A computer apparatus and method for merging system deltas, and more particularly, to a computer apparatus and method for 1) merging a number of system deltas with a copy S of a system's files (primary input stream) to create a revised copy of a system's files (primary output stream), 2) merging a plurality of system deltas with one another to create a compiled system delta, 3) creating inverse system deltas, and 4) merging inverse system deltas as in 1) and 2), supra. The methods may be used to save, construct and/or retrieve current and historical system states. The apparatus and method may be used in conjunction with a computer backup process, version manager, or the like.

This invention pertains to a computer apparatus and method for merging system deltas, and more particularly, to a computer apparatus and method for 1) merging a number of system deltas with a copy of a computer system's files (primary input stream) to create a revised copy of a computer system's files (primary output stream), 2) merging a plurality of system deltas with one another to create a compiled system delta, 3) creating inverse system deltas, and 4) merging inverse system deltas as in 1) and 2), supra. The methods may be used to save, construct and/or retrieve current and historical states of a computer system's files. The apparatus and method may be used in conjunction with a computer backup process, version manager, or the like.
The above-referenced application to Squibb, Ser. No. 08/039,702, discloses a method and apparatus for producing a change list for an original and updated version of a computer file. The method and apparatus utilize a hash generator CPU to produce a token set for an original file. A comparator CPU later uses the token set and a windowing technique to identify and correlate the locations of coexistent pages in the original and updated files. The comparator CPU then uses the coexistent page information and the residue of the updated file (or original) to create a delta expressing the differences between the original and updated files. The delta is transmitted to another computer and combined with a backup copy of the original file to create a backup copy of the updated file. The original file and a series of deltas are used to retain historical file information in a cost effective manner.
The above-referenced application to Squibb entitled "Computer Apparatus and Method for Merging a Sequential Plurality of Delta Streams" discloses a computer apparatus and method for merging a sequential plurality of delta streams, wherein each delta stream represents a change to either a prior delta stream, an original data stream, or an updated data stream. The method and apparatus may be used to 1) merge a sequential plurality of delta streams with an original data stream to create an updated data stream, 2) merge a sequential plurality of delta streams to create a compiled delta stream, or 3) merge a sequential plurality of negative delta streams to retrieve a desired prior data stream. The method and apparatus may be used in conjunction with a computer backup process, version manager, or the like. In summary, a consumer process initiates a number of search requests, within a transaction chain corresponding to the sequential plurality of delta streams, for a number of data bytes to transfer to an updated data stream. The search requests may be fulfilled with data bytes provided by the last delta stream in the transaction chain capable of supplying data bytes, or if the sequential plurality of delta streams is incapable of fulfilling the search request, it may be fulfilled with data bytes provided by the original data stream. As the sequential plurality of delta streams is merged, a sequential plurality of negative delta streams may be generated, thus enabling reconstruction of a desired prior data stream.
Although the above apparatus and methods of Squibb provide unique advantages in performing backup operations, version management, and the like, especially when reading and writing to sequential media, they do not provide an efficient, nor appropriate, method of managing "system" events such as file creations, deletions, replacements, and duplications (clonings). For example, assume that the second system delta in a sequential plurality of twenty system deltas contains delta information indicating that file AZ was deleted. Processing file AZ through a twenty element transaction chain (hereinafter referred to as a "delta bridge") is a cumbersome way to acknowledge that file AZ was deleted by the second system delta, and consequently, all of its data was routed from an original copy of a system's files (original data stream) to an inverse system delta (negative delta stream) corresponding to the second system delta.
It is therefore a primary object of this invention to provide a computer apparatus and method for efficiently merging changes to a computer "system", and more particularly, a computer apparatus and method for 1) merging system deltas with a copy of a computer system's files (primary input stream) stored in a sequential storage media, or 2) merging system deltas with one another.
The prior art comprises three procedures for system backup and/or version control. The first is "full copy versioning." In a full copy versioning system, a system's files are initially copied to a backup repository. Revised files are transferred to the backup repository as incremental backups. An incremental backup comprises a complete set of data for each file in the system that has been modified, copied, moved, renamed, or otherwise changed. In addition to the data of changed files, an incremental backup comprises the data of any new file. A system directory tracks which file versions in the backup repository comprise the current versions of a system's files. Full copy backup is currently the method of choice due to the fact that full and incremental backups may be saved to a sequential media (which is dramatically cheaper than seekable media).
Unfortunately, full copy versioning has several disadvantages. First, full and incremental backups require is a significant amount of storage space. For example, a 0.5% change in one Gigabyte of mixed file types may be spread through 15% of the mixed files, while a 0.5% change in a one Gigabyte database may be spread throughout 100% of the database's files. An incremental backup can therefore be 15-100% of the size of a full backup. For a database or similar system, full copy versioning may represent little savings over performing consecutive full system backups.
Second, although full and incremental backups may be stored as streams in a sequential media, the totality of files representing a particular system state are not stored in the sequential media as a "continuous" stream. Thus, if it is desired to reconstruct a system's files (even a most current version of the system's files), the desired versions of the system's files must be sought out from a myriad of full and incremental backups. As is well known in the art, sequential media is not easily seekable.
Third, due to the size of full and incremental backups, and the great amount of data to be managed by a backup repository, it is difficult, if not impossible, to merge incremental system backups with an original full system backup. As a result, a significant amount of duplicated data is stored within a backup repository, and management of the data can become an overwhelming task. It is therefore desirable to repeat full system backups on a periodic basis thereby reducing the amount of stored data to be managed. However, replacing incremental system backups with a new full system backup increases the number of I/O operations required of a backup repository, and erases historical system data.
Fourth, since the periodic full and incremental backups contain much duplicated (unchanged) data, physical storage requirements are immense, and media costs are high. However, despite the fact that a significant amount of duplicated data is saved in a full copy versioning system, system redundancy (or even file redundancy) does not exist. Though most of the data in an incremental backup may be duplicative of data contained in other full or incremental backups, only one copy of a particular version exists (a system or file version can only be retrieved from a single storage means, and not from either one of a redundant storage means). Archiving the already large amount of duplicative data makes system redundancy a very unattractive prospect.
The second known method of version control is commonly referred to as "revision control." Revision control systems are used to store detailed information concerning the changes made to computer source code. Source code changes are stored as deltas in an online seekable library. When a source code version is required, a base version is retrieved to disk, and the appropriate deltas are merged with it. An advantage of RCS is the ability to store deltas (only the changes to files), and merge particular deltas to construct either a prior or future system version. However, problems still remain. A first disadvantage of revision control is that it requires a seekable storage media. Furthermore, data (source code) must often be stored in a specific format (e.g., newline delimited) for efficient operation of the system. This often creates inefficiencies when revision control is used in conjunction with non-text files. Additionally, revision control is limited to use with small to medium size systems due to the fact that 1) online storage libraries create excessive seekable media storage costs, and 2) revision control delta merging is iterative, requiring an excessive number of I/O operations to merge many system deltas. Furthermore, the online accessibility requirement of a revision control system does not allow for system redundancy.
A third method of system versioning (backup) is "single entity versioning." Single entity versioning is a variant of revision control. However, single entity versioning differs from revision control in that it uses pointers to retrieve particular instances of a system data element (file). Storage media must therefore be seekable. On a large scale, single entity versioning has the same disadvantages as revision control.
It is therefore a further object of this invention to provide a computer apparatus and method wherein data can be directly retrieved from, and recorded to, a sequential storage media.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a computer apparatus and method which do not require seeking within a sequential media.
It is also an object of this invention to provide a computer apparatus and method which allow for backup of large computer systems, with minimal physical storage requirements and costs.
It is another object of this invention to provide a computer apparatus and method which operate using deltas, thereby allowing the best data compression and the simplest version management.
A further object of this invention is to provide a computer apparatus and method which allow rapid retrieval of prior or future system versions with a minimum number of I/O operations.
Another object of this invention is to provide a computer apparatus and method which eliminate the need for periodic full system backups.
An additional object of this invention is to provide a computer apparatus and method which eliminate data duplication within a single storage means (e.g., a backup repository), but allow for cost efficient storage of data in independent and redundant storage means.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide methods of creating and merging inverse system deltas, wherein the merging of system deltas or inverse system deltas may be used to retrieve a prior or future version of a system's data.

