A golf club gauge includes a frame, a clamping means, and a hand-held electronic level which can be zeroed to establish a reference plane. The level is positioned relative to a reference surface of the frame and relative to a surface to be measured, and using information obtained in these two positions, the level is used to square a head in the frame and also to measure the head's loft, lie, and face angles. An attachment is provided for the level which improves accuracy when it is used on heads with arcuate faces.

1. Field
This application relates to a golf club gauge which measures properties of a golf club head, the gauge using a level in its head squaring and measuring systems.
2. Prior Art
Golf club heads have important properties such as loft angle, lie angle, and face angle which are measured with a tool commonly called a golf club gauge. Golf club heads have a face for hopefully striking a golf ball, a tubular extension called a hosel in which a shaft can be secured, a sole on which the head rests when placed on the ground, a toe which is its end away from the golfer, and a heel which is its end toward the golfer. Most irons and wedges have faces which are flat, while most drivers, fairway woods, and hybrids have faces which are not flat but arcuate. A vertical arc on an arcuate face is called roll, a horizontal arc is called bulge.
Measurements of a head's properties are normally taken with the head in a centered, squared, position, or CSP. For a club head to be in its CSP, several conditions together must be met. With the club's hosel/shaft axis lying in a shaft plane which is perpendicular to a ground plane, the centered condition is met if the head's sole touches the ground plane at a point which is centered on the head's face. The squared condition is met if the head's face line, a line defined by two points on the face equally distant horizontally from the face's center and halfway up the face from the ground plane, is parallel to the shaft plane. When the head is in its CSP, loft angle is the angle the head's face makes with the shaft plane, lie angle is the angle the hosel/shaft axis makes with the ground plane, and face angle is the angle the face line makes with the shaft plane which is zero if the head is in its CSP.
Golf club gauges typically have a frame and a clamping means to secure a club head in positions relative to the frame. They also have a system for squaring the head in the frame and a measuring system to obtain the head's loft, lie, and face angles. A golf club gauge with novel squaring and measuring systems is the object of this Application.
Many current golf club gauges use protractor devices in their squaring and measuring systems, one such gauge being shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,546,426 to Bryant (1951). Parts 78 and 80 measure the head's lie angle, and 116 and 118 measure its loft angle. Parts 132 and 134 are used to measure the head's face angle and also can be used to square the head in the gauge. These protractor devices must have a relatively large size for sufficient accuracy, resulting in a gauge which is relatively large. Also, there are numerous relatively complex parts, resulting in a gauge with relatively high cost.
A club gauge which uses levels in its measuring system is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,105,550 to Shenoha (1992). Two electronic levels are fixed to the gauge's frame, level 105 for measuring a head's loft angle and level 91 for measuring its lie angle, and this requirement for two levels increases the cost of this gauge over one which could function with only one level. FIG. 19 shows a slide assembly 95, a rail 93, and a horizontal plate 97 used to square the head's face, and a spirit level 101 used with level 91 to measure lie angle; these additional parts add further complexity and cost. FIG. 20 shows a protractor device 119 for measuring face angle, adding even more complexity and cost.
It is desirable to have a golf club gauge which uses a level in its head squaring and measuring systems, resulting in a low cost, compact gauge having few parts. It is also desirable that the level be hand-held and electronic with a zeroing function, allowing the gauge to be readily portable and usable in various orientations. Also desirable is an attachment for the level which prevents rocking when the level is placed relative to an arcuate club face.


In a solid electrolyte polymer fuel cell system, a fuel cell includes ribs integrally formed with an anode or an anode chamber, ribs integrally formed with a cathode or cathode chamber, and a water distributor. The water distributor may be a beam provided with slits, an electroconductive body, a wick, or a combination of the beam with slits and a hydrophilic body. Fuel gas and water distributed by the water distributor are passed through the ribs of the ribbed anode or ribbed anode chamber to provide sufficient hydrogen ions and water of inclusion with the solid polymer electrolyte. Oxidizer gas and water to be discharged are passed through the ribs of the ribbed cathode or ribbed cathode chamber. Water is discharged efficiently.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell system and more particularly to an improved fuel cell structure and method for feeding water of inclusion in a solid polymer electrolyte membrane and for feeding reaction gases for the fuel cell system
2. Description of Prior Art
Fuel cells are roughly classified into two groups, for example, low temperature-operating ones such as an alkali type, a solid polymer electrolyte type, and a phosphoric acid type, and high temperature-operating ones such as a molten salt type, and a solid oxide electrolyte type.
Solid polymer electrolyte type fuel cells have a solid polymer electrolyte membrane having two main surfaces provided with an anode and a cathode, respectively, and an electrode substrate, the anode and cathode being sandwiched by the solid polymer electrolyte and the respective electrode substrates. As the solid polymer electrolyte membrane, there have been used polystyrene cation exchange resins having a sulfonic acid group as cat ionic electroconductive membranes, fluorocarbon sulfonic acid/polyvinylidene fluoride mixed membranes, or membranes composed of a fluorocarbon matrix and trifluoroethylene grafted thereto.
Recently, fuel cells with a prolonged service life by the use of perfluorocarbonsulfonic acid membrane (Nafion, trade name for a product by DuPont de Nemours, Ill . U. S .A. ) have been put on the market. Solid polymer electrolyte membranes have proton (hydrogen ion) exchange groups in their molecule and have resistivities not higher than 20 .OMEGA..multidot.cm at room temperature when hydrated to saturation, thus acting as a proton-conductive electrolyte. Saturated water content varies reversibly depending on the temperature of the membrane.
An electrode substrate, which is made of a porous material, acts as a means for supplying a reaction gas to a fuel cell and also as a collector. In anodes or cathodes, there are formed three phase zones where electrochemical reactions takes place.
In an anode, there occurs the following reaction: EQU H.sub.2 .fwdarw.2H.sup.+ +2e.sup.- ( 1)
In a cathode, what occurs is the following reaction: EQU 1/2 O.sub.2 +2H.sup.+ +2e.sup.- .fwdarw.H.sub.2 O (2)
In other words, in the anode, hydrogen supplied from outside of the system produces protons (H.sup.+) and electrons (e.sup.-). Protons produced migrate through the ion exchange membrane toward the cathode whereas electrons migrate into the cathode through an external circuit connected thereto. On the other hand, in the cathode, oxygen supplied from outside of the system, protons which have migrated through the ion exchange membrane and electrons transferred through the external circuit react to produce water (H.sub.2 O).
In this type of solid polymer electrolyte fuel cells, protons migrate from the anode to the cathode through the ion exchange membrane in a hydrated state, resulting in that the water content of the membrane in the vicinity of the anode decreases and the ion exchange membrane tends to be dried. Hence migration of protons becomes difficult in the vicinity of the anode unless water is supplied thereto. On the other hand, in the cathode, water is produced as shown by formula (2) above. However, generally solid polymer electrolyte fuel cells are operated at temperatures not higher than 100.degree. C., which means that water produced oh the cathode side is considered to be in a liquid state. Therefore, in the cathode, excess amounts of water accumulate since water is not only freshly produced as a result of electrode reaction but also released from hydrated protons due to disappearance of the protons in the reaction on the cathode. The water which has accumulated would fill and clog pores in the electrode substrate to inhibit diffusion of the react ion gas therethrough.
Accordingly, in order to operate a solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell continuously and efficiently, it is necessary to properly supply water to the anode to replenish water of inclusion contained by the solid polymer electrolyte membrane and discharge the water which has migrated therefrom and accumulated in the cathode. For optimizing the water content of the ion exchange membrane, the water of inclusion in the ion exchange membrane has conventionally been replenished by bubbling the fuel gas into water kept at a temperature higher than the temperature at which the fuel cell is operated to humidify the fuel gas and supplying the gas thus humidified to the anode side of the fuel cell. On the other hand, the water which accumulated in the cathode has conventionally been discharged by supplying a large amount of dry oxidizer gas to the cathode of the fuel cell, or by cooling steam formed in the cathode to condense it and discharging the resulting water to outside the system.
However, the conventional method in which water in the form of steam is supplied to the ion exchange membrane to replenish therewith the water of inclusion in the membrane has some problems. For example, the conventional method does not supply an amount of water which is enough to replenish the water which has migrated due to hydration because water condenses in the inside of the ion exchange membrane in an amount which corresponds to the difference between the saturation vapor pressure of the reaction gas at a humidification temperature and the saturation vapor pressure at a cell operation temperature. Thus, it is generally difficult to use a large difference between the humidification temperature and the cell operation temperature. Further, use of increased humidification temperatures leads to an increase in the partial pressure of aqueous vapor (0.47 atm at 80.degree. C.; 0.69 atm at 90.degree. C.) to thus decrease the partial pressure of the fuel gas. As a result, supply of the fuel gas decreases to deteriorate the characteristics of the fuel cell.

Method for feeding water of inclusion and gases for solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell system


A pregnancy seat belt that secures an expectant mother and her unborn baby due to the absence of a lap belt traversing the expectant mother's abdomen. The expectant mother is secured instead by a center belt and/or thigh-belts that secure the mother at her thighs and avoid traverse of her abdomen.

