An actuator includes a ball nut, a ball screw, and a ball screw stop. The ball nut is adapted to receive an input torque and in response rotates and supplies a drive force. The ball screw extends through the ball nut and has a first end and a second end. The ball screw receives the drive force from the ball nut and in response selectively translates between a retract position and a extend position. The ball screw stop is mounted on the ball screw proximate the first end to translate therewith. The ball screw stop engages the ball nut when the ball screw is in the extend position, translates, with compliance, a predetermined distance toward the first end upon engaging the ball nut, and prevents further rotation of the ball screw upon translating the predetermined distance.

Actuators are used in myriad devices and systems. For example, many vehicles including, for example, aircraft, spacecraft, watercraft, and numerous other terrestrial and non-terrestrial vehicles, include one or more actuators to effect the movement of various control surfaces or components. Many different types of actuator configurations presently exist. One particular type of actuator is a linear electromechanical actuator (EMA). A typical linear EMA includes a power drive unit, an actuation member, and a translation member. The power drive unit, such as a motor, is configured to supply a drive torque to the actuation member, which in turn causes the translation member to translate.
One particular type of linear EMA is a ball screw actuator. This type of actuator includes a ball screw and a ball nut. The ball nut is mounted on, and is configured to rotate relative to, the ball screw. In some configurations, the ball screw is the actuation member, and the ball nut is the translation member. With these configurations, the power drive unit drives the ball screw, which causes the ball nut to translate. In other configurations, the ball nut is the actuation member, and the ball screw is the translation member. With these configurations, the power drive unit drives the ball nut, which causes the ball screw to translate. With either of these configurations, when the power drive unit is an electric motor, a relationship of motor current and force can be desirable for calibration purposes. Unfortunately, presently known actuators do not readily allow this relationship to be determined when a positive position device is not present.
Hence, there is a need for an actuator that readily allows the relationship of motor current and force to be readily determined when a positive position device is not present. The present invention addresses at least this need.

Ball screw actuator including a compliant ball screw stop


To provide a light-emitting element with high emission efficiency or long lifetime, in which the use amount of a phosphorescent compound is small. To provide a light-emitting element including a light-emitting layer between a pair of electrodes, wherein the light-emitting layer includes a phosphorescent compound, a first organic compound, and a second organic compound, and the combination of the first organic compound and the second organic compound forms an exciplex. The light-emitting element transfers energy by utilizing the overlap between the emission spectrum of the exciplex and the absorption spectrum of the phosphorescent compound and thus has high energy transfer efficiency, even when the concentration of the phosphorescent compound is low.

Organic EL elements have been keenly studied and developed (see, Patent Documents 1 and 2 and Non-Patent Document 1). In a fundamental structure of the organic EL element, a layer containing a light-emitting organic compound (hereinafter also referred to as light-emitting layer) is interposed between a pair of electrodes. The organic EL element has attracted attentions as a next-generation flat panel display element owing to characteristics such as feasibility of being thinner and lighter, high speed response to input signals, and capability of direct current low voltage driving.
In addition, a display using such a light-emitting element has a feature that it is excellent in contrast and image quality, and has a wide viewing angle. Further, since an organic EL element is a plane light source, it is considered that the light-emitting element is applied as a light source such as a backlight of a liquid crystal display and a lighting device.
The light-emission mechanism of organic EL elements is a carrier-injection system. That is, by application of voltage with a light-emitting layer interposed between electrodes, electrons and holes injected from the electrodes are recombined to make a light-emitting substance excited, and light emitted when the excited state returns to a ground state. There are two types of the excited states which are possible: a singlet excited state (S*) and a triplet excited state (T*). In addition, the statistical generation ratio thereof in a light-emitting element is considered to be S*:T*=1:3.
In general, the ground state of a light-emitting organic compound is a singlet state. Thus, light emission from the singlet excited state (S*) is referred to as fluorescence because it is caused by electron transition between the same spin multiplicities. On the other hand, light emission from a triplet excited state (T*) is referred to as phosphorescence where electron transition occurs between different spin multiplicities. Here, in a compound emitting fluorescence (hereinafter referred to as fluorescent compound), in general, phosphorescence is not observed at room temperature, and only fluorescence is observed. Accordingly, the internal quantum efficiency (the ratio of generated photons to injected carriers) in a light-emitting element using a fluorescent compound is assumed to have a theoretical limit of 25% based on S*:T*=1:3.
On the other hand, when a compound emitting phosphorescence (hereinafter referred to as phosphorescent compound) is used, an internal quantum efficiency of 100% can be theoretically achieved. In other words, higher emission efficiency can be obtained than that when a fluorescent compound is used. Therefore, the light-emitting element using a phosphorescent compound has been actively developed in recent years in order to achieve a highly efficient light-emitting element. As the phosphorescent compound, in particular, an organometallic complex that has iridium or the like as a central metal has particularly attracted attentions because of its high phosphorescence quantum yield; for example, an organometallic complex that has iridium as a central metal is disclosed as a phosphorescent material in Patent Document 1.
When a light-emitting layer of a light-emitting element is formed using a phosphorescent compound described above, in order to inhibit concentration quenching or quenching due to triplet-triplet annihilation in the phosphorescent compound, the light-emitting layer is often formed such that the phosphorescent compound is dispersed in a matrix of another compound. Here, the compound forming the matrix is called host, and the compound dispersed in the matrix, such as a phosphorescent compound, is called guest (or a dopant).
In addition, Patent Document 2 or Non-Patent Document 1 describes a method for forming a light-emitting layer with use of a mixture of a material with a high electron-transport property and a material with a high hole-transport property. For example, in Non-Patent Document 1, a light-emitting device is proposed, in which two materials of a tris(8-quinolinolato)aluminum complex (abbreviation: Alq3) with a high electron-transport property and 4,4′-bis[N-(1-naphthyl)-N-phenylamino]biphenyl (abbreviation: NPB) with a high hole-transport property and methylquinacridon (abbreviation: mqa) as a guest (dopant) are used.
In the light-emitting layer having such a structure, two kinds of hosts have separate functions, so that electrons and holes can be transferred with good balance. In other words, electrons are transferred by Alq3 and holes are transferred by NPB and the electrons and holes reach mqa, so that mqa can be excited. Only fluorescence is emitted from mqa, but in Patent Document 2 discloses that light emission from a triplet excited state can be obtained by using a phosphorescent compound as a guest.

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


A thumb drive includes a retractable USB connector sized to translate between an extended position beyond a housing and a retracted position into the housing. An actuator, such as a dial or a lever, is sized to actuate the USB connector to move the USB connector between the extended position and the retracted position. The USB connector is sized to translate to the extended position when the actuator is moved in one direction. The USB connector is sized to translate to the retracted position when the actuator is moved in an opposite direction.

USB portable drives are used to store information. The USB portable drive is inserted into a USB connector of a computer or other host system to transfer data between the USB portable drive and the computer.
These USB portable drives typically include an outer housing and an USB connector that extends beyond the outer housing. A separate cover is removably secured to the outer housing. The separate cover is provided to protect the USB connector when the USB connector is not in use. These covers are often plastic caps that are easily removed from the USB connector. Such caps are commonly misplaced by users when the USB connector is in use.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a USB portable drive which protects the USB connector while not in use without the need for a separate cover.

Portable storage device with retractable connector


A process for the preparation of toner compositions with a volume median particle size of from about 1 to about 25 microns, which process comprises:. (i) preparing by emulsion polymerization an anionic charged polymeric latex of submicron particle size, and comprised of resin particles and anionic surfactant; PA1 (ii) preparing a dispersion in water, which dispersion is comprised of optional pigment, an effective amount of cationic flocculant surfactant, and optionally a charge control agent; PA1 (iii) shearing the dispersion (ii) with the polymeric latex thereby causing a flocculation or heterocoagulation of the formed particles of optional pigment, resin and charge control agent to form a high viscosity gel in which solid particles are uniformly dispersed; PA1 (iv) stirring the above gel comprised of latex particles, and oppositely charged dispersion particles for an effective period of time to form electrostatically bound relatively stable toner size aggregates with narrow particle size distribution; and PA1 (v) heating the electrostatically bound aggregated particles at a temperature above the resin glass transition temperature (Tg) thereby providing the toner composition comprised of resin, optional pigment and optional charge control agent.

