The invention concerns a rotating electrical machine, comprising inside a housing, a fixedly mounted stator and a rotor rotatably mounted in the stator, the ventilating system including in particular at least one ventilator integral with the rotor and capable of generating a cooling air stream inside the housing, radial air intake orifices (20) arranged in the housing, and cooling air discharge ports (22) arranged in said housing in a ring opposite the periphery of the ventilator and mutually separated by fins (24) stiffening the housing in the port region. The system is characterized in that the angle of inclination of the fins (24) relative to the tangent perpendicular to the radial direction (R) ranges between 38° and 52°. The invention is for use for motor vehicle alternators.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns an internal ventilating system for a rotating electrical machine of the type that includes, within a housing, a stator fixed-mounted in the housing and a rotor rotary-mounted in the stator; the ventilation system includes in particular at least one ventilator integrated with the rotor and capable of generating a cooling air stream within the housing, radial air intake orifices arranged in the housing and cooling air discharge ports arranged in said housing in a ring opposite the periphery of the ventilator and separated from each other by fins stiffening the housing in the area of the ports. The invention also concerns a rotating electrical machine that includes such a ventilation system.
2. Background Art
It has been shown that, to minimize the pressure losses caused by the fins and the noise due to the cooling fluid flows (air in this case), it is advantageous to incline them according to the direction of the air flow that must be discharged. The necessity to combine ventilator and housing is a serious disadvantage.

Internal ventillating system for a rotating electrical machine such as a motor vehicle alternator


The present invention relates to an isolated protein or polypeptide corresponding to a coat protein or polypeptide of a grapevine leafroll virus. The encoding DNA molecule either alone in isolated form or in an expression system, a host cell, or a transgenic grape plant is also disclosed. Another aspect of the present invention relates to a method of imparting grapevine leafroll resistance to grape plants by transforming them with the DNA molecule of the present invention. A method for imparting tristeza virus resistance in citrus plants using the DNA molecule of the present invention is also disclosed.

The world's most widely grown fruit crop, the grape (Vitis sp.), is cultivated on all continents except Antarctica. However, major grape production centers are in European countries (including Italy, Spain, and France), which constitute about 70% of the world grape production (Mullins et al., Biology of the Grapevine, Cambridge, U.K.:University Press (1992)). The United States, with 300,000 hectares of grapevines, is the eighth largest grape grower in the world. Although grapes have many uses, a major portion of grape production (.about.80%) is used for wine production. Unlike cereal crops, most of the world's vineyards are planted with traditional grapevine cultivars, which have been perpetuated for centuries by vegetative propagation. Several important grapevine virus and virus-like diseases, such as grapevine leafroll, corky bark, and Rupestris stem pitting, are transmitted and spread through the use of infected vegetatively propagated materials. Thus, propagation of certified, virus-free materials is one of the most important disease control measures. Traditional breeding for disease resistance is difficult due to the highly heterozygous nature and outcrossing behavior of grapevines, and due to polygenic patterns of inheritance. Moreover, introduction of a new cultivar may be prohibited by custom or law. Recent biotechnology developments have made possible the introduction of special traits, such as disease resistance, into an established cultivar without altering its horticultural characteristics.
Many plant pathogens, such as fungi, bacteria, phytoplasmas, viruses, and nematodes can infect grapes, and the resultant diseases can cause substantial losses in production (Pearson et al., Compendium of Grape Diseases, American Phytopathological Society Press (1988)). Among these, viral diseases constitute a major hindrance to profitable growing of grapevines. About 34 viruses have been isolated and characterized from grapevines. The major virus diseases are grouped into: (1) the grapevine degeneration caused by the fanleaf nepovirus, other European nepoviruses, and American nepoviruses, (2) the leafroll complex, and (3) the rugose wood complex (Martelli, ed., Graft Transmissible Diseases of Grapevines, Handbook for Detection and Diagnosis, FAO, UN, Rome, Italy (1993)).
Of the major virus diseases, the grapevine leafroll complex is the most widely distributed throughout the world. According to Goheen (Goheen, "Grape Leafroll," in Frazier et al., eds., Virus Diseases of Small Fruits and Grapevines (A Handbook), University of California, Division of Agricultural Sciences, Berkeley, Calif., USA, pp. 209-212 (1970) ("Goheen (1970)"), grapevine leafroll-like disease was described as early as the 1850s in German and French literature. However, the virus nature of the disease was first demonstrated by Scheu (Scheu, "Die Rollkrankheit des Rebstockes (Leafroll of grapevine)," D. D. Weinbau 14:222-358 (1935) ("Scheu (1935)")). In 1946, Harmon and Snyder (Harmon et al., "Investigations on the Occurrence, Transmission, Spread and Effect of `White` Fruit Colour in the Emperor Grape," Proc. Am. Soc. Hort. Sci. 74:190-194 (1946)) determined the virus nature of White Emperor disease in California. It was later proven by Goheen et al. (Goheen et al., "Leafroll (White Emperor Disease) of Grapes in California, Phytopathology, 48:51-54 (1958) ("Goheen (1958)")) that both leafroll and "White Emperor" diseases were the same, and only the name "leafroll" was retained.
Leafroll is a serious virus disease of grapes and occurs wherever grapes are grown. This wide distribution of the disease has come about through the propagation of diseased vines. It affects almost all cultivated and rootstock varieties of Vitis. Although the disease is not lethal, it causes yield losses and reduction of sugar content. Scheu estimated in 1936 that 80 percent of all grapevines planted in Germany were infected (Scheu, Mein Winzerbuch, Berlin:Reichsnahrstand-Verlags (1936)). In many California wine grape vineyards, the incidence of leafroll (based on a survey of field symptoms conducted in 1959) agrees with Scheu's initial observation in German vineyards (Goheen et al., "Studies of Grape Leafroll in California," Amer. J. Enol. Vitic., 10:78-84 (1959)). The current situation on leafroll disease does not seem to be any better (Goheen, "Diseases Caused by Viruses and Viruslike Agents," The American Phytopathological Society, St. Paul, Minn.:APS Press, 1:47-54 (1988) ("Goheen (1988)"). Goheen also estimated that the disease causes an annual loss of about 5-20 percent of the total grape production (Goheen (1970) and Goheen (1988)). The amount of sugar in individual berries of infected vines is only about 1/2 to 2/3 that of berries from noninfected vines (Goheen (1958)).
Symptoms of leafroll disease vary considerably depending upon the cultivar, environment, and time of the year. On red or dark-colored fruit varieties, the typical downward rolling and interveinal reddening of basal, mature leaves is the most prevalent in autumn; but not in spring or early summer. On light-colored fruit varieties however, symptoms are less conspicuous, usually with downward rolling accompanied by interveinal chlorosis. Moreover, many infected rootstock cultivars do not develop symptoms. In these cases, the disease is usually diagnosed with a woody indicator indexing assay using Vitis vivifera cv. Carbernet Franc (Goheen (1988)).
