A UV-fixable thermal recording apparatus uses UV-fixable color thermal recording paper, uniformity of light intensity distribution, high efficiency and miniaturization of a fixing lamp to prevent degradation of the print quality this apparatus has at least one fixing lamp, and a row of heating resistors in the form of a plurality of heating resistors arranged parallel to the direction of paper delivery. The width in the direction of paper delivery of an area of the paper exposed by the fixing lamp is made larger than the length of the row of heating. resistors. The fixing lamp and the row of heating resistors are so arranged that the position of an (end on the upstream side in the forward direction of paper delivery) of the exposed area of the fixing lamp is on the downstream side of the position of an end (on the upstream side in this direction) of the row of heating resistors.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a UV-fixable thermal recording apparatus for forming an image using UV-fixable thermal recording paper on which a full color image can be formed by heating. This apparatus may be used for a color printer, a video printer, a color facsimile or a like device which serves as an output device of a personal computer or a word processor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
UV-fixable color thermal recording paper is one on which respective colors can be selectively fixed by light rays, such as ultraviolet rays or electromagnetic waves. The developed color density of the paper varies depending on the amount of heat applied, the minimum amount of heat differs depending on which of the colors is to be developed and the particular wavelength. It has the advantages that full color recording can be made thereon without using ink, as compared with conventional ink-jet recording or thermal transfer recording.
UV-fixable color thermal recording paper is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 40192/1986, for example. The UV-fixable thermal recording paper is constructed by laminating a yellow color forming layer, a magenta color forming layer and a cyan color forming layer in order from the top on a base film. The minimum amounts of heat respectively required to develop yellow, magenta and cyan colors are increased in this order, and the yellow color forming layer and the magenta color forming layer are irradiated with ultraviolet rays having different particular wavelength ranges so that they are fixed. On the other hand, the cyan color forming layer is not fixed.
In the case of recording on the UV-fixable thermal recording paper, at the time of developing a yellow color, an amount of heat which is less than the minimum amounts of heat respectively required to develop magenta and cyan colors are applied, whereby magenta and cyan colors are not developed, and only a yellow color can be developed. After developing a yellow color, only the yellow color forming layer is fixed by a fixing lamp for the yellow color.
At the time of developing a magenta color, an amount of heat which is less than the minimum amount of heat required to develop a cyan color is applied, whereby a cyan color is not developed. Since the yellow color forming layer has already been fixed, a yellow color is not developed again. After developing a magenta color, only the magenta color forming layer is fixed by a fixing lamp for the magenta color.
At the time of developing a cyan color, the yellow and magenta color forming layers have already been fixed, whereby yellow and magenta colors are not developed again, and only a cyan color can be developed.
A multihead type recording apparatus using UV-fixable color thermal recording paper is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 24233/1993, for example. FIG. 25 of the present application is a cross-sectional view showing this conventional recording apparatus.
The recording apparatus comprises heating resistors 51a, 51b and 51c in three rows, and notches 56a and 56b respectively provided between the adjacent heating resistors 51a, 51b and 51c. The heating temperatures of the heating resistors 51a, 51b and 51c in three rows are set to decrease in the order in which the heating resistors come into contact with thermal recording paper 60, and the heating resistors 51a, 51b and 51c are respectively used for yellow, magenta and cyan colors.
Individual electrodes 52a and 52c and common electrodes 53a, 53b and 53c are respectively connected to the heating resistors 51a, 51b and 51c, and the individual electrodes 52a and 52c are connected to a head driving circuit 57. The illustration of the individual electrode and the like connected to the heating resistor 51b is omitted.
A fixing lamp for a yellow color 54a is arranged between the heating resistor for a yellow color 51a and the heating resistor for magenta color 51b, and a fixing lamp for magenta color 54b is arranged between the heating resistor for a magenta color 51b and the heating resistor for cyan color 51c.
Exposure of the UV light from lamps 54 to the thermal recording paper 60 is made through the notches 56a and 56b which are provided in a head 50. Lenses 58a, 58b, 59a and 59b are provided in order to efficiently collect light from the fixing lamps 54a and 54b and direct it onto the thermal recording paper 60. A shading member 55 is further provided in order to prevent light from being irradiated onto portions other than the corresponding portions.
Referring still to FIG. 25, description is now made of the recording operation of the recording apparatus. The thermal recording paper 60 is conveyed with it being interposed between the head 50 and a platen roller (not shown). A yellow color forming layer is developed by the heating resistor for a yellow color 51a, and is fixed by the fixing lamp for the yellow color 54a. A magenta color forming layer is then developed by the heating resistor for the magenta color 51b, and is fixed by the fixing lamp for the magenta color 54b. A cyan color forming layer is finally developed by the heating resistor for the cyan color 51c.
A serial thermal head type recording apparatus using UV-fixable color thermal recording paper is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 124352/1993, for example. FIG. 26 is a perspective view showing the construction of this recording apparatus.
As shown in FIG. 26a fixing lamp for a yellow color 63a and a fixing lamp for a magenta color 63b are arranged with a thermal head 62 interposed therebetween in a serial head section 61. The serial head section 61 is so arranged as to be movable back and forth in the width direction of thermal recording paper 60 by the rotation of a timing belt 64. The longitudinal thermal recording paper 60 is sent to the print position in which the serial head section 61 exists by a conveying roller 65a positioned on the upstream side, a conveying roller 65b positioned on the downstream side, a pinch roller 66a positioned on the upstream side and a pinch roller 66b positioned on the downstream side. The thermal recording paper 60 is cut by a cutter 67 when it is moved by a predetermined length.
Referring again to FIG. 26, the recording operation of the recording apparatus will be described.
Printing is done while the serial head section 61 is moved in a direction perpendicular to the direction of delivery of the thermal recording paper 60 (direction of the arrow) in synchronism with the conveyance of the thermal recording paper 60. The serial head section 61 is moved in such a direction of progress that the fixing lamp for a yellow color 63a is in the rearward position of travel at the time of printing of a yellow color, while the fixing lamp for a magenta color 63b is in the rearward position at the time of printing of a magenta color. Yellow, magenta and cyan colors are successively printed for each line.
In recording using the UV-fixable color thermal recording paper, when an area where printing has not yet been done is exposed by the fixing lamps, no colors are developed even if it is then heated for printing. Therefore, a device in which the fixing lamps are enclosed by a skirt or shield made of rubber or the like to intercept light has been proposed.
The problems with the above-described UV-fixable thermal recording apparatus, will now be described for the case of a serial thermal head in which a row of heating resistors and a fixing lamp are adjacent to each other.
FIGS. 27A to 27I illustrate the positional relationship between the length of a row of heating resistors 70 (the width of recording) in the serial thermal head and the width of exposure 71 in the direction of paper delivery in a case where the fixing lamp is enclosed by a shield member.
FIGS. 27A, 27B and 27C illustrate a case where the position DD of an end on the upstream side in the forward direction of paper delivery of the row of heating resistors 70 is on the upstream side of the position BB of an end on the upstream side of the exposure area 71 in this direction. In this case, in FIGS. 27A, 27B and 27C, a portion between line segments BB and DD has not been fixed yet and is developed at the time of printing colors in the succeeding line.
FIGS. 27D, 27E and 27F illustrate a case where the position BB of an end on the upstream side in the forward direction of paper delivery of the row of heating resistors 70 is on the downstream side of the position DD of an end on the upstream side of the exposure area 71 in this direction. In this case, even a part of an area which has not been developed yet by heating in the succeeding line is exposed to be fixed. In FIGS. 27D, 27E and 27F, a portion between line segments BB and DD has been exposed before being developed, and is not developed at the time of printing colors in the succeeding line.
FIGS. 27G, 27H and 27I illustrate a case where the position BB of an end on the upstream side in the forward direction of paper delivery of the row of heating resistors 70 is the same as the position DD of an end on the upstream side of the exposure 71 area in this direction. In this case, the above-described problems do not occur. However, it is difficult to realize the positional relationship between the row of heating resistors and an exposed area with high precision. In addition, light also leaks into a peripheral end of the exposed area, whereby it is difficult to strictly realize the positional relationship. When the positional relationship is disturbed, there occurs such degradation of the print quality that stripes of the pitch between the widths of recording are formed from the above-described reasons.
On the other hand, as the conventional fixing lamp, a fluorescent lamp in the shape of a tube for emitting ultraviolet rays is used. The fluorescent lamp generally has counter electrodes at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the tube, whereby the quantity of light is small so that uniform light quantity distribution is not obtained in the vicinity of the electrodes. Therefore, fixing becomes nonuniform. For example, additional color development occurs by heat for developing the succeeding color in the vicinity of the electrodes where fixing is insufficient, thereby degrading the image quality. If in order to solve this, the intensity of light emission is increased as a whole, a middle portion of the paper will be exposed more than necessary. Although the peak wavelengths differ in spectral sensitivity differ in a case where a yellow color forming layer is fixed and where a magenta color forming layer is fixed, each spectral sensitivity has broad distribution. As a result, if the intensity of exposure of a yellow color forming layer first made is too high, a magenta color forming layer to be subsequently developed is prevented from being developed, thereby degrading color reproducibility.
Furthermore, in order to solve the decrease in the color reproducibility, if the length of the fluorescent lamp is larger than the width of recording so as not to use the vicinity of the electrodes where the quantity of light is small, the recording apparatus is increased in size. Further, light is unnecessarily emitted, thereby increasing the power consumption and the size of the power supply.
Additionally, it is desirable for thermal recording by the thermal head and fixing by the fixing lamp to be performed at the same speed in order to increase the recording speed. Further, the exposure conditions must be changed depending on the recording speeds of various specifications. Factors for determining a necessary quantity of light are the light intensity, the exposure area, and the moving speed. Since in the conventional fixing lamp, light quantity distribution is not constant, light intensity distribution is not constant. Therefore, a combination of an output of the fluorescent lamp and the exposure area for satisfying the requirements determined moving speed is at a particular by trial and error.