Computer apparatus and method for merging system deltas


There are provided a seamless capsule containing therein a large quantity of an active ingredient which is difficultly soluble in water and oil and a method of manufacturing the seamless capsule. Encapsulating liquid 1, in which the active ingredient is difficultly soluble in water and oil is suspended in oil as particles each having the mean particle diameter of less than 20 .mu.m, is enclosed in hydrophilic outer shells. This seamless capsule SC is manufactured in such a manner that from a multiple nozzle 7, suspension, in which the active ingredient which is difficultly soluble in water and oil is dispersed in oil and the active ingredient in thus obtained dispersion is pulverized to obtain particles each having the mean particle diameter of less than 20 .mu.m, as encapsulating liquid 1, and aqueous liquid of a shell forming substance, as outer shell forming liquid 3, are dropped into hardening liquid 10.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a seamless capsule, and more particularly to techniques effectively applied to a seamless capsule capable of containing a large quantity of an active ingredient.
2. Statement of the Related Art
In general, hard capsules are employed for filling powdery material. However, with this hard capsules, there are presented the following problems. That is, firstly, the hard capsules are standardized their size and volume, even in a smallest capsule No. 5, the length thereof is as large as 1.2.about.1.4 cm, and hard capsules smaller than No. 5 can not be produced because of the standard and technical problem. Secondly, during the manufacturing of the capsules, such processes as encapsulating, cap coupling and the like are needed, so that the production efficiency is low. Thirdly, according to Japanese law, in the field of health foods, ingredients, with which the hard capsules are permitted to be encapsulated, are limited, so that types of products permitted to be on sale are limited.
On the other hand, although there are no such problems as described above for a seamless capsule and a soft capsule, such a problem is presented that, even in the case of these capsules, the capsules can not be encapsulated with the powder as it is. Then, there have been tried various methods for encapsulating the seamless capsules and the like with a powder material, which are not limited in dimensions and materials to be encapsulated. In these cases, it is conventional that the powder is dissolved in a solvent medium to provide a liquid solution, or the powder is suspended in a solvent medium to provide a fluid dispersion, which is encapsulated in a capsule.
In this case, as a solvent medium to be used, such one is desirable that a powder material as being an object can be dissolved at a high concentration, a stable solution can be obtained after the dissolution and no harm is given to human body. However, as for a powder material desired to be used, in fact, there are many cases where such a convenient and suitable solvent medium does not exist. Hence, in general, a powder material is enclosed in capsules in a state of a fluid suspension. Then, as techniques for encapsulating a capsule with this suspension, especially encapsulating a seamless capsule to enclose the suspension therein, there have been known several examples as shown in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 68446/1993, Patent Application Publication No. 39193/1978, Patent Laid-Open No. 190916/1984, Patent Laid-Open No. 92616/1979 and so forth.
Here, in Patent Application Publication No. 68446/1993, there is disclosed a method, in which a stabilizer is added to freeze-dried powder of Lactobacillus bifidus suspended in hydrogenated oil having a melting point between 30.degree. C. and 45.degree. C. and a melting point range of less than 3.degree. C. encapsulated in a soft capsule. In this case, the hydrogenated oil having the small range of the melting point is used, whereby the suspension is hardened immediately, so that moisture in the shell of capsule is prevented from moving to Lactobacillus bifidus. Furthermore, in Patent Application Publication No. 39193/1978, there is disclosed a mononucleus double-wall capsule, whose nuclear portion (inner-most layer) is encapsulated with powder dispersed in oil, which is hardened about at 10.degree. C. With this arrangement, it becomes possible to form a material to provide a capsule, otherwise it should be impossible to form the material to provide a capsule with a seamless one-wall capsule.
Further, in Patent Laid-Open No. 190916/1984, there is disclosed a seamless capsule containing a filler obtained by dispersing in oil an inclusion compound, in which a hydrophilic substance is included in a clathrate inclusion compound. In this case, the hydrophilic substance is to be taken into the interior of cavity formed in the clathrate inclusion compound, an insoluble composite material is formed, and this clathrate inclusion compound is dispersed in oil to obtain a stable dispersion containing the hydrophilic substance, so that a capsule can be formed. On the other hand, in Patent Laid-Open No. 92616/1979, there is disclosed a bioavailability improving drug, in which a solid chemical agent which is difficultly soluble in water is dispersed in oil (at liquid room temperature), with which a seamless mini-capsule having a particle diameter of 1.about.3 mm is encapsulated.
Here, the inventors of the present invention have found that, when the capsule encapsulating therein the suspension is manufactured, if the fill of the suspension is increased, then, when liquid drops through a multiple nozzle, the outer shells of the capsules are broken and satisfactory capsules can not be formed.
Then, when the above-described conventional methods are examined from the above-described viewpoint, firstly, in Patent Application Publication No. 68446/1993, the hydrogenated oil having the melting point higher than the room temperature is used as encapsulated- in liquid, whereby the suspension is hardened immediately at the time of formation of a capsule, so that an outer shell is difficultly subjected to the influence of the moisture of suspension and no damage is caused to the capsule. However, in this method, the encapsulated liquid is in a solid state at the room temperature, so that all stage of manufacturing the capsule, i.e. preparation, storage and supplying thereof should be performed under heated conditions. For this, the active ingredient is easily deteriorated and the heating means is needed at all times. Further, a solvent medium for dispersion is limited to the hydrogenated oil, there is a case where the active ingredient may be precluded from being absorbed into the human body depending upon the type of the hydrogenated oil, and there is a case where it is not appropriate to apply this method. In addition, the content is hardened at the room temperature, whereby the capsule becomes opaque, so that the product seems ugly, and further, detection of defectives such as uneven shell thickness, damages and the like is difficult. Hence, this method is not used in general.
Next, in Patent Application Publication No. 39193/1978, the encapsulated liquid (nuclear portion) is doubly protected by an intermediate layer (inner layer) and an outer layer,. so that damages are uneasily caused to the outer shell. However, in this method, use of a triple nozzle is essential, so that the device become complicated and it is not easy to perform operational control. Furthermore, the double layered capsule is needed, so that such a disadvantage is presented that the fill of the encapsulated liquid is decreased as compared with a capsule having a particle diameter equal thereto.
Further, in Patent Laid-Open No. 190916/1984, such an arrangement is adopted that the clathrate inclusion compound is dispersed in the oil, whereby, when the quantity of the clathrate inclusion compound is increased, a problem of the outer shell damage is still presented. Furthermore, the active ingredient is limited to the hydrophilic substance, and it is necessary to add the inclusion material such as cyclodextrin by more than a quantity equal thereto. Accordingly, such a problem is presented that the types of the active ingredient to be used are limited, and further, the content of the active ingredient is also restricted. Furthermore, it takes much process to produce the clathrate inclusion compound, and further, the production efficiency is low.
On the other hand, in Patent Laid-Open No. 92616/1979, as the encapsulated liquid, there is used the active ingredient difficultly soluble in water to be molecularly dispersed (dissolved) and/or particulately dispersed and, as for the outer shell damage, conditions equal thereto are brought about. Further, in this case, only the one obtained by dissolution is described as an example, but, there is not described the embodiment of forming the capsule for the one dispersed particulately.
Then, the inventors of the present invention, paying their attention to the technique described in this Patent Laid-Open No. 92616/1979, have tried to form the capsule containing the encapsulated liquid not described in the example, in which the active ingredient is dispersed particulately. As the result, they have been confronted with the fact that, when it is tried to increase the containing ratio of the active ingredient, the outer shell breakage are often caused.

Seamless capsule and method of manufacturing the same


Scanning Brookfield dry block instrument component, viscometer instrument, and method of use of the instrument can employ direct refrigeration with heat provision. A thermoelectric chip substitute may be employed as well.

SBT instruments typically employ a liquid bath such as methanol to control temperature of test cell(s). See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,503,002 (Apr. 2, 1996) for a sensitive rotating viscometer instrument. Methanol, although a standard in the industry, has its well known drawbacks. Controlling the temperature and increasing efficiency are notable among concerns.
In addressing such drawbacks and concerns, and so forth, in various arts, new apparatuses were invented. Compare, U.S. Pat. No. 6,755,044 (Jun. 29, 2004) for a heater evaporator, and U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 10/077,236 filed Feb. 15, 2002, which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,786,081 (Sep. 7, 2004), for direct and/or opposing flow path refrigeration, and 10/674,168 filed Sep. 23, 2003 for a directly refrigerated block.
It would be desirable to improve the SBT art.


An air-fuel ratio control method for an internal combustion engine. The air-fuel ratio of an air-fuel mixture supplied to the engine is feedback-controlled to a desired air-fuel ratio dependent on operating conditions of the engine. When a transmission is being shifted or before a predetermined time period elapses after the shifting, the desired air-fuel ratio is held at a value assumed immediately before the shifting of the transmission. In another form of the invention, when the transmission is being shifted, or when the operating characteristics of at least one set of a set of intake valves and a set of exhaust valves have been not changed before the predetermined time period elapses after the shifting of the transmission, the desired air-fuel ratio is held at a value assumed before the shifting of the transmission.

The present invention relates to a method of feedback-controlling the air-fuel ratio of an internal combustion engine, and more particularly, it relates to a method of this kind wherein the air-fuel mixture supplied to the engine is feedback-controlled in response to the output of an exhaust gas ingredient concentration sensor having output characteristics in approximate proportion to the exhaust gas ingredient concentration.
Among methods of feedback-controlling the air-fuel ratio of an air-fuel mixture supplied to an internal combustion engine (referred to hereinafter as "supply air-fuel ratio") to a desired air-fuel ratio in response to the output of an exhaust gas ingredient concentration sensor having output characteristics proportional to the exhaust gas ingredient concentration, there is one proposed e.g. by Japanese Provisional Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 59-208141, in which the desired air-fuel ratio is changed according to operating conditions of the engine.
In the meanwhile, a system for controlling operating characteristics (valve lift amount, valve opening timing, etc.) of at least one set of a set of intake valves and a set of exhaust valves has been proposed e.g. by Japanese Patent Publication Kokoku) No. 49-33289, in which the operating characteristics of at least one set of the valves is changeable between operating characteristics suitable for a low engine rotational speed region and operating characteristics suitable for a high engine rotational speed, one of the two kinds of operating characteristics being selected according to operating conditions of the engine.
In the above proposed air-fuel ratio control method, the desired air-fuel ratio is changed, specifically, in response to the engine coolant temperature and/or the throttle valve opening. However, it does not take into consideration changes in operating conditions of the engine (in this case, particularly a change in the throttle valve opening) occurring when the gear position of a transmission driven by the engine has been changed, and therefore the proposed method has a problem that the supply air-fuel ratio temporarily undergoes a large deviation from a desired value due to a drastic change in the desired air-fuel ratio occurring when the gear position of the transmission is changed.
Further, when the conventional air-fuel ratio control method is applied to an engine in which the operating characteristics of the intake and/or exhaust valves can be changed over, it is necessary to set the desired air-fuel ratio while taking into consideration a change in the operating characteristics of the valves as well as a change in the gear position of the transmission.

