Polyamide/epoxy, thermoplastic-thermoset curable adhesive resin systems which are aqueous dispersions are disclosed; wherein the epoxy resin component has unreacted epoxy groups numbering, on average, between about 2 and about 8; the polyamide component comprises both an acid terminated polyamide resin having an acid number, on average, of from about 10 to about 30, in an amount of from about 20% to about 60% by weight of the total weight of polyamide resin, and an amine terminated polyamide resin having an amine number, on average, of from about 5 to about 30, in an amount of from about 80% to about 40% by weight of the total weight of polyamide resin; and additionally a neutralizing base in amount sufficient to neutralize from about 50% to about 80%, on an equivalents basis, of the total number of free acid groups occurring on the acid and amine terminated polyamide resin components; and optionally at least one water soluble, dipolar chemical moiety in an amount effective to provide stability in the overall resin composition; and optionally a surfactant. The disclosed adhesive resin systems exhibit stability to separation, premature curing or significant reaction at room temperature for at least six months, and are capable of forming an adhesive bond at elevated temperatures which, once formed, will maintain its integrity under the high temperature, pressure and moisture conditions of autoclave sterilization. They find particular application in producing packaging containers for enclosing and isolating an object to be sterilized, e.g., a surgical instrument.

1. Field of the Invention
The adhesive resin systems of the present invention are in the field of curable thermoplastic-thermoset adhesives based on polyamide resins in combination with epoxy resins. The present invention is also in the field of adhesive resin formulations which are particularly tailored to meet specific application needs, which in the case at hand is for use in making packaging which is sterilizable.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Dimer-based polyamides useful for curing epoxy resins are known, as described, e.g., in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,062,773 (Rogier); 2,999,826 (Peerman et al.); 2,930,773 (Renfrew et al.); 2,890,184 (Foerster); 2,881,194 (Peerman et al.); and 2,707,708 (Wittcoff). However, the polyamides disclosed in these references are not solids at ambient temperatures, but are liquids having a high amine number. The liquid polyamides are mixed with liquid epoxies and allowed to cure. The products possess little cohesive strength until sufficient curing occurs. While certain of the cured products may be useful as adhesives, they suffer from the shortcomings of being usually rigid and having limited ductility.
It is also known to blend a thermoplastic polyamide with an epoxy resin to produce an adhesive, e.g., as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,867,592 (Morris et al.). However, the amount of epoxy resin added is limited to a proportion effective to link small numbers of polyamide resin molecules together without providing sufficient cross linking to cause curing. Thus, such a blend is not a thermoset and is not capable of being cured to an infusible final product.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,488,665 (MacGrandle et al.) teaches a process wherein polyamides are blended with epoxies to provide a product which cures after application to the substrate; however, the product is used to provide a hard, stiff coating for flexible sheet material. Curable adhesives have been made using polyamide resins and epoxy resins as in U.S. Pat. No. 2,705,223 (Renfrew et al.). But the Renfrew compositions possess inferior properties when applied as adhesives. For example, the Renfrew compositions do not possess good adhesive strength upon cure and provide limited working time after the mixing of the components. In addition, such compositions exhibit poor flexibility, and poor adhesive resistance to heat, water and organic solvents when applied to substrates at ambient temperature.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,082,708 (Mehta) teaches an adhesive system comprising an epoxy resin and a polyamide wherein the polyamide is derived substantially from primary and tertiary amines; specifically, the Mehta polyamides are derived from 1,4-bis-primary amino lower alkyl piperazines having terminal primary amine groups. Although it is suggested that secondary amines can be utilized in making the polyamides as chain extenders and flexibilizers, it is taught that the secondary amines are less desirable reactants and should be buried within the polyamide structure.
European Patent Application Publication No. EP 0 157 478 describes adhesive compositions prepared by mixing solid particles of polyamide resins with solid particles of epoxy resins. If desired, the composition also contains a polymeric binder. Prior to application as an adhesive, the polyamide and epoxy composition is preferably dispersed in a non-solvent.
Hastings et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,945,964 describes stable aqueous emulsions of epoxy resins containing, as emulsifying agents, ethylene oxide/propylene oxide block polymers of specified formulae. Curing agents described as useful with the epoxy resin emulsion include polyamides.
Aelony et al., U.S. Pat. No. 2,899,397 describes mixed aqueous emulsions of polyamide and epoxy resins prepared by mixing a solution of epoxy resinous material with a solution of polymeric polyamides, combining the two solutions in the presence of an aqueous medium containing a water soluble organic carboxylic acid and agitating the combined solutions to produce an emulsion.
Wittcoff and Renfrew U.S. Pat. No. 2,811,495 discloses mixtures of suspensoids of polyamide resins and complex epoxide resins, but there is no suggestion of the compositions of the present invention.
Frihart U.S. Pat. No. 5,296,557 discloses two-component curable hot melt adhesive compositions in which the polyamide component is substantially free of piperazine-containing polyamines and comprises at least one branched diamine, with preferably an excess of free amine to acid groups. The epoxy component is preferably a multifunctional epoxy novolac resin. The thermoset final product has heat resistivity and may be applied to substrates such as nonwoven fabrics and polycarbonates.
Smith and Hagedorn U.S. Pat. No. 5,095,058 discloses polyamide resin dispersions for hot melt adhesive applications, which have a low acid number achieved with a neutralizing base such as KOH, a nonionic or other surfactant to promote emulsification, and a stabilizing agent such as glycine.
Smith and Frihart WO 92/19677, published Nov. 12, 1992, contains much the same disclosure as the U.S. Pat. No. 5,095,058, but additionally includes an epoxy component, e.g., the composition of Example 2 contains UNI-REZ 2636 and EPI-REZ W55-5003. There is also disclosed the addition of a neutralizing acid or base which is present in an amount effective to neutralize residual acid or base in the polyamide resin.
Polyamide resin microdispersions and methods for the manufacture thereof are also disclosed in WO 92/16579, published Oct. 1, 1992. The polyamide microdispersions disclosed therein have improved stability against phase separation and gelation. Additionally, they are capable of forming clear, continuous films at ambient or near ambient temperatures.
One problem with many of the prior art epoxy/polyamide resin compositions is the rapid reactivity of the mixed resins, producing in a relatively short amount of time an infusible, insoluble composition. Where such compositions are intended for use as adhesives in the type of application to which the method of the present invention is directed, this brief reaction time requires that the resin mixture be prepared at point of use and in relatively small quantities. Attempts have been made to lengthen the shelf life of these compositions; however, such attempts have met with little success. In addition, relatively large amounts of volatile organic solvents used in these processes (e.g., toluene, isopropanol, methylethyl ketone) are flammable and environmentally undesirable.
The present invention provides an improvement over the prior art in that it provides as a single, uniform composition, a curable polyamide and epoxy resin mixture, i.e., an adhesive resin system with good stability properties, and with the ability to be cured, almost immediately after the application of heat, to a final product that is resistant to high heat and humidity conditions, has good initial strength properties, improved adhesive and cohesive strength, and resistance to remelting (or softening with heat), solvent attack and moisture damage. These properties are obtained almost immediately upon heat sealing of the adhesive resin system to a substrate with readily usable and available equipment and conditions, whereby curing to the final adhesive product and establishment of the adhesive bond is obtained. Furthermore, the adhesive resin system, prior to curing, possesses excellent shelf life, with stability to premature curing in excess of one year. These characteristics are especially valuable in cured adhesive products which must perform under challenging conditions of temperature, humidity, and mechanical stress. In addition, the adhesives of the present invention possesses greater ductility and flexibility and are easier to employ. The adhesives are especially useful with difficult to bond substrates, including polycarbonate resins.
There is an ongoing need for new and/or better curable epoxy and polyamide resin compositions, particularly compositions having all of the properties heretofore required of an adhesive, but additionally being able to bond to difficult surfaces such as polycarbonate, being curable at elevated temperature, but once cured, also being sufficiently heat and moisture resistant to successfully withstand sterilization conditions, within a short time after heat sealing with readily usable and available equipment and conditions. The present invention is directed to these important ends.

Heat-resistant adhesive for use especially in making sterilizable packaging


A stator core assembly for use in an electrical machine is provided. The stator core assembly includes a plurality of core components. Each core component forms an arcuate section of the stator core assembly. Each core component is comprised of at least two core component sections, with each core component section adjacent another core component section. Each core component section is formed of a ferrous magnetic powder metal particles which are generally mutually insulated. Such ferrous magnetic powder metal particles are pressure formed into the core component section.

The present invention relates to core components for use in electrical machines and, more particularly, a stator core assembly for use in an electrical machine, most typically an electrical motor.
Electrical machines such as motors and generators have a stationary element, usually termed as stator, and movable or rotating elements, typically termed the rotor. The interaction between the stator and the rotor is caused by the interaction of a magnetic field generated by either the stator or the rotor. Such magnetic field is usually generated or induced by electric currents in a winding placed on either the stator or the rotor. Such winding usually comprises a plurality of coils wound about a winding support. The winding support is usually comprised of a soft magnetic material which traditionally is made of laminations of materials of selected steel materials. The laminations are insulated from each other in order to reduce eddy currents.
It has become known to replace the laminated steel components of stator or rotor cores with ferro-magnetic particles that are compacted in a powder metallurgy operation to form the winding support. The ferro-magnetic particles themselves are essentially electrically insulated from each other so that the resulting compacted product exhibits a low eddy current loss in a manner similar to the prior art use of a stack of steel laminations. Such use of compacted metal powders comprised of ferro-magnetic particles for cores in electrical machines is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,300,702 and 6,441,530.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved core component for use in electrical machines wherein the core comprises at least two core component sections, each formed of a compacted ferrous magnetic powder.

