The apparatus (101) and method provide for data transmission capability on bonded data channels of a communications network (104), such as an integrated services digital network, utilizing a single serial communication controller ("SCC") for the bonded data channels. The apparatus (101) includes an interface transceiver (210), interface circuitry (220), and an integrated multiprotocol processor (200). The integrated multiprotocol processor (200) contains an SCC (420) which may be utilized for data transmission on bonded data channels, with other SCCs (430, 440) available for use on other channels. The apparatus and method provide for proper data alignment of primary (or master) channel data and secondary channel data on the bonded channels, through the same SCC, through utilization of a predetermined information pattern transmitted in a loopback mode (810, 820) of the interface transceiver (210), to the receiver of the SCC (830). The received information pattern is compared to the transmitted, predetermined information pattern (850). If the patterns do not match, the data for transmission is realigned for transmission in proper time division multiplexed slots for the primary and secondary channels of the bonded channel (850,860). The interface transceiver (210) may then be reconfigured for a transmission mode (845), and data transmission activities may commence.

Presently, a major portion of point-to-point data communication between data terminal equipment ("DTEs" or terminals), such as personal computers and workstations, is implemented using data communication devices ("DCDs"), such as modems, over analog communications systems, such as the public switched telephone network ("PSTN"). With increasing demand for data transmission, such as with the advent of videoconferencing, there has been a corresponding demand for greater data transmission capability and greater data transmission bandwidth. With this demand for greater data bandwidth, typically unavailable over the PSTN, there has been an increase in use of digital communications networks for voice and data transmission, such as use of the Integrated Services Digital Network ("ISDN"), which have greater data bandwidth capability. ISDN has evolved to provide for end-to-end digital connectivity, and details of ISDN service are described in standards such as the I-Series Recommendations of the International Telecommunications Union ("ITU").
An ISDN Basic Rate Interface ("BRI") service currently available to end users consists of three time division multiplexed channels, comprising two B channels operating at 64 kbps (kilobits per second), which may be used for voice or data, and one D channel operating at 16 kbps, which may be used for packetized data and/or control information (i.e., call set-up and shut down), with additional bandwidth utilized for framing, synchronization, and other overhead bits. An apparatus such as an ISDN terminal adapter ("TA") may be used for transferring data between DTEs (such as personal computers, terminals, local area networks, video conferencing equipment and similar equipment) using BRI service. While two B (data) channels (each operating at 64 kbps) are sufficient for many applications, there are applications in which one data channel having a higher data bandwidth is preferable. As a consequence, a process known as "bonding" (Bandwidth ON Demand) has evolved, in which two or more channels (each having lesser bandwidth) are combined into one channel having greater bandwidth. For example, it may be desirable to combine the two, 64 kbps B channels to obtain a single bonded channel operating at 128 kbps. The 128 kbps channel formed by bonding may then be used to transfer data between two DTEs.
A local terminal adapter and a remote terminal adapter having bonding capability in accordance with an ITU Recommendation, Interoperability Requirements for N.times.56/64 kbit/s Calls, Version 1.0, Sep. 1, 1992, by the Bandwidth ON Demand Interoperability Group, may be used with BRI service to obtain a bonded connection. The terminal adapters may be comprised of a variety of electrical and electronic components and circuits, including one or more integrated multiprotocol processors ("IMPs") (such as a Motorola MC68302), and an interface transceiver (such as a Motorola MC145572 ISDN U-Interface Transceiver). The IMP may have a processor and one or more serial communications controllers ("SCCs") to transfer serial data to and from the processor. The processor utilizes processor formatted data, such as bytes of data, which may be available for processing on a parallel data bus. Typically, however, serial data is transferred between the IMP and the various DTEs, the interface transceivers, and other equipment. As a consequence, in a typical terminal adapter having bonding capability, four serial data streams require SCC servicing (serial to parallel conversion and parallel to serial conversion): the DTE data, each of the two B channels, and the D channel.
One prior art apparatus and method to provide for the four data stream conversions takes advantage of a resource sharing feature of an IMP, such as the Motorola MC68302, which has several SCCS. Because each MC68302 has three SCCs, a first IMP and a second IMP may be coupled or combined to provide six SCCs which are available to process the data streams. Although there are two extra or unused SCCs of the second IMP, the combined IMPs may have greater processing power for some applications, as the memory and other elements of a second IMP may be utilized. While this methodology provides for the four data stream conversions needed for a terminal adapter to have bonding capability, the addition of a second IMP is expensive, requires additional space and connections on a printed circuit board, and adds to the overall cost to manufacture and purchase a terminal adapter.
A second prior art method to provide for the four data stream conversions has been suggested in Appendix D of the MC68302 Users Manual, and may require only one MC68302 IMP. As alluded to in the Users Manual, this method would allow using one SCC to service both B channels, and would rely on synchronizing an enable transmitter command with a frame timing pulse. Although the Users Manual does not suggest or describe how to coordinate such synchronization, those skilled in the art may consider sending frame timing pulses to an interrupt pin on the processor (IMP) to initiate a timing routine. By starting the timing routine with such an interrupt signal, data bytes from a B channel possibly could be inserted at a predetermined time in a framing structure utilized by an SCC. Athough this potential method may have merit, interrupt pins may be required for higher priority features of the terminal adapter and therefore may be unavailable for use in bonding the B channels. In addition, additional processor code and time would be required to implement such a timing routine, and these additional resources may also be unavailable. This possible method may also be prone to difficulties resulting from potential interrupt latencies.
Accordingly, a need has remained to provide SCC servicing of four serial data streams for an ISDN bonded connection, while simultaneously reducing the number of SCCs needed to accomplish the ISDN bonded connection. In addition, a need has remained to accomplish this reduction in SCC requirements with a minimal complexity and expense, while also preferrably using currently available IMPs.

Apparatus and method for data transmission on bonded data channels of a communications network utilizing a single serial communications controller


A process and intermediate compounds for the preparation of fluoroolefin compounds which are useful as pesticidal agents.

Fluoroolefin compounds which are useful as pesticidal agents are described in WO 94/06741 and GB 2,288,803-A. Those references also describe processes for the preparation of fluoroolefin compounds. However, those processes are not entirely satisfactory because the fluoroolefin compounds are produced in relatively low yields. Those references also fail to teach how to make the intermediate compounds of the present invention.

Process for the preparation of pesticidal fluoroolefin compounds


A driving method of a display panel is provided. A driving method of a display panel including: dividing a plurality of pixels disposed on the display panel into a plurality of pixel groups, each of the pixel groups including even number pixels arranged in matrix; calculating a display hue of each of the pixel groups according to an image input signal; obtaining a gray scale lookup table according to a hue range containing the display hue, a gray scale value of each blue sub-pixel corresponding to two pair of target gray scale values in the gray scale lookup table; obtaining the two pair of the target gray scale values in the gray scale lookup table according to an average gray scale value of blue sub-pixel of each of the pixel groups; obtaining two pair of corresponding driving voltages according to the two pair of the target gray scale values of each of the pixel groups; and driving the blue sub-pixel of the corresponding pixel group according to the two pair of corresponding driving voltages.

Technical Field
The disclosure relates to a display technology and in particular to a display device and a driving method thereof.
Description of the Related Art
Vertical alignment (VA) mode negative liquid crystal display and in-plane switching (IPS) mode liquid crystal display are widely used in conventional large size display device. The brightness of Vertical alignment (VA) mode negative liquid crystal is saturated quickly along with the driving voltage in large viewing angle that result in the color shift of viewing angle is serious, and adversely affects the display quality. As the gray scale increases, the brightness of the side viewing angle of the blue sub-pixel increases. The tendency of brightness saturation is more obvious and quick than the red sub-pixel and the green sub-pixel, so that the image is blueish in color mix viewing angle.

Display device and driving method thereof

CHONGQING HKC OPTOELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


A spring-loaded bumper clamp for vehicular trailers attachable to a rail of an extant trailer, said spring-loaded bumper clamp including a pair of hook clamps disposed on either end of a pivot bar, said pivot bar rotatably disposed between each of a pair of vertical strut members vertically oriented atop each of a pair of horizontal strut members, which horizontal strut members are attached to a plate member connectable to the rail of an extant trailer, wherein rotation of the pivot bar by action of a handle member tensions a pair of spring members and moves each of the pair of hook clamps from a first position to a second position to releasably secure around an extant bumper of an all terrain vehicle, whereby an all terrain vehicle is expediently securable and releasable atop a trailer to which the spring-loaded bumper clamp is attached.

Various types of devices for securing an all terrain vehicle to a trailer bed are known in the prior art. However, what is needed is a spring-loaded bumper clamp for vehicular trailers that is attachable to a rail of an extant trailer, said spring-loaded bumper clamp including a pair of hook clamps disposed on either end of a pivot bar, said pivot bar horizontally disposed rotatably between each of a pair of vertical strut members, each of said vertical strut members vertically oriented and positional upon each of a pair of horizontal strut members, said horizontal strut members attached to a plate member, which plate member is securely attachable to the rail of an extant trailer, wherein rotation of the pivot bar by action of a handle member there disposed tensions a pair of spring members and moves each of the pair of hook clamps from a first position to a second position to releasably secure around an extant bumper of an all terrain vehicle, said hook clamps thereat securable in the second position by insertion of a lock pin through a first aperture, disposed in at least one of the pair of hook clamps, and a second aperture, disposed in at least one of the pair of vertical strut members, which first and second aperture align when the pair of hook clamps are moved to the second position, whereby an all terrain vehicle is expediently securable and releasable atop the trailer to which the spring-loaded bumper clamp is attached.

