A compact objective lens is disclosed which is particularly suitable for infrared optical systems. The lens features a simple design with only two lens elements, namely a first lens element receiving incident radiation and having front and rear surfaces, and a second lens element receiving incident radiation from the first element and having front and rear surfaces. The lens forms an image of a scene on a focal plane. At least three of the four surfaces of the elements are aspheric surfaces. The lens has an f-number less than about 2, a field-of-view less than about 30 degrees, and an effective focal length less than about 6 inches. The elements are made from a material selected to pass radiation in the infrared band of the electromagnetic spectrum, e.g., germanium. The lens is suitable for use as an objective lens for a long-wave infrared sight for small arms, e.g., rifle or shoulder-launched surface to air missile launching system, i.e., a lens optimized for operating in the electromagnetic spectrum between about 7.5 and about 15 micrometers.

This invention is related to the field of infrared (IR) optical systems. More particularly, this invention relates to a relatively compact imaging lens arrangement for an infrared optical system featuring two lens elements, a low f-number and diffraction-limited performance. The lens system is particularly suitable for incorporation into an infrared or thermal weapon sight.
Cameras, weapon sights, and other types of optical systems typically incorporate an imaging lens arrangement having a group of lenses which collect light from a scene and direct such light onto a detector placed at the focal plane of the optical system. A variety of lens designs are known in the art. Representative examples are disclosed in the following U.S. Patents: Chen et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,042,656; Canzek, U.S. Pat. No. 4,738,496; Grey, U.S. Pat. No. 3,784,287; Cooper, U.S. Pat. No. 4,999,005; Ohno, U.S. Pat. No. 5,067,803 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,835,281; Ruben, U.S. Pat. No. 3,944,337; Chipper, U.S. Pat. No. 6,292,293; Betensky, U.S. Pat. No. 4,109,995 and DeJager U.S. Pat. No. 3,912,379. Other U.S. Patents disclosing various lens designs include Baumann, U.S. Pat. No. 5,251,063; Jamieson, U.S. Pat. No. 5,446,581; Watanabe, U.S. Pat. No. 6,507,432; Boutellier, U.S. Pat. No. 4,537,464 and Fjelsted, U.S. Pat. No. 4,380,363.
Many of the prior art lens designs are not particularly suitable for use with thermal or IR sights for small arms, and particularly arms such as rifles carried by a soldier, because they incorporate a relatively large number of lens elements in the design and therefore require too much space, and/or are too heavy. Reducing the number of elements to just a few, such as two or three elements, as disclosed in the Chen et al. or Watanabe references above, allows the designs to be more compact and lighter in weight. The art has also taught that aspheric lens elements can be used in imaging lens arrangements. See, e.g., the Chen et al. reference. However, while the introduction of aspheric lenses may allow more compact lens arrangements to be arrived at, they may introduce unwanted aberrations and make such designs more difficult to achieve diffraction-limited performance.
This invention is ideally suited to the use of uncooled detectors that do not require a rear external cold stop as found in earlier detector assemblies. In the case of this invention, the aperture stop may have any position within the lens assembly.
This invention meets a need in the art for an improved compact objective lens arrangement suitable for imaging in the infrared portion of the spectrum. While there are many possible applications for the lens of this disclosure and the invention in its broader aspects is not limited to any particular application, the lens is especially suitable for use in IR or thermal weapon sights for small arms.

Compact two-element infrared objective lens and IR or thermal sight for weapon having viewing optics


A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device includes forming a field plate on an insulating film covering a transistor, the field plate being electrically coupled to a gate of the transistor via the insulating film, and the transistor being located on a substrate, forming a silicon nitride protective film covering the insulating film and the field plate, forming a silicon oxide base film on the silicon nitride protective film, and forming a MIM capacitor on the silicon oxide base film. The MIM capacitor includes a first electrode, a dielectric film and a second electrode which are stacked in an order. Forming the MIM capacitor includes performing wet etching on the silicon oxide base film on the field plate after forming the dielectric film.

When forming a high electron mobility transistor (HEMT), a multilayer capacitor may be provided. For example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2014-56887, a method of manufacturing a capacitor (MIM capacitor) of a metal-insulator-metal (MIM) structure having a lower electrode, a dielectric film, and an upper electrode provided on a semiconductor substrate is disclosed. In Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2014-56887, by forming a silicon oxide base film immediately under the MIM capacitor, reduction of a leakage current in the MIM capacitor, or the like can be achieved. A portion of the silicon oxide base film that does not overlap the MIM capacitor is removed.
For example, when forming a field effect transistor including a field plate on a substrate and the MIM capacitor disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2014-56887, the field plate is provided on an insulating film covering the field effect transistor. The insulating film is exposed from the silicon oxide base film, and a film quality thereof deteriorates when the silicon oxide base film is removed by the hydrofluoric acid solution. As a result, a withstand voltage between a gate and the field plate becomes lower than expected, and the life of the field effect transistor deteriorates.

Method of manufacturing semiconductor device

SUMITOMO ELECTRIC DEVICE INNOVATIONS, INC.


A client-based filtering system compares portions of incoming and/or outgoing messages to filtering information in a filter database, and determines whether to block or allow incoming and/or outgoing transmissions of messages in response to the comparison. In response to a match between the portion of the message and the filtering information, the system can employ one of a number of different specified blocking options. The system has an update server that is accessible over the Internet and that has new filtering information for updating the filter database. The filter database can have a filter database stored on a server in a network coupled to the client.

While the Internet is very useful for obtaining information, many people are concerned that objectionable materials, especially sexually explicit materials, can be obtained too easily. Many parents are particularly concerned that their children can get access to such objectionable materials without supervision.
Congress recently passed the Communications Decency Act (CDA) to outlaw transmission of indecent material over the Internet. Many in the "Internet community" view the CDA as censorship, and have organized an online free speech campaign. Many also believe that parents should have the primary responsibility for controlling what their children obtain and view over the Internet.

Internet filtering system for filtering data transferred over the internet utilizing immediate and deferred filtering actions


The grip of a plug-in module according to the present invention is rotatably supported on the upper side of a circuit board. A first end portion of the grip includes a convex portion which engages with a recessed portion in the housing to prevent the plug-in module from being dislodged from the housing by vibrations or the like. When the first and second engaging end are disengaged and the grip is rotated, a protruding end on one side of the grip abuts and applies pressure to the upper end of the housing to assist in removing the plug-in module from the housing. In addition, the above-described protruding end and an additional protruding end on the other side of the grip may be grasped by a robot to allow insertion or removal of the plug-in module by a robot.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an injector/ejector system for a plug-in module for inserting into or removing from a cabinet housing a plug-in module such as for a circuit board on which electric parts are loaded.
2. Description of the Related Art
Normally, there are various electric parts and circuit boards packaged on a control panel or the like of an apparatus. With the miniaturization of the electric parts, the number of electric parts packaged on the circuit board has increased. In particular, almost all signal processing circuits other than the power supply circuit are now packaged on a single circuit board. Further, these circuit boards are arranged as plug-in modules which may be inserted into or removed from any one of various positions within the control panel. Injector/ejector systems have been devised in order to allow such flexible injection and ejection to allow easier more efficient maintenance and service in the event of a breakdown and so forth of the control panel.
FIG. 1 is a lateral view illustrating a specific environment of a conventional injector/ejector system, in which a plug-in module 210 comprises a circuit board 217, a T-shaped grip made of plastic or the like which is fixed on the upper side of the circuit board 217 by means of fixed pins 212, and a connector 218 fixed on the lower side of the circuit board 217. The housing 230 into or from which the plug-in module 210 is inserted or removed comprises guide portions 234a, 234b for guiding both lateral sides of the plug-in module 210 when the plug-in module 210 is being inserted or removed, a plug 238 for connection with the connecter 218 and a base plate 239 to which the lateral plates 231, 232 and the plug 238 are fixed.
Although the plug-in module 210 may be manually inserted into or removed from the housing 230, protruding portions 211a, 211b are provided on the grip 211 to allow grasping by a robot, and the assembly operation may therefore be performed by the robot. The robot grasps the plug-in module 210 by engaging opposing engaging holes 223a, 224a provided on the fingers 223, 224 of the robot hand 220 with the protruding portions 211a, 211b and then horizontally shifting the fingers 223, 224 in the direction indicated by the arrows P, Q. The robot then vertically moves the hand 220 while grasping the plug-in module 210 in order to inject and eject the plug-in module 210.
However, the foregoing conventional injector/ejector system has the following drawbacks. When manually removing the plug-in module, it is difficult to get a secure grip on module because the limited space between adjacent plug-in modules 210 does not afford space for fingers. Since there is no mechanism for locking the plug-in module 210 within the housing 230, the plug-in module 210 can be easily dislodged from the housing 230 due to vibration or the like. When the plug-in module is being manually inserted or removed, static electricity accumulated in the human body may result in electrostatic damage to the circuit board or LSI mounted on the circuit board through contact by fingers with the conductor paths of the circuit board. Further, depending on the type of the circuit board of the plug-in module, it may be necessary to shield it to prevent leakage of magnetic waves from the circuit board to the outside, and it is difficult to shield the entire surface of a conventional grip without complicating insertion or removal of the circuit board.
Further, U.S. Pat. No. 4,996,631 discloses an injector/ejector system for mounting plug-in modules in a cage with front panels. However the system is not applicable to insertion or removal by a robot. The system cannot be locked with a elastic element and the lever handle is not electrically conductive. Therefore, this system does not provide solutions to the aforementioned drawbacks.