Soft magnetic composite powder metal cores


The present invention provides a novel sensor for detecting a target. The nucleic acid sensor of the present invention includes a nucleic acid element that includes a catalyst nucleic acid molecule (D) that exerts a catalytic function and a binding nucleic acid molecule (A) that binds to a target. The nucleic acid element is a double-stranded nucleic acid element including a first strand and a second strand. The first strand (ss1) includes the binding nucleic acid molecule (A), a loop-forming sequence (L1), and the catalyst nucleic acid molecule (D) linked in this order. The second strand (ss2) includes a stem-forming sequence (SA), a loop-forming sequence (L2), and a stem-forming sequence (SD) linked in this order. In this nucleic acid element, in the absence of a target, the catalytic function of the catalyst nucleic acid molecule (D) is inhibited by stem formation in each of the stem-forming sequences (SA) and (SD), and in the presence of ATP/target, the stem formation is released by a binding of the binding nucleic acid molecule (A) with the target, and the catalytic function is exerted.

In recent years, an increase in food poisoning caused by infection with microorganisms such as Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica has been a problem. A major cause of this problem is a washing failure. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct a cleanliness inspection in a food-processing factory.
As such inspection, a method in which cleanliness is analyzed by measuring ATP (adenosine triphosphate) or AMP (adenosine monophosphate) has been put into practical use in recent years. ATP and AMP are known as necessary components for energy metabolism in various organisms. Therefore, it is considered that the amount of ATP or AMP has a correlation to the amount derived from the microorganisms and food present therein. Thus, by measuring ATP or AMP in an objective region, the extent of microorganisms and food residues remaining in the region can be analyzed. Accordingly, cleanliness can be evaluated.
As a tool for detecting AMP, for example, a nucleic acid element obtained by linking a DNA aptamer that specifically binds to AMP with DNA (hereinafter merely referred to as DNAzyme) that exerts peroxidase activity has been reported (Non-Patent Document 1). The structure of this nucleic acid element is controlled so that a catalytic ability of DNAzyme is inhibited by self-association of an aptamer with the DNAzyme in the absence of AMP, and the self-association is released by a binding of AMP to the aptamer in the presence of AMP, thereby exerting the catalytic ability of the DNAzyme. Therefore, for example, when AMP is present, a peroxidase reaction occurs by DNAzyme exerting a catalytic ability. Thus, the amount of AMP can be measured indirectly by meaning the reaction. On the other hand, when AMP is not present, the catalytic ability of DNAzyme is not exerted. Thus, the peroxidase reaction does not occur. However, such nucleic acid element is required to further improve the sensitivity, the ease of handling, and the like in order to put the nucleic acid element into practical use. Such requirement is applied not only to AMP but also ATP and the other targets.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A high-performance SAW filter is to be provided which has lower insertion loss in a pass band and high attenuation in an attenuation band on the low frequency side of the pass band. In a SAW filter with attenuation poles configured of a two-port circuit for filtering for forming a ladder type SAW filter using a SAW resonator and a two-port circuit for impedance formed of an impedance serially connected, the impedance of the two-port circuit for impedance is configured so as to form an attenuation band of a predetermined width having a sufficient attenuation characteristic on the low frequency side of a pass band.

The present invention relates to a band-pass filter of a ladder type configuration using a surface acoustic wave (SAW) resonator in small-sized mobile communication devices such as mobile telephones, particularly to a SAW filter with attenuation poles having high attenuation in an attenuation band and low insertion loss in a pass band.
In recent years, mobile communication device terminals such as small-sized, lightweight mobile telephones have been developed rapidly. In accordance with this, the realization of reduction in size and of high performance in components to be used is being conducted. In response to this, RF (radio frequency band) components using a SAW filter are developed and used. Particularly, the SAW filter is developed actively to partly become commercially available because it is a device that greatly contributes to the realization of reduction in size of RF parts.
In order to enhance the performance of the mobile communication device terminals, a high-performance SAW filter is demanded which has lower insertion loss in a pass band and high attenuation in attenuation bands.
The high-performance SAW filter is used in components for branching, inputting and outputting signals in the mobile communication device terminals.
A traditional ladder type SAW filter forming the high-performance SAW filter is described in Band pass filter with low loss using SAW resonators, Sato, et al., IEICE Ronbunshi A, vol. J76-A, No. 2, pp. 245-252 (1993).
In addition, an attenuation pole filter shown in FIG. 12 added with an attenuation pole inductance L 330 is used as a high-performance filter.
FIG. 12 is a circuit diagram illustrating that a two-port circuit 380 of a traditional ladder type SAW filter formed of three series arms 310, 311, and 312 and two shunt arms 320 and 321 is serially connected to a two-port circuit 381 provided with an attenuation pole inductance 330.
As described in JP-A-10-163808, in the SAW filter with attenuation poles shown in FIG. 12, attenuation poles are formed in an attenuation band on the high frequency side of the pass band by the attenuation pole inductance 330, in addition to the characteristics of the traditional ladder type SAW filter. The attenuation poles can provide certain high attenuation characteristics in the attenuation characteristics on the high frequency side of the pass band.
In order to enhance the performance of the recent mobile communication device terminals, a high-performance SAW filter is demanded which has lower insertion loss in a pass band and high attenuation in the attenuation band on the low frequency side of the pass band. The high performance SAW filter is being investigated with the use of traditional bonding wire, but satisfying characteristics are not obtained yet under present circumstances.
In the traditional mobile communication device terminals such as mobile telephones, a SAW filter with attenuation poles having certain high attenuation characteristics in the attenuation band on the high frequency side of a communication band is shown in FIG. 12.
On this account, the circuit shown in FIG. 12 is used when attenuation poles need to be formed in the attenuation band on the high frequency side, and the traditional bonding wire is used for the attenuation pole inductance L 330 shown in FIG. 12.
In this example, traditional bonding wire is used as the inductance L to vary the frequency of the attenuation poles by this L value, and the characteristics are changed to realize certain high attenuation. However, satisfying characteristics cannot be obtained yet.
Furthermore, high attenuation characteristics are demanded in the attenuation band on the low frequency side, and attenuation poles need to be formed in the band. However, the traditional bonding wire is also used in the case. As a SAW filter with attenuation poles responding to this, a film is used in which the attenuation pole frequency of the attenuation band on the low frequency side of the pass band is adjusted by using the traditional bonding wire of the shunt arms in the ladder type SAW filter. However, required characteristics are not satisfied in this case as well. However, the traditional bonding wire is also used in the case. As a SAW filter with attenuation poles responding to this, a film is used in which the attenuation pole frequency of the attenuation band on the low frequency side of the pass band is adjusted by using the traditional bonding wire of the shunt arms in the ladder type SAW filter. However, required characteristics are not satisfied in this case as well.
In the mobile communication device terminals such as mobile telephones, a SAW filter with attenuation poles is desired which has high attenuation characteristics in the attenuation bands on the low frequency side and the high frequency side of the pass band. As a SAW filter with attenuation poles responding to this, a SAW filter with attenuation poles is used in which the traditional bonding wire is used as the inductance, an attenuation pole frequency is formed in the attenuation band on the low frequency side of the pass band, and the attenuation pole frequency is varied to provide high attenuation in the filter characteristics. However, the required characteristics are not satisfied.

Surface acoustic wave filter with attenuation poles


Flow control valve with round tilted valve seat and pivotally mounted matching spherical valve plug for leak tight shut off with generous Mfg tolerances and low pressure drop. Method shown for automatically limiting bleed flow during valve open and automatically restricting bleed flow at near valve close position to slow valve closing.

Flow control valves of the type having a liquid pressure actuated diaphragm to control opening and closing of a valve are known. Said control valves can be of the pilot valve operated type or be manually operated.
Background flow control valve patents are U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,439,895; 4,301,992; 4,336,918; and 4,508,136. These patents in turn refer to other patents and valve assemblies.


An edge-emitting optical semiconductor structure has a substrate, an active multiple quantum well (MQW) region formed on the substrate, and a ridge waveguide extending between first and second etched end facets. The first etched end facet is disposed in a first window, while the second etched end facet is disposed in a second window. The first etched end facet extends between a pair of alcoves in the first window, and the second etched end facet extends between a pair of alcoves in the second window. An integrated device in which two such structures are provided has an H-shaped window where the two structures adjoin each other. The structure can be fabricated using a process that involves a first mask to form the ridge waveguide and then a second mask and an etching process to form the windows.