UV-fixable thermal recording apparatus and recording method


A memory device includes a memory cell array having a plurality of memory cell strings, and a plurality of bit lines connected to at least one of the plurality of memory cell strings; and a plurality of page buffers connected to the plurality of bit lines, wherein each of the plurality of page buffers includes a plurality of latches sharing one data transfer node and exchanging data with each other through the data transfer node; and a pass transistor setting a connection between the data transfer node and another data transfer node of another page buffer.

The present inventive concepts herein relate to page buffers, and memory devices including the same.
As the demand for high capacity memory devices having relatively small size has increased, interest and research in memory devices having vertically stacked memory cells have consequently increased. Memory devices may include page buffers for storing or outputting data. Page buffers may have a plurality of semiconductor elements. As the degree of integration of memory devices increases, the area of regions occupied by page buffers tends to decrease and the layout of conductive lines connected to the semiconductor elements of page buffers becomes increasingly complex.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Page buffer and memory device including the same


A metal structure includes a patterned molybdenum tantalum oxide layer and a patterned metal layer. The patterned molybdenum tantalum oxide layer is disposed on a first substrate, in which the patterned molybdenum tantalum oxide layer includes about 2 to 12 atomic percent of tantalum. Both of an atomic percent of molybdenum and an atomic percent of oxygen of the patterned molybdenum tantalum oxide layer are greater than the atomic percent of tantalum of the patterned molybdenum tantalum oxide layer. The patterned metal layer is disposed on the patterned molybdenum tantalum oxide layer.

The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
Characterized by light and thin appearances, little power consumption, a wide application range, and the like, liquid crystal display panels already become mainstream products of current displays. On one hand, to achieve a wider visual effect, a narrow bezel gradually becomes a development objective of a liquid crystal display panel. On the other hand, because conducting wires in the liquid crystal display panel reflect light from the outside, which affects the visual effect, a black matrix layer is often disposed in the liquid crystal display panel currently. This prevents the conducting wires from reflecting the light from the outside, but also causes problems such as a lower aperture ratio and a reduced display luminance.
Therefore, a current objective is to develop a display panel that has a narrow bezel or is four side bezel-less and can effectively reduce the light reflection without reducing the display luminance.

Metal structure and method for fabricating same and display panel using same


A user interface to access visual gadgets for program applications, wherein the user interface arranges the gadgets in a layout, wherein the layout pans, within a computer touch screen display, to bring a subset of the gadgets into the display and to move another subset of the gadgets out of the display, and in response to an object touching a specific gadget in the display that is not currently activated: activates the specific gadget's program application, replaces the specific gadget within the layout with a GUI window for the specific gadget's program application, wherein the GUI pans, within the window, to bring a portion of the GUI into the window and to move another portion of the GUI out of the window, and moves other gadgets within the layout in order to accommodate space for the window for the specific gadget's program application.

Touch screens provide user interfaces through which a user enters input to a computing device by touching a screen at a selected location, with a stylus or with his finger.
Conventional touch screens are limited as to the types of user inputs that they can recognize. For example, conventional touch screens are unable to distinguish between a soft tap and a hard press. In some prior art embodiments users initially select an item on the screen, and then subsequently activate the selected item. However, because prior art touch screens do not distinguish between degrees of pressure, the user is required to remove his finger or stylus from the screen and activate his selection with a second tap. It would be advantageous to produce touch screens that distinguish between varying amounts of pressure applied to the screen so that a user can select an item by touching its location on the screen, and then activate the item by applying additional pressure to the touch location without having to first remove his finger or stylus from the screen.
In conventional touch screens the keys are often small relative to the touch area, especially in handheld devices. The keys are also often situated close together. This can make it difficult to determine which key is being pressed by the user. It would be advantageous to clearly indicate to the user which key the user has selected, and furthermore, to allow the user to accept or reject the selected key without first removing his finger or stylus from the screen in order to perform a second tap.
Current user interfaces are basic and often require navigation through a series of menus in order to perform a desired operation. The present invention presents a user interface that is versatile in providing the user with many options, while requiring only few selections to activate a desired function. To further enhance user experience, certain functions are performed automatically without requiring the user to enter a selection.


There is provided an in-vehicle power source device having favorable workability for replacing a fuse that melts down when an overcurrent flows to an electric load. A battery selector switch 51 having a current detecting function, a main relay 52 having current detecting function, a bypass relay 54 for bypassing the battery selector switch 51, and a bypass fuse 53 to melt down when an overcurrent flows to a second electric load 35 are provided. The bypass fuse 53 is deployed outside of a case 58 for storing a second power source 34, the bypass fuse 53 and the second power source 34 are connected in series, and when currents detected by the battery selector switch 51 and the main relay 52 are equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the battery selector switch 51 and the main relay 52 are turned off and the bypass relay 54 is closed.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an idle stop system having a conventional in-vehicle power source device. As illustrated in the drawing, an idle stop controller 1 inputs signals from a vehicle speed sensor 2, an idle stop prohibiting switch 3, a brake switch 4, a brake pressure sensor 5, an engine water temperature sensor 6, an engine hood switch 7, a seat belt switch 8, a driver seat door switch 9, a mission shift position sensor 10, an axel opening sensor 11, a battery temperature sensor 12 for a first power source, a battery current sensor 13 for the first power source, and a battery voltage sensor 14 for the first power source, wherein the first power source is a lead battery. The idle stop controller 1 also inputs signals of state of charge and temperature of a second power source from a battery management unit 15 for the second power source, which is a secondary battery, and controls the battery management unit 15. Moreover, the idle stop controller 1 controls an engine controller 16, a hill holding valve 19, an oil pump 20, an indicator 21, and a starter 22. Furthermore, the engine controller 16 controls an injector 17 and an alternator 18. The in-vehicle power source device having the first power source and the second power source supplies power to the idle stop controller 1. Furthermore, the idle stop controller 1 monitors states of the first power source and the second power source, and determines whether idle stop is possible.
FIG. 8 illustrates a power source system of the conventional in-vehicle power source device. As illustrated in the drawing, a first electric load 31, a first power source 32, which is a lead battery, an alternator 33, a second power source 34, which is a secondary battery, and a second electric load 35 are connected in parallel. A first fuse 36 is connected between the first electric load 31 and the first power source 32. A second fuse 37 is connected between the first electric load 32 and the alternator 33. A third fuse 38 and a battery selector switch (SW) 39 are connected in series between the alternator 33 and the second power source 34. A fourth fuse 40 is connected between the second power source 34 and the second electric load 35. A normally closed-type bypass relay 41 is connected in parallel to the battery selector switch 39. A main relay 42 is connected between the second power source 34 and the fourth fuse 40 (the second electric load 35). A battery pack 43 includes the second power source 34, the battery selector switch 39, the fourth fuse 40, the bypass relay 41, and the main relay 42. The second power source 34, the battery selector switch 39, the fourth fuse 40, the bypass relay 41, and the main relay 42 are stored in a case 44 of the battery pack 43.
Operations of the in-vehicle power source device illustrated in FIG. 8 will be explained with reference to FIG. 9.
In an operation 1, the battery selector switch 39 is turned on (ON), the bypass relay 41 is opened (OPEN), and the main relay 42 is turned off (OFF). In this state, the first power source 32, the alternator 33, and the second electric load 35 are connected, but the second power source 34 and the alternator 33 are not connected. Changing to this state is done when wishing to charge the first power source 32 right after starting an engine, for example, or when putting the alternator 3 in a non-power generation state, and supplying power to the first electric load 31 and the second electric load 35 only from the first power source 32.
In an operation 2, the battery selector switch 39 is turned on (ON), the bypass relay 41 is opened (OPEN), and the main relay 42 is turned on (ON). In this state, the first power source 32, the alternator 33, the second power source 34, and the second electric load 35 are connected. Changing to this state is done when storing electric energy generated by the alternator 33 in the second power source 34 during regenerative deceleration, etc.
In an operation 3, the battery selector switch 39 is turned off (OFF), the bypass relay 41 is opened (OPEN), and the main relay 42 is turned on (ON). In this state, the first electric load 31, the first power source 32, and the alternator 33 are connected, and the second power source 34 and the second electric load 35 are connected. Therefore, the electric energy stored in the second power source 34 can be supplied to the second electric load 35. Changing to this state is done when wishing to supply power to the second electric load 35 only from the second power source 34, so as to reduce a generating load on the alternator 33 and improve fuel consumption during normal running or idling stop.
In an operation 4, the battery selector switch 39 is turned off (OFF), the bypass relay 41 is closed (CLOSE), and the main relay 42 is turned off (OFF). In this state, the first electric load 31, the first power source 32, the alternator 33, and the second electric load 35 are connected. Note that the first electric load 31, the first power source 32 and the alternator 33 are connected to the second electric load 35 via the bypass relay 41. Changing to this state is done when supplying dark current to the second electric load 35 from the first power source 32 when the ignition switch (SW) is off, etc. Changing to this state is done when the battery pack 43 becomes abnormal.