Spring-loaded bumper clamp for vehicular trailers


Various approaches provide for the delivery of information on a portable computing device in response to being at or near a particular geographic location. In addition, optional functionality associated with the information can also be provided. In various embodiments, one or more applications are available to a user for download. The applications could come prepackaged with the device. It can be beneficial to monitor the user of the portable computing device to learn a user's habits. Understanding a user's habits, along with their stated preferences, allows a service to provide a user with timely and relevant information that is not only relevant to the user, but also relevant to the user's current location.

Content providers are ever trying to figure out ways to offer users more timely and relevant information as people are increasingly using portable computing devices in more areas of their lives. Conventional mechanisms that provide users with information have been limited by the amount of data those systems are able to gather, transmit, and process in a short time. As the rate of data available increases and is able to be transmitted and processed increases, it can be advantageous to adapt not just the ways in which information is delivered, but also what information is delivered, when this information is delivered, and where this information is delivered to these devices.


A method of forming a honeycomb panel consisting of a plurality of interconnected permanent honeycomb cells that includes in one embodiment feeding two continuous sheets toward a joining station and prior to arrival, periodically creasing both sheets entirely across at timed intervals. After joining the sheets together at the joining station along parallel join lines midway between the creases, the resulting tubular structure is further sealed and expanded with pressure rollers and an expansion chamber to form the completed honeycomb panel. In another embodiment, an uncreased tubular structure is expanded by expansion plates that are inserted into each tube and permanent creases are formed midway between join lines by heating and pressing at the edges of the expansion plates.

Expandable honeycomb structures have been utilized for many years successfully as window coverings and frequently are constructed of two separate pleated sheets which are secured together with or without joining strips. In other cases a plurality of tues are separately formed and thereafter joined together in serial fashion. An example of one expandable honeycomb structure is shown in the Colson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,603,072. Colson produces his honeycomb structure by feeding one roll of a narrow strip or tape toward a creasing device. Tubular elements are formed by looping the material and the resulting tubular structure is wound in roll-like form on a rotating device.
While the Colson method provides a satisfactory set of honeycomb structures, it is limited in the size of the honeycomb and the height of the stacking and moreover utilizing his method it is difficult to clear extra glue in the middle of the tubular cells because of the cell configuration and also because of winding the completed honeycomb onto a loading roller.
Another disadvantage in the Colson construction is that his method is limited to forming a honeycomb cellular structure of about 3/4 inches and therefore it is necessary in order to build cells to join the short cells together axially, or more particularly to stack sets of cells on top of one another.
It is a primary object of the present invention to ameliorate the problems noted above in forming pleated honeycomb panels.


A lever-type connector has a female housing (F) with a tubular fitting (13) that includes a lever accommodating portion (15) for accommodating a lever (30) and an inner regulating wall (16) on a side opposite to the lever accommodating portion (15). A male housing (M) has a receptacle (43) with an outer regulating wall (44) facing the inner regulating wall (16), and has a supporting wall (45) facing the lever accommodating portion (15). A cam follower (47) and a regulating protrusion (48) are formed on an outer surface of the supporting wall (45) and can contact the lever (30) by being inserted into an opening (23) of the lever accommodating portion (15). Contact of the regulating protrusion (48) and the lever (30) regulates inclination of the housings (F, M) in the process of rotating the lever (30).

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a lever-type connector.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-014142 discloses a lever-type connector configured so that a male housing including a receptacle and a female housing including a terminal accommodating portion to be fit into the receptacle are connected by rotating a lever provided on the female housing.
The lever is a single plate and is arranged along an outer wall of the terminal accommodating portion. Further, a clearance for making a connecting operation smooth exists between the peripheral surfaces of the two housings in consideration of dimensional tolerances. Thus, in the process of connecting the two housings, the postures of the two housings may be inclined with an engaged part of a cam groove of the lever and a cam follower of the receptacle as a supporting point. Inclination of the two housings increases sliding resistance between a terminal fitting of the male housing and a terminal fitting of the female housing, and hence also increases connection resistance.
The invention was completed based on the above situation and aims to suppress the inclination of a male housing and a female housing when connecting a lever-type connector configured to connect the two housings by a lever in the form of a single plate.

Lever-type connector with regulating protrusion on male housing that engages lever on female housing to achieve connection without inclination between male and female housings


The present invention relates to a low noise cascode amplifier comprising a first transistor, a second transistor, a third transistor, a first inductor, and a second inductor. Furthermore, the first transistor can connect with the second transistor via the first inductor, and the second transistor can connect with the third transistor via the second inductor; thereby, a cascode device can be formed. The inductor and the parasitic capacitances can resonate at high frequency, so that the noise figure of the cascode amplifier can be reduced.

1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to cascade amplifier, and more particularly to low noise cascade amplifier.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The integrated circuit always comprises an amplifier circuit for amplifying an input signal. In general, the metal-oxide semiconductor device (MOS) or the cascode can be the amplifier circuit. Referring to FIG. 1, what is shown is a circuit diagram for the MOS as an amplifier according to the prior art. The amplifier comprises a MOS M1 and a current source I, wherein the source of the MOS M1 is grounded, the gate of the MOS M1 connects to a bias voltage VI, and the drain of the MOS M1 connects to the current source I to form a common source MOS. Although the MOS M1 can be used to amplify the input signal, the resulting gain is always too low to be a fine amplifier, and leads to the limited application of the amplifier.
Referring to FIG. 2, what is shown is a circuit diagram for a cascode device according to the prior art. The cascode device 10 comprises a common source transistor M1 and a common gate transistor M2, and the gain of the cascode device 10 is higher than the common source MOS as shown in FIG. 1.
In addition, the triple cascode device 20 comprises three transistors in series to improve the gain. As shown in FIG. 3, the triple cascode device 20 comprises a common source transistor M1, a common gate transistor M2, and a common gate transistor M3.
Referring to FIG. 4, what is shown is a gain-frequency diagram for a cascode device and a triple cascode device according to the prior art. In this embodiment, the transistor M1 is a 16-finger NMOS with a total gate width of 40 um, the transistor M2 is a 24-finger NOMS with a total gate width of 60 um, and the transistor M3 is a 32-finger NMOS with a total gate width of 80 um. Furthermore, the dashed line is the curve of the gain (MSG/MAG)-frequency of the triple cascode device 20, and the continuous line is the curve of the gain (MSG/MAG)-frequency of the cascode device 10, as shown in FIG. 4, wherein the MSG is the maximum stable gain, and the MAG is the maximum available gain.
The MSG of the triple cascode device 20 is 21.5 dB, and the MSG of the cascode device 10 is 15.3 dB, while the operating frequency is 40 GHz. In another words, the gain of the triple cascode device 20 is higher than that of the cascode device 10 or the common source MOS. Moreover, the triple cascode device 20 has the following advantages: high input impedance, high output impedance, high gain, compact size, and so forth.
Although the triple cascode device 20 provides the above advantages, it also produces noise, which limits the application of the triple cascode device 20. Referring to FIG. 5, what is shown is a noise-frequency diagram for a cascode device and a triple cascode device according to the prior art. The dashed line is the curve of the noise (Nfmin, minimum noise figure)-frequency of the triple cascode device 20, and the continuous line is the curve of the noise (Nfmin)-frequency of the cascode device 10.
The Nfmin of the triple cascode device 20 is 3.5 dB, and the Nfmin of the cascode device 10 is 2.8 dB, while the operating frequency is 40 GHz. Therefore, the triple cascode device 20 cannot be a suitable low noise amplifier (LNA) for a wireless transceiver due to its high noise figure.


A semiconductor integrated circuit device with third gates comprising second conduction type source/drain diffusion layer regions 205 formed first conduction type well 201, floating gates 203b formed on semiconductor substrate 200 through an insulator film 202, control gates 211a formed on floating gates 203b through nitrogen-introduced silicon oxide film 210a and third gates 207a different from the floating gates and the control gates, formed through the semiconductor substrates, the floating gates, the control gates and the insulator film, where the third gates are formed as filled in gaps between the floating gates existing in a vertical direction to word lines and channels and the height of third gates 207a thus formed is made lower than that of floating gates 203b, has improved reduction of memory cell size and operating speed and improved reliability after programming/erasing cycles.