Optical transceivers are key components in optical fiber-based telecommunications and data communication networks. An optical transceiver includes an opto-electronic light source, such as a laser, and an opto-electronic light receiver, such as a photodiode, and may also include various electronic circuitry associated with the laser and photodiode. For example, driver circuitry can be included for driving the laser in response to electronic signals received from the electronic system. Receiver circuitry can be included for processing the signals produced by the photodiode and providing output signals to the electronic system. Optical lenses are also commonly included.
Generally, there are two types of semiconductor laser devices: edge-emitting lasers and Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers (VCSELs). An advantage of VCSELs is that they can be tested economically at wafer level rather than chip level. Another advantage of VCSELs is their well-defined spot size, which promotes high coupling efficiency to optical fibers without the need to provide beam shape correction, thus facilitating economical packaging. Edge-emitting lasers also have advantages, such as robust reliability and high output optical power. Likely for these reasons, edge-emitting lasers remain the most commonly used semiconductor laser in high-speed optical transceivers. To test edge-emitting lasers, a wafer must be scribed and cleaved for single-chip testing. That is, wafers must be diced into bars, coated with highly-reflective (HR) or anti-reflective (AR) coatings, and then diced to single chips to be tested and selected. The process of testing edge-emitting lasers thus can be relatively uneconomical.
One way to reduce edge-emitting laser chip cost involves a process commonly referred to as etched facet. In an etched facet laser, the feedback mirrors are etched facets rather than cleaved facets. Etched facets facilitate coating the facet with highly reflective or, alternatively, anti-reflective layers at wafer-level, rather than at bar level. (See, e.g., Peter Vettiger et al., IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics, Vol. 27(6), June 1991, p. 1319.) A minor-like etching profile is necessary to minimize reflection loss and provide a uniform coating thickness.
Edge-emitting lasers can have either a ridge waveguide structure or a buried waveguide structure. The process of fabricating a ridge waveguide structure is less complex than the process of fabricating a buried waveguide structure. For uncooled lasers, the active core layers are commonly made of aluminum-containing multiple quantum well (MQW) layers. In such a laser, a ridge waveguide structure is more advantageous than a buried waveguide structure because a ridge waveguide structure does not have an etched MQW region or suffer from aluminum oxidation.
The facets in an etched-facet laser are commonly etched by an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) process using a protection mask. This process is carried out after the formation of the waveguide. However, the presence of the ridge in such a ridge waveguide structure introduces two main difficulties for fabricating such a laser: facet quality and facet coating.
With regard to the issue of facet quality in fabricating ridge waveguide lasers, it is almost impossible to have a smooth mirror-like etch profile on a ridge waveguide structure because the mask edge in the ICP process is disturbed by the non-planar ridge structure. The quality of facets produced in the ICP process depends strongly on mask profile. In S. C. Host, et al., "High-reflectance dielectric mirrors deposited by Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition on GaAs—AlGaAs Semiconductor Lasers with Inductively Coupled Plasma Etched Facets," IEEE Photonics technology Letters, VOL. 12 (10), October 2000, p 1325-1327, a Benzocyclobuten (BCB) layer was used to first planarize the ridge, and then an SiO2 mask was deposited and defined on the BCB layer.
A key feature of the above-described process is a BCB etch-back process that transfers a non-planar ridge to a planar surface. However, the process is rather complicated and time-consuming, requiring a number of steps: BCB coating, thermal curing, and BCB etch-back, followed by SiO2 layer deposition, photolithography, SiO2 dry etch, ICP etch, and lastly removal of the BCB coating. It is difficult to provide a vertical mask profile such that the ICP etch process results in a vertical ridge profile. Furthermore, the removal of BCB residue can be problematic.
The other major issue in fabricating etched facet lasers with ridge waveguide relates to facet coating. For proper laser operation, either a highly reflective (HR) coating for Fabry-Perot (FP) lasers or an anti-reflective (AR) coating for Distributed Feedback (DFB) lasers must be applied. Such coatings are commonly applied by depositing SiO2/SiNx pairs on an entire wafer by a conventional Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD) system. However, the non-planar ridge structure causes a "shadowing effect," which inhibits precise control of coating layer thickness near the ridge.
As illustrated in FIGS. 1-3 (not to scale), a known ridge waveguide laser structure 10 includes etched windows 12 fabricated directly on the structure using a protection mask (not shown). The term "window" refers to a region etched down from the surface to the substrate. The facets defined by windows 12 are coated with either an HR or AR coating material, depending on whether the resulting structure is to be a FP laser or DFB laser. (For purposes of clarity, the relatively thin coating is not separately illustrated in the drawings.) In this fabrication process, the "shadowing effect" of the ridge structure 14 commonly adversely impacts mask definition, ICP etch, and facet coating.
Multi-mask layers (not shown) are commonly used to fabricate a structure such as ridge structure 14. The first mask, which can be a BCB layer, is used with an etch-back process to planarize the ridge. Then, an SiO2 mask is deposited on the BCB surface. However, such a double mask hampers providing a vertical mask profile, which is fundamental to obtaining a vertical etch profile using the ICP process. Furthermore, such a multi-mask process is rather complicated and time-consuming, involving a number of steps: BCB coating, thermal curing, etch-back, SiO2 deposition on BCB, photolithography, RIE SiO2 etch, BCB etch, ICP semiconductor etch, SiO2 removal, and BCB removal. The last step, i.e. removing the BCB layer, is often not completely effective, thus leaving BCB residues that hamper SiO2 or metal adhesion.
It would be desirable to provide a ridge semiconductor laser with high facet quality facet and stable facet coating yield.

Semiconductor lasers and etched-facet integrated devices having H-shaped windows

Avago Technologies General IP (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.


A method for removing a surface layer from a solidified body of metal at an elevated temperature to remove surface defects therefrom. The method comprises providing a solidified body having a surface wherein the body can have a temperature greater than 200.degree. F. and below the solidus temperature of the metal. The metal surface is contacted with an abrasive material having a particle size in the range of 6 to 300 grit (U.S. Sieve Series). The abrasive material is applied at a flux sufficient to remove a surface layer from the body, the layer having a thickness in the range of 10 to 300 .mu.m to provide a surface substantially free of said surface defects.

This invention relates to metals such as aluminum and to metal ingot, slab, strip or billet and the like. More particularly, it relates to improving the as-cast surface quality of metal ingot, slab, strip, bar or billet and the like to provide cast material having substantially improved metal surface suitable for further processing or fabricating.
During the casting of metal (aluminum) ingot, slab, strip, and other forms, various defects may appear on the surface. These defects can be topographical, solidification related, and contaminant related. Many of these defects develop during the early stages of solidification and within a thin surface layer of solidified metal known as the "shell".
Topographical defects include surface roughness caused by the mold or mold coating material. During the early stages of solidification, the shell is in direct and intimate contact with the mold. If the mold surface exhibits a particular topography, this topography is replicated on the shell and thus causes a surface defect. Solidified metal can also collect on sections of the mold and/or metal entry devices such as nozzles and inscribe striations in the shell. These types of defects are often referred to as "drags".
Solidification related defects include as a condition known as "liquation" wherein cooling of the solidifying shell within the mold results in local contraction of the shell. Contraction occurs in most solidifying metals because the density of solid metal is usually greater than in the molten state. As the surface of the shell retreats from the mold wall, it creates a gap. Local heat transfer is reduced, reheating occurs, and the surface of the shell advances back in the direction of the mold. Heat transfer is again increased, invoking a subsequent retreat. This cyclic process causes undulations in the surface of the shell, and segregation of solute elements in the case of an alloy. The problem is particularly exacerbated by wide freezing range alloys, or alloys with a substantial fraction of eutectic liquid remaining at a temperature corresponding to the eutectic reaction isotherm. If present, secondary phases in the alloy, such as iron aluminides, may also be non-uniformly distributed on the surface of the solidifying shell, as a result of this process. Poor feed metal flow conditions into the mold can also result in solidification related surface defects.
Contaminant related defects are caused by oxides, salts, and combinations of oxides and salts present in the molten metal that form a layer on the shell during solidification. Since these contaminants are immiscible, they readily segregate to the surface. The well known "oxide patches" in the direct chill (DC) casting of magnesium containing aluminum ingot are an example of contaminant related defects.
Several methods directed at preventing surface defects have been disclosed in the literature. Electromagnetic casting is one example. Improved metal flow distribution facilitated by novel nozzle design in continuous slab and strip casting is another example. All of these attempts to solve surface problems are classified as preventative.
Scalping of ingot is a commonly employed remedial practice to establish a surface suitable for rolling. The rolling faces of an ingot are essentially milled, off-line, to depths of 0.25 inch (or greater), prior to hot rolling. Ingot scalping is a capital intensive process that can only be performed on the rolling faces of the ingot. Since the edge surfaces of an ingot are contoured to control stresses during rolling, conventional scalping is not a viable alternative to remove edge defects. The presence of oxide patches on the edges of an ingot constitutes a problem that requires careful hot rolling practices to avoid edge cracking.
Often, it is desirable to remove such defects while the metal is in a hot condition, for example, shortly after casting, particularly in continuous casting systems. However, this has the problem that the metal is plastic, making the treatment thereof difficult. For example, mechanical brushing or burnishing has been found unsatisfactory to remove such defects. Thus, there is a great need for a process to remove the defects relented to, preferably on a continuous basis, to provide a defect-free surface suitable for rolling to provide sheet or plate or like material with a high quality surface.