The present invention is generally directed to toner processes, and more specifically to aggregation and coalescence processes for the preparation of toner compositions. In embodiments, the present invention is directed to the economical preparation of toners without the utilization of the known pulverization and/or classification methods, and wherein toners with an average volume diameter of from about 1 to about 25, and preferably from about 1 to about 10 microns, and a narrow GSD of from about 1.16 to about 1.26 can be obtained. The resulting toners can be selected for known electrophotographic imaging and printing processes, including color processes, and lithography. In embodiments, the present invention is directed to a process comprised of dispersing a pigment and optionally a charge control agent or additive in an aqueous mixture containing an ionic surfactant in a controlled effective amount of, for example, from about 0.01 percent to about 10 percent by weight of the aqueous mixture and shearing this mixture with a latex mixture comprised of suspended resin particles of, for example, from about 0.01 micron to about 2 microns in volume diameter in an aqueous solution containing a counterionic surfactant in amounts of from about 1 percent to about 10 percent with opposite charge to the ionic surfactant of the pigment dispersion, thereby causing a flocculation of resin particles, pigment particles and optional charge control agent, followed by stirring of the flocculent mixture, which is believed to form statically bound aggregates of from about 1 micron to about 10 microns, comprised of resin, pigment and optionally charge control agent. Subsequently, the mixture formed is heated to generate toner particles with an average particle volume diameter of from about 1 to about 20 microns. It is believed that during the heating stage the components of the aggregated particles fuse together to form composite toner particles. The size of the final toner particles can be controlled by the amount of the cationic surfactant added to cause the aggregation of latex particles with pigment particles (flocculation). An increase of from 0.5:1 to 4:1 molar ratio in the concentration of the flocculant (cationic surfactant) causes in embodiments an increase of from a size of 3 to a size of 9 microns in volume average diameter of the toner particles. However, in embodiments there is a certain minimum of about 0.01 percent to about 0.2 percent concentration (or 0.5:1 molar ratio of the cationic surfactant in the pigment to the anionic surfactant in the latex) of the flocculant (cationic surfactant) required for the aggregation of the submicron latex particles with the pigment particles to occur, and below this minimum concentration no aggregation may be observed. The flocculant concentration also controls the particle size distribution of the aggregates. Also, an increase in the concentration of the flocculant improves the particle size distribution from 1.4 to 1.2, especially at low 0.5:1 molar ratio concentrations, and also reduces the time of aggregation from, for example, about 12 to about 2 hours.
In another embodiment thereof, the present invention is directed to an in situ process comprised of first dispersing a pigment in an aqueous mixture containing a controlled amount of a cationic surfactant, such as benzalkonium chloride, other straight chain fatty alkylammonium compounds or cyclic alkylammonium compound, or polymeric cationic surfactant. The cationic surfactant used acts not only as a flocculant but also as a dispersant for the pigment, and in the process there can be utilized a high shearing device, such as a Brinkman Polytron, microfluidizer or sonicator, thereafter shearing this mixture with a latex of suspended resin particles such as poly(styrene/butadiene/acrylic acid) or poly(styrene/butylacrylate/acrylic acid), and of particle size ranging from 0.01 to about 0.5 micron as measured by the Brookhaven nanosizer in an aqueous surfactant mixture containing an anionic surfactant, such as sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate (for example NEOGEN R.TM. or NEOGEN SC.TM.) and nonionic surfactant such as alkyl phenoxy poly(ethylenoxy)ethanol (for example IGEPAL 897.TM. or ANTAROX 897.TM.), thereby resulting in a flocculation, or heterocoagulation of the resin particles with the pigment particles, and which on further stirring of 1 to 4 hours at 200 to 500 rpm and heating about 5.degree. to about 50.degree. C. above the resin Tg, which Tg is usually in the range of about 50.degree. to about 80.degree. C., and preferably in the range of 52.degree. to 65.degree. C., at temperatures between about 60.degree. to about 95.degree. C. results in the fusing of toner composites, from about 3 to about 20 microns, which size can be controlled by the amount or molar ratio, in range of 0.5:1 to 4:1, of cationic surfactant introduced with the pigment dispersion to the anionic surfactant introduced with the polymeric anionic latex. This is followed by washing with, for example, hot water to remove surfactants, and drying whereby toner particles comprised of resin and pigment with various particle size diameters can be obtained, such as from about 1 to about 25 microns.
The aforementioned toners are especially useful for the development of colored images with excellent line and solid resolution, and wherein substantially no background deposits are present. While not being desired to be limited by theory, it is believed that the flocculation or heterocoagulation is provided by the neutralization of the pigment mixture containing the pigment and cationic surfactant absorbed on the pigment surface with the resin mixture containing the resin particles and anionic surfactant absorbed on the resin. This process is accompanied by the viscosity build up from about 2 centipoise to about 5,000, and preferably 2,000 centipoise due to the formation of a gel - open space network of the aggregates. The viscosity of this gel blend is dependant on the amount of the cationic flocculant added, and it will initially increase with an increase of the cationic surfactant concentration. The cationic surfactant can also lower the negative charge on the latex particles thus causing their destabilization and tendency to aggregate. Further, an increase of the cationic surfactant concentration increases the rate of the aggregation, and narrows down the particles size distribution as at higher concentration all the fines-submicron size particles are collected more efficiently. Thereafter, heating about above the resin Tg, for example from 60.degree. to 95.degree. C., fuses the aggregated particles or coalesces the particles to toner composites of resin and pigment, and optionally charge control agent. Furthermore, in other embodiments the ionic surfactants can be exchanged, such that the pigment mixture contains the pigment particle and anionic surfactant, and the suspended resin particle mixture contains the resin particles and cationic surfactant; followed by the ensuing steps as illustrated herein to enable flocculation by charge neutralization while shearing, and forming statically bound aggregate particles by stirring and heating from 20.degree. C. to 5.degree. C. below the resin Tg. When the aggregates are formed, heating to 5.degree. C. to 50.degree. C. above the resin Tg to form stable toner composite particles is accomplished. Of importance with respect to the processes of the present invention is controlling the amount of the cationic surfactant added to cause the aggregation of the anionic latex with the pigment particles, and optional charge controlling agent to form toner particles since there is certain minimum concentration of the cationic surfactant that can be selected to cause the aggregation, Critical Cationic Concentration (CCC), which can be quantified in terms of the molar ratio of cationic surfactant, added to cause the aggregation, to the anionic surfactant present in the latex, for example in the range of 0.2:1 to 2.0:1 molar ratio, and about 0.1:1 to about 5:1. The amount of cationic surfactant can also affect the rate of aggregation, for example this amount can speed the aggregation process by about 2 to 10 times, especially initially. More specifically, the formation of aggregates is much faster, from 2 to 10 times when the concentration of flocculant is higher, for example is increased from 0.2 to 1 percent by the weight of water, and the size of the toner particles increases from about 3 to 9 microns with the increase of from about 0.5:1 to 4:1 molar ratio of the concentration of the cationic surfactant, and the particle size distribution improves from 1.4 to 1.18 initially with an increase of from about 0.5:1 to 2:1 concentration of cationic surfactant.
In reprographic technologies, such as xerographic and ionographic devices, toners with average volume diameter particle sizes of from about 9 microns to about 20 microns are effectively utilized. Moreover, in some xerographic technologies, such as the high volume Xerox Corporation 5090 copier-duplicator, high resolution characteristics and low image noise are highly desired, and can be attained utilizing the small sized toners of the present invention with an average volume particle of less than 11 microns and preferably less than about 7 microns and with narrow geometric size distribution (GSD) of from about 1.16 to about 1.3. Additionally, in some xerographic systems wherein process color is utilized such as pictorial color applications, small particle size colored toners of from about 3 to about 9 microns are highly desired to avoid paper curling. Paper curling is especially observed in pictorial or process color applications wherein three to four layers of toners are transferred and fused onto paper. During the fusing step, moisture is driven off from the paper due to the high fusing temperatures of from about 130.degree. to 160.degree. C. applied to the paper from the fuser. Where only one layer of toner is present, such as in black or in highlight xerographic applications, the amount of moisture driven off during fusing is reabsorbed proportionally by paper and the resulting print remains relatively flat with minimal curl. In pictorial color process applications wherein three to four colored toner layers are present, a thicker toner plastic level present after the fusing step inhibits the paper from sufficiently absorbing the moisture lost during the fusing step, and image paper curling results. These and other disadvantages and problems are avoided or minimized with the toners and processes of the present invention. It is preferable to use small toner particle sizes, such as from about 1 to 7 microns, and with higher pigment loading, such as from about 5 to about 12 percent by weight of toner, such that the mass of toner layers deposited onto paper is reduced to obtain the same quality of image and resulting in a thinner plastic toner layer onto paper after fusing, thereby minimizing or avoiding paper curling. Toners prepared in accordance with the present invention enable the use of lower fusing temperatures, such as from about 120.degree. C. to about 150.degree. C., thereby avoiding or minimizing paper curl. Lower fusing temperatures minimize the loss of moisture from paper, thereby reducing or eliminating paper curl. Furthermore, in process color applications and especially in pictorial color applications, toner to paper gloss matching is highly desirable. Gloss matching is referred to as matching the gloss of the toner image to the gloss of the paper. For example, when a low gloss image of preferably from about 1 to about 30 gloss is desired, low gloss paper is utilized such as from about 1 to about 30 gloss units as measured by the Gardner Gloss metering unit, and which after image formation with small particle size toners of from about 3 to about 5 microns, and fixing thereafter results in a low gloss toner image of from about 1 to about 30 gloss units as measured by the Gardner Gloss metering unit. Alternatively, if higher image gloss is desired, such as from about above 30 to about 60 gloss units as measured by the Gardner Gloss metering unit, higher gloss paper is utilized such as from about above 30 to about 60 gloss units, and which after image formation with small particle size toners of the present invention of from about 3 to about 5 microns and fixing thereafter results in a higher gloss toner image of from about 30 to about 60 gloss units as measured by the Gardner Gloss metering unit. The aforementioned toner to paper matching can be attained with small particle size toners such as less than 7 microns and preferably less than 5 microns, such as from about 1 to about 4 microns, such that the pile height of the toner layer(s) is low.
Numerous processes are known for the preparation of toners, such as, for example, conventional processes wherein a resin is melt kneaded or extruded with a pigment, micronized and pulverized to provide toner particles with an average volume particle diameter of from about 9 microns to about 20 microns and with broad geometric size distribution of from about 1.4 to about 1.7. In such processes, it is usually necessary to subject the aforementioned toners to a classification procedure such that the geometric size distribution of from about 1.2 to about 1.4 is attained. Also, in the aforementioned conventional process, low toner yields after classifications may be obtained. Generally, during the preparation of toners with average particle size diameters of from about 11 microns to about 15 microns, toner yields range from about 70 percent to about 85 percent after classification. Additionally, during the preparation of smaller sized toners with particle sizes of from about 7 microns to about 11 microns, lower toner yields are obtained after classification, such as from about 50 percent to about 70 percent. With the processes of the present invention in embodiments, small average particle sizes of from about 3 microns to about 9 microns, and preferably 5 microns are attained without resorting to classification processes, and wherein narrow geometric size distributions are attained, such as from about 1.16 to about 1.30, and preferably from about 1.16 to about 1.25. High toner yields are also attained such as from about 90 percent to about 98 percent in embodiments. In addition, by the toner particle preparation process of this invention, small particle size toners of from about 3 microns to about 7 microns can be economically prepared in high yields such as from about 90 percent to about 98 percent by weight based on the weight of all the toner material ingredients.
There is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,996,127 a toner of associated particles of secondary particles comprising primary particles of a polymer having acidic or basic polar groups, and a coloring agent. The polymers selected for the toners of this '127 patent can be prepared by an emulsion polymerization method, see for example columns 4 and 5 of this patent. In column 7 of this '127 patent, it is indicated that the toner can be prepared by mixing the required amount of coloring agent and optional charge additive with an emulsion of the polymer having an acidic or basic polar group obtained by emulsion polymerization. Also, note column 9, lines 50 to 55, wherein a polar monomer, such as acrylic acid, in the emulsion resin is necessary, and toner preparation is not obtained without the use, for example, of acrylic acid polar group, see Comparative Example I. The process of the present invention need not utilize polymer polar acid groups, and toners can be prepared with resins such as poly(styrene-butadiene) or PLIOTONE.TM. without containing polar acid groups. Additionally, the toner of the '127 patent does not utilize counterionic surfactant and flocculation process as does the present invention. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,983,488, a process for the preparation of toners by the polymerization of a polymerizable monomer dispersed by emulsification in the presence of a colorant and/or a magnetic powder to prepare a principal resin component and then effecting coagulation of the resulting polymerization liquid in such a manner that the particles in the liquid after coagulation have diameters suitable for a toner. It is indicated in column 9 of this patent that coagulated particles of 1 to 100, and particularly 3 to 70, are obtained. This process is thus directed to the use of coagulants, such as inorganic magnesium sulfate, which results in the formation of particles with wide GSD. Furthermore, the '488 patent does not disclose the process of counterionic flocculation as the present invention. Similarly, the aforementioned disadvantages are noted in other prior art, such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,797,339, wherein there is disclosed a process for the preparation of toners by resin emulsion polymerization, wherein similar to the '127 patent polar resins of oppositely charges are selected, and wherein flocculation as in the present invention is not disclosed; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,108, wherein there is disclosed a process for the preparation of a copolymer of styrene and butadiene by specific suspension polymerization. Other patents mentioned are U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,674,736; 4,137,188 and 5,066,560.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,290,654, the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, there is disclosed a process for the preparation of toners comprised of dispersing a polymer solution comprised of an organic solvent, and a polyester and homogenizing and heating the mixture to remove the solvent and thereby form toner composites. Additionally, there is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,278,020, the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, a process for the preparation of in situ toners comprising an halogenization procedure which chlorinates the outer surface of the toner and results in enhanced blocking properties. More specifically, this patent application discloses an aggregation process wherein a pigment mixture, containing an ionic surfactant, is added to a resin mixture, containing polymer resin particles of less than 1 micron, nonionic and counterionic surfactant, and thereby causing a flocculation which is dispersed to statically bound aggregates of about 0.5 to about 5 microns in volume diameter as measured by the Coulter Counter, and thereafter heating to form toner composites or toner compositions of from about 3 to about 7 microns in volume diameter and narrow geometric size distribution of from about 1.2 to about 1.4, as measured by the Coulter Counter, and which exhibit, for example, low fixing temperature of from about 125.degree. C. to about 150.degree. C., low paper curling, and image to paper gloss matching.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,308,734, the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, there is illustrated a process for the preparation of toner compositions which comprises generating an aqueous dispersion of toner fines, ionic surfactant and nonionic surfactant, adding thereto a counterionic surfactant with a polarity opposite to that of said ionic surfactant, homogenizing and stirring said mixture, and heating to provide for coalescence of said toner fine particles.