Among nonvolatile semiconductor memory devices capable of electrically programming/erasing, the so-called flash memory capable of bulk erasing is well known. Flash memory is distinguished in mobility and impact resistance and is capable of electrically conducting bulk erasing and thus is now in rapidly increasing demand as the file (memory device) of personal digital assistants such as mobile personal computers, digital still cameras, etc. Reduction in bit cost by reducing the memory cell area is an important factor in the market expansion. For example, as disclosed in Ohyobutsuri, 65, No. 11, 1114–1124, published by Japan Society of Applied Physics (Ohyobutsuri-Gakkai) on Nov. 10, 1996, various memory cell systems have been proposed for its realization.
On the other hand, Japanese Patent No. 2,694,618 (Reference 1) discloses a virtual ground type memory cell using three-layered polysilicon gates. That is, the memory cells each comprise a semiconductor region and three kinds of gates formed on a well in a semiconductor substrate. Three kind of gates are a floating gate formed on the well, a control gate formed on the floating gate and an erase gate formed between the adjacent control gate and floating gate. The three kinds of gates are made of polysilicon and isolated from one another by insulator films, respectively, and the floating gate and the well are also isolated from each other by another insulator film. The control gates are connected in the row direction (direction x) to form word lines. Source/drain diffusion layers are formed in the column direction as a virtual ground type, sharing with the adjacent memory cell and diffusion layer to attain pitch reduction in the column direction. The erase gates are arranged in parallel to channels and also in parallel to the word lines and between the word lines (control gates).
In the programming of the memory cells as described in Reference 1, a positive voltage is mutually independently applied to the word lines and the drains, whereas the well, the sources and the erase gates are maintained at zero (0) volt, whereby hot electrons are generated in the channel regions near the drains, and electrons are injected into the floating gates to elevate the threshold voltage of the memory cells. In the erasing, a positive voltage is applied to the erase gates, whereas the word lines, the sources and the well are maintained at zero (0) V, whereby electrons are emitted from the floating gates to the erase gates to lower the threshold voltage.
Furthermore, JP-A-9-321157 (Reference 2) discloses split gate type memory cells and proposes a method of elevating hot electron generation and injection efficiencies during the programming by making larger an overlapping between the diffusion layers and the floating gates, making higher the voltage of the diffusion layers than that of the floating gates and also applying a low voltage to the word lines.
Furthermore, Technical Digest of International Electron Devices Meeting (1989), pp 603–606 (Reference 3) discusses a method of controlling the voltage of floating gates and also controlling split channels by third gates other than the floating gates and control gates.
However, the present inventors have found that in the aforementioned memory cells there are several problems in case of highly integrated circuits. The following problems have been found by the present inventors, but the finding has been so far not particularly disclosed yet.
According to the art disclosed in Reference 1, the memory cells are in such a structure that the upper surfaces of third gates are made higher than the upper surfaces of floating gates. In such memory cell structure, the convex parts at the upper ends of floating gates are counterposed to the third gates through an interlayer dielectric film. When a voltage is applied to the third gates in this structure to conduct an erasing operation, the electric field of the interlayer dielectric film at the upper surfaces of the floating gates is locally enhanced to allow a tunnel current mainly therethrough. Thus, when the erasing operation is carried out in cycles, the interlayer dielectric film around the upper surfaces of the floating gates will be degraded and the charge injected in the floating gates will be leaked to the third gates, rendering retention of data difficult. Electrons are trapped in the interlayer dielectric film around the upper surfaces of the floating gates during cyclic erasing operation, thereby reducing the tunnel current and lowering the erasing speed.
The memory cells disclosed in Reference 1 are in a split channel type memory cell structure devoid of floating gates in parts of the channel regions. The split channels of the memory cells are controlled by controlling a control gate (word line) voltage on the split channels. Thus, the word lines have a split gate function. In programming date into the memory cells, it is necessary to elevate the hot electron generation and injection efficiencies. That is, it is effective for this purpose to increase the floating gate voltage, thereby extending the electric field in the vertical direction of the channel regions and lower the split gate voltage, thereby extending the electric field in the horizontal direction of the channel regions. However, in the memory cells disclosed in Reference 1, the split gate voltage is controlled by word line voltage, and thus the floating gate voltage and the split gate voltage cannot be independently controlled. That is, both floating gate voltage and split gate voltage must be controlled by the word line voltage and the electron generation and injection efficiencies cannot be elevated at the same time. Thus, in data programming, a very large quantity of channel current flows, as compared with the injection current, and no simultaneous programming of a plurality of memory cells can be carried out, resulting in failure to attain a high programming speed.
The aforementioned Reference 2 proposes a method of elevating the hot electron generation and injection efficiencies at the same time in the split channel type memory cells, but the proposed method has such a problem that overlapping between the diffusion layer and the floating gates is difficult to obtain due to reduction of memory cell size.
Furthermore, the aforementioned Reference 3 proposes a method of controlling the floating gate voltage by word lines and controlling the split channel by third gates other than the floating gates and control gates, but the proposed method does not take into consideration any issues on the reduction of memory cell size.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Semiconductor integrated circuit device and process for producing the same