A transfer device for selectively combining and switching microwave signals between selective ports in a housing in which is a cylindrical rotor. In a lower portion of the rotor is a first passage having three arms each of which terminates at one of the ports when the rotor is one position so that microwave signals entering the passage via two of the arms are combined and leave the rotor and housing via the third arm. In an upper portion of the rotor are second and third passages which are blocked when the rotor is in the first position to prevent switching of signals therein When the rotor is in the second and third positions the second and third passages pass microwave signals between selected pairs of ports, while the arms of the first passage are blocked to prevent combining of signals therein.

1. Field of
This invention relates to the art of transfer devices used to combine and switch microwave signals traveling in different paths to and from microwave antennas, transmitters, receivers and other microwave loads and more particularly the invention concerns a small, simple, efficient, lightweight microwave transfer device operated by turning a rotor to different selected positions, to selectively switch microwave signals to pass in selected microwave transmission paths, and to combine microwave signals in transmission paths independent of the switching paths.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Heretofore, microwave transfer devices used as microwave signal combiners have been rather large, heavy, complicated, expensive assemblies, fixed in parameters so that they could not be switched from one microwave path to another. The prior microwave switches such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,242,652 is typical, have not been capable of serving as signal combiners. One transfer device for combining and switching microwave signals was proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,891,613. This device had a hollow body with axially reciprocatable shorting pins selectively insertable into passages in the body to close off the passages. By proper selective insertion and retraction of the pins, microwave signals applied at input openings in the body could be combined or switched at output openings. This prior transfer device had limited utility and applications because the presence of the shorting pins caused reflections and energy losses and reduced isolation between separate signal paths in the device.

Transfer device for combining and switching microwave signal using a rotary waveguide switching structure


A high power tube in applications requiring reduced AC hum in the amplified signal, utilizes a direct current heated filament. In order to reduce the incidence of tube failure and maintain a stable mode of operation, the direct current is produced by a regulated source of DC voltage. The regulated source includes a transformer having a primary winding coupled to a source of alternating line voltage and also includes a secondary winding at which a transformed low voltage is generated. A rectifier is coupled to the secondary winding for rectifying the transformed voltage to produce a pulsating direct voltage which is applied to the tube filament by a filter. The primary winding of the transformer is coupled to the AC source by means of a saturable reactor. A control circuit senses the voltage across the filament and controls the reactor in a feedback manner.

This invention relates to regulated power supplies for supplying power at low voltage and high current for the filaments of high-power tubes such as those used in transmitters.
Large power vacuum or electron tubes often have filaments or cathode heaters which are heated by a flow of current in order to allow electrons to be "boiled off" for use by the tube. Power tubes by their very nature often require large quantities of electrons, and consequently large amounts of filament heating power are required. In practice, power tubes are usually operated with relatively high filament current and comparatively low voltage. This type of filament structure (low impedance) is used because, among other reasons, it results in a rugged construction, free from mechanical problems, compared with high-impedance filaments. These considerations lead to a low voltage, high current filament or heater (hereinafter termed filament) supply. The filament is normally sealed into the vacuum tube at the time of manufacture, and failure of the filament requires that the tube be discarded. Where the tubes are very expensive, as in high-power high-frequency television transmitters and the like, it is very desirable to protect the filament insofar as possible from overvoltage conditions which might result in failure. Consequently, it is desirable to regulate the power applied to the filaments.
The filament, however, being essentially a resistive element, has an impedance when cold or at turn-on which is much lower than the operating impedance. Consequently, a regulator for use as a high-power filament supply must also be "short-circuit" proof. Attempts to use semiconductor controlled rectifiers for regulation in a phase-controlled manner have encountered problems, because the turn-on surges resulting from the low impedance of the filament tend to cause failures of the controlled rectifier. A failure of the degraded controlled rectifier in a conductive mode applies uncontrolled full voltage to the filament which may in turn fail. Thus, failure of a controlled rectifier can cause failure of an extremely expensive power tube. Even when the aforementioned turn-on surges do not cause SCR failures, they pose a threat to tube life by subjecting the power tube filament to excessive current and stresses during turn-on. Also, SCR regulators produce AM switching noise. As a result, notwithstanding the advantages of regulating the filament current, the filament supply is often unregulated, in order to avoid difficulties such as those mentioned.
It is desirable in order to provide power to the filament in an efficient manner to use a three-phase power system. Thus, a current television transmitter uses unregulated three-phase AC power driving a transformer which transforms the line voltage to a low voltage. The output of the transformer in turn is coupled to a three-phase rectifier which produces pulsating direct current, which in turn is applied to the filament by a filter choke. Direct current is used on television transmitter filaments to reduce picture aberrations caused by filament supply hum, such as horizontal hum bars, etc. This arrangement is reliable, because it includes only wire, transformer iron and reliable solid-state rectifiers.
One form of regulator which has been used successfully as a filament supply in a television transmitter includes a ferroresonant transformer. The ferrorresonant transformer is operated in saturation during a considerable portion of each operating cycle. The switching of the transformer between saturation states heats the transformer, dissipating large amounts of power over that transformed for use by the filament. Consequently, the ferroresonant transformer arrangement may be less efficient than desired. Additionally, if it is desired to use a three-phase source, the ferroresonant transformer approach becomes impractical. Also, the ferroresonant approach even for single-phase operation requires large chokes and filter capacitors.
It is desirable to have a high-current low-voltage filament power supply regulator which is resistant to short-circuits in the load and has high efficiency and relatively low noise.

Regulated filament supply for high-power tubes


An acoustic wave device including: a substrate; a piezoelectric film formed on the substrate; an lower electrode provided on a first surface of the piezoelectric film; an upper electrode provided on a second surface of the piezoelectric film opposite to the first surface; and a mass loading film having a first pattern and a second pattern in a resonance portion in which the lower electrode and the upper electrode face each other through the piezoelectric film, the first pattern having portions and the second pattern having portions interlinking the portions of the first pattern.

An acoustic wave device using a piezoelectric thin-film resonator is used as a filter provided in wireless communication equipment. The piezoelectric thin-film resonator includes a film buck acoustic resonator (FBAR) and is configured to have a piezoelectric thin-film having opposite surfaces on which upper and lower electrodes are respectively provided. The resonance frequency of the piezoelectric thin-film resonator depends on the thickness of a portion in which the upper and lower electrodes face each other through the piezoelectric thin-film. Such a portion is referred to as a resonance portion. In a case where the upper and lower electrodes are respectively made of different materials, the resonance frequency of the resonance portion depends on the materials as well as the film thickness.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-335141 (Document 1) discloses an art in which a mass loading film is formed in the resonance portion in order to change the resonance frequency of the piezoelectric thin-film resonator. Documents 2 through 5 described below disclose an art of forming an opening in the mass loading film in the resonance portion (Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-515667, Document 3: U.S. Pat. No. 6657363, Document 4: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2008-172494, and Document 5: International Publication No. 2010/061479). Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2007-535279 (Document 6) discloses an art of forming a stripe-shaped mass loading film in the resonance portion. According to Documents 1 through 6, the resonance frequency is adjusted for each resonator.
According to the art disclosed in Document 1, resonators having different resonance frequencies are realized by forming mass loading films having different thicknesses. Such mass loading films are formed by performing a series of a film growing process, a photolithography process and an etching process multiple times. This complicates the manufacturing process and increases the production cost. According to Documents 2 through 6, the presence of the mass loading film in the resonance portion formed by patterning increases the spurious intensity, which leads to a deterioration of the resonance characteristic. As a result, the frequency adjustable range becomes narrow.


A method of making foam material includes a process of impregnating comminuted particles of a previously formed foam material with a first foaming reaction solution made up of polyol, catalyst and additives and with a second foaming reaction solution containing diisocyanate. The comminuted particles are also subjected to a rolling pressure when they are being impregnated with the first foaming reaction solution. The impregnated particles are transferred to a forming area provided with steam serving to accelerate the foaming reaction of the impregnated particles. The foam material so produced is provided with excellent properties.

The present invention relates to a method of making foam material, and more particularly to a method of making useful foam material from waste foam material.
A U.S. patent bearing U.S. Pat. No. 3,452,122 discloses a method of making foam material by bonding together the particles of comminuted previously formed foam material and a foamable polyurethane resin composition. The foam material made by means of such method as mentioned above is provided with superior qualities of high density and high air permeability by virtue of the facts that the cavities of particles of comminuted foam material are filled with the new foam material and that the new foam material penetrates into the particles of comminuted foam material. However, the foam material made by the disclosed method mentioned above is defective in that it is not provided with a quality of strong tensile strength. According to the applicant of this patent application, the foamable polyurethane resin composition was found to be incapable of penetrating completely into the particles of comminuted foam material. Therefore, an improved method intended to provide a solution to the problem described above was disclosed by this applicant in a U.S. patent bearing U.S. Pat. No. 4,666,646. The method is characterized in that the particles of comminuted previously formed foam material are dried before they are mixed with the foamable polyurethane resin composition. As a result, the foam material so produced is found to have a greater tensile strength as compared with the foam material made by the other disclosed method mentioned above. This is due to the fact that the dried particles permit a relatively greater quantity of foamable polyurethane resin composition to penetrate thereinto. This improved method is by no means satisfactory. In addition, such improved method is a time-consuming process.