In copending patent application U.S. Ser. No. 022,575, the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, there is disclosed a process for the preparation of toner compositions comprising
(i) preparing a pigment dispersion in a water, which dispersion is comprised of a pigment, an ionic surfactant and optionally a charge control agent; PA1 (ii) shearing the pigment dispersion with a latex mixture comprised of a counterionic surfactant with a charge polarity of opposite sign to that of said ionic surfactant, a nonionic surfactant and resin particles, thereby causing a flocculation or heterocoagulation of the formed particles of pigment, resin and charge control agent to form electrostatically bound toner size aggregates; and PA1 (iii) heating the statically bound aggregated particles above the Tg to form said toner composition comprised of polymeric resin, pigment and optionally a charge control agent. PA1 (i) preparing a pigment dispersion in water, which dispersion is comprised of pigment, an ionic surfactant and an optional charge control agent; PA1 (ii) shearing at high speeds the pigment dispersion with a polymeric latex comprised of resin, a counterionic surfactant with a charge polarity of opposite sign to that of said ionic surfactant, and a nonionic surfactant thereby forming a uniform homogeneous blend dispersion comprised of resin, pigment, and optional charge agent; PA1 (iii) heating the above sheared homogeneous blend below about the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the resin while continuously stirring to form electrostatically bound toner size aggregates with a narrow particle size distribution; PA1 (iv) heating the statically bound aggregated particles above about the Tg of the resin particles to provide coalesced toner comprised of resin, pigment and optional charge control agent, and subsequently optionally accomplishing (v) and (vi); PA1 (v) separating said toner; and PA1 (vi) drying said toner. PA1 (i) preparing a pigment dispersion in water, which dispersion is comprised of a pigment, an ionic surfactant in amounts of from about 0.5 to about 10 percent by weight of water, and an optional charge control agent; PA1 (ii) shearing the pigment dispersion with a latex mixture comprised of a counterionic surfactant with a charge polarity of opposite sign to that of said ionic surfactant, a nonionic surfactant and resin particles, thereby causing a flocculation or heterocoagulation of the formed particles of pigment, resin and charge control agent; PA1 (iii) stirring the resulting sheared viscous mixture of (ii) at from about 300 to about 1,000 revolutions per minute to form electrostatically bound substantially stable toner size aggregates with a narrow particle size distribution; PA1 (iv) reducing the stirring speed in (iii) to from about 100 to about 600 revolutions per minute and subsequently adding further anionic or nonionic surfactant in the range of from about 0.1 to about 10 percent by weight of water to control, prevent, or minimize further growth or enlargement of the particles in the coalescence step (iii); and PA1 (v) heating and coalescing from about 5.degree. to about 50.degree. C. above about the resin glass transition temperature, Tg, which resin Tg is from between about 45.degree. to about 90.degree. C. and preferably from between about 50.degree. and about 80.degree. C., the statically bound aggregated particles to form said toner composition comprised of resin, pigment and optional charge control agent. PA1 (i) preparing a pigment dispersion in water, which dispersion is comprised of pigment, ionic surfactant, and optionally a charge control agent; PA1 (ii) shearing the pigment dispersion with a polymeric latex comprised of resin of submicron size, a counterionic surfactant with a charge polarity of opposite sign to that of said ionic surfactant and a nonionic surfactant thereby causing a flocculation or heterocoagulation of the formed particles of pigment, resin and charge control agent, and generating a uniform blend dispersion of solids of resin, pigment, and optional charge control agent in the water and surfactants; PA1 (iii) (a) continuously stirring and heating the above sheared blend to form electrostatically bound toner size aggregates; or PA1 (iii) (b) further shearing the above blend to form electrostatically bound well packed aggregates; or PA1 (iii) (c) continuously shearing the above blend, while heating to form aggregated flake-like particles; PA1 (iv) heating the above formed aggregated particles about above the Tg of the resin to provide coalesced particles of toner; and optionally PA1 (v) separating said toner particles from water and surfactants; and PA1 (vi) drying said toner particles. PA1 (i) preparing a pigment dispersion, which dispersion is comprised of a pigment, an ionic surfactant, and optionally a charge control agent; PA1 (ii) shearing said pigment dispersion with a latex or emulsion blend comprised of resin, a counterionic surfactant with a charge polarity of opposite sign to that of said ionic surfactant and a nonionic surfactant; PA1 (iii) heating the above sheared blend below about the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the resin to form electrostatically bound toner size aggregates with a narrow particle size distribution; and PA1 (iv) heating said bound aggregates above about the Tg of the resin. PA1 (i) preparing a pigment dispersion in water, which dispersion is comprised of pigment, a counterionic surfactant with a charge polarity of opposite sign to the anionic surfactant of (ii) and optionally a charge control agent; PA1 (ii) shearing the pigment dispersion with a latex comprised of resin, anionic surfactant, nonionic surfactant, and water; and wherein the latex solids content, which solids are comprised of resin, is from about 50 weight percent to about 20 weight percent thereby causing a flocculation or heterocoagulation of the formed particles of pigment, resin and optional charge control agent; diluting with water to form a dispersion of total solids of from about 30 weight percent to 1 weight percent, which total solids are comprised of resin, pigment and optional charge control agent contained in a mixture of said nonionic, anionic and cationic surfactants; PA1 (iii) heating the above sheared blend at a temperature of from about 5.degree. to about 25.degree. C. below about the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the resin while continuously stirring to form toner sized aggregates with a narrow size dispersity; and PA1 (iv) heating the electrostatically bound aggregated particles at a temperature of from about 5.degree. to about 50.degree. C. above about the Tg of the resin to provide a toner composition comprised of resin, pigment and optionally a charge control agent. PA1 (i) preparing a pigment dispersion in a water, which dispersion is comprised of a pigment, an ionic surfactant and optionally a charge control agent; PA1 (ii) shearing the pigment dispersion with a latex mixture comprised of a counterionic surfactant with a charge polarity of opposite sign to that of said ionic surfactant, a nonionic surfactant and resin; PA1 (iii) stirring the homogenized mixture thereby causing a flocculation or heterocoagulation of the formed particles of pigment, resin and charge control agent to form electrostatically bounded or attached toner size aggregates; and PA1 (iv) heating the statically bound aggregated particles to form said toner composition comprised of polymeric resin, pigment and optionally a charge control agent. PA1 (i) preparing by emulsion polymerization of styrene, butylacrylate and acrylic acid in the concentration of from about 20 percent to about 50 percent using an amonium persulfate as an initiator in a concentration of from 0.5 percent to 5 percent and dodecanethiol as a chain transfer agent in the concentration of from about 0.5 percent to 5 percent and in a mixture of 1 to 3 percent solution of nonoionic surfactant, for example ANTAROX 897.TM., and 1 to 3 percent solution of anionic surfactant, for example NEOGEN R.TM., anionic polymeric latex of a submicron particle size of from about 0.1 to about 3 microns consisting of 20 to 50 percent of solids or polymeric particles of poly(styrene-butylacrylate-acrylic acid) in water anionic/nonionic surfactant and with an effective charge mobility or zeta potential of from about -70 to about -120 millivolts; PA1 (ii) preparing by sonication, homogenization or microfluidization a pigment dispersion, which dispersion is comprised of a pigment, a controlled amount of from about 0.01 to about 10 weight percent of cationic surfactant, for example SANIZOL B-50.TM., and a charge control agent; PA1 (iii) shearing by the high shear blender, for example polytron or homogenizer at 5,000 to 15,000 rpm, the pigment dispersion (ii) with a polymeric latex (i) comprised of resin, a counterionic surfactant with a negative charge of -70 to -120 millivolts which is an opposite polarity to that of pigment dispersion which was prepared with cationic surfactant, thereby causing a flocculation or heterocoagulation of the formed particles of pigment, resin and charge control agent to form a uniform dispersion of solids consisting of polymeric latex, pigment, and optional charge controlling agent; PA1 (iv) stirring at from about 200 to 500 revolutions per minute for from about 1 to about 24 hours the above sheared blend of latex particles and oppositely charged pigment particles to form electrostatically bound sufficiently stable to withstand Coulter Counter measurements, toner size aggregates with a narrow particle size distribution, or GSD of from about 1.16 to about 1.26 as determined on the Coulter Counter; PA1 (v) heating the statically bound aggregated particles at a temperature of from about 5.degree. C. to about 50.degree. C. above or equal to the Tg of the resin (which is usually in the range of from 50.degree. C. to 80.degree. C. and preferably in the range of from 52.degree. C. to 65.degree. C.); to provide a mechanically stable (to withstand the development in the machine) toner particles comprised of polymeric resin, pigment and optionally a charge control agent; and optionally PA1 (vi) separating the toner particles by filtration; and PA1 (vii) drying the toner particles; a process for the preparation of toner compositions with a volume median particle of from about 1 to about 25 microns, which process comprises: PA1 (i) preparing by emulsion polymerization an anionic charged polymeric latex of submicron particle size; and which latex is comprised of resin and an anionic surfactant, and optional nonionic surfactant; PA1 (ii) preparing a pigment dispersion in water, which dispersion is comprised of a pigment, an effective amount of cationic flocculant surfactant, and optionally a charge control agent; PA1 (iii) shearing the pigment dispersion (ii) with the polymeric latex (i) thereby causing a flocculation or heterocoagulation of the formed particles of pigment, resin and charge control agent to form a high viscosity gel in which solid particles are uniformly dispersed; PA1 (iv) stirring the above gel comprised of latex particles, and oppositely charged pigment particles for an effective period of time to form electrostatically bound relatively stable toner size aggregates with narrow particle size distribution; and PA1 (v) heating the electrostatically bound aggregated particles at a temperature above the resin glass transition temperature (Tg) thereby providing said toner composition comprised of resin, pigment and optionally a charge control agent; and a process for the preparation of toner with particle sizes of from about 1 to about 25 microns in average volume diameter, which process comprises: PA1 (i) preparing by emulsion polymerization a negatively charged polymeric latex of a submicron particle size, which size is from about 30 nanometers to about 700 nanometers, and an effective charge mobility or zeta potential of from about -70 to about -120 millivolts; PA1 (ii) preparing a pigment dispersion, which dispersion is comprised of a pigment, a controlled effective amount of from about 1 to about 10 weight percent of cationic surfactant, and optionally a charge control agent; PA1 (iii) shearing the pigment dispersion (ii) with the polymeric latex of (i), which latex is comprised of resin, a counterionic surfactant, and more specifically an anionic surfactant with a charge polarity of opposite sign to that of said cationic surfactant, thereby causing a flocculation or heterocoagulation of the formed particles of pigment, resin and charge control agent to form a uniform dispersion of solids comprised of resin, pigment, and optionally a charge control agent; PA1 (iv) stirring at from about 200 to 500 revolutions per minute for from about 1 to about 24 hours the above sheared blend of latex particles and oppositely charged pigment particles to form electrostatically bound relatively stable, as determined by Coulter Counter measurements, toner size aggregates with a narrow particle size distribution, or GSD, of from about 1.16 to about 1.26; PA1 (v) heating the statically bound aggregated particles at a temperature of from about 5.degree. C. to about 50.degree. C. above the Tg of the resin at temperatures of 60.degree. C. to 95.degree. C. to provide a toner composition comprised of resin, pigment, and optionally a charge control agent; and optionally PA1 (vi) separating the toner particles; and PA1 (vii) drying said toner particles.
In copending patent application U.S. Ser. No. 082,651, filed concurrently herewith, the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, there is illustrated a process for the preparation of toner compositions with controlled particle size comprising:
In copending patent application U.S. Ser. No. 083,157, filed concurrently herewith, the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, there is illustrated a process for the preparation of toner compositions with controlled particle size comprising:
In copending patent application U.S. Ser. No. 082,741, filed concurrently herewith, the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, there is illustrated a process for the preparation of toner compositions with controlled particle size and selected morphology comprising
In copending patent application U.S. Ser. No. 082,660, filed concurrently herewith, the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, there is illustrated a process for the preparation of toner compositions comprising:
In copending patent application U.S. Ser. No. 083,116, filed concurrently herewith, the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, there is illustrated a process for the preparation of toner compositions comprising