The present invention provides an electrically heated nozzle for injection molding which is insulated to prevent conduction of electricity and loss of thermal transmission to the casing, wherein at least a part of the electrical insulation comprises a layer of dielectric insulator material with an electrical resistance wire wound spirally thereabout and another dielectric insulator layer thereover. Also disclosed is a method for making such a nozzle which includes the steps of applying a first insulator layer, winding electrical resistance wire about the first insulator layer, applying a second insulator layer, and applying a casing layer thereover. The first and second insulating layers may be provided by spraying or through telescoping, self-supporting sleeves.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to injection molding and more particularly to an injection molding nozzle having an integral electrical heating element surrounded by layered dielectric insulation.
2. Related Art
Heaters for injection molding and hot runner applications are known in the prior art, as demonstrated amply by the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,991,423, 2,522,365, 2,769,201, 2,814,070, 2,875,312, 2,987,300, 3,062,940, 3,550,267, 3,849,630, 3,911,251, 4,032,046, 4,403,405, 4,386,262, 4,557,685, 4,635,851, 4,644,140, 4,652,230, 4,771,164, 4,795,126, 4,837,925, 4,865,535, 4,945,630, and 4,981,431.
Heaters are of course also amply known in non-injection molding applications, as shown for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,088,586, 2,378,530, 2,794,504, 4,438,322 and 4,621,251.
There are in general three types of heaters known for use in the hot runner nozzles. The first is so-called "integral heaters" which are embedded or cast in the nozzle body. Examples of such nozzles are disclosed in the following patents: U.S. Pat. No. 4,238,671, U.S. Pat. No. 4,386,262, U.S. Pat. No. 4,403,405 and EP 765728. The second is so-called "independent external heaters" which have their own support and that can be removed and replaced. Essentially, in such a design, shown in FIG. 1a, the heating element H is external to the nozzle body N. Heating element H comprises a resistance wire W surrounded by electrical insulating material E and is encased in a steel casing C. Examples of such nozzles are disclosed in the following patents: U.S. Pat. No. 3,553,788, U.S. Pat. No. 3,677,682, U.S. Pat. No. 3,831,004, U.S. Pat. No. 3,912,907, U.S. Pat. No. 4,588,367, U.S. Pat. No. 5,360,333, U.S. Pat. No. 5,411,393, U.S. Pat. No. 5,820,900, EP 748678, EP 963829 and EP 444748. The third is so-called "attached external heaters" which are positioned spirally around the exterior of the nozzle or the nozzle tip but cannot be removed therefrom by reason of being brazed or embedded in the nozzle surface. Referring to FIG. 1b, heating element H′ is embedded in a groove G′ in nozzle body N′. Examples of such nozzles are disclosed in the following patents: U.S. Pat. No. 4,557,685, U.S. Pat. No. 4,583,284, U.S. Pat. No. 4,652,230, U.S. Pat. No. 5,226,596, U.S. Pat. No. 5,235,737, U.S. Pat. No. 5,266,023, U.S. Pat. No. 5,282,735, U.S. Pat. No. 5,614,233, U.S. Pat. No. 5,704,113 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,871,786.
Electrical heaters have been also used in the design of the so-called hot runner probes. Unlike the hot runner nozzles, the hot runner probes do not comprise the melt channel. The probes are located inside the melt channel of the nozzle and thus create an annular flow. The melt is heated from the inside and this heating approach is not applicable to all materials and applications. Examples of such nozzles are disclosed in the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,800,027 3,970,821, 4,120,086, 4,373,132, 4,304,544, 4,376,244, 4,438,064, 4,492,556, 4,516,927, 4,641,423, 4,643,664, 4,704,516, 4,711,625, 4,740,674, 4,795,126, 4,894,197, 5,055,028, 5,225,211, 5,456,592, 5,527,177 and 5,504,304.
Injection molding nozzles having integral heaters typically have electrical heating elements, wound spirally around the nozzle, which offer an efficient response to the many critical process conditions required by modem injection molding operations. There has been a continuous effort in the prior art, however, to improve the temperature profile, the heating efficiency and durability of such nozzles and achieve an overall reduction in size. Most of these efforts have been aimed at improving the means of heating the nozzle.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,051,086 to Gellert discloses a heater element brazed onto the nozzle housing and then embedded in multiple layers of plasma-sprayed stainless steel and alumina oxide. To avoid cracking of the ceramic layers caused by excessive thickness and the differing thermal properties of the ceramic and the stainless steel, Gellert employs alternating thin layers of stainless steel and alumina oxide. The heating element of Gellert is a nickel-chrome resistance wire (i.e. see W in FIGS. 1a and 1b herein) extending centrally through a refractory powder electrical insulating material (i.e. see E in FIGS. 1a and 1b), such as magnesium oxide, inside a steel casing (i.e. see C in FIGS. 1a and 1b). The heating element is integrally cast in a nickel alloy by a first brazing step in a vacuum furnace, which causes the nickel alloy to flow by capillary action into the spaces around the heater element to metallurgically bond the steel casing of the element to the nozzle body. This bonding produces very efficient and uniform heat transfer from the element to the nozzle body.
Nozzles with this type of electrical heaters, however, are often too big to be used in small pitch gating due to the size of the insulated heater required. These heaters are also generally expensive to make because of complex machining required. Also, the manufacturing methods to make these nozzle heaters are complex and therefore production is time consuming.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,955,120 to Deissler which discloses a hot runner nozzle with high thermal insulation achieved by coating the electrical heater with layers of a thermally insulation materials (mica or ceramic) and high wear resistance material (titanium). Like Gellert, the heater element of Deissler has its own electrical insulation protection and thus can be placed in direct contact with the metallic nozzle body (see FIG. 2 of Deissler). Also the heater element of Deissler is attached to the nozzle by casting (brazing) a metal such as brass. Deissler is thus similar to Gellert in that it discloses an insulated and brazed heater element. Again, as with Gellert, such a device requires many additional steps to braze and insulate the heater and is therefore time consuming. Also, as with Gellert, the use of an insulated element makes the size of the heated nozzle not well suited for small pitch applications.
In an attempt to reduce nozzle size, U.S. Pat. No. 5,973,296 to Juliano shows a thick film heater applied to the outside surface of an injection nozzle. The nozzle heater comprises a dielectric film layer and a resistive thick film layer applied directly to the exterior cylindrical surface of the nozzle by means of precision thick film printing. The thick film is applied directly to the nozzle body, which increases the nozzle's diameter by only a minimal amount. Flexibility of heat distribution is also obtained through the ability to apply the heater in various patterns and is, thus, less limited than spiral designs.
There are limitations to the thick film heater, however. Thermal expansion of the steel nozzle body during heating can cause unwanted cracking in the film layers due to the lower thermal expansion of the film material. This effect is particularly acute after a large number of injection cycles. The cracks could affect the resistive film heater because it is not a continuous and homogeneous material (as is a wire), but rather the fine dried powder of the conductive ink, as disclosed in Juliano '296.
Another heated nozzle design is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,120,086 to Crandell. In one embodiment, Crandell '086 discloses an electrically heated nozzle having an integral heater comprising a resistance wire heater disposed between two ceramic insulating layers. The Crandell '086 nozzle is made by wrapping a metal nozzle body with flexible strips of green (ie. unsintered) ceramic particles impregnated in heat dissipatable material, subsequently winding a resistance wire heating element around the wrapped green layer, wrapping a second layer of the flexible strips of green ceramic particles thereover, heat treating the assembly to bake out the heat dissipatable material and sinter the ceramic particles together, and then compacting the assembly to eliminate air voids in the assembly. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,304,544, also to Crandell, the inventor further describes the flexible green ceramic strips as comprising a body of green ceramic insulator particles which are impregnated in a heat dissipatable binder material. In the green state, such strips are pliable and bendable, permitting them to be wrapped around the metal nozzle core, but when baked, the strips become hard and the particles agglomerate into a mass.
The Crandell '086 and '544 nozzle has relatively thick ceramic layers, employs an awkward process for applying the ceramic layers and requires additional heat treatment steps in fabrication. Crandell '086 concedes that the baking step is time consuming (see column 5, lines 20-25) and therefore admits that the design is less preferable than other embodiments disclosed in the patent which do not utilize this method. Also, as mentioned above, it is desirable to reduce nozzle size, which is not possible with the thick ceramic strips of Crandell '086 and '544.
The use of ceramic heaters for both hot runner nozzle heaters and hot runner probe heaters is also disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,504,304 to Noguchi. Noguchi, like Juliano, uses a printing method to form an electrical resistive wire pattern of a various pitch from a metal or a composite paste. A ceramic heater embodiment for a nozzle probe (shown in FIG. 1 of Noguchi) is made by printing various electrical resistive patterns shown in FIGS. 3-4 of Noguchi. Noguchi discloses a method whereby a mixture of insulating ceramic powder such as silicon carbide (SiC), molybdenum silicide (MoSi2) or alumina (Al2O3) and silicon nitride (SiN), and electrically conductive ceramic powder such as titanium nitride (TiN) and titanium carbide (TiC) is sintered and kneaded into a paste, which is then printed in a snaking manner on the external surface of a cylindrical insulating ceramic body, as shown in FIG. 3 of Noguchi. The printing state is made denser in certain areas and, by so controlling the magnitude of the so-called "wire density," a temperature gradient is given to the heater. The heater pattern can be formed using metals such as tungsten, molybdenum, gold and platinum. A ceramic heater embodiment for a hot runner nozzle is also disclosed in Noguchi (see FIG. 9 of Noguchi). This self-sustained ceramic heater is also made by wire-printing using the same paste or metals. The heater is placed over the nozzle body and is then sintered and kneaded into a paste comprising a mixture of insulation ceramic powder such as silicon carbide, molybdenum silicide or alumina and conductive ceramic powder such as titanium nitride and titanium carbide. The paste is printed in a single snaking line on the part where, again, the heater pattern is formed by applying temperature gradients by varying the magnitude of wire density across the part.
Although Noguchi introduces a wire-printing method to achieve a certain heat profile along the nozzle it does not teach or show how this wire-printing method is actually implemented. More detailed information about this wire-printing method is provided by the patentee's (Seiki Spear System America. Inc.) catalogue entitled "SH-1 Hot Runner Probe" (undated). According to the catalogue, the circuit pattern, which provides the resistance for heating, is screen printed direction onto a "green" or uncured ceramic substrate. The flexible "green" substrate with the printed circuit is wrapped around an existing ceramic tube and the complete unit is fired and cured to produce a tubular heater. The resistive circuit pattern is encased within the ceramic between the tube and the substrate and has no exposure to the outside atmosphere. The thermocouple is inserted through the centre of the tubular heater and positioned in the tip area. Thermocouple placement in the probe tip gives direct heat control at the gate. The ceramic heater unit is then fixed outside the probe body. Thus, this Seiki Spear method of making a ceramic heater body according to Noguchi including a printed-wire is similar to the method disclosed in Crandell '086, with the exception that Crandell uses a self-sustained resistance wire wound spirally around the nozzle between two "green" ceramic layers. As with Crandell, as well, an additional sintering step is required to sinter the green ceramic layers.
Accordingly, there is a need for a heated nozzle which overcomes these and other difficulties associated with the prior art. Specifically, there is a need for a heated nozzle which is simpler to produce and yields a more compact design.


A contactless control switch that is resistant to influence from external magnetic fields is disclosed. The switch includes a switch housing, a button moveably mounted to the housing that has at least one protrusion formed on an underside thereof, a circuit board mounted to the housing and including at least one magnet sensor, and a magnet holder positioned adjacent each respective magnet sensor, the magnet holder housing a positive field magnet and a negative field magnet therein and being rotatably mounted to the housing. A respective protrusion interacts with the magnet holder responsive to an actuation of the button by a user, so as to position one of the positive field magnet and the negative field magnet proximate to its respective sensor and the other of the positive field magnet and the negative field magnet distal to its respective sensor.

The present invention relates generally to control switches and, more particularly, to a contactless control switch.
Electrical switches are used as control switches for a variety of applications in various industries, with one such example being in specialty vehicle markets—such as heavy trucks, agricultural equipment, and construction equipment, for example—where the switches are employed to control the motor vehicle lighting, the windshield wipers, the rear windshield heating, the cruise control functions, the internal central locking and other functions on and off. Often the control switches are in the form of rocker switches that may be pushed by an operator to rotate/tilt from a neutral position (i.e., switched-off state) to one or more activated positions (i.e., a switched-on state) that control operation of an associated system/component, although control switches may also be constructed as pushbutton switches or toggle switches as other examples.
One type of common control switch is a contactless switch that operates by moving a magnet past a fixed magnetic sensor, such as a Hall effect IC or a magnetoresistive sensor, in order to control and determine the functions/modes provided by the switch. With respect to contactless control switches that are utilized for one of various applications, it is recognized that existing designs of such switches can limit the performance thereof. For example, existing contactless control switches constructions may suffer from issues regarding the ability of the magnetic sensors to detect the magnetic field with sufficient strength, such that discerning a distinct switching position may be difficult. This problem of correctly discerning a distinct switching position may be further compounded if the switch is not constructed in a fashion that provides the magnetic sensors with sufficient protection from external magnetic fields.
It would therefore be desirable to provide a contactless control switch that is resistant to the influence from external magnetic fields. It would further be desirable for such a contactless control switch to be resistant to blockage from mud or other debris, such that the reliability and longevity of the switch may be improved.


In a crankshaft of an in-line four-cylinder engine, an arm that is closest to a flywheel has a greater average thickness in a direction of the rotation axis of the crankshaft than those of other arms. Two of the arms that are coupled to both sides of the third journal from the flywheel each have a center of gravity closer to its own counterweight compared to the centers of gravity of the arms that face the two arms with corresponding crankpins in between. Accordingly, the rigidity against torsional deformation and the thickness of oil films on the journals are reliably maintained while suppressing increase in the weight of the entire crankshaft.