Changshu, Changshu Village, Tanglo Shiang, Miao Li Hsien


Transparent sheets of acetate carrying a band of adhesive on the reverse side adjacent to one edge can be used for making notes on text and illustrations. Preferably provided in a tablet of plural, stacked sheets and most preferably provided in a kit form with erasable markers adapted for marking on acetate, the sheets may be applied to a whole page of text or to a drawing. The markings can interact with the text and drawings because the underlaying surface is visible through the sheets. Thus, the user may make annotations exactly where and how desired.

The present invention relates generally to releasible note pads.
The use of releasible note pads such as those sold by Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company under the brand name POST-IT has increased significantly from the time these sheets were first introduced. They have become a staple of the office. These note pads are simply small pieces of paper arranged in tablet form with a band of low-tack pressure sensitive adhesive applied to one side of each near one of its edges. By pressing that edge against a surface, the user secures the note to that surface in a releasible, peelable manner and may then write on the note. The note may be removed when no longer needed, thus avoiding the need to write on the surface itself or the use of thumb tacks, push pins, paperclips, staples or other temporary fasteners to secure a note thereto and that would mar a surface. These note pads enjoy a wide variety of uses, such as bookrmarkers and line markers and may carry instructions and information for the user or for others. POST-IT notes can also be used to give others instructions or information about files and documents by simply sticking one on a file or documents and writing the relevant text on the note.
A releasible note can be applied anywhere on a surface. Therefore, the user will often locate the note adjacent to the portion of the underlying surface containing the text or illustrations the note applies to.
However, releasible notes are not practical for every marking application. For example, if a student wants to highlight key facts on a page of a text book, releasible notes are simply impractical. The student has little choice but to either mark directly on a book with a highlighting marker or keep separate notes. Releasible notes are also not reusable for notations once they are marked on.
To illustrate another application where conventional releasible notes are not practical, making temporary changes to a portion of an illustration is not easily done without marking directly on the illustration or making a photocopy and marking on the copy.
It will be seen that conventional releasible note pads provide a convenient means to convey information and instructions relating to text, a drawing, a document or a file, and to identify the specific location of the text or the illustration of interest. However, conventional releasible note pads are inadequate for making comments that interact with text or illustrations.
For these and other reasons, there remains a need for a better releasible notes for certain applications, particularly those where the user wants to make comments or highlight text or illustrations.
Erasmus Darwin, Charles Darwin""s learned father, astonished his friends by the way he handled the books in his considerable library. In a day when books were expensive and rare, he would annotate them and write in the margins and sometimes cut large books in half so as to be able to handle them more easily. His books were, in his estimation, his tools. They were to be used in whatever way worked best for his needs.
Erasmus Darwin would have found the present invention very useful, and his friends would have approved as well.
According to its major aspects and briefly recited, the present invention is a transparent releasible note sheet for making notations on text, illustrations, etc., that appear through the sheet. The sheet may be larger than conventional note sheets because it can be positioned over text and not adjacent to it. Thus, the present sheets can be dimensioned to cover a full page of text or an illustration.
Each sheet has a band of a low tack, pressure sensitive adhesive applied to one side and near an edge. Plural sheets made of a suitable transparent material such as acetate may be arranged in a tablet form so that each adheres to the one below it and the bottom one is adhered to a releasible backing. Preferably, the present invention is also a kit that includes at least one tablet of transparent releasible sheets and at least one suitable marker, and may also include a cloth or felt eraser and perhaps a scissors to trim sheets for particular uses.
In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the present transparent sheets may have a mechanical or static electrical attachment rather than a chemical, adhesive, attachment. As an example of a mechanical attachment, to releasibly fasten a transparent sheet to a spiral notebook so that temporary notations can be made on a page, a transparent sheet may have a series of xe2x80x9cTxe2x80x9d tabs along one side that can be pushed between the spirals. Alternatively, holes may be punched along one side for use in a ringed binder. On a plastic surface, where the static electric attraction with a transparent sheet of acetate would be strong, no adhesive or mechanical attachment would be required.
An important feature of the present invention is the fact that the releasible notes are made of a transparent material. Because the material is transparent, text and illustrations underlaying the sheet are visible through the sheet. Thus, the sheets may be marked to highlight or annotate an underlaying surface without making permanent markings on the surface. The user""s comments may then interact with the text or illustrations in a way not practical with conventional releasible note pads.
Another important feature of the present invention is the size of the sheets. Because the sheets do not have to be positioned next to and not covering the text but rather can be placed over the text without obscuring it, they need not be small. Therefore, the size of the present sheets can be large to facilitate marking or highlighting an entire page of text or a drawing.
Yet another important feature of the present invention is that, because, in a preferred embodiment, the releasible sheets are made of acetate and because erasable markers exist for acetate surfaces, the present releasible note sheets can be reused.
Still another important aspect of the present invention is the fact that it can be assembled in the kit that includes at least one tablet and at least one marker so that the user can make the desired notations on a variety of surfaces using contrasting colors for example.
Other features and their advantages will be apparent to those skilled in the art from a careful reading of the Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments, accompanied by the following drawings.


A differential brake control system is provided for a vehicle having first and second wheels on respective sides of a vertical axis of the vehicle. The system includes processing logic for computing a wheel brake command based on an input brake command indicative of a desired amount of braking. In addition, the system includes differential logic for adjusting the wheel brake command by first and second amounts to produce first wheel and second wheel brake commands, respectively, the first amount being different from the second amount.

Differential brake control involves providing individual brake commands of different degree to respective wheels of a vehicle. In the case of aircraft, for example, pilots have the ability to control direction of the aircraft not only using nose wheel steering and rudder movement. The pilot may also control the direction by pushing the left and right brake pedals by differing amounts to effect differential braking with respect to the left and right wheels of the aircraft.
Generally speaking, to move a vehicle back to a centerline, it is necessary to turn, or yaw, the vehicle. In order to obtain a yaw, it is necessary to have a yaw rate. To obtain a yaw rate, it is necessary to apply a torque (moment) about the vertical axis of the vehicle. Differential brake control provides the capability to turn the vehicle by applying a torque via different amounts of braking to wheels on opposite sides of the vertical axis.
Accordingly, a pilot wishing to turn an aircraft during taxiing, landing, etc., can implement such turn by applying the above principles of differential brake control. The pilot presses individual brakes for left and right wheels by differing amounts in order to create the necessary torque to turn the plane. The rate and amount by which the braking to the left and right wheels differ determines how quickly and in what direction the aircraft will tend to turn.
The use of differential brake control in aircraft is an effective way to turn an aircraft. However, differential brake control in the past has been largely dependent on the pilot to implement such control manually by way of pressing the left and right brake pedals by differing amounts. There are three ways a pilot can initiate a turn. The pilot may lift one pedal and release the other the same amount to maintain the current deceleration. The pilot may push one pedal harder with the collateral effect of increasing overall deceleration. Conversely, the pilot may also desire to lift one pedal with the collateral effect of decreasing overall deceleration.
In view of the aforementioned shortcomings associated with conventional differential brake control, there is a strong need in the art for a brake control system capable of providing automated differential brake control. Still further, there is a strong need in the art for a brake control system operative to provide automated differential brake control in an aircraft independent of a pilot, such as in an unmanned aircraft. In addition, there is a strong need in the art for a brake control system that is less susceptible to differences in wheel speed due to asymmetries on the aircraft and in the environment.

Differential brake control and weighted average wheel speed for brake control system


The embodiments of the present invention provide a folding electronic apparatus and a method for detecting open and closed modes thereof. The folding electronic apparatus includes a body and a cover, with a keyboard being disposed on the body and a capacitive touch screen being disposed on the cover. A plurality of metal detection points is disposed on the body. A sensor connected to the capacitive touch screen senses change of a capacitance value resulting from capacitive effect between the plurality of metal detection points and the capacitive touch screen, and determines open and closed modes of the folding electronic apparatus. The embodiments of the present invention detect open and closed modes of a folding electronic apparatus using a sensor connected to a capacitive touch screen by predefining a plurality of metal detection points on a keyboard or physical structure of the folding electronic apparatus.

With the rapid development of electronic technologies and communication technologies, various electronic apparatuses such as a telephone set, a computer, a personal computer, a notebook computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile telephone (mobile phone) or other portable electronic apparatuses are frequently used in the daily life and work of the people. Among these electronic apparatuses, some are of a folding design.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a flip mobile phone, FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a laptop computer, and FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a typewriter. As shown in FIGS. 1-3, the electronic apparatuses are all of a folding design and each includes a body and a cover, with a display screen being disposed on the cover and a keyboard being disposed on the body.

Folding electronic apparatus with capacitive touch screen and method for detecting open and closed modes thereof


A watch contains a date indicator ring and a day of week indicator ring. A switching wheel is displaceable selectively into meshing engagement with the indicator rings to effect adjustment thereof. The switching wheel is actuated by a shaft which is axially displaceable between selection and working positions. In its selection position, the shaft can be rotated in either direction to selectively place the switching wheel in one of two preliminary locations corresponding to a date ring adjustment location and a day of week ring adjustment position. By then axially displacing the shaft to its working position, the switching wheel is displaced to a final location to effect the previously selected mode of adjustment. Such adjustment is effected by rotating the shaft in either direction to rotate the respective indicator ring in either direction.