A toothbrush having a handle, a head with oral care elements and a neck connecting the head with the handle is described. The toothbrush has a base structure of the handle, and the neck and the head are formed by a hard plastic component. Said basic structure of the handle is covered, at least in part, by a first soft plastic component. Said head including a second soft plastic component and said neck including a through-opening, wherein at least one section of a boundary wall of the opening is provided with an elastic muscle.

Toothbrushes which have a neck region having an opening in the neck which extends in a direction transverse to the toothbrush bristles are known. This opening is intended generally to permit better adaptability of the toothbrush head to the dental cleansing process in the mouth. As a result, the reduced cross sections in the neck region provide greater elasticity and therefore better, but also more abrupt, compliance of the brush head. With these known toothbrushes it has been shown however that a controlled handling of the head in the mouth is greatly impeded in disadvantageous manner. This applies in particular to a brushing technique using the Bass method and to other methods in which forces are exerted on the head in various axial directions during brushing.
U.S. Patent Application No. 2008/0184511 A1 also discloses a toothbrush whose head segments are able to adapt during the tooth cleaning process particularly well to the tooth surface which is to be cleaned.
There is a need to provide a toothbrush of the type initially referred to which on the one hand can be used particularly ergonomically and on the other hand can still be used for a controlled dental cleansing operation.

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An improved LCD back light panel lamp connecting structure. A high voltage end and a feedback end of the adjacent cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) modules alternate, and the feedback end of the CCFL is coupled to a single return board. The return board is coupled to a pulse width modulation (PWM) control unit so that the return board feeds back the current to the PWM control unit. The high voltage end of the CCFL is coupled to a transformer.