Prior art seat belts in automobiles are typically comprised of a shoulder restraint 9 and a lap belt restraint 1. While ubiquitous, the prior art design, and particularly the lap belt restraint 1 may cause serious injury or death to the unborn baby 8 of an expectant mother 10 in the event of a sudden deceleration of the vehicle thereby causing the unborn baby 8 to suffer a crushing effect of the mother's weight against lap belt restraint 1 as illustrated in FIG. 1. There is a need in the art for an improved seat belt for expectant mothers.


In a variable-resilience engine mount a top member rests on two rubber spring elements which, in turn, rest on a parallel base. An ancillary component deactivates one of the spring elements when necessary. A first, outer spring element extends axially at least part-way up the second, inner spring element. The second spring element has a cavity at its center. A fluid can be injected into the cavity to inflate and expand the second spring element. The cavity will continue to inflate, making the mount less resilient as more fluid is injected, until it is stopped by a reinforcement surrounding it.

The invention concerns a variable-resilience engine mount. The mount comprises a top member which is supported in parallel relationship on a base member by a two rubber spring elements. An ancillary component deactivates one of the spring elements when necessary.
An engine mount of this type is known from German Patent No. 3,403,002. It depends upon the interaction between two spring elements of different resilience and on a coupling that can be engaged and disengaged between them. The electromagnetically engaged coupling is connected mechanically in series with the more rigid spring element and the resulting assembly is connected mechanically in parallel with the softer spring element. With the coupling disengaged, higher-frequency shorter-amplitude vibrations are isolated by the softer spring element. When the coupling is engaged, the sum of the two resiliences suppress lower-frequency, longer-amplitude vibrations.
This known type of engine mount is complicated, has many separate components that must be assembled and connected, and is accordingly uneconomical. Other drawbacks result from its design-dictated overall height and weight.

Variable-resilience engine mount having a rubber spring element with a cavity for receiving a control fluid


In a method of manufacturing a thin keypad of a keypad panel having a smooth surface, a mist surface or a lines layer, the method includes the steps of: preparing a mold with an internal bottom surface of a coarse surface, a smooth surface or a lines surface; applying an adhesive into the mold and coating a carrier onto the surface of the adhesive; rolling the surface of the carrier by a roller to level the adhesive in the mold; performing a ultraviolet projection to cure the adhesive to form a keypad layer on the carrier; filming a ground color layer, a function color layer and a font color layer sequentially on the carrier as the background of the keypad panel; and hot pressing and combining the keypad layer and silicon to produce the keypad panel.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a keypad assembly, and more particular to a manufacturing method of a thin keypad assembly.
2. Description of Prior Art
In addition to the function of a mobile phone, consumers also take other factors including the innovative appearance and the compact size of the mobile phone into consideration for the purchase the mobile phone. Therefore, some mobile phones print color patterns on the housing or keypad or produce three-dimensional lines directly on the housing of the mobile phone to improve the added-value of the product and promote the purchasing desire of the consumers.
Referring to FIG. 1A and a traditional way of producing three-dimensional lines as disclosed in R.O.C. Pat. No. M304441, the patented technology discloses a manufacturing method of a thin keypad assembly that attaches a first transparent layer 2a onto a substrate 1a, a first color layer 3a and a color opening area 31a onto the first transparent layer 2a, a second transparent layer 4a onto the first color layer 3a, and a second color layer 5 onto the second transparent layer 4a for providing an external look with different colors and lines for the depth of field by the aforementioned display structure and mode for the requirement of different visual appearances or functions. However, such manufacturing method takes too much time and efforts, and thus incurring a high manufacturing cost of the product easily.
Referring to FIG. 1B and R.O.C. Pat. No. M301397 for another keypad assembly with lines manufactured therein, a lines layer 1b is included between a thin film layer 2b and an elastic layer 3b for producing a flare effect. Since a lines layer 1b is created between the thin film layer 2b and the elastic layer 3b, therefore such patented technology not only adds more steps to the production or manufacturing procedure, but also consumes much manufacturing time and increases the thickness of the keypad. Obviously, an increased thickness is a disadvantage to the design of a thin film keypad.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Manufacturing method of thin keypad assembly


This invention relates to methods, reagents and kits for detection of normal or ectopic pregnancy, the termination of pregnancy, or increased risk of preterm labor and rupture of membranes. Each embodiment involves sampling from the vaginal cavity, and determining the presence or absence of a specific analyte in the test sample. Sandwich or competition assay procedures can be used. Reagents and reagent kits for the above assays are included. The kit contains anti-(fetal fibronectin) antibody and an anti-fibronectin antibody.

A wide variety of tests have been developed for the determination of pregnancy. Commercial early pregnancy determinations generally involve assay of urine or serum. Home pregnancy tests for hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) in urine include a variety of enzyme immunoassays, hemagglutination inhibition, and antibody-indicator agglutination tests which are effective to indicate pregnancy from 0 to 7 days after a missed period. Confirmation by physician is recommended, particularly to determine abnormal gestation such as ectopic pregnancy.
HCG is produced by the fetal trophoblast and passes from the fetal blood into the mother's blood through the intervillous space in the placenta. HCG levels in maternal blood and urine are often detectable at about 3 weeks. The sensitivity of serum or urine hCG tests is limited because the amount of hCG produced is determined by the amount of trophoblastic tissue, and by dilution of the hCG in the maternal fluids. Until development of the .beta.-hCG specifically binding antibody, cross-reaction with LH (luteinizing hormone) also placed a limit on the level of sensitivity.
We have discovered that normal uterine pregnancies can be reliably determined early in the gestation cycle by testing a sample removed from the vicinity of the cervical canal, cervical os or posterior fornix of the vagina, preferably the external cervical os or posterior fornix, for the presence of fetal restricted antigens, that is, compounds or materials which are produced in the placental tissue and which do not pass in any substantial amounts into the maternal blood. Included in this class of antigens are fetal fibronectins.
We have discovered that ectopic pregnancy can be determined by testing a sample removed from the vicinity of the cervical canal or cervical os for the presence of fetal restricted antigens, that is, compounds or materials which are produced in the placental tissue and which do not pass in any substantial amounts into the maternal blood. Included in this class of materials are fetal fibronectins. If the fetal restricted antigens are substantially depressed in a sample from a person who is tested positive for pregnancy by a blood or urine test for pregnancy, an ectopic pregnancy is indicated.
Determination of the presence of ex vivo products of conception in uterine tissue removed in therapeutic or spontaneous abortion is critically important to confirm the existence of uterine pregnancy and the termination thereof, and to rule out the presence of an ectopic pregnancy. If levels of fetal associated antigens in maternal serum or urine indicate pregnancy, and the uterine tissue removed during a therapeutic abortion does not contain products of conception, a possible ectopic pregnancy is indicated. Presence of products of conception in uterine discharge associated with indicator of spontaneous abortion confirms the abortion, while the absence thereof indicates a continuation of pregnancy. Usual immunoassay techniques for determining the presence of fetal associated antigens in test samples derived from the vaginal cavity are not reliable for indicating the presence of products of conception since these samples typically contain maternal blood. Pregnancy antigens and fetal antigens are usually present in maternal blood as well as in fetal and placental tissue.
Determination of impending preterm births is critical for increasing neonatal survival of preterm infants. Detection of rupture of the amniotic membrane is important in distinguishing true and false labor. When the rupture is small and the volume of amniotic liquid escaping is small, the rupture is often undetected. Accepted methods for detecting ruptured membranes are subjective, not sufficiently sensitive, and not specific. An embodiment of this invention for detection of increased risk of preterm labor and rupture of the amniotic membrane after week 20 of pregnancy is directed to an assay of a test sample removed from the vicinity of the posterior fornix, cervical canal, or cervical os.

Reagents and kits for determination of fetal fibronectin in a vaginal sample


A composition includes a copolymer including a mixture of monomeric units having structures (A), (B), and (C), and one or more of structures (D) or (E):HSiO(3-a)/2(OH)a  (A)Si(3-b)/2(OH)b—CH2)n—SiO(3-c)/2(OH)c  (B)R1SiO(3-d)/2(OH)d  (C)MeSi(3-e)/2(OH)e  (D)R2SiO(3-f)/2(OH)f  (E)wherein a, b, c, d, e, and f are independently from 0 to 2, n is from 0 to about 10, R1 is a chromophore, and R2 is a hydrophilic group.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention rebates to etch-resistant disilane and saturated hydrocarbon bridged silicon-containing polymers, a method of making the same, and a method of using the same. More particularly, the present invention relates to etch-resistant disilane and saturated hydrocarbon bridged silicon-containing polymers, a method of making the same, and a method of using the same that may be employed in a photolithographic manufacturing process.
2. Description of the Related Art
The manufacture of devices such as semiconductor devices, optoelectronic devices, MEMS devices, etc., generally employs micromachining operations that incorporate photolithographic processes. The photolithographic processes may employ light of a predetermined wavelength suitable for forming an image having a desired resolution. It is generally advantageous to reduce a size of features in the devices for a variety of reasons such as economic savings, performance advantages, reduction in size of the overall device, etc. However, reducing feature sizes may require advances in the manufacturing process in order to maintain product yields, limit process variances, etc. Further, reduced feature sizes may require the implementation of new materials for device features, which may present additional problems.
For example, a feature formed using a photolithographic process may not be formed with a satisfactory amount of control over critical dimensions as the size of the feature is reduced. In particular, light used to expose a photoresist formed on a layer may reflect from the layer and/or layer interfaces, resulting in a lack of precision in the exposure process. Accordingly, it may be desirable to employ an antireflective material under the photoresist. Such a material may need to exhibit not only antireflective properties, but a suitable etch selectivity with respect to the photoresist as well. However, many such antireflective materials exhibit properties substantially similar to those of the photoresist, which limits their usefulness.

