. At any given temperature of the low pressure multicomponent refrigeration stream excess refrigeration is produced which is used to liquefy the natural gas. Many variations of this type of refrigeration cycle have been used such as using one or more partial condensations, separating the liquid from the gas after each partial condensation and remixing the condensed fractions at low pressure to reconstitute the original stream. In another variation, the multicomponent refrigerant stream is first cooled and partially condensed by a single component refrigerant stream circulating in a closed cycle.
Some of the variations of refrigeration cycles which have been used may be found, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,020,723, 3,645,106, 3,763,658, and 4,065,278.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,020,723 describes a liquefaction method and apparatus wherein the refrigeration cycle is partitioned into separate stages whereby use is made of separate refrigerants in areas where the refrigerants are most effective as a heat exchange medium.
U.S Pat. No. 3,645,106 discloses a closed cycle refrigerant, wherein the multicomponent refrigerant is compressed and then successively fractionated by partial condensation in a plurality of steps to provide condensates at progressively decreasing temperature levels. The condensates are separated and introduced under reduced pressure into a common zone in heat exchange with the natural gas and vaporization of the condensates. The multicomponent refrigerant is withdrawn from the zone for recycle.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,763,658 pertains to a refrigeration system wherein a feed stream is first subjected to heat exchange with a single component refrigerant in a closed, cascade cycle. Then, the feed stream is subjected to heat exchange with a multicomponent refrigerant in a multiple zone heat exchange forming a portion of a second, closed refrigerant cycle.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 4,065,278 describes a liquefaction process in which feedstock is isentropically expanded and distilled at a pressure lower than the critical pressure to form an overhead rich in methane and a bottom fraction. In this method, the methane rich overhead is compressed utilizing the energy obtained from the expansion and then the compressed overhead is liquefied in a refrigeration cycle.
The advantage of the multicomponent refrigeration cycles is a low capital cost due to the few pieces of equipment that are required. On the other hand, the power required is higher than for a pure component cascade cycle.
Natural gas is predominately methane but also contains many other components such as ethane, propane and other hydrocarbon gases and water vapor, carbon dioxide and nitrogen. The quantity of nitrogen in the natural gas can vary widely. Typical natural gases may contain anywhere from nearly zero percent up to 10 percent or more. It is desirable to remove the nitrogen from the natural gas during the liquefaction thereof to reduce the concentration of nitrogen in the liquid collected in the storage tank. Nitrogen in the liquid natural gas takes up volume and reduces the amount of methane and other combustible gases that can be stored. Moreover, nitrogen in the liquid natural gas reduces its temperature and increases the refrigeration required for liquefaction. Further, even small concentrations of nitrogen of on the order of 1% in the liquid natural gas can induce stratification of the liquid natural gas in a storage tank into distinct layers. The lower layer can store heat for a period of time and then quickly mix with the upper layer, releasing the heat by suddenly vaporizing a large quantity of natural gas. Thus, it is desirable to remove the nitrogen from the natural gas before it is stored rather than design the system to safely handle the periodic release of a large quantity of vaporized natural gas from the storage tank.
A natural gas liquefaction plant using a multicomponent refrigeration cycle typically has at least two compressors. The multicomponent refrigeration cycle requires a compressor to circulate the multicomponent cycle gas from low pressure to high pressure. A second compressor is required to compress boil off gas generated in the liquid natural gas storage tank due to heat leak into the tank. The compressor also compresses any flash gas generated when the liquid natural gas enters the tank. A compressor for the feed gas may also be used but frequently the natural gas feed is available from a pipeline at sufficient pressure to be liquefied.
Conventionally, small quantities of nitrogen have been removed from liquefied natural gas by allowing sufficient vaporization to occur as the nitrogen enters the storage tank so that most of the nitrogen leaves with the flash gas and the remaining liquid quantity contains only a small quantity of nitrogen. In order to remove larger quantities of nitrogen, however, the same has been removed by distillation during the liquefaction process.
A need continues to exist, therefore, for a method by which nitrogen can be removed from liquefied natural gas in an efficient manner requiring the use of low power.


In an apparatus for controlling a mobile robot having movement mechanisms and work mechanisms both connected to a body, actuators for driving them, and a controller for controlling an action of the movement mechanisms and the work mechanisms through the actuators, the controller comprises a person detector to detect a person located in a vicinity of the robot, a position determiner to determine whether the position of the detected person is within a first range or a second range, and a regulator to regulate the actions of the movement mechanisms and the work mechanisms when the position of the detected person is determined to be within the first range or the second range.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to an apparatus for controlling a mobile robot, more particularly to an apparatus for controlling actions of the mobile robot when a person is present nearby.
2. Background Art
A mobile robot may move and work in a space where people are present and therefore must avoid physical contact with people. There is known a technique to change the moving path of a robot when a person in a nearby location is detected, as taught, for example, by Japanese Patent No. 4171510.
The reference is configured to change the moving path based on the recognition that immediately changing the robot's behavior would evoke a change in the person's behavior, which would increase the likelihood of contact rather than lower it.


A sprung mass damping control system of a vehicle, which aims to suppress sprung mass vibration generated in a vehicle body of a vehicle provided with at least a motor-generator (first and second motor-generators) as a drive source, includes a sprung mass damping control amount calculating device that sets a sprung mass damping control amount for suppressing the sprung mass vibration, and a drive source control device (a motor-generator control device) that executes sprung mass damping control by controlling a motor-generator control amount of the motor-generator to realize the sprung mass damping control amount.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a sprung mass damping control system of a vehicle, which suppresses sprung mass vibration generated in a body of a vehicle provided with at least a motor-generator as a drive source.
2. Description of the Related Art
Technology referred to as sprung mass damping control that suppresses sprung mass vibration generated in a vehicle body using predetermined vibration damping means is well known. For example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2004-168148 (JP-A-2004-168148) and Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2006-69472 (JP-A-2006-69472) describe technologies that control the driving force of a vehicle in order to suppress sprung mass vibration in the vehicle. In the technologies described in JP-A-2004-168148 and JP-A-2006-69472, the driving force is controlled by increasing or decreasing the engine torque. To perform this control, these technologies increase or decrease the engine torque as necessary by adjusting the intake air amount, the fuel injection amount, and the ignition timing and the like of the engine.
However, the states of the air and fuel that are supplied to the engine are not always constant. For example, the temperature and humidity of the air changes according to changes in the ambient air temperature and the altitude and the like. Also, with commercially available fuel, there are different types of a given gasoline fuel which differ from one another in terms of their octane numbers, for example, and even with the same type of gasoline fuel, there may be different compositions due to differences in additives and impurities. Furthermore, some engines may be able to use either a gasoline fuel or an alcohol blend, for example. Therefore, the fuel stored in the fuel tank of the vehicle may not necessarily be homogenous fuel. If air of a different temperature or a different type of fuel are supplied, for example, the engine torque that is output will change compared with a case in which air and fuel of given reference states are supplied, even if all of the other conditions are the same. Also, if the air pressure changes due to a change in altitude or the like, the intake air amount will change. Therefore, in this case as well, there will be a difference in the engine torque that is output, even if the other conditions are the same. Moreover, engines have poorer responsiveness for generating the required torque (i.e., engine torque) than motors do. Therefore, the control precision of sprung mass damping control may decease if engine torque is used.