Ever since Scheu demonstrated that leafroll was graft transmissible, a virus etiology has been suspected (Scheu (1935)). Several virus particle types have been isolated from leafroll diseased vines. These include potyvirus-like (Tanne et al., "Purification and Characterization of a Virus Associated with the Grapevine Leafroll Disease," Phytopathology, 67:442-447 (1977)), isometric virus-like (Castellano et al., "Virus-like Particles and Ultrastructural Modifications in the Phloem of Leafroll-affected Grapevines," Vitis, 22:23-39 (1983) ("Castellano (1983)") and Namba et al., "A Small Spherical Virus Associated with the Ajinashika Disease of Koshu Grapevine, Ann. Phytopathol. Soc. Japan, 45:70-73 (1979)), and closterovirus-like (Namba, "Grapevine Leafroll Virus, a Possible Member of Closteroviruses, Ann. Phytopathol. Soc. Japan, 45:497-502 (1979)) particles. In recent years, however, long flexuous closteroviruses ranging from 1,400 to 2,200 nm have been most consistently associated with leafroll disease (FIG. 1) (Castellano (1983), Faoro et al., "Association of a Possible Closterovirus with Grapevine Leafroll in Northern Italy," Riv. Patol. Veg., Ser IV, 17:183-189 (1981), Gugerli et al., "L'enroulement de la vigne: mise en evidence de particules virales et developpement d'une methode immuno-enzymatique pour le diagnostic rapide (Grapevine Leafroll: Presence of Virus Particles and Development of an Immuno-enzyme method for Diagnosis and Detection)," Rev. Suisse Viticult. Arboricult. Hort., 16:299-304 (1984) ("Gugerli (1984)"), Hu et al., "Characterization of Closterovirus-like Particles Associated with Grapevine Leafroll Disease," J. Phytopathol., 128:1-14 (1990) ("Hu (1990)"), Milne et al., "Closterovirus-like Particles of Two Types Associated with Diseased Grapevines," Phytopathol. Z., 110:360-368 (1984), Zee et al., "Cytopathology of Leafroll-diseased Grapevines and the Purification and Serology of Associated Closteroviruslike Particles," Phytopathology, 77:1427-1434 (1987) ("Zee (1987)"), and Zimmermann et al., "Characterization and Serological Detection of Four Closterovirus-like Particles Associated with Leafroll Disease on Grapevine," J. Phytopathol., 130:205-218 (1990) ("Zimmermann (1990)")). These closteroviruses are referred to as grapevine leafroll associated viruses ("GLRaV"). At least six serologically distinct types of GLRaV's (GLRaV-1 to -6) have been detected from leafroll diseased vines (Table 1) (Boscia et al., "Nomenclature of Grapevine Leafroll-associated Putative Closteroviruses, Vitis, 34:171-175 (1995) ("Boscia (1995)") and (Martelli, "Leafroll," pp. 37-44 in Martelli, ed., Graft Transmissible Diseases of Grapevines, Handbook for Detection and Diagnosis, FAO, Rome Italy, (1993) ("Martelli I")). The first five of these were confirmed in the 10th Meeting of the International Council for the Study of Virus and Virus Diseases of the Grapevine ("ICVG") (Volos, Greece, 1990).
TABLE 1 ______________________________________ Coat Particle length protein Mr Type (nm) (.times.10.sup.3) Reference ______________________________________ GLRaV-1 1,400-2,200 39 Gugerli (1984) GLRaV-2 1,400-1,800 26 Gugerli (1984) Zimmermann (1990) GLRaV-3 1,400-2,200 43 Zee (1987) GLRaV-4 1,400-2,200 36 Hu (1990) GLRaV-5 1,400-2,200 36 Zimmermann (1990) GLRaV-6 1,400-2,200 36 Gugerli (1993) ______________________________________
Through the use of monoclonal antibodies, however, the original GLRaV II described in Gugerli (1984) has been shown to be an apparent mixture of at least two components, IIa and IIb (Gugerli et al., "Grapevine Leafroll Associated Virus II Analyzed by Monoclonal Antibodies," 11th Meeting of the International Council for the Study of Viruses and Virus Diseases of the Grapevine, Montreux, Switzerland, pp. 23-24 (1993) ("Gugerli (1993)")). Recent investigation with comparative serological assays (Boscia (1995)) demonstrated that the IIb component of cv. Chasselas 8/22 is the same as the GLRaV-2 isolate from France (Zimmermann (1990)) which also include the isolates of grapevine corky bark associated closteroviruses from Italy (GCBaV-BA) (Boscia (1995)) and from the United States (GCBaV-NY) (Namba et al., "Purification and Properties of Closterovirus-like Particles Associated with Grapevine Corky Bark Disease," Phytopathology, 81:964-970 (1991) ("Namba (1991)")). The IIa component of cv. Chasselas 8/22 was given the provisional name of grapevine leafroll associated virus 6 (GLRaV-6). Furthermore, the antiserum to the CA-5 isolate of GLRaV-2 produced by Boscia et al. (Boscia et al., "Characterization of Grape Leafroll Associated Closterovirus (GLRaV) Serotype II and Comparison with GLRaV Serotype III," Phytopathology, 80:117 (1990)) was shown to contain antibodies to both GLRaV-2 and GLRaV-1, with a prevalence of the latter (Boscia (1995)).
Several shorter closteroviruses (particle length 800 nm long) have also been isolated from grapevines. One of these, called grapevine virus A ("GVA") has also been found associated, though inconsistently, with the leafroll disease (Agran et al., "Occurrence of Grapevine Virus A (GVA) and Other Closteroviruses in Tunisian Grapevines Affected by Leafroll Disease," Vitis, 29:43-48 (1990), Conti, et al., "Closterovirus Associated with Leafroll and Stem Pitting in Grapevine," Phytopathol. Mediterr., 24:110-113 (1985), and Conti et al., "A Closterovirus from a Stem-pitting-diseased Grapevine," Phytopathology, 70:394-399 (1980)). The etiology of GVA is not really known; however, it appears to be more consistently associated with rugose wood sensu lato (Rosciglione at al., "Maladies de l'enroulement et du bois strie de la vigne: analyse microscopique et serologique (Leafroll and Stem Pitting of Grapevine: Microscopical and Serological Analysis)," Rev. Suisse Vitic Arboric. Hortic., 18:207-211 (1986) ("Rosciglione (1986)"), and Zimmermann (1990)). Moreover, another short closterovirus (800 nm long) named grapevine virus B ("GVB") has been isolated and characterized from corky bark-affected vines (Boscia et al., "Properties of a Filamentous Virus Isolated from Grapevines Affected by Corky Bark, Arch. Virol., 130:109-120 (1993) and Namba (1991)).
As suggested by Martelli I, leafroll symptoms may be induced by more than one virus or they may be simply a general plant physiological response to invasion by an array of phloem-inhabiting viruses. Evidence accumulated in the last 15 years strongly favors the idea that grapevine leafroll is induced by one (or a complex) of long closteroviruses (particle length 1,400 to 2,200 nm).
Grapevine leafroll is transmitted primarily by contaminated scions and rootstocks. However, under field conditions, several species of mealybugs have been shown to be the vector of leafroll (Engelbrecht et al., "Transmission of Grapevine Leafroll Disease and Associated Closteroviruses by the Vine Mealybug Planococcus-ficus," Phytophylactica, 22:341-346 (1990), Rosciglione, et al., "Transmission of Grapevine Leafroll Disease and an Associated Closterovirus to Healthy Grapevine by the Mealybug Planococcus ficus," (Abstract), Phytoparasitica, 17:63-63 (1989), and Tanne, "Evidence for the Transmission by Mealybugs to Healthy Grapevines of a Closter-like Particle Associated with Grapevine Leafroll Disease," Phytoparasitica, 16:288 (1988)). Natural spread of leafroll by insect vectors is rapid in various parts of the world. In New Zealand, observations of three vineyards showed that the number of infected vines nearly doubled in a single year (Jordan et al., "Spread of Grapevine Leafroll and its Associated Virus in New Zealand Vineyards," 11th Meeting of the International Council for the Study of Viruses and Virus Diseases of the Grapevine, Montreux, Switzerland, pp. 113-114 (1993)). One vineyard became 90% infected 5 years after GLRaV-3 was first observed. Prevalence of leafroll worldwide may increase as chemical control of mealybugs becomes more difficult due to the unavailability of effective insecticides.
In view of the serious risk grapevine leafroll virus poses to vineyards and the absence of an effective treatment of it, the need to prevent this affliction continues to exist. The present invention is directed to overcoming this deficiency in the art.