The invention concerns a clock, more particularly, a wristwatch, having an adjustable date wheel and day-of-week wheel.
One type of clock is well known for German DE-AS 22 53 505. The selection device in this well-known clock comprises a pivoted detent hinged on the frame of the clockwork which can be actuated in a way such that, when the adjusting shaft is in the selector position, the pivoted detent can be brought into one or the other of two possible positions, depending upon the direction of shaft rotation. Further, this pivoted detent can be pivoted from the originally chosen selector position into one of two possible work positions by shifting the positioning shaft from its selector position into its work position.
The adjusting device of this well-known clock is, however, constructed such that, independently of the direction of turn of the adjusting shaft, only one simultaneous correction of the date and week day indicator or alternatively only one correction of the date indicator is possible. Further, this adjusting device of the well-known clock is designed such that an adjustment of the position of each indicator part is always possible in only one direction.
It is therefore the object of the invention to produce a clock with an adjusting mechanism for the week day and date rings wherein the adjusting mechanism makes possible an independent adjustment of the position of the date indicator ring as well as also the week day indicator ring and additionally, a correction of each of the two indicator rings is possible in both directions, i.e., at any given time forward and backward. In addition, the design of the adjusting mechanism to be produced should enable the user of the clock to properly preselect, without difficulty, the indicator made to be adjusted, i.e., week day or date.

Watch having adjustable date and day indicators


A liquid crystal display device which has a pair of transparent electrodes and a composite film having continuous pores of a polymer matrix filled with a liquid crystal material has high contrast and good heat resistance. The polymer matrix is made of. (a) a cross-linked material prepared through an addition reaction of a carboxyl group-containing acrylonitrile/butadiene copolymer with an oxazoline compound, or PA0 (b) a fluorinated polyimide resin.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device which can be used, for example, for a TV screen, various OA instruments and a display panel of automobile, and a method for preparing the liquid crystal display device.
2. Description of Related Art
Hitherto, a liquid crystal display device has been formed by injecting a liquid crystal material between a pair of transparent electrodes which are fixed with a gap of several micrometers. However, the above structure can not give the preparation of the display having a large area. In addition, brightness of the screen and an angle of view field are insufficient, since it is necessary to attach polarization plates having polarization axes which are perpendicular to each other to a pair of glass substrates enclosing the liquid crystal material.
Recently a new liquid crystal display device has been developed by Prof. Kajiyama et al of Kyusyu University, Japan [cf. for example, Polymer Preprints, Japan Vol. 37, No. 8, 2450 (1988); Chemistry Letters, 813-816 (1989); Chemistry Letters, 679-682 (1979); and Journal of Applied Polymer Science, Vol. 29, 3955-3964(1984)]. This device is prepared by casting and coating a solution of a polymer and a liquid crystal material in a solvent on a transparent electrode, evaporating the solvent to separate a polymer phase from a liquid crystal phase so as to form a composite film in which continuous pores in a polymer matrix having a three-dimensional network structure are filled with the liquid crystal material, then positioning another transparent electrode on the composite film.
In the above liquid crystal display device, when no voltage is applied, the incident light is scattered and the composite film is opaque since liquid crystal molecules in the pores are in random state. When a voltage is applied between a pair of transparent electrodes which sandwich the composite film, the liquid crystal molecules orient in the direction of electric field through the electro-optical effect, the incident light passes through the composite film without scattering and the composite film is converted to a transparent state in the case of EQU .DELTA..epsilon.>0
wherein .DELTA..epsilon. is an anisotropy of a dielectric constant and defined by the equation: EQU .DELTA..epsilon.=.epsilon..sub..parallel. -.epsilon..sub..perp.
(wherein .epsilon..sub..parallel. is a dielectric constant in the direction of the molecular axis and .epsilon..sub..perp. is a dielectric constant in the direction perpendicular to the molecular axis).
The liquid crystal display device having the above structure can easily be made with a large area since the above composite film having the electro-optical effect can be prepared only by coating and drying a solution containing the polymer and the liquid crystal material. Since the composite film has flexibility by selecting the polymer and a flexible transparent film having electrical conductivity by the formation of a transparent electrically conductive layer on a surface can be used as the transparent electrode, the liquid crystal display device advantageously has flexibility.
The characteristic in the preparation of the above composite film is that the three-dimensional network structure is formed by the phase separation because of incompatibility of the polymer with the liquid crystal material when the solvent evaporates after casting the homogeneous solution containing the polymer and the liquid crystal material on the transparent electrode. Namely, the phase separation is induced by the solvent evaporation.
A method for preparing such composite film is known from the above literatures.
There are several known methods for preparing the composite film which contains the polymer and the liquid crystal and exhibits the electro-optical effect having the transformation between transparent and opaque states.
For example, H. G. Craighead et al., Appl. Phys. Lett., 40 (1), 22 (1982) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,411,495 disclose a method for filling the pores of an already formed porous polymer film with a liquid crystal material. According to this method, the polymer is separated from the liquid crystal material from the beginning and a step of the phase separation is not included.
Japanese Patent Kohyo Publication No. 501631/1983 (J. L. Fergason) discloses a method which comprises forming microcapsules from a liquid crystal material in an aqueous solution of polyvinyl alcohol to prepare a dispersion and then coating the dispersion.
In this method, when the liquid crystal material forms the microcapsules, the liquid crystal phase is separated from the polyvinyl alcohol phase. The solvent, namely water is a medium used for only the coating, and the evaporation of water does not participate in the phase separation. In the resultant film, the liquid crystal material is present in the form of a droplet covered with a capsule.
Japanese Patent Kohyo Publication No. 502128/1986 (J. W. Doane) discloses a method for thermosetting a mixture of an epoxy resin and a liquid crystal material with a curing agent. In this method, a solvent is absent and a phase separation is induced by the formation of a high molecular weight material through the curing of the epoxy resin. A liquid crystal material is present in the form of droplets in the resultant film.
Japanese Patent Kokai Publication No. 62615/1989 discloses a method for photosetting a mixture of a photosetting compound and a liquid material with the light exposure. Also in this method, a solvent is absent and the phase separation is induced by the formation of a high molecular weight material through the curing of the photosetting compound. Polymer Preprints, Japan, 38 (7), 2154 (1989) describes that the liquid crystal material is dispersed in the form of droplets in the film.
"The phase separation by the solvent evaporation" is an original method which is entirely different from the above other methods and was firstly published by the above literatures of Kajiyama et al. The liquid crystal material is present in the form of a continuous phase (not in the form of droplets) in the continuous pores of a polymer matrix having a three-dimensional network in the film. This is also distinct characteristics of the composite film of Kajiyama et al.
However, the liquid crystal display device having the composite film of Kajiyama et al has insufficient heat resistance. When the liquid crystal display device is used in a place continuously exposed to a high temperature, such as a display panel of automobiles, the contrast between the transparent and opaque states decreases, and the original contrast can not recovered even if the temperature of the device is returned to a room temperature.
It was found that since the conventional liquid crystal display device uses a thermoplastic resin such as an acrylic resin and a methacrylic resin as the polymer matrix, the three-dimensional network of the polymer matrix collapses and the contrast of the device accordingly decreases when the device is exposed to a high temperature.
To solve the above problem, it may be contemplated to form the polymer matrix from a hardening resin such as a thermosetting resin and a photosetting resin. The hardening resin has a three-dimensional network molecular structure which hardly thermally deforms. In addition, the hardening resin has a larger molecular weight than the thermoplastic resin and good heat resistance.
However, since the hardening resin which is cured to form the three-dimensional network molecular structure is hardly dissolved in a solvent, the phase separation method as stated above cannot be employed and the composite film cannot be prepared.

Liquid crystal display device and preparation thereof


A left-side odd-component image signal (ODDL) output from an output terminal (OS1) of a 4-channel output CCD (4-division photoelectric conversion element) is input to an amplifier. A left-side even-component image signal (EVENL) output from an output terminal (OS2) of the 4-channel output CCD is input to the amplifier. A right-side odd-component image signal (ODDR) output from an output terminal (OS3) of the 4-channel output CCD is input to another amplifier. A right-side even-component image signal (EVENR) output from an output terminal (OS4) of the 4-channel output CCD is input to the amplifier. The amplifiers multiplex the left-side and right-side signals respectively, and a high-speed scanner control ASIC performs right/left correction.