Sprung mass damping control system of vehicle


A system is for assessing life and death in go games played on a computer, and includes an input-receiving unit for receiving input from a player, an assessment unit that assesses the life and death of target stones, and an output unit for outputting the results of the assessment in the assessment unit. The assessment unit receives input specifying one or more target stones, specifies the points on the board where a boundary and a board edge are within a prescribed distance from each other, revises the assessment area by expanding the assessment area, assesses an optional stone in the post-revision assessment area to be alive if said stone escapes and was a target stone, and if said stone was not a target stone, performs a life and death assessment after adding the condition that said stone is not captured and a target stone connected to said stone is alive.

On a computer, a user can play a game of Go with a computer or another user via a network. Go is a game in which players compete over the size of territory, and it is important that the player establishes a strategy and makes moves while constantly considering how to keep the player's own stones alive and how to kill the opponent's stones in a given situation.
For example, if the player can judge that the player's own stones are dead at an early stage, the player can abandon that territory and concentrate on another location, which is also very efficient as an overall strategy. For this reason, it is extremely important in Go to determine whether one's own stones or the opponent's stones are alive or dead. The question of whether stones are alive or dead is referred to as "life and death." Living stones are those that cannot be captured by the opponent's moves or that, if captured, produce stones that cannot be captured again by the opponent. Dead stones are those other than living stones and that can be captured by the opponent's moves.
In addition to playing a role in strategy during a game of Go, the life and death of stones must also foe judged at the end of the game. The life or death of stones is also important from this standpoint. For this reason, there also exist sets of problems, called tsumego, for solving localized cases of life and death.
Assessing the life or death of stones is thus extremely important in Go, but actually assessing whether stones are alive or dead is not easy. In particular, computers have difficulty doing so automatically. Accordingly, systems for performing processes associated with the life and death of stones have been disclosed, as in, e.g. the following Patent Documents and Non-Patent Documents.

System for assessing life and death in games of go


A device profiling computer system for determining and analyzing characteristics of devices used in payment transactions includes a processor, a device profiling database in communication with the processor, and a memory coupled to the processor. The device profiling computer system is configured to receive a set of first transaction data associated with a first transaction initiated by a cardholder at an online merchant wherein the cardholder initiates the first transaction using a cardholder computing device and wherein the set of first transaction data includes a set of first device characteristic data related to the cardholder computing device, analyze the set of first transaction data to determine a set of device characteristics, and update a device record stored in a device profiling database with the set of first transaction data wherein the device record is associated with the set of device characteristics.

The field of the disclosure relates generally to characteristics of devices used in payment transactions, and more particularly, to systems and methods for determining and analyzing such characteristics.
In at least some cardholder-initiated financial transactions, the cardholder (e.g., an entity using a payment card such as a credit card, a debit card, or a prepaid card) may purchase or return goods or services from a merchant using computer-based resources associated with the merchant. The computer-based resources may include, for example and without limitation, merchant websites, merchant applications, and third-party websites or applications that facilitate transactions with the merchant. Alternately, the computer-based resources may include any software capable of interaction with the cardholder to facilitate the transfer of merchant goods or services. In many of such financial transactions, the cardholder interacts with the merchant resources using a cardholder computing device. Each cardholder computing device may have a variety of device characteristics which may vary across cardholders and transactions. Such device characteristics may be useful in analysis of the transaction and the cardholder computing device.

Systems and methods for determining and analyzing characteristics of devices used in payment transactions


A method includes receiving a request to associate a user-specified domain name with an application function, identifying a registrar system based on the user-specified domain name, and generating a domain record file including domain record information that, when processed by the registrar system, is operable to cause association of the user-specified domain name with the application function. The method also includes identifying a configuration URL based on the user-specified domain name. The configuration URL includes a configuration hostname associated with the registrar system and a configuration pathname that corresponds to a record-setting API that is operable to modify one or more domain name records that are associated with the user-specified domain name. The method also includes transmitting the domain record file to the registrar system using the configuration URL.

The Domain Name System (DNS) is a hierarchical, distributed naming system that associates domain names with Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. The manner in which domain names function is dictated by DNS records that are associated with the domain name. The owner of a domain name can set DNS records to cause a domain name to function in a desired manner.
Some applications, including desktop applications, mobile applications, and browser-based applications, allow a domain name to be used with the application. As an example, a web-based email service can be used with email addresses that are associated with domain names that are owned an individual or organization that uses the service. As another example, a subdomain can be created and used by the owner of the domain name to access a web-based service that is provided by a third party. Typically, the owner of the domain name is required to set or change DNS records in order to use these types of features.
For many individuals and organizations, DNS record administration is a poorly understood process. This causes usability challenges for features that rely on or encourage DNS record changes in order to work correctly. One known solution is to provide instructions that explain the DNS record changes that need to be made. Such instructions typically task the individual or organization with copying and pasting or retyping DNS record settings from the application into a configuration tool that is provided by a domain name registrar or hosting service. If any errors are made, the service will not work, and the individual or organization may have difficulty detecting and understanding the errors. This can lead to frustration, and increased demands for technical support.