Grapevine leafroll virus proteins and their uses


The control apparatus (8′) is used to dynamically assign N individual references to N individual comparators of a quantizer in a sigma-delta analogue/digital converter, the control apparatus (8′) generating a digital control signal (9′). The control apparatus (8′) has a storage means (12) for providing the value of the control signal (9′) at the time k−1, and a summation means (10) for summing the output signal Y of the quantizer with the stored value of the first control signal (9′) at the time k−1.

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a sigma-delta analogue/digital converter (SD-ADC). The latter comprises a feedback control loop comprising a loop filter 1, a quantizer 2 and a digital/analogue converter 3 (DAC). An analogue signal X is applied to the input of the SD-ADC. The difference between the analogue input signal X and the output signal of the DAC 3 is fed to the analogue loop filter 1 whose output drives the quantizer 2. The output of the quantizer 2 generates an oversampled digital signal Y whose mean value corresponds to the analogue input signal X. The SD-ADC illustrated in FIG. 1 is a multilevel SD-ADC (also called a multibit SD-ADC). In a multilevel SD-ADC, the quantizer 2 has a plurality N of quantization thresholds. If no code conversion is carried out in the quantizer, the output signal Y of the quantizer 2 is a signal having a width of N bits (where N>1), this signal being present in thermometer code. The output signal Y of the quantizer 2 is converted, using the DAC 3, into an analogue signal which is compared with the analogue input signal X. In the steady state of the control loop, the analogue input signal X and the output signal of the DAC 3 correspond to one another.
A code converter (not illustrated) which converts the output signal of the quantizer from the thermometer code representation into the binary code representation is typically connected downstream of the loop illustrated in FIG. 1. In addition, a digital low-pass filter and a decimator (not illustrated) are arranged on the output side of the code converter, the low-pass filter forming a mean value and the decimator reducing the sampling rate.
The effective resolution of the multilevel SD-ADC is decisively determined by the linearity of the internal DAC 3. The DAC 3 generally comprises N standard cells which are activated or deactivated as a function of the thermometer code output signal (which has a width of N bits) of the quantizer. The standard cells are typically switchable standard current sources, the output signal of the DAC 3 resulting from the superimposition of the currents of the N standard current sources. Ideally, the standard cells of the DAC 3 are completely identical. However, in the case of a real DAC, the standard cells differ slightly, i.e. the output currents of the standard current sources are not completely identical in the activated state. A so-called "mismatch" thus occurs. This gives rise to non-linear distortion of the output signal of the DAC 3. In the case of discrete frequencies ("spurious frequencies"), this results in interference components, which can generally no longer be filtered out, in the spectrum of the output signal of the SD-ADC.
In order to increase the linearity of the DAC 3, it is known practice to provide a so-called DEM block (DEM—dynamic element matching; frequently also referred to as a randomizer or scrambler block) on the input side of the DAC 3, said block dynamically scrambling the thermometer code of the output signal of the quantizer 2, i.e. swapping the digits of the code signal. In this case, a code signal "0011100" is generated, for example, from a thermometer code "1110000" having a width of 7 bits. For a particular output signal of the quantizer 2, it is thus not always the same standard cells but rather different standard cells of the DAC 3 which are activated at different times, the number of active standard cells remaining constant. The linearity error is reduced in this manner.
FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of a multilevel SD-ADC having an additional DEM block 4 for code scrambling. Signals and circuit components which are provided with the same reference symbols in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 correspond to one another. The ADC illustrated in FIG. 2 has N=7 quantization thresholds which correspond to the seven references REF0–REF6, where REFi<REFi+1. Each of the references REFi is assigned to a comparator 5.i which receives the corresponding reference REFi via the inverted input. The references are typically voltage references which are derived from the node voltages of a resistor string. However, current references may also be used instead of voltage references.
The output signal Qi (which has been sampled using an additional D-type flip-flop 6.i) of each comparator 5.i has a logic 1 if the input signal of the quantizer is greater than the corresponding reference REFi. Otherwise, the signal Qi corresponds to a logic 0. If the input signal of the quantizer is in the range of greater than REFj and less than REFj+1, all of the comparators 5.1 to 5.j provide a logic 1 at their output, while the comparators 5.j+1 to 5.N−1 generate a logic 0 at their output. The resultant code of the output signal Y (which has a width of N=7 bits and results from the combination of the binary signals Qi) of the quantizer is referred to as "thermometer code" because of the analogy to a liquid thermometer.
The output signal Y of the quantizer 2 is received by the DEM block 4, the individual digits of the signal Y being scrambled in the DEM block, as already explained above. In order to carry out code scrambling, the DEM block 4 comprises a digital logic unit which has a delay time or latency, i.e. the output signal of the DEM block 4 only reacts to a change in the signal Y with a certain delay. In the control loop, this latency acts as dead time and impairs the stability properties of the control loop.
The document U.S. Pat. No. 6,346,898 B1 discloses that impairment of the stability of the control loop, which is associated with code scrambling, can be circumvented if—instead of a DEM block 4 between the output of the quantizer 2 and the input of the DAC 3—a DEM block 4′ is placed upstream of the inverting inputs of the quantizer 2. The resultant SD-ADC is illustrated in FIG. 3, signals and circuit components which are provided with the same reference symbols in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 corresponding to one another. In the SD-ADC illustrated in FIG. 3, the DEM block 4′ is used to dynamically scramble the assignment of the references REFi to the comparators 5.i. This means that, for a particular input signal of the quantizer 2, different bits Qi of the signal Y and thus, as in FIG. 3, also different standard cells of the DAC 3 are activated at different times. The effect of the DEM block 4′ which is outside the control loop in FIG. 3 is thus analogous to that of the DEM block 4 from FIG. 2 which is arranged inside the control loop, although the DEM block 4′ illustrated in FIG. 3 is not associated with any additional dead time inside the control loop. In contrast to the DEM block 4 illustrated in FIG. 2, the DEM block 4′ illustrated in FIG. 3 thus does not reduce the stability of the control loop.
FIG. 4 indicates an implementation example of the DEM block 4′ illustrated in FIG. 3. Signals and circuit components which are provided with the same reference symbols in FIG. 4 and FIG. 3 correspond to one another. In this case, it should be taken into account that, for reasons of a simplified illustration, only the scrambling of 4 of the total of 7 references REFi is illustrated. The DEM block 4′ comprises a switching network 7 which can be used to assign each individual reference REFi to each comparator 5.i. The switching network 7 is controlled using a control apparatus 8, the control apparatus 8 providing a digital control signal 9 for controlling the dynamic assignment between the references REFi and the comparators 5.i via the switching network 7. In this case, the digital control signal 9 is obtained in the control apparatus 8 as a function of the output signal Y of the quantizer 2. The control apparatus 8 generates a control signal 9 such that, on average, all of the bits Qi have a logic 1 equally often, with the result that all of the standard cells of the DAC 3 are used equally often.
As regards the implementation of the control apparatus, the document U.S. Pat. No. 6,346,898 B1 cited above indicates a very complicated implementation example which comprises a multiplicity of individual circuit blocks (cf. FIG. 3 and column 3, lines 61 and 62, of the document U.S. Pat. No. 6,346,898 B1). In this case, the complicated implementation of the control apparatus 8 is based on the idea of selecting, from the total number of N standard cells of the DAC 3, precisely those m standard cells (where m depends on the input signal of the quantizer 2 at the time k) which have the greatest need for activation at any time k (cf. column 2, lines 23 to 31, in the document U.S. Pat. No. 6,346,898 B1). The need for activation of a standard cell of the DAC 3 depends on the previous overall use of the respective standard cell of the DAC 3, that standard cell which was previously used least having the greatest need for activation.

Control apparatus and method for scrambling the assignment of the references of a quantizer in a sigma-delta analogue/digital converter


A laser display device and a method for controlling the same are disclosed. The laser display device includes a laser light source generating laser beams, an optical fiber transmitting the laser beams generated from the laser light source, and a light phase controller forming a curve in the optical fiber, so as to control a phase of the laser beams passing through the optical fiber.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display device, and more particularly, to a laser display device and a method for controlling the same. Although the present invention is suitable for a wide scope of applications, it is particularly suitable for controlling a phase of a laser beam, so as to eliminate a speckle effect from a screen displaying a projected image, thereby clarifying image on the screen for the viewers.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
The projection display device is a display device whereby a small screen is enlarged and projected to display large-sized screen. Generally, among a wide range of projectors, mostly consisting of a light source and a illumination part enlarging and projecting a film and picture image on a screen, a projector adopting a cathode ray tube (CRT) is most widely used. However, recently, projectors having a liquid crystal display mounted thereon are being supplied more increasingly.
In addition, such projectors can be connected to a personal computer or a video tape recorder (VTR), so as to be applied for viewing movies or carrying out various types of presentations through a wider screen.
Meanwhile, the projection display device using a lamp as a light source is disadvantageous in that the color tone, resolution, range of color representation, and contrast of the picture image are lower than those of other self-emissive display devices.
Accordingly, a laser display device using a light amplification by simulated emission radiation (LASER), hereinafter referred to as a "laser", has been developed in order to resolve such problems.
By using a laser light source, the laser display device can display an image having a high color resolution and an excellent color representation very close to the natural colors. Also, due to the high contrast of the laser display device, an image of an excellent high-resolution picture quality can be represented.
FIG. 1 illustrates a structure of a general laser display device.
Referring to FIG. 1, the laser display device consists of a laser light source 11 generating a laser beam, a illumination optical part 12 irradiating the laser beam generated from the laser light source 11 to an image display device 13, an image display device 13 displaying a picture image by using the irradiated laser beam 11, a projection optical part 14 enlarging and projecting the image displayed in the image display device 13, and a screen 15 on which the image enlarged by the projection optical part 14 is formed.
Herein, since the laser light source 11 generates a single-colored light beam, a red (R) laser light source, a green (G) laser light source, and a blue (B) laser light source are required in order to represent a color image.
The laser light source 11 uses a radiation of the internal energy of a matter, so as to generate light energy, which is then amplified. When generating a constant light energy, the laser light source 11 should use a gas laser light source, such as carbon dioxide. Conversely, when generating a large amount of spontaneous light energy, then the laser light source 11 should use a solid-state laser light source, such as ruby.
A semiconductor laser light source using arsenic (As) or gallium (Ga) can also be used.
However, unlike natural light, the light generated from the laser light source 11 generates coherent waves having the same frequency and phase.
Due to the characteristics of coherence in a laser, a laser disturbance occurs on the screen, thereby causing a speckle effect, which is an optical interference causing grainy white spots sparkling on the screen. The speckle effect decreases the contrast and resolution, thereby deteriorating the picture quality of an image.

Laser display device and method for controlling the same


Provided is a polycarbonate resin, including, as a raw material, a bisphenol A having 100 ppm by mass or less of isopropenylphenol and 250 ppm by mass or less of 2-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)propane, each detected after heating in air at 175° C. for 1 hour.

A polycarbonate resin (hereinafter sometimes abbreviated as "PC resin") is excellent in, for example, transparency, mechanical characteristics, thermal stability, electrical properties, and weatherability, and hence has been used in an optical molded article, such as a light-guiding plate, a lens, or an optical disc, by taking advantage of such characteristics. However, the light transmission property of the resin is lower than that of a polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) or the like, and hence its color tone has a slightly yellow tint.
Particularly in the case where the light-guiding length of a light-guiding plate using the resin becomes longer, when the material has a yellow tint, a light beam having a shorter wavelength is absorbed. Accordingly, there occurs a phenomenon in which a difference in color tone between a portion close to a light source and a portion distant therefrom is observed, and there occurs a problem in that the color tone becomes nonuniform. A polycarbonate material having a reduced yellow tint has been required for solving such problem.
With regard to a light-guiding plate or the like, the thinning and upsizing of such product have been progressing. Therefore, there has been a growing requirement for a molding material having high flowability and suppressed in yellowing even in injection molding at high temperature.
A thin-walled product obtained by injection molding at high temperature has heretofore been typically applied to, for example, a digital versatile disc (DVD). In the application, however, required quality in terms of a color tone is not as high as that in a light-guiding member because a required light transmission length is as short as the thickness direction of the disc (about 0.6 mm).
In Patent Document 1, there is a disclosure of a method involving setting the total amount of specific eight kinds of impurities in a polycarbonate resin to 750 ppm by mass or less to reduce the number of white spots in an optical disc substrate and an error rate therein.
In Patent Document 2, there is a disclosure of a polycarbonate resin composition for an optical disc substrate containing a polycarbonate resin produced by using, as a raw material, 2,2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)propane (bisphenol A) in which the content of a cyclic dimer of p-isopropenylphenol is 150 ppm by mass or less and the content of trisphenol is 150 ppm by mass or less, and 100 ppm by mass to 500 ppm by mass of a release agent, the resin composition having a feature in that the viscosity-average molecular weight of the resin composition in a pelletized state is from 10,000 to 17,000, and the hydroxyl group terminal content thereof is less than 7 mol %. The amount of 2-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-2-(4-hydroxyphenyl) propane (2,4-isomer) in the polycarbonate resin composition is 1,000 ppm by mass or less.
In Patent Document 3, there is a disclosure of a method of producing an aromatic PC including the step of retaining the molten state of the composition of bisphenol A and phenol, which is obtained in an apparatus for producing bisphenol A, under high temperature with an inert gas (nitrogen gas) without granulating the composition, followed by the supply of the composition to a subsequent PC production apparatus. In Patent Document 3, there is a disclosure that the content of 4-isopropenylphenol in the composition of 2,2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)propane and phenol retained in a molten state to be subjected to the polymerization of the polycarbonate is 1,000 ppm by mass or less.