The present invention relates to a crankshaft of an in-line four-cylinder engine.
In an internal combustion engine, a crankshaft and connecting rods convert linear movement of pistons into rotation. The crankshaft rotates at a high speed while receiving great load from the pistons through the connecting rods. Accordingly, the crankshaft is required to have a high rigidity. A crankshaft includes arms extending in radial directions in relation to the axis of a rotary shaft of the crankshaft, and crankpins that are coupled to the arms and eccentric from the rotation axis of the crankshaft. Such eccentric crankpins hinder smooth rotation of the crankshaft and produce vibration. To suppress such vibration, in the configuration disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 5-26297, each arm has a counterweight in a section opposite to the part to which a crankpin is coupled, thereby keeping the balance of the entire crankshaft during rotation.
FIG. 3A is a front view illustrating the crankshaft of a typical in-line four-cylinder engine, and FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view of the crankshaft.
As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the crankshaft has five journals J1 to J5 supported by bearings provided in a cylinder block (not shown). The journals J1 to J5 are coupled to four crankpins P1 to P4 by arms A1 to A8, respectively. The crankpins P1 to P4 correspond to four cylinders, respectively. Counterweights W1 to W8 are provided at ends of the arms A1 to A8, respectively, to keep the balance of the crankshaft during rotation.
In the crankshaft shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the crankpins P2 and P3 of the four crankpins P1 to P4 are at the same rotational phase. Thus, the journal J3 between the crankpins P2 and P3 receives a particularly great eccentric load. This makes it difficult to maintain an oil film between the journal J3 and the corresponding bearing.
A flywheel for smoothing rotation (not shown) is attached to one end of the crankshaft in the axial direction. Therefore, torsional resonance having a node of vibration at a portion where the flywheel is provided is generated in the crankshaft. The torsional resonance causes the engine to vibrate. To suppress such torsional resonance, the thickness of the material may be increased in the entire crankshaft, thereby increasing the torsional rigidity. However, this configuration is unfavorable since the weight of the entire crankshaft would be increased.
As described above, the shape of a typical prior art crankshaft is not determined in consideration of the dynamic characteristics in the actual use. Particularly, phenomena caused by eccentric load such as local squeezing out of the oil film and the generation of torsional resonance are not taken into consideration. In this respect, prior art crankshafts have room for improvement.

Crankshaft of in-line four-cylinder engine


An operating voltage change and motor rotation reversal device for a dynamoelectric machine in the form of an induction motor has simplified structure and improved operational features. For single phase operation, a pre-configured jumper plug having four electrically conductive jumpers interconnects a multi-receptacle connector socket to complete winding and power connections for any one of four unique circuit combinations. For three-phase applications, a different and separate jumper plug having six electrically conductive jumpers provides two different mating relationships with six pairs of electrical receptacles in the connector socket so as to provide two unique circuit combinations.

This invention relates to dynamoelectric machines, and in particular to electric motors employing a device to change voltage applied to the motor or to change direction of motor rotation, or both.
In many applications, it is necessary or desirable to reverse the rotation of a motor, whether of split phase, capacitor start or run, or three phase designs. Interchanging one or more leads of the motor windings can produce the desired result. The lead interchange typically is accomplished on a terminal board located inside a terminal box attached to or a part of the motor housing. If the leads are not accessible from a terminal box, access to the interior of the motor may be necessary. External reversing switches are also used in some cases.
Where a terminal board is used, spaced lugs mounted to the board with lead identification marked adjacent to each lug on the board frequently are used to permit motor rotation reversal by interchanging connections between two of the lugs. Visibility and access to the lugs and their identifying markings are generally less than desirable. Unless considerable care is exercised in effecting the reversal, particularly in single phase motor designs, the effort may be time consuming or frustrating or, more importantly, wrong.
In addition to rotation reversal, it is often desirable or necessary to operate an appropriately designed motor at one or the other of two different voltages. Thus, if a motor is designed for dual voltage applications, it is possible, by switching or changing winding connections, to change the operating voltage of the motor from 115 volts to 230 volts, for example. This is an important feature in many applications because a single motor may be stocked, that motor being usable in a variety of applications by field personnel.
Whether considering dual voltage operation or rotation reversal or a combination of both, care must be exercised when changing circuit connections to avoid motor damage. Typically, information regarding connections required for each operating mode are identified on the motor housing or on a cover plate overlying an internal board where connections are made and changed. Where individual connections are required to effect circuit changes, the opportunities for connection errors and motor damage increase with the number of connections required, the extent to which access to the connections are physically limited, and the amount of information regarding the making of connections that is physically available immediately adjacent to the connectors where the changes will be made.
The prior art has addressed the problem of providing easy and reliable field change of motor connections for a long time. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,748,355 discloses a universal motor connector unit that is usable with different three phase and single phase motors for connecting the motors to different source voltages. While the prior art in general works for its particular purpose, the present invention, unlike the prior art and the U.S. Pat. No. 4,748,355 patent in particular, utilizes different plug constructions for single phase and three phase applications, and thus provides an entirely different approach for a voltage change and motor reversal device, as will be explained in more detail below. By using separate plugs, visual indications of the resulting motor connection is available to the installer and end user.

Voltage change and motor rotation reversal device


Susceptibility of darkfield etch masks (majority of the mask area is opaque) to pinhole defects, transferred pattern, non-uniformity, etc. due to ejector dropout or drop misdirection, and long duty cycles due to large-area coverage, when using digital lithography (or print patterning) is addressed by using a clear-field print pattern that is then coated with etch resist material. The printed clear field pattern is selectively removed to form an inverse pattern (darkfield) within the coated resist layer. Etching then removes selected portions of an underlying (e.g., encapsulation, conductive, etc.) layer. Removal of the mask produces a layer with large-area features with substantially reduced defects.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to electronic device fabrication processes, and more particularly to a method of creating an etch mask for masking regions of a layer from processing through the use of print patterning and an etch resistant material.
2. Description of the Prior Art.
Digital lithography (also known as print patterning) is a maturing technology designed to reduce the costs associated with photolithographic processes, used often in the fabrication of micro-electronic devices, integrated circuits, and related structures. Digital lithography directly deposits patterned material onto a substrate in place of the delicate and time-consuming lithography processes used in conventional manufacturing processes. The printed pattern produced by digital lithography can either comprise actual device features (i.e., elements that will be incorporated into the final device or circuitry, such as the source, drain, and gate regions of thin film transistors, signal lines, opto-electronic device components, etc.) or it can be a mask for subsequent semiconductor processing (e.g., etch, implant, etc.) Importantly, unlike traditional lithographic systems, digital lithography systems avoid the cost and challenges associates with the use of reticles or masks.
Typically, digital lithography involves depositing a print material by moving a printhead and a substrate relative to one another along a single axis (the "print travel axis"). Print heads, and in particular, the arrangements of the ejectors incorporated in those print heads, are optimized for printing along this print travel axis. Printing takes place in a raster fashion, with the print head making "printing passes" across the substrate as the ejector(s) in the print head dispense individual "droplets" of print material onto the substrate. Typically, the print head moves relative to the substrate in each printing pass, but the equivalent result may be obtained if the substrate is caused to move relative to the print head (for example, with the substrate secured to a moving stage) in a printing pass. At the end of each printing pass, the print head (or substrate) makes a perpendicular shift relative to the print travel axis before beginning a new printing pass. Printing passes continue in this manner until the desired pattern has been fully printed onto the substrate.
Materials typically printed by digital lithographic systems include phase change material, solutions of organic polymers, and suspensions of materials with desired electronic properties in a solvent or carrier. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,742,884 and 6,872,320 (each incorporated herein by reference) teach a system and process, respectively, for printing a phase change material onto a substrate for masking. According to these references, a suitable material, such as a stearyl erucamide wax, is maintained in liquid phase over an ink-jet style piezoelectric printhead, and selectively ejected on a droplet-by-droplet basis such that droplets of the wax are deposited in desired locations in a desired pattern on a layer formed over a substrate. The droplets exit the printhead in liquid form, then solidify after impacting the layer, hence the material is referred to as phase-change.
Once dispensed from an ejector, a print material droplet attaches itself to the substrate through a wetting action, then proceeds to solidify in place. In the case of printing phase-change materials, solidification occurs when a heated and liquefied printed droplet loses its thermal energy to the substrate and/or environment and reverts to a solid form. In the case of suspensions, after wetting to the substrate, the carrier most often either evaporates leaving the suspended material on the substrate surface or the carrier hardens or cures. The thermal conditions and physical properties of the print material and substrate, along with the ambient conditions and nature of the print material, determine the specific rate at which the deposited print material transforms from a liquid to a solid, and hence the height and profile of the solidified deposited material.
If two adjacent droplets are applied to the substrate within a time prior to the solidification of either or both droplets, the droplets may wet and coalesce together to form a single, continuous printed feature. Surface tension of the droplet material, temperature of the droplet at ejection, ambient temperature, and substrate temperature are key attributes for controlling the extent of droplet coalescence and lateral spreading of the coalesced material on the substrate surface. These attributes may be selected such that a desired feature size may be obtained.
According to known semiconductor masking fabrication techniques, layout is the process of defining the patterns that will be transferred to a mask, and as such will define the geometry of the device(s) to be lithographically formed. The "polarity" of the mask must be indicated as either brightfield (regions remaining after layout are transparent, also known as clearfield or lightfield) or darkfield (regions remaining after layout are opaque). Specification of the polarity of the layout must be accompanied by specification of the underlying photoresist, which is either positive (in which exposed areas are more susceptible to etching than unexposed areas), or negative (in which exposed areas are more resistant to etching than unexposed areas).
When print-patterning an etch mask, droplet coalescence is employed to control the width of the masking regions. Since print-patterning is a deposition process (as opposed to a removal process), traditionally, in order to produce large un-etched areas of underlying material, large areas of print-patterned material are deposited, with large scale coalescence forming the large area mask regions. These large areas of un-etched material are referred to herein as darkfields, and print-patterned etch masks facilitating the formation of such regions are referred to herein as print-patterned darkfield masks. Thus, for such a print-patterned darkfield etch mask, the majority of the mask is opaque.
The large-scale coalescence of droplets to produce opaque areas of print-patterned darkfield etch masks has presented the difficulty that such opaque areas are susceptible to various defects which fail to render the desired areas entirely opaque. For example, pinholes or other gaps in the mask area permit undesired processing of portions of the underlying layer(s). Print-patterned masks are particularly vulnerable to such defects, which result from print ejector drop out, droplet misdirection, incomplete coalescence, droplet size variations, etc. Misalignment and poorly defined edges are also undesirable consequences which may be encountered when forming large darkfield areas using print-patterned phase-change material masks. Furthermore, the printing of large areas with print-patterning material is a relatively slow process due to the relatively high number of droplets to be ejected and the time required for large-scale coalescence.
Thus, there is a need for a method of producing by digital lithography a darkfield etch mask having a reduced number of in-field defects. In particular, there has been a need for a method of producing such an improved darkfield mask maximizing use of conventional materials, processes, and fabrication devices. Furthermore, there has been a need to date for a method of more rapidly producing a print-patterned etch mask with large darkfield regions.


