A plurality of small loop antenna cells 61, 62 and 63 are magnetically coupled to an antenna coil 8 of a non-contact type data carrier 3. In the plurality of small loop antenna cells, the directions of the magnetic moments of the signals transmitted to the non-contact type data carrier 3 are opposite to each other, the sum of the magnetic moments generated from all the small loop antenna cells 61 to 63 is zero and a conductor forming a short ring pattern 67 is provided collectively for the plurality of small loop antenna cells. Thus, imbalance caused between the small loop antenna cells 61 to 63 can be compensated for by the short ring pattern 67.

The present invention relates to a loop antenna device and more particularly to a loop antenna device preferably used for a reader/writer device of an electromagnetic induction type non-contact data carrier system in which data transmission and reception are executed in a non-contact state between a plurality of data carriers and the loop antenna device.
In general, a data carrier system includes a reader/writer device and a data carrier. An antenna device of the reader/writer device supplies a modulated alternating magnetic field to a service area to transmit data or a command to the data carrier.
The data carrier receives the modulated alternating magnetic field supplied to the service area using an incorporated coil to generate electromotive voltage that is rectified and used as an operating power source of the data carrier. The data carrier also executes prescribed operations, such as demodulation of the modulated alternating magnetic field for retrieving the data or the command sent from the reader/writer device and transmission of data to the reader/writer in accordance with the command.
Such a data carrier system is required to restrict the intensity of the alternating magnetic field supplied to the prescribed service area from the reader/writer within a prescribed range and to make a magnetic filed generated outside the service area as weak as possible.
The reason why an alternating magnetic field sufficiently strong but falling within the prescribed range needs to be supplied to the service area would be clear. The reason why the alternating magnetic field that reaches outside the service area is desirably as weak as possible is to eliminate interference with or adverse effect to another device. For example, when a plurality of the above-described reader/writer devices are arranged and installed adjacent to one another in, for instance, an automatic ticket-examination system of a station, it is necessary to eliminate interference with or an adverse effect to each other in operation. As this kind of the antenna device as a related art, for instance, a device disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known.
The antenna device of the related art is constructed by a plurality of loop antenna cells which are combined together under below-described conditions in order to satisfy the above-described requirements.
      Formula                          1                                                          ∑                              i                =                0                                            i                =                n                                                                                NiIiSi                    =          0                                      (                      1                                            )
Here, Ni designates the number of windings of each loop antenna cell. Ii indicates an electric current supplied to each loop antenna cell and is designated by attaching plus and minus depending on its supplied direction. Si indicates an area of each loop antenna cell. "NiIiSi" indicates a magnetic moment generated by an i-th loop antenna cell.
The above-described loop antenna device of the related art has employed such a phenomenon that the alternating magnetic field reaching a part remote from the size of each loop antenna cell can be weakened. From a measurement test in which the intensity of the alternating magnetic field generated from such a loop antenna device is measured, it was confirmed that the intensity of the alternating magnetic field is drastically lowered as the alternating magnetic field is remote from the size of the loop.
Patent Document 1: JP-A-10-209737
However, the measurement test also showed that the above-noted advantage can be obtained stably only when the loop antenna device alone is disposed in a measurement environment. That is, even if the loop antenna device is designed in such a way that the intensity of the alternating magnetic field is abruptly lowered when the alternating field is remote from the loop size as described above, the influence of an environment around the loop antenna device causes an imbalance between the loop antenna cells, resulting in a strong magnetic field undesirably reaching a position remote from the loop size.
Specifically, when metal or the like is a symmetrically disposed in the vicinity of the loop antenna device, induced current may flow through the metal or the like to generate a magnetic field which deteriorates the intended balance between the loop antenna cells in the loop antenna device . Thus, when the loop antenna device is assembled into the reader/writer device, the intended balance between the loop antenna cells may be undesirably deteriorated.
Further, even if the loop antenna device is assembled into the reader/writer device with good balance, it would be practically impossible to maintain or obtain the balance, taking into account the environment around the loop antenna device, when the reader/writer device is installed.
Further, when a tag is placed on a specific one of the antenna cells, induced current flowing through a coil of the tag also causes a problem in which the balance between the loop antenna cells may be deteriorated similarly to the above-described case. In short, the solution in which the plurality of loop antenna cells are combined together to adjust the sum total of the magnetic moments to be "0" still suffers from a problem in which the intended balance between the loop antenna cells is readily deteriorated in practical use.
With the above-described problems taken into consideration, it is an object of the present invention to provide a loop antenna device having a plurality of small antenna cells combined together, which can compensate for imbalance caused between loop antenna cells by the change of an operating environment and which can constantly reduce the sum total of magnetic moments generated from the loop antenna cells to be a minimum, preferably "0".


Non-time dependent measured variables are used to effectively determine an optimal hold profile for an expanding crosslinking polymer part in a mold cavity. A system and/or approach may first inject molten expanding crosslinking polymer into a mold cavity, then measure at least one non-time dependent variable during an injection molding cycle. Next, the system and/or method commences a hold profile for the part, and upon completing the hold profile, the part is ejected from the mold cavity, whereupon a cure profile is commenced.