Polycarbonate resin, and polycarbonate resin composition


An array substrate and a display panel are provided. The array substrate includes a data line, a thin film transistor having a gate and a source, a source wire, and a scan line. The source wire includes a predetermined breaking part configured to be cut off to break an electrical connection between the source and the data line. The scan line and the predetermined breaking part have a first predetermined distance in-between, and the first predetermined distance is used to prevent the scan line and the data line from forming a short circuit when a fixing operation is being performed.

In the manufacturing process of the array substrate, there might be residues of metal fractions or particles in a thin film transistor (TFT) because of the influences of the production line or the external environment. This makes the pixel driven by the TFT become a bright dot and thus the display panel incorrectly displays. Therefore, a dark spot fixing operation needs to be performed on that pixel to improve the display performance of the display panel.
Because the source of the TFT is connected to the data line through the source wire, in the dark spot fixing operation, the source wire is usually cut to break the electrical connection between the source and the data line.
However, when a laser is used to cut the source wire, the scan line and the data line may become a short circuit because the distance between the source wire and the scan line is short. This introduces a cross curve and reduces the product yield.

TCL CHINA STAR OPTOELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD


Techniques for detecting and correcting burst errors in data bytes formed in a two-level block code structure. A second level decoder uses block level check bytes to detect columns in a two-level block code structure that contain error bytes. The second level decoder generates erasure pointers that identify columns in the two-level block structure effected by burst errors. A first level decoder then uses codeword check bytes to correct all of the bytes in the columns identified by the erasure pointers. The first level decoder is freed to use all of the codeword check bytes only for error byte value calculations. The first level decoder does not need to use any of the codeword check bytes for error location calculations, because the erasure pointers generated by the second level decoder provide all of the necessary error locations. This techniques doubles the error correction capability of the first level decoder.

The present invention relates to techniques for detecting and correcting errors on storage media, and more particularly, to techniques for detecting and correcting errors on storage media using multiple interleave erasure pointers in a multi-level integrated interleave format.
Data bytes are stored on magnetic media in groups referred to as codewords (sectors). Typically, 512 data bytes are stored in each codeword. The codewords of data bytes may include multiple interleaved words (i.e., data byte strings or vectors) and corresponding check bytes that are byte interleaved.
Multibyte errors are detected and corrected in long byte strings recorded on a storage medium in blocks. Each block comprises a plurality of codewords and a plurality of block-level check bytes derived from the codewords. Each codeword includes data bytes and codeword check bytes mapped from a plurality of equal-length data byte strings according to a linear error correction code.
Each block is generated and recorded by logically summing the data byte strings and by mapping the logical sum and the data byte strings into counterpart codewords. The counter part codewords include codeword check bytes in accordance with the same linear error correction code. Next, the codewords are logically summed. The codewords and their logical sum are interleaved in a predetermined pattern prior to being recorded on a storage device or the like.
Additional details of a technique for detecting and correcting error bytes is discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,946,328, which is incorporated by reference herein. Three data streams m1(x), m2(x), and m3(x) are used as an example. Two of the data streams m1(x) and m2(x) are encoded by a first Reed-Solomon (RS) linear encoder that produces respective codewords c1(x) and c2(x). This first RS encoder appends 2t1 check bytes to each of the codewords.
The third datastream m3(x) is modified to form the logical (modulo 2) sum of m1(x)+m2(x)+m3(x) prior to encoding by a second RS encoder. This second RS encoder includes 2t1+2t2 check bytes within a codeword c′(x) of the logically-summed datastream. The codeword c3(x) represents the logical sum of the three codewords c1(x)+c2(x)+c′(x). The third codeword c3(x) contains 2t2 shared block check bytes and 2t1 individual check bytes when generated in this manner. The block check bytes are inside and an intrinsic part of the RS codeword.
Two of the codewords c1(x) and c2(x) are generated by linear error correction encoding of respective data byte strings m1(x) and m2(x). Codewords c1(x) and c2(x) require 2t1 check bytes. The codeword c′(x) are also generated by the linear encoding of the modulo 2 sum of m1(x), m2(x), and m3(x). Codeword c′(x) requires 2t1+2t2 check bytes. Data byte strings m1(x) and m2(x) are appended with 2t2 zeroes denoted by φ(x) in order to secure equal codeword length. The codeword outputs may then be expressed as:c1(x)=x2t1+2t2m1(x)+φ(x)+r1(x)c2(x)=x2t1+2t2m2(x)+φ(x)+r2(x)c′(x)=x2t1+2t2[m1(x)+m2(x)+m3(x)]+r(x)
The codeword c′(x) is further processed to produce a modified and third codeword c3 (x) by summing the three codewords c1(x), c2(x), and c′(x) modulo 2 such that:c3(x)=[c1(x)+c2(x)]+c′(x)=x2t1+2t2m3(x)+rB(x)+r3(x)
The check bytes rB(x) are the block check bytes shared by m1(x), m2(x), and m3(x), whereas r3(x) are the individual check bytes of data stream m3(x).
The check bytes r1(x), r2(x), and r3(x) are first level check bytes. These check bytes can only be used to correct t, errors in data bytes within codewords c1(x), c2(x), c3(x), respectively. The check bytes rB(x) in codeword c3(x) are second (block) level check bytes that can be used to correct t1+t2 data byte errors in any one of codewords c1(x), c2(x), and c3(x).
Following these computations, an integrated interleaved block of codewords c1(x), c2(x), and c3(x) is written out to the disk. Subsequently, when the disk must execute a read or read modify write command or the like, an addressed block or blocks of codewords are streamed from their track locations on the disk. Any errors on the disk are detected and corrected on the fly based on the syndrome processing of the codewords. The syndromes are derived from the purported codewords and their logical sum modulo 2. A non-zero syndrome indicates an error byte. Any nonzero syndromes are identified and processed over the codewords to correct the bytes in error. The updated block-level nonzero syndromes are also processed to locate and correct bytes in error in any single codeword that exceeds the correction capability of that codeword.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,275,965, which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a system that corrects error bytes in a two-level code structure. Up to a maximum of t1 error bytes in a codeword can be located and corrected using 2t1 check bytes per codeword. A codeword with error bytes exceeding its t1 codeword correction capacity is a bursty subblock. Up to a maximum of t1+t2 error bytes can be located and corrected in as many as B bursty subblocks using B*(2t2) block-level check bytes.
A post-encoding process is provided to "de-interleave" or redistribute the computed codewords into modified codewords such that the data vectors and their codeword check bytes are located in the same codeword. The block-level check bytes are distributed among the codewords.
The techniques described in the '965 patent are useful for correcting error bytes that occur in random locations with the codewords. However, the number of error bytes in the codewords can exceed the correction capability of the techniques described in the '965 patent. These types of errors are referred to as burst errors. Burst errors can occur, for example, as the result of a scratch or defect on a magnetic disk.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide additional techniques for detecting and correcting burst errors occurring in data bytes that are formed in a two-level block code structure.

Techniques for detecting and correcting errors using multiple interleave erasure pointers

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Netherlands B.V.


A threaded pin for connecting carbon electrodes is presented. The pin includes a body having a central axis running along its length, two end portions, a midpoint lying between the two end portions and threads extending from the body. The threads each have at least two side walls, wherein the side wall facing the midpoint of the body of at least a plurality of the threads has an angle of between about 75xc2x0 and about 90xc2x0 with respect to the central axis of the body.