A traditional LCD TV or touch screen of a LCD display requires a high brightness to compensate the visual requirements. In general, a cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) is lit by high voltage; the larger the current, the brighter is the lamp. Therefore several CCFL lamps are generally used to compensate the brightness and evenness, and it is the most important issue is to keep the current of the lamp even and minimize the error. The installation of several sets of loading also increases the number of control units for the lighting and the area of the circuit board, and thus making the manufacturing more complicated and the cost higher. In FIG. 1, it shows a driving device that lights up a CCFL, and comprises a power supply unit 13, a pulse width modulation (PWM) control unit 14, a driving unit 15, a transformer 11, and a loaded cold cathode florescent lamp (FFCL) 12. When the input of the input voltage is initialized, the driving unit 15 immediately drives the transformer 11 to light up the CCFL 12 by the negative/positive voltage effect and the PWM control 14 detects the current of the CCFL lamp 12 through the current feedback 16 and outputs a resonant frequency. The average current of the CCFL lamp 12 can be controlled by means of the driving unit 15 and the transformer 11. Therefore, the light produced can be projected onto the back light panel of the LCD.
Please refer to FIG. 2 for the schematic circuit diagram of a plurality of lamps in accordance with a prior art. In the figure, the high voltage ends of a plurality of lamps 21 respectively connect to a connector 221 and a connector of a transformer 23, and the plurality of transformers 23 are integrated to a circuit board 26 to form an inverter 20, and the feedback end of the plurality of lamps 21 are mutually coupled and connected to the PWM control unit 25, so that the PWM control unit 25 can detect the current of the lamp 21 through the current feedback to output a resonant frequency and control the average current of the CCFL lamp 12.
However, the connection method of the CCFL lamps described above has the following shortcomings:                1. Firstly, the feedback end of the prior-art multiple lamps generally makes the wiring job more complicated, not only increasing the size of the circuit board, but also making the manufacturing complicated, increasing the cost, and unnecessarily consuming higher voltage.        2. Secondly, since the high voltage ends of the cold cathode fluorescent lamps are installed on the same side of the lamp, therefore when the lamp is lit, the temperature at that side is usually too high and thus affecting the life of the lamp.        3. Thirdly, when several lamps are used to compensate the brightness and evenness, it generally causes uneven current and brightness between the lamps since there generally exists a discrepancy between lamps for their production. Thus, it becomes an issue of selecting lamps, or it may require more lamps to improve the brightness and evenness. Such arrangement will increase the cost, and make the manufacture more complicated and the adjustment more difficult.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


An improved multiple stream, fluid mixing and dispensing apparatus for automatically regulating flow rate and temperature for one or more preset fluid flows for connection to domestic water delivery systems including a plural station, fluid flow rate and temperature control console adapted for cooperating with the standing hydraulic pressure of a dual temperature fluid supply means with a variable effluent flow rate regulator interposed in each of the main supply conduits and associated controller means for presetting the flow rate through each regulator and determining both the degree of mixing and the incidence of fluid flow to be provided from each supply conduit to the exit conduit.

Systems exist for controlling the temperature and flow rates of fluids for various purposes. Systems also exist for mixing two miscible fluid streams to obtain a desired working temperature or other combination of physical properties. Push-button mixing valves are known to have been used for such purposes. In residential water uses, the flow rate and temperature of the mixed stream must be set and balanced each time a user steps up to the faucet for a special need. There are everyday situations where a system tailored to provide residential water for a particular application would be most convenient, especially if such a tailored condition fluid stream could be made available at the touch of a knob.
A primary objective of the present invention is to provide a control console that is simplified and compact and will, on demand, provide any of a number of discrete fluid streams, each having a predetermined temperature and flow rate.
Another object of the invention is to provide a device having a number of dial-actuated elements, controlling fluid flow which have been preset for a variety of use conditions.
Still another object is to provide a regulator system whereby a fluid of the same mixture and temperature is delivered each time at the common faucet when a specific ON-OFF knob is actuated.
Other objects will appear hereinafter.

Multiple stream fluid mixing and dispensing apparatus


An optical information system which uses a liquid crystal television (LCTV) as a one dimensional spatial light modulator (SLM) is presented. An optical carrier wave is generated by polarizing and collimating the output of a laser. The liquid crystal television modulates the optical carrier wave with a digital modulating signal to output thereby a modulated optical signal: An array of photodetectors electroptically connects the modulated optical signal into a modulated electrical signal which is displayed on an oscilloscope. The use of an LCTV as a one dimensional SLM yields higher numerical accuracy and extended dynamic range than two dimensional SLM applications of the same equipment.

The present invention relates generally to analog optical information systems, and more specifically the invention pertains to a system which enhances the dynamic range of spatial light modulators used with analog optical processing systems, and optical data systems with linear arrays of numerical data.
In analog optical computing systems light is the information carrying medium. For such systems sufficient dynamic range is needed (ie., a number of resolvable information levels, rather than just the information of "on" and "off"). The purpose of this invention is to provide improved dynamic range in one dimension, so that a one dimensional array of nonnegative numbers can be accurately represented as a linear spatial light pattern. This spatial light representation of numbers can then be used as input to other optical computing components, such as acousto-optic cells or linear detector arrays. The spatial light pattern can remain fixed for an indefinite period of time, or can be dynamically changed many times per second. This is an electronically addressed device, so it also acts as an electronic-to-optic interface which can be used to accurately introduce one dimensional data into the optical realm from a digital electronic source.
Previous attempts to incorporate one dimensional spatial light modulation in analog optical computing architectures have taken one of four different approaches: use a one dimensional cross section of a 2-D spatial light modulator (SLM), essentially ignoring the second dimension; use a linear array of laser diodes or light emitting diodes (LEDs); use an acousto-optic cell; and use a fixed mask such as photographic film negative.
Each of these approaches has disadvantages. The 2-D SLM approach is probably the most common. Existing 2-D SLMs have been developed primarily for image processing applications, where a high degree of numerical accuracy is not needed. These devices are typically capable of representing between 2 and a maximum of 10 levels of numerical resolution (ie., a maximum of one decimal place of numerical accuracy). One dimensional spatial light modulation is achieved with these devices simply by considering only a linear cross section of the two dimensional output, thus effectively ignoring the second dimension. This one dimensional spatial light modulation thus suffers from the same low dynamic range as the two dimensional output of the device.
Electrically addressed 2-D SLMs include the Semetex SIGHT-MOD (magneto-optic spatial light modulator), the Texas Instruments Deformable Mirror Device, the Displaytech Ferroelectric Liquid Crystal (FLC) Display, and commercial light crystal television displays, such as those made by Radio Shack. Hughes makes the Liquid Crystal Light Valve, however this device is optically addressed, and so cannot serve as an electronic-to-optic interface.
Arrays of laser diodes or LEDs is another frequently proposed approach to 1-D spatial light modulation. If a large number of components in the linear array is desired (such as the 100 or more that our approach can provide), then the laser diode approach would be prohibitively expensive. LEDs are more economically feasible, but one must be concerned with the following potential drawbacks: incoherent light source (a problem if acousto-optic cells are to be used later in the system), nonuniformity among the LEDs, possible nonlinear response over input range, and low dynamic range. Also, physical spacing between LEDs or laser diodes may cause problems in some applications.
Acousto-optic cells can also be considered as one dimensional spatial light modulators. Modulation is produced by continually feeding an electronic signal into a transducer. This sends an acoustic wave through the crystal material of the device, producing a moving pattern of altered indices of refraction in the crystal. This moving pattern acts as a diffraction grating that modulates the intensity of the first diffracted order of the transmitted light. This type of modulation differs from the optical information modulation of the present concern in that it requires a continuous input of signal data, and it produces a continually moving spatial light pattern. It is not suitable for representing an array of numbers which can be either fixed or dynamically changing.
Fixed masks have been used for laboratory demonstrations that require one dimensional spatial light modulation. The problem with this approach is the obvious one that the modulation is fixed, and cannot be changed in real time.
The task for providing extended dynamic range for one dimensional spatial light modulation system is alleviated, to some extent, by the systems disclosed in the following U.S. Patents, the disclosures of which are specifically incorporated herein by reference;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,813,761 issued to Davis;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,815,799 issued to Goldstein; and
U.S. Pat. No. 4,867,543 issued to Bennion.
The patent to Davis (761) teaches high efficiency programmable diffraction gratings using a spatial light modulator. The patent to Goldstein (799) teaches a spatial light modulator responsive to infrared radiation. The patent to Bennion (543) teaches a spatial light modulator employing a solid ceramic material having high electro-optic coefficients.
While the prior art systems are instructive, a need remains to extend the dynamic range for one dimensional spatial light modulation information carrying systems. The present invention is intended to satisfy that need.

Extended dynamic range one dimensional spatial light modulator

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Air Force


The present invention is electronically driven locking device for a locking element of a motor vehicle. The device has a motor, a gear wheel including a gear ring, a hub, and an elastic intermediate element, and a control disk. The motor is linked to the gear ring via a worm gear which is arranged to turn the gear. The control disk is linked to the locking element such that when the gear ring is turned, the hub is turned via the intermediate element which in turn engages the locking element to close or open. The intermediate element is arranged to absorb kinetic energy in the device.

The present invention relates to a drive device with an actuating drive for driving a movable element, in particular a locking device of a motor vehicle door, by means of a gear wheel which has a gear ring and a hub, it being possible for the gear ring to be driven directly or indirectly by the actuating drive and for the movable element to be acted on indirectly or directly by the hub of the gear wheel.
Locking devices of motor vehicle doors are usually driven mechanically or electrically. Electrically driven locking devices are used in particular when a particularly rapid opening and/or locking operation of the motor vehicle door is required. A particularly powerful motor which runs up to particularly high revolutions in a particularly short time is required for a particularly rapid opening and/or locking operation of a motor vehicle door. However, as the opening and/or locking operation takes only a particularly short amount of time, the actuating drive which drives the locking device is usually turned off again, that is to say run down, directly after it has been run up. Even if the actuating drive which activates the locking device is immediately switched off, the kinetic energy of the motor can cause a considerable peak torque to be applied to some elements driven by the motor. This loading can damage components of the drive train and, in extreme cases, even destroy them. However, as an electronically driven locking device of a motor vehicle in a motor vehicle door requires an extremely small amount of space, it is usually not possible to absorb the kinetic energy over a particularly long path when turning off the actuating drive which drives the locking device.