Injection molding is a technology commonly used for high-volume manufacturing of parts constructed from thermoplastic materials. During repetitive injection molding processes, a thermoplastic resin, typically in the form of small pellets or beads, is introduced into an injection molding machine which melts the pellets under heat and pressure. The molten material is then forcefully injected into a mold cavity having a particular desired cavity shape. The injected plastic is held under pressure in the mold cavity and subsequently is cooled and removed as a solidified part having a shape closely resembling the cavity shape of the mold. A single mold may have any number of individual cavities which can be connected to a flow channel by a gate that directs the flow of the molten resin into the cavity.
Expanding crosslinking polymers (e.g., ethylene-vinyl acetate or "EVA") are one class of polymers that are commonly injection molded. A typical injection molding process of expanding crosslinking polymers generally includes four basic operations. First, the plastic is heated in the injection molding machine to allow the plastic to flow under pressure. When injection molding expanding crosslinking polymers, at this step, the polymer is heated to a temperature that is below an activation temperature of the polymer, or the temperature at which expansion and crosslinking within the polymer begins to occur.
Next, the melted plastic is injected into a mold cavity or cavities defined between two mold halves that have been closed. The mold or cavity temperature is set to a value that is high enough to activate a chemical reaction or reactions that cause the polymer to begin expansion and crosslinking. At a third step, the plastic is held under pressure to allow adequate crosslinking and expansion (or blowing) to occur in the cavity or cavities. Last, the mold halves are opened, and the molded article is removed or ejected from the mold, thereby allowing the plastic to expand to a final shape and configuration that is larger than the internal volume of the mold cavity.
In conventional systems, a fixed, predetermined volume of plastic is injected into the mold cavity. This volume only partially fills the cavity. The mold cavity is then heated to cause a chemical reaction, upon which the plastic is then left to expand to fill the mold cavity and crosslink for a specified hold time, which is typically determined via a "gate freeze study" where the part weight is measured over a period of time. In this gate freeze study, part weights are periodically measured during the injection molding process until the weight begins to level off. The point at which the part weight levels off is identified as generally being the optimum time to eject the part. This gate freeze study is typically performed during a process validation stage, and is oftentimes used for the entirety of subsequent injection molding cycles.
After the part is ejected, it is quickly removed from the mold to a stabilization tunnel where curing occurs. By quickly removing the part from the mold, the part can fully expand, and will not be deformed due to the material being constrained from expanding at areas where the part is still captured in the mold. During the curing phase, the part is allowed to slowly cool to a temperature near room temperature. Excess internal gases will slowly escape from the part.
The time when the plastic is ejected (which is dependent on the calculated hold time) is determined or calculated to provide the injected plastic sufficient time to expand and crosslink (thus being sufficiently hardened) to the desired final shape so the plastic does not deform or become otherwise damaged. However, due to material and machine variances, using a fixed hold time as the determining variable can result in varying internal peak cavity pressures, which can impact crosslinking and expansion while in the mold cavity. Specifically, the chemical reaction that causes the part to expand is less consistent, as evidenced by both delayed and inconsistent pressure-builds in existing systems. In turn, when the part is ejected from the mold and enters a curing stage where the molded parts continue to expand and crosslink until reaching a final form, expansion and crosslinking may occur at varying rates, thus resulting in inconsistently sized parts. Further, the parts may have unsightly blemishes and other undesirable flaws.
For example, a melted plastic may have slightly different material characteristics in subsequent injection cycles, thus if subsequent injection cycles were to depend on prior hold times, the occurrence of part imperfections, faults, and other irregularities may arise. If a part is held in the cavity longer than needed, the overall injection molding cycle is unnecessarily long, thus the injection molding machine consumes excess energy which in turn increases operating costs and adversely impacts production capacity. Further, the molded parts may not experience consistent heat transfer in the mold, which can result in a non-uniform skin layer. The cell structure of the molded part may also be non-uniform, meaning free radical molecules may not be aligned. When these molecules are uniformly distributed, the resulting part has more consistent and stable dimensions and physical properties.
Further, conventional systems typically do not provide uniform heat distribution throughout the plastic during the molding process due to varying mold thicknesses. By unevenly heating the plastic, different regions of the plastic within the mold cavity can expand at different rates, which can result in inconsistent parts having wide tolerances.
Further, the molded parts may be incorrectly dimensioned (meaning, parts may be either too large or too small) and may potentially be too soft or too resilient due to insufficient crosslinking. As a result, the molded part may fail any number of objective tests such as an abrasion test, a compression set test, and/or a dynamic elasticity test where energy loss is measured over a number of closely timed impacts with a controlled load.

Injection molding of crosslinking polymers


The use of a minor amount of poly-1-butene for improving the processability or extrusion efficiency of a metallocene-made thermoplastics, particularly metallocene-made low density polyethylene, by adding about 0.1-15 wt % of poly-1-butene to the metallocene-made thermoplastics which are melt incompatible with the poly-l-butene prior to processing.

Metallocenes make polymers with uniform, narrow molecular weight distribution (MWD), high comonomer content, relatively even comonomer distribution and an enormously wide choice of comonomers, compared to multi-site Ziegler-Natta catalysts.
It is known that a variety of metallocene-made thermoplastic polymer have excellent properties, but lack good melt processability. Higher toughness and good melt strength are attributes of higher molecular weight grades, and as a result, melt processing machine outputs tend to be inversely related to the desirable qualities of toughness needed for durable goods, etc. and melt strength needed for film, thermoforming, blow molding, injection molding, etc.
European Patent Application No. 455,481, having Shell Oil Company as the applicant, discloses the use of a high melt index poly-1-butene to thermoplastic polymers made by conventional Ziegler-Natta catalysts to improve the processability of the thermoplastic polymers made by conventional Ziegler-Natta catalysts.
However, there remains a need for improving the processability of thermoplastics made by metallocene catalysts, which differ from the conventional Ziegler-Natta catalyst made thermoplastics.
Moreover, it has been found that the addition of poly-1-butene to low density polyethylene does not improve the processability of the low density polyethylene.
Therefore, there remains a need for a commercial process which will improve the processability of metallocene-made thermoplastic polymers, especially metallocene-made ethylene-.alpha.-olefin copolymers, particularly metallocene-made low density ethylene-.alpha.-olefin copolymers.