The present invention relates to a pin for connecting carbon electrodes, and a process for preparing the inventive pin. More particularly, the invention concerns a pin for connecting carbon electrodes, such as graphite electrodes, having a thread design and shape which can alleviate points of high mechanical stress concentration on the pin and electrode.
Carbon electrodes, especially graphite electrodes, are used in the steel industry to melt the metals and other ingredients used to form steel in electrothermal furnaces. The heat needed to melt metals is generated by passing current through a plurality of electrodes, usually three, and forming an arc between the electrodes and the metal. Currents in excess of 100,000 amperes are often used. The resulting high temperature melts the metals and other ingredients. Generally, the electrodes used in steel furnaces each consist of electrode columns, that is, a series of individual electrodes joined to form a single column. In this way, as electrodes are depleted during the thermal process, replacement electrodes can be joined to the column to maintain the length of the column extending into the furnace.
Generally, electrodes are joined into columns via a pin (sometimes referred to as a nipple) that functions to join the ends of adjoining electrodes. Typically, the pin takes the form of opposed male threaded sections, with at least one end of the electrodes comprising female threaded sections capable of mating with the male threaded section of the pin. Thus, when each of the opposing male threaded sections of a pin are threaded into female threaded sections in the ends of two electrodes, those electrodes become joined into an electrode column. Commonly, the joined ends of the adjoining electrodes, and the pin therebetween, are referred to in the art as a joint.
Given the extreme mechanical, electrical and thermal stresses that the joint (and indeed the electrode column as a whole) undergoes, the joint must be able to withstand such conditions and survive continuous consumption of the electrode column until it reaches the electric arc tip to be as efficient and economic as is desired. The joint must also be capable of quick and easy assembly. Due to the harshness of the environment in which the joint is expected to operate, these joints often break or degrade sufficiently (through observable cracks and/or splits) that significant amounts of graphite material are lost. As is apparent, this increases electrode consumption and decreases efficiency. It is believed that much of this degradation is caused by stresses inherent to conventional joint design, and especially points of high or concentrated stress, and the differences in material properties between the joined elements.
What is desired, therefore, is a threaded pin for connecting carbon electrodes, the pin having a shape and thread design and placement capable of alleviating or mitigating the points of high stress concentration that can cause joint failure. Especially desirable is such a pin that incorporates features that can distribute the stresses more evenly about the joint and increase the strength capability of the threaded pin.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a threaded pin for connecting carbon electrodes, the threaded pin incorporating features that can alleviate points of high stress concentration that can cause joint failure.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a threaded joint which is shaped so as to reduce high stress concentrations.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a threaded pin having threads shaped so as to alleviate high stress concentrations.
These objects and others that will become apparent to the artisan upon review of the following description can be accomplished by providing a threaded pin for connecting carbon electrodes, where the threaded pin comprises a body having a central axis running along its length, two end portions, a midpoint lying between the two end portions and threads extending from the body, the threads each having at least two side walls. The side wall closest to the midpoint of the body of at least a plurality of the threads has an angle of between about 75xc2x0 and about 90xc2x0, and more preferably at least about 85xc2x0, with respect to the central axis of the body. Indeed, a majority of the threads, and most preferably substantially all of the threads have the side wall closest to the midpoint of the body having an angle of between about 75xc2x0 and about 90xc2x0, and more preferably at least about 85xc2x0, with respect to the central axis of the body.
The inventive threaded pin advantageously has a body that is generally circular in cross-section and has a channel extending therethrough from one of the end portions to the other. The channel should have a diameter of about 15% to about 55% of the diameter of the body of the pin at its midpoint, and a diameter of about 35% to about 70% of the diameter of the body of the pin at its two end portions.
Preferably, at least a plurality of the threads of the inventive pin have truncated ends. More specifically, at least a plurality of the threads located at or near at least one of the end portions of the body of the pin have truncated ends. Moreover, a line extending along the tops of the untruncated threads will advantageously have an angle of at least about 12xc2x0 with respect to a line parallel to the central axis of the pin.


Bidirectional register segmented data busing and addressing for such busing is described. A segmented databus includes data register segments coupled to one another via respective databus segments. Bidirectional drivers are coupled between the data register segments and the databus segments associated therewith. The bidirectional drivers are configurable for driving information along the segmented databus, wherein the databus segments are for both read and write busing.

Programmable logic devices ("PLDs") are a well-known-type of integrated circuit that can be programmed to perform specified logic functions. One type of PLD, the field programmable gate array ("FPGA"), typically includes an array of programmable tiles. These programmable tiles can include, for example, input/output blocks ("IOBs"), configurable logic blocks ("CLBs"), dedicated random access memory blocks ("BRAM"), multipliers, digital signal processing blocks ("DSPs"), processors, clock managers, delay lock loops ("DLLs"), and so forth. Notably, as used herein, "include" and "including" mean including without limitation.
One such FPGA, the Xilinx Virtex® FPGA, is described in detail in pages 3–75 through 3–96 of the Xilinx 2000 Data Book entitled "The Programmable Logic Data Book 2000" (hereinafter referred to as "the Xilinx Data Book"), published April, 2000, available from Xilinx, Inc., 2100 Logic Drive, San Jose, Calif. 95124. Young et al. further describe the interconnect structure of the Virtex FPGA in U.S. Pat. No. 5,914,616 B1, issued Jun. 22, 1999 and entitled "FPGA Repeatable Interconnect Structure with Hierarchical Interconnect Lines".
Another such FPGA, the Xilinx Virtex®-II FPGA, is described in detail in pages 33–75 of the "Virtex-II Platform FPGA Handbook", published December, 2000, available from Xilinx, Inc., 2100 Logic Drive, San Jose, Calif. 95124. And yet another such FPGA, the Xilinx Virtex-II Pro™ FPGA, is described in detail in pages 19–71 of the "Virtex-II Pro Platform FPGA Handbook", published Oct. 14, 2002 and available from Xilinx, Inc., 2100 Logic Drive, San Jose, Calif. 95124.
Another type of PLD is the Complex Programmable Logic Device, or CPLD. A CPLD includes two or more "function blocks" connected together and to input/output ("I/O") resources by an interconnect switch matrix. Each function block of the CPLD includes a two-level AND/OR structure similar to those used in Programmable Logic Arrays ("PLAs") and Programmable Array Logic ("PAL") devices. Other PLDs are programmed by applying a processing layer, such as a metal layer, that programmably interconnects the various elements on the device. These PLDs are known as mask programmable devices. PLDs can also be implemented in other ways, for example, using fuse or antifuse technology. The terms "PLD" and "programmable logic device" include but are not limited to these exemplary devices, as well as encompassing devices that are only partially programmable. For purposes of clarity, FPGAs are described below though other types of PLDs may be used.
Heretofore, unidirectional segmented data busing was employed in FPGAs. However, this meant that two separate buses for reading and writing were used. This consumes a significant amount of semiconductor area. Accordingly, it would be desirable and useful to provide segmented data busing that uses less busing resources.


Embodiments of the present invention provide a fuel tank communication system. The communication system includes a main body (30) used to connect two fuel bladder flanges (12, 20) to one another. The communication system provides two separate, independent locking features (42, 60) that can secure fuel bladders to one another.

Tank-to-tank connections are often required in the aerospace field, as well as other fields. For example, a tank-to-tank connection is generally needed for fuel transfer without leaks, particularly for helicopter or aircraft fuel systems. Generally, the connection between two tanks (which may be flexible material tanks or any other type of tank) is provided by a system that requires two flexible chimneys, a rigid sleeve, and metal clamps that are secured via screwdriver. Prior art FIG. 1 illustrates one example of such a prior art connection. This figure shows a first flexible chimney 1 that is first bonded to a rigid sleeve 3 on a tank. During assembly, a second flexible chimney 2 is assembled on the first flexible chimney 1 (generally using a lubricating means) and then fixed inside the tank by metal clamps 4 via a screwdriver.
The connection (fastening) process to connect the chimneys between two tanks can take some time, and in some instances, lasts around fifteen minutes. Use of a screwdriver for the metal clamps during the assembly can risk damaging the tanks or the flexible chimneys due to the constant pressure from screwing and unscrewing the clamps. The assembly also depends on the operator competence and strength during the assembly. This creates variability due to operator ability and the amount of force that s/he is able to put on the screws during the connection/tightening process. Additionally, during the lifetime of tanks, as the tanks are fixed by screwing, there can be a decrease of the clamping force. Additionally, after some time, due to rubber aging, the two flexible chimneys could begin to remain stuck together under the clamps, which can lead to a difficult disassembly and can add to maintenance issues.
Other examples of connections have included claw locks, lever locks, and other options. For example, one system embodying a lever lock 5 is illustrated by prior art FIG. 2. Additional improvements to improve these fuel tank fittings continue to be desired and necessary.


Technologies for determining a threat assessment based on fear responses comprises monitoring sensor data received from a sensor array located at a monitored site. The sensor data may include behavioral sensor data indicative of a physical behavior of individuals within the monitored site and physiological sensor data indicative of physiological characteristics of individuals within the monitored site. The threat assessment may be based on the behavioral sensor data and physiological sensor data. In some embodiments, context data related to the monitored site may be utilized analyze the behavioral sensor data and physiological sensor data and determine a threat assessment based thereon.

Due to the increasing size of public events, the increasing mobility of the common person, and other factors, it is becoming more difficult to detect public security events or threats. Although some locations are heavily monitored with multiple threat detection systems, oftentimes the multiple threat detection systems are unconnected from each other or otherwise not in direct communication. Additionally, other locations may have smaller or no threat detection systems in place.
Many typical threat detection systems are reactionary systems that depend upon an exposed or current threat (e.g., after the threat has realized) or based on past behavior of specifically monitored individuals (e.g., purchasing patterns, online activity, etc.). In this way, a typical threat detection system measures static behavior, often focused on a single person or small group of identified people. As such, typical threat detection and security systems are unable to predict or infer a threat condition based on real-time data.


A collimator for an X-ray testing machine and a method for adjusting the collimator with the aid of a detection system disposed in the collimator that includes at least two spatially separate detection devices, disposed and spacing one behind the other.