A light guide plate for a backlight unit of a liquid crystal display device includes one side surface where light from a first light source is incident; the other side surface opposite to the one side surface; a front surface combining the one and the other one side surfaces; and a rear surface including a plurality of light guide patterns, each of the plurality of light guide patterns including a protruding portion and a groove portion, wherein one of the protruding portion and the groove portion is positioned at a center of the other one of the protruding portion and the groove portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a light guide plate and a liquid crystal display (LCD) device, and more particularly, to a light guide plate being capable of preventing a difference in light brightness and an LCD device including the light guide plate.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
The liquid crystal display (LCD) devices are widely used for notebook computers, monitors, TV, and so on, because of their high contrast ratio and characteristics adequate to display moving images. The LCD devices use optical anisotropy and polarization properties of liquid crystal molecules to display images.
The LCD devices require a liquid crystal panel including first and second substrates and a liquid crystal layer interposed therebetween. An arrangement of the liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal layer is changed by an electric field induced in the liquid crystal panel to control light transmissivity.
Generally, an additional light source is required because the LCD panel is a non-emissive-type display device. Accordingly, a backlight unit is disposed under the LCD panel. The LCD device displays images using light produced by the backlight unit and supplied to the LCD panel. A cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL), an external electrode fluorescent lamp and a light emitting diode (LED) are used as a light source of the backlight unit. Among these light sources, the LEDs are widely used because of advantages in a size, power consumption and reliability.
FIG. 1 a cross-sectional view of the related art LCD device using an LED as a light source. Referring to FIG. 1, the LCD device includes a liquid crystal panel 10, a backlight unit 20, a main frame 30, a bottom frame 50 and a top frame 40. The liquid crystal panel 10 includes first and second substrates 12 and 14 facing each other and a liquid crystal layer (not shown) therebetween. First and second polarizing plates 19a and 19b for controlling a polarization direction of light, are respectively disposed at front and rear sides of the liquid crystal panel 10.
The backlight unit 20 is disposed at a rear side of the liquid crystal panel 10. The backlight unit 20 includes an LED assembly 29 arranged along a length direction of at least one edges of the main frame 30, a reflective sheet 25 of white or silver color on the bottom frame 50, a light guide plate 23 on the reflective sheet 25 and an optical sheet 21 on the light guide plate 23. The LED assembly 29 is positioned at one side of the light guide plate 23 and includes at least one LED 29a emitting white light and an LED printed circuit board (PCB) 29b where the LED 29a is disposed. The optical sheet 21 includes a plurality of sheets.
The liquid crystal display panel 10 and the backlight unit 20 are combined using the main frame 30 that can prevent movement of the liquid crystal panel 10 and the backlight unit 20. The top frame 40 cover edges of the liquid crystal panel 10 and sides of the main frame 30, so the top frame 40 can support and protect of the edges of the liquid crystal panel 10 and sides of the main frame 30. The bottom frame 50 covers back edges of the main frame 30, so the bottom frame 50 is combined with the main frame 30 and the top frame 40 for modulation.
FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an "A" portion in FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 2 with FIG. 1, the LED 29a is positioned at one side of the light guide plate 23 and arranged on the PCB 29b. The LED 29a has a fixed position and faces a side portion of the light guide plate 23 such that light emitted from the LED 29a is projected to the light guide plate 23. To provide a space for the LED assembly 29, the bottom frame 50 has a bending portion. Namely, the bottom frame 50 is bent upwardly. The LED assembly 29 is fixed in the bending portion of the bottom frame 50 using an element, for example, a double coated tape.
The light emitted from the LED 29a is projected to the light guide plate 23 and refracted or reflected to be projected onto the liquid crystal panel 10. The light is processed into an uniform plane light source during passing the optical sheet 21.
On the other hand, the LCD device is required to be thinner and lighter. In addition, an increase of brightness is required. Unfortunately, there is a limitation for thinner and lighter LCD device. Particularly, since the backlight unit 20 requires more elements for brightness, a thickness or a weight of the LCD device depends on those of the backlight unit 20.

Light guide plate and liquid crystal display device including the same


A synchronizer ring comprises a boss, three projections disposed on the peripheral surface of the boss at the angular interval of 120.degree., and a round elastic ring engaged with and supported by the three projections characterized in that, three protrusions are disposed at both sides or one side of the three projections and spaced apart from the projections and adjacent thereto for supporting the round elastic ring, the protrusions having the sectional diameter same as that of the round elastic ring. The protrusions may be integrally formed with and extending from the projections. Four to six projections can be disposed on the peripheral surface of the boss at the angular interval of 90.degree. to 60.degree. and a round elastic ring engaged with and supported by the projections.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a synchronizer ring in a synchronizer speed change gear having a round elastic ring.
2. Prior Art
The synchronizer ring of this type is developed by Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Synchronizer Ring) and is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 48-24096 and illustrated in FIG. 1. The synchronizer ring 1 includes a boss 2, projections 3, 3, 3 mounted on the surface of the boss 2 for the angular interval of 120.degree. and a round elastic ring 4 disposed over the projections 3, 3, 3.
An operation of the prior synchronizer ring having such arrangement will be described with reference to FIGS. 2A to 2D.
In FIG. 2A, when a sleeve 5 contacts the round elastic ring 4 at the time of shifting operation of the synchronizer ring 1, the round elastic ring 4 serves to absorb an impulse of the movement of the sleeve 5 toward a driven gear 7 and to push the synchronizer ring 1 to a driven gear 7 before a tooth 6 of the sleeve 5 contacts a tooth 8 of the synchronizer ring 1 to preliminarily rotate a driven gear 7.
In FIG. 2B, inasmuch as the tooth 8 of the synchronizer ring 1 prevents the tooth 6 of the sleeve 5 from entering inside the tooth 8 when the sleeve 5 starts to contact the tooth 8 of the synchronizer ring 1, the synchronizer ring 1 is forcibly pushed toward the driven gear 7 to effect the synchronized shifting operation. At this time, the round elastic ring 4 is deflected in maximum.
In FIG. 2C, the tooth 6 of the sleeve 5 passes the tooth 8 of the synchronizer ring 1 and starts to contact a tooth 10 of the driven gear 7 when the synchronized shifting operation is completed. No noise is generated when the tooth 6 contacts the gear 10 since the synchronized shifting operation is already completed so that the tooth 6 of the sleeve 5 smoothly enters inside the gear 10 of the driven gear 7.
It is evident from FIG. 2D that the tooth 6 of the sleeve 5 enters completely inside the tooth 10 of the driven gear 7 so that the driven gear 7 rotates together with the sleeve 5.
The prior art speed change gear employing the round elastic ring has a high performance characteristic irrespective of its simple structure. However, in the case the prior speed change gear is employed in a big truck, the diameter of the round elastic ring 4 becomes more than 90 mm. Inasmuch as the distance between each fulcrum point supporting the round elastic ring 4 becomes excessive in this case, an elastic force is less than a prescribed value even if the deflection strength is applied to the round elastic ring 4 so that the load to be generated is insufficient. That is, there are such problems the synchronizer ring can not achieve the function to absorb an impulse of the movement of the sleeve toward a driven gear and to push the synchronizer ring to a driven gear to preliminarily rotate a driven gear.
There is such a means to solve the problems that the cross section of the round elastic ring 4 (secondary moment of cross section) is enlarged. According to this means, the size and the weight of the round elastic ring 4 becomes excessive within a limited space of the speed change gear so that this means can not be effectively employed.


A method of detecting a target object performed by a computing device including at least one processor according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure may include: receiving an input image; and generating first result information related to an area corresponding to a target object from the input image based on a trained neural network-based detection model.

With the development of image processing technology by using artificial neural networks, various methods of detecting a target object from an image by using a neural network have been disclosed.
However, when a plurality of target objects is located adjacent to each other on an image, there is a problem in that the plurality of target objects cannot be distinguished from each other and are recognized as one target object.
The problem cannot be easily solved by simply increasing the number of training data, and a separate learning method is required to separate and detect a plurality of target objects.
Korean Patent "KR2144706" discloses an apparatus and a method of detecting a road based on a convolutional neural network.

Method and apparatus for detecting target object


A system for clamping and retaining a stack of rigid magnetic disks is shown using disk spacer rings with an annular groove in the outer cylindrical surface. A concentrated axial load is applied to the stack by support surfaces which overlie the grooved portions of the spacers. The concentrated load is only partially distributed over the radial extent of the spacers with respect to the disks at the axial ends of the stack to resist coning or cupping of such end disks, while the force distribution approaches a uniform loading with respect to inner disks of the stack to retain the undistorted, planar orientation of such inner disks. The grooved spacers also provide a surface which can be used to engage and manipulate the disk assembly during manufacture of the drive.