Method for improving processability of thermoplastics


A multi-axial bone fixation implant includes an elongated member, one or more bone anchor assemblies, and stabilizer members fitted within the elongated member. A bolt having a bone-threaded end and a machine-threaded end and an enlarged medial portion is also provided. The bolt is anchored into a bone, and its machine-threaded end passes through the elongated member and the stabilizer, and is engaged by a coupled washer and nut. The washer includes an oblong aperture, and the nut includes a projecting sleeve. The sleeve is inserted into the washer and expanded, and the washer retains the sleeve without impairing relative rotatability or translatability of the nut and washer. When locked by the nut and washer, the enlarged portion of the bolt is forced against the stabilizer, which locks against the elongated member. The elongated member can be fixed with respect to the anchor at an infinite number of multi-axial angles.

In the art of orthopedic surgery, and particularly in spinal surgery, it has long been known to affix an elongated member, such as a plate or rod, to bones in order to hold them and support them in a given position. For example, in a procedure to fuse damaged, diseased, malformed or otherwise abnormal vertebrae, the vertebrae are positioned in a corrected position by a surgeon. An elongated plate is placed adjacent to the vertebral bone, and bone anchors, such as specially-configured screws or bolts, are employed to secure the plate to the bones. With such anchors placement is accomplished by drilling one or more holes in the bone(s), and threading the anchors into the holes. As examples, see U.S. Pat. No. 5,676,666 to Oxland et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,613,967 to Engelhardt et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,603,713 to Aust et al. An anchor can be connected to the bone, as by threading into a vertebral hole, through a plate, or alternatively the plate can be placed in position over or around the anchor after the anchor is connected to the bone. The anchor and plate are then secured to each other to minimize or prevent relative movement. In this way, bones may be spinal held and/or supported in proper alignment for healing.
It has been found desirable for implant systems to have the capability for angular orientation of a bolt or other anchor in multiple planes relative to the elongated member or other fixation mechanisms of the implant system. Such features enable bone anchors to be placed at angles which are optimal for anchoring, thus reducing the chance of loosening, pull-out or other movement of the anchors while not compromising the optimal positioning of the fixation plate. Additionally, such systems alleviate awkwardness frequently found in spinal surgery due to uneven bone surfaces and the abnormality to be corrected and generally require less adjustment to the implant, rendering corrective surgery easier for the surgeon and less traumatic for the patient.
Various approaches have been used to achieve such multi-axial capability. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,735,853 to Olerud discloses an implant device in which a bone bolt can occupy different angular positions in relation to a plate by providing a compressible spherical collar which snap-fits around the bolt, which collar is rotatable and tiltable in a spherical opening in a plate insert. The compression fit of the bolt and collar within the plate can present difficulty in assembling the apparatus, particularly in a fluid-prevalent environment.
Another approach is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,304,179 to Wagner, which shows a bone screw fixed inside a bushing at an angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the bushing. The bushing is rotatable within a portion of a connector angled with respect to the axis of the adjoining rod-based instrumentation. The connector is rotatable around the instrumentation axis. The Wagner system permits only discrete positions of a bone screw in three-dimensional space to be achieved, and the bushings add extra length and profile to the construct, as well as extra parts for the surgeon to handle and arrange.
A third approach is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,984,924 to Asher et. al., which shows a bone alignment system having an elongated bone alignment member sandwiched between two pairs of washers. Each such pair of washers have corresponding surfaces that mate together in a "ball and socket" configuration to potentially occupy a plurality of positions. When the shaft of a bone anchor extends through each washer pair, and also through an aperture of the elongated member, the washer pairs enable the shaft to be oriented at various angles relative to the elongated member. This approach also requires a plurality of small parts for handling and assembly during surgery. Further, since the washers in that system lie outside of the elongated member, they increase the thickness of the overall construct, with the attendant increase in the difficulty of use in a small surgical space and in the potential for patient discomfort.
There is therefore a need remaining in the art for a multi-axial bone anchor system which minimizes the number of parts used to engage a bone anchor to an elongated member such as a spinal plate in various angular orientations. There is also a need for a lower-profile, smaller-dimensioned multi-axial bone anchor that allows the positioning of the bone anchor to be adjustable through a continuous range of spatial angles and linear positions with respect to the elongated member.


A thick film resistor assembly comprising: (a) an insulation substrate, (b) a resistor layer being formed on surface of the insulation substrate, (c) a pair of conductor pads comprising a first Ag conductor layer comprising Ag powder and palladium or platinum or mixtures thereof, disposed on the insulation substrate with predetermined spaces from the resistor layer to sandwich the resistor layer in a direction of its conductive resistance path; and (d) a second Ag conductor layer comprising a Ag conductor composition devoid palladium or platinum or mixtures thereof, disposed over the resistor layer and conductor pads at their respective edges to connect electrically the resistor layer to the conductor pads forming a conductive resistance path.