The present invention relates to an image read apparatus and an image read method, wherein the image read apparatus is provided in an image forming apparatus such as an electronic copying machine and optical image information from a document is received by a 4-division photoelectric conversion element to read an image of the document.
In a conventional image forming apparatus such as an electronic copying machine, in order to increase an image read rate, a pre-processing system is constituted by using a 4-channel output CCD (4-division photoelectric conversion element) and an amplifier (AMP).
In this pre-processing system, in order to reduce influence upon image data due to a difference in signal transmission paths, a left odd output component a1 and a right odd output component a2 of a 4-channel output of the CCD (one line being divided into left and right components, and each of the left and right components being divided into odd components and even components) are amplified by an amplifier A, and a left even output component b1 and a right even output component b2 are amplified by an amplifier B. Thus, a variance and an influence of the amplifiers between left and right sides are reduced.
A correction means is provided to correct one of the odd output components a1 and a2 amplified by the amplifier A so that the signal levels of both components at points corresponding to the center of the signal line may be equalized. In addition, another correction means is provided to correct one of the even output components b1 and b2 amplified by the amplifier B so that the signal levels of both components at points corresponding to the center of the signal line may be equalized. Thus, the image data is corrected and the signal sequence of image data (4-channel outputs of the CCD) is regulated.
The outputs of the CCD, however, are analog outputs and susceptible to crosstalk on the circuit board, crosstalk in the LSI (amplifier), or influence of switching at the time of multiplexing. If the image read rate is to be further increased, such influence may occur more seriously. Under the circumstances, if the left and right odd output components of the 4-channel output of the CCD and the left and right even output components are amplified by the respective amplifiers, these output components may be adversely affected by crosstalk on the circuit board, crosstalk in the LSI (amplifier) or switching at the time of multiplexing. Consequently, an output image may become a ghost image due to right-and-left variance.
The object of the present invention is to provide an image reading apparatus capable of reading an output image with high fidelity to an original, without influence of switching at the time of crosstalk multiplexing between output signals in a case where a 4-division photoelectric conversion element is used.
To achieve the object, according to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image reading apparatus comprising:
a 4-division photoelectric conversion element for receiving light at four division image-feed areas consisting of an odd area located on a left side in a main scan direction, an odd area on a right side in the main scan direction, an even area on the left side in the main scan direction, and an even area on the right side in the main scan direction;
a first amplifier for synthesizing and amplifying output signals from the left-side odd area and left-side even area of the four division areas of the 4-division photoelectric conversion element which has received light;
a second amplifier for synthesizing and amplifying output signals from the right-side odd area and right-side even area of the four division areas of the 4-division photoelectric conversion element which has received light; and
a correction circuit for performing right/left correction between an output from the first amplifier which has synthesized the output signals from the left-side areas and an output from the second amplifier which has synthesized the output signals from the right-side areas.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided an image reading apparatus comprising:
a 4-division photoelectric conversion element for receiving light at four division image-feed areas consisting of an odd area located on a left side in a main scan direction, an odd area on a right side in the main scan direction, an even area on the left side in the main scan direction, and an even area on the right side in the main scan direction;
a first selector for selecting one of output signals from the left-side even area and right-side odd area of the four division areas of the 4-division photoelectric conversion element which has received light;
a first amplifier for synthesizing and amplifying an output signal from the left-side even area and one of the output signals, which has been selected by the first selector, from the left-side even area and right-side odd area of the four division areas of the 4-division photoelectric conversion element which has received light;
a second amplifier for synthesizing and amplifying an output signal from the right-side even area and one of the output signals, which has been selected by the first selector, from the left-side even area and right-side odd area of the four division areas of the 4-division photoelectric conversion element which has received light;
a first bus width conversion circuit for dividing the output signal from the left-side odd area amplified and synthesized by the first amplifier, and one of the output signals, which has been selected by the first selector, from the left-side even area and the right-side odd area;
a second bus width conversion circuit for dividing the output signal from the right-side even area amplified and synthesized by the second amplifier, and one of the output signals, which has been selected by the first selector, from the left-side even area and the right-side odd area;
a second selector for selecting one of the output signals, which has been divided by the first bus width conversion circuit, from the left-side even area and the right-side odd area, and one of the output signals, which has been divided by the second bus width conversion circuit, from the left-side even area and the right-side odd area;
a correction circuit for correcting left-side and right-side output signals with respect to the output signal from the left-side odd area, which has been divided by the first bus width conversion circuit, one of the output signals from the left-side even area and right-side odd area, which has been selected by the second selector, the output signal from the right-side even area, which has been divided by the second bus width conversion circuit, and one of the output signals from the left-side even area and right-side odd area, which has been selected by the second selector; and
a control circuit for controlling the output signals selected by the first selector and the second selector.
According to still another aspect of the invention, there is provided an image reading method comprising the steps of:
providing a 4-division photoelectric conversion element for receiving light at four division image-feed areas consisting of an odd area located on a left side in a main scan direction, an odd area on a right side in the main scan direction, an even area on the left side in the main scan direction, and an even area on the right side in the main scan direction;
synthesizing and amplifying output signals from the left-side odd area and left-side even area of the four division areas of the 4-division photoelectric conversion element which has received light;
synthesizing and amplifying output signals from the right-side odd area and right-side even area of the four division areas of the 4-division photoelectric conversion element which has received light; and
performing right/left correction between an output obtained by synthesizing and amplifying the output signals from the left-side areas and an output obtained by synthesizing and amplifying the output signals from the right-side areas.
According to still another aspect of the invention, there is provided an image reading method comprising the steps of:
providing a 4-division photoelectric conversion element for receiving light at four division image-feed areas consisting of an odd area located on a left side in a main scan direction, an odd area on a right side in the main scan direction, an even area on the left side in the main scan direction, and an even area on the right side in the main scan direction; and
selecting one of two modes:
one of the two modes being such that output signals from the left-side odd area and left-side even area of the four division areas of the 4-division photoelectric conversion element which has received light are synthesized and amplified, and output signals from the right-side even area and left-side even area are synthesized and amplified, and
the other of the two modes being such that output signals from the left-side odd area and right-side odd area of the four division areas of the 4-division photoelectric conversion element which has received light are synthesized and amplified, and output signals from the right-side even area and right-side odd area are synthesized and amplified.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out hereinafter.

Image read apparatus and image read method


A bolometric humidity sensor, cooker having the same applied thereto, and method for controlling the cooker are provided. The bolometric humidity sensor has two static bolometric temperature sensors for detecting humidity more accurately. A cooker may have such a bolometric humidity sensor fitted to one side of a bracket on an air outlet for deflecting air flowing out of the cooker. This arrangement allows for more accurate detection of the humidity in the cooking chamber. A method of controlling a cooker could include the use of such a sensor to permit a cooking time period to differ depending on whether the cooked food is wrapped.