Injector/ejector system for a plug-in module and apparatus using the systems


An electrical adaptor includes a first connector body loaded with first terminals and a second connector body loaded with second terminals. The two connector bodies assembly attaches with each other and each defines a mating port opposite to each other. At least partial of the first terminals each includes a contacting strip in the mating port of the first connector body and a touching portion. Each second terminal includes a contacting portion in the mating port of the second connector body and a touching portion. Each touching portion of the first terminals contacts with touching portions of two or more said second terminals.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an electrical adaptor with two opposite mating ports with different terminal pins.
2. Description of Related Art
A large number of connector interfaces are used in our lives for creating a data or power link between electrical devices, such as USB, HDMI, IEEE1394. However, different interfaces have different profile and contact numbers therein. Understandably, they cannot mate with each other directly. Many electrical adapters, thereby, are designed to electrically interconnect those different interface standard devices.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,887,108 issued to Jerry Wu on May. 3, 2005 just discloses an adapter for change between a SCA2 port and a SATA port. As changes between these two interfaces are complex, a convert circuit board is set for adapting them. In some improved applications, the convert circuit board can be leaved out when adapted interfaces have only a few differences. However, the insulating bases themselves still have some terminals that are strictly formed but will not be worked in adaptor, which causes redundant manufacturing structure and progress.
Hence, an improved electrical adapter is desired to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art.

Electrical adaptor having opposite mating portion with different terminal pins


A deep learning-based method for calculating an overhang of a battery includes the following steps: obtaining a training sample image set; training a neural network according to the training sample image set to obtain a segmentation network model; detecting an object detection image of the battery to be detected according to the segmentation network model to obtain a corresponding first binarized image; obtaining top coordinates of each of a positive electrode and a negative electrode of the battery to be detected according to the first binarized image; and calculating the overhang of the battery to be detected according to the top coordinates.

The overhang of a battery refers to the portion of the negative electrode that extends past the positive electrode in the length direction and the width direction. This is what is called the overhang (alignment) design of batteries. Since the electrochemical performance of batteries is sensitive to an overhang, a battery having a completely overlapped positive electrode and negative electrode without the overhang can attain optimal performance, but such batteries cannot be fabricated due to the restricted engineering accuracy. The battery designed with an overhang is thus prone to lithium plating. In this regard, it is necessary to control the overhang of batteries within an appropriate range in engineering in order to ensure the performance of the battery.
In the prior art, the overhang of a battery is typically calculated by using X-ray images of the battery. This method, however, has certain limitations such as low versatility, the complexity of calculation, and low calculation accuracy.

Deep learning-based method and device for calculating overhang of battery


A heat-resistant apparatus comprising a plurality of rigid, fireproof panels mounted to an inner surface of an inner fixed structure (IFS) of an aircraft thrust reverser. The plurality of panels may include fixed panels and floating panels, with the fixed panels fastened directly to the IFS and the floating panels fastened to the fixed panels in a substantially checkered arrangement along the inner surface of the IFS. The fixed and floating panels may each comprise a rigid core surrounded by various fireproof or heat resistant materials. The fixed and floating panels may be configured and affixed to the IFS such that air from an engine's fan may flow through a space between the panels and the IFS, providing additional cooling and heat resistance.

1. Field
The present invention relates to aircraft parts. More particularly, the invention relates to an apparatus and method for shielding parts of a thrust reverser from aircraft engine heat.
2. Related Art
Commercial aircrafts generally have two or more nacelles, each including a thrust reverser circumferentially surrounding an engine. Aircraft engines radiate intense heat during flight. To ensure that the heat produced by the engine does not adversely affect or damage any parts of the thrust reverser, a heat "blanket" is typically placed between an inner fixed structure (IFS) of the thrust reverser and the engine. The blanket is substantially fireproof, typically comprised of a fiberglass cloth, and is fastened with various clips to the IFS. Because of the flexible nature of the blanket, it can be flimsy, and any damage to the blanket or air leakage between the blanket and the IFS can cause the blanket to flutter, creating a ballooning affect and/or causing the blanket to pull or tear away from the clips holding it to the IFS. Weakening of the heat shielding provided by the blanket may allow the IFS to be damaged. The blanket also does not provide resistance to deflection, dynamic excitation, or ballooning.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved aircraft engine heat shielding that does not suffer from the limitations of the prior art.

Apparatus and method for shielding a thrust reverser structure from engine heat


The hydraulic components of a cooling circuit for a dynamoelectric machine are eliminated in a totally air cooled dynamoelectric machine which includes a rotor (12) rotatable about an axis (14) and including a central stack (20) of ferrous laminations (22) defining a plurality of radially outwardly directed circumferentially spaced poles (132), spaced shaft ends (24,26) on the axis (14) and extending from opposite sides of the stack (20) and a first air passage (46) in the stack (20). Magnetic journal bearings (54,56) and a magnetic thrust bearing (58,60) are provided for the shaft segments (24,26) and impellers (62) are located on opposite sides of the stack (20). A stator (16) surrounds the rotor (12) and includes windings (76) connected by end turns (94) located exteriorally of the stator (16). Axial winding coolant passages (152,158) are provided adjacent the windings (76) in the stator and radial passages (70,72) are located in the rotor and the stator and in fluid communication with an outlet (74) from the housing. Rotor coolant passages (130) are located in the stack (20) and all of the passages receive air from the impellers (62).

Dynamoelectric machines come in widely varying shapes, sizes and capacities. Some dynamoelectric machines are employed as motors while others are employed as generators. Some are employed as motor-generators, meaning they can be operated either as a motor or as a generator depending upon exactly what function is desired of the machine at a given point in time.
In some cases, volume and weight constraints are minimal while in others they are critical. For example, in aerodynamic applications, weight is always a concern and volume constraints are necessary lest the machine occupy too much volume of a vehicle or even contribute to a less efficient aerodynamic shape as a result of the bulk of the machine. Further, in aerodynamic applications, hi-power density constructions are commonplace to further minimize weight and bulk. And as a consequence of the high-power densities, more elaborate cooling schemes are required in such machines.
Most commonly, dynamoelectric machines utilized in aerospace environments are cooled through the use of hydraulic oil coolant that is pumped through cooling passages in both the rotor and the stator and other heat sensitive machine components. Of course, to reject heat from the hydraulic oil coolant, a hydraulic coolant oil to air heat exchanger is required. This in turn adds elements, expense, weight and bulk to the total dynamoelectric machine system. It also adds complexity in that coolant fittings must be such as to contain the hydraulic oil coolant at relatively high pressures and to prevent potentially hazardous leaks. Moreover, to provide coolant to rotating parts of the machines requires the presence of couplings which also adds to complexity and cost.
The problem is accentuated because many dynamoelectric machines operating in an aerospace environment operate at very high speeds to achieve the high power densities mentioned earlier and that, of course, requires greater precision and complexity of components.
Desirably, such a machine would be totally air-cooled. If that object could be obtained, system complexities associated with the hydraulic cooling circuit, and the associated weight and bulk are done away with entirely. The present invention is directed to achieving that object.


A system for processing payment of bills from multiple bill providers which establishes connections to bill provider computers through APIs unique to each bill provider. The system includes a display for displaying a list of bill providers, an input device for recording customer selections of a number of the bill providers from the list, a payment accepting device, such as a check reader, card reader, or cash acceptor, and a processor for establishing connections to computers of the bill providers through the APIs which are resident on the kiosk in response to the customer selections, for sending customer identification information to the computers, for receiving and displaying customer account information from the computers, for recording the payments from the payment accepting device, and for sending payment information to the computers.

The present invention relates to self-service kiosks and more specifically to a system and method of processing payment of bills from multiple bill providers.
Kiosks provide a publicly accessible computing platform for displaying World Wide Web (web) pages and other web-delivered content from web sites. Kiosks may be located within a retailer's transaction establishment or elsewhere, such as in shopping malls. Kiosks may be easily networked to web sites using the TCP/IP protocol. Web pages from web sites may be displayed using known and available web software, such as Microsoft® Internet Explorer software.
Customers seek an effective way to pay bills. Customers receive bills from multiple bill providers and must individually process payments to these bill providers.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a kiosk which can process payment of bills from multiple bill providers.