The invention relates to an apparatus and a method for adjusting a collimator, especially a collimator for an X-ray testing machine having an x-ray source and elements for generating a primary beam.
Alignment and adjustment of a collimator and detector apparatus in an X-ray machine has a decisive impact on selectivity and, consequently, a decisive impact on material recognition and the probability of detecting an object. This is especially true in X-ray machines that employ X-ray diffraction, where an exact adjustment is critical for precisely measuring and determining the detected material based on the exact angular position of the collimator and detector apparatus relative to the X-ray beam.
German published Patent Application DE 195 10 168 A1 discloses an example of adjusting a collimator and detector apparatus in an X-ray testing machine. In this case, an automatic readjustment is performed prior to each measurement. The collimator and detector apparatus, which comprises a plurality of collimators with detectors respectively located behind them, is disposed on a carrier unit. The carrier unit includes an additional, central collimator that is oriented toward the focus of an X-ray-generating X-ray source, or is oriented with each readjustment. During an adjustment, the central beam (primary beam) emitted by the X-ray source and passing through the central collimator in an exact orientation, generates detection signals on adjacent individual detectors disposed behind the central collimator, with the signals being of identical magnitude when the adjustment is exact.
It is an object of the invention to provide an apparatus and a method for the adjustment of a collimator in an X-ray testing machine that is structurally simpler than those previously known, and is completely automatic.
The above object generally is achieved according to a first aspect of the invention by an apparatus that includes a collimator for an X-ray testing machine having an X-ray source for generating X-ray radiation and elements for generating a primary beam, and wherein the collimator has a central, blind-bore-like opening and first and second detection devices, which are spatially separated disposed and spaced one behind the other inside the central opening, for orienting the collimator relative to the primary beam.
The above object generally is achieved according to a second aspect of the invention by a method for adjusting a collimator in an X-ray testing machine relative to a primary X-ray beam by using first and second X-ray detection devices, which are spatially separated, disposed and spaced one behind the other along the primary beam, to spatially orient the collimator so that the primary beam impacts the centers of the first and second detection devices at a right angle, the method comprising, in the first step, moving the collimator until a signal at the first detection device is maximal; in a second step, rotating the collimator in two independent planes about a point preferably located near the center of the first detection device until a signal from the second detection device is maximal. This is achieved by first rotating the collimator in plane one. An intensity maximum on the second detection device is obtained and subsequently rotating the collimator in plane two, which is independent of plane one until maximum is achieved on both detection devices.
The concept underlying the invention is to perform the adjustment with the aid of a detection system disposed in the collimator and comprising at least first and second spatially separated detection devices that are placed one behind the other. In the case of a homogeneous attenuation of a primary beam emitted by an X-ray source through the first detection device of the detection system, the remaining beam intensity is used once more for the final orientation of the collimator with the aid of the second detection device. In this way, it is possible to attain an exact, coaxial orientation of the collimator on or along the axis of the primary beam, thereby assuring a higher measuring precision within an X-ray machine. The further apart the first and second detection devices are spaced, the more precise the orientation of the collimator inside an X-ray machine will be.
For the spatially local orientation of the collimator in a first point, the first detection device is moved in the primary beam until a signal generated in the process is maximal, that is, the most intense. For an optimum orientation of the collimator along the primary beam, the orientation is then effected relative to a further point in the collimator. This is attained with the aid of the second detection device, with the collimator being rotated in a (higher) plane about an imaginary point (located as close as possible to the center of the first detection device) in two independent planes until the signal is also maximal in the second detection device, without minimizing the signal at the first detection device. After the maximum in the first rotational plane has been established in this manner, a further rotation takes place in the second rotational plane; here, too, the center of rotation lies as close as possible to the center of the first detection device. The optimum orientation is assured if the intensity maximum is established in both detection devices.
In a simple embodiment, a collimator arrangement comprising, for example, apertured diaphragms, can be mounted in front of each of the two detection devices in the collimator. These apertures or collimator adapt the respective detection surface to the beam diameter of the primary beam. When using detection devices whose sensitive surfaces coincide sufficiently with the beam diameter, the collimator arrangement can be omitted.
A semiconductor, gas or scintillation counter that is sufficiently thin and homogeneous can be used as the first detection device. Such a counter only effects a slight attenuation of the primary beam, and essentially retains the intensity distribution of the incident beam in the transmitted beam. A semiconductor, gas or scintillation counter can also be used as the second detection device. Its absorption properties must, however, be matched to thexe2x80x94on average, higherxe2x80x94energy of the quanta of the resulted beam transmitted through the first detection device.
The two spatially separated detection devices can each respectively comprise a four-quadrant detector, at least two individual detectors, a detector array or position-sensitive detector having multiple-segmented diodes.
The method is preferably used to adjust round-slot collimators with a detector, e.g. crystal detector, located behind them. In this case, the system is set at a predetermined angle relative to the primary beam for an exact measurement employing X-ray diffraction.
It is also possible to adjust a simple collimator/detection device that is used, for example, in conventional material detection. In this case, the first detection device is embodied as a detector for the relatively lower-energy component of the radiation, and the second detection device is embodied as a detector for the relatively higher-energy component.
The invention is described in detail below by way of an embodiment illustrated in the drawings.

Apparatus and method for adjusting a collimator


An elastomeric orthodonic device such as a ligature, rotation wedge or force module is made of a composition selected from one or more classes of materials, such that the device has certain physical properties useful for orthodontic treatment and also is resistant to staining by common foods and beverages such as mustard, tea and coffee.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an elastomeric orthodontic device (such as a ligature) that is resistant to staining.
2. Description of the Related Art
Orthodontic treatment normally involves the application of mechanical forces to urge improperly positioned teeth into correct alignment. One common form of orthodontic treatment includes the use of orthodontic brackets that are fixed to teeth. A resilient curved arch wire, seated in slots of the brackets, is bent or twisted at strategic locations. The restoring force exerted by the arch wire tends to shift the teeth into orthodontically correct alignment.
Various types of elastomeric devices, also known as force modules, are used in orthodontic treatment. For example, tiny O-ring devices are used as ligatures to secure the arch wire in slots of the brackets. Elongated devices, including chain-like modules having a number of interconnected O-ring portions, may be stretched between selected brackets in order to move certain teeth relative to other teeth. Other devices are especially adapted to separate adjacent teeth or to rotate a tooth about its long axis. Examples of such devices can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,530,583, 3,758,947, 4,038,753 and 4,950,158.
Elastomeric devices for orthodontic use are often clear in color when new, and present a satisfactory appearance when first installed in the mouth next to metallic or ceramic brackets and metallic archwires. However, unlike most brackets and archwires, conventional elastomeric devices quickly stain when exposed to foods or beverages such as mustard, tea, and coffee. Mustard, in particular, has been known as a stain agent that is difficult to resist. Brushing the teeth or rinsing the mouth normally does not remove the stain, and the unsightly appearance persists until the devices are replaced. Discoloration is particularly noticeable when the brackets are made of translucent ceramic and assume the color of the underlying tooth.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,933,418 indicates that a particular crosslinked polyurethane orthodontic device made using polycaprolactone is more resistant to staining by mustard than devices made of other mentioned materials. However, there is a continuing need in the art to provide elastomeric orthodontic devices that are more resistant to staining than the devices known in the past, in order to improve the appearance of the device in the mouth as much as feasible. Elastomeric orthodontic devices should also permit substantial elongation before rupture, be resistant to tearing, and provide satisfactory resistance to force degradation over extended periods of time.

Stain-resistant elastomeric orthodontic force module

Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company


The present invention provides a polypeptide which has: (i) an amino acid sequence wherein one or more amino acid residues are substituted in the region at positions 20 to 38 from the N terminus of the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 1; or (ii) an amino acid sequence wherein one or more amino acid residues are substituted in the region at positions 20 to 38 from the N terminus of the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 1 and one or more amino acid residues are deleted, substituted or added in the region at positions 1 to 19 or 39 to 294; and which has N-acetylglutamate kinase activity.

In microorganisms, L-arginine is biosynthesized from L-glutamic acid through eight reaction steps. L-ornithine and L-citrulline are intermediates on the L-arginine biosynthetic pathway. Biosynthesis of L-arginine, L-ornithine and L-citrulline is regulated similarly to that of other amino acids.
In coryneform bacteria, for example, transcription of an operon composed of genes encoding enzymes responsible for L-arginine biosynthesis (hereinafter abbreviated as arginine operon) is repressed by the arginine repressor (hereinafter referred to as ArgR) (see patent publication No. 1). It is known that in coryneform bacteria N-acetylglutamate kinase, which is the second enzyme on the biosynthetic pathway from L-glutamic acid to L-arginine (EC: 126.96.36.199, hereinafter sometimes abbreviated as ArgB), is subject to feedback inhibition by L-arginine (see non-patent publication No. 2).
L-Arginine, L-ornithine and L-citrulline are produced using microorganisms as well as other amino acids, and studies have been conducted, as in the case of other amino acids, to enhance the productivity of these amino acids by the use of means such as mutation or recombinant DNA techniques.
For example, there is a report that Corynebacterium glutamicum K65 (FERM BP-1115) having enhanced arginine productivity was obtained by transforming Corynebacterium glutamicum with a DNA fragment containing a gene responsible for arginine biosynthesis and then carrying out mutagenesis (see patent publication No. 2).
Corynebacterium glutamicum wherein the repression of arginine biosynthetic enzymes is cancelled (see non-patent publication No. 1) and Corynebacterium glutamicum wherein the repression of arginine biosynthetic enzymes is cancelled, feedback inhibition by L-arginine is desensitized and membrane permeability of L-arginine is enhanced (see non-patent publication No. 3) have also been obtained by mutagenesis.
Coryneform bacteria in which DNA encoding ArgR is destroyed (see patent publication No. 1) have been obtained by recombinant DNA techniques.
However, there has been no report so far about what mutation should be introduced into DNA encoding ArgB or ArgR to obtain a strain in which mutations are introduced into both of the DNAs respectively encoding ArgB and ArgR and which has enhanced L-arginine productivity.    Patent publication No. 1:            Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 51790/02            Patent publication No. 2:            Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 79597/88            Non-patent publication No. 1:            Agricultural & Biological Chemistry, vol. 43, p. 105-111 (1979)            Non-patent publication No. 2:            Journal of Bacteriology, vol. 91, p. 617 (1966)            Non-patent publication No. 3:            Agricultural & Biological Chemistry, vol. 36, p. 1675-1684 (1972)

Process for producing L-arginine, L-ornithine or L-citrulline


A tampering resistant device has housing, a circuit board fitted with electronic components, and a key pad for command input. A security wrap is disposed between the circuit board and the key pad. The security wrap has a substrate and a security screen formed thereon and connected to a first alarm. The security screen has a conductive trace extending over the substrate between a pair of screen terminals that are electrically connected to respective alarm terminals. An alarm switch is located between the substrate and the circuit board and connected to a second alarm. The alarm switch is held closed by a spigot pressing on the alarm switch through the substrate. The spigot extends from the housing and releases the alarm switch when the housing is opened.