A motor brake can be coupled to the rotatable motor drive shaft. The brake includes a shaft-mountable support that rotates uniformly with the drive shaft. One or more brake shoes, which can include flyweights or the like, are hingedly mounted to the support and include brake pads. A centripetal force is applied to the brake shoes using one or more springs or other biasing means that bias the brake pads against a braking surface when rotation of the shaft is below a minimum rotational velocity. The brake pads disengage from the braking surface when shaft rotation exceeds the minimum rotational velocity. The centrifugal force induced and applied to the brake shoes and brake pads by rotation of the motor drive shaft overcomes the biasing force to disengage the brake pads from the braking surface, which may be the housing of a motor to which the brake is affixed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to motors employing rotating elements such as drive shafts. More specifically, the present invention relates to a braking system that can be used on a motor drive shaft and/or the like that is intended to remain stationary when the motor is not energized.
2. Description of Related Art
Many motors and other mechanisms employ drive shafts and the like as rotating elements or components. When a motor is energized (that is, turned on), the drive shaft rotates, transferring power to another component, such as a pulley, gear or gearbox. When the motor is turned off, the drive shaft should remain motionless. In many cases, for example with lifting equipment, a drive shaft may be loaded when the motor is turned off and, as a result of the loading, have a tendency to rotate and thus allow the load to move. Maintaining the drive shaft in a stationary position in such situations may be desirable and even critical.
Where maintaining a drive shaft in a static position is important for safety, proper operation of the equipment, etc., unintended rotation of a drive shaft or the like can have unfavorable implications for equipment and people. Manual locks and brakes (that is, locks and brakes that require an operator to manually engage the lock or brake) can be effective in holding a shaft stationary, but the operator must remember to engage and disengage the lock/brake. This is not always done properly.
Systems and techniques that permit reliable automatic locking and/or braking of a drive shaft and/or other rotating element would represent a significant advancement in the art.


The present invention provides a blend composition comprising a thermoplastic polyurethane and an acrylic acid copolymer wherein the thermoplastic polyurethane forms the discontinuous phase of the blend. The blend can be used in films or made into fibers for personal care products such as ostomy bags and diapers. Moreover, such materials are also useful for packaging products such as garbage bags.

In this time of environmental awareness, there is a need for materials which are easily degradable for various uses including personal care products or for packaging products. Many times, these products are made from polyolefins such as polyethylene or polypropylene which are not considered as degradable plastic.
Starch has been blended with various plastics to form blends that are partly degradable. For example, European Patent Application No. 388,924 discloses a degradable film comprising a starch blended various polymers such as polyethylene, polyurethane, nylon, polyester and polyvinyl chloride.
As an alternative to blending starch to plastics, copolymers of (meth)acrylate esters and (meth)acrylic acid copolymers were blended with plastics such as polyolefins and modified polyolefins to provide for polymer compositions which are degradable in alkaline solutions. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,063,272 discloses a blend of a (meth)acrylic ester/(meth)acrylic acid copolymer and polyethylene glycol which is soluble in alkaline solutions. The relative proportions of the (meth)acrylic ether/(meth)acrylic acid copolymer and the polyethylene glycol depend upon the desired properties of the end product. This polymer blend provides polymeric webs having improved properties suitable for use in personal care products.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,217,795 discloses blends of (meth)acrylic ester/(meth)acrylic acid and modified polyolefins. In addition, these blends can be prepared using styrene/butadiene block copolymers and polyether block amide copolymers. The blends are formed into webs or films. These webs can then be used in absorbent articles.
It has now been discovered that precise, controllable water degradable blend compositions can be formed from blends of polyurethanes and acrylic acid copolymers.


A ratchet wrench including a handle and at least one fitting wheel rotatably mounted at one end of the handle. A middle section of outer side of the fitting wheel is formed with multiple annularly arranged teeth. A spiral rod is rotatably connected with two pivot sections of the handle near the fitting wheel. The spiral rod meshes with the teeth of the fitting wheel. One end of the spiral rod abuts against an intermediate member for reducing frictional force between the spiral rod and one of the pivot sections. The other end of the spiral rod is engaged with the other of the pivot sections. The spiral rod can cooperate with the teeth of the fitting wheel by any angle so that the handle of the ratchet wrench can be rotated by any angle without limitation of pitch.

The present invention relates to a ratchet wrench without limitation of pitch.
FIG. 6 shows an existing ratchet wrench in which a rotatable fitting wheel 82 is mounted on a handle for fitting with a nut. An adjustment plate 83 is used to adjust the rotational direction (idling direction) of the fitting wheel 82. The fitting wheel 82 has multiple teeth 821, while the adjustment plate 83 has only )ne stopper tooth 831. Therefore, an operator must rotate the handle 81 through a specific angle for engaging the stopper tooth 831 with the teeth 821. (For example, in the case that there are 24 teeth 821, the specific angle will be a multiple of 15 degrees.) Therefore, the ratchet wrench is operated under a limitation of pitch. Especially, in a relatively narrow space, the travel and moving range ot the handle 81 are more restricted.