System and method of processing payment of bills from multiple bill providers


There is disclosed a process for continuously producing a pitch-based carbon fiber felt which comprises the steps of spinning a pitch by melt blow spinning system; accumulating the spun fibers as a pitch fiber web composed of the aggregate of short fibers; continuously cross lapping the web; subsequently stabilizing the cross lapped web; carbonizing and/or activating the stabilized web; and then felting the resultant web. The above-mentioned process is capable of efficiently producing a pitch-based carbon fiber felt having uniform unit weight and excellent physical properties and well suited for use in high-performance thermal insulator, cushioning thermal insulator, filter media and adsorbent for water purification and solvent recovery, etc.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for continuously producing a pitch-based carbon fiber felt excellent in uniformity of the unit weight and physical properties. The term "carbon fiber felt" as used herein includes activated carbon fiber felt as well.
Specifically, the pitch-based carbon fiber felt which is produced by the process of the present invention is excellent in uniformity of the unit weight and physical properties and provides high-performance thermal insulator, cushioning thermal insulator, filter media, adsorbent and the like. In particular, the pitch-based carbon fiber felt which is produced from optically anisotropic pitch as the raw meterial can be used in carbon-carbon composite, electrodes of an electric cell, nuclear fusion reactor walls, etc. Moreover, the activated carbon fiber felt can be efficiently utilized in water purification, solvent recovery and the like.
2. Description of Related Art
A pitch-based carbon fiber felt has heretofore been produced by the process comprising the step of collecting the pitch fibers that have been spun out by centrifugal spinning system, vortical spinning system or spun-bond spinning system in the form of tow or sheet on a perforated belt; the step of stabilizing treatment in an oxidative atmosphere; the step of carbonizing treatment in an atmosphere of an inert gas, the step of direct activating treatment in an atmosphere of an activating gas, or the steps of carbonizing treatment in an atmosphere of an inert gas and subsequent activating treatment of the carbonized fibers; the step of webbing the pitch-based carbon fiber precursor in the form of tow or sheet obtained through the foregoing steps via independent carding treatment; the step of laminating the webbed precursor; and the step of fixing the fibers by entangling the fibers by needle punching, water jet and the like, or by bonding the fibers with an adhesive.
In the above-mentioned process, the fiber precursor in the form of tow or sheet brings about generally a shrinkage of about 5 to 20% in carbonizing treatment and about 10 to 50% in the activating treatment due to an intrinsic shrinkage caused by weight loss thereof and flexure of the fibers in the carbonizing and activating treatment.
The remarkable shrinkage of the fibers gives rise to ununiform shrinkage thereof in a carbonization or activation furnace which will lead to ununiform unit weight of the tow or sheet obtained therethrough, and in the extreme case, to breakage of the tow or sheet. Particularly in the case of activated carbon fiber, the above-mentioned shrinkage leads to ununiform specific surface area.
Also the above-mentioned process involves the problems of a lower process yield and impossibility of enhancing its strength because of the fiber precursor in the form of tow or sheet being hackled in the course of carding treatment. Particularly, in the case of low elongation fibers such as optically anisotropic pitch-based carbon fiber or particularly low-strength fibers such as activated carbon fiber, the above-mentioned process makes it difficult to produce a felt containing 100% of pitch-based carbon fiber and having a uniform unit weight, sufficient handleability and high strength.
On the other hand, melt-blow spinning system has the advantage of favorable productivity and capability of producing fine fibers having a fiber diameter of about 10 .mu.m or smaller. However, in the case where the pitch-based fibers obtained by melt-blow spinning system having a finite length, especially the fine fibers having an average fiber diameter of about 10 .mu.m or smaller are applied to the process for producing the pitch-based carbon fiber felt, there are caused more frequently the aforesaid shrinkage and/or breakage of the tow or sheet during the carbonizing treatment or activating treatment and the breakage of the fibers in the carding treatment, showing the tendency of increased ununiformity of the physical properties of the obtained felt such as the unit weight and specific surface area.
Conclusively, it was impossible by any of the conventional processes to produce a felt excellent in uniformity of physical properties in a high yield from pitch-based carbon fiber or activated carbon fiber. As a result of intensive investigation made by the present inventors on the above-mentioned problems, it was found by them to be effective to carry out the carbonizing treatment or activating treatment of the carbon fiber precursor which brings about a remarkable shrinkage under the condition enabling free shrinkage of the web. The present invention has been accomplished on the basis of the aforestated finding and information.


Disclosed is a thermoplastic polyester with reduced flammability obtained by:. (a) condensating an aromatic dicarboxylic acid and an alkylene glycol in a mole ratio of from 1:1.1-1.5 at a temperature of from 180.degree. to 240.degree. C. in the presence of a catalyst; PA1 (b) adding a polyalkylene glycol phosphate ester; PA1 (c) polycondensating at a temperature of from 265.degree. to 280.degree. C. under a pressure decreasing from 760 torr to less than 2 torr until an intrinsic viscosity of about 0.5 to about 0.7 is reached.

The main approaches to reduce the flammability of thermoplastic polyesters are melt additives, topical finish treatments, and copolymerization with flame resistant monomers. Melt additives generally include halogenated organic compounds with high levels of bromine or chlorine. A second component when halogenated compounds are employed is antimony trioxide (Sb.sub.2 O.sub.3). Other popular elements found in melt additives are phosphorus, molybdenum and nitrogen.
Phosphorus compounds are widely used to reduce the flammability of thermoplastic polymers. For example U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,987,008; 4,203,888; 4,517,355; and 4,940,772 disclose a broad variety of organic phosphor compounds in thermoplastic polyesters.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,987,008 discloses a polyphosphonate with arylene and haloarylene groups. U.S. Pat. No. 4,203,888 discloses an aryl diphosphate.
One disadvantage of these phosphorus compounds is that they are inert additives which build a separate phase in the thermoplastic polyesters with negative influence of their properties and a tendency to migrate to the surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,517,355 describes a linear polyester, which contains a phosphinic acid derivative bonded in the macromolecule.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,940,772 describes a process for producing a flame resistant polyester by copolymerizing a polyester with an unsaturated compound and reacting this copolyester with a specific phosphorus compound.
An object of the present invention was to provide a thermoplastic polyester with reduced flammability and simultaneous excellent physical properties.
Another object was to provide a process for the manufacture of a thermoplastic polyester with reduced flammability for the manufacture of molded articles by injection molding or extrusion.
Still another object was to provide a masterbatch of a thermoplastic polyester with reduced flammability.

Thermoplastic polyester with reduced flammability


The invention relates to a method and a device for monitoring the position of a variable valve control. In order to monitor the position of a variable valve control in which the construction expense is reduced, it is proposed to perform a cylinder-specific analysis of the nonuniformity of the rotational speed of the crankshaft and from this to determine the operating state of the valve control, possibly for each cylinder individually.

This application claims the priority of German application 196 27 796.5 filed in Germany on Jul. 10, 1996, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The invention relates to a method and a device for monitoring the position of a variable valve control.
In internal combustion engines equipped with a variable valve control, it is necessary to monitor the function of this variable valve control at regular intervals. Known monitoring methods determine the position of a component used to adjust the valve control in order thus to determine the current position of the valve control. However, a monitoring method of this kind provides only a general idea of how the valve control is being controlled at a given moment.
Methods are also known for detecting when combustion does not occur in internal combustion engines, said methods being based on an analysis of the curve of the angular velocity of the crankshaft during one working cycle of a cylinder of the internal combustion engine. Failure of combustion to occur results in particular changes in the speed curve by comparison to the normal state. A method of this kind is described for example in German Patent Document DE 40 09 285 A1.
On the other hand, an object of the invention is to provide a method and a device for monitoring the position of a variable valve control in which the construction cost is reduced.
This object is achieved by providing a system and a method for carrying out the following steps:
detecting a nonuniformity in the rotational speed of a crankshaft in an internal combustion engine; PA1 evaluating the nonuniformity of the rotational speed of the crankshaft in terms of the combustion state of the engine; and PA1 associating the combustion state with a position of the variable valve control.
The invention is based on the fact that the combustion process in the individual cylinders is also dependent on the operating behavior and/or operating state of a variable valve control. In particular, during shifting of a variable valve control, the combustion state of the individual cylinders changes considerably. This combustion process and/or its change can be detected using the analysis, known of itself, of the angular velocity of the crankshaft, more specifically the uniformity of the rotary movement of the crankshaft. Information about the operating state of the variable valve control is then obtained from the combustion process and/or the uniformity of rotation of the crankshaft as detected.
The invention is associated with the particular advantage that in addition to reducing the cost of measurement technology, since a sensor for the angular position of the crankshaft is provided in any case in modern internal combustion engines, only the operating state of a variable valve control is determined on the basis of the combustion state of the engine as influenced by the variable valve control. This is especially important if monitoring of the variable valve control is required for monitoring and detecting the maintenance of legally prescribed exhaust values (OBD II). In addition to reducing the cost of measurement technology, the invention offers the additional advantage that both control and monitoring of the variable valve control take place in the engine control device. Since this engine control device receives the signal from the crankshaft angle sensor in any event, the invention can be implemented within an engine control device without additional leads or pins being required on the control device.
Thus it is proposed according to certain preferred embodiments of the invention to conduct and evaluate the analysis of the uniformity of the rotational speed of the crankshaft in a cylinder-specific manner, and from this to determine the combustion state, once again in a cylinder-specific manner, and to compare it with the combustion state of the other cylinders. The deviation of the combustion state of an individual cylinder from the average value of the combustion states in all the cylinders then provides information about any improper behavior of the variable valve control with respect to individual cylinders.
The design of the invention is facilitated if, as is also proposed according to certain preferred embodiments of the invention, the crankshaft angle sensor signal is evaluated by the irregularity of the rotational speed of the crankshaft that is determined being compared with boundary values that are stored as normal or reference values in a memory and depend on the load and rotational speed of the internal combustion engine.
Finally, it is proposed according to certain preferred embodiments of the invention, to plot the curve of the irregularities in the rotational speed of the crankshaft to evaluate the crankshaft angle sensor signal and then to compare them with a given curve. Since the curve of the nonuniformity of the rotational speed of the crankshaft is critical in this respect, this evaluation is largely inconspicuous by comparison with external disturbances. For further simplification, it can be provided that this evaluation be performed only when the position of the variable valve control is changed. In this way, the control device is relieved of this monitoring task for the rest of the time.
Monitoring the variable valve control according to the invention can be presented as part of a program-controlled control device for the vehicle (method), and with the same advantages, and as a discrete circuit (device).
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Method and device for monitoring the position of a variable valve control


A multi-purpose attachment for work vehicles comprises a unique bucket shape and tine arrangement permitting the attachment to be used when performing a variety of jobs at a job site. The attachment may also include a thumb that can be extended over the open front of the bucket, retracted and even folded when not in use.