Many electronic devices are used to transfer or store sensitive information. For example, a card reader may read, process, and at least temporarily store data related to credit cards, bank accounts and pin numbers and transfer data to a computer for the purpose of conducting a transaction. These devices may be subjected to tampering.
A cover may prevent tampering and/or provide evidence that a tampering has been tempted. One such device, disclosed in German Patent DE4312905, provides a flexible substrate that has a number of conductors forming one or more electrical circuits, disposed between a key pad and a PCB. The conductors have a narrow width and are finely spaced and spread over the substrate so as to form a barrier against forming a hole in the substrate without severing a conductor. The conductors are connected to an alarm circuit which is triggered by a conductor being severed. The response to the triggering of the alarm depends on the arrangement of the alarm circuit and may range from simply raising an alarm indication to disabling the protected circuit, or completely erasing data stored in the device. Key switches are arranged to be operated by depressing keys of the key pad which cause momentary deformation of the security device to allow conductive portions formed on the security device to short across or electrically interconnect selected conductive tracks of the PCB. Alarm switches are provided which function in a similar manner to the key switches and are held in the closed position by spigots formed on a housing containing the PCB to raise an alarm condition when the housing is opened.
A similar design is disclosed in US published patent application no. U.S. 2011/0100788A1, in which the protection device is connected to the circuit board via two normally open switch contacts. This design requires the protected circuit to be at all times enclosed by a secondary housing that applies a force against the protection device to resiliently deform a part of a substrate of the protection device to continually maintain the switches in the closed condition, so that the alarm circuit will be immediately triggered by opening of the housing. In this design the alarm switches are used to electrically connect the conductor(s) of the protection device to the security terminals of the PCB. Opening the housing would open the switch and trigger the security alarm. However, as there is only one type of alarm trigger, even if there is more than one trip switch, there is no indication of what caused the alarm to trigger, e.g., opening of the housing or damage to the conductor.
Hence there is a desire for a simplified device for protecting an electronic circuit incorporating a keyboard.

Electronic device with tamper resistant enclosure


An air bag module has an air bag housing with an opening for deploying the air bag. The opening is provided with the cover. A connector attaches the cover to the air bag housing. The connector has an aperture and a protrusion for engaging the aperture. The aperture is located on one of the air bag housing and the cover while the protrusion is located on the other of the air bag housing and the cover. The protrusion has a first portion, a second portion and a third portion. The first portion extends from a surface of one of the air bag housing and the cover while the second portion extends transversely from the first portion and the third portion extends transversely from the first portion.

This invention relates to an air bag module.
An air bag module for a vehicle typically has an air bag and an air bag inflator. The air bag and air bag inflator are located in an air bag housing, which is mounted to a part of the vehicle. The housing has an opening through which the air bag deploys. A cover is placed over this opening. The cover may have a tear seam that tears when the air bag inflates to allow the air bag to deploy through the torn cover of the housing.
The cover is usually attached to the housing by rivets, brackets or other complicated connection features. The connection feature must securely attach the cover to housing. Due to the complexity of these connection features, the attachment of the cover to the air bag housing is time consuming. In addition, these connection features make the removal of the cover from the housing difficult. Accordingly, servicing the air bag module may also take too much time.
Moreover, while the air bag module is installed as a unit in the vehicle, the housing is generally mounted to one point of the vehicle and the cover mounted to another point. Because the cover and the housing are attached at different points, it may be difficult to install the air bag module into the vehicle if these mounting points are not where they should be.
A need therefore exists for an air bag module that allows a quick and simple installation and/or removal of the air bag cover onto the air bag housing while providing sufficient tolerance to permit the air bag cover and the air bag housing to be mounted to the vehicle at different attachment points.


This invention comprises a pair of bit lines; a word line; a pair of data bus lines; bit line sense amplifying means connected to said pair of bit lines and said word line; a voltage difference to current difference converter connected to said bit line sense amplifying means through said pair of bit lines, for converting the voltage difference between said pair of bit lines to the current difference; current sensing means connected to said pair of data bus lines and a power source, for sensing a current flowing to said pair of data bus lines and holding a same voltage level in said pair of data bus lines; and current difference to voltage difference converting and amplifying means connected to said current sensing means, for converting the current difference occurred in said current sensing means to the voltage difference and amplifying the voltage difference.

The present invention relates to a data sense circuit, and more particularly to a data sense circuit for sensing data by using current difference in a semiconductor circuit.
The prior art regarding the data sense circuit will be described with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 1, the data sense circuit of the prior art was composed of the bit line sense amplifying part 1, switching n channel FET's (N2 and N3) connected to the data bus lines (DL1 and DL2), the capacitors (CDB and CDB1), and the data bus line sense amplifier 2. The bit line sense amplifying part was composed of the n channel FET(NL) which the gate thereof was connected to the word line and the source thereof was connected to the bit line (BL1), the bit line sense amplifier 11 connected to between the bit lines (BL1 and BL2), and the capacitors (CBL and CBL1) Connected to the bit lines (BL1 and BL2), and the data bus line sense amplifier 2 was composed of the p channel MOSFET (Pi) which the drain thereof was connected to the gate thereof, the p channel MOSFET (P2) which the source and the gate thereof were connected to the source and the gate of the p channel MOSFET(Pl), the n channel MOSFET's (N4 and N5) which the drains thereof were connected to the drains of the p channel MOSFET's (P1 and P2) and the gates thereof were connected to the drains of the n channel MOSFET's (N2 and N3), and the n channel MOSFET (N6) which the drain thereof was connected to the source of the n channel MOSFET's (N4 and N5).
If the data word line selection signal TWL(.phi.0) is applied to the n channel MOSFET (N1), the voltage difference between the bit lines is caused by the data stored in the memory cell (not shown in FIG. 1). If the sense amplifier 11 is operated by the operating signal (.phi.1), the voltage difference between the bit lines (BL1 and BL2) is amplified and the switching operating signal (.phi.2) is applied to the switching MOSFET (N2 and N3) so that this amplified voltage is sent to the data bus lines (DL1 and DL2). Then, changing share is caused by the bit line capacitors (CBL and CBL1) and data line capacitors (CDB and CDB1) and as shown in FIG. 2, the voltage offset occurs. And then according to the operating signal (.phi.3), the data bus line sense amplifier 2 is operated and outputs the voltage difference.
The data sense circuit of the prior art had problems that the operating time was delayed and power consumption was caused by said charge share in the capacitors, and that the operating time was delayed more because the voltages of the bit lines and the data bus lines were recharged to the same voltage after data sense operation.

Apparatus for sensing data in data bus lines

Hyundai Electronics Industries Co., Ltd.


A needle free medical connector includes a housing with a first port and a second port. The connector also includes a piston element defining a fluid passageway between the first and second ports. The piston element is movable between flow and non-flow positions. The piston element has a compressible section having a variable inner width that forms a part of the flow path through the connector. As the piston is compressed to the flow position, the compressible section self-expands in width thereby maintaining or increasing the volume of the fluid passageway through the connector. The compressible section has a configuration permitting the continuous flow of fluid through its entirety.