In the manufacturing of thick film resistors, the firing temperature and firing conditions are determined by the conductor material employed, for example, noble metal or base metal materials, and their melting points; moreover, various resistors are used for the desired resistance ranges and the firing condition is constrained also by their resistor compositions. Recently, various improvements are made on these thick film resistors and their manufacturing methods.
For instance, as described in Japanese Kokai Patent Hei 3 (1991)-52202, the following method is known: After the resistor paste, such as RuO.sub.2 series and Pb.sub.2 Ru.sub.2 O.sub.6 series, is printed and dried on the substrate, it is fired at 700-1000.degree. C. in the oxidizing atmosphere; and after the conductor paste comprising Ag alone or a mixture of Ag with one or more selected from a group consisting of Au, Pd and Pt being dispersed in the vehicle, such as Ag-Pd series and Ag-Pt series for low temperature firing, which contains Ag as the main component is coated (printed) and dried in a predetermined position with respect to the resistor layer formed on the substrate to partially overlap the fired resistor layer, it is fired at temperature in the range of 500-700.degree. C. in the same oxidizing atmosphere to manufacture a chip resistor. In particular, it suppresses diffusion of the Ag component toward the resistor film by lowering the firing temperature of the Ag conductor paste from the resistor paste firing temperature.
Japanese Kokoku Patent Hei 5 (1993)-53284 describes a manufacturing method in which, for example, a resistor paste comprising RuO.sub.2 is screen-printed and fired in the oxidizing atmosphere to form a resistor film; a paste; which contains as the conducting component a base metal that can be fired in the temperature range lower than the firing temperature of the resistor film, for instance at 500-600.degree. C., is used to print so as to partially overlap the resistor film edge, and fired in the nitrogen atmosphere to form the conductor pads (terminations). In order to form the base metal conductor, firing must be done in the reducing or inert atmosphere. The conductor oxidation and degradation are prevented by firing at the temperature lower than the firing temperature of the resistor film. The conductor paste comprising the base metal such as Cu must be fired in the reducing atmosphere; the resistor paste fired in the same reducing atmosphere is not only expensive but the temperature coefficient resistance (TCR) of the resistor obtained is poor and the resistance value range is extremely narrow. Therefore, the fact that both the conductor paste and resistor paste can be fired in the air not only simplifies the manufacturing method but also reduces the resistance value change over a wide range of resistance values and can give resistors which are excellent in resistance characteristics and also economically advantageous. Hence, the conductor paste with Ag as the main component can be used together with a resistor paste that can be fired in air.
In the manufacturing method of this conventional thick film resistor and the thick film resistor structure in which part of the conductor forms an overlapping joint with a resistor formed on the substrate on its both edges, it has never been sustained that performances originally required for such conductor pads, for instance, high strength of adhesion to the insulation substrate and sulfurization resistance are provided and uniform and accurate resistance characteristics over a wide resistance range, small resistance value changes caused by the environmental change or manufacturing process and reliability of the resistor are maintained; since there is apprehension on these points no commercialization has been attained.
Thus, it is desired that when the uniform and same resistance material is used, a thick film resistor is formed with desirable resistance characteristics of high accuracy even in different sizes and small resistance value changes as reliability and is provided with conductor pads of well-balanced high adhesion strength and sulfurization resistance, and the manufacturing method thereof is provided. Consequently, the objective of the present invention is that, in the thick film resistor and the manufacturing method thereof, in which the Ag series thick film conductor paste as the conductor material and the resistor paste which can be fired in the oxidizing atmosphere are used, and each of them is printed and fired on the insulation substrate so as to form a resistor (resistor film) between the conductors, the above-mentioned problems of the current technology are solved, and a thick film resistor of high performance and high reliability, and its manufacturing method are presented.
In view of the above-mentioned situation, as a result of zealous investigation in order to solve the above-mentioned problems the present inventors found the following: A thick film resistor and the manufacturing method thereof in which (1) a resistor layer is formed on surface of a insulation substrate, (2) a pair of conductor pads of Ag conductor composition comprising palladium and/or platinum is disposed with predetermined spaces from said resistor layer to sandwich said resistor layer in a direction of its conductive resistance path on the surface of insulation substrate, and (3) Ag conductor layer of Ag conductor composition without palladium and platinum is disposed over both said resistor layer and conductor pads at their respective edges to connect electrically said resistor layer to said conductor pads to form the conductive resistance path gave small resistance value changes, a small TCR in any sizes of resistors and improved the resistance value yield and, furthermore, could give high adhesion strength between the insulation substrate and conductor pads, and high sulfurization resistance to solve the above-mentioned problems. Thus the present invention was achieved.

Thick film resistor and the manufacturing method thereof


A holster is disclosed for holding an aerosol can or the like intended to be carried on the body of a person. The holster includes a sleeve supported on the body of the person, such that the sleeve is oriented generally vertically. The sleeve has a top open end and a bottom end. The sleeve is tapered downwardly from the top open end of the sleeve to the bottom end thereof. In this manner, the sleeve has an inner diameter at the top open end thereof that is greater than the outer diameter of the can, and the sleeve has an inner diameter near the bottom end thereof that is less than the diameter of the can. Such an arrangement permits the can to be dropped into the top open end of the sleeve, such that it will be frictionally gripped within the sleeve above the bottom end thereof.

Automobile mechanics, touch-up repairmen, and the like often utilize aerosol cans during the course of their work for reasons as varied as providing lubricants, silicones, paints and the like. However, the use of such aerosol cans present problems with holding and maintaining the aerosol cans and the like in close proximity to the worker, so that these cans can be easily located and readily made available for use. In this regard, it is common during the work process for such cans to be misplaced or otherwise lost on the job site.
In addition, bottles and other reservoirs, which have a shape that is similar to that of aerosol cans, are also now employed to store therein under pressure butane, propane or other similar combustible gas for use as a fuel for a torch. The product is referred to as a "plumber's torch". In such cases, the torch includes a head which is fitted onto the standard bottle of gas. The head has a flint switch for the ignition of the pressurized gas within the bottle, and the flame is projected forwardly of the nozzle. Since the nozzle can become somewhat hot, problems are also encountered in insuring the proper orientation of these torches, so that the hot nozzle will not come into contact with the body or the clothes of the user.
Besides aerosol cans and plumbers' torches, similar problems are encountered with caulking tubes, tubes containing "liquid nails", and cans of glues and adhesives.
Running around on a job site--trying to find a misplaced aerosol can or a caulking tube--wastes a lot of time and is inefficient. Besides, the plumbers' torches (for example) are fairly expensive, retailing for around $70.00, so that a torch that is lost or "walks off the job" is a substantial monetary loss.
Accordingly, it can be seen that there remains a need for a holster or similar device which may hold and maintain cylindrical articles, such as aerosol cans and the like, in close proximity to the worker, so that the can may be easily located and readily made available for use. There further remains a need for such a holster which can help to insure the proper orientation of such cans and the like, so that no harm will come to the worker or the clothes which the worker is wearing.