I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to buckets used with work vehicles. More specifically, this invention relates to multi-purpose buckets used with work vehicles.
II. Related Art
Various work vehicles exist in the art. Such work vehicles include, without limitation, skid-steer loaders, back hoes, excavators, power shovels, front end loaders, tractors and the like. A variety of bucket attachments have been developed for use with such vehicles. However, such buckets typically are designed for a single purpose.
For example, some buckets are designed for excavating. See U.S. Pat. No. 6,546,650 to Meurer. Others are designed for grading. See U.S. Pat. No. 6,662,478 to Virnig. Still others are designed for digging. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,028,823 to Edwards et al; U.S. Pat. No. 5,018,283 to Fellner and U.S. Pat. No. 3,478,449 to Baker. Some are designed for dislodging (or moving) rocks, stumps and other large and bulky debris. See U.S. Pat. No. 6,098,320 to Wass and U.S. Pat. No. 4,607,441 to Norton. Others are designed for scooping and lifting. See U.S. Pat. No. 3,807,587 to Maurer. Still other are adapted for sue in hard materials such as rock strata, caliche, soapstone and plastic soils such as clay. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,476,641 to Ballinger. Some buckets are designed for ripping and trenching applications. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,616,433 to Knell et al. Still other buckets are designed for scraping or leveling the ground. See U.S. Pat. No. 7,562,473 to Westendorf et al; U.S. Pat. No. 6,434,863 to Meurer and U.S. Pat. No. 6,910,290 to Meurer.
The specialized nature of bucket attachments forces owners and operators of work vehicles to make a choice. They have to decide whether the work vehicle will be used for a single purpose or whether the work vehicle will be used for multiple purposes at various job sites. If the work vehicle is equipped with a single specialized bucket, several work vehicles may need to be transported and operated at the job site to complete the job. This can greatly increase the cost of the job and needlessly tie up expensive equipment. If the work vehicle will be used for multiple purposes, various specialty buckets will need to be transported to the job site to complete the job. The task of changing buckets, however, can lead to inefficiency and also increase the risk of job related injuries. This choice and the problems associated with each of the two options could be eliminated by providing a multi-purpose bucket suitable for performing multiple tasks such as excavating; grading; lifting; digging; dislodging rock, stumps and other debris; scooping and lifting; working with hard materials such as rock strata, caliche, soapstone and clay; ripping and trenching; and scraping and leveling. While other have developed multi-purpose attachments for work vehicles (see U.S. Pat. No. 6,820,357 to Menard et al and U.S. Pat. No. 5,564,885 to Staben, Jr.), these attachments have been limited in terms of the number of applications they can perform effectively and efficiently.


An image forming apparatus of a tandem method includes a conveying member configured to provide to a recording member a conveying force in a sub-scanning direction, a plurality of image carriers configured to contact the conveying member with an equal interval between contacting portions of the plurality of image carriers and the conveying member, a contact force adjusting mechanism configured to freely adjust a contact force of the conveying member to the plurality of image carriers between a predetermined contact force and a decreased contact force, a plurality of toner image forming devices configured to form toner images of a predetermined pattern on the plurality of image carriers respectively. A length of the pattern in the sub-scanning direction is set shorter than a length of the equal interval. The apparatus also includes transferring devices configured to transfer the toner images on the plurality of image carriers onto the conveying member, respectively; and a contact force changing device configured to change the predetermined contact force to the decreased contact force before respective tips of the toner images on the conveying member pass subsequent contacting portions, so that respective parts of the toner images are not transferred onto subsequent image carriers.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, such as a color copying machine, a printer, and a facsimile machine, of a tandem method.
2. Discussion of the Background
A known image forming apparatus, for example a color copying machine of a tandem method, which has an image forming mechanism including a conveying belt which is rotated in a sub-scanning direction and plural image carriers which the conveying belt is brought into contact by a predetermined contact force.
The image forming mechanism includes, for each image carrier, a charging device which uniformly charges the surface of the image carrier, an exposing device which forms an electrostatic latent image by exposing a predetermined image, a developing device which forms a predetermined toner image by making a developer containing a toner of each color adhere to the electrostatic latent image, and a transferring device which transfers the toner image onto a sheet conveyed on a conveying surface of the conveying belt by applying a transferring bias between the image carrier and the transferring device.
In such an image forming apparatus, it has been known that image densities of toner images of a predetermined pattern, which are directly transferred from the plural image carriers onto the conveying belt at a predetermined timing, are respectively detected, and on the basis of the detection results, image forming conditions, such as developing biases by the developing devices or transferring biases by the transferring devices etc., are respectively set for the plural image carriers.
With respect to detection of the image densities of such toner images for setting the image forming conditions, there is known an image forming apparatus in which one density sensor is installed at the downstream side of the image carrier positioned at the most downstream side in a sheet conveying direction, and the densities of the toner images which are transferred from respective image carriers onto the conveying belt are detected by the density sensor. In the image forming apparatus, detection of the image densities of plural toner images on the conveying belt transferred from the plural image carriers by an inexpensive structure has been enabled by realizing detection of the image densities of the toner images with one sensor.
Further, there is known an image forming apparatus in which toner images on image carriers are transferred onto a sheet which is conveyed on the conveying surface of a conveying belt by way of an intermediate transfer belt. In such an image forming apparatus, the image densities of the toner images of a predetermined pattern are detected at predetermined timings, and image forming conditions such as developing biases by developing devices or transferring biases by transferring devices are set on the basis of the detection results.
Further, there has been known an image forming apparatus in which plural density sensors are installed for respective image carriers, and the image densities of toner images which have been transferred from respective image carriers onto a conveying belt are detected immediately after having been transferred. In this image forming apparatus, highly reliable detection values can be obtained by detecting the image densities of the toner images immediately after the toner images have been transferred from the respective image carriers.
In the image forming apparatus in which the density sensor is installed at the downstream side of the image carrier positioned at the most downstream side in the sheet conveying direction, detection of the image densities of toner images on the conveying belt (an intermediate transfer member) has been realized by an inexpensive structure. However, the toner images on the conveying belt other than the one which has been transferred from the image carrier positioned at the most downstream side in the sheet conveying direction, pass the contacting portions between the image carriers and the conveying belt (the intermediate transfer belt), which are at downstream side of the respective transferring portions, and therefore what is called a reverse transfer of toner occurs, such that the toner which has been transferred onto the conveying belt (the intermediate transfer belt) once is transferred onto the image carrier again. Thus, there is a possibility that the image densities detected by the image sensor are the ones of the toner images in which the reverse transfer has occurred, reducing reliability in the detected image densities of the toner images.
When the image forming operation is performed under image conditions set according to the image densities of reduced reliability, the reproducibility of the formed image is decreased.
In the image forming apparatus in which the plural density sensors are installed for respective image carriers, the highly reliable image densities of the toner images can be obtained; however, the cost of the apparatus is increased because the density sensors are installed for respective image carriers.
In addition, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 11-102091 discloses an image forming apparatus in which density sensors are installed at the upstream side and the downstream side in the moving direction of the conveying surface of a conveying belt for respective image carriers in order to consider the amount of a reverse transfer of a toner image, and image forming conditions are set according to the image densities of toner images which have been detected by those density sensors before and after transferring. However, according to the technique disclosed in the above publication, although it is possible to set the image forming conditions considering the reverse (repeated) transfer, the cost of an apparatus is increased because the plural density sensors are installed for respective image carriers.
Accordingly, preferred embodiments of the present invention provide an image forming apparatus that forms an image of high reproducibility, without being influenced by a so called reverse transfer of toner, by an inexpensive structure.
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, an image forming apparatus of a tandem method, includes, a conveying member configured to provide to a recording member a conveying force in a sub-scanning direction, a plurality of image carriers configured to contact the conveying member with an equal interval between contacting portions of the plurality of image carriers and the conveying member, a contact force adjusting mechanism configured to freely adjust a contact force of the conveying member to the plurality of image carriers between a predetermined contact force and a decreased contact force, a plurality of toner image forming devices configured to form toner images of a predetermined pattern on the plurality of image carriers respectively, a length of the pattern in the sub-scanning direction being set shorter than a length of the equal interval between the contacting portions of the conveying member and the plurality of image carriers, a plurality of transferring devices configured to transfer the toner images on the plurality of image carriers onto the conveying member, respectively, and a contact force changing device configured to change the predetermined contact force by the contact force adjusting mechanism to the decreased contact force before respective tips of the toner images on the conveying member pass subsequent contacting portions of the contacting portions between the plurality of image carriers and the conveying member, so that respective parts of the toner images on the conveying member are not transferred back onto subsequent image carriers of the plurality of image carriers.
Further, the image forming apparatus further includes, an image density detecting device configured to detect image densities of the toner images on the conveying member, and an image forming condition setting device configured to set an image forming condition on a basis of the image densities detected by the image density detecting device.
Further, the image density detecting device detects the image densities of the toner images on the conveying member before and after the predetermined contact force by the contact force adjusting mechanism is changed to the decreased contact force, and the image forming condition setting device sets the image forming condition on a basis of the image densities detected by the image density detecting device before and after the predetermined contact force by the contact force adjusting mechanism is changed to the decreased contact force.
Further, the plurality of transferring devices transfer the toner images by applying transferring biases between the conveying member and the plurality of image carriers respectively, and the image forming condition setting device sets respective electric potential strengths of the transferring biases.
Further, the plurality of toner image forming devices include the plurality of developing devices holding developer including toner, and form respectively the toner images by making the developer adhere to the plurality of image carriers by applying developing biases between the plurality of developing devices and the plurality of image carriers respectively, and the image forming condition setting device sets respective electric potential strengths of the developing biases between the plurality of developing devices and the plurality of image carriers.
Further, the plurality of toner image forming devices include plurality of toner containers containing toner and plurality of developing devices holding developer including the toner supplied from the plurality of toner containers, and form the toner images by making the developer adhere to the plurality of image carriers by applying developing biases between the plurality of developing devices and the plurality of image carriers respectively, and the image forming condition setting device sets respective toner amounts supplied from the plurality of toner containers to the plurality of developing devices.
According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, an image forming apparatus of a tandem method, includes, an intermediate transfer member configured to rotate in a sub-scanning direction and to intermediately carry toner images to be transferred onto the recording member, arranged to oppose a conveyed recording member, a plurality of image carriers configured to contact the intermediate transfer member with an equal interval between contacting portions of the plurality of image carrier and the intermediate transfer member, a contact force adjusting mechanism configured to freely adjust a contact force of the intermediate transfer member to the plurality of image carriers between a predetermined contact force and a decreased contact force, a plurality of toner image forming devices respectively configured to form toner images of a predetermined pattern on the plurality of image carriers respectively, a length of the pattern in the sub-scanning direction being set shorter than a length of the equal interval between the contacting portions of the intermediate transfer member and the plurality of image carriers, a plurality of transferring devices configured to transfer the toner images on the plurality of image carrier onto the intermediate transfer member respectively, and a contact force changing device configured to change the predetermined contact force by the contact force adjusting mechanism to the decreased contact force before respective tips of the toner images on the intermediate transfer member respectively pass subsequent contacting portions of the contacting portions between the plurality of image carriers and the intermediate transfer member, so that respective parts of the toner images on the intermediate transfer member are not transferred back onto corresponding subsequent image carriers of the plurality of image carriers.
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a method of forming an image with an image forming apparatus of a tandem method including a conveying member to provide to a recording member a conveying force in a sub-scanning direction, and a plurality of image carriers configured to contact the conveying member at a predetermined contact force with an equal interval between contacting portions of the plurality of image carrier and the conveying member, the method includes, forming toner images of a predetermined pattern on the plurality of image carriers respectively, a length of the pattern in the sub-scanning direction being set shorter than a length of the equal interval between the contacting portions of the conveying member and the plurality of image carriers, transferring the toner images onto the conveying member, and decreasing the predetermined contact force of the conveying member to the plurality of image carriers before respective tips of the toner images on the conveying member pass subsequent contacting portions of the contacting portions between the plurality of image carriers and the conveying member, so that respective parts of the toner images on the conveying member are not transferred back onto subsequent image carriers of the plurality of image carriers.
Further, the method of forming, further includes, detecting image densities of the toner images on the conveying member, and setting an image forming condition on a basis of the detected image densities.
Further, the detecting of image densities includes detecting the image densities of the toner images on the conveying member before and after decreasing the predetermined contact force, and the setting of image forming condition sets the image forming condition on a basis of the image densities detected before and after decreasing the predetermined contact force.
Further, the transferring of toner images transfers the toner images by applying transferring biases between the conveying member and the plurality of image carriers, and the setting of image forming condition sets respective electric potential strengths of the transferring biases.
Further, the forming of toner images includes making developer adhere to the plurality of image carriers by applying developing biases between plurality of developing devices and the plurality of image carriers, and the setting of image forming condition sets respective electric potential strengths of the developing biases between the plurality of developing devices and the plurality of image carriers.
Further, the forming of toner images includes making developer adhere to the plurality of image carriers by applying developing biases between plurality of developing devices and the plurality of image carriers, and the setting of image forming condition sets respective toner amounts supplied from plurality of toner containers to the plurality of developing devices.
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a method of forming an image with an image forming apparatus of a tandem method including an intermediate transfer member to intermediately carry toner images to be transferred onto the recording member, arranged to oppose a conveyed recording member and to rotate in a sub-scanning direction, and a plurality of image carriers to contact the intermediate transfer member with an equal interval between contacting portions of the plurality of image carrier and the intermediate transfer member, the method includes, forming toner images of a predetermined pattern on the plurality of image carriers respectively, a length of the pattern in the sub-scanning direction being set shorter than a length of the equal interval between the contacting portions of the intermediate transfer member and the plurality of image carriers, transferring the toner images onto the intermediate transfer member, and decreasing the predetermined contact force of the intermediate transfer member to the plurality of image carriers before respective tips of the toner images on the intermediate transfer member pass subsequent contacting portions of the contacting portions between the plurality of image carriers and the intermediate transfer member, so that respective parts of the toner images on the intermediate transfer member are not transferred back onto subsequent image carriers of the plurality of image carriers.