Air-fuel ratio control method for internal combustion engines


A detachable sponge device for a spin coating machine used to coat a liquid material over a semiconductor wafer is provided. The detachable sponge device is used to prevent the solvent that is jetted on the edge of the wafer from being oversprayed elsewhere on the wafer. The detachable sponge device is composed of a curved mounting piece and a corrugated piece of sponge attached on the curved inner side of the mounting piece. The mounting piece can be detachably mounted on the spin coating machine. The corrugated piece of sponge can absorb splattered particles of solvent from the wafer which can thus be prevented from bouncing back onto the wafer. The planarization of the coating of SOG on the wafer thus will not be affected by splattering particles of the solvent. Excellent results of planarization of SOG or photoresist layers can thus be achieved.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to spin coating machines that are used to coat a layer of liquefied material, such as spin-on-glass (SOG) or photoresist, with high degree of planarization on a semiconductor wafer. More particularly, this invention relates to a detachable sponge device for a spin coating machine, which is capable of preventing the solvent that is jetted on the edge of the wafer for edge bead rinse (EBR) purpose from being oversprayed elsewhere on the wafer.
2. Description of Related Art
As integrated circuits are fabricated to contain more and more components therein for increased scale of integration, a single wafer is usually divided into multiple layers so that it can contain a vast amount of components therein. This kind of wafer needs to use highly planarized dielectric layers to separate between the multiple layers thereof. One method to form the highly planarized dielectric layers is to use the so-called spin-on-glass (SOG) process to coat a liquefied dielectric material, such as silicon dioxide, on the wafer. The SOG process is usually conducted by a so-called spin coating machine which spins the wafer while the liquefied silicon dioxide is being applied onto the wafer. As a result, due to the centrifugal force from the spinning, the liquefied silicon dioxide can be spread evenly over the wafer so that the planarization of the coating of silicon dioxide is highly effective.
FIG. 1 shows a schematic sectional diagram of a conventional spin coating machine, which has a bowl-shaped area inside 10 including a vacuum chuck 11 therein for securely holding a semiconductor wafer 12 thereon. The vacuum chuck 11 is driven by a servo motor 13 so as to spin the wafer 12 during the SOG process. The thickness and degree of planarization of the SOG coating can be controlled by adjusting the speed of the servo motor 13. During the SOG process, however, the edge of the wafer 12 will also be covered by the SOG, thus forming a spread of fine SOG particles. Conventionally, these fine SOG particles can be removed by a so-called edge bead rinse (EBR) device. As shown in FIG. 1, the EBR device includes a nozzle 14 for jetting a stream of solvent on a margin of about 1 to 2 mm in width on the edge of the wafer 12, by which the fine SOG particles thereon can be washed away.
One major drawback of the foregoing EBR process, however, is that if the solvent is jetted on the edge of the wafer 12 during a high jetting speed or in a great amount, the solvent could be oversprayed elsewhere on the wafer 12, which would substantially affect the planarization of the coating of the SOG layer. In addition, due to the centrifugal force from the spinning of the wafer 12, the solvent jetted on the edge of the wafer 12 will be partly thrown tangentially away from the wafer 12 bumping into and bouncing back from the inner wall 15 of the bowl-shaped area inside 10 onto the wafer 12. This also would affect the planarization of the coating of the SOG layer. Without effective planarization, the final product of the IC chip could lack a quality yield. There exists, therefore, a need for an improved EBR device which is capable of preventing the solvent that is jetted on the edge of the wafer from being sprayed elsewhere on the wafer.

Detachable sponge device for spin-coating machines


When a reverse reproduction is instructed, an MPEG video stream is once decoded and is again recoded by an MPEG video encoder so as to generate a recoded data sequence which will be overwritten on a storage area in a hard disk. An MPEG video decoder reads out this recoded data sequence in a reverse time-series manner and decodes it successively, and then converts it to a video signal so as to be outputted to a display.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing method, and an image processing apparatus and a television receiver which can utilize the image processing method. The present invention relates to technology in which to process data coded according to, for example, the MPEG (Moving Picture Expert Group) standards.
2. Description of the Related Art
Information handled in the multimedia is of a vast amount and is multifarious, thus a fast processing of the information is necessary in the course of planning to put the multimedia to practical use. In order to process information at high speed, compression and expansion of data become indispensable. The "MPEG" method is one of data compression and expansion techniques. This MPEG method is being standardized by the MPEG Committee (ISO/IEC JTC1/SC29/WG11) under the ISO (International Organization for Standardization)/IEC (International Electro-technical Commission). An image processing apparatus utilizing the MPEG method is built into various image related devices such as movie camera, still camera, television set, video CD reproduction equipment, DVD reproduction equipment and so forth.
Video data handled in the MPEG relate to moving pictures, and the moving picture is constituted by a plurality of, for example, 30 frames, per second that are still pictures or frames. As shown in FIG. 1, the video data have a hierarchical structure and are comprised of six layers that are a sequence layer, a GOP (group of pictures) layer, a picture layer, a slice layer, a macroblock layer and a block layer in this order. The number of the slices constituting a single picture is not fixed, and the number of the macroblocks constituting a single slice is also not fixed. The macroblock layer and the block layer are omitted in FIG. 1.
Moreover, MPEG is chiefly classified under two methods, namely, MPEG-1 and MPEG-2, according to the coding rates. In MPEG-1, a frame corresponds to a picture. In MPEG-2, however, frames or fields can also be made to correspond to pictures. Two fields constitute one frame. The structure where frames correspond to pictures is called a frame structure, whereas the structure where fields correspond to pictures is called a field structure.
In MPEG, a compression technique called inter-frame prediction is employed. The inter-frame prediction compresses inter-frame data based on a temporal correlation among frames. In the inter-frame prediction, bidirectional prediction is performed. The bidirectional prediction uses both forward prediction for predicting a current reproduced image from a past reproduced image or picture, and backward prediction for predicting a current reproduced image from a future reproduced image.
This bidirectional prediction uses three types of pictures that are I picture (Intra-Picture), P picture (Predictive-Picture) and B picture (Bidirectionally predictive-Picture). An I picture is an image independently produced by an intra-frame coding processing, irrespective of past and future reproduced images. In order for a random access to be performed, at least one I picture is needed within the GOP. All of the macroblock type within the I picture are intra-frame prediction pictures (Intra-Frames). A P picture is produced by the inter-frame coding processing using the forward prediction that is prediction from a past I or P picture. The macroblock type in the P picture includes both an intra-frame prediction picture and a forward prediction picture (Forward Inter Frame).
The B picture is produced by the inter-frame coding processing using the bidirectional prediction. In the bidirectional prediction, a B picture is produced by one of the following three predictions.    (1) Forward Prediction; prediction from a past I picture or P picture.    (2) Backward Prediction; prediction from a future I picture or P picture.    (3) Bidirectional Prediction; prediction from past and future I picture or P picture.
The macroblock type in the B picture includes four types of pictures that are an intra-frame prediction picture, a forward prediction picture, a backward prediction picture (Backward Inter Frame), and an interpolative prediction picture (Interpolative Inter Frame).
These I, P and B pictures are respectively coded. Namely, the I picture can be generated even when no past or future picture is available. In contrast thereto, the P picture can not be generated without the past picture, and the B picture can not be generated without the past or future pictures. However, when the macroblock type is the interpolative prediction picture for the P and B picture, the macroblock is produced even without the past or future pictures.
In the inter-frame prediction, an I picture is periodically produced first. Then, a frame several frames ahead of the I picture is produced as a P picture. This P picture is produced by prediction in one direction from the past to the present, namely, in the forward direction. Thereafter, a frame located before the I picture and after the P picture is produced as a B picture. When producing this B picture, the optimal prediction method is selected from among the three prediction methods which are the forward prediction, backward prediction and bidirectional prediction. In general, a current image and its preceding and succeeding images in consecutive motion pictures are similar to one another, and they differ only partially. Thus, it is assumed that the previous frame and the next frame are substantially the same. If there is a difference between the two frames, that difference only is extracted and compressed. For example, if the previous frame is an I picture and the next frame is a P picture, the difference is extracted as B picture data. Thereby, the inter-frame data can be compressed based on the temporal correlation among frames. A data sequence or a bit stream of video data coded in compliance with the MPEG video part is called an MPEG video stream.
MPEG-1 is designed mainly for storage media such as video CD (Compact Disc) or CD-ROM (CD Read Only Memory). MPEG-2, on the other hand, is designed not only for storage media such as video CD, CD-ROM, DVD (Digital Video Disk) and VTR (Video Tape Recorder) but also for transmission media in general including communication media such as LAN (Local Area Network) and broadcast media such as the ground wave broadcast, satellite broadcast and CATV (Community Antenna Television).
A core of technology used in the MPEG video part lies in a motion compensated prediction (MC) and a discrete cosine transform (DCT). The coding technique combining MC and DCT is called the hybrid coding technique. The DCT (also referred to as a FDCT (forward DCT)) is utilized in the MPEG video part at the time of the coding, so that video signals of the images are decomposed into frequency components so as to be processed. Thereafter, at the time of a decoding, the frequency components are again restored to video signals by using an inverse discrete cosine transform (inverse DCT or IDCT).
The MPEG can process a vast amount of information at high speed and the MPEG uses the compression technique called the inter-frame prediction as described above. Thus, it is extremely difficult to reverse-reproduce a data sequence, for the purpose of a picture search, which is coded and recorded in a time-series manner according to the MPEG, namely, it is extremely difficult to reproduce a recorded data series by simply going back along the time axis in the case of reproduction in the reverse direction as in the usual video tape recorder. Thus, it is conventionally performed that I picture alone allotted in each GOP is reproduced by going back along the time axis. Since the I picture is an image produced by the intra-frame coding processing as described above, it can be independently displayed without referring to pictures before and/or after it.
In the conventional examples, the number of the I picture allotted for each GOP is very small. For example, the number of the I picture allotted for each GOP is at most one among pictures constituting the GOP, and when the picture of per 15 to 30 frames is reverse reproduced, a smooth reverse-reproduced picture as in the usual video tape recorder is not obtained, so that it is difficult to stop at a desired scene at a proper timing.