In a driving mechanism of a circuit breaker having first and second hydraulic operation apparatuses respectively driving a main contact and a resistor contact, a sequential control valve is provided between the first and second hydraulic operation apparatuses. The sequential control valve detects the operation of a differential piston for opening the main contact and switching the differential piston for sequentially opening the resistor contact after the opening of the main contact.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a driving mechanism of a circuit breaker to be used in an electric power line system, and especially relates to a driving mechanism having two hydraulic operation apparatuses which drive a main contact and a resistor contact of the circuit breaker.
2. Description of the Prior Art
When the voltage of an electric power system becomes higher and the conventional circuit breaker is used, for example, in 1000 kv system, it is demanded to restrain an overvoltage not only in the closing operation but also in the breaking operation of the circuit breaker for making a transmission-transformation system and/or transmission lines economical. For restraining the overvoltage in the breaking operation too, a resistor-breaking type circuit breaker, which inserts a resistor contact after breaking the main contact and breaking the resistor contact after a predetermined time period, is necessary. For such a time period of the insertion time of the resistor contact, a computer simulation of the model system revealed that a time of about 25 ms is necessary. That is, a longer time period in comparison with that of 10 ms in the resister insertion operation.
On the other hand, the circuit breaker is requested to operate faster in the breaking operation than in the closing operation for obtaining a high circuit breaking performance, generally. For satisfying such a condition, it is necessary that the resistor contact is opened in the vicinity of the final step of the breaking operation after the main contact is opened. Therefore, other special driving apparatuses are demanded for driving the main contact and the resistor contact, independently.
A conventional circuit breaker with resistor contact is shown in FIG.9 which is a sectional side view schematically showing a typical constitution of the circuit breaker. In FIG.9, insulative gas such as SF.sub.6 is filled in an inner space 201 of a tank 200. A series connection of a resistor 202 and a resistor contact 401 is connected in parallel with a main contact 1. The main contact 1 is coupled with a first differential piston 3 of a first hydraulic operation apparatus 4 via a first link mechanism 2, and the resistor contact 401 is coupled with a second differential piston 403 of a second hydraulic operation apparatus 104 via a second link mechanism 402. The first and second hydraulic operation apparatuses 4 and 104 are respectively provided outside the tank 200. The first link mechanism 2 is constituted by an insulative operation rod 2a, a link 2b, a rod end 2c, and so on. The second link mechanism 402 is also constituted by an insulative operation rod 402a, a link 402b, a rod end 402c and so on. Since the link mechanisms are well known in the art, they are schematically illustrated in the figure. As is obvious in the art, the insulative operation rods 2a and 402a are provided for slidably penetrating a shell of the tank 200 via gas-tight sealing elements from the inner space of the tank 200 to the atmosphere.
A conventional hydraulic operation apparatus, which is to be used as an actuator of the conventional driving mechanism of the circuit breaker, is described referring to FIGS. 10, 11 and 12. Such a conventional hydraulic operation apparatus is, for example, shown in Publication Gazette of Japanese Patent Application Sho 61-156613.
FIGS. 10 and 12 are sectional side views showing a constitution of the conventional first hydraulic operation apparatus. FIG. 11 shows timing charts of the operation of the conventional hydraulic operation apparatus. Since the second hydraulic operation apparatus has substantially the same constitution of the first hydraulic operation apparatus, only the explanation of the first hydraulic operation apparatus is described referring to the figures.
In FIGS. 10 and 12, a driving device 6 for driving the main contact 1 comprises a differential piston 3, a cylinder 5 and dashpot rings 24 and 74. An end 3a of the differential piston 3 is connected to the main contact 1 of the circuit breaker via a link mechanism 2. A first pressure chest 5a of the cylinder 5 which is positioned in a smaller piston area side of the differential piston 3 is connected to an accumulator 9 through a pipe line 10. A second pressure chest 5b of the cylinder 5 is positioned in a larger piston area side of the differential piston 3.
A main valve 7, which is used for controlling the driving device 6, is provided neighboring to the driving device 6. The main valve 7 consists of a main valve chest 7a, a feed valve 13 and an exhaust valve 14. The feed valve 13 comprises a compression spring 13a, a valve body 13b and a pilot chest 13c. The exhaust valve 14 also comprises a compression spring 14a, a valve body 14b and a pilot chest 14c. The pilot chest 13c is connected to the accumulator 9 through the pipe line 11. The main valve chest 7a is connected to the second pressure chest 5b of the cylinder 5 of the driving device 6. The valve bodies 13b and 14b are positioned to face to each other and coupled to move in one body.
An amplifier valve 8 comprises an amplifier valve chest 8a, a supplemental exhaust valve 19 and a supplemental feed valve 20. The supplemental exhaust valve 19 comprises a compression spring 19a, a valve body 19b and a pilot chest 19c. The supplemental feed valve 20 also comprises a compression spring 20a, a valve body 20b and a pilot chest 20c. The valve bodies 19b and 20b are positioned back to back each other and coupled to move in one body. The pilot chest 14c of the exhaust valve 14 of the main valve 7 and the amplifier valve chest 8a of the amplifier valve 8 are connected by a pipe line 16. As shown in FIG. 10, a pipe line 20d is provided on the valve body 20b, and thereby, the amplifier valve chest 8a and the pilot chest 20c is connected. Furthermore, pipe lines 12 and 51 are provided for connecting to the accumulator 9 and the amplifier valve chest 8a of the amplifier valve 8. The second pressure chest 5b of the cylinder 5 of the driving device 6 and the pilot chest 19c of the supplemental exhaust valve 19 is connected by pipe lines 71 and 77 and a restrictor 72. The second pressure chest 5b of the cylinder 5 is connected to the accumulator 9 through pipe lines 76, 11 and 10 and a restrictor 75.
A closing valve 38, which is to be used in closing operation of the circuit breaker, is configured in a manner to connected to a valve chest 38a and the accumulator 9 by pipe lines 12, 52 and 56 and a restrictor 54. Thereby, the high-pressure oil is supplied from the accumulator 9 to the closing valve 38. An opening valve 28, which is to be used in opening operation of the circuit breaker, is configured in a manner to connect to a valve chest 28a and the pilot chest 19c of the supplemental exhaust valve 19 by a pipe line 57. The valve chest 28a of the opening valve 28 is connected to a lower-pressure tank 18 through a pipe line 58. Furthermore, the lower-pressure tank 18 is connected to the exhaust valve 14 of the main valve 7 through a pipe line 17. The supplemental exhaust valve 19 is also connected to the lower-pressure tank 18 through a pipe line 22. The valve chest 38a of the closing valve 38 is also connected to the lower-pressure tank 18 through a pipe line 60.
The closing valve 38 comprises a ball-shaped valve body 29 and a compression spring 31. The opening valve 28 also comprises a ball-shaped valve 30 and a compression spring 32. The closing valve 38 is controlled by an electro-magnetic device 35 via an operation rod 33. The opening valve 28 is also controlled by another electro-magnetic device 36 via another operation rod 34. Each electro-magnetic device 35 or 36 comprises a moving core 35a or 36a and a stationary coil 35b or 36b, wherein the moving core 35a or 36a moves linearly by responding to magnetic force generated by the stationary coil 35b or 36b.
A pipe line 59 is branched from the pipe line 56. The pipe line 59 is connected to a closing operation control device 61. The closing operation control device 61 comprises a smaller piston 62 which is driven by the high-pressure oil supplied to the closing operation controlling device 61. A latch 63 is provided in the vicinity of the closing operation control device 61. The latch 63 is rotatably borne by a pivot 64 which is, for example, fixed on the cylinder 5. When the high-pressure oil is supplied to the closing operation control device 61, the piston 62 is driven to move leftward in FIG. 10, and the piston 62 pushes the back face of the latch 63. When the latch 63 has been pushed by the piston 62, the latch 63 can rotate. As shown in FIG. 12, when the latch 63 is engaged with a pin 50 which is provided on the differential piston 3, the engagement is maintained. The latch 63 has a specific shape in a manner that the latch 63 is automatically rotated in clockwise direction in FIG. 12 for releasing the engagement with the pin 50 by receiving thrust from the differential piston 3. When the pushing force of the piston 62 is removed, the latch 63 starts to rotate by the force from the differential piston 3.
The dashpot ring 74 is allowed to slightly move up and down along an inner surface of the cylinder 5. A circular groove 73 is provided on an outer periphery of the dashpot ring 74 for connecting to the pipe lines 76 and 77. When the dashpot ring 74 is pushed down by the differential piston 3, and oil-tightly seals the communication from the second pressure chest 5b of the cylinder 5, the high-pressure oil flows from the pipe line 76 to the pipe line 77 through the circular groove 73. On the other hand, when the dashpot ring 74 is not pushed down by the differential piston 3, and the pressure of the oil in the pipe lines 76 and 77 is larger than the pressure in the second pressure chest 5b of the cylinder 5, the dashpot ring 74 floats. Thereby, the second pressure chest 5b of the cylinder 5 and the pipe lines 76 and 77 are connected.