Rigid magnetic data disk storage devices achieve high volumetric storage densities by utilizing the maximum number of data surfaces and high areal storage densities on the disk surfaces. The height of the disk stack is limited by the form factor or industry standard dimensions that disk drives must adhere to in order to achieve commercial acceptance. The drive can maximize the number of data surfaces by utilizing the total form factor height for the disk stack. Spacing between disks can be reduced to the minimum spacing required for the functioning of the transducer head, its suspension and the actuator arm to which the head-suspension assembly is mounted. A further step is to reduce the thickness of the data disk.
When these parameters have been optimized to the current state of the art, the ability of the disk clamping within the disk stack to maintain the disks flat, parallel and free of deformation becomes critical. For a given clamping force on a disk stack, concentrated loads will tend to cause more severe disk deformation than distributed loads. One typical distortion mode is coning (or cupping) of the disks. The distortion problem has been observed on industry standard thickness disks and is more severe on reduced thickness thin disks. The coning of the disks is detrimental because it affects the fly height of the heads. With the higher bit densities and lower fly heights required by high density thin disks, the flatness of the disks in the disk pack assembly becomes increasingly important.

Rigid magnetic data storage disk assembly with grooved spacer

International Business Machines Corporation


A cat scratching device having a body portion composed of molded pulp and catnip. When molded, its exterior surface is convex and ideally includes a rope handle enabling the device to hang from a doorknob or similar support.

It is well recognized that domestic cats crave scratching as part of their natural instinctive character. If a dedicated scratching surface is not provided, domestic cats will generally satisfy their need to scratch by turning to furniture, curtains and other articles which can be substantially damaged as a consequence. Oftentimes, pet cats will not only climb over furniture, especially upholstered chairs and sofas, but will use such furniture and carpeting to condition their claws through deliberate and repeated clawing, pulling and tearing actions specifically with their forepaws. As noted, this clawing activity appears to be an irresistible natural impulse for cats and can be the source of great aggravation to the pet owner.
A number of vendors of pet related products have offered dedicated scratching posts and surfaces in order to ameliorate this problem. Current devices consist of several alternative designs. A first group of cat scratchers consist of a rigid support covered with a plush surface such as a rug or sisal. Such objects are generally in the shape of a post or beam which the cat can climb on or otherwise engage during the clawing process. Because carpet is not a natural clawing surface and was never intended, at manufacture, to perform this function, it is not an ideal scratching medium. In addition, manufacturers of such products find it oftentimes advantageous to include catnip within the scratching surface. When it comes to carpet or similar surfaces, the catnip, not being manufactured into the carpet originally, is dusted on the surface as an add-on feature and thus is easily dislodged during use.
Alternatively, scratchers oftentimes employ cardboard as their scratching surfaces. Many cats find cardboard preferable to carpeting as it is a soft material having corrugations that cats seem to enjoy. However, cardboard is relatively soft and is easily destroyed with even modest scratching activity.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a cat scratching device which overcomes the shortcomings and limitations of the prior art as noted above.
These and further objects will become more readily apparent when considering the following disclosure and appended claims.


Systems and methods for sensing at an underground drilling device in communication with an above-ground locator involve transmitting a radar probe signal from the underground drilling device. A radar return signal is received at the underground drilling device. The radar return signal is processed at the underground drilling device to produce sensor data. The sensor data is transmitted in a form suitable for reception by the above-ground locator.

The present invention relates generally to the field of underground boring and, more particularly, to underground sensing at a cutting tool using down-hole radar.
Utility lines for water, electricity, gas, telephone and cable television are often run underground for reasons of safety and aesthetics. In many situations, the underground utilities can be buried in a trench which is then back-filled. Although useful in areas of new construction, the burial of utilities in a trench has certain disadvantages. In areas supporting existing construction, a trench can cause serious disturbance to structures or roadways. Further, there is a high probability that digging a trench may damage previously buried utilities, and that structures or roadways disturbed by digging the trench are rarely restored to their original condition. Also, an open trench poses a danger of injury to workers and passersby.
The general technique of boring a horizontal underground hole has recently been developed in order to overcome the disadvantages described above, as well as others unaddressed when employing conventional trenching techniques. In accordance with such a general horizontal boring technique, also known as microtunnelling, horizontal directional drilling (HDD) or trenchless underground boring, a boring system is situated on the ground surface and drills a hole into the ground at an oblique angle with respect to the ground surface. A drilling fluid is typically flowed through the drill string, over the boring tool, and back up the borehole in order to remove cuttings and dirt. After the boring tool reaches a desired depth, the tool is then directed along a substantially horizontal path to create a horizontal borehole. After the desired length of borehole has been obtained, the tool is then directed upwards to break through to the surface. A reamer is then attached to the drill string which is pulled back through the borehole, thus reaming out the borehole to a larger diameter. It is common to attach a utility line or other conduit to the reaming tool so that it is dragged through the borehole along with the reamer.
In order to provide for the location of a boring tool while underground, a conventional approach involves the incorporation of an active sonde disposed within the boring tool, typically in the form of a magnetic field generating apparatus that generates a magnetic field. A receiver is typically placed above the ground surface to detect the presence of the magnetic field emanating from the boring tool. The receiver is typically incorporated into a hand-held scanning apparatus, not unlike a metal detector, which is often referred to as a locator. The boring tool is typically advance by a single drill rod length after which boring activity is temporarily halted. An operator then scans an area above the boring tool with the locator in an attempt to detect the magnetic field produced by the active sonde situated within the boring tool. The boring operation remains halted for a period of time during which the boring tool data is obtained and evaluated. The operator carrying the locator typically provides the operator of the boring machine with verbal instructions in order to maintain the boring tool on the intended course.
It can be appreciated that present methods of detecting and controlling boring tool movement along a desired underground path is cumbersome, fraught with inaccuracies, and require repeated halting of boring operations. Moreover, the inherent delay resulting from verbal communication of course change instructions between the operator of the locator and the boring machine operator may compromise tunneling accuracies and safety of the tunneling effort. By way of example, it is often difficult to detect the presence of buried objects and utilities before and during tunneling operations. In general, conventional boring systems are unable to quickly respond to needed boring tool direction changes and productivity adjustments, which are often needed when a buried obstruction is detected or changing soil conditions are encountered.
During conventional horizontal and vertical drilling system operations, the skilled operator is relied upon to interpret data gathered by various down-hole information sensors, modify appropriate controls in view of acquired down-hole data, and cooperate with other operators typically using verbal communication in order to accomplish a given drilling task both safely and productively. In this regard, such conventional drilling systems employ an xe2x80x9copenloopxe2x80x9d control scheme by which the communication of information concerning the status of the drill head and the conversion of such drill head status information to drilling machine control signals for effecting desired changes in drilling activities requires the presence and intervention of an operator at several points within the control loop. Such dependency on human intervention within the control loop of a drilling system generally decreases overall excavation productivity, increases the delay time to effect necessary changes in drilling system activity in response to acquired drilling machine and drill head sensor information, and increases the risk of injury to operators and the likelihood of operator error.
There exists a need in the excavation industry for an apparatus and methodology for controlling an underground boring tool and boring machine with greater responsiveness and accuracy than is currently attainable given the present state of the technology. There exists a further need for such an apparatus and methodology that may be employed in vertical and horizontal drilling applications. The present invention fulfills these and other needs.
The present invention is directed to systems and methods for down-hole sensing using radar. According to one embodiment, an underground drilling device is implemented for use with an above-ground locator. The underground drilling device includes a cutting tool assembly comprising a cutting tool and a sensor housing. A radar unit is provided in the sensor housing. A transmitter is also provided in the sensor housing. A processor, provided in the sensor housing and communicatively coupled to the radar unit and the transmitter, receives radar data from the radar unit and produces sensor data for transmission via the transmitter in a form suitable for reception by the above-ground locator.
According to another embodiment, a method of sensing at an underground drilling device in communication with an above-ground locator involves transmitting a radar probe signal from the underground drilling device. A radar return signal is received at the underground drilling device. The radar return signal is processed at the underground drilling device to produce sensor data. The sensor data is transmitted in a form suitable for reception by the above-ground locator.
The above summary of the present invention is not intended to describe each embodiment or every implementation of the present invention. Advantages and attainments, together with a more complete understanding of the invention, will become apparent and appreciated by referring to the following detailed description and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Underground drilling device and method employing down-hole radar


A solar concentrator may include a substantially planar surface, a curved primary mirror having a first perimeter, at least a portion of the first perimeter being in contact with the substantially planar surface, a secondary mirror disposed between the substantially planar surface and the curved primary mirror, the secondary mirror associated with a desired focal area, and a shield element disposed between the substantially planar surface and the curved primary mirror. The shield element is to prevent a portion of light reflected by the secondary mirror from reaching the primary mirror. In some aspects, a portion of the shield element may be disposed between the substantially planar surface and a plane which is substantially parallel to the substantially planar surface and which includes a portion of the desired focal area. The shield element may include a reflective surface to reflect light received from the secondary mirror toward the desired focal area.