Image processing using shared frame memory


A traction bar prevents rotation of an axle housing for a vehicle utilizing leaf springs. A traction bar has a rigid rail member having a first end and a second end. The traction bar also has a pivoting shackle member having a proximal end and a distal end. The proximal end of the shackle member is pivotally attached to the vehicle frame or to a vehicle frame bracket attached to the vehicle's frame. The distal end of the shackle member is pivotally attached to the first end of the rigid rail member. An axle bracket is pivotally attached to the second end of the rigid rail member. The three pivots provided with the traction bar provide for normal movement of the suspension without binding. However, upon acceleration or high torque load, the shackle member is thrust into axial alignment with the rigid rail member, stopping forward motion of the rigid rail member.

The invention generally relates to vehicular suspensions. The present invention more specifically relates to the prevention of "axle wrap".
Vehicles having leaf spring rear suspensions, particularly with vehicles having lifted suspensions or high torque or soft spring rate leaf springs, are subject to "axle wrap". Axle wrap occurs when torque from the vehicle power plant transferred through the drivetrain is applied to the rear axle, such as when a heavy load is towed or the vehicle is heavily accelerated, causing the axle to rotate, or "wrap", in the opposite direction from the tire rotation. because the axle is held in place by the leaf springs, the torque is transferred to the leaf springs causing a bending force in the leaf spring. This applied torque causes the leaf springs to flex or bend, which then allows the axle to rotate non-desirably. The bending of the leaf springs robs some of the torque from the power plant, causes unwanted stress and possible damage to the drive line components. If the bending of the leaf springs, reaches a high enough force, the leaf spring can "snap" back into its original state, then bend again and snap back repeatedly which causes a vibration felt throughout the vehicle and can sometimes cause "wheel hop" where the rear tires intermittently lose traction.
The general solution to this problem, without making the leaf springs stiffer which would result in a harsh ride quality, is to utilize a traction bar to limit the axle wrap. Traction bars generally resist the torque in the leaf springs but do not stop the axle from moving up and down during general suspension use. One type of traction bar has pivots at both ends, where one end mounts to the vehicle chassis and the other end mounts to the rear axle, generally underneath the centerline of the axle, such that torque applied to the differential is transferred through the traction bar into the chassis in a forward direction, which helps to transfer the previously wasted torque from bending the leaf springs, into a force that supports forward motion of the vehicle. However, while this device will control the movement of axle wrap, it has the negative result of binding the rear suspension during the suspension travel cycle since this device generally has geometry that is fixed in length with the fixed pivot at the chassis attachment and the floating pivot at the axle a fixed length away which is intended to move with the suspension travel.
A leaf spring has a front fixed pivot attached to the chassis, and generally but not always a rear floating pivot attached to the chassis with a shackle. The axle is attached near the middle of the length of the leaf spring if there is a floating rear pivot or to the rear of the leaf spring if there is no rear leaf spring attachment. The binding is a result of the leaf spring movements not matching the traction bar movements during the suspension cycle. A leaf spring by nature bends during the suspension cycle thus changing the length between the front fixed pivot and the axle attachment, whereas the traction bar with fixed front pivot does not change length to be able to swing in the same are as the leaf spring does.
Embodiments of the present invention prevent axle wrap while also preventing binding during the suspension travel cycle.


A combination dryer and operation method are disclosed. The combination dryer and operation method for a combination dryer enable air in a drying drum and a cabinet for drying the laundry to circulate continuously and enable water generated in the circulation process to be used to perform a refreshing cycle.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a combination dryer, and more particularly, to a new type of a combination dryer which enables air in a drying drum and a cabinet to circulate continuously for drying the laundry more smoothly and which is suitable for being built-in as well as preventing changes of interior environments.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
In general, a dryer is an electric home appliance which can dry cloth items, cloths and beddings (hereinafter, 'the laundry'). The dryer dries the laundry by supplying hot air to the washed laundry continuously.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional tumble dryer out of related art dryers.
The related art tumble dryer includes a body 101 a drying drum 20, a door 40, a motor 50, a drying heater 60 and a fan 70.
The body 10 defines an exterior of the tumble dryer and the drying drum 20 is rotatably mounted inside of the body 10.
Also, an opening 11 is formed in front of the body 10, and the door 40 is coupled for opening/closing the opening 11.
The motor 50 is secured to an inner downside of the body 10 for creating a driving force to rotate the drying drum 20 and the fan 70.
The drying heater 60 is mounted on an inner portion of a hot air supply channel 91 for heating air flowing within the hot air supply channel 91. The hot air supply channel 91 guides a hot air passage supplied into the drying drum 20.
The fan 70 discharges dry air flowing inside of the drying drum 10 to an outside, and is provided in communication with a hot air discharge channel 92.
Thus, once the fan 70 is put into operation, external air is guided by the hot air supply channel 91 and heated by passing through the drying heater 60 to be drawl into the drying drum 10.
Thereby, the damp laundry introduced into the drying drum 10 is getting dried by the heated external air gradually.
The air having dried the laundry by being circulated within the drying drum 10 is guided by the hot air supplying channel 92 to be discharged outside.
Once drying is completed by the repeated performance of the above process, the fan 70 and the drying heater 60 are stopped to finish a drying cycle.
However, the related art tumble dryer has a problem that a tangled portion of the laundry is not dried smoothly, because the drying cycle is performed in a state of the laundry being introduced together at one time.
There is another problem that it is impossible to keep the laundry for a long time in the related art tumble dryer.
Thus, recently demands have been increasing accordingly for a new type of a combination dryer having a drying capacity thereof enlarged as well as capable of keeping the laundry for a long time. There are various combination dryers provided with tumble dryers having auxiliary cabinet dryers provided therewith, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 2004-0194339 A1 or U.S. Pat. No. 2004-0154194.
The above combination dryer has a cabinet dryer provided on a top of a conventional dryer having a rotatory drum. The cabinet dryer has space for the laundry and receives hot air used to dry or keep the laundry for a long time.
The cabinet dryer is employed to dry the laundry or keep the laundry therein for a long time after receiving hot air from the tumble dryer.
However, the combination dryer described above may cause a problem that the combination dryer cannot be supplied for being built-in, because the air having dried the laundry is discharged outside of the combination dryer.
That is, since space for being built-in should be formed large enough to maintain a sufficient distance with a wall for discharging air smoothly, a design of an exterior may deteriorate.
Furthermore, since the air discharged from the combination dryer is a high-temperature humid air, internal environment may not be the high temperature humid one which a user does not want.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


This invention provides methods of increasing blood flow to tissue in a subject in need thereof, methods of regenerating tissue in a subject, methods of treating diseased tissue in a subject, methods of forming new blood vessels in tissue and new tissue, such as myocardial tissue, in a subject in need thereof, methods of increasing angiogenesis in diseased tissue in a subject, and methods of preventing heart failure in a subject, which methods comprise: a) isolating autologous mononuclear cells from the subject; b) selecting from the isolated autologous mononuclear cells of step (a) lineage negative (Lin−) mononuclear cells; and c) transplanting locally into or adjacent to the tissue an effective amount of the Lin− autologous mononuclear cells, resulting in formation of new blood vessels in the tissue and formation of new tissue. Additional methods provided for such uses further select from the isolated autologous mononuclear cells of step (a) lineage negative (Lin−) mononuclear cells a subset of Lin− mononuclear side population (SP) cells and transplant locally into or adjacent to the tissue an effective amount of the Lin− SP cells. In other aspects, methods using tissue other than mononuclear cells for these uses are provided, which comprise (a) obtaining a cell suspension from the tissue or a second tissue of the subject; (b) selecting from the cell suspension step (a) side population (SP) cells; and (c) transplanting locally into or adjacent to the tissue an effective amount of the SP cells, resulting in formation of new blood vessels in the tissue and formation of new tissue.