The opening operation of the contacts in the above-mentioned conventional driving mechanism of the circuit breaker is described referring to FIG. 11 which shows timing charts of the operation.
In FIG. 11, timing chart (a) shows timing of ON and OFF of excitation signal of the above-mentioned conventional electro-magnetic device 36 which is to be used for opening the contacts of the circuit breaker. Timing chart (b) shows the pressure of the oil in the pilot chest 19c of the supplemental exhaust valve 19. Timing chart (c) shows the position of the supplemental exhaust valve 19 and the supplemental feed valve 20 which move in one body. Timing chart (d) shows the pressure of the oil in the pilot chest 14c of the exhaust valve 14. Timing chart (e) shows the position of the feed valve 13 and the exhaust valve 14 which move in one body. Timing chart (f) shows the pressure of the oil in the second pressure chest 5b of the cylinder 5. Timing chart (g) shows the movement of the differential piston 3. Timing chart (h) shows the movement of the latch 63. And timing chart (i) shows the pressure of the oil in the circular groove 73.
In FIG. 10 which shows the closing state of the conventional driving mechanism of the circuit breaker, when the opening signal is inputted to the electromagnetic device 36 at the point of time a1 in the timing chart (a) in FIG. 11, the stationary core 36b is excited, and the moving core 36a moves for switching the opening valve 28 via the operation rod 34. Thereby, the ball-shaped valve body 30 is opened. As a result, the pilot chest 19c of the supplemental exhaust valve 19 of the amplifier valve 8 is connected to the lower-pressure tank 18 via the pipe lines 57 and 58. The high-pressure oil in the pilot chest 19c is exhausted to the lower-pressure tank 18 at a point of time b1 in the timing chart (b) in FIG. 11. When the high-pressure oil in the pilot chest 19c is exhausted, the valve bodies 19b and 20b start to move upward in FIG. 10. By such operation, the pipe lines 16 and 22 are connected at a point of time cl in the timing chart (c) in FIG. 11. Therefore, the pilot chest 14c of the exhaust valve 14 of the main valve 7 is connected to the lower-pressure tank 18 via the pipe lines 16 and 22, and the high-pressure oil in the pilot chest 14c is exhausted at a point of time d1 in the timing chart (d) in FIG. 11. When the high-pressure oil in the pilot chest 14c is exhausted, the valve bodies 13b and 14b move rightward in FIG. 10. Thereby, the exhaust valve 14 of the main valve 7 opens the pipe line 17 which is connected to the lower-pressure tank 18, and closes the feed valve 13 at a point of time e1 in the timing chart (e) of FIG. 11.
Thereby, the high-pressure oil in the second pressure chest 5b of the cylinder 5 is exhausted to the lower pressure tank 18 through the valve chest 7a and the pipe line 17 at a point of time f1 in the timing chart (f) in FIG. 11. When the pressure of the oil in the second pressure chest 5b of the cylinder 5 is reduced, a thrust is generated in downward direction in FIG. 10, and the differential piston 3 starts to move in a direction to open the contact 1 of the circuit breaker at a point of time g1 in the timing chart (g) in FIG. 11. The oil in the circular groove 73 has been exhausted with pushing up the dashpot ring 74. The high pressure oil which is continuously supplied from the accumulator 9 through the restrictor 75 and the pipe line 76 is also exhausted to the lower pressure tank 18 at a point of time i1 in the timing chart (i) in FIG. 11. Even when the opening signal is shutoff at a point of time a3 in the timing chart (a) in FIG. 11 and after that the opening valve 28 is closed, the amplifier valve 8 and the main valve 7 are not returned to the initial positions since the high-pressure oil in the pipe line 77 is exhausted when the amplifier valve 8 and the main valve 7 are once switched.
At this time, a high-pressure oil is supplied to the closing operation control device 61 from the accumulator 9 through the pipe line 59 and the restrictor 54. Thereby, the piston 62 always pushes on the back of the latch 63. When the opening operation of the contact 1 by the differential piston 3 is completed, the pin 50 provided on the differential piston 3 has passed the latch 63 (at a point of time g2 in the timing chart (g) in FIG. 11), and the latch 63 starts to rotate in counterclockwise direction in FIG. 10 around the pivot 64 (at a point of time h1 in the timing chart (h) in FIG. 11). Thereby, the latch 63 engages with the pin 50 (at a point of time h2 in the timing chart (h) in FIG. 11).
In a condition that the opening operation of the contact 1 is completed, a bottom face 74a of the dashpot ring 74 contacts a face 5c of the cylinder 5, tightly. As a result, the high-pressure oil from the accumulator 9 is supplied to the circular groove 73 and the pipe lines 76 and 77 through the restrictor 75 (at a point of time 12 in the timing chart (1) in FIG. 11). Furthermore, the high-pressure oil is continuously supplied to the pilot chest 19c through the restrictor 72 and the pipe line 71 (at a point of time b2 in the timing chart (b) in FIG. 11). When the pressure of the oil in the pilot chest 19c reaches a predetermined value, a back-pressure, which is applied to the supplemental feed valve 20 which is on a closed state overcomes the back-pressure applied to the supplemental exhaust valve 19. Therefore, the supplemental exhaust valve 19 and the supplemental feed valve 20 start to move in one body (at a point of time c2 in the timing chart (c) in FIG. 11). The supplemental exhaust valve 19 of the amplifier valve 8 closes the pipe line 22 communicating to the lower-pressure tank 18 and opens the supplemental feed valve 20. As a result, the high-pressure oil reaches the pilot chest 14c of the exhaust valve 14 through the pipe lines 12, 51 and 16. And the high-pressure oil in he pilot chest 14c switches the main valve 7, again. When the exhaust valve 14 receives the high-pressure oil in the pilot chest 14c, it closes the pipe line 17 communicating to the lower-pressure tank 18 and opens the feed valve 13 at a point of time e2 in the timing chart (e) in FIG. 11.
As a result, the high-pressure oil reaches the second pressure chest 5b of the cylinder 5 through the feed valve 13 and the pipe line 11. A thrust in upward direction in FIG. 10 is generated due to the difference between the areas of the larger piston area side and the smaller piston area side of the differential piston 3 which respectively receive the pressure at a point of time f2 in the timing chart (f) in FIG. 11. However, the latch 63 has already been engaged with the pin 50 (at the point of time h2 in the timing chart (h) in FIG. 11), and a back-pressure due to the high-pressure oil which is supplied through the restrictor 54 and the pipe line 59 is applied to the piston 62, so that the thrust in the upward direction is received by the latch 63 and the opened state of the contact of the circuit breaker shown in FIG. 12 is maintained.
Next, the closing operation of the contact 1 is described below. In FIG. 12, when a closing signal is inputted to the closing electro-magnetic device 35 for closing the main contact 1, the moving core 35a is driven and the driving force is applied to the closing valve 38 via the operation rod 33, and the ball-shaped valve body 29 is opened. Therefore, the pipe lines 56 and 59 are connected to the lower-pressure tank 18, and the high-pressure oil therein is exhausted to the lower-pressure tank 18. As a result, the force for pushing the latch 63 by the piston 62 is removed. As mentioned above, since the shape of the latch 63 is formed in a manner to release the engagement with the pin automatically by the thrust of the differential piston 3 when the pressure by the piston 62 is removed, the differential piston 3 starts to move upward and finally completes the closing operation of the main contact 1. On the other hand, the high-pressure oil in the accumulator 9 is gradually supplied to the pipe line 59 through the pipe line 52 and the restrictor 54. When the differential piston 3 completes the closing operation, the high-pressure oil is filled in the pipe line 59 for standing the next opening operation of the main contact, as shown in FIG. 10.
The first conventional hydraulic operation apparatus 4 shown in FIG. 9 is configured above, and the second hydraulic operation apparatus 104 is configured substantially the same.
In a circuit breaker with resistor contact, the main contact is opened first and the resistor contact must be opened shortly before the final step of the opening operation of the main contact. As a method for opening the main contact and the resistor contact serially, it is general to input the opening signal to the opening electro-magnetic device 36 of the first hydraulic operation apparatus 4 for opening the main contact, at first. After counting a predetermined time period by using a time rug relay and the like, an excitation signal corresponding to the opening signal is inputted to the opening electromagnetic device 36 of the second hydraulic operation apparatus 104 for opening the resistor contact.
When the time periods which are necessary for driving the opening electro-magnetic devices of respective hydraulic operation apparatuses are different, the resister contacts are also closed at different timings in opening operation of the circuit breaker. Thereby, the over voltage during the opening operation can not be restrained sufficiently. Furthermore, when the time period during the while the resistor contact is kept connected becomes longer, a severe heat duty is demanded to the resisters. Let us suppose such an accident occurs that the opening signal can not input to the hydraulic operation apparatuses owing to the disconnection of the control circuit which is to output an excitation signal to the electro-magnetic devices corresponding to the opening command to the hydraulic operation apparatuses. In such a case, only the main contact or the resistor contact is opened and the other is not opened. Therefore, the main contact and the resistor contacts can not be opened serially.