Etch-resistant disilane and saturated hydrocarbon bridged silicon-containing polymers, method of making the same, and method of using the same


A fuser for fixing particulate imaging material to a receiver sheet, including a fuser roller and a pressure roller in contact with the fuser roller which engage each other at a fixing nip, wherein pressure is used in fixing the particulate imaging material to the receiver sheet; a supply of offset preventing oil with such offset preventing oil being adapted to react with the zirconia ceramic or its composites to prevent offset of the particulate imaging material; a metering roller in contact with the supply of offset preventing oil for wicking such offset preventing oil onto the surface of the metering roller. The method further includes a donor roller in contact with the metering roller and the fuser roller for receiving offset preventing oil from the metering roller and applying it to the surface of the fuser roller; and one of the rollers forming the fixing nip having a surface formed from zirconia ceramic or its composites which has a hardness greater than 12 GPa and toughness greater than 6 MPa.sqroot.mm.

Electrophotosensitive copiers include a photo conductor with a photoconductive layer with a conductive backing. The photoconductor is transported along an endless path relative to a plurality of work stations, each of which is operative when actuated to perform a work operation on the electrophotosensitive medium. Such stations include a charging station at which a uniform charge is placed on the photoconductive layer, an exposure station at which the charged photoconductive layer is image-wise exposed to actinic radiation from the medium to create an electrostatic image of the medium in the photoconductive layer, a developing station at which the electrostatic image is contacted with finely divided charged toner particles for adhering to the photoconductive layer in a configuration defined by the electrostatic image, a transfer station at which such toner particles are transferred in the image configuration to a receiving surface, and a cleaning station at which residual toner is removed from the photoconductive layer so that it can be reused. The electrostatically held toner image is then adhered to the paper by flowing the toner particles together.
The most common method of adhering the toner to the paper is a combination of heat an pressure to fuse the toner to the paper. The fuser typically includes a pressure roller and a fuser roller and a structure for delivering offset preventing oil to the fuser roller. The fuser roller is heated and the pressure roller may or may not be heated to a temperature less than or equal to the fuser roller so that both heat and pressure are applied to toner particles at the nip between the rollers to fix the toner to a receiver sheet in an image-wise configuration. By convention the fuser roller generally described the roller which comes in contact with the unfused toner and is usually the roller having the higher temperature if there is a temperature differential. The term "fuser" is used herein to identify both the fuser and the pressure roller.
The pressure and fuser rollers performance reliability is one of the most important factors which influences the electrophotographic copier life cycle cost and customer satisfaction. These rollers performance are affected by the ability of the not only the fuser roller, pressure roller, and heating rollers, but also the oiler donor roller and metering rollers to remain free of contamination.
One of the long-standing problems with electrostatographic toner fusing mechanism is the adhesion of the heat-softened toner particles to the surface of the fuser rollers, oiler donor roller, and metering roller as well as to the receiver, known as "offset" which occurs when the toner-bearing receiver is passed through a fuser. Toner is passed from the fuser to external heater rollers (if present), pressure roller, and oiler donor roller. Toner is passed from the oiler donor roller to the metering roller and from the metering roller to the metering blade. Toner on the metering roller causes streaks while toner on the metering roller causes errors in the oil laydown. Excessive toner build up on heater rolls and both fuser rollers can lead to image defects, jams, and ultimate roller failure. There have been several approaches to decrease the amount of toner offset onto the fuser roller. One approach has been to make the toner-contacting surface of a roller, for example, a fuser roller and/or pressure roller of a non-adhesive (non-stick) material.
One known non-adhesive coating for fuser roller comprises fluoropolymer resins, but fluoropolymer resins are non-compliant. It is desirable to have compliant fuser rollers to increase the contact area between a fuser roller and the toner-bearing receiver. However, fuser rollers with a single compliant rubber layer absorb release oils and degrade in a short time leading to wrinkling artifacts, non-uniform nip width and toner offset. To make fluoropolymer resin coated fuser rollers with a compliant layer, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,435,500 and 4,789,565 disclose a fluoropolymer resin layer sintered to a silicone rubber layer which is adhered to a metal core. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,789,565, an aqueous solution of fluoropolymer resin powder is sintered to the silicone rubber layer. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,435,500, a fluoropolymer resin sleeve is sintered to the silicone rubber layer. Sintering of the fluoropolymer resin layer is usually accomplished by heating the coated fuser rollers to temperatures up to 350.degree. C. Such high temperatures can have a detrimental effect on the silicone rubber layer causing the silicone rubber to smoke or depolymerize, which decreases the durability of the silicone rubbers and the adhesion strength between the silicone rubber layer and the fluoropolymer resin layer. Attempts to avoid the detrimental effect of the high sintering temperatures that have on the silicone rubber layer have been made by using dielectric heating of the fluoropolymer resin layer, for example, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,011,401 and 5,153,660. Dielectric heating is, however, complicated and expensive and the fluoropolymer resin layer may still delaminate from the silicone rubber layer when the fuser rollers are used in high pressure fusers. In addition, a fuser roller made with a fluoropolymer resin sleeve layer possess poor abrasion resistance and poor heat resistance.
Again, when a fuser roller becomes contaminated with toner, the contamination can be transferred to a heater roller, thus contributing to the failure. The contamination of the fuser roller can also contribute to the paper jam failure in an electrophotographic engine and it is primarily due largely to the inability of the paper itself to release from the fusing roller. The toner release from the rollers in the electrophotographic engine, which is commonly termed as "offset", is sometimes aided by applying a suitable oil on the roller surface. A probable mechanism for the reduction in offset with oil is that oil flowing into the pores on the surface of the roller material forms a barrier. This barrier is an aid in retarding the offset of contamination. The viscosity of various oils and their molecular structure determine whether the oils will be adsorbed to the roller surfaces. The increase in viscosity makes the displacement of oil from the roller surface more difficult. If a high molecular weight oil is adsorbed on the roller surface, entropy considerations suggest that such oil molecules will have to detach from several sites simultaneously, to regain mobility, making detachment less probable.
The surface energy of the roller material, and its surface morphology can also influence the degree of toner release (offset). Other important material properties such as, wear and abrasion characteristics, thermal conductivity and reactivity or bonding with various functional oils, which are normally used to reduce the offset characteristics can contribute to the choice for suitable heater and pressure roller materials. The commonly used roller material such as elastomers and other experimental roller such as hardcoat anodized rollers, teflon, electroless nickel and electroless nickel impregnated with teflon lack one or more shortcomings in material characteristics described above, and contribute to varying degrees of toner offset.
It has been reported that in order to prevent the offset of toner in a fusing system, attempts have been made to provide a toner release agent also sometimes referred to hereinafter as offset preventing oil, in particular, polydimethylsilicone oil (PDMS) which is applied on the fuser roller to a thickness on the order of about 1 .mu.m to act as a toner release material, these materials possess a relatively low surface energy and have been found to prevent toner from offsetting to the fuser roll surface.
According to prior art techniques, the toner release agents may be applied to fuser roll by several delivery mechanisms including wicking (such as Nomex wick), impregnated webs, or by way of a donor roll.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,659,621 to Finn et al wherein a release agent donor roll is described as having a comformable donor surface comprising the crosslinked product of at least one addition curable vinyl terminated or vinyl pendant PDMS, a silane (Si--H) functional PDMS as crosslinking agent, catalyst and finely divided filler. These donor rolls suffer from roller failure because of the tendency to swell while in contact with the silicone release agent which is absorbed into the silicone rubber. The silicone rubber donor roll no longer can provide a uniform layer of release agent to the fuser roller.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,061,965 to Fergusm et al wherein a release agent donor roll has a base member, an intermediate comformable silicone elastomer layer and an elastomer release agent donor layer comprising poly(vinyldene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene-tetrafluoroethylene) where the vinylidene fluoride is present in an amount <40 mole %, a metal oxide present in an amount sufficient interact with polymeric release agent having functional groups to transport a sufficient amount of the polymeric release agent to provide an interfacial barrier layer between the fusing surface and the toner. This donor roller suffers from the oil wetting capability between the nonfunctional PDMS release agent and the nonreactive donor roller surface since the invention counts on the polymeric release agent having functional groups to react with the metal oxide which is dispersed into the fluoroelastomer layer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,141,788 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,166,031 to Santokh Badesha wherein a release agent donor roll comprising a supporting substrate having an outer layer of a surface grafted or volume grafted polyorganosiloxane formed by dehydrofluorination of said fluoroelastomer by a nucleophilic dehydrofluorinating agent, followed by addition polymerization by the addition of an alkene functionalized polyorganosiloxane and a polymerization initiator. Fabricated donor rolls used for supplying conventional silicone oil release agent showed 4.3 million copies without failure. Although these rolls provide long life, non-oil swelling, and can also be used with non-functional PDMS release agent, the manufacturing of such a donor roll is tedious, inefficient, and expensive.