The invention relates generally to medical connectors of the type used in the handling and administration of parenteral fluids, and more particularly, to a needle free connector employing a valve mechanism that compensates for negative fluid displacement, i. e., drawing fluid into the connector, as the connector returns to its unaccessed state from an accessed state.
Within this specification the terms, "negative-bolus effect," "positive-bolus effect," and "no-bolus effect" are used to describe the operating characteristics of medical connectors as the connector returns to its unaccessed state from an accessed state. "Negative-bolus" effect describes the condition during which fluid is drawn into the connector as the connector returns to its unaccessed state from an accessed state. "Positive-bolus effect" describes the condition during which fluid is expelled out of the connector as the connector returns to its unaccessed state from an accessed state. "No-bolus effect" describes the condition during which fluid displacement is neutralized and fluid is neither drawn into nor expelled out of the connector as the connector returns to its unaccessed state from an accessed state.
Needle free medical connectors for injecting fluid into or removing fluid from an intravenous ("IV") fluid administration set are well known and widely used. One conventional type of such a connector includes a housing having connection ports at both ends. One connection port may comprise a female Luer port sized to receive a blunt male cannula, such as a male Luer taper. The other connection port may be located opposite the first port but in some cases is located at a ninety degree or other angle to the first port, and comprises a male Luer fitting. In many cases the second port of the connector is permanently connected to IV tubing which in turn is connected to an IV catheter that communicates with a patient's venous system.
A valve is located within the connector and in most cases uses the housing of the connector as part of the valve mechanism. When the connector is accessed, the valve opens an internal fluid passageway between the first and second ports. In some connectors, the internal fluid passageway is defined by the internal boundaries of the connector housing; in other connectors it is defined by an internal cannula or hollow spike; and still in others, the internal fluid passageway is defined by a compressible tubular body that carries the valve mechanism.
Many needle free medical connectors create fluid displacement as the connector is accessed and unaccessed. As the connector is accessed by a blunt male Luer cannula tip inserted into the inlet or first port of the connector housing, the valve mechanism is engaged. In some connectors, the blunt cannula tip penetrates a valve device to establish fluid communication with the internal fluid flow path of the connector. In other connectors, the blunt cannula tip displaces a valve device without penetrating it in order to establish fluid communication with the fluid flow path. In either case, the volumetric capacity of the fluid flow path is often reduced by the insertion of the blunt cannula when accessing the connector. Subsequently, when the blunt cannula is removed from the connector, the volumetric capacity of the fluid flow path increases. This increase in the volumetric capacity may create a partial vacuum or pressure reduction in the fluid flow path that may draw fluid into the connector from the second or downstream end of the connector. As previously mentioned, the effect of drawing fluid into the connector in this manner is referred to as a "negative-bolus" effect in that a quantity, or "bolus," of fluid is drawn into the partial vacuum or reduced pressure location within the connector.
A negative-bolus effect as the connector returns to its unaccessed state is undesirable to some medical care providers and either a neutral bolus or positive bolus effect is preferred. It is therefore desirable to arrange for a valve mechanism that either does not affect the capacity of the internal fluid passageway through the connector as the connector is returned to its unaccessed state, or that actually decreases it.
In one approach, the negative-bolus effect may be reduced or eliminated by clamping the IV tubing between the connector and the IV catheter prior to removal of the blunt cannula from the connector. This prevents the back flow of fluid through the IV catheter and into the connector. However this is an undesirable approach in that another device, i.e. a clamp, is necessary and the care provider must remember to engage the clamp with the tubing. Furthermore, the use of additional devices adds expense and causes inconvenience in that they may not be available at the time needed. Additional steps are also undesirable in that most care providers are very busy already and would therefore naturally prefer to reduce the number of steps in providing effective care to patients rather than increase the number.
In another approach, one that disadvantageously also increases the number of steps in the administration of medical fluids, the operator continually injects fluid into the connector from the male device while the male device is being disengaged from the connector. By continuously adding fluid the operator attempts to fill the increasing fluid volume of the fluid flow path through the connector as the male Luer is being withdrawn, thereby reducing the likelihood of a partial vacuum and thus the likelihood of a negative bolus forming in the fluid flow path. However, this approach is also undesirable in that not only does it add a step but may require some skill in successfully carrying out the procedure.
The negative-bolus effect may also be reduced by the design of the medical connector. As previously mentioned, some medical connectors include an internal cannula or hollow spike housed inside the connector body. The internal cannula or spike is positioned to force open a septum upon depression of the septum onto the internal cannula or spike by a blunt cannula. The internal cannula or spike has an orifice at the top and, upon depression of the septum over the internal cannula or spike, the internal cannula or spike is put directly into fluid communication with the blunt cannula. The internal cannula or spike provides a generally fixed-volume fluid-flow path through the connector. Thus, as the septum returns to its closed position the partial vacuum formed within the connector, if any, is not as large as the partial vacuum formed in a connector having a more volumetrically variable internal fluid passageway. A disadvantage of typical connectors having an internal cannula or spike is a lower fluid-flow rate caused by the small lumen in the cannula or spike. Additionally, it has been noted that with the connector design having a fixedly-mounted internal spike and a movable septum that is pierced by that spike to permit fluid flow, such pierced septum may be damaged with multiple uses and a leaking connector may result.
Another connector provides a valve mechanism that includes a flexible body within which is located a relatively rigid leaf spring. The housing of the connector includes an internal cannula and upon depression of the flexible body by the introduction of a blunt cannula through a port, the internal cannula forces the leaves of the leaf spring apart. The leaves in turn force the top of the flexible body apart and open a slit contained therein. The opening of the slit establishes fluid communication between the accessing blunt cannula and the lumen of the internal cannula. The expanding leaf spring also creates a reservoir-type area between the flexible body and the outer wall of the internal cannula in which fluid is held. As the external blunt cannula is removed from the connector, the leaf spring and reservoir collapse and fluid is forced out of the reservoir and into the internal cannula lumen.
This positive displacement of fluid may result in a positive bolus effect as the valve returns to its unaccessed state. However, the valve mechanism is relatively complex with a leaf spring being incorporated into a flexible member which adds some manufacturing concerns as well as at least one additional part; i.e., the leaf spring. Manufacturing concerns and additional parts can tend to cause expenses to rise, an undesirable effect in the health care industry today where manufacturers strive to provide effective products at lower costs. Further, the reservoir-type system does not permit continuous flow through the entire expandable flexible body section. Instead, fluid flows into the reservoir and is retained there until the valve is returned to its unaccessed state.
Hence, those concerned with the development of medical connectors have recognized the need for a medical connector having a valve mechanism that avoids the negative-bolus effect by producing either a positive-bolus effect or a no-bolus effect. The need for a medical connector that provides these effects without sacrificing fluid-flow rate or structural simplicity has also been recognized. Further needs have also been recognized such as the need for a medical connector that is less expensive to manufacture, that is efficient in operation, and that includes fewer parts. The present invention addresses such needs and others.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Needle free medical connector with expanded valve mechanism and method of fluid flow control


The present disclosure discloses a communication power with multi-energy-source supply and a control method. The communication power includes: an inputting unit (21), configured to receive at least two kinds of electrical energy and provide the at least two kinds of electrical energy to an allocating unit (22); the allocating unit (22), configured to allocate at least one kind of electrical energy of the at least two kinds of electrical energy determined by a monitoring unit (25) to a power converting unit (23) according to the control of the monitoring unit (25); the power converting unit (23), configured to perform power conversion on the at least one kind of electrical energy allocated by the allocating unit (22), and then provide the converted power to an outputting unit (24); the outputting unit (24), configured to supply power to an external load; and the monitoring unit (25). With the present disclosure, the modules for input allocating, power converting, etc. for different energy sources may be shared, and overall management may be achieved for multiple energy sources.

A communication power plays a very important role in a communication equipment: electrical energy generated by an electrical generator arrives at a user-side via long-distance transmission by a high-voltage transmission line, and then is converted into AC electrical energy with a voltage level of 110V or 220V through progressive voltage reduction. However, a voltage required by the communication equipment is generally three DC voltage levels of 24V, 48V, or 60V, therefore the communication power is responsible for converting the AC electrical energy with a voltage level of 110V or 220V into DC electrical energy with voltage levels of 24V, 48V, or 60V so as to be used by the communication equipment.
At present, it has become an important subject of the world today to seek a clean and renewable energy source, as a communication infrastructure construction commonly faces problems such as lack of AC electrical energy supply, high cost for operation and maintenance of diesel engine power generation, unstable supply of a conventional mineral energy source in areas such as a desert, a Gobi, an island, and the like. With the continuous maturing of techniques for applying the renewable energy source such as wind energy, and solar energy, there are more and more communication power products with multi-energy-source supply. A supply solution simultaneously supporting multiple energy sources such as wind energy, solar energy, AC electrical energy, a diesel generator as well as a backup storage battery is in the ascendant in an communication power industry. A structure of these communication powers is in general as shown in FIG. 1, for example, electrical energy generated by a wind power generating equipment is input to a corresponding wind energy power converting module, electrical energy generated by a solar energy collecting equipment such as a solar panel is input to a corresponding solar energy power converting module, electrical energy generated by a diesel engine generator is input to a corresponding diesel engine power converting module, and then each of the power converting modules provides the power converted electrical energy to an energy source outputting module. Since a voltage-input range differs for electrical energy generated by different energy sources, such communication powers require different power converting modules to perform power conversion while supplying power.
It can thus be seen that the prior art mainly has the following defects: the modules for input allocating, power converting, etc. for different energy sources cannot be shared, and overall management cannot be achieved for multiple energy sources.

Communication power with multi-energy-source supply and control method


For shortening the time for introducing an inactive gas, such as nitrogen gas, into a load lock chamber of a processing apparatus for substrates, a buffer tank 19 having a capacity larger than that of the load lock chamber 3 is provided in the path of a pipe for introducing the nitrogen gas into the load lock chamber 3 of the processing apparatus. During processing within the processing chamber 2, such as an ashing process and so on, the nitrogen gas is introduced into the load lock chamber 3 from the buffer tank 19 by operating a valve mechanism 21 to increase the pressure within the load lock chamber 3 up to atmospheric pressure.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for treating or processing a substrate, such as a semiconductor wafer or a glass substrate, etc., with the so-called an ashing process under a condition of reduced pressure.
2. Description of Related Art
For conducting processes under a reduced pressure condition, such as an ashing process, upon a substrate with high efficiency, a processing apparatus has already been known which is provided with a load lock chamber within a processing chamber thereof.
The procedure in accordance with this processing apparatus is that, while a substrate is treated in the processing chamber, another substrate to be treated next is placed into the load lock chamber for waiting, in which chamber the pressure is also reduced down to the same level as that of the processing chamber. When the process or treatment within the processing chamber is completed, the unprocessed substrate waiting in the load lock chamber is brought into the processing chamber, while the substrate processed in the processing chamber is taken out therefrom, and then the processing chamber is insulated from the load lock chamber by a shutter. After that, another shutter insulating the load lock chamber from an outer space is opened so as to bring out the processed substrate from the load lock chamber and also to bring a new substrate into the load lock chamber.