The present invention provides an image processor to use images taken by an image pickup device, etc. as an input interface to enter commands, etc. The present invention provides an image processor that includes image capturing means for capturing a mirrored moving image partially including a moving target, image generating means for generating an object image expressing a predetermined object according to the movement of the target included in the mirrored moving image captured by the image capturing means and controlling means for combining the object image generated by this image generating means with the captured mirrored moving image and displaying the combined image on a predetermined display device.

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from the prior Japanese Patent Applications Nos. 2000-307574, filed Oct. 6, 2000, and 2001-295098 filed Sep. 26, 2001, the entire contents of both of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to an image processing technology for using an image taken by an image pickup apparatus such as a video camera as an interface for inputting commands, etc.
A keyboard, mouse, controller, etc. are input devices often used for a computer, video game machine, etc. The operator inputs desired commands by operating these input devices to render a computer, etc. to execute processing according to the commands entered. Then, the operator sees images and listens to sound, etc. obtained as the processing results from a display device and speaker.
The operator enters commands by operating many buttons provided on the input device while watching a cursor shown on the display device.
Such operations greatly depend on operating experiences of the operator. For example, for a person who never touched the keyboard before, entering desired commands using the keyboard is quite troublesome and time-consuming, and prone to input errors due to mistyping from the keyboard. For this reason, there is a demand for a man-machine interface that will provide the operator with an easy way to operate.
On the other hand, with the progress of multimedia technologies, people in general households can now readily enjoy capturing images using a video camera into a computer, etc., editing and displaying the images on a display device. Such technologies are also used for personal authentication by analyzing images of a physical body such as a face, extracting characteristic parts thereof to identify individuals.
Conventionally, these images are used as information to be processed by a computer such as editing or analysis. However, images taken have not been used so far for a purpose such as entering commands to a computer, for example.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an image processing technology to use images taken by an image pickup apparatus, etc. as an input interface to enter commands, etc.
An image processor according to the present invention to solve the above-described problems comprises image capturing means for capturing a mirrored moving image partially including a moving target, image generating means for generating an object image expressing a predetermined object according to the movement of the target included in the mirrored moving image captured by the image capturing means and controlling means for combining the object image generated by this image generating means with the captured mirrored moving image and displaying the combined image on a predetermined display device.
The xe2x80x9ctargetxe2x80x9d refers to a remarked part of an object (person or matter, etc.) whose image is taken by an image pickup apparatus that supplies the image to an image processor.
Another image processor according to the present invention comprises image capturing means for capturing a mirrored moving image partially including a moving target, detecting means for detecting the target and the movement component thereof by detecting image features between the mirrored moving image at the actual time point and the immediately preceding mirrored moving image, image generating means for generating an object image expressing a predetermined object in such a way as to change according to the movement component of the target detected by the detecting means and controlling means for combining the object image generated by this image generating means with the captured mirrored moving image and displaying the combined image on a predetermined display device.
These image processors generate object images according to the movements of targets included in the mirrored moving image. That is, the movement, color, shape of the object image to be displayed on the display device and if there is a plurality of object images, which object image should be displayed, etc. are determined by the movement of the target. For example, if the target is the operator, the object is determined according to the movement of the operator. Thus, the mirrored moving image is available as a kind of input interface.
In these image processors, it is also possible to construct the image generating means to generate the object image in such a way as to follow the movement of the detected target.
It is also possible to comprise means for making preparations for executing required processing based on the generated object image according to the movement component of the target.
It is also possible to further comprise means for comparing a combined image obtained by combining the object image generated by the image generating means and the mirrored moving image at the actual time point, with a template image which is the image of part of the target included in the immediately preceding mirrored moving image, detecting the part of the combined image whose image feature is most resembling the template image and making preparations for executing required processing based on this object image when the image of the part of the detected combined image includes the object image.
By associating the object image with predetermined processing and further comprising means for executing the processing linked to the object image when the movement component of the target detected by the detecting means satisfies predetermined conditions, it is possible to execute processing using the movement of the target as an input.
It is also possible to construct the image processor so that the mirrored moving image includes a plurality of targets, construct the detecting means to detect the movement components of the plurality of targets and detect one target based on the respective movement components of the detected plurality of targets, construct the image generating means to change the object image according to the movement component of the one target detected by the detecting means.
The present invention further provides the following image processing method. This image processing method comprises the steps of capturing a mirrored moving image partially including a moving target in the image processor, generating an object image expressing a predetermined object using the image processor according to the movement of the target included in the captured mirrored moving image and combining the object image generated with the captured mirrored moving image and displaying the combined image on a predetermined display device.
The present invention also provides the computer program. This computer program renders a computer with a display device connected thereto to execute the steps of capturing a mirrored moving image partially including a moving target, generating an object image expressing a predetermined object according to the movement of the target included in the captured mirrored moving image and combining the object image generated with the captured mirrored moving image and displaying the combined image on the display device.
The present invention also provides the semiconductor device. This semiconductor device renders a computer with a display device connected thereto to form the functions of means for capturing a mirrored moving image partially including a moving target, means for generating an object image expressing a predetermined object according to the movement of the target included in the captured mirrored moving image and means for combining the object image generated with the captured mirrored moving image and displaying the combined image on the display device.