Holster for cylindrical articles, such as aerosol cans and the like


A mobile electronic device includes: a communication unit configured to perform short-distance communication with a first device, a notification unit configured to perform a local notification for a user of the mobile electronic device, and a controller configured to cause the notification unit to perform the local notification to the user when the short-distance communication with the first device is incapable of being performed. When the short-distance communication between the mobile electronic device and the first device is incapable of being performed, the controller is configured to transmit, to a second device, an inquiry as to whether the short-distance communication between the first device and the second device is capable of being performed.

In recent years, some of mobile electronic devices such as mobile phones and smartphones have a function to acquire information about their own positions. From a viewpoint of ensuring children's safety, a service that provides a current position of a child in response to a request from one of his or her parents is also being pervaded, for example (refer to Patent Literature 1).
Patent Literature 1 discloses a system in which a position information service center receives current position information identified by a GPS receiver mounted on a terminal held by a child and responds the current position information about the child in reply to an inquiry from a mobile phone held by the parent.

Mobile electronic device, position checking method, position checking program, and position checking system


An improved method and apparatus for waterproofing soil utilizing a flexible plastic sheet for providing a water barrier provides a system for readily detecting the presence of holes in the plastic material. The sheet includes a plastic layer which may be rendered electrically conductive by embedding conductive particles within it. The integrity of the sheet may then be monitored by establishing an electric field across the sheet and monitoring for sparks between the conductive plastic layer and a probe. Reliable and economical testing is possible, even in situation where electrical leak testing was not previously feasible.

The purpose of using a lining system is to provide a "impermeable" barrier between contaminants and ground water. Generally, these liners are made of insulating material such as high density polyethylene. For example, Gundle Lining Systems, Inc. of Houston, Tex. has a high density polyethylene liner available in thicknesses of 1 millimeter to 3.5 millimeters.
Synthetic liners, manufactured under stringent quality control standards, are thoroughly tested to be defect free at the time of shipment. However, during installation the liner is exposed to a wide spectrum of hazards such as heavy equipment, cutting tools, welding equipment, animals, and vandalism. Even the most stringent quality control program cannot protect against every hazard. Therefore, a final leak check may be conducted after the liner is installed to locate leaks caused by construction damage. These leak tests are designed not only to determine whether or not a leak exists, that is, to detect the leak, but they also hopefully will succeed in locating the leak so that it may be repaired.
Conventional leak detection and location techniques include smoke, traceable gas, electric surveys, and the like. However, in the case of smoke and traceable gas, since there can be no positive assurance that the indicating media has reached the entire surface under the liner, holes that may cause leaks may go undetected.
Electrical surveys require the liner to be in contact with an electrically conductive media both above and below the liner. This normally means that not only must the liner contain a liquid but also the soil upon which the liner rests must be conductive. The resulting water pressure on top of the liner generally maintains the liner in contact with the subgrade. However, contact with the earth is not always maintained because of irregularities in the subgrade and wrinkles in the liner.
Primary liners in a double liner system cannot be tested in this way because the space between the liners would have to be flooded in order to have electrically conductive media on both sides of the primary liner, and this would cause the primary liner to float. Similarly, side slopes are normally not tested due to the extreme difficulty of maintaining a water volume sufficient to cover the sides as well as the bottom of the liner, and because the resulting depth of the water makes testing difficult.
In known systems, the entire liner surface must be surveyed to detect and locate all defects. After the defects are discovered, since the leaks cannot be repaired under water, it is necessary to drain the liquid from the cover, make repairs, refill and survey again to ensure that all defects have been located and repaired. This process is time consuming and expensive particularly with large lined areas.
In a commercially available apparatus for electrically detecting liner leaks, a potential is induced across the thickness of a liner. If a potential of one polarity is induced on one side of the sheet and a potential of the opposite polarity is induced on the opposite side of the sheet, the resulting electrical field will be affected if there is any conductivity from side to side across the sheet. The effects of the conduction can be sensed to detect the presence of a leak.
Existing system can detect leaks through pin holes as small as 1.0 millimeter in diameter. Even such small holes may cause leaks on the order of a couple of gallons per day with one foot of water pressure. Thus, the presence of even small holes in such liners is of considerable significance. One author has recently indicated that on average there are about 26 holes per ten thousand square meters of liner. Peggs, "Detection and Investigation of Leaks in Geomembrane Liners," Geosynthetics World, Winter 1990. Particularly where hazardous materials are involved, it is extremely important that these holes be located and repaired prior to placing the impoundment in service.
The accuracy of existing methods is limited by the fact that both sides of the liner must be in contact with a conductive medium. In the case of a double liner, the upper or primary liner is not in contact with a conductive medium on both sides. With respect to the lower or secondary liner or in a situation where there is only one liner, a problem arises because a liner may not be in good electrical contact with the earth. Moreover, where the earth is dry or not conductive, the system may not be reliable.
It has been suggested that the liner could be placed in contact with a conductive foil sheet. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,252,155 to Surtees et al., a liner is placed over or even adhesively secured to a metal foil sheet. While that system would appear to overcome some of the problems in the prior art, this technique has not achieved acceptance in the industry. It is likely that any type of exposed metal foil would be severely degraded at the construction site. Moreover, adhesively or mechanically securing the metal foil to the linear would be extremely difficult to achieve, particularly in situ. Even if the foil could be effectively attached, it would be expensive and would raise the possibility of galvanic corrosion.
Thus, a need continues to exist for a liner which may be more easily and economically inspected using an electrical inspection apparatus without the necessity of a liquid medium within the reservoir and without the need for maintaining good electrical contact with conductive natural surroundings outside the liner.
In accordance with the present invention, a method and apparatus is provided to facilitate the detection of holes in liners. In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a method and apparatus is provided to facilitate to the detection of holes in the plastic sheeting itself.