Delivery of cells to the myocardium has shown promise for the treatment of heart failure patients. The specific cell type or types which will be most effective as treatment are currently under study.
Recently, implantation of the bone marrow mononuclear cell fraction to the ischemic heart has resulted in positive histological and functional cardiac improvement. (Kamihata H. et al. Circulation 2001; 104(9):1046–1052) However, the mononuclear cell fraction contains cell types other than stem and progenitor cells, e.g., monocytes and lymphocytes, potentially resulting in lower effectiveness and increased inflammatory response. More specific selection methods, e.g., isolation of stem cells which only express the stem cell marker CD34+, leave out some of the most primitive stem cells. (Dao M A and Nolta J A Leukemia 2000; 14:773–776)
Other recent studies have determined that local injection of lineage negative c-kitPOS bone marrow cells from transgenic mice expressing enhanced green fluorescent protein into the contracting wall bordering infarcted myocardium resulted in myocardial regeneration, wherein the developing tissue comprised proliferating myocytes and vascular structures. (Orlic D. et al. Nature 2001; 401(6829):701–705)
Additional investigations have found that transplantation of highly enriched adult hematopoietic stem cells, called side population (SP) cells into lethally irradiated mice subsequently rendered ischemic by coronary artery occlusion followed by reperfusion resulted in migration of SP cells (CD34−/low, c-kit+, Sca+) or their progeny into ischemic cardiac muscle and blood vessels, differentiation to cardiomyocytes and endothelial cells, and contribution to the formation of functional tissue. (Jackson K. A. et al. J. Clin. Investig. 2001 107(11):1395–1402) The SP cells were selected by lack of nuclear staining with Hoechst dye and were additionally tested for c-Kit expression and PECAM-1 (CD31) expression. (Jackson K. A. et al. J. Clin. Investig. 2001)
Therefore, delivery of all lineage negative (Lin−) mononuclear cells, i.e., cells which do not exhibit phenotypic characteristics of any committed or terminally differentiated cell type, or the side population (SP) cells subset of the Lin− mononuclear cells, will conserve all relevant stem cells and obviate the current use of additional specific selection methods.
Accordingly, the present invention discloses that transplantation of autologous lineage negative (Lin−) mononuclear cells or side population (SP) cells, which is a subset of cells within the Lin− mononuclear cell population or which may be isolated from other organs such as skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle, liver and kidney, directly into or adjacent to diseased or injured tissue, e.g., the myocardium, results in engraftment of the transplanted Lin− mononuclear cells or side population cells, their differentiation into cardiomyocytes and/or endothelial cells, and formation of functional tissue. The use of Lin− mononuclear cells, or alternatively, SP cells, maintains a therapeutically valuable population of stem and progenitors by excluding differentiated and committed cell types without unnecessary additional processing for identification of specific stem cell markers.
Isolation of autologous lineage negative mononuclear cells or side population cells from the bone marrow (Lin− BM-MNCs) or peripheral blood containing uncommitted or undifferentiated mononuclear cells (Lin− MNCs) or isolation of side population (SP) cells from nonhematopoietic tissues and the direct delivery of such Lin− mononuclear cells or side population cells to tissues such as the myocardium or coronary blood vessels, as provided by the present invention, is a novel therapeutic strategy for heart failure in adult mammals. Such a strategy is also useful for treatment of other types of tissue in need of neovascularization, e.g., skeletal muscle.

Selected cell delivery for heart failure


An electrical straddle box that includes a pair of electrical boxes sized to fit between construction studs and are joined alongside one another by a U shaped saddle, where the saddle legs are the opposing sides of the electrical boxes, and the saddle web is the width of, and is for fastening to, a center construction stud. Each electrical box includes a removable back panel with spaced holes therein for use in mounting low voltage components, distribution modules such as connector bars or strips, and wiring, and includes a hinge connected cover for fitting over both the electrical boxes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to electrical wall boxes installed in new construction and remodeling that are dedicated to low voltage wiring systems, including Category (CAT) UPT cables, Coaxial CATV/MATV/CCTV Serial Digital, Computer Network (LAN), and low voltage control and speaker cables, encompassing telephone, computer, internet, video, low voltage lighting, and the like.
2. Prior Art
Electrical wall boxes that provide for conduit junctions to route both high and low power throughout a building are, of course, well known. Such earlier junction boxes were primarily provided for reducing incoming voltage 220 and 110 volts and routing same through circuit breakers to wall receptacles, and other power couplers through a building. Electrical cables carrying such power has generally been passed through conduits, with the conduits connected between the circuit breaker panel and individual outlet boxes, providing a hard metal or plastic covering to the electrical wiring. In recent times a proliferation of low voltage needs have come into play. Particularly in new construction it is common to run Category (CAT) UPT Cables, Coaxial CATV/MATV/CCTV/Serial Digital, Computer Network (LAN), and low voltage control and speaker cables to every room to provide telephone, cable TV, computer to multiple outlet boxes in the same room. Additionally, it is also common to provide for connection of light switches to be operated by a low voltage system. All in all, there has been an explosion in both wiring for house current and low voltage. Where it is common to position a breaker box for house current proximate to the rooms or appliances it serves, it is preferred to locate a box or boxes in a central location for all low voltage needs. To this end, the invention provides a pair of electrical boxes joined at a saddle that is to fit over a center construction stud, with the boxes to each fit in the spaces between the adjacent construction studs that can receive fasteners through the box sides passed into the stud sides. The pair of boxes are supported by nailing or screwing the saddle onto the stud, providing a rigid mounting at a center stud that, with the boxes held fast to the center stud, is further reinforced by passing fasteners through the box sides walls or plates and into the adjacent studs. Which boxes mounting is therefore substantially easier to effect than is a mounting of a single box where, with the box supported by one person, a second person has to pass fasteners through the box sides into adjacent studs. Which straddle box arrangement, additionally, allows for a use of a single cover to fit over both boxes, providing a greater range of access into the content of both boxes.

Electrical box straddling a construction stud


The invention relates to a method of laminating ceramic greenware sheets with electrodes embedded therein (25) which is formed on a support by pressure-adhering a ceramic greenware sheet with an electrode embedded therein onto a second ceramic greenware sheet or other electrodes (23), then peeling off the support alone and transferring the ceramic greenware sheet with the embedded electrodes onto the second ceramic greenware sheet or the other electrodes. This manufacturing method enables it to laminate ceramic greenware sheets each the thickness of which is as thin as 20 micrometers or less, while maintaining their mechanical strength and embedded electrodes in the ceramic greenware sheets, thereby enabling it to prevent a occurrence of surface irregularities due to the thickness of the electrodes even when laminating to a high degree.