Image processor, image processing method, recording medium, computer program and semiconductor device


A system includes a pedal position sensor that senses a pedal position of a vehicle pedal when the vehicle pedal is in a known position. The system also includes a learn window determination module that selects between a first pedal position range and a second pedal position range that corresponds to the known position. The system further includes a pedal fault determination module that determines a fault in the vehicle pedal based on the pedal position and the selected one of the first pedal position range and the second pedal position range.

The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
Vehicles, including, but not limited to, hybrid engine vehicles, may include a pedal assembly (e.g., a brake pedal assembly) and a pedal position sensor arranged to sense a position of the vehicle pedal. The pedal position may be used to determine whether or not the vehicle pedal is operating within a predetermined tolerance. Further, the pedal position may be used to determine whether to actuate a vehicle accessory (e.g., a vehicle light).

Dual learn windows for brake pedal released position


A method for banding suppression due to vibration in an imager utilizing a light emitting diode (LED) array is disclosed. By characterizing the LED array and knowing the amplitude and frequency of the signal due to vibration which causes the banding, the LEDs"" driving currents are modulated in reverse direction corresponding to the banding signal to suppress the banding.

Scanned light beam imaging is employed for various purposes including electrophotographic printing. In such systems used for printing, a light beam generated, for example, by a laser is selectively modulated to vary its amplitude while it is scanned laterally across a moving photoconductor to selectively discharge the photoconductor. Such systems have been binary in nature (xe2x80x9conxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9coffxe2x80x9d) to accomplish printing of character information by selectively either exposing the photoconductor or leaving it unexposed. To insure complete exposure, adjacent scan lines are usually overlapped slightly. Thus, any slight misalignment of the scans or change in beam size would not be noticed.
This cannot be done if the light beam modulation is other than binary because in any partial exposure, a substantial overlap would appear as a stripe of complete exposure. Alternatively, spacing the scans apart would appear as a stripe that remains unexposed. To attempt to prevent such stripes by substantially eliminating the optical and mechanical tolerances from the system would appear to be prohibitively expensive.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to eliminate the perception of elongated stripes in such optical imaging systems without requiring substantial tightening of allowable optical or electromechanical tolerances.
A method for banding suppression due to vibration in an imager utilizing a light emitting diode (LED) array is disclosed. By characterizing the LED array and knowing the amplitude and frequency of the signal due to vibration which causes the banding, the LEDs"" deriving currents are modulated in reverse direction corresponding to the banding signal to suppress the banding.

Suppression of banding due to vibration in imager with LED array


A device for delivering therapeutic energy to tissue is provided. The device includes a housing and a rotating device coupled to the housing. The device includes a plurality of electrodes, each electrode including: (i) a proximal section longitudinally extending from within the housing to an exterior of the housing and having a longitudinal axis; (ii) an intermediate section extending from the proximal section; and (iii) a distal section extending longitudinally from the intermediate section. The rotating device is coupled to the proximal sections of the plurality of electrodes and adapted to rotate the distal section of the electrodes so that distance between at least two electrodes changes, so that the electrodes can be placed in a compact configuration or an expanded configuration to provide for a treatment region larger than the size of the opening for insertion.

Conventional devices for delivering therapeutic energy to tissue include a handle and a probe coupled to the handle. The probe contains at least one electrode to which an electrical power source is coupled. The power source allows the electrode to deliver the therapeutic energy to a targeted tissue, thereby causing ablation of the tissue.
In certain applications, it is desirable to provide a probe having a relatively small cross-section, for example 1 cm in diameter or less, wherein the electrodes are moved to a compact state to a configuration where the distance between the distal section of any two electrodes is smallest, so as to be placeable within a position inside of the outermost dimension of the probe. Prior art devices have utilized flexible materials having shape memory (such as nickel titanium, also known as "Nitinol") for the electrodes in order to accomplish this. However as the distal sections of the electrodes are moved from a compact position to a more expanded position where the distance between at least distal sections of two electrodes becomes greater, it is difficult to keep such electrodes in proper alignment if they are composed of flexible materials. Further, it is often difficult or sometimes not possible to place the electrodes in the correct location of the tissue to be ablated.
Applications of a probe that could be utilized as described ideally would involve the emerging technology of Irreversible Electroporation (IRE). Irreversible electroporation (IRE) involves the use of electrical pulses to target tumor tissue in the range of microseconds to milliseconds that can lead to non-thermally produced defects in the cell membrane that are nanoscale in size. These defects can lead to a disruption of homeostasis of the cell membrane, thereby causing irreversible cell membrane permeabilization which induces cell necrosis, without raising the temperature of the tumor ablation zone. During IRE ablation, connective tissue and scaffolding structures are spared, thus allowing the surrounding bile ducts, blood vessels, and connective tissue to remain intact. With nonthermal IRE (hereinafter also called non-thermal IRE), cell death is mediated through a nonthermal mechanism, so the heat sink problem associated with many ablation techniques is nullified. Therefore the advantages of IRE to allow focused treatment with tissue sparing and without thermal effects can be used effectively in conjunction with thermal treatment such as RF that has been proven effective to prevent track seeding; this will also allow (in this example embodiment) the user to utilize determined RF levels (or long-DC pulses) leading to in some cases ablation and in some cases coagulation of blood vessels of all sizes encountered during treatment. IRE can be utilized effectively with known techniques of thermal damage including mediating tumor cell death and bringing about coagulation along a tissue track.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a device and method which includes electrodes that can be placed within a relatively small diameter by being placed in a compact position to a more expanded position where the distance between at least distal sections of two electrodes becomes greater, and then returned to the compact position while the distal sections of the electrodes remain in parallel with each other. With some therapies, parallel electrodes are needed; parallel embodiments are in certain cases better than curved flexible electrodes such as in use with hard surfaces, tumors, or cancers. Maintaining a parallel orientation can be critical to treatment success. Additionally, this device could be used to mediate irreversible electroporation separately or in conjunction with reversible electroporation, long-DC pulses, and Radio-Frequency (RF) technologies which provides additional advantages of treatment when used in conjunction with features such as the parallel electrode orientation.