Image forming apparatus and image forming method


A welding unit for forming defining weld lines in an elongate web, preferably in a bag-making machine, includes a drive means, which is arranged in an endless loop, and at least one sealing jaw. The sealing jaw is connected to the drive means for movement along said loop. A fixed guide means extends in an endless loop essentially in parallel with the drive means. Each sealing jaw is received on a carriage, which is connected to the drive means and has at least one follower element, which is adapted to abut against and move along the guide means.

The invention starts from machines to which a continuous web is fed to be provided with weld or seal lines at a welding or sealing station and, at a possible perforation station, be provided with transverse perforation lines. Such a machine, which is intended for making plastic bags, is disclosed in, for instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,950,217.
The welding station in this bag-making machine comprises two opposite, transverse welding units, between which the continuous web travels. Each welding unit comprises at least one welding or sealing jaw, which is driven to circulate in an endless loop via a drive means in the form of a chain transmission. The drive means of the opposite welding units are so synchronized that the sealing jaws during their movement are made to abut against each other while clamping the web traveling through the machine. This clamping is provided by the sealing jaws during their circulating movement passing from a curved portion of the loop to a straight portion. After the abutment, the sealing jaws move along the straight portion in the feeding direction of the web while abutting against each other, to form weld lines in the web. The distance along which the sealing jaws abut against each other is the so-called welding distance.
In the construction above, the drive means consist of chains. The chain transmission results in undesired noise levels and places demands on maintenance, such as lubrication. The lubrication may result in dirt and oil splashes depositing in the machine.
In a bag-making machine as stated above, the speed of the sealing jaws should also be adjusted to the speed of the web along the entire welding distance. The driving chains are normally designed in such a manner that the speed of the sealing jaws along the straight portion corresponds to the speed of the web through the machine. Here problems may arise when the sealing jaws are made to abut against each other, since this abutment takes place before the straight portion, i.e. when the sealing jaws move along a portion in the form of a circular arc and thus have a higher peripheral speed than the web. The abutment of the sealing jaws produces a jerk in the web, which runs the risk of being torn off. This problem can be obviated by the speeds of the drive means being lowered momentarily during abutting of the sealing jaws. However, this solution makes great demands on drive and transmission, and therefore the construction will be both complicated and costly.
In attempts at solving the above-mentioned problem, belt operation has been used, in which a sealing jaw is fixed directly to a rubber block which is fixed by vulcanization to a driving belt. However, it has been found that the rubber block was subjected to great torsional forces while the sealing jaw moved along a circular arc. These torsional forces were so great that gradually the rubber block was broken away from the driving belt.

Welding unit and bag-making machine with such a welding unit


An extension cord having multiple female sockets which are attached to two or more conducting wires. In one embodiment of the invention, the cord has three or more conducting wires with two or more female sockets attached to the conducting wires. Each of the female sockets is attached to two of the conducting wires and each conducting wire is attached to at least one female socket. This may provide an extension cord having two or more electrically isolated circuits. Alternatively, or in addition, the cord may be configured to provide groups of female sockets each with different voltage ratings. In another embodiment of the invention, the cord has multiple socket blocks attached to the cord; each socket block housing one or more of the female sockets. A mooring member is attached to each of the socket blocks so that the cord may be fastened or held by an external object.