An image forming apparatus includes a toner bank that is configured to hold a large-volume of toner that is ultimately used to develop a latent image formed on a latent image carrier. A developing apparatus develops the latent image into a visible image. The toner is supplied to the toner bank, which need not be located adjacent to the developing apparatus, using a mechanism that prevents the toner from becoming clogged while being transported to the developing apparatus from the toner bank. In the toner bank, more than one toner bottles are vertically set. The toner bottles are individually opened and closed at respective opening portions thereon with an opening/closing mechanism and are rotated so as to discharge toner therefrom. Toner discharged from the toner bottles is dropped into the toner bank and is supplied to a developing apparatus by a flexible toner delivering mechanism having a powder pump unit and a flexible toner supplying pipe.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an image forming apparatus included in an electrophotographic system such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile apparatus and the like. More particularly, the present invention relates to an image forming apparatus including a developing apparatus in which two-component developer or one-component developer is used as is a toner supplying apparatus for supplying toner to a developing section of the developing apparatus.
Furthermore, the present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having a toner delivering apparatus for delivering toner in a way such that the toner may be reused or discarded.
2. Discussion of the Background
Selected conventional image forming devices include a toner delivering apparatus in which toner remaining on a photosensitive body is recovered by a photosensitive body cleaning apparatus and then delivered to a developing apparatus so as to be reused. This type of apparatus is equipped with a toner transmitting mechanism A and a powder pump B, for example, as shown in FIGS. 48 and 49. If toner recovered by the photosensitive body cleaning apparatus 501 (FIG. 48) is reused, the recovered toner is then discharged from a discharging tube 501a of the body cleaning apparatus 501, as shown in FIGS. 48 and 49, and is dropped into a transfer guide case 502 via a connection case 503. All the while, a rotation of a driving motor causes a horizontal delivery screw 504 to rotate in the transfer guide case 502. The screw 504 rotates integrally with a rotor 507 in a stator 506 of the powder pump B, so that the recovered toner is transmitted into the stator 506 through a rotation of the horizontal delivery screw 504.
Furthermore, the toner is pressed out, by the rotation of the rotor 507, through the toner outlet 505 from an inside of the stator 506 into a toner transfer pipe 508 connected to a toner outlet 505a, and air is blown into the powder pump B via an air transfer pipe 509a by an air pump 509 so as to be transmitted into the toner transfer pipe 508. The toner passing through the toner transfer pipe 508 is thus moved along via an air flow so as to be delivered to the developing apparatus.
In addition, in an image forming apparatus in an electrophotographic system such as a copying machine, a printer, and a facsimile, a developing apparatus contained therein makes visible a static latent image formed on a latent image carrier such as a photosensitive body by supplying toner thereto. The developer is supplied so as to maintain an image density if two-component developer or one-component developer is consumed as a result of making previous images. As part of the new developer, toner is generally used, and a toner supplying apparatus used for supplying the toner is, for example, disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2-277083.
As shown in FIG. 50, the toner supplying apparatus disclosed in the above patent publication includes a toner tank 521 for storing toner supplied to a developing section 522 arranged near a photosensitive body 541, a toner residue detector (i.e., a toner sensor) 523 for detecting residue of toner in the toner tank 521, and a toner server 524 for supplying toner to the toner tank 521 arranged so as to be adjacent to the toner tank 521. The toner server 524 includes a toner server body 525, a rotating member 526 having a number of extending portions which radially extend therefrom and are spaced nearly equally apart from one another in a circumferential direction and being rotatably supported by the toner server body 525, a plurality of cartridge supporting member 527 supported so as to be rotatably movable at a tip of each of said extending portions, a plurality of toner cartridges 528 containing toner removably installed in each cartridge supporting member 527, a first driving motor 529 for rotating the rotating member 526, and a second driving motor 530 for rotating the cartridge supporting members 527, in which the first and second driving motors are controlled to be driven by a controlling mechanism 531 based on a result of a detection obtained by the toner residue detector 523. The toner supplying apparatus having the above configuration is characterized by that, when the rotating member 526 and the cartridge supporting member 527 rotate or rotatably move and then stop at a fixed position, an opening portion so as the toner cartridge 528 for discharging toner is opposed on the top surface of the toner tank 521 by each toner cartridge 528 falling down and then toner contained in the cartridge is made to fall out from the opening portion so as to supply the toner to the toner tank 521.
According to the above described toner supplying apparatus, the toner server 524 has a plurality of toner cartridges 528 and the toner cartridges 528 are automatically displaced in a circumferential direction a specific number of times, so that a frequency with which the toner cartridge 528 must be exchanged is decreased.
In addition, in the above described conventional toner supplying apparatus, the toner sensor 523 is used for detecting a residual amount of toner in the toner tank 521 which is a toner collecting section, after toner being supplied from each toner cartridge 528, but not used for detecting the amount of residual toner in each toner cartridge 528. Accordingly, when the toner sensor 523 indicates a toner end, every toner cartridge 528 in the toner server 524 must be empty. Moreover, when the toner sensor 523 detects the toner end, there is no toner in the image forming apparatus and therefore the image forming apparatus cannot continue an image forming operation without being halted so that more toner can be added thereto.
Further, the toner server 524 has a sealed structure. Also from this viewpoint, the conventional devices has a configuration in which toner cartridge cannot be exchanged while the image forming apparatus continues to operate. As described above, there is a problem that the image forming apparatus must be temporality stopped for replacing a toner containing member such as a toner cartridge when supplying toner in the conventional image forming apparatus.
Furthermore, in another conventional technology, there is a toner supplying apparatus which includes a toner tank for storing toner to be supplied to a developing section, a toner residue detecting sensor for detecting residue of toner in the toner tank, and a toner bottle for supplying toner to the toner tank, arranged so as to be adjacent to the toner tank. Although the toner bottle must be replaced by new toner bottle when empty, it is known that there is a toner supplying apparatus having more than one toner bottle so that an exchanging frequency of the toner bottles can be decreased. This type of a toner supplying apparatus discharges toner from a toner bottle to a toner tank by an appropriate amount by using a known approach, and if a toner residue detecting sensor detects a reduction of the toner residue in the toner tank, it determines that the toner bottle is empty and starts to use another new toner bottle.
As recognized by the present inventors, in the above conventional toner delivering apparatus, there is provided a thin toner outlet 505a (FIG. 48) in a tip side of the pump case 505 as described above so that the toner transfer pipe 508 having a relatively small diameter can be connected to the powder pump B. However, this approach has a problem in that heat generated by friction is easily generated between the stator 506 and the rotor 507 during delivering toner in the powder pump B, whereby the toner is aggregated with an effect of frictional heat being generated and the aggregated toner remaining therein when attempting to pass through the narrow toner outlet 505a, and ultimately the outlet 505a becomes clogged.
Furthermore, in a developing apparatus of the conventional image forming apparatus, the present inventors have recognized problems in that a large amount of toner storage (containing amount) makes the configuration of the developing apparatus larger than desired because a toner storage section and a developing apparatus are integrally configured. As a consequence, the conventional configuration of the image forming apparatus is more complicated than necessary, and reduces operability and ease of maintenance of the apparatus. Additionally, a layout of the body of the conventional apparatus is restricted by these problems and therefore it also causes a problem that a larger area is required for hosting the apparatus. For example, also in a case of the above toner supplying apparatus, the toner server for supplying toner to the toner tank in the developing apparatus is arranged so as to be adjacent to the developing apparatus and its arrangement position is restricted, whereby it cannot avoid the problems associated with having a complicated apparatus configuration, a larger size, and restricted component layout.
Further, the above described problems of the conventional toner supplying apparatus cause an increase in apparatus down-time, and thus increase copying or printing cost for a user who copies or prints a large amount of data. Naturally, in apparatuses with a large capacity toner supply, the apparatus that delivers the toner must be reliable. However, conventional system achieve higher reliability by using larger systems at great expense, but such systems are not practical in small, lower cost systems that require low power consumption and simple toner delivery mechanisms.
According to conventional wisdom in devices in which a plurality of toner cartridges are circumferentially rotated so as to be moved while being sequentially directed toward predetermined positions (e.g., such as in the toner supplying apparatus disclosed in the above discussed patent publication), a structure for enabling a movement of the cartridges is indispensable. However, as recognized by the present inventors, this approach leads to an increase in a size of the apparatus. In addition, a body of the toner server must reserve a sufficient amount of toner by containing a plurality of toner cartridges and therefore it requires a larger volume than that required to host the toner cartridges themselves.
To supply toner from one of the toner cartridges, the toner cartridges must be moved. Additionally, the toner cartridge to be moved must be filled with toner inside. Therefore, when toner is supplied from the toner cartridge, a particular sequence of cartridges must be selected and is not practical to select the cartridges in an arbitrary manner.
In the toner supplying apparatus disclosed in the above discussed patent publication, toner is discharged when the toner cartridge, which has arrived at the position where toner is to be supplied, falls down over top of a toner tank. In this configuration, however, if the toner cartridge is attempted to be replaced when in a position where the cartridge can spill toner and create a mess, the toner cartridge must be moved again to another position where toner will not spill from the toner cartridge. Accordingly, replacing toner cartridges is a challenge for an operator.
Furthermore, if a toner cartridge in a toner bottle configuration is simply enlarged, the toner supplying apparatus becomes larger and the amount of space allocated for the toner supplying apparatus is restricted. Thus, this is yet another reason why a cartridge in the conventional apparatus results in undesirable down-times.
If it is determined that a toner bottle is empty by using a sensor for detecting toner residue in a toner tank like the above toner supplying apparatus, there is a problem regarding how precisely the sensor can act based on a variability of a sensitivity of the sensor or a speed of discharging toner from the toner bottle. If a bottle is misinterpreted as being empty, a subsequent toner bottle must be used wastefully though toner still remains in the first toner bottle. Further, if a toner discharging aperture of the toner bottle which becomes empty is opened when exchanging the toner bottle, toner in the toner bottle is scattered, whereby a peripheral portion is contaminated undesirably. Still further, in a toner supplying apparatus of a type in which a capped toner bottle is automatically uncapped with the cap being held when the toner bottle is started to be used, there is a disadvantage that, if it is forgotten to be replaced, the removed cap from the empty toner bottle prevents a cap from the new toner bottle from being removed.
In addition, as disadvantages of an image forming apparatus equipped with a conventional large-volume toner tank, there have been the following problems, as recognized by the present inventors:
1) It is difficult to supply toner to the toner tank, and thus, is not user-friendly; and PA1 2) Since toner blocking in the toner tank (due to compressed toner at the bottom) occurs, a mechanism for preventing this blocking is required.

Image forming apparatus with provisions for supplying toner therein


An exemplary hinge assembly includes a rotatable shaft, a rotatable stand, a fixed stand, an elastic member, and a retaining ring. The rotatable stand is non-rotatably connected to the rotatable shaft. The fixed stand and an elastic member are connected to the rotatable shaft. A flange is formed on a proximal end of the rotatable shaft, and a positioning groove is defined in a distal end of the rotatable shaft. The rotatable stand, the fixed stand and the elastic member are positioned between the flange and the positioning groove of the rotatable shaft. The retaining ring engages in the positioning groove of the rotatable shaft, thereby producing an elastic force along the rotatable shaft.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates generally to hinge assemblies and, more particularly, to a hinge assembly for electronic device.
2. Description of the Related Art
An electronic device such as a mobile phone, a notebook computer, or a personal digital assistant (PDA) generally has a main body and a cover with a display and a camera lens pivotally mounted on the main body via a typical hinge assembly.
Referring to FIG. 4, the typical hinge assembly 10 includes a shaft 11, a rotatable stand 12, a fixed stand 13, a restricting member 14, a cam 15, a cam follower 16, a plurality of spring washers 17, and a nut 18. A cross-section of the shaft 11 perpendicular to an axis of the shaft 11 is double-D shaped. A flange 111 is formed on a proximal end of the shaft 11, and a threaded portion 112 is formed on a distal end of the shaft 11. The rotatable stand 12 defines a pivot hole 121 for receiving the distal end of the shaft 11. A limiting protrusion 122 is formed on the rotatable stand 12 adjacent to the pivot hole 121. The rotatable stand 12 also defines a fixing hole 123 adjacent to the pivot hole 121. The fixed stand 13 defines a through hole 131 for receiving the proximal end of the shaft 11. The restricting member 14 defines an assembling hole 141 in a center portion of the restricting member 14. The restricting member 14 defines a limiting groove 142 in an edge portion of the restricting member 14. The cam 15 defines a cam hole 151 for receiving the distal end of the shaft 11. A fixing pole 152 extends from the cam 15. Two protrusions (not shown) opposite to each other are formed on a side surface of the cam 15 adjacent to the cam hole 151. A center of the cam follower 16 defines a pivot hole 161 for receiving the distal end of the shaft 11. The cam follower 16 defines two cutouts 162 on the cam follower 16 surrounding the pivot hole 161. The cutouts 162 are configured for engaging with the protrusions of the cam 15. The through hole 131 of the fixed stand 13, the cam hole 151 of the cam 15, and the pivot hole 161 of the cam follower 16 are non-circular holes corresponding to the shape of the cross-section of the shaft 11. The restricting member 14, the cam 15, and the cam follower 16 are generally made of a metal via powder metallurgy technique, to get a high rigidity and durability. The rotatable stand 12 and the fixed stand 13 are generally made of an alloy with a low rigidity, to reduce the manufacturing cost of the hinge assembly 10.
In assembling the hinge assembly 10, the threaded portion 112 of the shaft 11 extends through the assembling hole 141 of the restricting member 14, the pivot hole 121 of the rotatable stand 12, the cam hole 151 of the cam 15, the pivot hole 161 of the cam follower 16, the spring washers 17, and finally engages with the nut 18. The fixed stand 13 is fixed to the shaft 11 and touches the flange 111. The fixing pole 152 is inserted into the fixing hole 123 of the rotatable stand 12. The fixed stand 13, the restricting member 14, the cam follower 16 is non-rotatably connected to the shaft 11.
In use, the fixed stand 13 is rotated relative to the rotatable stand 12, and drives the shaft 11 to rotate, thus driving the restricting member 14 and the cam follower 16 to rotate. The limiting protrusion 122 of the rotatable stand 12 slides in the limiting groove 142 of the restricting member 14, in order to define a rotating angle range between the rotatable stand 12 and the fixed stand 13.
However, in assembling the hinge assembly 10, the nut 18 should be adjusted on the threaded portion 112 of the shaft 11 for a period of time, so that the spring washers 17 can produce an appropriate elastic force along the shaft 11. Therefore, an assembling efficiency of the hinge assembly 10 is low.
Therefore, a hinge assembly to solve the aforementioned problems is desired.