A system and method for integrating messages across multiple applications. The applications may be on one server or on several servers, and each application may service one or more e-clients. The system and method securely segregates the data for each e-client. Further, the system can be dynamically reconfigured by adding or deleting new messages and/or applications, without affecting the performance of the unchanged parts of the system. The various applications using the system need not be aware of the existence of the other applications.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to middleware systems, and more particularly to middleware systems that use databases to configure the integration of various applications.
2. Description of the Related Art
Vast amounts of data are stored, transmitted, and manipulated in today's Internet driven world. Organization of this data so that information can easily be accessed is thus an important need. Huge amounts of data are often organized in databases. Such stored data often cuts across several databases and other applications that may support a business, and several customers that an Application Service Provider (ASP) may service. The customers serviced by an ASP can be referred to as "e-clients."
A single e-client often uses various applications. For example, an e-client may have an Automatic Call Distributor (ACD) that is used with an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system to direct customers of the e-client to particular customer service representatives that have expertise in a particular area. Further, the e-client may have a web page which allows its customers to enter into interactive sessions on the web page and learn more information about products and support issues. Further, e-mail can be used by e-clients to contact their customers and for customers to contact the e-client business regarding sales and support issues. Such an e-client may use an IVR application, a web application, and an email application.
These various applications may be on a single server, or on various different servers. In either case, it is desirable to be able to exchange messages between applications, and to route these messages accurately from one application to another, regardless of whether the applications reside on a single server or on different servers.
In some conventional systems, this problem is handled by specifying a configuration file for each application. The configuration file for an application may specify where messages sent by the application are to be delivered. However, when such application specific configuration files are used, it is difficult to dynamically modify or update the system. Any time a change needs to be made (for example, a new e-client is to be added), each of the configuration files for each application on each server need to be updated accordingly.
Another issue arises in systems that integrate multiple applications. Conventionally, each application needs to be aware of the existence of the other applications. Each application also needs knowledge of which server the other applications are using, and so on, in order to route messages to these other applications. One of the problems with such a system is that any time a new application is added or deleted, each of the other applications needs to be modified to reflect that change. Dynamic addition or deletion of applications, while the rest of the applications continue to function in a normal manner, is not possible.
Some conventional applications eliminate this issue by providing a central message processing "hub" which each application is aware of. However, the "hub" solution has another drawback, which is that each message must first be sent to the hub for processing, then re-sent by the hub to the ultimate destination of the message, and this is inefficient.
In addition, several e-clients may use each of these applications. Thus it is important to keep data for each e-client secure, and not allow it to be accessed by any other e-clients. It is thus often desirable to segregate data, regardless of what application requires that data.
There are two ways in which conventional systems deal with this problem. One approach entails having applications which themselves support partitioning of data. However, this approach implies that only applications that have this partitioning capability can be used. Since not all applications possess this capability, systems employing this approach are restricted in the applications they can support.
The second approach entails using separate servers for separate e-clients. However, this approach often results in the increased use of hardware and/or software, and is thus expensive and cumbersome. Hosting multiple e-clients on a single server, and/or using the same software instances of applications for different e-clients, is more economical.
Thus what is needed is (1) a system and method for enabling the configurable exchange of messages between applications, regardless of the servers on which these applications may reside; (2) a system and method for centralizing control of message exchange, but which distributes the message processing to the applications which produce and consume the messages; (3) a system and method for integrating multiple applications, where the various applications do not need to be aware of the existence of the other applications; and (4) a system and method that segregates data for multiple e-clients and multiple applications.

Message integration framework for multi-application systems


Disclosed is a high degree of freedom control apparatus that includes a base attached to a strain gauge assembly movable in three orthogonal directions to provide signals indicative of a position of the strain gauge assembly relative to the base. An actuator assembly is supported on the base and movable by an operator's arm, hand, digit, or wrist relative to the base structure. The actuator assembly provides signals indicative of the position of the operator's arm, hand, digit or wrist in at least seven degrees of freedom relative to the base structure. The actuator assembly includes a wrist angle stage and a digit angle stage. The strain gauge assembly includes a spring plate and a load cell that is configured to provide a signal indicative of deflection of the load cell relative to the base.

The present disclosure relates generally to machine control actuators and more particularly to a high degree of freedom control actuator or controller. Joysticks and other control actuators provide an interface allowing an operator to control one or more functions of a machine, such as an aircraft, robot, crane, truck, underwater unmanned vehicle, wheelchair, surveillance camera, computer, etc. Conventional joysticks include a stick member pivotally mounted to a base and include components to generate signals indicating the stick's displacement from a neutral position. In addition, joystick controllers often include one or more button or knob-type actuators allowing an operator to initiate predefined machine functions, such as firing a weapon in a video game running on a computer or gaming machine. Typical joystick actuators, however, provide only a limited number of degrees of freedom (DoF), and thus are unable to implement more complicated operator control functions.


The invention provides methods of controlling environmental conditions within a fluidic system, where such environmental conditions can affect the operation of the system in its desired function, and fluidic channels, devices, and systems that are used in practicing these methods. Such methods are generally directed to environmental control fluids, the movement of such fluids through these systems, and the interaction of these fluids with other components of the system, e.g., other fluids or solid components of the system.

Microfluidic systems have advanced to the point where they are beginning to supplant conventional technologies in biological, chemical and biochemical analyses. For example, routine separation based analyses, e.g., nucleic acid separations, protein sizing separations, and the like are now routinely performed in microfluidic systems, e.g., the Agilent 2100 Bioanalyzer and Caliper LabChip® systems. Similarly, high throughput analytical operations, e.g., pharmaceutical screening, high throughput genetic analysis, and the like, are also being transitioned from multi-well formats into microfluidic formats, such as the Caliper HTS sipper chip systems. These microfluidic systems have allowed for increases in throughput while requiring substantially smaller volumes of reagents, smaller equipment footprint, and having more reproducible, automatable, integratable operations.
As with any advancing technology however, the miniaturization of analytical chemistries introduces a number of additional considerations. For example, in conventional scale chemical or biochemical analyses, problems associated with interaction between reagents and reaction vessels are kept to a minimum by virtue of the overwhelming volume of reagents used. Similarly, the nature of the reaction vessels used in conventional technologies, while illustrating the advantages of microfluidic systems, also obviate some of the potential problems of microfluidic systems. For example, because these reaction vessels are typically configured as discrete wells or test tubes, there is little or no issue of interaction between discrete reactions that are being analyzed. Similarly, the open-top nature of these vessels allows the evolution of other interfering components, which is not reasonably practicable in sealed microfluidic channels.
In enclosed microfluidic systems, however, the channel surface to volume ratio is substantially increased over conventional technologies, increasing the effects that those surfaces have on the contents of those channels. Further, because of their enclosed nature, one cannot readily access and control the reactions as they progress through the system. In addition, the sealed nature of these systems can result in the accumulation of evolved gasses from the fluid reagents of a system, where such gases would dissipate into the atmosphere in conventional assay formats.
A number of stop-gap measures have been employed in attempts to address some of these potential problems of microfluidic systems. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,880,071 describes methods of reducing effects of electrokinetic biasing of reagents within electrically driven microfluidic channel systems. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 6,043,080 to Lipshutz et al., describes the use of gas venting membranes within a miniature chamber, to permit degassing of fluids within a miniature fluidic environment.

Control of operation conditions within fluidic systems


The invention includes methods and compositions for the production of high titer recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV). The disclosed rAAV are useful in gene therapy applications. Methods are based on the use of recombinant herpes virus vectors and result in highly efficient production of rAAV.

1.1 Field of The Invention
The invention is in the field of molecular biology. More specifically, the invention relates to methods for the large-scale production of recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) for use in gene therapy applications.
1.2 Description of The Related Art
Gene therapy refers to treatment of genetic diseases by replacing, altering, or supplementing a gene responsible for the disease. It is achieved by introduction of a corrective gene or genes into a host cell, generally by means of a vehicle or vector. Gene therapy holds great promise for the treatment of many diseases. Already, some success has been achieved pre-clinically, using recombinant AAV (rAAV) for the delivery and long-term expression of introduced genes into cells in animals, including clinically important non-dividing cells of the brain, liver, skeletal muscle and lung. Clinical trials using this technology have included use of rAAV expressing the cftr gene as a treatment for cystic fibrosis (Flotte et al., 1998; Wagner et al. 1998).
Methods for production of rAAV have been developed in which cells grown in culture are caused to produce rAAV, which is harvested from the cells and purified. Production methods for rAAV involve delivery of three necessary elements to the producer cells: 1) a gene of interest flanked by AAV ITR sequences, 2) AAV rep and cap genes, and 3) helper virus proteins ("helper functions"). The conventional protocol for delivering the first two is by transfection of the cells with plasmid DNA containing the appropriate recombinant gene cassettes The helper functions have traditionally been supplied by infecting the cells with a helper virus such as adenovirus (Ad). (Samulski et al., 1998; Hauswirth et al., 2000).
1.3 Quantitative Problems Associated With Producing Amounts of rAAV Needed for Gene Therapy
Despite the potential benefits of gene therapy as a treatment for human genetic diseases, unfortunately, a serious practical limitation stands in the way of its widespread use in the clinic. In order to produce even a single clinically effective dose for a human patient, over 1014 rAAV particles must be made (Snyder, et al., 1997; Ye et al., 1999). To make this number of particles using current technology requires over 2×1011 producer cells. On a laboratory scale, this number of cells would require about 7500 tissue culture flasks. On a commercial scale, this level of cell culture poses a serious practical barrier to large scale production of rAAV in "cell factories."
The benefits of improving particle yield per cell will be very significant from a commercial production standpoint. For example, an improvement resulting in a two-fold increase in rAAV yield per cell would allow for culture of half as many cells. A ten-fold increase would enable the same amount of rAAV product to be made by one-tenth the number of producer cells. Significant improvements of this magnitude are required in order to achieve economic feasibility for this technology.
Current rAAV production methodologies make use of procedures known to limit the number of rAAV that a single producer cell can make. The first of these is transfection using plasmids for delivery of DNA to the cells. It is well known that plasmid transfection is an inherently inefficient process requiring high genome copies and therefore large amounts of DNA (Hauswirth et al., 2000). Additionally, use of Ad significantly reduces the final rAAV titers because it is a contaminant that must be removed from the final product. Not only must effective procedures be employed to eliminate Ad contamination, but stringent assays for Ad contamination of rAAV are also necessary. Purification and safety procedures dictated by the use of Ad result in loss of rAAV at each step. To overcome the major barrier to the routine use of gene therapy, commercially practical methods must be developed to provide rAAV in the vast amounts required for clinical applications.