Therapeutic energy delivery device with rotational mechanism


The invention relates to an implantable electromechanical converter for receiving oscillations from an ear ossicle and for converting them into an electrical voltage, for use as a microphone for a cochlea implant or an implantable hearing aid, consisting of one or more piezoelectric converter elements (11) housed in a hermetically sealed hollow body (2) made of a biocompatible material. The converter is characterized in that the hollow body has a thin shell (9) which is connected with its interior side to the piezoelectric converter elements and which can be coupled with its exterior side to an ear ossicle, and which is held by a stable edge (10), whereby the stable edge can be coupled to a counter-support in the middle ear space.

The invention relates to an implantable electromechanical converter for cochlea implants and for implantable hearing aids.
Completely or partially implantable hearing aids, such as cochlea implants or implantable hearing aids, require an implantable converter for receiving the sound reaching the ear of the patient, since the sound has to be converted into electrical signals for further processing in the respective hearing aid.
Different solutions have been proposed in the past. In a first approach, the sound waves reaching the ear are directly converted into electrical signals which can be accomplished in different ways, as described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,882,285, 4,988,333, WO 96/21333, U.S. Pat. No. 5,411,467, and EP 0 831 673. With this approach, however, the natural ability of the outer ear of directionally filtering the received sound is lost and/or the attachment/implantation of the required converter components can cause adverse reactions of the affected/surrounding tissue.
In a second approach, the natural sound receiving mechanisms of the human outer and middle ear are used for converting the received sound into oscillations of the middle ear components (eardrum and ear ossicle), which are subsequently converted into electrical signals. Different converter principles have been proposed: U.S. Pat. No. 3,870,832 describes implantable converters based on electromagnetic principles. However, the relatively high power consumption of such electromagnetic and electrodynamic converters limits their practical application for implantable cochlea implants and hearing aids.
This disadvantage is obviated by converters based on piezoelectric principles. EP 0 263 254 describes an implantable converter made of a piezoelectric film, a piezoelectric crystal or a piezoelectric acceleration sensor, whereby one end of the converter is cemented in the bone while the other end is fixedly connected with an oscillating member of the middle ear. The problem with this approach is that inflexible connections to the ear ossicles can cause bone erosion, so that cementing converter components in the middle ear space is approached cautiously for mechanical and toxicological reasons. Moreover, the patent reference does not indicate how the body fluids can be permanently prevented from making contact with the piezoelectric materials. Accordingly, there is a risk of biocompatibility problems, so that the piezoelectric properties can deteriorate due to physical and chemical interactions between the piezoelectric material and the body fluids.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,712,962 describes an implantable converter that uses a piezoelectric cylinder or a piezoelectric beam as a converter component that is anchored in the ear in a manner that is not described in detail. This reference, like the aforementioned patent EP 0 263 254, does not describe in detail how body fluids can be permanently prevented from making contact with the piezoelectric materials.
WO 99/08480 describes an implantable converter based on piezoelectric principles, which is attached solely to an oscillating middle ear component, with the counter support being provided by an inertial mass connected with the converter. However, the attachment of the converter to an oscillating middle ear component, such as the ear drum or the ear ossicles, is either not permanently stable or can erode the bone. This risk is aggravated because the mass of the implantable converter is greater than that of passive middle ear implants.
WO 94/17645 describes an implantable converter based on capacitive or a piezoelectric principles, that can be fabricated by micromechanical techniques. This converter is intended to operate a pressure detector in the incus-stapes joint. Since the stapes in conjunction with the coupled inner ear forms a resonant system, it may not have sufficient sensitivity across the entire range of useful frequencies. This problem applies also to the implantable converters described in WO 97/18689 and DE 100 30 372 that operate by way of hydro-acoustic signal transmission.
Based on the present state of the art, it is therefore an object to provide an improved implantable microphonic device that converts sound received by the ear into electrical signals with sufficient sensitivity over the entire useful frequency range, that consumes as little energy as possible, that protects the sensitive bone and tissue structures of the ear by suitable positioning and coupling of the implantable microphone, and that provides long-term stability and biocompatibility of the implantable microphonic device.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Implantable converter for cochlea implants and implantable hearing aids

Med-El Elektromedizinische Geräte Ges.m.b.H.


A nodulizing machine for use in an apparatus for making loose fill insulation from mineral fibers comprises an input portal, a conduit containing a plurality of blades and an output portal. Apparatus for making loose fill insulation from mineral fibers comprises a duct extending from a source of the mineral fibers to the nodulizing machine of the present invention. The apparatus includes flow rate control means to control the flow rate of air and mineral fibers in the apparatus. A process for making loose fill insulation from mineral fibers in association with the apparatus of the invention is also disclosed.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the manufacture of loose fill insulation products from mineral fibers.
More specifically, the invention relates to a nodulizing machine for use in an apparatus for making loose fill insulation from mineral fibers. The invention also relates to the apparatus with which the nodulizing machine is used, to a process for using the apparatus, to the use of said apparatus and to products of the use thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
Prior art loose fill insulation products and methods of making such products involve the expansion of individual pieces of feed stock, which may be, for example perlite or silicate, by means of, for example, heating. As well, the production of loose fill insulation by feeding insulation batting of mineral fibers through hammermills, Forberg mills or shredders is also known.