Method and apparatus for lining outdoor fluid containment areas to facilitate electrical leak detection


The present invention relates to a two dimentional drive system. The drive system comprises a pair of guides provided on a base, the guides arranged in parallel in the X-direction; a rod arranged in the Y-direction, each end of the rod being slidably attached to the guides. A moving body is capable of moving on the rod. A first motor, which has a first shaft, is provided for rotating the first shaft. The first motor is provided to the base. A second motor, which has a second shaft, is provided for rotating the second shaft, the second motor is provided to the moving body. A first link includes a first end and a second end, the first end of the first link is connected to the first shaft. A second link includes a first end and a second end. The first end of the second link is connected to the second shaft. The second end of the second link is rotatably connected to the second end of the first link. In the present invention, the drive system has no ball bearing screws, so that the manufacturing cost and noise during operation can be lower.

The present invention relates to a drive system, more precisely relates to a drive system, which is capable of moving a moving body in a plane. Description of Background Art
Many kinds of two dimentional drive systems have been disclosed. The inventor of the present invention, has filed several two dimentional drive systems (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,995,277, Japanese Patent Kokai Gazette No. 2-1344 43).
Each conventional two dimentional drive system has ball bearing screws, which are arranged in X-Y directions, and a driving mechanism for selectively driving the ball bearing screws so as to move a moving body in a plane.
The conventional drive systems have high positioning accuracy of the moving body because of using the ball bearing screws, but have the following disadvantages: Firstly, the driving mechanism including the ball bearing screws, gears, etc., create noise which occurs in the driving mechanism. Secondly, three or four ball bearing screws must be assembled in each drive system, but the ball bearing screws are expensive, so the manufacturing cost of the conventional drive systems must be higher.

479
PH
FSS 1 M
FSS 20;143
FSS 661
FSS 749
FSS 16

c/o Kabushiki Kaisha Mechanic Sekkei Jimusho, 5175-1, Ooaza Toyoshina


Disclosed are novel methods and apparatus for providing inter-SCO navigation, for example, in SCORM-based courseware. In an embodiment, a method of navigating a course is disclosed. The method includes: launching the course, the course having a plurality of portions including a first portion and a second portion; displaying the first portion of the course; determining when the first portion of the course is exited; upon exiting of the first portion of the course, determining whether the first portion of the course is exited at a beginning of the first portion; if the first portion of the course is exited at the beginning of the first portion, determining whether the first portion is a starting portion of the course in accordance with a course structure format information of the course; if it is determined that the first portion is not the starting portion of the course, launching a previous portion of the course; if the first portion of the course is exited at an end of the first portion, determining whether the first portion is a last portion of the course; and if it is determined that the first portion is not the last portion of the course, launching a next portion of the course.

As the number of computers increases worldwide, so does their use in educational settings. Many classrooms and libraries now provide access to data that may be located halfway around the world. Instead of a student having to be physically present in a class, the student may now attend a class by utilizing a computer thousands of miles away. Also, training materials can be stored on computers (i.e., digitized) for use at a later time or while mobile.
Computer-based training materials are, however, largely developed on a proprietary (e.g., company-by-company) basis, resulting in high development costs and limited resale value. American companies alone spend billions of dollars a year on the development of training products with little of the investment focused on resale or external product development. To obviate these problem, the advanced distributive learning (ADL) initiative has been developing guidelines to create new markets for training materials, reduce the costs of development, and increase the potential return on investment.
One common way to share educational information is to utilize a learning management system (LMS). An LMS generally includes solutions for cataloging, course registration, provision of a course, tracking (for example, by managers), and accounting. Such an LMS is typically a large software system, which can easily cost over $100,000. In most cases, an LMS is too costly for one user or cannot be run locally on a client's system, which may lack the necessary local resources.
One solution for sharing courseware amongst LMS providers is to use SCORM, which is developed by the ADL. SCORM provides a reference model that defines a Web-based learning content model. Moreover, SCORM provides a set of interrelated technical specifications for creation of shareable content. Generally, a SCORM course consists of SCOs, which represent the lowest level of granularity of content that can be tracked by an element using the SCORM run-time environment.
In accordance with SCORM, navigation within a SCO can be defined by that SCO. A SCO cannot, however, navigate to another SCO. It is generally the responsibility of an LMS to manage the sequencing and navigation amongst SCOs, for example, based on the content structure format (CSF) hierarchy of blocks and SCOs defining the structure of a given course. Accordingly, SCORM requires that a SCORM-compliant course be viewed through an LMS. More specifically, SCORM requires that the LMS have the ability to determine what to deliver and when, and track the student's progress through the learning content.
The ability to easily navigate a course is a critical feature for any user taking a course. Usability studies have found that the ability to move seamlessly from one SCO to another (as if turning pages in a book) is typically preferred by users over other navigation methods. The present implementation of SCORM provides rules for an LMS or content providers (as an API). However, SCORM does not provide any details as to navigation and sequencing of SCOs.


A heat exchange module comprises a rotating-wheel type regenerative heat exchanger unit having a plurality of heat exchange elements mounted in baskets through the volume of the heat exchanger wheel. The heat exchanger wheel rotates about its axis so that the heat exchange elements are heated by a hot gas flow over a portion of the rotation, and transfer the heat to an air flow over another portion of the rotation. At least some of the heat exchange elements include phase change materials, such as salts, that absorb heat while maintaining a constant temperature. The phase change materials narrow the range of temperatures reached by the heat exchange elements located at various positions of the heat exchanger wheel. The phase change materials prevent excessively low temperatures that can result in condensation of corrosive acids on the surfaces of the heat exchange elements. They can also stabilize the heat exchange elements in particularly desirable temperature ranges for the operation of catalysts coated onto the heat exchange elements.