Applied Genetics Technologies Corporation


An air cleaning apparatus, especially for cleaning of room air, includes an ionizing device (14) having a unipolar ion source formed by a corona discharge electrode, an electrostatic precipitator (12) connected to a high-voltage source (15) and having a flow-through passageway (18) for air to be cleaned and two groups of electrode elements (16, 17) disposed in the flow-through passageway, the electrode elements (16) of one group being interleaved with and spaced from the electrode elements (17) of the other group and arranged to be at a potential different from that of the said other group. The corona discharge electrode (21) is arranged such that the ions generated at the electrode can diffuse essentially freely away from the electrode and thereby diffuse substantially freely throughout the room in which the ionizing device (14) is positioned.

The present invention relates to an air cleaning apparatus, especially an apparatus for cleaning of room air. Room air air in dwelling rooms, office or other work-rooms, meeting rooms, etc., or in other words, rooms in the ordinary sense of the word. Room air also refers to air in other spaces, such as a space defined by a ventilation duct, which is separated from the open air and thus holds a well-defined body of air.
More particularly, the invention relates to an air cleaning apparatus which comprises an ionizing device having a unipolar ion source formed by a corona discharge electrode, and an electrostatic precipitator connected to a high-voltage source and having a flow-through passageway for the air to be cleaned and two groups of electrode elements disposed in the flow-through passageway, the electrode elements of one group being interleaved with and spaced from the electrode elements of the other group and arranged to be at a potential different from that of the said other group.
Today, air cleaning apparatus of this kind exist in the form of two-stage electrostatic filters in which the ionizing device comprises a corona discharge electrode in an ionizing chamber at the upstream or inlet side of the precipitator. The walls of the ionizing chamber enclose a well-defined space in which the charging of the dust particles takes place more or less simultaneously with the entry of the air into the precipitator. This space may be considered as an upstream extension of the flow-through passageway of the precipitator, because all air that passes through the ionizing chamber and flows past the corona discharge electrode, flows on through the precipitator.
The efficiency of air cleaning apparatus of this kind is dependent on the efficiency of the charging of the dust particles which the airflow through the ionizing chamber carries and which are to be separated from the air in the precipitator.
One way of achieving an efficient charging of the dust particles is to pass a strong corona through the corona discharge electrode, but a strong corona current has the undesirable effect of causing a substantial generation of ozone at the corona discharge electrode.
It is also possible to achieve an efficient charging of the dust particles with a weak corona current by designing the ionization chamber such that the dimension of the space charge region which is defined by the ionizing chamber and through which the airborne particles pass during their travel to the precipitator is large in the direction of flow so that the particles will have a long dwelling time in this region and, consequently, the time available for charging of the particles will also be long. WO93/16807 discloses a two-stage electrostatic filter in which this technique of achieving an efficient charging of the dust particles is embodied. Using the two stage electrostatic filter described in this publication it is possible to achieve a dust separation which is greatly improved over that of other prior art two-stage electrostatic filters, even though the corona current is very weak.


A design structure embodied in a machine readable storage medium for of designing, manufacturing, and/or testing for shared cache eviction in a multi-core processing environment having a cache shared by a plurality of processor cores is provided. The design structure includes means for receiving from a processor core a request to load a cache line in the shared cache; means for determining whether the shared cache is full; means for determining whether a cache line is stored in the shared cache that has been accessed by fewer than all the processor cores sharing the cache if the shared cache is full; and means for evicting a cache line that has been accessed by fewer than all the processor cores sharing the cache if a cache line is stored in the shared cache that has been accessed by fewer than all the processor cores sharing the cache.

1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention is generally related to design structures, and more specifically, design structures for products for shared cache eviction.
2. Description of Related Art
Multi-core computer architecture typically includes multiple processor cores on a single chip, referred to as a chip multiprocessor (CMP). The chip also typically includes cache memory shared by the multiple processors cores referred to as a shared cache. When the shared cache becomes full one or more cache lines in the shared cache is typically evicted. Conventional eviction schemes simply evict the least frequently used cache line or the least recently used cache line without regard to which processor cores or how many processor cores accessed the cache line. There is therefore an ongoing need for improvement in the field of shared cache eviction in multi-core processor computer architecture.

International Business Machines Corporation


A method is disclosed for the double bond isomerization of alpha olefin-containing feeds, e.g., conversion of 1-butene-containing hydrocarbon streams to 2-butene-rich product streams, wherein oligomer by-products are minimized. The process uses a catalyst composition comprising a zeolite whose surface has been at least partially deactivated for acid catalyzed reactions by treatment with an aluminum chelating agent, e.g., oxalic acid, which possesses an average cross section diameter greater than that of the zeolite pores.

The demand for internal double-bond olefins has recently increased. For example, 2-butene-rich feeds have been found to be useful in the production of alkylate prepared by alkylation of isoparaffins with light olefins. The desirability of using butene-2 as compared to butene-1 as feedstock to an alkylation zone to produce high octane gasoline blending stocks is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,804,490. U.S. Pat. No. 3,800,003 presents a process in which a feed stream comprising butene isomers is passed into an isomerization zone to increase the quantity of butene-2 available for passage into a downstream alkylation zone. U.S. Pat. No. 4,918,255 discloses an alkylation process using a heterogeneous isoparaffin/olefin alkylation catalyst, e.g. BF.sub.3 /Al.sub.2 O.sub.3, wherein the olefin feed is isomerized to reduce alpha olefin content using as isomerization catalyst alumina, silica, zirconia, chromium oxide, boron oxide, thoria, magnesia, aluminum sulfate or combinations thereof, as well as boron halide-modified metal oxide.
Double bond isomerization of olefins such as butene in the presence of catalysts of the pentasil type such as ZSM-5 and ZSM-11 at temperatures of 100.degree. to 500.degree. C. is disclosed in European Patent Application 0 129 899 to Hoelderich.
European Patent Application 0 247 802 to Barri et al. discloses restructuring olefins using tectometallosilicates of the Theta-1 type (ZSM-22) as well as ZSM-23 at relatively high reaction temperatures of 200.degree. to 550.degree. C. Table 4 thereof shows 1-butene to 2-butene selectivity (mol/mol) of Theta-1 catalyst in the conversion of 1-butene of 92.1% at 234.degree. C. at 100 MPa pressure using an 11.5.+-.2.8% vol/vol 1-butene in nitrogen feed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,749,819 to Hamilton, Jr. exemplifies double bond isomerization of an alpha olefin feed (preferably C.sub.12 to C.sub.18) to produce a product having interior double bond isomerization using a ferrierite catalyst. The reference further teaches at column 5, lines 15 to 19, that "[o]ther aluminosilicates may be exemplified by ZSM-12, ZSM-22, ZSM-23 and ZSM-48."
It is not unexpected that a wide variety of catalysts can be used to isomerize 1-butene at high initial activity inasmuch as the double bond shift is one of the most facile among the hydrocarbon reactions. The thermodynamics of the reaction indicate that enhanced selectivity for 2-butenes occurs at lower temperatures and that relatively great selectivities are possible with a wide variety of catalysts at such temperatures. However, those catalysts which exhibit the desirable activity and stability for the double bond shift reaction can often produce unwanted oligomer by-products.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a method for isomerizing alpha-olefins (or terminal double bond olefins) to internal double bond olefins, e.g, 1-butene feeds to 2-butene rich products, over a catalyst which exhibits high 1-butene conversion and 2-butene selectivity, while minimizing oligomer by-product formation.
It is known in the art that surface acidity of zeolitic catalysts can be modified by treatment with various base reagents. U.S. Pat. No. 4,870,038 to Page et al discloses a process for producing substantially linear hydrocarbons by oligomerizing a lower olefin at elevated temperature and pressure with siliceous acidic ZSM-23 whose surface is rendered substantially inactive for acidic reactions, e.g., by contact with 2,4,6-collidine (2,4,6-trimethylpyridine, gamma-collidine). U.S. Pat. No. 5,015,361 to Anthes et al discloses a method for catalytic dewaxing which employs zeolite catalysts surface acidity deactivated with bulky amines. The reduction in surface acidity serves to reduce the amount of lower value cracked products obtained during dewaxing. U.S. Pat. No. 4,101,595 teaches the modification of zeolites by exchange and similar technology with large cations such as N.sup.+ and P.sup.+ and large branched compounds such as polyamines and the like. As disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,520,221 and 4,568,786, zeolites which have been surface-deactivated by treatment with bulky dialkylamines are useful as catalysts for the oligomerization of lower olefins such as propylene to provide lubricating oil stocks.
Base treatments, however are often temporary in nature and require the continual provision of base in the feedstream in order to maintain the desired deactivation of the catalyst surface. Moreover, the bulky base can obstruct pores resulting in reduced intrapore activity of the zeolite and requiring higher temperatures, which are undesirable for internal double bond selectivity, and/or reduced space velocity.
Another approach to selectively deactivating the surface of zeolites involves dealumination of zeolite surfaces. Techniques for zeolite dealumination include hydrothermal treatment, mineral acid treatment with HCl, HNO.sub.3, and H.sub.2 SO.sub.4, and chemical treatment with SiCl.sub.4 or ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). The treatments are limited, in many cases, in the extent of dealumination by the onset of crystal degradation and loss of sorption capacity. U.S. Pat. No. 4,419,220 to LaPierre et al discloses that dealumination of zeolite Beta via treatment with HCl solutions is limited to SiO.sub.2 /Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 ratios of about 200 to 300 beyond which significant losses to zeolite crystallinity are observed.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,442,795 to Kerr et al. describes a process for preparing highly siliceous zeolite-type materials from crystalline aluminosilicates by means of a solvolysis, e.g. hydrolysis, followed by a chelation. In this process, the acid form of a zeolite is subjected to hydrolysis, to remove aluminum from the aluminosilicate. The aluminum can then be physically separated from the aluminosilicate by the use of complexing or chelating agents such as ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid or carboxylic acid, to form aluminum complexes that are readily removable from the aluminosilicate. The examples are directed to the use of EDTA to remove alumina.
EP 0 259 526 B1 discloses the use of dealumination in producing zeolite ECR-17. The preferred dealumination method involves a combination of steam treatment and acid leaching, or chemical treatments with silicon halides. The acid used is preferably a mineral acid, such as HCl, HNO.sub.3 or H.sub.2 SO.sub.4, but may also be weaker acids such as formic, acetic, oxalic, tartaric acids and the like.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,388,177 to Bowes et al. discloses the preparation of a natural ferrierite hydrocracking catalyst by treatment with oxalic acid to impart catalytic activity for converting slightly branched as well as straight chain hydrocarbons in hydrodewaxing and naphtha upgrading. Increased activity is believed to arise from removal of iron, sodium and other impurities by such treatment.
As far as is known, surface-dealuminated zeolites have heretofore not been used as double-bond isomerization catalysts.