1. Field
Some embodiments generally relate to the collection and concentration of solar radiation. More specifically, embodiments may relate to systems to improve the durability and/or efficiency of solar radiation collectors.
2. Brief Description
A concentrating solar radiation collector may receive solar radiation (i.e., sunlight) over a first surface area and direct the received radiation to a second, smaller, surface area. Accordingly, the intensity of the solar radiation within the second area is greater than the intensity within the first area. Existing power systems may leverage this increased intensity to generate electricity in any number of ways.
For example, a conventional parabolic trough concentrator consists of a long trough-shaped mirror and a liquid-filled pipe located between the mirror and the sun. In operation, the mirror reflects and concentrates received solar radiation onto the liquid-filled pipe. The concentrated solar radiation heats the liquid, which may then be used to drive heat-powered electrical generators (e.g., steam turbines).
Co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/138,666, entitled "Concentrator Solar Photovoltaic Array with Compact Tailored Imaging Power Units", describes several types of solar power units utilizing unique collector configurations. FIG. 1A is a cross-sectional view of one example of the power units described therein. Power unit 10 includes primary mirror 11, secondary mirror 12, protective surface 13, housing 14, optical element 15 and photovoltaic cell 16.
FIG. 1A depicts "on-axis" operation of power unit 10, in which incoming radiation 20 is substantially normal to surface 13. As illustrated, radiation 20 passes through surface 13 and is received by primary mirror 11. Primary mirror 11 reflects received radiation 20 toward secondary mirror 12, which in turn reflects radiation 20 toward a desired focal area f. Focal area f may comprise a point or larger area on and/or within optical element 15. In this regard, optical element 15 comprises a tapered optical rod which directs concentrated radiation 20 received at focal area f to cell 16. Cell 16 then converts concentrated radiation 20 to electricity using known techniques.
In one variation of power unit 10, focal area f and an entry surface of optical element 15 are positioned closer to secondary mirror 12 than as illustrated in FIG. 1A. Secondary mirror may be substantially flat in other variations.
FIG. 1B depicts "off-axis" operation of power unit 10, in which incoming radiation 30 is not substantially normal to surface 13. According to some examples, power unit 10 exhibits off-axis operation in a case that incoming radiation 30 is more than 2° from normal to surface 13. As described above, radiation 30 passes through surface 13, is received by primary mirror 11, and is reflected by primary mirror 11 toward secondary mirror 12. However, due to the off-axis operation and the underlying geometric relationships of the elements of power unit 10, secondary mirror 12 reflects received radiation 30 toward an area of primary mirror 11 rather than to desired focal area f.
Exposure to concentrated radiation as illustrated in FIG. 1B may crack, deform or otherwise damage primary mirror 11. Such damage may reduce an efficiency and/or operational lifetime of power unit 10. To address this phenomenon, elements of concentrator 10 may be redesigned to reduce the ratio at which received radiation is concentrated. Unfortunately, such a redesign would also reduce the concentration ratio during on-axis operation, thereby reducing a maximum electrical output of power unit 10.


A semiconductor processing system is provided to form a capacitor dielectric layer in a metal-insulator-metal capacitor. The semiconductor processing system includes a precursor tank configured to generate a precursor gas from a metal organic solid precursor, a processing chamber configured to perform a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition, and at least one buffer tank between the precursor tank and the processing chamber. The at least one buffer tank is coupled to the precursor tank via a first pipe and coupled to the processing chamber via a second pipe.

Metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitors have been widely used in the fields of radio frequency (RF), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), and analog/mixed-signal integrated circuits. A typical MIM capacitor includes two meal electrodes separated by a capacitor dielectric. As density of devices in integrated circuits has increased, there is a continuing challenge to maintain sufficiently high storage capacitance despite decreasing capacitor areas.

Method and system for forming metal-insulator-metal capacitors

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.


In a wireless communication device having collocated Bluetooth and WLAN systems, wireless communication in a device having Bluetooth and WLAN systems, the device monitors for beacon transmission from an access point for a threshold number of access point beacon intervals when an SCO Bluetooth link is active. Once a threshold number of beacon intervals have passed without receiving a beacon transmission from the access point, the WLAN module sends a PS-Poll message to the access point to maintain the link and so that any queued data for the device can be transmitted.

The recent proliferation of devices employing wireless communication technologies has resulted in the inclusion of multiple systems in a single device. For example, Bluetooth and wireless local area network (WLAN) communication systems are often implemented in a single device. As will be discussed below, careful design must be employed to minimize conflicts and improve the quality of service.
Bluetooth is a short-range communication protocol and is often used to connect and exchange information between mobile phones, computers, digital cameras, wireless headsets, speakers, keyboards, mice or other input peripherals, and similar devices. Bluetooth allows for the creation of a personal area network (PAN) between a master and up to seven slaves and has an operating range of approximately ten meters. For many Bluetooth applications, it is necessary to ensure the uninterrupted delivery of correctly ordered data packets.
Similarly, WLAN systems may utilize any of the medium-range communication protocols in the IEEE 802.11 family of standards and are typically directed to larger networks. WLAN communications provide relatively high data rates over relatively long distances, offering an easy interface to existing network infrastructures. As such, the nature of a significant portion of WLAN traffic makes it less susceptible to packet order and delivery time problems.
Since Bluetooth and WLAN systems have different characteristics, it is often desirable to provide both functionalities. Despite the advantages of providing Bluetooth and WLAN functionalities in a single device, careful design is required to minimize interference and improve the quality of service. Although WLAN communications operate on an asynchronous protocol and access the wireless medium using a Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Avoidance (CSMA/CA) mechanisms while Bluetooth communications rely on time division multiplex access (TDMA) mechanisms, both share the 2.4 GHz Industrial, Scientific and Medical Device band (ISM) band. As a result, interference between the two communications systems can occur.
This problem is exacerbated by the physical collocation of the systems if both are implemented in a single device. When the Bluetooth and WLAN devices are collocated, a signal transmitted from one device may saturate a low noise amplifier (LNA) in a receiver of the other device, then causing the receiver to be desensitized. For example, if the Bluetooth module is receiving a packet at the same time that the WLAN module is transmitting, then the transmit power of the WLAN module may spill into the receiver of the Bluetooth module and desensitize the receiver. The desensitization of the receiver may cause degradation in performance, loss of data, failure in communication, and/or other deleterious effects.
Collocation of these devices may entail using the same antenna, being located on the same circuit board or coupled circuit boards, being located on the same integrated circuit chip or coupled chip sets, being located within the same apparatus (e.g., a laptop computer or a mobile device), or any combination thereof. For example, a current trend is the move from each system being carried on separate integrated circuits to merging as many functions as possible onto a single integrated circuit in system on a chip (SOC) implementations. If the collocated devices are both operational, then there is an approximately 28% chance that a Bluetooth transmission will be sent on the frequency channel used by the WLAN device, causing interference with the WLAN transmission or vice versa.
To prevent such interference between collocated WLAN and Bluetooth systems, arbitration schemes are often employed to schedule transmissions to prevent or minimize simultaneous operation. Although arbitration can help minimize interference, there may be significant consequences to the operation of the affected systems. This is particularly true when the nature of the communications link involving one of the systems is associated with an enhanced priority. For example, to maintain sufficient quality for the transmission of voice traffic over Bluetooth, a synchronous connection-oriented (SCO) link may be employed. To guarantee adequate bandwidth, an SCO link reserves specific time slots that are dedicated to the SCO traffic. As a result, other wireless communication systems such as WLAN may be relegated to the unreserved time slots during SCO operation, which may prevent proper operation of WLAN.
Accordingly, what has been needed is a system and method for implementing WLAN and Bluetooth communications that minimizes interference. It would be desirable to provide systems and methods for maintaining the performance of one wireless communication system even while another wireless system is given priority. This invention accomplishes these and other goals.

System and method for WLAN and SCO bluetooth coexistence


A light source device includes a LED light source or a wavelength conversion material having a near Lambertian light emitting surface. The light source device includes a light recycling system to reflect small-angle lights (lights closer to the normal direction of the light emitting surface) back to the light source, and a collection system for collecting and outputting large-angle lights (lights farther away from the normal direction). The lights reflected by the light recycling system is scattered by the emitting surface in all directions, where the large-angle scattered lights are collected by the light collection system and the small-angle scattered light is reflected by the light recycling system again. A second excitation light source without wavelength conversion material or a second light source with its own wavelength conversion material may be provided, and the second light is directed to the light emitting surface by appropriate optical components.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to solid state light source devices, and in particular, it relates to solid state light source device using light recycling to increase output brightness.
2. Description of the Related Art
Light emitting diodes (LEDs) have become a popular light source. However, the brightness of LED light sources is often insufficient for certain application areas such as large display devices, headlight for automobiles, stage lighting systems, etc. To improve the brightness of LED light sources, one approach is to increase the input power to each LED chip. But high power increases the demand on heat dissipation, because accumulated heat can cause the temperature of the LED chips to increase, reducing the light generating efficiency of the LED chips. This often results in an upper limit of the brightness of LED light sources. Moreover, large drive current can shorten the life of the LED devices and reduce their reliability. Therefore, the brightness of LED light sources cannot be increased in an unrestricted manner by increasing the drive current.
The light emitted by an LED device or a wavelength conversion material formed on the surface of an LED device typically has a near Lambertian distribution, i.e., its brightness is approximately uniform in all directions. Some techniques have been used to reduce the light distribution angle of a LED light source to increase its brightness. FIG. 13 illustrates a light source device 20 where small-angle lights A from the LED chip 21, i.e. light relatively close to a normal direction perpendicular to the surface of the LED chip, are outputted by an optical component 22 such as a lens, a reflector, an optical fiber, etc. Large-angle lights B, i.e. lights relatively farther away from the normal direction, are reflected by a spherical reflector 23 back toward the LED chip 21. The light reflected back to the LED chip 21 is scattered in all directions by the chip; of the scatter lights, the small-angle lights are output by the optical component 22 and the large-angle lights are reflected by the reflector 23 again. In this way, the large-angle lights are recycled, while the output lights have relatively small divergence angles (i.e. small etendue), resulting in increased brightness of the light source device 20.

High recycling efficiency solid state light source device