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing laminated-ceramic electronic components such as laminated-ceramic capacitors which are widely used in electronic devices such as video tape recorders, liquid crystal display televisions and OA equipment. The invention can also be widely applied to manufacturing of laminated-ceramic electronic components such as multilayer ceramic substrates, laminated varistors and laminated piezoelectric devices.
In recent years, the trend toward higher density of circuit boards in the field of electronic components has been imposing increasing requirements on laminated-ceramic capacitors and other components for further size reduction and higher performance. A laminated-ceramic capacitor is taken as an example in the following description.
FIG. 1 is a cross sectional view of a part of a laminated-ceramic capacitor. In FIG. 1, the reference numeral 1 is the ceramic layer, 2 is internal electrodes and 3 is external electrodes. The internal electrodes 2 are connected alternately to the two external electrodes 3.
Laminated-ceramic capacitors have been manufactured by such a conventional method as follows.
Specified electrode ink is printed on ceramic greenware sheets which have been cut into a specified size. The electrode ink is dried to form an electrode ink film. Then a specified number of ceramic greenware sheets on which the electrode ink films have been formed are laminated to form a laminated body of ceramic greenware sheets which is then cut into a desired shape and sintered, to which external electrodes are then bonded for completion.
However, a direct printing of the electrode ink on the ceramic greenware sheet has drawbacks such that a solvent included in the electrode ink (solvents such as diethylene glycol monobutyl ether of about 30% by weight is included in the electrode ink available in the market) causes the ceramic greenware sheet to swell and/or corrodes it during the printing of the electrode ink onto the ceramic greenware sheet. In addition, pin holes become more likely to occur in the ceramic greenware sheet as the ceramic greenware sheet becomes thinner, resulting in a short circuit between internal electrodes.
Various approaches have been taken in an attempt to solve these problems.
FIG. 2 is a drawing explanatory of a process for printing electrode ink on the ceramic greenware sheet by means of a screen printing technique. In FIG. 2, the reference numeral 4 is the screen frame, 5 is the screen, 6 is electrode ink, 7 is the squeegee, 8 is the stage, 9 in the base film, 10 is the ceramic greenware sheet and 11 is the printed electrode. The arrow indicates the direction in which the squeegee moves. As shown in FIG. 2, a specified number of ceramic greenware sheets on which the electrode ink is printed are laminated to form a ceramic greenware lamination, which is then cut into a desired shape and then sintered, to which external electrodes are bond ed to make laminated-ceramic capacitors.
In order to increase the capacitance of the laminated-ceramic capacitor, it has been attempted to decrease the thickness of the ceramic layer. In order to decrease the thickness of the ceramic layer, thickness of the ceramic greenware sheet must be decreased. However, a decrease in the thickness of the ceramic greenware sheet leads to the decrease of its mechanical strength. Therefore, there is a problem that a ceramic greenware sheet of a thickness less than 20 micrometers cannot be handled individually (called problem 1 hereafter), which makes a reduction of thickness difficult. Moreover, during a printing of electrode ink onto the ceramic greenware sheet surface, there is a problem that the likeliness of a short circuit occurrence increases with a decrease in the thickness of the ceramic greenware sheet (called problem 2 hereafter), because the ceramic greenware sheet swells or is dissolved by the electrode ink (or by permeation of the electrode ink into minute surface irregularities of the ceramic greenware sheet).
Also, with a laminated-ceramic capacitor, an increase in the number of laminated layers causes local thickness variations or steps on the surface due to the internal electrodes. This problem will be well understood from the following description with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.
FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of a laminated-ceramic capacitor formed by multiple layers. As shown in FIG. 3, the thickness of the laminated-ceramic capacitor is greater at the center (where the number of internal electrodes 2 stacked is greater), called thickness A, than at the periphery (where the number of internal electrodes 2 stacked is smaller), called thickness B.
FIG. 4 is a drawing explanatory of the thickness difference between the center and the periphery with respect to the number of laminated layers. The thickness of the ceramic greenware sheet used herein is 20 micrometers, and the thickness of the internal electrode 2 is 4 micrometers. From FIG. 4, it can be seen that a thickness difference between the center and the periphery exceeds 20 micrometers, which is equal to the thickness of the ceramic greenware sheet which is laminated, when the number of laminated layers exceeds 10. Surface irregularities due to this thickness difference (total thickness of electrodes) make it impossible to make uniformly laminated-ceramic capacitors, causing a problem such as delamination (peel-off of layers) and crack (called problem 3 hereafter).
To solve these problems (problems 1, 2 and 3), various approaches have been taken.
Solutions to the problem 1 include a method, proposed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 62-63413, where electrode ink is printed onto the ceramic greenware sheets while the ceramic greenware sheets remain to be adhered onto base films, and they are laminated to make it easy to handle the ceramic greenware sheets. After lamination, the base films are peeled off. This method can solve problem 1 to a certain extent, but cannot solve problem 3. Moreover, with regards to problem 2, the solvent of the electrode ink which is absorbed in one side of the ceramic is greenware sheet cannot evaporate from the opposite side, because the opposite side (on which electrode ink is not printed) of the ceramic greenware sheet is covered by the base film, and remains in the ceramic greenware sheet. Consequently, the electrode ink remains in the ceramic greenware sheet for a longer period of time than in the case of the conventional method, thereby further aggravating the problem that the ceramic greenware sheet becomes susceptible to corrosion by the electrode ink (problem 2).
Another method proposed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 59-172711 is to manufacture laminated-ceramic capacitors by embedding electrodes, which are formed on a base film, in ceramic greenware sheets, laminating the ceramic greenware sheets together with the base films, and sintering them. Although this method solves problems 2 and 3 to a certain extent, problem 1 remains unsolved. This is because the base film must be very thin, namely from 1.5 to 14 micrometers, in order to sinter the laminated-ceramic greenware sheets together with the base films. Moreover, the number of base films to be sintered increases with an increase in the number of laminated layers, which makes delamination more likely to occur. This implies that the base film thickness must be decreased with an increase in the number of laminated layers. Base films of such a small thickness are difficult to handle, weak in mechanical strength and are not practical.
Approaches to solve problem 2 include one which uses transfer of electrodes. In Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 52-15879, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 63-31104 and Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 63-32909, such methods are proposed that electrode ink films are formed on ceramic greenware sheets while adverse effects of the solvent included in the electrode ink are being prevented by subjecting the ceramic greenware sheet to a thermal transfer process with electrode ink, instead of a printing process, thereby improving a yield of laminated-ceramic capacitors. However, in these methods, ceramic greenware sheets and electrodes are laminated alternately by thermal transfer. This means that, to laminate internal electrodes in 50 layers, at least 100 times of thermal transfer are repeated in all, 50 times or more for lamination of ceramic greenware sheets and 50 times for lamination of electrodes. Also, because the likeliness of an occurrence of pin holes is high with only one layer of ceramic greenware sheet, consecutive transfer of two ceramic greenware sheets may be tried, which results in the number of thermal transfer cycles totaling to 150 or more. Moreover, the heating cycles which one transferred layer has undergone is different from those which another layer has undergone. That is, the layer which was laminated first undergoes about 150 heating cycles which follow, while the last laminated layer undergoes no subsequent heat cycles. In general, ceramic greenware sheets undergo slight thermal deformations every time such a heat cycle is applied. As a result, layers which were thermally transferred earlier undergo more heat cycles and therefore undergo greater thermal deformation than the layers laminated later. This results in deformation or a thickness change of the ceramic greenware sheets, a change in the electrode surface area or a disagreement of the position of laminated electrodes, likely causing an occurrence of defects during a cutting-off process after lamination. Moreover, this requires the electrodes to be transferred later on the ceramic greenware sheets which have been formed in a uniform thickness, and consequently it cannot be avoided that a lamination unevenness occurs due to the thickness of the electrodes, leaving problem 3 unsolved. Also in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 63-51616, such a method is proposed that an electrode ink film is placed over a ceramic greenware sheet after forming the electrode ink film on a base film, and the electrode ink film is thermally transferred onto the ceramic greenware sheet, next of which a plurality of ceramic greenware sheets are laminated and sintered. With this method, however, thermal transfer of electrode ink film is needed before the lamination of the ceramic greenware sheets by means of heat, and additional heat cycles are applied to the ceramic greenware sheet, resulting in poor accuracy. It also causes the electrode to be thermally transferred after thermal transfer onto a ceramic greenware sheet which has thermally softening characteristics, not onto a base film of accurate size. During this thermal transfer of the electrode, not only the ceramic greenware sheet but also the base film undergo thermal deformation, which causes an increase in the possibility of deterioration in the lamination accuracy. Therefore, it is indispensable in this method to use base films of excellent heat resistance (free from thermal deformation), which causes an increase in the production cost. Moreover, electrodes are transferred later on the surfaces of the ceramic greenware sheets which have been formed with uniform thickness in this method, which causes difficulties to avoid lamination irregularities that occur due to the thickness of the electrodes, leaving the problem 3 unsolved.
Also, in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 63-51617, a method of electrode transfer is proposed in which a given pattern of electrodes is transferred from an electrode layer onto a ceramic greenware sheet by heat-pressing a film against the ceramic greenware sheet by means of a die which has projections corresponding to the electrode pattern. In this case, however, the projection of the die unavoidably causes the ceramic greenware sheet thickness to change at points where it is pressed by the projections. Moreover, the same number of projections as the electrodes are needed, resulting in a variation of the pressure from projection to projection. This also results in a variation of the thickness or compression ratio of the portion of the ceramic greenware sheet corresponding to the position of each electrode. Moreover, even in a projection for the transfer of a single electrode, there exists a pressure distribution (a phenomenon generally called the marginal zone which causes an unevenness in the density of the printed ink in a relief press process) which causes the thickness of the ceramic greenware sheet to vary. Furthermore, because the base film, on which the ceramic greenware sheet is formed, as well as the ceramic greenware sheet are subject to a local thermal pressure before lamination, they are likely to undergo irregular deformation. Also, in the same way as that of the method proposed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 63-51616, thermal transfer of the electrode is performed not on a base film of an accurate size but is performed after thermal transfer onto a ceramic greenware sheet which has thermal softening characteristics. Thus, this method cannot solve problem 3, as described in the method of Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 63-51616.
In Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 63-53912, a method for forming internal electrodes for ceramic lamination is proposed where an electrode ink film which includes UV setting resins to form the internal electrodes is transferred onto a ceramic greenware sheet and then laminated. With this method, however, the part of the electrode ink which is in contact with the carrier film hardens, and the part of the electrode ink positioned on its surface (opposite to the carrier film) does not undergo complete hardening or does not harden at all and remains sticky. The surface of the electrode ink that is in a half-dried condition as mentioned above tends to catch dust and dirt if the chance allows, and is difficult to be handled. After printing the electrode ink on the carrier film, the film cannot be wound because the surface of the film is not dried. Moreover, after transfer of the electrode ink onto the ceramic greenware sheet, the ceramic greenware sheet is not held on the carrier film but is laminated. Therefore, when the ceramic greenware sheet has a thickness of 20 micrometers or less, it is too weak in mechanical strength to be handled. As a result, there is a limitation to the decrease in the thickness of ceramic greenware sheets.
Approaches to solve problem 2 include one which forms electrodes on a base film beforehand. For example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 40-19975 proposes a method where an electrode ink film is printed on a base film, and then a ceramic greenware sheet is formed thereon by a casting process. Japanese Patent Publication No. 40-19975 proposes a method where ceramic greenware sheets with electrodes embedded therein are obtained by applying electrode ink to base films and drying it, then continuously applying dielectric material slurry thereto, and peeling it off from the support (base film). Although this-method solves problem 2 to some extent, it cannot solve problem 1. That is, because ceramic greenware sheets with electrodes embedded therein prepared by those methods are laminated after being peeled off from the base film, the mechanical strength is drastically decreased with a decrease in the film thickness. Thus, the problem that the sheets cannot be handled when the thickness thereof is 20 micrometers or less (problem 1) remains unsolved.
Methods for manufacturing laminated-ceramic capacitors by embedding electrodes in ceramic greenware sheets are proposed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 55-124225 and Japanese Patent Publication No. 62-35255. these methods are to laminate a dielectric material and an electrode alternately on a single base film so as to form multiple layers by means of a gravure printing or the like, and are not free from the problem of the ceramic greenware sheets being eroded by the solvent included in the electrode.
Moreover, Japanese Patent Publication No. 60-49590 proposes a method in which a first electrode is printed onto a first ceramic greenware sheet, then a paste which includes ceramic powder is printed so that it covers the first electrode and is dried to form a first auxiliary ceramic layer, and a second ceramic greenware sheet is laminated onto it. With this method, a ceramic greenware sheet layer and an auxiliary ceramic layer are formed between the internal electrodes; namely, double ceramic greenware sheet layers are formed. A similar method is proposed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 62-27721. However, with either method, the ceramic greenware sheet on which an electrode is formed (or an electrode is embedded therein) is laminated in a state of being peeled off from the base film. As a result, when the thickness of the ceramic greenware sheet is decreased below 20 micrometers, the ceramic greenware sheet becomes too weak in mechanical strength to be handled. Thus there is a limit to a decrease in the ceramic greenware sheet thickness.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication Nos. 52-135050 and 52-133553 propose such methods that a ceramic greenware sheet from which portions corresponding to the internal electrodes at the part of a step, i.e., the peripheral section, have been removed is interposed, laminated and sintered. These methods require to accurately remove several hundreds of portions with a size of e.g., measuring 3.5 mm by 1.0 mm each from the ceramic greenware sheet. However, it is almost impossible to handle the ceramic greenware sheet individually because of its thinness and softness. Even though it can be handled, it is very difficult to punch it off precisely.
Similarly in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 61-102719, a method for manufacturing laminated-ceramic capacitors by punching both ceramic greenware sheets and electrode sheets and laminating them alternately is proposed. However, this has a problem in the applicability to mass production. For example, it is disadvantageous to punch many pieces at a time compared to a printing process, in terms of the production cost and accuracy. In addition, when the thickness of electrodes is decreased below 5 micrometers, physical strength of the electrode sheet cannot withstand the punching and handling processes.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 52-135051 proposes a method in which an internal electrode ink is first applied to a ceramic greenware sheet, and a dielectric ink is applied to the rest of the ceramic greenware sheet surface, and ceramic greenware sheets with the electrode ink and the dielectric ink applied thereto are laminated while shifting the position to avoid overlapping of leads of the electrodes, and are pressurized and sintered. However, this method leaves a problem that lower layers in the lamination are eroded by solvent included in the dielectric ink which is to be printed later. As a result, the thinner the ceramic greenware sheet, the more likely the characteristics of short circuit and withstanding voltage to deteriorate.
A method for forming electrodes without using any solvent in electrodes ink is proposed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 53-51458. There is also a method based on a non-electrolytic plating technique using an activated paste, such as that which is proposed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 57-102166. However, since the electrodes are formed by means of a non-electrolytic plating technique, immersion of ceramic greenware sheets in a plating liquid causes a new problem.
Other methods of partially punching ceramic greenware sheets or embossing them have been proposed such as those in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 53-42353, but they are not practical.
A method proposed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 56-94719 is similar to the above, and is to form ceramic greenware sheets at steps which have arisen on the laminated layers. This method is not suitable for mass production,
Problems which make it difficult to manufacture laminated-ceramic capacitors such as follows have been described in the above, explaining that various methods proposed so far are not capable of satisfactorily solve problems 1 through 3: Insufficient mechanical strength due to the thinness of ceramic greenware sheets and an accompanying difficulty in handling them (problem 1), an increase in the probability of a short circuit occurrence due to the effect of the ink during a printing process of the electrode ink on the ceramic greenware sheet as the ceramic greenware sheet is made thinner (problem 2), and defects such as delamination and crack due to an unevenness caused by the difference in the thickness between the center and the periphery, which makes uniform lamination impossible (problem 3).
In addition to the problems described above, a conventional method includes such a problem that wire breakage or lower product quality is caused when electrodes are impaired during the preparation of ceramic greenware sheets with electrodes embedded therein by applying ceramic slurry in a thin film on the electrodes formed on a support.
Thus, there have been no proper method for applying ceramic slurry by which electrodes are embedded therein. This situation will be explained in the following with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6.
FIG. 5 is a drawing explanatory of a process for applying ceramic slurry by the use of a gravure printing press. In FIG. 5, the reference numeral 12 is ceramic slurry, 13 is the gravure plate, 14 is the cell, 15 is the doctor and 16 is the impression cylinder. The ceramic slurry 12 enters into the cell 14 which is formed on the surface of the gravure plate 13 and is, after the excess ceramic slurry is scraped off by the doctor 15, applied onto the surface of a base film 9 which is pressed against the gravure plate 13 by the impression cylinder 16. Then the ceramic slurry 12 applied onto the surface of the base film 9 is dried, resulting in a ceramic greenware sheet 10.
FIG. 6 is a drawing explanatory of a process for applying ceramic slurry onto a base film with an electrode formed thereon by means of a gravure printing press. In FIG. 6, the reference numeral 17 is the electrode which is dried after printing. What is different from FIG. 5 is that the electrode 17 is formed on the surface of the base film 9 in advance. In a case that the electrode 17 is embedded in the ceramic greenware sheet 10 as shown in FIG. 6, the pressure of the gravure printing press to apply the ceramic slurry cannot be decreased because of the presence of the impression cylinder 16, resulting in damage to the electrode 17 and making it impossible to stably embed the electrode in the ceramic greenware sheet 10.
FIGS. 7(A) to (C) are drawings explanatory of irregularities, due to the electrodes, being generated on the slurry surface as the ceramic slurry is dried after embedding the electrodes in the ceramic slurry. In FIG. 7, the reference numeral 18 is the ceramic greenware sheet on which surface irregularities have been generated and 19 is the ceramic greenware sheet with electrodes embedded therein where surface irregularities have been generated.
The electrode 17 which is formed on the base film 9 as shown in FIG. 7(A) is embedded in the ceramic slurry 12 as shown in FIG. 7(B). Then, when the ceramic slurry 12 is dried to form the ceramic greenware sheet 18, surface irregularities due to the electrode 17 are generated on the ceramic greenware sheet 18 as shown in FIG. 7(C). While the generation of such surface irregularities depends on the thickness of the electrode 17, it becomes conspicuous as the thickness of the ceramic greenware sheet 18 is decreased, below 20 micrometers.
The present invention, which solves the problems with the prior art, is to provide a method for manufacturing laminated-ceramic electronic components which does not deteriorate the handleability of ceramic greenware sheets even when their thickness is decreased, and is capable of reducing the occurrence of surface irregularities due to the thickness of the electrodes even when the number of layers laminated is increased.
In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the method for manufacturing laminated-ceramic electronic components according to the invention is characterized in that a ceramic greenware sheet with electrodes embedded therein which is formed on a support is, without being peeled off from the support, pressure-bonded on a second ceramic greenware sheet or other electrodes, then the support alone is peeled off and the ceramic greenware sheet with the embedded electrodes is transferred onto the second ceramic greenware sheet or the other electrodes to complete a lamination.
This manufacturing method does laminate thin ceramic greenware sheets, the thickness of each of which is as thin as below 20 micrometers while maintaining their mechanical strength by handling electrodes and ceramic greenware sheets together with supports.
Also, according to the invention, because the electrodes are embedded in the ceramic greenware sheets, an occurrence of surface irregularities due to the electrodes can be reduced more than in the case that electrodes on the ceramic greenware sheets are formed.
Especially, according to the invention, an occurrence of irregularities on the surface of a ceramic greenware sheet with electrodes embedded therein due to the electrodes, can be prevented and a ceramic greenware sheet with electrodes embedded therein, the smoothness of the surface of which is effectively achieved, can be manufactured by methods such as; exposing a ceramic slurry, which has been applied to a support, to air blow in a direction other than right angles to the surface of the coated layer, exposing the ceramic slurry to an air blow from a plurality of nozzles, drying the ceramic slurry by tilting the support, applying the ceramic slurry by means of a doctor blade or an applicator which has a regular surface unevenness, and applying the ceramic slurry by a screen printing technique which involves a rotary screen. By the use of ceramic greenware sheets with electrodes embedded therein the surface of each of which are effectively smoothed, it is possible to manufacture laminated-ceramic electronic components in which a high degree of lamination has been achieved with thin layers.
Thus, according to the invention, because the electrodes are dried, a possibility that the ceramic greenware sheets are eroded by a solvent included in the electrode ink resulting in swelling and short circuit, is reduced. Moreover, steps generated due to the electrodes are reduced by embedding the electrodes in the ceramic greenware sheets even when the dried electrodes are applied to the manufacture of multi-layered laminated-ceramic capacitors.
A gravure printing technique which uses no impression cylinder can be also adopted when embedding the electrodes in the ceramic greenware sheets. In this case, a ceramic slurry can be applied without damaging the electrodes which are formed on the surface of a support.