In general, a microwave oven in which food is heated by microwaves shows dewing either on an inside surface of a door and/or on an inside wall of a cooking chamber owing to water vapor in the cooking chamber generated when the food is heated. To prevent this, a fan is used to blow an appropriate amount of dry air into the cooking chamber for discharging the air to outside of the cooking chamber. The microwave oven is provided with a humidity sensor at an air outlet for detecting a humidity of the air for implementing auto cooking by detecting a heated degree of the food according to the humidity. Of the humidity sensors used for the microwave ovens, a humidity sensor of a thermister element is typical one, in which the resistance is varied with temperature.
A humidity sensor of the thermister element and a method for controlling a microwave oven of the humidity sensor will be explained, with reference to the attached drawings. FIG. 1 illustrates a section of a related art thermister type humidity sensor, FIG. 2 illustrates a front and a plan views of the related art thermister type humidity sensor, and FIG. 3 illustrates a circuit of a related art thermister type humidity sensor.
Referring to FIG. 1, the related art thermister type humidity sensor 10 is provided with two spaces formed by a stem 11 and a cap 12, a humidity sensing thermister 13 in one of the spaces, and a temperature compensating thermister 14 in the other space. Each of the thermisters 13 and 14 are connected to lead pins 15 passed through the stem 11 by a platinum wire 16 to form a circuit. There is a detection hole 17 in a top of the cap 12 of the humidity thermister 13 for introduction of water vapor. The thermisters 13 and 14 are of NTC thermisters in which temperature and resistance are inversely proportional.
Referring to FIG. 2, the humidity sensor of an NTC thermister is provided with a front case 1 and a rear case 2 for forming spaces thermisters are to be fitted therein respectively, a heat unit 3 fitted in the front case 1 for accommodating the thermisters 13 and 14 and maintaining a temperature thereof, shielded wires 5 connected to the lead pins for applying a device signal and preventing noise. There are a plurality of fastening holes for fitting the case.
Referring to FIG. 3, the thermister type humidity sensor is provided with the humidity sensing thermister 13, the temperature compensating thermister 14 connected with the humidity sensing thermister 13 in series for compensating a voltage variation caused by a resistance variation of the humidity sensor thermister 13, an amplifier 100 having an inversion terminal (−) for receiving an output voltage of the humidity sensing thermister 13 and a non-inversion terminal (+) for receiving a voltage, for amplifying a difference of the voltages, and a variable resistor VR for providing a voltage variation of the output voltage caused by the resistance variation of the humidity sensing thermister 13 and applying the voltage variation to a non-inversion (+) terminal of the amplifier 100. The foregoing thermister type humidity sensor detects the humidity by using a resistance difference caused by a temperature difference between the humidity sensing thermister 13 and the temperature compensating thermister 14 when water vapor is introduced into the humidity sensing thermister 13 through a detection hole 17 in the stem 11.
A related art method for automatic control of a cooker having the thermister type humidity sensor applied thereto will be explained. FIG. 4 illustrates a flow chart showing the steps of a related art method for controlling a cooker having the thermister type humidity sensor applied thereto.
Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, when the user selects a cooking setting mode of the cooker for cooking a food to a desired state, the cooker puts the fan (not shown) into operation for a preset blowing time period (S10), and determines whether the blowing is completed (S11). When the blowing is completed as a result of the determination (S11), the magnetron (not shown) is put into operation and the fan blowing is continued (S13), when the humidity sensing thermister senses a variation of the humidity in the cooker generated as the magnetron is put into operation. That is, a resistance of the humidity sensing thermister is varied with the water vapor in the cooker generated as the magnetron is put into operation, and the output voltage is varied with the resistance variation. Then, the output voltage V1 of the humidity sensing thermister is applied to an inversion terminal (−) of the amplifier 100, and perfection of a zero balance is determined (S14). That is, at the time the magnetron is put into operation, the variable resistor VR is varied so that a voltage V2 to the non-inversion terminal (+) of the amplifier 100 is the same with a voltage V1 applied to the inversion terminal (−) of the amplifier 100, for initializing an output voltage of the amplifier 100, i.e., a sensor output value V0. Next, upon perfection of the zero balance (S14), setting of the sensor output value V0 from the amplifier 100 is determined of being an initial value Vref (S15). As a result of the determination (S15), if it is found the sensor output value V0 is set to the initial value Vref, reach to a voltage variation ΔV required for a specific menu with reference to the sensor initial value is determined. That is, after the sensor output V0 is set as the initial value Vref, there is a voltage variation ΔV between the voltage of a menu the user selected and the sensor initial value Vref, and reach of the sensor output V0 to the voltage variation ΔV is determined. As a result of the determination (S16), if the sensor output V0 reaches to the voltage variation ΔV of the menu with reference to the sensor initial value Vref, a time period T1 required to the voltage variation ΔV is calculated, to calculate a main operation time period (S17). Next, the magnetron is operated for the main operation time period T2 period, and fan is blown, to cook the food, and the magnetron and the fan are stopped (S18). If the sensor output V0 is not set as the sensor initial value Vref, pass of a preset operation time period of the magnetron is determined (S19). As a result of the determination (S19), if it is found that the preset operation time period is passed, the sensor initial value Vref is set (S20), after the present voltage variation ΔV reach time period is increased by '1' second (S21), the reach to the voltage variation ΔV of the menu with reference to the sensor initial value Vref is determined (S22). As a result of the determination (S22), if the voltage variation is not reached to the voltage variation ΔV of the menu, the process proceeds to the step (S21) of increasing the voltage variation ΔV reach time period by '1' second. Opposite to this, if the voltage variation is reached to the voltage variation ΔV of the menu, a step (S17) of calculating the main operation time period T2 is carried out by calculating a time period T1 required to reach to the voltage variation ΔV. Meanwhile, as a result of the determination (S16), if it is found that the sensor output V0 is not reached to the voltage variation ΔV of the menu with reference to the sensor initial value Vref, the step (S21) of increasing the present voltage variation ΔV reach time period by "1" second is carried out until the voltage variation reaches to the required voltage variation of the menu. At the end, a humidity change in the cooker is expressed as the sensor output V0 of the thermister type humidity sensor.
FIG. 5 illustrates a graph showing characteristics of a related art thermister type humidity sensor, wherefrom it can be known that a negative temperature coefficient thermister element has a non-linear resistance variation to a temperature change. That is, the negative temperature coefficient thermister element has a non-linear-inversely proportional relation in which a resistance is decreased if a temperature is increased, thereby showing difficulty in predicting a temperature to a humidity change since the sensor output is not linear. Because of this, in a case when the related art thermister type humidity sensor is fitted to the air outlet of the cooker and detects humidity in the cooking chamber, accurate detection of the humidity is not possible. At the end, the microcomputer can not know an exact degree of cooking of the food, and, accordingly, can not control output of the magnetron and operation of the fan, precisely. Particularly, if a function to maintain a temperature of the food constant is selected, such a disadvantage becomes so distinctive that the user can not maintain a temperature of the food constant properly. Moreover, in the case of cooker having the related art thermister type humidity sensor applied thereto, control of a cooking time period is not possible if the food wrapped, since the cooker is not provided with any counter measure for a case of wrapped food.
In the meantime, in order to maintain a thermal equilibrium between the related art thermister type humidity sensors, the cap and the stem are provided for enclosing the elements, the elements are placed in a heater unit, and the heater unit is fixed to a case by welding. When the humidity sensor is fitted to a bracket or the like of the cooker, care should be taken so that a good thermal contact is made between the case and the bracket. At the end, above condition makes a fabrication process complicated, and fitting the humidity sensor to the cooker or the like difficult.

Bolometric humidity sensor and cooker using the same and method for controlling the cooker


Correction amounts of pixels in a sub-scanning direction for correcting misregistration of an image are determined based on interpolation using the correction amount in the sub-scanning direction corresponding to a first segment and the correction amount in the sub-scanning direction corresponding to a second segment, both of which are configured by pixels in the image.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, a control method of the image processing apparatus, and a storage medium. In particular, the present invention relates to an image processing apparatus which performs image processing for correcting misregistration, a control method of the image processing apparatus, and a storage medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, there has been an increase in electrophotographic color image forming apparatuses (e.g., a laser printer) employing a tandem method to form images at high speed. The tandem-type color image forming apparatus includes a plurality of developing units and photosensitive drums matching the number of color materials (i.e., toner), and sequentially transfers images of different colors to a conveyance belt or a recording sheet to form a color image. In such a tandem-type color image forming apparatus, each image forming unit (e.g., printer engine) corresponding to each color forms the image of a different color. There is thus a plurality of causes for generating misregistration between each of the color images, and various methods for correcting the misregistration are discussed.
The causes of misregistration include non-uniformity and positional displacement of a lens mounted in a deflection scanning apparatus in the image forming unit which deflect-scans the photosensitive drum with a laser beam. Further, misregistration may be caused by positional displacement in assembly of the deflection scanning apparatus in the image forming apparatus main body. When such cases occur, a scanning line of the laser beam on the photosensitive drum (e.g., an exposure scanning line) becomes tilted or skewed. Since a level of such tilt or skew of the scanning line is different for each color, misregistration is generated as a result.
To correct such misregistration, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-170755 discusses a technique employing an optical sensor which measures sizes of the tilt and the skew of the scanning line (i.e., the exposure scanning line) in the deflection scanning apparatus. Bitmap image data is then corrected to offset the tilt and the skew, and the image is formed based on the corrected image data. More specifically, the bitmap image is corrected by shifting a portion of the image in a sub-scanning direction. The method discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-170755 processes the image data to electrically correct the misregistration (i.e., by using software), so that mechanical adjustment or adjustment in assembly of the apparatus becomes unnecessary.
Further, resolution of the image forming unit in the image forming apparatus, such as the printer engine of the laser beam printer, has become higher along with recent improvements in semiconductor integration technology. If the technique discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-170755 is employed, a data amount (i.e., amount of information) of information necessary for electrically correcting the misregistration (i.e., correction information) increases along with an increase in the resolution of the image forming unit. If misregistration is to be corrected, the correction information for correcting the skew of the laser beam scanning line (i.e., exposure scanning line) is required to be stored in a register.
An amount of line correction information to be stored in the register may be calculated as (a number of correction positions in a main scanning direction)×(position to be shifted in the sub-scanning direction). For example, in case of a printer engine whose resolution is 600 dots per inch (dpi) that the number of correction positions in the main scanning direction is 256 and the position to be shifted in the sub-scanning direction is 16 (i.e., 24) steps. In such a case, capacity of the register required for storing the correction information becomes 256×4=1024 bit.
Further, if the resolution of the printer engine is 2400 dpi, it becomes necessary to perform misregistration correction of higher accuracy. More specifically, if the number of correction positions is four times the above-described case, i.e., 1024, and the positions to be shifted in the sub-scanning direction are 64 (i.e., 26) steps, the capacity of the register for storing the correction information is required to be 1024×6=6144 bit. In other words, the capacity necessary for the register becomes six times that of the case where the resolution of the printer engine is 600 dpi. As a result, a circuit size of the image forming apparatus increases, so that cost increases.

Image processing apparatus which performs image processing for correcting misregistration, control method of image processing apparatus, and storage medium


An absorption refrigerator in which the refrigerant is miscible in the absorbent at the relatively low absorbing temperature and is at least partly immiscible at elevated temperatures, allowing separation of refrigerant and absorbant in the liquid phase.

In all refrigeration systems the refrigeration depends upon the absorption of heat at a low temperature, achieved by the expansion and evaporation of a liquid refrigerant. Refrigerating systems differ in how the vaporized refrigerant is liquified to repeat the cycle. One refrigeration system uses a vapor-compression cycle where the refrigerant vapor is mechanically compressed to a high pressure and is then cooled to below its saturation temperature in a condenser, liberating its heat of condensation. It is then evaporated as the cycle is repeated. In these systems, the refrigerating fluid is isolated at all points in the cycle from any other fluid or gas, except for a heat-exchanging contact through the wall of the fluid container.
The second refrigeration system is generally known as absorption refrigeration. The refrigerant is mixed at certain portions of the cycle with at least one additional fluid, the absorbent. At other portions it is separated from the absorbent, although it may remain mixed with another fluid.
There are two types of absorption refrigerators. The conventional absorption refrigerator uses pumps to move the fluids and has a high and low pressure zone. A second type uses no pumps or external power except for heat.
Both types of absorption refrigerators produce a hot gaseous refrigerant at a high pressure. This refrigerant is condensed, discharging the latent heat of condensation to the surrounding.

Liquid phase separation in absorption refrigeration