Double bond isomerization of olefin-containing feeds with minimal oligomerization using permanently surface acidity deactivated zeolite catalysts


A cable processing machine includes a cable feeding device for moving a cable in a feed direction. The cable feeding device has a first guide element and a second guide element, between which elements the cable is guided at least in an operating mode of the cable processing machine. The spacing between the two guide elements is selectively variable. A method for laying a cable in the cable processing machine includes moving one or both of the guide elements relative to one another when the cable processing machine is shifted between the operating mode and a cable laying mode.

Cable processing machines generally comprise cable feed drives, by means of which the cable to be processed is moved in a feed direction. One of the most popular forms of cable feed drives are what are known as belt drives, in which the cable is guided between two belt drives which each comprise driven belts. The cable is moved in the feed direction by means of contact with the driven belts. A cable processing machine of this kind is known from EP 3 219 654 A1, for example.
Another belt drive is described in EP 0 423 443 A1.
The belt drives are designed in particular such that one of the belt drives is arranged on a housing of the cable processing machine in a stationary manner, while the other is arranged on a carrier which is movable relative to the housing and thus relative to the stationary belt drive, in particular perpendicularly to the conveying plane of the cable, such that the belt drive can be opened for laying a cable and subsequently closed again for operation. Alternatively, cable feeding devices are also known, in which both belt drives are designed to be movable.
In addition to the belt drive, the cables in cable processing machines are guided through a plurality of guide units which ensure that the cable is moved along a predetermined conveying path inside the cable processing machine, thus making a safe, high-quality processing of the cable possible. Guide units usually have circular holes through which the cable is guided. When laying a new cable, the cable therefore has to be threaded through this circular hole of the guide unit. Such guide units having circular holes are known from DE 10 2009 031 076 B3, for example. This threading is usually performed by hand and is very elaborate. In particular, when processing cables having different diameters, the guide units often need to be changed because the radius of the hole needs to be matched to the diameter of the cable, since when the diameter of the hole is too small the cable gets stuck and simply cannot pass through, and when the diameter is too large the clearance is large such that high-quality processing of the cable is no longer ensured.
The problem addressed by the invention is that of providing a cable processing machine and a method for laying a cable in a cable processing machine, in which machine and method it is particularly easy to carry out a cable change.

Cable processing machine with movable guide elements and method for laying a cable in a cable processing machine


Methods of producing silicon carbide, and other metal carbide materials. The method comprises reacting a carbon material (e.g., fibers, or nanoparticles, such as powder, platelet, foam, nanofiber, nanorod, nanotube, whisker, graphene (e.g., graphite), fullerene, or hydrocarbon) and a metal or metal oxide source material (e.g., in gaseous form) in a reaction chamber at an elevated temperature ranging up to approximately 2400° C. or more, depending on the particular metal or metal oxide, and the desired metal carbide being produced. A partial pressure of oxygen in the reaction chamber is maintained at less than approximately 1.01×102 Pascal, and overall pressure is maintained at approximately 1 atm.

Silicon carbide fiber is used to provide mechanical strength at high temperatures to fibrous products, such as high temperature insulation, belting, gaskets, or curtains, or as reinforcements in plastic, ceramic, or metal matrices of high performance composite materials. To provide mechanical strength to these products or materials, the silicon carbide has relatively fine grain sizes and low density, one third as compared to steel. Silicon carbide is also used in advanced nuclear fuel elements to provide mechanical stability and higher thermal conductivity to the oxide based fuel. The silicon carbide can also function as a diffusion barrier to the release of fission products.
Silicon carbide exists in approximately 250 crystalline forms, including the alpha polymorph or polytype and the beta polymorph, each of which has a different crystal structure. Silicon carbide is commercially available in many forms, such as powders or particulates, fibers, whiskers, or cloth, depending on the polymorph. Alpha silicon carbide has a hexagonal crystal structure and a decomposition temperature of approximately 2730° C. Alpha silicon carbide is conventionally manufactured as a powder on a large scale for use in monolithic (non-fiber) silicon carbide products. Monolithic forms of alpha silicon carbide are known in the art, such as HEXOLOY® SA silicon carbide from Saint-Gobain Advanced Ceramics (Niagara Falls, N.Y.). HEXOLOY® SA silicon carbide exhibits reliable performance in air at temperatures greater than 1900° C. and is used at temperatures of at least 2200° C. in inert environments.
Monolithic (non-fiber) forms of alpha silicon carbide contain no alpha silicon carbide fibers or beta silicon carbide fibers. The HEXOLOY® SA silicon carbide is produced by pressureless sintering of silicon carbide powder. One known process of forming monolithic alpha silicon carbide is to heat sub-micron alpha silicon carbide powder formed by the Acheson process to a temperature of 2200° C. and pressureless sinter the alpha silicon carbide powder into a product shape using sintering aids, such as boron or calcium. Another process for forming monolithic alpha silicon carbide is the Lely process, in which silicon carbide powder is sublimated in an argon atmosphere at a temperature of 2500° C. and re-deposited into single crystals. Monolithic alpha silicon carbide may also be formed by reaction bonding silicon and carbon powder, or by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) using gases such as silane (SiH4), propane (C3H8), or more complex gases to form a coating.
Beta silicon carbide has a cubic or zinc blende crystal structure. The silicon carbide composite industry is based on the use of beta silicon carbide fibers in a beta silicon carbide matrix. The crystalline structure of the matrix is the same as the crystalline structure of the fibers to maintain phase stability at elevated temperatures. Beta silicon carbide fibers are commercially available, such as SYLRAMIC® silicon carbide fibers from COI Ceramics, Inc. (San Diego, Calif.), HI-NICALON™ ceramic fibers and HI-NICALON™ type S ceramic fibers from Nippon Carbon (Tokyo, Japan) and distributed through COI Ceramics, Inc (San Diego, Calif.), and TYRANNO FIBER® from Ube Industries, Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan). Beta silicon carbide fibers are used with the beta silicon carbide matrix in ceramic matrix composites (CMCs).
However, CMCs including the beta silicon carbide matrix and beta silicon carbide fibers have limited temperature use due to fiber degradation. These CMCs may be used for short times at a temperature up to 1400° C. or may be used continuously at a temperature below 1200° C. Beta silicon carbide particulate powder is conventionally produced by the Acheson process in which silicon dioxide and carbon are reacted in an electric resistor furnace at a temperature between 1600° C. and 2500° C. The beta silicon carbide may also be formed by the conversion of silicon monoxide and carbon into fibers of beta silicon carbide. The commercially available fibers of beta silicon carbide are produced using a pre-ceramic polymer conversion route enabling extrusion of continuous fibers, followed by high temperature sintering in a controlled atmosphere to about 1600° C.
Other processes of producing beta silicon carbide require chemical reaction of the carbon using oxygen to enhance silicon dioxide or silicon monoxide reaction with the carbon. Moreover, attempts to make alpha silicon carbide fibers by these processes have not been successful as further heat treatment of the formed beta silicon carbide fibers causes the fibers to lose thermal and mechanical properties at temperatures above 1700° C., and heating to effect crystalline conversion (from beta to alpha) results in significant mechanical property degradation.
It would be desirable to produce fibers of alpha silicon carbide for use in a variety of high temperature and composite applications. It would also be desirable to produce the alpha silicon carbide fibers in an economical manner. It would be a further advantage if such methods were also adaptable to produce other forms of silicon carbide (e.g., nanoparticles), whether the alpha polymorph, beta polymorph, or otherwise. It would also be advantageous if such methods were adaptable to production of other metallic carbides, whether in fiber or other form (e.g., nanoparticles), as well.