Hong Fu Jin Precision Industry (ShenZhen) Co., Ltd.


A turbine rotor blade with a leading edge region cooled by a series of impingement cooling cavities that repeats from near the platform to the blade tip to provide impingement cooling for the leading edge without a loss of cooling air flow volume. A cooling supply cavity delivers cooling air to a series of impingement cavities located on the pressure side, the leading edge and the suction side of the airfoil in a series flow. The spent cooling air from the series then flows up into the next series of impingement cavities to provide impingement cooling to the next section of the leading edge. The cooling air flows through multiple series of impingement cooling cavities until the blade tip, which then discharges the spent impingement cooling air through tip cooling holes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a gas turbine engine, and more specifically to a turbine rotor blade with leading edge cooling.
2. Description of the Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
A gas turbine engine includes a turbine section with one or more rows or stages of rotor blades that react with a high temperature gas flow in order to drive the compressor and, in the case of an aero engine a fan, or in the case of an industrial gas turbine engine, an electric generator. Increasing the turbine inlet temperature will increase the efficiency of the engine. However, the highest turbine inlet temperature is dependent on the material properties and the amount of cooling provided to the parts exposed to the high temperatures. The limiting parts are the first stage airfoils which include the first stage blades and the first stage vanes.
The leading edge of an airfoil is exposed to the highest temperature gas flow which directly hits the stagnation point of the leading edge. Prior art methods of cooling the leading edge include a combination of impingement cooling of the backside wall followed by film cooling of the external wall. FIG. 1 shows a prior art turbine blade with a 3-pass aft flowing serpentine flow cooling circuit in which the first leg 11 is located adjacent to a leading edge impingement cavity 15 and is connected to it through a row of metering and impingement holes 14 formed within the rib that separates the first leg 11 from the impingement cavity 15. The serpentine circuit also includes a second leg 12 and a third leg 13 that is positioned adjacent to the trailing edge region in which a row of exit holes 16 are formed to discharge cooling air from the serpentine circuit. Spent cooling air in the impingement cavity 15 exits the blade through one or more tip cooling holes at the blade tip. Tip cooling holes are also connected to the tip turn in the serpentine circuit to discharge some of the cooling air through the blade tip than flows through the serpentine circuit. For an airfoil with low cooling flow design, especially low leading edge impingement flow design, the radial spacing for the leading edge impingement hole 14 will be larger than the impingement jet can be spread out within the inner surface of the leading edge corner. This will induce a region with low impingement cooling area within the inner surface of the leading edge corner. This will form an area with low impingement cooling within the inner surface of the leading edge corner. This will yield a hot spot in-between the impingement hole 14 and uneven cooling for the blade leading edge impingement cooling cavity 15. In addition, cross flow effect induced by the multiple hole impingement will lower the impingement heat transfer performance. In the prior art blade design of FIG. 1, some of the cooling air from the serpentine flow circuit is diverted into the leading edge impingement cavity 15 for cooling to the leading edge wall.


Drywall sanding apparatus employing a spring tensioned frame surround about its sanding component to capture substantially all generated dust within a collecting bag secured with said frame, to be thereafter emptied.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the sanding of drywalls, in general, and to the collection and containment of spackle compound dust generated thereby, in particular.
2. Description of the Related Art
As will be appreciated, a major concern in the drywall sanding of walls and ceilings is the generation and collection of airborne created spackle compound dust. Whether the sanding takes place during residential or commercial construction, remodeling or rehabilitation, the problem of drywall spackle dust has been both a cosmetic and health problem for some time. Power sanders with vacuum and hose attachments have been widely advertised, but suffer the disadvantages that they are large, cumbersome to use, and very costly.

Dust containment apparatus for drywall sanding


A removable automotive fuse block assembly for mounting to an automobile and disabling vital automotive electrical systems, comprising a fixed fuse block casement which is mounted to the automobile in a permanent fashion. A removable fuse block segment engages the fixed fuse block casement, both the fixed fuse block casement and removable fuse block segment having receptacles with electrical fuses contained therein which are in electrical communication with various automobile system circuits. The assembly is configured so that when the removable fuse block segment is disengaged from the fixed fuse block casement, vital automobile system circuitry is broken, and the automobile rendered inoperable. It is envisioned that an operator of the automobile, upon exiting, will disengage the removable fuse block segment and carry it with him, thus leaving the automobile in a non-functional state.

Numerous types of anti-theft devices are currently manufactured. One type of such device prevents operation of the automobile by interrupting the automobile ignition circuit upon detecting unauthorized access to the automobile. Typically, this system interfaces with the automobile ignition coil, and prevents the energizing thereof to interrupt the ignition circuit. Unfortunately, however, a malfunction of any component of this type of anti-theft system results in the inability of the automobile to be started, or worse yet, results in a loss of power while the automobile is underway.
Another type of anti-theft device employed commonly in automobiles is an audible alarm which is triggered upon unauthorized entry into the automobile. These types of systems typically involve a number of complicated trigger switches placed strategically about the automobile at key locations such as the door, trunk, hood and the like. The audible alarm is intended to thwart would-be thieves by causing them to flee before they are able to disarm the system and/or start the automobile. However, a brazen thief will simply work towards starting the automobile despite the loud audible alarm, and a sophisticated thief will simply disable the audible alarm soon after it's activation.
While these units may be suitable for the particular purpose employed, or for general use, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention as disclosed hereafter.


The present invention relates to methods, kits and means for diagnosing Parkinson's disease in a blood sample from a subject. Further, the present invention relates to a set of polynucleotides for detecting sets of miRNAs for diagnosing Parkinson's disease in a blood sample from a subject.

Today, biomarkers play a key role in early diagnosis, risk stratification, and therapeutic management of various diseases. While progress in biomarker research has accelerated over the last 5 years, the clinical translation of disease biomarkers as endpoints in disease management and as the foundation for diagnostic products still poses a challenge.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a new class of biomarkers. They represent a group of small noncoding RNAs that regulate gene expression at the posttranslational level by degrading or blocking translation of messenger RNA (mRNA) targets. So far, miRNAs have been extensively studied in tissue material. It has been found that miRNAs are expressed in a highly tissue-specific manner. Since recently it is known that miRNAs are not only present in tissues but also in body fluid samples, including blood. Nevertheless, the mechanism why miRNAs are found in blood, especially in blood cells or serum/plasma, or their function in these blood fractions is not understood yet.
Various miRNA biomarkers found in tissue material have been proposed to be correlated with certain diseases, e.g. cancer. Especially desirable are non-invasive biomarkers, that allow for quick, easy and cost-effective diagnosis/prognosis, eliminating the need for surgical intervention.
Particularly, the potential role of miRNAs as non-invasive biomarkers for diagnosis of Parkinson's disease has not been systematically evaluated yet. Accordingly, there is still a need for effective methods and kits for the non-invasive diagnosis of Parkinson's disease.
The inventors of the present invention assessed for the first time the expression of miRNAs on a whole-genome level in subjects with Parkinson's disease as non-invasive biomarkers from blood cell preparations. They surprisingly found that miRNAs are significantly dysregulated in blood and blood cell preparations, preferably in blood cell preparation comprising red blood cell, white blood cells or platelets or in platelet preparations of Parkinson's disease subjects and thus, miRNAs are appropriated non-invasive biomarkers for diagnosis of Parkinson's disease. The inventors of the present invention identified single miRNAs which predict diagnosis Parkinson's disease with high specificity, sensitivity and accuracy. The inventors of the present invention also pursued a multiple biomarker strategy, combining at least two miRNA biomarkers to set (or signature) leading to added specificity, sensitivity, accuracy and predictive power.

miRNAs as non-invasive biomarkers for Parkinson's disease


For storage of data on data carriers accommodated in cassettes (28), a device is used with a magazine, having receptacles for cassettes (28) and with a robot unit (44) for changing the cassettes (28) between the receptacles and a drive (16). The magazine is movable relative to robot unit (44), in order to position the selected receptacle for changing of the cassette (28). For positioning, a sensor unit is provided on robot unit (44) and a light guide element on each receptacle. The light emitted from the light transmitters of the sensor unit is guided via the light guide element to the light receivers of the sensor unit, when they are congruent with the positioning position of the robot unit (44) and receptacle.