This invention relates to heat exchangers such as those used in power plants, and, more particularly, to reduction of temperature extremes experienced in rotating-wheel heat exchangers.
In most fossil-fuel fired power plants, the incoming air used in combustion of the fuel is preheated prior to its reaching the burner or combustor. The preheating is accomplished by transferring heat from the hot combustion gas leaving the burner to the cool incoming air entering the burner. The heat transfer has the dual benefits of reducing the fuel consumption of the power plant and also reducing the temperature of the combustion gas so that it may be further treated, as in an electrostatic precipitator, and then exhausted to the atmosphere.
A regenerative rotating-wheel type heat exchanger, also known as a L'jungstrom heat exchanger, is often used to accomplish the heat transfer from a continuous flow of the hot combustion gas to a continuous flow of the cool air. The heat exchanger is formed as a large wheel, often 30 feet or more in diameter, that rotates about its cylindrical axis. Large numbers of heat exchange elements, often provided as thin metal plates to optimize heat transfer, are held in baskets within the heat exchanger wheel. A fixed hot gas plenum passes hot combustion (flue) gas through one portion of the heat exchanger wheel and its heat exchange elements, and simultaneously a fixed cool gas plenum passes cool incoming air through another portion of the heat exchanger wheel and its heat exchange elements. Appropriate controls and seals are provided to regulate the flow of the gases.
The hot gas flow heats the heat exchange elements over which it passes. The rotation of the wheel moves these heated elements to the region through which the cool gas passes, and the cool gas is heated by passing over the heated elements. The rotation of the wheel continues, moving the cooled elements back into the heating zone. The process is continuous, removing heat from the combustion gas and transferring it to the incoming air. The configuration of the wheel and the heat exchange elements, and the rate of rotation of the wheel, are optimized to achieve a maximum heat transfer efficiency.
The wide variations in temperature experienced by the heat exchange elements can create problems in several ways. When the cold end heat exchange elements move back into the hot combustion gas stream, the sulfur-laden combustion gas may condense as sulfuric acid onto the heat exchange elements, causing them to corrode. The elements over which the cool air first passes (the "cold end" elements) are cooled to the lowest temperatures of any of the heat exchange elements, and are therefore the most prone to this problem. The hot end heat exchange elements that always operate at higher temperatures may be coated with catalysts to accelerate specific chemical reactions that reduce the concentration of pollutants in the combustion gas. These catalysts are operable only in certain temperature ranges characteristic of the catalyst materials. Excessive temperature variations during the cycles of rotation may prevent the catalysts from functioning efficiently.
Thus, while rotating wheel and other types of continuous regenerative heat exchangers are widely used, both in power plants and in many other industrial plants and operations, their performance in many cases is limited by the temperature variations of the heat exchange elements. There is a need for an approach to improving the performance of the heat exchangers, such as rotating wheel heat exchangers. The present invention fulfills this need, and further provides related advantages.


A powered brush has two different brushes for different purposes that are selectively vibrated for powered cleaning. The brushes may be a tooth brush and an interdental brush that are separately operated at different frequencies. One or more buttons or switches provide control signals to the powered brush to selectively actuate the different brushes. A controller connects a motor to a power source such as a battery based on the control signals. The controller may include a timer for actuating the selected brush for a given time period.

Toothbrushes have been proposed for different types of efficacy in cleaning teeth. For example, some toothbrushes are designed to improve cleaning near a gum line, while other designs are intended to improve cleaning over uneven surfaces, such as the tops of molars. Some toothbrush designs are intended for improved cleaning around dental implants or orthodontics.