Methods for producing metal carbide materials


A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device includes: simultaneously forming first and second well regions on a semiconductor substrate, wherein the second well region becomes a fixed electrode; simultaneously forming a first gate insulating film on the first well region and a fixed electrode protective film on the second well region; simultaneously forming a floating gate electrode on the first gate insulating film and a sacrificial film on the fixed electrode protective film; simultaneously forming a second gate insulating film on the floating gate electrode and a movable electrode protective film on the sacrificial film; simultaneously forming a gate electrode on the second gate insulating film and a movable electrode on the movable electrode protective film; removing the sacrificial film to form a void by; and vacuum-sealing the void to form a vacuum chamber.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device wherein a MOS (Metal Oxide Semiconductor) structure and a semiconductor pressure sensor are integrated.
2. Background Art
In recent years, semiconductor pressure sensors are used in various fields including automobiles. An example of semiconductor pressure sensors is a semiconductor pressure sensor integrated on a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) circuit. A CMOS integrated pressure sensor is proposed which aims to achieve further size reduction, lower cost and higher accuracy (e.g., see Japanese Patent No. 4267322)
In this conventional semiconductor pressure sensor, a region in which a CMOS circuit is formed (MOS region) and a region in which a pressure sensor is formed (pressure sensor region) are defined on a semiconductor substrate. In the MOS region, a CMOS circuit is formed which includes an n-channel type MOS transistor and a p-channel type MOS transistor. In the pressure sensor region, a capacitative pressure sensor is formed. In the capacitative pressure sensor, a fixed electrode and a movable electrode are formed, and a vacuum chamber is provided between a fixed electrode and a movable electrode. The vacuum chamber is sealed with a sealing film. The pressure is measured by detecting a change in the distance between the movable electrode and the fixed electrode as a change in the capacitance value.

Method for manufacturing semiconductor device


A coating composition comprising cationic fine particles of a crosslinked resin, which have an average particle diameter ranging from 0.1 to 100 .mu.m and a water absorption capacity of at most 25 times by volume, and a binder resin; and a printing medium comprising a base material and an ink-receiving layer provided on the base material, wherein the ink-receiving layer contains cationic fine particles of a crosslinked resin, which have an average particle diameter ranging from 0.1 to 100 .mu.m and a water absorption capacity of at most 25 times by volume, and a binder resin.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printing medium suitable for use in forming images with water-based inks, and an image forming process, and particularly to a printing medium suitable for use in multi-color printing using water-based inks containing a water-soluble dye and an image forming process using this medium.
The present invention also relates to a coating composition suitable for use in producing such a printing medium, and an image forming process using the medium.
2. Related Background Art
With the improvement in performance of ink-jet printing apparatus, such as speeding up of printing and multi-coloring of images, in recent years, printing media have also been required to have higher and wider properties. More specifically, they are required to simultaneously satisfy, for example, the following properties:
(1) having high ink absorptivity (ink absorbing capacity being great, and ink absorbing time being short); PA1 (2) providing printed dots high in optical density and clear in periphery; PA1 (3) providing printed dots having a substantially round shape and a smooth periphery; PA1 (4) being able to stably store images formed thereon for a long period of time without deterioration of quality (in particular, under conditions of a high-temperature and high-humidity environment); PA1 (5) undergoing little changes in the properties even at varied temperatures and humidities and no curling; PA1 (6) undergoing no blocking; and PA1 (7) providing prints the images of which do not fade even when the prints are posted over a long period of time. PA1 (1) since inks are absorbed in voids defined by silica, their volume is limited by the void volume; PA1 (2) the resulting medium cannot be used as a printing medium of which transparency is required; PA1 (3) the resulting medium has no dye-fixing property, and causes migration of dyes in a high-humidity environment; PA1 (4) it is difficult to constitute a printing medium having such high ink absorbency and water resistance that it is applicable to any high-speed color ink-jet printer. PA1 (5) when the resulting printing medium is required to have transparency or high gloss, it is necessary to use an ink-absorbent material scarcely undergoing light scattering; and PA1 (6) since some inorganic pigment may have a catalytic action on the deterioration reaction of dyes, it is desirable to use an ink-absorbent material by which the deterioration of the dyes is prevented. PA1 (1) A polyepoxide having at least three epoxy groups is subjected to a quaternizing reaction with at least one amine and to a reaction for adding at least two acrylic esters; PA1 (2) An acrylic monomer having a tertiary amino group, such as dimethylaminoethyl (meth)acrylate, is added to a polyepoxide having at least three epoxy groups; and PA1 (3) At least one acryl group of a polyacryloyl compound having at least three acryloyl groups is subjected to an addition reaction with trimethylamine or the like into a cationized product. PA1 (a) Polyvinyl alcohol reacted with an acid anhydride such as maleic anhydride, succinic anhydride or phthalic anhydride, and an epoxy resin; PA1 (b) An acrylic resin obtained by copolymerizing a glycidyl (meth)acrylate, and an acid anhydride; PA1 (c) An alcohol-soluble and water-insoluble acrylic resin in which a water-soluble high-molecular compound having crosslinkable alkanol groups in its molecule is used in combination with any one of N-methylol(meth)acrylamide and N-butoxymethyl(meth)acrylamide; PA1 (d) An amino type acrylic resin obtained by copolymerizing acrylic monomers having a primary, secondary or tertiary amino group in its side chain; PA1 (e) A resin composition containing a polymer of ethylene oxide having at least two hydroxyl groups in its molecule and a blocked isocyanate; and PA1 (f) A methylolized polyamide resin or a methylolized polyamide resin grafted with acrylamide, and the like.
As printing media used in such ink-jet printing systems, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-35977 describes exclusive coated paper provided with a coating layer containing a pigment.
However, general paper for ink-jet including such coated paper ensures its ink absorbency by using a great amount of an inorganic porous pigment. When inorganic particles typified by, for example, silica are used, the following problems are offered. That is,
By the way, it has been known to use water-absorbent fine particles composed of an organic polymer in printing media for ink-jet printing. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-223466 discloses a printing medium provided with an ink-receiving layer containing high water-absorbent resin particles and a binder, while Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-61114 discloses a printing sheet comprising water-absorbent gel particles. Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-228039 discloses an ink-receiving layer composed of partially crosslinked multi-layer fine particles and a binder.
The resin particles disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-223466 have a feature that they can impart higher ink absorbency compared with inorganic particles. Since the resin particles have such high water absorbency that they can absorb water 50 to 1,000 times as much as their own weight, however, the resulting printing medium tends to cause deterioration in the resolution of images and is liable to lower the strength of its portions on which images have been formed.
In the conventional typical water-absorbent particles, their rate of water absorption and water retentivity are adjusted by crosslinking polymer chains having carboxyl groups.
Since most of dyes used in inks for an ink-jet system have a sulfonic group and/or a carboxyl group like acid dyes and direct dyes, the dye molecules diffuse together with solvents for inks after printing when the conventional water-absorbent particles having carboxyl groups are used in a printing medium, so that such a printing medium is difficult to be colored. Besides, since the printing medium is easy to exude the dyes by application of water, it has been necessary to improve a color-fixing property and a water fastness of images to be formed.
Further, the conventional resin particles absorb water in excess, so that coating films formed therefrom tend to lower their strength. The films also involve a problem that since they tend to cause tacking, the resulting prints are poor in storability.

Coating composition, printing medium and image forming process using the same


Rotary press with a rotor, rotatingly drivable around a vertical axis of rotation, which has a die plate with die bores and upper and lower punches guided in guidings, radial cams for the upper and lower punches, at least one compression station with upper and lower pressing roller, at least one filling equipment and at least one stripping device for pressed articles which are ejected from the die bores, characterized in that the rotor has an annular plane situated radially outside of the graduated circle for the die bores, which is concentric to the axis of rotation and is lowered with respect to the upper side of the die plate about a predetermined degree, first deflection portion direct the ejected pressed articles to the annular plane and second deflection portion direct the pressed articles from the annular plane towards the outside.

Rotary presses for the manufacture of tablets and other pressed articles are known since a long time. Generally, they have a rotor which is rotatingly drivable around a vertical axis of rotation, which has a die plate with die bores arranged on a graduated circle, as well as lower and upper punches and guidings for them. Further, radial cams for lower and upper punches as well as at least one compression station with upper and lower pressing rollers belong to the rotary press. Such a rotary press is further equipped with a filling station, which automatically fills material that is to be pressed into the die bores, and also with a stripping device, which strips off pressed articles which were ejected from the lower punches from the upper side of the die plate into a discharge path. At the end of the discharge path there is a sacking equipment. At option, the pressed articles can also be directed towards an inspection station.
In the known case, the stripping of pressed articles in the operation of such a rotary press has to take place between the always last compression station and the filling equipment. In the filling equipment, the refilling of the die bores is performed. Therefore, stripping devices are provided at approximately opposite sides in a twin station rotary press. As a consequence, corresponding space has to be provided for the removal of the pressed articles, which is not available in some cases.
The present invention is based on the objective to create a rotary press in which the pressed articles can be taken off at a desired location on the perimeter of the rotor.