Data carriers, preferably magnetic tapes, diskettes, CD ROM, DVD, etc., are used for automatic storage of large amounts of data. The data carriers are then accommodated in cassettes, in which a number of such cassettes are accommodated in a magazine. A robot unit serves to remove a selected cassette from the receptacle of the magazine or insert it into this receptacle. The magazine with receptacles for cassettes and the robot unit are controlled to move, relative to each other, for this purpose, in order to position the robot unit and the selected receptacle of the magazine in aligned fashion for replacement. Such devices are on the market, for example, under the names Autoloader and Tape-Library. An example of such an autoloader is shown in DE 100 55 624 C2. In order to change the cassettes in the change position from the corresponding receptacle or to the corresponding receptacle, an exact alignment of the selected receptacle in the robot unit is required. This exact alignment requires high mechanical precision in the drive and in the guide of the magazine and the robot unit, which results in significant technical expense, especially with a large storage capacity, i.e., with a large number of cassettes.

Device for storage of data on data carriers accommodated in cassettes


A curtain suitable for attachment to the perimeter of an umbrella has a flexible sheet with an upper edge, a lower edge, a first side edge and a second side edge. The flexible sheet also has a front surface and a rear surface, each surface defining an area between about 8 square feet and about 120 square feet. Still further, the flexible sheet has one or more upper edge fastener portions disposed proximate to the upper edge for attaching the upper edge to a foreign surface, and has reversible retaining means for retaining the lower edge at a plurality of locations on the flexible sheet above the lower edge. The reversible retaining means are adapted such that, when the upper edge is attached to an umbrella, the vertical distance between the upper edge and the lowermost portion of the flexible sheet is adjustable by the user without the use of tools.

Umbrellas have been used to provide localized shade for centuries. A problem with umbrellas stems from their ability to shade the user from the sun's rays only when the sun is generally directly overhead.
One solution for this problem is to provide umbrellas with an auxiliary curtain which attaches on one side of the umbrella and then drapes downwardly to protect the user from the sun's rays when the sun is not directly overhead. Several such curtains have been suggested in the prior art, but all suffer from one or more of the following problems.
One problem is that such curtains are not readily attached to the umbrella. Most such curtains of the prior art require that the umbrella be pre-installed with attachment devices capable of attaching to the curtain.
Another problem with prior art curtains is their general non-adjustability. Each curtain is manufactured with a pre-determined length. Users who wish to have a curtain with a little more length or a little less length have no recourse but to purchase a different curtain.
Yet another problem with such curtains is their tendency to unduly flap in the wind.
A still further problem with curtains of the prior art is that they tend to be large and cumbersome and cannot be easily folded up or rolled up for transport and storage.
Accordingly, there is a need for a curtain capable of readily being attached and detached from an umbrella which avoids the aforementioned problems in the prior art.


A method and a control system for controlling rock drilling. A control unit of a rock drilling apparatus is provided with one or more control modes, each determining the drilling variables to be measured, their threshold values and the operating principles according to which the operating parameters of drilling are controlled to achieve a desired control criterion.

Rock drilling utilizes a rock drilling apparatus comprising a carrier, a feeding beam and a rock drill moved with respect to the feeding beam. The rock drill comprises a percussion device for delivering impacts on a tool connected to the drill, and a rotating device for rotating the tool. The rock drill further comprises means for guiding a flushing agent into a drill hole for flushing drill cuttings out of the hole. Operating parameters of rock drilling include impact pressure, feed pressure, rotation pressure medium flow and flushing pressure, which are adjusted in order to control the operation of the drilling apparatus as desired. In a widely used control arrangement the aim is to provide the drill bit with a maximum penetration rate. This arrangement comprises measuring the penetration rate of the drill bit and empirically adjusting individual operating parameters to achieve the highest possible penetration rate. The aim of another generally used control arrangement is to optimize transfer of energy from the drill to the rock. This arrangement comprises measuring the rotation power and/or rotation torque of the drill bit and keeping the variables in predetermined limits by adjusting individual operating parameters.
A disadvantage of the prior art methods is that when the operator is adjusting individual operating parameters, he/she cannot perceive the effect of the adjustment measures to the entire drilling situation and the total costs of drilling. Therefore it is very difficult to optimize drilling by adjusting individual absolute values. Adjustment of a single drilling parameter affects positively certain target criteria representing the success of drilling, but it can simultaneously affect other target criteria negatively. For example, an increase in impact power expedites drilling and thus reduces the costs of drilling, but unfortunately the service life of the drilling equipment simultaneously decreases, which in turn adds considerably to the costs of drilling. In all, in the present systems successful adjustment and control of a drilling situation is highly dependent on the experience and skills of the operator.


A pseudo-random repetitive sampling circuit which is capable of sampling fast signals, sampling negative and positive time around a trigger event, and rapidly building the waveform for display. The circuit accomplishes this by acquiring negative and positive time in two different ways. Positive time information is acquired using a modified form of sequential sampling, since sequential sampling can rapidly build the signal for samples that occur after the trigger event. The system also may take multiple samples for each trigger event. For samples occurring prior to the trigger event, the system uses a modified form of random repetitive sampling. The modification comprises sampling of the waveform prior to allowing any trigger events to occur, and qualifying each trigger event so that a trigger event is only recognized when it occurs in a programmable time window after a sample.

In a digital oscilloscope, an input signal is first digitized by sampling the signal at discreet time intervals to obtain a digital value of the signal at each time interval. Each of these samples is then displayed on the CRT of the oscilloscope. There are three prior art methods commonly used for sampling of the signal: real time sampling, sequential repetitive sampling, and random repetitive sampling.
In real time sampling, the signal is digitized on the fly, in real time. There is a simple one to one correspondence between the samples and the times at which they were taken. That is, all the samples are taken during a single input waveform cycle. The advantage of real time sampling is that it takes all of its measurements over one cycle of the input, therefore, it is capable of sampling a single shot pulse with high throughput. The disadvantage of real time sampling is that it is impossible to do on very fast or high bandwidth signals, because the sample clock must be at least two times faster than the highest frequency component of the input signal.
In sequential sampling, one or more samples of the signal is digitized for each cycle of the input waveform. Therefore, the input signal must be repetitive, and the oscilloscope must be able to locate a triggering point within the repetitive waveform. With each successive triggering of the oscilloscope, new samples are taken. Each new sample point is delayed further from the trigger point than the previous sample, and the delay after each trigger is increased by a fixed amount from the delay of the previous trigger. This method guarantees that at least one sample is taken each trigger, therefore, it is faster at acquiring the waveform than random repetitive sampling and thus has higher throughput. The disadvantage of sequential sampling is that it can only sample positive time, that is, it can only take samples after the trigger.
Random repetitive sampling is similar to sequential sampling, except that the signal is constantly sampled and digitized at a rate determined by the oscilloscope's sampling clock, not by the input signal. After each sample is taken, the time relationship between the time of the sample and the trigger of the waveform is established. After a number of samples have been taken, the signal is reconstructed and displayed on the oscilloscope's display. The advantage of random repetitive sampling is that the waveform can be sampled before and after the trigger location, however, this method of sampling is slow in acquiring the signal over time ranges which are much shorter than the sample clock period and thus has low throughput. For acquisition time ranges less than the sample clock periods, a valid (inside time range) sample is not guaranteed with each trigger event. In fact, the probability of a sample landing inside the acquisition time range on any given trigger is equal to (acquisition time range) / (sample clock period).
Thus, there is a deficiency in the prior art sampling methods. Real time sampling has high throughput and is capable of sampling negative and positive time around the trigger event, however, because of circuit speed limitations it is only usable on low to medium bandwidth signals. Sequential sampling has high bandwidth and high throughput, however, it can only sample positive time after the trigger event. Random repetitive sampling has high bandwidth and can sample negative and positive time, however, it has low throughput, especially at fast sweep speeds.
Thus, there is the need in the art for a system that acquires data in both negative and positive time around the trigger event, is capable of acquiring very fast signals, and can rapidly acquire the signal for display to deliver high throughput. There is a further need in the art for a sampling system that has the high throughput of sequential sampling and the negative time sampling capability of random repetitive sampling. The present invention meets this and other needs.

Pseudo-random repetitive sampling of a signal


An integrated circuit (IC) is provided where the IC includes a first die, a second die stacked above the first die, and a plurality of die-to-die interconnects coupling the first die to the second die, where the plurality of die-to-die interconnects includes at least one redundancy die-to-die interconnect. In one implementation, the plurality of die-to-die interconnects includes a plurality of pre-designated die-to-die interconnects, where if a pre-designated die-to-die interconnect of the plurality of pre-designated die-to-die interconnects is defective, then signals intended for transmission via the pre-designated die-to-die interconnect are instead transmitted via the at least one redundancy die-to-die interconnect.