A drive device comprises a fluid driven drive (2), which defines a drive space (8), in which at least one drive piston (14) is located which is able to be linearly shifted by fluid actuation and is kinematically coupled with an output drive part (17). Furthermore there is a position regulator (3) which is responsible for setting the position of the at least one drive piston (14), such regulator having a electronic regulation circuitry (26) and a valve means (27) and being a component of a regulator cartridge (28) which is inserted as a unitary assembly from the side, which is axially opposite to the drive space (8), through an installation opening into a accommodating space (25) defined by an integral extension of the drive housing (4) made in one piece therewith and axially in sequence with the drive space (8).

In such a known drive device in accordance with the German patent publication 199 37 597 A1 a regulator and a positioning drive are accommodated in a common housing. The housing also contains a regulating valve able to be controlled by the electronic regulator, by way of which the action of fluid in two cylinder chambers of the fluid power drive is controlled. The integration of the fluid power drive and of the positioning drive in a common housing more particularly serves the purpose being able to avoid having a mechanical coupling point and the concomitant lack of accuracy in positioning.
While the above mentioned German patent publication 199 37 597 A1 achieves integration, this is rather more an abstract concept than the disclosure of specific designs.
Departing from the above described position-regulated drive device the German patent publication 100 21 744 A1 describes a drive device with a position regulator predominantly based on pressure regulation. The individual regulation components are in this case constituted separately by the fluid power drive or mounted thereon.

Drive device comprising a position controller


Described herein is a pharmaceutical composition comprising atropine or a salt thereof; aconitine; and mercury cyanide. The composition is useful in a method for treating a viral infection.

Virues are the main pathogens of colds. Among said viruses, rhinoviruses and coronaviruses are the leaders, being responsible for 50-70% of all respiratory tract infections, followed by parainfluenza viruses, RSV, adenoviruses and enteroviruses. Influenza, another acute respiratory tract disease, is likewise caused by viruses. On top of this, herpes simplex viruses (HSV) benefit from the accompanying weakened immune system and may possibly elicit corresponding symptoms such as herpes labialis.
Whereas there is an abundance of antibiotics for treating bacterial infections, only a relatively small number of virostatics against a limited viral spectrum is available for treating virus-related diseases. Understandably, antibotics, which are associated with many adverse effects, contribute even less to curing the cold, which is usually virus related; however, they merely act against the possible bacterial secondary infections associated with a prolonged cold. The frequently premature prescription of antibiotics on a large scale is moreover associated with a high rate of resistance development or has no effect at all in a large number of cases. Therefore, effective and tolerable alternatives are desired.
Phytotherapeutics and complex homeopathics may be such an alternative. In fact, such alternatives have been and are being consistently discussed, since, with respect to the synthetic remedies, they have advantages in the form of a larger therapeutic spectrum, a better tolerability and fewer drug interactions and are not subject to the risk of resistance development.
In recent years, studies in which it was possible to demonstrate an antiviral effect of plant-based medicaments have been increasingly published. The complex homeopathic Meditonsin® consists of the plant components atropine and aconitine and the salt mercury cyanide (Mercurius cyanatus) and has already been used for over 60 years for treating inflammations of the throat, nasal cavity and pharyngeal cavity. Clinical investigations confirm the efficacy in the treatment of inflammations of the upper airways and the good tolerability.
EP 0 513 878 discloses a solution containing, inter alia, 0.10 g of cetylpyridinium chloride, 0.004 g of atropine hydrochloride and 0.004 g of mercury(II) cyanide (based on 100 ml). An antiviral efficacy of the solution against influenza viruses is described, more precisely by mercury(II) cyanide and cetylpyridinium chloride.
Wheeler et al., "The Effect of Atropine Sulfate on the Course of Influenza Virus Infection", Science, Aug. 12, 1944, Vol. 100, No. 2606, relates to the antiviral effect of atropine sulphate (influenza A viruses). However, the atropine concentration actually used is not specified. Moreover, there is no evidence of a continuous efficacy of atropine against influenza A viruses. On the contrary, the effect depends on the time of intraperitoneal administration in relation to the time of virus inoculation of the test animals.
Z. Yamazaki et al., "Antiviral Effects of Atropine and Caffeine", J. Gen. Virol. (1980), 50, 429-431, discloses the antiviral effect of atropine against herpesviruses and influenza viruses. The maximum effect is achieved at an atropine concentration of 2 mM.
Özçelik et al., "Cytotoxicity, antiviral and antimicrobial activities of alkaloids, flavonoids, and phenolic acids", Pharmaceutical Biology, 2011; 49(4): 396-402, describes, inter alia, the antiviral, antibacterial, antimycotic effect of numerous alkaloids and their cytotoxicity. An antiviral effect of atropine within the concentration range of 0.8-0.05 μg/ml, for example against HSV1, is described.
The studies underlying the present invention have revealed that, surprisingly, a mixture of atropine, aconitine and mercury cyanide has strongly antiviral properties. Particular attention was paid to the question of whether, in which concentrations and against which viruses the mixture has an effect. This involved testing against cold viruses and herpesviruses.
The present patent application therefore relates to the surprising insight that a pharmaceutical composition comprising atropine or a salt thereof, aconitine and mercury cyanide can be used in an advantageous manner for treating viral infections.

Anti-virally effective pharmaceutical composition

Medice Arzneimittel Puettere GMBH & Co. KG


The present invention relates to a method of making a compound of the formula

The 2,4-diamino pyrimidine moiety (1) is a common component in a variety of biologically active drug-like molecules. Pyrimidine derivatives have been found to be useful in the treatment of abnormal cell growth, such as cancer, in mammals. These moieties are commonly synthesized starting with pyrimidine intermediate 2 (where "X" is a leaving group; most commonly a halogen) and an equivalent of amine 3, HNR3R4 (see Scheme 1 below). For the vast majority of reactions involving pyrimidines of formula 2 and amines of formula 3, it is well known that this first amine addition occurs preferentially (or exclusively) at the more reactive pyrimidine 4-position (Chemistry of Heterocyclic Compounds, The Pyrimidines, Volume 52, Wiley, New York 1994, p. 371.) to provide intermediate 4. The primary factors that influence the selectivity of this initial amine addition are the stereoelectronic effects associated with substituents present in both pyrimidine 2 and amine 3 and to a lesser extent the reaction solvent. Subsequent heating of 4 with a second amine (5) provides the desired 2,4-diaminopyrimidine 1.

A representative example of the aforementioned chemistry can be found in WO00391901 and is highlighted in Scheme 2. Other examples utilizing this general synthetic scheme include Montebugnoli et. al. Tetrahedron 2002, (58), p. 2147. Chemistry of Heterocyclic Compounds, The Pyrimidines, Volume 52, Wiley, New York 1994, pp. 371–417. Selective amine addition to 2,4-dichloro-5-carboxamidopyrimidines is described in WO 02/04429. Selective amine additions to 2,4-dichloro-5-halopyrimidines are described in WO 01/65655.
While there are a number of general examples where specific pyrimidines (2), amines (3) or reaction conditions provide non-selective mixtures of the 2-chloro-4-amino-pyrimidine (4) and the isomeric 2-amino-4-chloro-pyrimidine (6) (Scheme 3), these reactions are of limited utility not only due to their lack of selectivity (and its impact on overall yield) but also because separation of the resulting isomers is generally extremely difficult. Preparative HPLC is generally required as a means to individually isolate the pure isomers (4 and 6), which can then be transformed further into compounds such as 1 or its isomer 7 respectively.

An example of such a reaction that provides mixtures of isomers is the addition of 4-methyl-aniline to 2,4-dichloro-5-trifluoromethylpyrimidine (Scheme 4). This electron deficient pyrimidine has a slight preference for amine addition to the pyrimidine 2-position. HPLC analysis of the crude reaction mixture shows a 1.4 to 1 mixture of and (4-Chloro-5-trifluoromethyl-pyrimidin-2-yl)-p-tolyl-amine (8) and (2-Chloro-5-trifluoromethyl-pyrimidin-4-yl)-p-tolyl-amine (9). Other examples of non-selective amine addition to 2,4 di-halogenopyrimidines are described in Chemistry of Heterocyclic Compounds, The Pyrimidines, Volume 52, Wiley, New York 1994, pp. 371–417. Luo et. al. Tetrahedron Lett. 2002, (43) p. 5739. Yoshida et. al. J. Chem. Soc, Perkin Trans. I: Organic and Bioorganic Chemistry, 1992 (7) p. 919. EP 647639 describes additions of piperidines to 2,4-dichloropyrimidine.