An exhaust gas sensor is made utilizing a crimp wherein an upper shield having a wiring harness assembly and a subassembly having a shell are positioned with the optional placement of a lubricant and/or sealant on the shell prior to being joined. Thereafter, the upper shield is crimped over the shell to form the exhaust gas sensor. Thereby, an exhaust gas sensor is made that is free of leaks and resists contamination from water and other contaminants.

The present invention relates to gas sensors. More particularly, the present invention relates to an externally crimped gas sensor and a method for forming an external shield crimp.
Exhaust gas sensors (or exhaust constituent sensors) have been used for many years in automotive vehicles to sense the presence of constituents in exhaust gasses (namely oxygen) and to sense, for example, when an exhaust gas content switches from rich to lean or lean to rich. One known type of exhaust sensor includes a flat plate sensor formed of various layers of ceramic and electrolyte materials laminated and sintered together with electrical circuit and sensor traces placed between the layers in a known manner.
Oxygen sensors are used in the automotive industry to sense amounts of oxygen present in exhaust gases relative to a reference gas, such as air. A switch type oxygen sensor, generally, comprises an ionically conductive solid electrolyte material, a sensing electrode which is exposed to the exhaust gas, and a reference electrode which is exposed to the reference gas. It operates in potentiometric mode, where oxygen partial pressure differences between the exhaust gas and reference gas on opposing faces of the electrochemical cell develop an electromotive force, which can be described by the Nernst equation:   E  =            (              RT                  4                    F                    )                  xe2x80x83                  ln                    (                              P                          O              2                        ref                                P                          O              2                                      )
where:
E=electromative force
R=universal gas constant
F=Faraday constant
T=absolute temperature of the gas
PO2ref=oxygen partial pressure of the reference gas
PO2=oxygen partial pressure of the exhaust gas
The large oxygen partial pressure difference between rich and lean exhaust gas conditions creates a step-like difference in cell output at the stoichiometric point; the switch-like behavior of the sensor enables engine combustion control about stoichiometry. Stoichiometric exhaust gas, which contains unburned hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and oxides of nitrogen, can be converted very efficiently to water, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen by automotive three-way catalysts in automotive catalytic converters. In addition to their value for emissions control, the sensors also provide improved fuel economy and drivability.
Because automotive exhaust sensors are mounted to members of the vehicle exhaust flow system, the sensors must be durable, be able to withstand vibration and jarring such as would occur during installation and normal vehicle operation, and be able to withstand shock from the occasional stone or other small road debris that may happen to be thrown at the sensor, for example, by the vehicle""s tires.
Typically, great care is required when packaging and holding the flat plate sensing element within the outer housing (body) of the exhaust sensor. The flat plate sensing element can be both difficult and expensive to package within the body of the exhaust sensor since it generally has one dimension that is very thin and is usually made of brittle materials. Consequently, great care and time consuming effort must be taken to prevent the flat plate sensing element from being damaged by exhaust, heat, impact, vibration, the environment, etc. Accordingly, efficient assembly of exhaust sensors such that they are durable and leak free constitutes a substantial concern in the industry.
Protection from contamination and water intrusion into the sensor through all metal/metal interfaces is critical to have long term durability. One such interface is attachment of the external sensor shield, which protects the portion of the exhaust sensor protruding from an exhaust line, to the mounting, or shell, which is threaded to seat the exhaust sensor into a bushing formed in the exhaust line.
Conventional sensors use one of two methods for creating a metal/metal interface between the external sensor shield and the shell. One such method includes welding. However, welding procedures involve significantly high cost processes and complex equipment. Further, production requires long cycle times that are not amenable to low capital investment, lean modules.
A second conventional method involves crimping of the shield inside the shell. The seal provided by this crimp is aided by the reflexive action of the more flexible crimped shield against the inner surface of the more rigid shell. However, labor costs are increased due to process limitations in forming the crimp. Specifically, the process requires that the final exhaust sensor assembly, including the wiring harness be assembled completely on the lower subassembly and that the external sensor shield be crimped after other assembly is completed.
Accordingly, there remains a need in the art for a durable gas sensor having improved resistance to external contaminants and moisture that can be easily manufactured at a low product cost.
The problems and disadvantages of the prior art are overcome and alleviated by the method for making an exhaust gas sensor. The method comprises positioning a least an end portion of an upper shield having a wiring harness assembly that comprises an upper portion of the sensing element, over at least a first end of a shell whereby the wiring harness assembly and the subassembly converge; and crimping the upper shield end portion over the shell first end.
Further, the gas sensor comprises a sensing element, having an upper portion disposed in electrical communication with a wiring harness assembly and a lower portion disposed within a subassembly; an upper shield disposed around the wiring harness assembly; and a shell disposed around the subassembly, wherein a first end of the shell is concentrically disposed within and crimped to an end portion of the upper shield.
The above-described and other features and advantages of the present invention will be appreciated and understood by those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, drawings, and appended claims.

Externally crimped exhaust gas sensor and method for forming an external shield crimp


A method for synthesizing a clock signal with multiple frequency outputs for use in a converter for converting a non-interlacing scan data into an interlacing scan data is disclosed. The converter provides a first reference clock signal with a frequency F1. The method includes the steps of receiving the first reference clock signal with the frequency F1 to generate and output a clock signal with a frequency F1×N, proceeding a divided-by-P1 and a divided-by-P2 operations on the clock signal with a frequency F1×N, respectively, to output a first output clock signal with a frequency F1×N/P1 and a second output clock signal with a frequency F1×N/P2, respectively. The value P2/P1 correlates to a ratio of the pixel number of a horizontal scan line in the non-interlacing scan data to that in the interlacing scan data. In addition, a clock signal synthesizer with multiple frequency outputs is also disclosed.

Nowadays, many electrical appliances are widely used with computers due to the amazing power of computers. For example, video compact disks (VCDs) and digital versatile disks (DVDs) are able to be played by a personal computer. Since the size of a typical computer monitor is not large enough to exhibit the spectacular video effect of the VCD or DVD disks, it is preferred that the signals be outputted from the personal computer to a TV set to be displayed on the relatively large TV screen. The purpose can be achieved by employing a display adapter.
FIG. 1A is a partial functional block diagram of a typical display adapter. The pixel parallel digital signals from a graphic chip 10 are selectively converted into a proper format of analog signals via either a random access memory digital-to-analog converter (RAM DAC) 11 or a TV encoder 12, and delivered to a computer monitor 13 or a TV screen 14, respectively, for display. Further, for TV analog signals, two formats, i.e. the NTSC (National Television Standards Committee) standard and the PAL (Phase Alternate Line) standard, are involved.
The partial functional block diagram of the TV encoder 12 can be seen in FIG. 1B. The pixel parallel digital signals from the graphic chip 10 are processed by a data capture device 121, a color space converter 122, a scaler and deflicker 123, a first-in first-out buffer 124, an NTSC/PAL encoder 125 and a digital-to-analog converter 126 to produce the TV analog signals either in the NTSC or PAL standard.
The scaler and deflicker 123 is used for processing a non-interlacing scan data and then outputting the processed non-interlacing scan data to the first-in first-out buffer 124. The NTSC/PAL encoder 125 accesses the data from the first-in first-out buffer 124 to separate it into an odd field and an even field, resulting in that an interlacing scan data is displayed on the TV screen. The time for processing two horizontal scan lines by the scaler and deflicker 123 is equal to that for processing one horizontal scan line by the NTSC/PAL encoder 125. Thus, the relationship between the frequency Fsd of the clock signal required for the scaler and deflicker 123 and the frequency Fe of the clock signal required for the NTSC/PAL encoder 125 can be represented by the following equation (1):Fsd/Fe=2×H—sd/H—e  (1),wherein H_sd represents the number of pixels in a horizontal scan line processed by the scaler and deflicker 123, while H_e represents the number of pixels in a horizontal scan line processed by the NTSC/PAL TV encoder 125.
Conventionally, the TV encoder 12 uses a single phase-locked loop (PLL) clock signal generator 127 to generate a clock signal simultaneously provided to the scaler and deflicker 123 and the NTSC/PAL TV encoder 125. In other words, Fsd=Fe. When larger and larger pixel number, e.g. 1024 points, 1152 points, 1365 points or even 1600 points, for each horizontal scan line in the non-interlacing image data needs to be processed by the scaler and deflicker 123, the processed image width displayed on the TV frame becomes narrower than expected. It is because the frequency Fsd is increased with the pixel number in a scan line. In the case that Fe equals to Fsd, the frequency Fe increases accordingly. The increasing frequency Fe will speed up the output frequency of individual pixel in the scan line and thus shorten the distance between every two adjacent pixels on the TV screen. In other words, a seemingly compressed image is shown. Thus, the original width of the TV screen is not efficiently used.
Therefore, the purpose of the present invention is to develop a clock signal synthesizer with multiple frequency outputs and a method for synthesizing a clock signal for use with a TV encoder to deal with the above situations encountered in the prior art.

Clock signal synthesizer with multiple frequency outputs and method for synthesizing clock signal