As process technology reaches the optical shrink limitation, it becomes more difficult to increase gate density at the rate predicted by Moore's Law using a monolithic, integrated circuit (IC) architecture. Three dimensional (3D) die stacking has becomes an alternative to the monolithic IC architecture for increasing gate density.
An established 3D die stacking technique in IC assembly involves use of die-to-die interconnects, such as micro bump interconnects (which are also referred to as μ-bumps) and through silicon via (TSV) interconnects. However, having a large number of die-to-die interconnects places a challenge on assembly yield. As the die-to-die interconnect count increases, the assembly yield for the 3D stacked die IC decreases. Generally, die-to-die interconnect counts for 3D stacked die ICs range from a 1000 to tens of 1000 s. Based on some industry estimates, a 3D stacked die IC with a die-to-die interconnect count of greater than 250 has a yield of approximately 60%.
Furthermore, die-to-die interconnect failures can only be detected after die assembly and at a final electrical test. Once one of the die-to-die interconnects fails, all the dies in the 3D stacked die IC will be identified as defective devices and will need to be rejected.

Stacked integrated circuit with redundancy in die-to-die interconnects


In a sewing machine having a needle bar and a shuttle driven by a main shaft and having a thread take-up lever vertically reciprocally movable in response to movement of the needle bar and the shuttle, a thread take-up lever driving device include a stroke adjusting device for adjusting a vertical stroke of the thread take-up lever in response to change of the sewing operation or in response to the material of a work fabric to be sewn.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a thread take-up lever driving device in a sewing machine such as an embroidery machine.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In a conventional thread take-up lever driving device, a normal sewing operation is performed in such a manner that a thread take-up lever is pivoted downwardly to loosen an upper thread when the upper thread is engaged by a hook of a shuttle and is withdrawn into the shuttle; the thread take-up lever is pivoted upwardly to tighten the upper thread after the upper thread has been removed from the shuttle; and the thread take-up lever is further pivoted upwardly to draw out the upper thread from an upper thread supply device. The pivotal stroke of the thread take-up lever is determined to a minimum distance required for performing this operation.
Here, it will be noted that each stitch sewn by a conventional sewing machine has a relatively short length. Although it has been proposed to adjust the length of the stitch to some extent, the adjusting range is relatively small. Therefore, when the pivotal stroke of the thread take-up lever is determined to correspond to an average stitch length, variations of the stitch length can be compensated to some extent by adjusting a tension adjusting device which is operable to adjust the tension of the upper thread, so that a proper thread-tightening operation can be performed.
On the other hand, each stitch sewn by a conventional embroidery machine has a relatively long length such as 0.1 mm to 12.7 mm, and in many cases, each stitch is controlled to have a different length from other stitches. Therefore, even if the pivotal stroke of the thread take-up lever has been determined to correspond to an average stitch length, the variations of tension of the upper thread may exceed the limit of adjustment of the tension adjusting device when the stitch length is too small or too large. This may cause excessive tightening of the thread or insufficient tightening, resulting in that the appearance of the stitches is degraded.

Thread take-up lever driving device in sewing machine


A coated substrate product is described comprising a substrate and a dielectric coating material comprising carbon, hydrogen, silicon, and oxygen. According to the method, the substrate is processed by plasma cleaning the surface and then depositing a dielectric coating by a suitable plasma process. The coating may contain one or more layers. The substrate may be a rigid material or a thin film or foil. The coated products of this invention have superior dielectric material properties and utility as substrates for the manufacture of rolled or parallel plate capacitors with high energy densities.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a material and the process for depositing coatings with superior dielectric properties to be used as dielectrics in rolled or parallel plate capacitors. More particularly, the invention relates to a process for applying coatings to films and foils or parallel plates which can be energized to form capacitors for energy storage.
2. Description of Related Art
Rolled capacitors are typically formed by alternating layers of metal (the electrodes) with layers of polymer dielectrics in a rolled geometry. Parallel-plate capacitors can be manufactured in the same way by alternating layers of rigid electrodes and polymer or ceramic dielectrics. Polymer dielectrics have limitations in temperature stability, dielectric strength, and dissipation factors. For a given voltage rating, the required polymer thickness can be significant, typically greater than 2 micron. Ceramic dielectrics often suffer from low dielectric strengths.
Existing methods for using coatings on metal electrodes as the dielectrics in rolled and parallel-plate capacitors include, e.g., traditional diamond-like carbon films (DLC's), which typically comprise amorphous carbon films which may or may not contain hydrogen, and typically exhibit a mixture of sp3 (diamond-type) and sp2 (graphite-type) chemical bonds, which have been proposed as a dielectric coating material. The resultant deposition rates are often very slow, and hence, of no commercial value for this application.
Plasma deposition methods for the application of dielectric coatings suffer from one or more of the following deficiencies and shortcomings:
(1) Difficulty in pre-cleaning of substrates prior to deposition;
(2) Poor adhesion of the dielectric layer;
(3) High permeation of the coatings by water vapor and oxygen and subsequent degradation of dielectric properties;
(4) Fabrication of defect-laden or permeable, low density coatings;
(5) Poor control of coating properties during a deposition run;
(6) Poor coating thickness control and reproducibility of thickness;
(7) Coating stress is sufficient to cause wrinkling of the foil or film substrate or electrode;
(8) Poor control of coating uniformity along a long length of substrate;
(9) Inability to scale-up the deposition process for mass production; and
(10) Brittle coatings which crack or craze during rolling processes.
Ion beam etching and deposition of many materials, including webs and foils is known. Surface modification processes or thin film deposition processes by ion beams are routinely used for food packaging to decrease permeability to oxygen and lengthen shelf lives of products.
Unfortunately, due to the high compressive stress it is difficult to deposit traditional DLCs on soft plastics and films and foils such as polycarbonate or polyester to thicknesses greater than 0.1 microns without the formation of stress cracks or wrinkling of the substrate. DLC is therefore unsuitable as a thick (i.e. greater than 0.1 micron thick coating) on such substrates.
The following documents illustrate existing coating processes and dielectric coatings:
Kaganowicz, U.S. Pat. No. 4,168,330, describes a process for depositing a silicon dioxide layer on a substrate by activating a mixture of cyclic siloxanes and oxygen "around the substrate by means of a glow discharge." It is taught that this plasma polymerization process was designed for depositing thin dielectric layers on audio/video discs.
S. Fries-Carr, R. L. C. Wu and P. B. Kosel, U.S. Pat. No. 5,844,770, describes the use of dielectric coated materials in rolled capacitors
B. Knapp, F. Kimock, R. Petrmichl, N. Galvin, U.S. Pat. No. RE37294 describe the deposition of abrasion-resistant coatings using ion beam deposition processes.
Petrmichl, R., Knapp, B., Kimock, F., Daniels, B., U.S. Pat. No. 5,618,619 describes the material and composition of a Highly Abrasion Resistant Flexible Coatings for Soft Substrates.
However, none of these documents disclose a method for producing a dielectric coated substrate that has all of the properties necessary or desirable for incorporation into a rolled capacitor, including high dielectric constant, high dielectric strength, high breakdown voltage, low dissipation factor, and is highly adherent and able to be rolled. Thus, there remains a need in the art for a method for producing such a dielectric-coated substrate, as well as for the substrate itself and capacitors produced therefrom.

Dielectric coatings and use in capacitors


The present disclosure relates to the field of display technologies, and discloses a display panel, a preparing method thereof, and a display device. The display panel has a bending area, and the display panel includes a sensing component; the sensing component includes a differential bridge connection circuit composed of a first strain sensor, a second strain sensor, a third strain sensor, and a fourth strain sensor; the first strain sensor, the second strain sensor, the third strain sensor, and the fourth strain sensor are resistance transducers, and are located in the bending area; the first strain sensor and the fourth strain sensor constitute first opposite bridge arms; the second strain sensor and the third strain sensor constitute second opposite bridge arms, and the first opposite bridge arms and the second opposite bridge arms are separately located on two sides of a neutral layer of the display panel.

Currently, integrated bending sensors are mainly in a resistive type and in a capacitive type. The working principle of a resistive bending sensor is to use the characteristic that the resistance changes under stretching of a metal wire in a bending state to transmit a signal of the bending state.

Display panel, preparing method thereof, and display device


A power storage system of the present technology includes a battery board configured to accommodate a secondary battery, a branch board, a first frame on which the battery board is placed, a second frame on which the branch board is placed, and a plurality of connection wirings that are disposed in the first frame and the second frame and connects the battery board and the branch board. The plurality of connection wirings are aggregated in the second frame.

The present technology relates to a power storage system and a container type power storage system. Specifically, the present technology relates to a power storage system and a container type power storage system that include a plurality of connection wirings that connects a battery board and a branch board.
Conventionally, in a power storage system in which a battery board housing a secondary battery such as a lithium ion battery, and a branch board such as a distribution board, are connected by a plurality of connection wirings, when the plurality of connection wirings is connected in parallel, resistance of the connection wirings may cause a difference in parallel impedance of each secondary battery in the battery board. When the difference in impedance is large, a larger amount of current flows through the secondary batteries with a small impedance, thus generating variation in remaining capacitances of the secondary batteries connected in parallel.
As a technology for reducing the difference in parallel impedance of each secondary battery, there is known a method of connection to a host device using wirings having an identical length for a parallel connection.
However, in the method of connection to a host device using wirings having an identical length as described above, it is necessary to connect the wirings of the number of parallel connections to the host device. In this case, a cable length between the battery board and the branch board needs to be adjusted to a length for the farthest distance therebetween. Here, even when the battery board and the branch board are disposed closest to each other, use of an unnecessarily long cable will require a space for storing the cable, deteriorate wiring work efficiency during construction, and increase material costs and work costs.