Method for manufacturing laminated-ceramic electronic components

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


Various arpeggio patterns are provided for an automatic arpeggio performance in an electronic musical apparatus, in which arpeggio notes are sounded in various timbres and appropriate arpeggio types are selected for the respective timbres. For each of a plurality of timbres, plural available arpeggio types are prepared which are appropriate for the timbre, and are assigned to plural arpeggio type selecting buttons, respectively. According to the manipulation of an arpeggio type selecting button, the assigned type is selected and the arpeggio pattern data of the selected arpeggio type are outputted for the successive sounding of the notes as an arpeggio. The assignment of the arpeggio types to the selecting buttons are alterable by the user.

A separate apparatus or a functional unit in a musical apparatus such as a music synthesizer which realizes an arpeggio performance based on key depressions is known in the art and is called an "arpeggiator." See, for example, unexamined Japanese patent publication No. 2001-022354. In such an arpeggiator, a plurality of key orders (note sounding orders) and sounding time points of the respective keys, constituting, in pairs, an alignment of notes to be sounded, namely, an arpeggio pattern, are stored in an arpeggio pattern memory. The sounding time points represent the starting time points of the respective notes to be sounded in terms of absolute time from the beginning of the sounding pattern or in terms of relative time from the time point of the preceding note. The user depresses the keys of the notes for an arpeggio in a predetermined keyboard region, and the note numbers (i.e. note pitches) of the depressed keys are obtained accordingly. The respective note numbers are assigned to the above-mentioned respective key orders (note orders) according to a predetermined rule, such as in the ascending order of the note pitches. For example, where keys of C4, E4, G4 and C5 are depressed, the C4 key is assigned to the 1st lowest key, the E4 key is assigned to the 2nd lowest key, the G4 key is assigned to the 3rd lowest key and the C5 key is assigned to the 4th lowest key in the arpeggio pattern. At each sounding time point in the arpeggio pattern, each note number assigned to each key order (note sounding order) causes the sounding data of each note to be supplied to the tone generator, as long as the keys are kept depressed for an arpeggio performance.
FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating the functional configuration of an example of how arpeggio patterns are selected according to a conventional apparatus. In an electronic musical apparatus such as a music synthesizer, a timbre-associated arpeggio type groups storing unit 11 stores a plurality of arpeggio pattern data sets 71′1 through 71′N of different arpeggio types in the form of files containing sounding pattern data #1 through #N. There are various arpeggio types including up octave, down octave, up-and-down octave, and random. The user calls an arpeggio type selecting window (not shown) through a selection menu, selects an arpeggio type (e.g. arpeggio type #1) to use the arpeggio pattern data 71′1. The selected pattern data set is supplied to an arpeggio performance data producing unit 7. As the user manipulates one or more keys on a keyboard 8 to designates one or more note numbers for an arpeggio, the arpeggio performance data producing unit 7 produces arpeggio performance data containing data of a successive alignment of notes to constitute an arpeggio based on the selected pattern data from the storing unit 11 and the manipulated key data from the keyboard 8, and outputs the arpeggio performance data to a tone generator (not shown) to generate the tones of the arpeggio constituting notes.
The sounding pattern data set may include data relating to "gate times" (tone sounding durations), "velocities" (tone sounding intensity) and "octave shifts" in addition to the "key order" (note sounding order) at the respective "sounding time points." With such additional data, every tone will be generated in a length defined by the gate time and in an intensity defined by the velocity, and in a pitch as shifted (up or down) by an octave or actives from the note number which is designated by the keyboard 8. The tempo (i.e. speed) of playing back the performance data (i.e. generating tones according to the data) can be arbitrarily set by the user. Alternatively, the tempo may be automatically controlled by detecting the tempo of the actual performance by the user.
While the above description is about the arpeggio pattern data which are arbitrarily selected by the user or player, the arpeggio pattern data may be automatically selected depending on a timbre or tone color for the arpeggio tones as designated by the user. In the latter situation, the arpeggio pattern data sets 71′1 through 71′N are prepared in association with the timbres in which the arpeggio tones are to be generated. For example, types #1 through #10 are for timbre #1, types #11 through #20 are for timbre #2, types #21 through #30 are for timber #3, and so forth. The timbre allotted to each arpeggio pattern data set (e.g. 71′1) may be easily identified by placing a timbre ID number in the header portion of the file (arpeggio pattern data set). Alternatively, the arpeggio pattern data sets 71′1 through 71′N may be stored in the storage unit 11 separately according to the timbres with which the respective arpeggio pattern data sets are associated. See, for example, registered Japanese patent No. 3,277,844 (FIG. 5 and paragraphs 0028–0031).
When the user designates a timbre, one of the arpeggio pattern data sets prepared for the designated timbre is selected from among the arpeggio pattern data sets stored separately for separate timbres. On such an apparatus, the user will have to merely manipulate the "arpeggio performance designating switch" when the user starts an arpeggio performance in a certain intended timbre, so that the arpeggio pattern data of the arpeggio type prepared and registered for the intended timbre will be available. In another situation, however, the user may want to use an arpeggio type which is not previously associated with the intended timbre or an arpeggio type which is associated with the intended timbre but is not previously registered for that timbre, simply by manipulating the "arpeggio performance designating switch." In such a situation, the user would have to change from the timber setting menu to an arpeggio type selection menu window, find out the intended arpeggio type in the exhibited window, and select the same, which operation is very troublesome.

Apparatus and computer program for providing arpeggio patterns


A multilayer ceramic capacitor includes: a ceramic body including a plurality of dielectric layers and a plurality of first and second internal electrodes stacked in a width direction; a pair of first external electrodes disposed on a mounting surface of the ceramic body to be spaced apart from one another and connected to the plurality of first internal electrodes; a second external electrode disposed between the pair of first external electrodes on the mounting surface of the ceramic body and connected to the plurality of second internal electrodes; and a dummy electrode disposed on a surface of the ceramic body opposing the mounting surface of the ceramic body.

The present disclosure relates to a multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) and a mounting board for mounting thereof.
A multilayer ceramic capacitor has advantages such as a small size, high capacitance, ease of mounting, and the like.
Such a multilayer ceramic capacitor is a chip type condenser commonly mounted on the boards of several types of electronic products, such as computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), cellular phones, and the like, to play an important role in the charging of electricity therein or in the discharging of electricity therefrom and has various sizes and various stacked manners, based on an intended purpose of use and a level of capacitance thereof.
Among multilayer ceramic capacitors, a product requiring low equivalent series inductance (ESL) characteristics may be provided.
Such a multilayer ceramic capacitor may have a three-terminal structure in which three external electrodes are disposed on a mounting surface thereof to be spaced apart from one another in order to satisfy the requirement for low ESL characteristics, thereby allowing ESL characteristics to be maintained at a low level.
Multilayer ceramic capacitors having a three-terminal structure according to the related art are manufactured and then inserted into a measurement device for testing electrical characteristics of the multilayer ceramic capacitors. However, the multilayer ceramic capacitors inserted into the measurement device may collide with one another or may be subjected to friction therebetween within the measurement device, such that a portion of a ceramic body in which external electrodes are not formed, for example, a portion of a surface of the ceramic body opposing the mounting surface, may be damaged.
This problem may be partially solved through a structure in which three external electrodes are formed symmetrically with respect to one another in each of upper and lower portions of the multilayer ceramic capacitor having the three-terminal structure.
However, in the case of the multilayer ceramic capacitor having a structure in which three terminals are formed to be vertically symmetrical with respect to one another, issues may arise in that a pick-up rate may be reduced in a process of picking up a product using a pick-up device after the product is produced.
A nozzle of the pick-up device may be larger than a width of an external electrode disposed in the center of the ceramic body, but may be smaller than widths of external electrodes disposed on both end portions of the ceramic body, respectively.
In the case of the multilayer ceramic capacitor having a structure in which the three terminals are formed to be vertically symmetrical with respect to one another, an external electrode disposed in the center of an upper surface of the ceramic body is positioned in the center of a nozzle hole of the pick-up device. Here, since an inner diameter of the nozzle is larger than the width of the external electrode disposed in the center of the ceramic body, empty spaces are formed in the nozzle on at both sides of the external electrode disposed in the center of the ceramic body, and a vacuum state may be released through the spaces.
Such a phenomenon may prohibit a pick-up process from being properly performed when the product is picked up, and may cause the product to be twisted at the time of picking up the product, such that a pick-up rate is relatively decreased.

Multilayer ceramic capacitor and mounting board for mounting thereof


A control apparatus to automatically raise the collection mechanism of a side loading apparatus to a parked position spaced sufficiently above the roadway to prevent the collection mechanism from striking the roadway when raised or other uneven roadway surfaces are encountered.

The present invention pertains to side loading commodity collection vehicles and particularly to such vehicles which have collection mechanism which can reach away from the vehicle to latch to a commercial or residential refuse container spaced away from the vehicle.
Currently commodity collection vehicles equipped with side loading mechanisms are operated by an operator/ driver who operates the collection mechanism through controls located in the cab of the vehicle. The operator activates the collection mechanism by directing it to lower, to extend away from the vehicle, to latch to a refuse container and to raise the container along a vertical track on the storage body until the container is tipped so that its contents fall into a load opening at the top of the transport body. The operator then reverses the operation by lowering the container, and setting the empty container back onto the ground surface and disengaging it, and then the operator draws the collection mechanism back alongside the vehicle, and finally must operate a control which raises the collection mechanism to a raised position which allows the vehicle to advance without endangering the collection mechanism through collision of the collection mechanism with the roadway or obstacles upon the roadway. Unfortunately, it is all too common that the operator neglects to take the final step of raising the collection mechanism to the parked position and therefore when the vehicle encounters uneven roadway surfaces or roadway obstacles, the collection mechanism can be damaged by striking the roadway, leading to expensive repairs.

Control system to automatically raise collection mechanism of side loading commodity collection vehicle