Extension cords are used extensively in many applications because they provide a convenient way to deliver electrical power from an electrical outlet to equipment that is far away from the outlet. However, there are significant safety concerns that are associated with the use of extension cords. Several of these concerns are most readily apparent at construction sites, although other extension cord applications will also benefit from solutions to these problems.
One particularly important safety issue often associated with construction sites is the use of many extension cords because of the large number of tools that need electricity to operate. Typically these devices may not be plugged into the same cord because they would, in combination, require too much current to be safely provided through a single cord. This safety concern is especially true at construction sites where at least some of the equipment draws a large amount of power. Extension cords can provide only a limited amount of current before tripping the fuses associated with the cord or the outlet into which the cord has been plugged. These fuses are designed to prevent fires and electrical damage due to unsafe (i.e., high) currents flowing through the cord or outlet.
Extension cords are also hazardous because they are often laid on the floor where individuals may trip over them, injuring the individual or pulling the cord out of the socket in which it is plugged. This hazard is increased as more cords are used with the additional danger that the cords may become tangled. Thus, there is a need for the development of an extension cord into which more equipment can be plugged to reduce the number of extension cords needed. Such an extension cord increase the level of safety for individuals working around and with the cords.
Furthermore, additional extension cords may be necessary because different pieces of equipment require different amounts of voltage to operate. For example, most electrically operated devices require a 120 V source. However, some devices use a large amount of power and thus require 208 V or 240 V supplies. There is a need for the development of a single extension cord that provides multiple values of voltage.
Another concern associated with current extension cords is that there is often no safe and effective method for fastening the cord to an object, such as a wall, or, alternatively, for holding the cord off the ground. It would be convenient and enhance safety at construction sites, as well as other places, for extension cords to be fastened to an object so that the cords are not moved or pulled out of the outlet. In the household context, it is often desirable to be able to fasten an extension cord to a wall or ceiling in a home or workshop as a semi-permanent electrical power connection.
Furthermore, it is often important to hold the cord off the ground so that the cord is not lying in mud or water, which is hazardous to both the devices attached to the cord as well as to those working in the area around the cord. Moreover, an individual may need to use an extension cord outside for items such as outdoor holiday lights where it is desirable to have the extension cord off the ground and away from mud, water, snow, and ice. Thus, there is a need for an extension cord that can be conveniently fastened to or held by external devices or objects.


Product descriptions (e.g., brochures) and processing instructions required to create a product (impose, print, fold, staple) can be abstracted into common vocabularies that link one to the other. A link from a product description to the processing instructions is made. A set of pre-defined templates containing specific processing instructions can be selected. Templates representing the processing instructions have a set of capabilities for the process network described. Templates representing the processing instructions can associate a set of well-defined queries regarding the product description, answers to which are used to complete process templates. A System of Classification when constructed can be used to classify a vocabulary to describe products and a separate vocabulary to describe required processing for the product(s). Once a System of Classification is established, templates for various product classes can be created. A heuristic engine can classify Product Descriptions into a product class in the System of Classification.

The description of a product is in a vocabulary specific to the nature of the product, whereas the description of the steps required to create the product are in a vocabulary or several vocabularies specific to the processes involved in creating the various components of the product. Translation of the product description into a detailed set of processing instruction is done manually and can be time consuming. Manual translation depends heavily on individual expertise, thereby creating a scarce resource, e.g., an expert whose job it is to translate product descriptions into processing instruction. For low-margin, quick turn-around business such as that conducted by print shops, manual tasks requiring extensive human expertise are significant factors in the cost of creating the end product.

Transforming a product description into a process network and specifying product creation


An improved basal nutrient medium MCDB 120 for the clonal growth of human muscle satellite cells (HMSC) is described. In addition, serum-free supplements for the clonal growth of HMSC containing serum albumin, dexamethasone, fetuin fraction mitogen, epidermal growth factor and insulin are described. Combination of MCDB 120 and the serum-free supplement results in a serum-free medium for growth of HMSC, which can be transplanted to muscles of patients afflicted with muscle degenerative diseases such as muscular dystrophy. The serum-free supplement can also be used with other basal nutrient media such as MCDB 131M for growth of HMSC. Addition of 5% dialyzed fetal bovine serum to the serum-free media described results in semi-defined media which allows significantly improved growth of HMSC.

In the conduct of certain cell biology research, the growth and maintenance of cells derived from animal and human tissues is essential. For example, tissue culture is used extensively in studies of inherited disorders in both animals and humans. Tissue culture of human muscle cells is of particular interest for the study of human muscle cell disorders. While in vitro growth of human skeletal muscle cells has been achieved, relatively little attention has been given to the development of culture media optimized specifically for these cells.
The development of serum-free media for cell growth allows the identification of cell growth factors and allows detailed biochemical and metabolic studies of the cell. For example, the use of serum-free media for the growth of human muscle cells facilitates the investigation of the role of growth factors in muscle differentiation. Such studies are important in the determination of the biochemical basis of certain muscle disorders.
Clonal growth of mononucleate cells from embryonic chicken skeletal muscle and their fusion and differentiation to form multinucleate contractile myotubes was achieved relatively early in the history of modern cell culture ( see, for example, Konigsberg, I. R. (1963) Science 140:1273-1284). Growth of human skeletal muscle cells in vitro was also achieved quite early (Hauschka, S. D. (1974) Dev. Biol. 37:329-344). However, despite many years of studies on growth and differentiation of skeletal muscle cells in vitro, relatively little attention has been given to the development of culture media optimized specifically for growth of muscle cells from humans or other species.
Both undefined and defined media have been described for the growth of muscle cells in culture. Nutrient medium F10 (Ham, R. G. (1963) Exp. Cell Res. 29:515-526), originally developed for Chinese hamster ovary cells, was used with addition of serum and chicken embryo extract to grow chicken embryo muscle cells (Hauschka, S. D. (1966) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 55:119-126) and later for growth of human muscle cells (Hauschka, S. D. (1974) supra). F10 plus serum and embryo extract has been widely used for muscle cell culture, in particular, for the establishment of clonal cultures from normal and diseased human muscle cells (Blau, H. M. and Webster, C. (1981) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 78:5623-5627; Blau, H. M. and Webster, C. (1983) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 80:4856-4860). The most frequently used alternative is Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (DME). Other nutrient media that have been used for muscle cell culture, sometimes in combination with DME, include M199 (Askanas, V. and Engel, W. K. (1975) Neurology 25:58-67; Konigsberg, I. R. (1963) supra), MEM plus nonessential amino acids, pyruvate and additional vitamins (Miranda, A. F. et al. (1979) in Muscle regeneration, Mauro, S. et al. (eds.), Raven Press, New York, pp 453-473), RPMI 1640 (Hayashi, I. and Kobylecki, J. (1982) Cold Spring Harbor Conf. on Cell Prolif. 9:857-865), F12 (Pinset, C. and Whalen, R. G. (1985) Dev. Biol. 108:284-289), F14 (Askanas, V. and Gallez-Hawkins, G. (1985a) Arch. Neurol. 42:749-752; Vogel, Z. et al. (1972) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 69:3180-3184), MCDB 104 (Allen, R. E. et al. (1985) In Vitro Cell. Dev. Biol. 21:636-640), and MCDB 201 (Dollenmeier, P. etal. (1981) Exp. Cell Res. 135:47-61). Although a number of these media have become standard in their applications, they are suboptimal for efficient promotion of clonal growth of human muscle satellite cells (HMSC).
Often, the culturing of cell types requires the addition of supplements to a basal nutrient medium. These supplements are generally chemically undefined, for example in the form of serum and embryo extract. For many purposes, the use of an undefined supplement is satisfactory. However, for studying growth, metabolism, and/or differentiation of muscle cells in culture, it is desirable to have a supplement that is defined or semi-defined. The introduction of undefined components to the cell culture can contribute to variability in biochemical study results.
Direct replacement of serum with supplements of better defined composition has generally not been very successful for growth of normal cells in conventional basal nutrient media. The amount of undefined supplementation needed for good growth can be reduced or eliminated by optimizing a particular basal nutrient medium (Ham,R. G. (1984) in Methods for Preparation of Media, Supplements, and Substrata for Serum-Free Animal cell culture, Alan R. Liss, Inc. New York, pp. 3-21). For example, a basal nutrient medium, MCDB 131, optimized for growth of human microvascular endothelial cells supported clonal growth with as little as 0.7% dialyzed fetal bovine serum (dFBS) when also supplemented with epidermal growth factor (EGF) and hydrocortisone (Knedler, A. and Ham, R. G. (1987) In Vitro Cell. and Develop. Biol. 23(7):481-491).
Previous defined media for normal HMSC (Askanas, V. et al. (1985b) Soc. Neurosci. Abstr. 11:936; Delaporte, C. et al. (1986) Biol. Cell. 57:17-22; Yasin, R. and van Beers, G. (1983), in Hormonally Defined Media: A Tool in Cell Biology, Fischer, G. and Weiser, R. (eds.), Springer Verlag, Berlin, pp. 406-410) have utilized either DME or F14 (Vogel, Z. et al. (1972) supra) as the nutrient medium without further optimization. These defined media favor differentiation of HMSC rather than optimal growth. In addition, when these media were used, initial inoculation of dense populations of cells into a serum-containing medium, followed by medium change to the serum-free formulation was required.
Askanas et al. (1985b) supra described a defined medium for the growth of HMSC. Basal nutrient medium F14 was used without further optimization. EGF, insulin, and BSA were included as components of the supplements in the medium.
Delaporte et al. (1986) supra developed three defined media for the growth of HMSC. The basal nutrient medium DME was used without further optimization. Insulin was employed in the supplement used in these media. These media promote differentiation and inhibit myoblast proliferation.
Yasin and van Beers (1983) supra tested two defined media for the growth of HMSC. Again the basal nutrient medium DME was used without further optimization. In one medium, DME was supplemented with 0.5 mg/ml fetuin (Sigma type IV), 10-6 M insulin, and 10-7 M dexamethasone. In the other medium, DME was supplemented with 10-6 M insulin and 0.1 mg/ml L-thyroxine. However, it was found that serum was required for proliferation.
Stemerman et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,443,546, issued Apr. 17, 1984) entitled "Process and Composition for Propagating Mammalian Cells," purports to provide a serum-free media for normal mammalian cells. However, the specific media provided were developed for vascular smooth muscle cells and endothelial cells.
In addition to being useful for detailed biochemical and metabolic studies of HMSC, a serum-free medium is useful in producing HMSC relatively free of non-human antigens, which are suitable for transplantation into patients having muscle disorders such as muscular dystrophy. Myoblast transfer therapy has been undertaken in humans to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy (Law, P. et al. (1990) Adv. Exp. Med. Biol. 280:241-250. In transplantation of HMSC to humans, it is preferred that MHC (major histocompatibility complex) or HLA (human leukocyte antigens) be matched to minimize the necessity of immunosuppressive drugs such as cyclosporin A and FK 506. However, as discussed by Karpati, G. (1990) Adv. Exp. Med. Biol. 208:31-34, immunorejection of cultured myoblasts or satellite cells due to MHC incompatibility may be low because human myoblasts express very little MHC I and essentially no MHC II. Minor histocompatibility factors may also be matched between donor and recipient, though these are difficult to detect in myoblasts.
In addition to minimizing immune rejection arising from major or minor histoincompatibility, immune rejection due to anaphylactic or antibody response to non-human antigens present in the transplanted cells should be avoided. A potential source of nonhuman antigens is the medium supplement which has, prior to the subject application, contained animal serum or extracts. Repeated injections of the cell preparation containing non-human antigens can sensitize the recipient, and perhaps ultimately result in an anaphylactic reaction. Karpati, G., supra, recommends using human serum in the culture medium to reduce this problem. However, since the human serum must be type matched to that of the recipient, the presence of a blood borne disease entity (e.g., HCV) must be considered. If the patient's own serum is used in the medium (typically at 10% (v/v) serum), consideration must be given to the stress on the patient.
Previously, Webster, C. et al. (1988) Exp. Cell Res. 174:252-265, have developed a fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS) method for sorting of myoblasts from fetal muscle tissue. They have been able to recover 10.sup.4 myoblasts from 0.1 g of fetal tissue. The FACS preparations are reported to be 99% myoblasts. Law, P. et al. (1988) Muscle & Nerve 11:525-533, have used about 10.sup.6 myoblasts in murine muscle transplants. Therefore, the FACS prepared cells must be amplified by culturing if they are to be used for transplantation. During the culturing process, non-human antigens can be introduced by the use of serum-containing supplements in the culture medium.
Moreover, as discussed in Karpati, G., supra, to avoid the presence of other cells such as fibroblasts (which express MHC I), it may be preferable to use clonally grown myoblasts. These also must be amplified in culture to produce cell populations large enough for transplantation.
Thus, there is a clear need for a method of growing human myoblast populations that are relatively free of non-human antigens, and therefore useful in human transplantation. Such populations could be produced by growing myoblasts in serum-free medium.