Mineral fiber nodules and method of making same


Methods of etching a dielectric layer and a cap layer over a conductor to expose the conductor are disclosed. In one embodiment, the methods include the use of a silicon dioxide (SiO2) etching chemistry including octafluorocyclobutane (C4F8) and a titanium nitride (TiN) etching chemistry including tetrafluoro methane (CF4). The methods prevent etch rate degradation and exhibit reduced electro-static discharge (ESD) defects.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to semiconductor fabrication, and more particularly, to etching processes using octafluorocyclobutane (C4F8) for silicon dioxide (SiO2) and tetrafluoro methane (CF4) for titanium nitride (TiN).
2. Related Art
In the semiconductor industry, reactive ion etching (RIE) is used to open pathways for circuitry within a semiconductor chip. One structure formed using RIE, for example, is a via, which electrically connects conductors within different layers. RIE is a variation of plasma (gas) etching in which a semiconductor wafer is placed on a radio frequency (RF) powered electrode, and etching species are extracted and accelerated from the plasma toward the surface to be etched. A chemical etching reaction occurs that removes parts of the surface. RIE is one of the most common etching techniques in semiconductor manufacturing.
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional semiconductor structure 10 including layers 12, 14 prior to etching is shown. Structure 10 includes a conductor layer 14 including a dielectric layer 16 (e.g., of silicon dioxide (SiO2)) surrounding a conductor 18 (e.g., of copper (Cu) or aluminum (Al)); a cap layer 20 (e.g., of titanium nitride (TiN)) atop conductor level 14; a dielectric layer 22 (e.g., of silicon dioxide (SiO2)) atop cap layer 20; another dielectric layer 24 (e.g., of silicon nitride Si3N4) atop dielectric layer 22; and a patterned photoresist 26.
A typical RIE process is conducted in a single plasma chamber capable of two RF settings, e.g., approximately 2 MHz (bottom RF source electrode) and approximately 27 MHz (top bias power electrode). One conventional RIE process for a stack having the following thicknesses: 6 μm of photoresist 26 (e.g., Gpoly), 4000 Å of dielectric layer 24 of silicon nitride, 4500 Å of dielectric layer 22 of silicon dioxide and 250-350 Å of cap layer 20 of titanium nitride will now be described. The conventional RIE process may include the following steps: performing a descum, etching dielectric layer 24, etching dielectric layer 22 using argon (Ar), tetrafluoro methane (CF4) and carbon monoxide (CO), and a two step etching of cap layer 20. A first cap layer etching step may use argon (Ar), octafluorocyclobutane (C4F8), oxygen (O2), and trifluoro methane (CHF3), and a second cap layer etching step may use argon (Ar) and nitrogen trifluoride (NF3). Finally, an oxygen (O2) plasma chemistry (ash) is performed to remove residual RIE polymers from conductor 18.
The conventional RIE process for removing TiN in a dielectric etch tool suffers from a number of problems. First, it leads to tool degradation, and more specifically, to a lowered etch rate and a decreased etch uniformity of subsequent RIE processing, which reduces yield. Second, typical plasma processes lead to wafer degradation. For example, the above-described process has exhibited increased electro-static discharge (ESD) defects within kerfs of wafers. One approach to address this situation has been to employ metal etch systems, rather than dielectric etching systems. However, these systems cause defects in the profile of the remaining conductor 18, e.g., of aluminum (Al), under cap layer 20 (titanium nitride). That is, they are not selective to aluminum (Al).
In view of the foregoing, there is a need in the art for an improved RIE process that does not suffer from the problems of the related art.

International Business Machines Corporation


A copying apparatus includes an original feed unit for feeding originals stacked on the stacking position to an exposure position one by one, an exposure unit for exposing an image on the original fed to the exposure position, and an image forming unit for forming the image exposed by the exposure unit onto a sheet, the image forming unit being able to operate in a first mode for forming an image on a single original on a single sheet, and a second mode for forming images on a plurality of originals on a single sheet. The original feed unit includes a first feed unit for feeding the originals stacked at the stacking position in turn from the last page, and a second feed unit for feeding the originals stacked at the stacking position in turn from the first page. When the image forming unit operates in the first mode, the first feed unit feeds the originals. When the image forming unit operates in the second mode, the second feed unit feeds the originals.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a copying apparatus capable of changing the original feed order.
2. Related Background Art
Conventionally, there is no image forming apparatus comprising an original feeder that can separate each one of a plurality of originals placed on an original table with their original surfaces facing up (to be referred to as a "face-up state" hereinafter) or their original surfaces facing down (to be referred to as a "face-down state" hereinafter) either from the uppermost or lowermost original in turn, and that can automatically feed the separated original to an image reading position.
Conventionally, there is provided an image forming apparatus comprising an original feeder, which separates each one of a plurality of originals placed on an original table in the face-up state only from the lowermost original in turn and automatically feeds the separated original to the image reading position, or an image forming apparatus comprising an original feeder, which separates each one of a plurality of originals placed on an original table in the face-down state only from the uppermost original in turn and automatically feeds the separated original to the image reading position.
However, in the image forming apparatus comprising the original feeder which separates each one of a plurality of originals placed on the original table in the face-up state only from the lowermost original in turn and automatically feeds the separated original to the image reading position, or the original feeder which separates each one of a plurality of originals placed on the original table in the face-down state only from the uppermost original in turn and automatically feeds the separated original to the image reading position, image formation is started from the last page of a bundle of originals. For this reason, when the image formation mode is a mode for forming images on both surfaces of sheets on the basis of one-side originals, image formation is started after the number of originals is temporarily counted to discriminate if the number of originals is an odd or even number, or after a user inputs data indicating that the number of originals is an odd or even number. Similarly, when the image formation mode is a mode for forming images on a plurality of originals on a single sheet, the number of originals is temporarily counted, or a user inputs the number of originals. Therefore, the efficiency of image formation is considerably impaired, or a user is required to perform cumbersome operations.
On the other hand, when an image forming apparatus has a function of facsimile-transmitting a read image, a function of storing a read image in a file, and a function of transferring an image to an external computer, and comprises an original feeder which separates each one of a plurality of originals placed on an original table in the face-up state only from the lowermost original in turn and automatically feeds the separated original to the image reading position, or an original feeder which separates each one of a plurality of originals placed on an original table in the face-down state only from the uppermost original in turn and automatically feeds the separated original to the image reading position, the original reading operation is started from the last page of the plurality of originals. For this reason, in the case of a facsimile apparatus for transmitting images from the first page or an image file apparatus for storing images from the first page, all the pieces of original information must be temporarily stored in an image memory, and thereafter, the stored information must be processed from the first page, resulting in an increase in cost of the overall apparatus.

Copying apparatus capable of changing original feed order


A display substrate and a manufacturing method thereof, and a display panel are provided. The display substrate includes a base substrate having a display region and a peripheral region adjacent to the display region, the peripheral region being provided therein with a gate driver-on-array circuit including a plurality of transistors and capacitors, all of the transistors are provided in a transistor region, at least a part of the plurality of capacitors are provided in a capacitor region, and the capacitor region is located on a side of the transistor region distal to the display region; and an encapsulation structure for encapsulating the display region and the transistor region together; the peripheral region further including a sealing region for arranging a sealing structure therein, the capacitor region is located in the sealing region, and the sealing region is provided on a side of the encapsulation structure distal to the display region.

A display substrate is generally divided into a display region and a peripheral region. The display region is provided with a display structure, and the peripheral region is usually provided with a gate drive circuit including a large number of signal lines, transistors, and capacitors. In order to ensure the encapsulation effect, a sealing structure is generally provided at the edge of the display substrate and an encapsulation structure is provided at a position adjacent to the display region.

Display substrate and manufacturing method thereof, display panel

Beijing BOE Technology Development Co., Ltd.