Power storage system and container type power storage system


Systems and methods may be provided for exhaust gas recirculation. The systems and methods may include receiving, via an intake section, inlet air at an input of a compressor, generating compressed air at the compressor using the received inlet air, and providing the compressed air from the compressor to a combustor, where the combustor produces combustion involving the compressed air and fuel. The systems and methods may also include receiving combustion products associated with the combustion at a turbine component, where the turbine component releases exhaust gases, and recirculating at least a portion of the exhaust gases to the intake section via a recirculation line, where the recirculated exhaust gases raise a temperature of the inlet air.

1. Field of the Invention
Aspects of embodiments of the invention relate generally to turbine engines, and more particularly, to the use of exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) for turbine engines.
2. Background of the Invention
Gas turbine engines are typically tuned to an optimal temperature range. If the ambient temperature at the inlet of a turbine engine deviates from that optimal temperature range, then the gas turbine engine and/or combined cycle may experience undesirable variations in efficiency, performance, output, stress, etc. Accordingly, there is a need in the industry for maintaining the ambient temperature of the inlet of the turbine engine at an optimal temperature under certain conditions in order to reduce operational variations.

Systems and methods for exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) for turbine engines


A spherical flange assembly is disclosed. The spherical flange assembly comprises a seat member, a heel member, a seal gland and at least one nut and bold assembly. The seat member includes a concave portion. The heel member includes a convex portion and a seal gland opening. The seal gland is disposed within the seal gland opening.

Currently, aircraft designers and manufacturers use various flexible, joints throughout the manufacture of the jet engines for use in the aircraft. To this end, various attempts to develop a satisfactory flexible, moderately pressurized joint have been made.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,448,449, issued to Halling, et al. and entitled "Flexible Piping Joint and Method of Forming Same" (Halling), discloses a fluid-tight coupling and sealing apparatus. Hailing describes a flexible piping joint, for use in fluid systems at moderate pressures and temperatures, that require a limited amount of angulation during operation. The invention in Halling, however, employs structurally inefficient load paths and non-metallic sealing elements. Further, these elements are not feasible at the extreme temperatures and pressures of rocket engine applications. Moreover, the sealing interface depends on the interference fit between the non-metallic seal and the metal duct material, both of which have significantly different thermal coefficients of expansion which limit the allowable operating temperature range. Additionally, the spherical interface must react with the pressure-separating load with the hoop strength of the concentric rings through a very structurally inefficient contact angle. Thus, for high pressure applications, the ring thicknesses would be significant, resulting in a very heavy structure, much larger in diameter for a given duct diameter.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,772,033, issued to Nash and entitled "Flexible Duct Joint Utilizing Lip in Recess in a Flange" (Nash), discloses a flexural joint for connecting opposing ends of two annular ducts. The invention in Nash is directed towards large diameter thin wall jet engine casing joints that permit both torsional and transverse motion. The spherical interface possesses a much larger diameter than the casing diameter, with the retaining bolt pattern possessing an even larger diameter. However, this type of structurally inefficient interface is also only acceptable for low-pressure applications that do not have to react large separating loads. For example, in high-pressure applications, the interface seal must be positioned close to the duct internal diameter to minimize the pressure separating load. Additionally, the interface bolts must be preloaded at a stiffness level sufficient to preclude separation at the seal interface with the high operating pressures. Thus, the teachings of Nash are not applicable or structurally feasible for high-pressure applications.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,697,651, issued to Fernandes and entitled "Flexible Duct Joint Having a Low Leakage, Pressure-Balanced Bellows Seal" (Fernandes), discloses a flexible joint for sealing two conduits. Fernandes discloses a flexible duct joint for aircraft engines possessing compressed air ducting joints that operate at relatively low pressures, as compared to rocket engine joints. The joint concept permits angulation motion during operation with limited leakage which is acceptable in the compressed air system. However, Fernandes utilizes joint structural shapes, retention mechanisms and multi-convolution bellows that are not feasible for rocket engine high pressure cryogenic and hot gas systems that require zero leakage.
Although the aforementioned references do provide flexible joints to overcome jet engine operating conditions, the references nevertheless fail, in one form or another, to facilitate the much more extreme conditions that exist in a rocket engine. This is primarily due to the fact that the aforementioned references are typically conceived for applications with operating pressures less than 1000 pounds per square inch (psi). The references are, generally speaking, not structurally efficient or feasible enough for applications within the 8000 psi range.
Since the early development of liquid-fuel rocket engines, the need to transfer propellants from low pressure supply tanks to turbopumps, turbine-driven pumps that raise the propellants used therein to pressures high enough for injection into a combustion chamber, has required specialized ducting that can, inter alia, accommodate assembly misalignments, thermal induced defections and both pressure- and vibration-induced loads. Early rocket engines typically operated at combustion chamber pressures of less than 1,000 pounds per square inch (psi), which required pump discharge pressures of less than 2,000 psi. For these applications, ducting, including tied bellows and braided hoses adapted from the aircraft engine and petro-chemical industries, were utilized to accommodate the aforementioned misalignment and deflections.
However, as combustion chamber pressures were increased from less than 1,000 psi to greater than 3,000 psi and closed cycle engines were introduced, a need for propellant ducts operating at up to 8,000 psi at temperatures as low as −400° F. and hot gas ducts operating at up to 6,000 psi at temperatures as high as 1,200° F. were established. The use of tied bellows or braided hoses are not feasible at these operating conditions, so solid wall ducts possessing sufficient length and routing, and flexible enough to accommodate the deflections were utilized. The excessive weight of the complex ducting created the need for flange joints that could accommodate assembly misalignments and react to the pressure- and vibration-induced loads without leakage at the extreme operating conditions.


A monitoring system for purposes of enhancing independent living incorporates a wearable communication device, such as a cellular telephone, in combination with a recharging base which might be coupled to a wire line telephone system. Either or both of the base station and wearable device can be in communication with sensors scattered through an individual's residence for purposes of collecting data pertaining to activities of daily living. Either or both of the wearable unit and base station could incorporate sensors responsive to physiological parameters of the resident. Both units can independently communicate with third party monitors to communicate data about, or direct immediate attention to the state of an individual using the system.

The ability to live independently hopefully evolves as a person matures through early adulthood and then extends through most or all of that person's life. However, such is not always the case.
It has been recognized that as individuals age, they lose a portion of their ability to independently carry out the activities of daily living. Common types of problems include loss of coordination and/or ability to understand where one's body is in space. These types of deficiencies can cause individuals to lose their balance and fall. The results of such falls, such as broken hips, can incapacitate the respective individual and leave them unable to summon help. The resulting delay in response, sometimes a day or more, can result in permanent disability or death in situations where quicker response could achieve full recovery.
Other forms of deficiencies arise from onset of dementia, and/or Alzheimer's Disease. Individuals with these syndromes lose their cognitive abilities, including their short term memory, in varying degrees. As a result of these losses, they often are unable to remember where they are or how to return, for example, to their residence, if they wander off (sometimes referred to as elopement). In early stages of dementia, they may simply need reminding about when to take medication, when to eat, and when to sleep, for example.
Younger individuals who are debilitated due to accidents (motorcycle riding, sports or the like) or diseases, such as cancer, alcoholism or hormonal imbalances represent another group whose ability to live independently may have been permanently compromised. Such individuals may also benefit from monitoring, reminders and the like.
Notwithstanding the types of deficiencies noted above, it has also been recognized that there is a substantial and important quality of life value in being able to continue to live substantially independently in one's residence. Not only is this psychologically, and perhaps physically, better for the individual (assuming the lifestyle can be carried out safely), it is substantially less expensive than maintaining the same individual in either an assisted living environment or a nursing home. Hence, there continues to be a need for systems and methods which support individuals who would like to remain at home, despite the presence of physical or cognitive limitations (which might have been caused by aging, accident or disease). Preferably, such systems would enable such individuals to safely remain in their homes and assist them in continuing to be as independent as possible.

Mobile telephonic device and base station


A method for providing network services includes receiving a mobile station identifier (MSID) from a mobile node at a packet data serving node. The packet data serving node is operable to communicate with the mobile node. The method includes receiving a registration request (RRQ) from the mobile node and appending the MSID to the RRQ. The method includes forwarding the RRQ to a home agent. The home agent is operable to communicate with the packet data serving node. The method also includes receiving an Internet Protocol (IP) address from the home agent. The IP address corresponds to the MSID. The MSID may be included in a normal vendor specific extension (NVSE) constructed by the packet data serving node. Appending the MSID to the RRQ may comprise appending the NVSE to the RRQ.

When accessing network services of a particular system, a particular user uses an identifier in order to gain access to the network services from a particular mobile node. A home agent of the system assigns an Internet Protocol (IP) address for the access to the network services by the user. Such assignment is typically made based upon the identifier of the user. Particular applications of network services systems, assigning an IP address based upon an identifier of a user may not allow concurrent access to the network services from other mobile nodes using the same user identifier.

Method and system for providing network services