Media for normal human muscle satellite cells


Generally, a multiple electrode spark gap fuel injector and methods of utilizing a multiple electrode spark gap fuel injector for internal combustion engines. Specifically, at least one pair of electrodes having a corresponding pair of electrode ends radially located and axially located in relation to an amount of dispersed fuel to increase efficiency of fuel combustion.

Generally, a multiple electrode spark gap fuel injector and methods of utilizing a multiple electrode spark gap fuel injector for internal combustion engines. Specifically, at least one pair of electrodes having a corresponding pair of electrode ends radially located and axially located in relation to an amount of dispersed fuel to increase efficiency of fuel combustion.
Fuel injectors convert fuel into a fine spray which is mixed with air in engine combustion chambers. The major advantage of the system is that the amount of fuel being mixed with air can be more precisely controlled and the mixture can be more evenly spread throughout the air coming into the engine. In combination with an electronic computer which monitors engine conditions and exhaust emissions, fuel injection can increase fuel efficiency and reduce pollution.
Fuel injection was adapted for use in petrol-powered aircraft during World War II and was first used in a car in 1955 with the introduction of the Mercedes-Benz 300SL Fuel injection became widespread with the introduction of electronically controlled fuel injection systems in the 1980s and the gradual tightening of emissions and fuel economy laws.
Today, fuel injection is conventionally used in diesel engines. The diesel engine is a type of internal combustion engine; more specifically, a compression ignition engine, in which the fuel is ignited by the high temperature of a compressed gas, rather than a separate source of energy, such as a spark plug. Many modern diesel engines use direct injection, in which the injection nozzle is located inside the combustion chamber. Today automobile manufacturers conventionally use fuel injection with gasoline engines.
A commonly used injector utilizes a closed-needle injector having a needle valve assembly which utilizes a spring-biased needle positioned adjacent to the orifice of a fuel metering chamber. The needle reciprocally operates to open and close communication between a fuel metering chamber and the engine combustion chamber allowing fuel to be injected into the cylinder and resisting blow back of exhaust gas into the fuel metering chamber of the injector. In many fuel systems, when the pressure of the fuel within the fuel metering chamber exceeds the biasing force of the needle spring, the needle moves outwardly to allow fuel to pass through the orifice(s) of the fuel metering chamber, thus marking the beginning of injection.
In another type of system disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 5,676,114 to Tarr et al., the beginning of injection is controlled by a servo-controlled needle. The assembly includes a control volume positioned adjacent an outer end of the needle valve, a drain circuit for draining fuel from the control volume to a low pressure drain, and an injection control valve positioned along the drain circuit for controlling the flow of fuel through the drain circuit so as to cause the movement of the needle valve element between open and closed positions. Opening of the injection control valve causes a reduction in the fuel pressure in the control volume resulting in a pressure differential which forces the needle valve open, and closing of the injection control valve causes an increase in the control volume pressure and closing of the needle valve. U.S. Pat. No. 5,463,996 issued to Maley et al. discloses a similar servo-controlled needle valve injector.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,458,292 to Hapeman discloses a fuel injector with inner and outer injector needle valves biased to close respective orifices and operable to open at different fuel pressures. The inner needle valve is reciprocally mounted in a central bore formed in the outer needle valve. However, the opening of each needle valve is controlled solely by injection fuel pressure acting on the needle valve in the opening direction such that the valves necessarily open when the injection fuel pressure reaches a predetermined level.
United Kingdom Patent Application No. 2266559 to Hlousek discloses a closed needle injector assembly including a hollow needle valve for cooperating with one valve seat formed on an injector body to provide a main injection through all the injector orifices and an inner valve needle reciprocally mounted in the hollow needle for creating a pre-injection through a few of the injector orifices.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,199,398 to Nylund discloses a fuel injection valve arrangement for injecting two different types of fuels into an engine which includes inner and outer poppet type needle valves. During each injection event, the inner needle valve opens a first set of orifices to provide a pre-injection and the outer needle valve opens a second set of orifices to provide a subsequent main injection. The outer poppet valve is a cylindrical sleeve positioned around a stationary valve housing containing the inner poppet valve.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,899,389 to Pataki et al. discloses a fuel injector assembly including two biased valve elements controlling respective orifices for sequential operation during an injection event. A single control volume may be provided at the outer ends of the elements for receiving biasing fluid to create biasing forces on the elements for opposing the fuel pressure opening forces. However, the control volume functions in the same manner as biasing springs to place continuous biasing forces on the valve elements. As a result, the needle valve elements only lift when the supply fuel pressure in the needle cavity is increased in preparation of a fuel injection event to create pressure forces greater than the closing forces imparted by the control volume pressure.
Other types of injectors may coupled to a fuel supply which delivers fuel to a pump chamber within the fuel injector at a predetermined supply pressure, this pressure then being increased within the fuel injector to a higher injection pressure to effect actuation of the needle valve assembly. A commonly used means to increase pressure within the storage chamber includes plunger which reciprocates within the pump chamber which is actuated by an engine driven cam or other reciprocating means. Fuel in the pump chamber is delivered to the fuel metering chamber at a pressure sufficiently high to move the needle from the valve seat.
In one form of such a fuel injector, the plunger is provided with helices which cooperate with suitable ports in the pump chamber to control the pressurization and therefore the injection of fuel during a pump stroke of the plunger.
In another form of such a fuel injector, a solenoid valve is incorporated in the fuel injector so as to control, for example, the drainage of fuel from the pump chamber. In this latter type injector, fuel injection is controlled by energizing the solenoid valve. An exemplary embodiment of such an electromagnetic fuel injector is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,129,253 to Ernest Bader, Jr., John I. Deckard and Dan B. Kuiper.
Other types of fuel injection systems may use piezoelectric actuators or elements, in which the piezoelectric actuators or elements exhibit a proportional relationship between an applied voltage and a linear expansion. Thus, it is believed that using piezoelectric elements as actuators may be advantageous in fuel injection nozzles for internal combustion engines as disclosed by European Patent Specifications EP 0 371 469 B1 and EP 0 379 182 B1.
An example of a fuel injector which uses the expansion and contraction of piezoelectric elements with double-acting, double-seat valves to control corresponding injection needles in a fuel injection system is shown by German Patent Applications DE 197 42 073 A1 and DE 197 29 844 A1.
As can be understood from the above discussion, there is a large commercial market for fuel injectors for use in various types of reciprocating, rotary and other types of engines which has wide application in automotive and aircraft industries with respect to both compression ignition and spark ignition engines.
First, with respect to compression ignition engines, there is a compelling argument for stronger penetration in the market as a means of reducing CO2 emissions. With the focus of the Kyoto Protocol on emissions of greenhouse gases, and the contribution of transportation sources to this problem. Moreover, compression ignition engines are able to extract almost double the useful work than conventional spark ignition engines.
However, while compression ignition is an attractive solution for CO2 reduction, exhaust emissions associated with diesel fuel are increasingly coming under the environmental spotlight. Most notable are the oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and particulate matter (PM), which are regarded almost exclusively as "diesel problems". The difficulty in meeting the increasingly stringent limitations on particulate and NOx emissions has stimulated interest in ethanol-fueled compression ignition engines because ethanol diffusion flames produce virtually no soot. Unfortunately ethanol does not have suitable ignition properties under typical diesel conditions because the temperatures and pressures characteristic of the diesel engines causes a longer ignition delay while using ethanol. Therefore, in order to make use of ethanol in a diesel engine, either a system to improve the ignition quality of ethanol or an ignition aid may be necessary.
Similarly, compression ignition engines can be operated with fuels made from other organic stock such as soybeans, rapeseed, and animal tallow produced through a process called transesterification which removes fatty particulates that cause coking and other problems in diesel engines. These additional bio-fuels used undiluted or mixed with diesel fuel have demonstrated reduced particulate emission. However, as the concentration of bio-fuel is increased cold engine start may require additional engine cranking and cold engine operation may be substantially inferior to diesel fuel. Similarly, in order to make use of bio-fuels either a system to improve the ignition quality of bio-fuels or an ignition aid may be necessary.
Second, with respect to lower compression spark ignition engines, the composition of fuels and the manner of operation, especially in automobiles, has significantly altered over the past thirty years. To meet air pollution regulations in the United States, and in other countries, the lead in gasoline was removed substantially lowering octane of the fuel. To compensate for the lowered octane, automobile manufacturers altered the timing in cars to prevent the resulting "ping" or "knock" and to reduce NOx formed at higher combustion temperatures and pressure.
In spark ignition engines, as you retard timing from top dead center, both peak combustion temperatures and peak cylinder pressures go down (as does "knock" and the production of NOx). At some point, however, spark ignition comes too early and the pressure produced from combustion works against the piston (on the up stroke) more than it works with the piston (on the down stroke).
In newer vehicles, how much fuel to deliver to the fuel combustion cylinder and when to provide ignition spark is typically monitored by computers which use sensors to detect engine "ping" or "knock" and to reduce emissions; however, the amount of ignition control that can be achieved under a broad range of operating conditions may be insufficient to completely eliminate "ping" or "knock" under certain circumstances, for example when low octane fuel is used. Also, the computer may be reacting to something that is already happening or has happened, and engine "ping" or "knock" has the potential to be harmful with relatively few occurrences.
Third, aviation remains the only transportation industry in the United States whose engine emissions are not yet regulated. The piston engine fleet uses the only fuel still containing lead as an octane enhancer. While turbine engine manufacturers have dedicated considerable resources to reduce engine emissions, the airline industry has experienced unprecedented growth and the aggregate pollution has increased dramatically. In addition to the problem caused locally by pollutants, fossil fuels used in aircraft worldwide have a significant impact on global warming because of the altitude at which they are emitted. Therefore, there are two pending crises in the aviation world: 1. the mounting pressure to remove lead from the aviation gasoline used by the piston engine fleet, and 2. the commercial aviation's environmental impact escalating both at the local and global level.
With the removal of lead from aviation fuel, use of the resulting lower octane fuel will require technical innovations to avoid "ping" and "knock". Because existing technology may not allow sufficient ignition control to eliminate "ping" and "knock" under certain circumstances and aircraft engines may then experience increased wear similar to that experienced in automobile engines using lower octane fuels.
Also, the Federal Aviation Administration has provided certifications for engines and aircraft powered by ethanol. Supplemental Type Certificates have also been issued for the use of 100% denatured ethanol for the 10-540 series of 260 HP Lycoming engines, for the 0-235 series of Lycoming engines, and the Cessna 152 series of training aircraft. In May of 2000, dual fuel certification was obtained for a Piper Pawnee, an agricultural spray aircraft for the use of either ethanol or Avgas.
While aviation applications of bio-fuels are economically competitive with aviation fossil fuels, and are actually less expensive if the real cost of the fossil fuels is taken into account, the use of bio-fuels may be limited due to reduced performance of aviation engines under certain conditions as above-described and may require an ignition aid.
The instant invention can address certain aspects of the problems encountered by the use of lower octane or bio-fuels in fuel injected spark ignition engines.