In contrast to the reactions described above, there are only a few very specific examples where an amine (3) is added to a pyrimidine of formula 2 in a selective manner to provide preferentially the 2-amino-4-chloro-pyrimidine 6. The most notable example of this type of reaction is the addition of N-methyl piperidine to 2,4-dichloro-5-methyl pyrimidine to provide 4-chloro-5-methyl-2-piperidinopyrimidine (Scheme 5) found in Yoshida et. al. J. Chem. Soc, Perkin Trans. I: Organic and Bioorganic Chemistry, 1992 (7) p. 919. In this case, the steric effect of the 5-methyl substituent on the pyrimidine coupled with the fact that the amine nucleophile is a tertiary (rather than a primary or secondary) amine provides for selective addition of piperidine to the pyrimidine 2-position.

Selective synthesis of CF3-substituted pyrimidines

Abstract: wherein X1, X2 and R3—R4 are as defined herein. The method includes reacting a compound of the formula

Abstract: with an amine of formula 3 (HNR3R4) in the presence of a Lewis Acid and a non-nucleophilic base. The 2,4-diamino pyrimidine moiety is a common component in a variety of biologically active drug-like molecules and pyrimidine derivatives have been found to be useful in the treatment of abnormal cell growth, such as cancer, in mammals.


Embodiments relate to interfaces allowing a user to optimize a model which references and manipulates volumes of information present in an underlying database. An interface engine of an application layer, may communicate with the database engine of an underlying database layer, to provide a user with indicia of modeling performance. Thus for every modeling step, an interface engine could display performance indicia such as a number of database rows that are being referenced, and/or an amount of time consumed in retrieving the data from the database. This performance indicia, together with a structure of the model itself, can be processed by the interface engine through a repository of optimization recommendations. Recommendations from the repository may be published to the user, who is free to accept or reject them. Particular embodiments may leverage processing capacity of an in-memory database engine, to analyze database information gathered during modeling.

Embodiments of the present invention relate to databases, and in particular to user interfaces allowing optimization of models that reference data from an underlying database.
Unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
Databases offer a way of storing large volumes of related information in a powerful and efficient manner. Information stored in database(s), may be accessed by a user as part of modeling efforts, for example to describe ongoing behavior of a complex system, and then to predict future behavior of such a system.
As part of its operation, a model may seek to manipulate database information in a computationally-intensive manner. For example, a model may comprise multiple steps that each call for combination (e.g. by UNION or JOIN operations) of thousands or even millions of stored database records.
Currently, few tools allow an end user to evaluate and/or refine properties of a model based upon its performance. Instead, modeling is typically conducted in an ad-hoc manner, utilizing trial-and-error based primarily upon the end user's past experience. Such manual approaches to model creation/optimization are time-consuming, and are limited to those select few end users with sufficient experience affording an intuitive grasp of model structure and performance.
Moreover the difficulty of evaluating and optimizing model performance may be exacerbated, as the underlying databases and the models accessing them, increase in size and complexity. The pool of available end users may be even further limited, when models are imported from an external source into an existing modeling tool.
Accordingly, embodiments address these and other issues with user interfaces affording optimization of models based upon database information.

Interface optimizing model based upon database information


Some connector assemblies include a female connector having a sidewall extending between first and second ends to define an interior channel, the sidewall having a cylindrical inner surface, and a plurality of lugs extending from and disposed circumferentially along the inner surface, and a male connector having a sidewall extending between first and second ends to define an interior channel, the sidewall having a cylindrical outer surface, and a plurality of lugs extending from and disposed circumferentially along the outer surface, wherein the male connector is configured to be coupled to the female connector such that the sidewall of the male connector is received through the first end of and into the interior channel of the female connector, and at least one of the lugs of the male connector is disposed between at least one of the lugs of the female connector and the second end of the female connector.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to connector assemblies for connecting tubulars (e.g., tubes, pipes, lines, conduits, hoses, and/or the like), and more specifically, but not by way of limitation, to connector assemblies for connecting oil and/or gas well-related tubulars, such as, for example, risers, pipes (e.g., drill, casing, pipeline, and/or the like pipes), lines (e.g., choke, kill, and/or the like lines), and/or the like, to other oil and/or gas well-related tubulars and/or to oil and/or gas well-related structures.
2. Description of Related Art
Tubular connectors, which are used in a variety of industries, allow for the connection of tubulars to other tubulars and/or to structures. As one example, in the oil and gas industry, tubular connectors are often used to connect sections of a tubular (e.g., a riser, drill pipe, and/or the like) when lowering the tubular toward a well.
Some tubular connectors, such as traditional drill pipe connectors and casing connectors, are threaded. To connect a tubular to such a threaded connector, a thread of the connector is engaged with a corresponding thread of the tubular, and the tubular is rotated relative to the connector. Connecting tubulars using such threaded connectors may be problematic and/or time consuming, as such a threaded connector may be unforgiving of misalignment between a tubular and the connector, require multiple rotations of the tubular relative to the connector, and/or the like.
Some tubular connectors, such as traditional riser connectors, include flanges through which fasteners (e.g., bolts) can be disposed in order to connect tubulars to other tubulars and/or to structures. In addition to such flange-based connectors being unforgiving of tubular/connector misalignment, connecting tubulars using such flange-based connectors may—at least by involving the use of separate fasteners—be undesirably complex and/or time consuming.

Connector assemblies for connecting tubulars and related methods


In a differential condition, an electrophoresis system antisynchronously drives a longitudinally-separated pair of contactless drive electrodes, both of which are coupled to a detection electrode through a separation channel. In this condition, the system provides a series of peaks readout in ITP-separation mode. In a direct condition, the system antisynchronously drives a pair of drive electrodes, only one of which is coupled to the detection electrode through the channel; the other is coupled to the detection electrode but not though the channel. In this condition, the system provides a series of peaks readout in CZE mode. In either case, the antisynchronous drive enhances the detection signal by canceling at the detection electrode signal components associated with the AC drive source. Similar advantages are achieved for a capillary differential electrophoresis system and for a planar direct electrophoresis system.