Fuel injection stream parallel opposed multiple electrode spark gap for fuel injector


A bearing comprises a cage which is provided on a circumference of a rotary shaft to hold elements rotating in an oil. A guide unit is provided on the cage to feed the oil in an axial direction or a radial direction of the rotary shaft.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bearing, a bearing mechanism, and a plunger pump in which the reliability is raised.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a plunger pump which comprises an eccentric cam, a bearing, and a pair of plungers is known. In this plunger pump, the eccentric cam is rotated by a motor. The bearing is arranged on the circumference of the eccentric cam and held on the eccentric cam. The plungers are brought in contact with the eccentric cam during the rotation of the eccentric cam so that the plungers are reciprocated. For example, see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 06-093964.
In the bearing mechanism of the above-mentioned plunger pump, the oil of the bearing is flown to the side of the outer race side due to the centrifugal force of the eccentric cam, and a negative pressure arises on the inner race side.
With the negative pressure, the air contained in the oil is turned into air bubbles, and the air bubbles appear in the oil. With an increase of the temperature, the volume of the air bubbles in the oil expands.
In such circumstances, the oil film with an appropriate thickness for the bearing is not formed, which may place the bearing in an overheating condition and may cause deterioration of the durability of the bearing.
Moreover, when the above-mentioned conventional plunger pump is carried on a control brake device, the oil with the air-bubbles contained is mixed with the working fluid of the control brake device, which may cause a malfunction of the control brake device to take place.

Bearing, bearing mechanism, and plunger pump


An imaging apparatus, for example, a solid-state imaging device, includes a phase difference pixel, and an electronic apparatus that optimizes the optical properties (pupil separation performance) of the phase difference pixel, and the optical properties (light sensitivity) of a standard pixel. The solid-state imaging device includes a standard pixel and a phase difference pixel. The standard pixel includes a first optical waveguide that guides incident light to a light receiving region. The phase difference pixel includes a second optical waveguide that guides incident light to the light receiving region, and a first light shielding film provided on the upper layer side of the second optical waveguide. The upper end of the first optical waveguide of the standard pixel and the upper end of the second optical waveguide of the phase difference pixel are located at different heights.

As a method of AF, an image surface phase difference AF has been known. In a solid-state imaging device that realizes image surface phase difference AF, phase difference pixels for dividing incident light for pupils are provided in predetermined positions, as well as regular pixels for obtaining pixel signals.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an example structure of a solid-state imaging device including a conventional phase difference pixel. In the drawing, the right side is a standard pixel 10, and the left side is a phase difference pixel 11.
In this solid-state imaging device, the standard pixel 10 and the phase difference pixel 11 each have an on-chip lens 12, a color filter 13, and a light receiving region 16, in this order from the upper layer side (the light incidence surface side).
A light shielding film 14 that has an aperture portion 15 having an aperture deviated from the optical axis of the on-chip lens 12 is also provided in the phase difference pixel 11, but is not provided in the standard pixel 10.
In the drawing, the on-chip lenses 12 of the standard pixel 10 and the phase difference pixel 11 have identical shapes, and are designed so that the focal positions are adjusted to the surfaces of the light receiving regions 16 (in other words, incident light fluxes are gathered on the surfaces of the light receiving regions 16). In this case, optimum optical properties of the standard pixel 10 can be achieved. As for the phase difference pixel 11, however, the sensitivity for incident light from oblique directions becomes lower due to the existence of the light shielding film 14, and the pupil separation performance is degraded, for example.
So as to prevent degradation of the separation performance of the phase difference pixel 11, the shape of the on-chip lens 12 should be adjusted so that the focal position is located at the height of the light shielding film 14. In that case, however, the optimum optical properties of the standard pixel 10 are of course not achieved.
In view of this, a structure that prevents degradation of the optical properties of the standard pixel 10 while maintaining the separation performance of the phase difference pixel 11 has been suggested (see Patent Document 1, for example).
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an example of such a structure. This example structure differs from the structure shown in FIG. 1 in that the focal positions of the on-chip lenses 12 are located at the height of the light shielding film 14, and optical waveguides 17 are additionally provided on the lower layer side of the light shielding film 14.

Solid-state imaging device and electronic apparatus