The present invention relates to analytical chemistry and, more particularly, to conductivity detectors for electrophoresis and other analysis methods using sample flow channels. A major objective of the invention is to provide for improved contactless conductivity detection for electrophoretically separated sample components.
Much of modern progress in the medical, environmental, forensic, and other sciences can be attributed to advances in analytical chemistry. One important class of analytical tools separates sample components by moving them at different rates along a separation channel. Of primary interest herein is electrophoresis in which an electric field moves sample components along a separation channel; the components are separated according to their electrophoretic mobilities (roughly corresponding to charge-to-mass ratios).
There are two prevalent types of electrophoresis. In capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) a sample is dissolved in an otherwise uniform buffer. A constant voltage potential is applied along the separation channel so that ions move at rates corresponding to their electrophoretic mobilities. Since different ionic species have different charge-to-mass ratios, they separate as they migrate along the channel.
In isotachophoresis (ITP), the separation channel is initially filled by a xe2x80x9cleadingxe2x80x9d buffer, with the sample introduced at one end of the channel. An electric potential gradient along the channel causes the sample ions to migrate according to their electrophoretic mobilities. As the sample moves along the channel, it is followed by a trailing buffer having a lower electrophoretic mobility than the leading buffer. Sample components with intermediate electrophoretic mobilities remain between the buffers, forming into adjacent bands.
Once the sample components are separated it is usually desirable to identify and, perhaps, quantify the components. This typically requires detection of the components. Detectors are available that detect components by monitoring certain parameters, such as conductivity, fluorescence or absorption of ultra-violet (UV) electromagnetic energy as sample components pass.
Conductivity detection is appealing for electrophoresis since it operates on the same parameter used to separate the components. In other words, sample components that cannot be detected by monitoring conductivity are those unlikely to be separated by electrophoresis. Separated components necessarily have a measurable conductivity associated with their electrophoretic mobilities.
Contact conductivity detection can be implemented by locating electrodes on the interior channel walls of an electrophoretic channel. Typically, electrodes can oppose each other across a transverse width or diameter of the electrophoretic channel. An alternating current can be applied to a drive electrode, while the potential at a detection electrode (arranged as an intermediate node in a voltage divider) can be monitored to provide an indication of sample conductivity. However, since the electrodes are in contact with the sample fluid, chemical reactions at the electrodes can affect both the electrodes and the sample. Such interaction can cause undesirable artifacts within a run and undermine repeatability between runs.
Contactless conductivity detection typically involves forming electrodes on the outside walls that define the electrophoresis channel. Electrodes can be electrically coupled (i.e., an electrical signal on one can be detected by the other) to each other through the channel. Since the sample does not contact the electrodes, the problem of chemical interaction between sample and electrodes is effectively addressed.
Changes in sample conductivity as components pass the electrodes cause changes in impedance between the electrodes. This impedance can be monitored using a voltage divider arrangement. However, the impedance variations are relatively small due to the constant capacitance contribution of the channel walls to the impedance. Small signal-to-background ratios result in reduced sensitivity to conductivity changes. The output gain of the detector can be increased to amplify the effect of conductivity changes on the detector output. However, undesirable artifacts, such as variations in the AC drive amplitude due to power source fluctuations, are amplified as well.
There are further problems in the case of isotachophoresis. The conductivity profile of a typical sample separated by isotachophoresis is a step function. This means that the background signal increases as the sample component bands progress past the detector. This further reduces the signal-to-background ratio of the detector output.
Finally, the contributions of individual sample components are not readily read from a step function. A more readable function is obtained by differentiating the step function to obtain a profile of the rate of conductivity change over time. This produces a relatively readable series of peaks at the boundaries between component bands. However, the mathematical differentiation introduces an additional step in the procedure and introduces computation errors into the final data.
What is needed is a conductivity detector that is more sensitive than the foregoing contactless conductivity detectors, but more reliable than foregoing contacting conductivity detectors. Furthermore, in the case of isotachophoresis, the problems with the step function should be addressed.
The present invention provides sample-analysis systems with antisynchronously driven contactless conductivity detectors. The invention has particular applicability to electrophoresis because of its amenability to conductivity detection. However, in its most general aspect, the invention is not dependent on the separation technology.
The sample-analysis system includes a sample-component separator and a sample-component detector. The separator provides a channel along which sample components move past the detector. The detector includes an AC source, at least two drive electrodes, at least one detection electrode, and a signal processor. The AC source drives two drive electrodes antisynchronously (180xc2x0+/xe2x88x9245xc2x0 out of phase, the closer to 180xc2x0 the better). A detection electrode is electrically coupled to both drive electrodes so that the drive signals tend to cancel; the degree of cancellation varies according to the local conductivity in the separation channel. The signal processor provides a readout that represents the degree of cancellation, and thus conductivity.
So that conductivity changes can be detected, at least one drive electrode is electrically coupled to the detection electrode through the separation channel. In differential realizations of the invention, both antisynchronously driven electrodes are coupled to the detection through the channel, while in direct realizations of the invention, one of the antisynchronously driven electrodes is electrically coupled to the detection electrode but not through the channel. The direct realizations provide a direct readout of local conductivity, while the differential realizations provide a direct readout of changes in local conductivity. Accordingly, the direct realizations provide a desired xe2x80x9cseries-of-peaksxe2x80x9d readout for CZE, while the differential realizations provide a xe2x80x9cseries-of-peaksxe2x80x9d readout for ITP. The direct realization provides superior spatial resolution, while the differential realization provides superior background signal cancellation.
The invention provides for hybrid-detection analytical systems that implement both differential and direct detector modes. For example, three drive electrodes can be used, two of which are coupled to the detection electrode through a separation channel, and one of which is coupled to the detection electrode but not through the separation channel. A switch can be used to select whether the AC power source is coupled for differential detection or direct detection. Such hybrid-detection systems can provide a desired series-of-peaks readout for both CZE and ITP separations by respectively selecting direct and differential detection modes.
The non-hybrid differential and direct systems can also provide the desired series-of-peaks readouts in either CZE or ITP mode. In a direct detection system, the signal processor can include a differentiator to provide a series-of-peaks readout for ITP separations. In a differential detection system, the signal processor can include an integrator to provide a series-of-peaks readout for CZE separations.
The invention provides for a variety of geometries. In planar configurations, the detection electrode or electrodes can be coupled to drive electrodes transversely of a longitudinally extending separation channel. Alternatively, detection electrodes and drive electrodes can all be formed on the same side of a separation channel; in this case, shielding can be used to prevent undesired electrical bypassing of the separation channel. In a capillary separation channel configuration, electrodes can be formed as annular rings on the exterior of the capillary. In this case, a detection electrode can be disposed longitudinally between drive electrodes.
The present invention provides for an enhanced detection signal by canceling drive signal components. This cancellation removes artifacts due to AC source voltage variations and provides more sensitive detection of conductivity variations. The invention also provides for desired series-of-peaks readouts for both CZE and ITP separations. These and other features and advantages of the invention are apparent from the description below with reference to the following drawings.

Sample-analysis system with antisynchronously driven contactless conductivity detector


A spherical aberration compensation actuator and an optical pickup system are provided. The spherical aberration compensation actuator mounts an element for compensating a spherical aberration and operates to a single-axis direction on an optical path using electromagnetic force. The optical pickup system includes a laser diode, an object lens, a spherical aberration compensation actuator, an optical path changer, and an optical detector. The spherical aberration compensation actuator is installed on an optical path between the laser diode and the object lens and includes a lens holder having a spherical aberration compensation element for compensating a spherical aberration generated due to light passing through the object lens and operating in an optical-axis direction using electromagnetic force.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical pickup system, and more particularly, to a spherical aberration compensation actuator and an optical pickup system capable of compensating a spherical aberration by operating a spherical aberration compensation element provided on an optical path in single-axial direction.
2. Description of the Related Art
Due to a high density trend in an optical recording technology, a laser diode of a more shorter wavelength and an object lens having a more greater numerical aperture (NA) are widely used.
With such a trend, an optical system of a blue laser diode (BD) class is suggested. In the optical system of the BD class, a blue laser beam of a high numerical aperture (e.g., NA=0.85) and a short wavelength (e.g., 405 nm) is used.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating a construction of a related art BD-class optical pickup system.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, the optical system includes: a blue laser diode 101 for generating a blue laser beam; a beam splitter 102 for reflecting or transmitting the generated beam; a collimator lens 103 for converting the incident beam into a parallel beam and illuminating the parallel beam; an object lens 104 for condensing the incident beams from the collimator lens 103 onto an optical disk 105 and delivering a reflected beam reflected from the optical disk 105 to the collimator lens 103; and an optical detector 106 for detecting the beam reflected by the beam splitter 102 in form of an electrical signal.
In operation, a laser beam generated from the BD 101 passes through the beam splitter 102 and the beam that has passed through the beam splitter 102 is converted into a parallel beam by the collimator lens 103 and provided to the object lens 104.
The object lens 104 condenses the incident beams onto one point on the optical disk 105 to record or play information. At this point, the condensed beam is reflected by the optical disk 105 and the reflected beam passes through the object lens 104 and the collimator lens 103 positioned on a reflection path and is incident to the optical detector 106 by the beam splitter 102. Here, the object lens is mounted on the optical pickup actuator and operated in a tracking and a focusing directions.
The optical detector 106 converts reflected and inputted information into an electrical signal, thereby controlling a tracking servo and a focusing servo.
In the meantime, as a high density trend of the disk progresses, various technical difficulties are emerging. A representative difficulty among them is a spherical aberration generated due to use of a large-diameter lens. The spherical aberration is generated because a focus at which light passing through a principle axis of the object lens is condensed and a focus at which light passing through an outer periphery of the object lens is condensed are varied in their position on the same optical axis.
Therefore, the spherical aberration is greatly influenced by a laser wavelength and a thickness of a cover layer of the optical disk.
In the meantime, since the beams are not exactly condensed onto an optical recording medium in an optical system where the spherical aberration is generated much, power transfer of the laser diode gets inefficient and a signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio is deteriorated when reading data. Further, for high integration and high capacity of data, the BD-class optical system has two layers on its disk. In the above BD-class optical system, the spherical aberration generated due to a deviation of the disk cover layer exceeds an optical aberration tolerance, for a wavelength of a light source used is short, or the spherical aberration is generated due to a deviation of each layer while a dual layer disk is used for increasing a storage density. Particularly, an optical element should be offset on an optical path appropriately for a relevant disk layer in order to compensate a spherical aberration due to a deviation of each disk cover layer generated by recording/playing of the dual layer disk.
One of representative methods used for solving the above problems is to correct a spherical aberration by inserting a liquid crystal plate in a general optical pickup structure. Though such a method has advantages of being able to actively control a spherical aberration in a relatively exact manner, there are disadvantages that big spherical aberrations are generated unless the liquid crystal plate is simultaneously moved when the object lens performs a tracking movement, thus the liquid crystal plate should be installed just in front of the object lens and cooperated using an actuator.
Another spherical aberration correction method requires a single-axis driving servo system which moves an optical element on an optical axis to compensate a spherical aberration as illustrated in FIG. 2.
As illustrated in FIG. 2, in a related art single-axis actuator for compensating a spherical aberration, a beam expander 110 for compensating a spherical aberration includes: a collimator lens 112 mounted on a central portion of a lens holder 111; a motor 113 for operating the lens holder 111; a lead screw 114 for being rotated at one side of the lens holder 111 by the motor 113 so as to operate the lens holder 111; and a shaft 115 for guiding movements of the lens holder 111 at the other side of the lens holder 111.
The beam expender moves the lens holder 111 to an optical-axis direction so as to compensate a spherical aberration due to the collimator lens 112. For that purpose, if the motor 113 is operated in a forward or a backward direction, the lead screw 114 connected with a shaft of the motor is rotated to move the lens holder 111 back and forth and the shaft 115 on the other side of the lens holder guides movements of the lens holder 111. Accordingly, an offset of the collimator lens 112 is adjusted and a spherical aberration is compensated.
However, since the lead screw 114 which is the shaft of the motor 113 is installed on one side of the lens holder 111, force that operates the lens holder 111 may be concentrated on one side. Further, in case a lead screw method is used, a separate motor-screw system should be provided, which results in disadvantages in viewpoint of cost and assembly efficiency.
Further, the beam expender requires a high-precision operation for a spherical aberration compensation. In addition, an angle tilt should be minimized during operation in order to secure operation precision of less than several μm and a tilt margin of an optical element. Still further, since feedback for position information is required in real time in case a separate servo system is provided, a circuit system should be additionally provided.

Spherical aberration compensation actuator and optical pickup system