A developing device includes a housing, a developer bearing roller, a first seal member, a second seal member, a second seal supporting member, and an urging member. The housing has an opening and is adapted to contain a developer. The developer bearing roller is arranged facing the opening and adapted to bear the developer. The first seal member abuts against the developer bearing roller along an axial direction thereof to prevent the developer from spilling. The second seal member abuts against an end, in the axial direction, of the developer bearing roller along a circumferential direction thereof to prevent the developer from spilling. The second seal supporting member supports an end, in a longitudinal direction, of the second seal member, and is attached to the housing such that a boundary section between the second seal member and the second seal supporting member faces the housing. The urging member is arranged along the axial direction of the developer bearing roller and is adapted to urge the first seal member toward the developer bearing roller by abutting against the first seal member. The urging member has, at an end in its longitudinal direction, an extending section extending up to a position between the boundary section and the housing.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to developing devices, image forming apparatuses, image forming systems, and methods for assembling developer supplying rollers.
2. Related Art
(1) Image forming apparatuses such as laser beam printers are well known in the art. Such image forming apparatuses are provided with, for example, an image bearing member for bearing a latent image, and a developing device for developing the latent image borne on the image bearing member with a developer. When the image forming apparatus receives image signals etc. from an external device such as a host computer, it positions the developing device at a developing position which is in opposition to the image bearing member, develops the latent image borne on the image bearing member with the developer contained in the developing device to form a developer image, and transfers the developer image onto a medium to ultimately form an image on the medium.
The developing device of the above-mentioned type is provided with a housing having an opening and adapted to contain a developer, and a developer bearing roller arranged facing the opening and adapted to bear the developer. The developer borne by the developer bearing roller is used for developing the latent image borne by the image bearing member. Further, in order to prevent the developer from spilling from a containing body, the developing device is provided with a first seal member that abuts against the developer bearing roller along the axial direction of the developer bearing roller, and a second seal member that abuts against the end, in the axial direction, of the developer bearing roller along the circumferential direction thereof.
Further, from the viewpoint of preventing the developer from spilling, it is preferable to make the first seal member abut against the developer bearing roller appropriately. To do so, the developing device is provided with an urging member arranged along the axial direction of the developer bearing roller and adapted to urge the first seal member toward the developer bearing roller by abutting against the first seal member. Furthermore, from the viewpoint of preventing the developer from spilling, it is also preferable that the second seal member is supported appropriately. To do so, the developing device is provided with a second seal supporting member that supports the end, in the longitudinal direction, of the second seal member, and the second seal supporting member is attached to the housing such that a boundary section between the second seal member and the second seal supporting member faces the housing. (See, for example, JP-A-2003-280371.)
Depending on, for example, the state in which the second seal supporting member is attached to the housing, there are instances in which a gap is formed between the housing and the boundary section of the second seal member and the second seal supporting member. In cases where such a gap exists between the boundary section and the housing, the developer may spill through the gap, since the developer is a fine particle. In view of this, it is necessary to provide a component member for preventing the developer from spilling through this gap. This, however, may lead to an increase in the number of components of the developing device.
(2) Another type of known developing device that performs development using a developer is provided with a developer supplying roller that supplies the developer to a developer bearing member adapted to bear and carry the developer contained in a developer containing body. (See, for example, JP-A-2004-86059.)
The developer supplying roller of such a developing device is provided inside the developer containing body, which contains the developer. At a position outside the developer containing body, a gear adapted to transmit a motive power for rotating the developer supplying roller from a drive source such as a motor, which is provided outside the developing device, is fixed to a shaft element of the developer supplying roller. In order to prevent the gear and the developer supplying roller from relatively shifting in position in the circumferential direction, a pin is inserted into a pin hole provided in the shaft element in its diameter direction, and the gear and the developer supplying roller are fixed by accommodating the pin, which has been inserted in the shaft element, in a pin-accommodating section provided in the gear. More specifically, the gear is fitted, from the outside, onto the developer supplying roller which projects outward from inside the developer containing body, and the gear is moved up to a position which is more toward the developer containing body than the pin hole provided in the shaft element. After inserting the pin into the pin hole, the gear is moved back to a position where the pin fits into the pin-accommodating section provided in the gear. Then, an E-shaped retaining ring, for example, is fitted into a groove, which is provided in the shaft element on the developer-containing-body-side of the gear, to fix the gear in order to prevent the gear from moving in the axial direction.
Such a developing device is used attached to an image forming apparatus that forms images using the developer. Since there is a demand for downsizing of the image forming apparatus, downsizing of the developing device, which is attached to this image forming apparatus, is also desired.
In the above-described developing device, however, in order to fix the gear to the developer supplying roller, it is necessary to first move the gear closer to the developer containing body than the final fixing position where the gear would be positioned after assembly, and then move the gear back to its final fixing position after insertion of the pin into the pin hole. That is, the developing device contains a space that is used only for assembling the gear to the developer supplying roller and that becomes unnecessary when actually using the developing device. Therefore, such a developing device inevitably becomes large in size.
(3) Another example of a known developing device used in laser printers, which are an example of image forming apparatuses, is a developing device for developing latent images formed on a photoconductor, which is an example of an image bearing member. (See, for example, JP-A-2004-86059.) This type of developing device includes: a housing that has an opening and in which a developer is contained; a developing roller, which is an example of a developer bearing roller that bears the developer and that is arranged facing the opening; and a developer supplying roller adapted to supply the developer contained in the housing to the developing roller.
Such a developing device is further provided with a seal member that abuts against the developing roller to prevent the developer from spilling. The seal member and the developing roller are supported by a support member, and the support member is attached to the housing at both ends in the axial direction of the developing roller.
Further, the developing device is provided with an urging member for urging the seal member toward the developing roller. The urging member urges the seal member toward the developing roller with its urging force to make the seal member abut against the developing roller.
In order to prevent the developer from spilling using the seal member of the above-described type, it is necessary to make the abutting pressure of the seal member against the developing roller even.
Incidentally, a pressing force is applied to the developer supplying roller and the developing roller at both ends thereof where they are supported, so that the developer supplying roller and the developing roller are pressed against one another for the developer supplying roller to supply the developer to the developing roller. This pressing force is applied in a direction in which both ends of the developer supplying roller and the developing roller come closer to one another. Therefore, the developer supplying roller and the developing roller deform at their central sections such that they move away from each other. As a result, even when the seal member is arranged such that it exerts its abutting pressure evenly against the developing roller, the abutting pressure at the central section of the developing roller may become different from the other sections.
Further, if, for example, the developing device is inadvertently dropped during shipping, then the support member that is supported at both ends may become deformed due to the shock applied when the device is dropped. In that case, the support member, which is attached to the housing at both ends in the axial direction of the developing roller, will deform most significantly at the central section. As a result, even when the abutting pressure of the seal member against the developing roller is even at the time of manufacturing the device, the abutting pressure of the seal member at the central section of the developing roller may become different from the other sections at the point of attaching the developing device to the image forming apparatus.

Developing device, image forming apparatus, image forming system, and method of assembling developer supplying roller


A tracking device and a tracking device control method with intelligent safe-zone demarcation are provided. The tracking device includes a positioning module, a long-range transceiver and a microcontroller. The microcontroller is configured to operate the long-range transceiver to regularly transmit position information of the tracking device to a server during a data-collection period for behavior analysis of a tracked object equipped with the tracking device and for safe-zone demarcation of the tracking device. The safe-zone demarcation is adaptive to habitual behaviors of the tracked object, and the habitual behaviors are obtained from the behavior analysis.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tracking device of a tracking system and it particularly relates to a tracking-device control method.
2. Description of the Related Art
A tracking system is used for observing persons or objects on the move and supplying a timely ordered sequence of respective location data to a model. A tracking system may employ a tracking device that is applied to the object being tracked and that transmits an alarm and message including the object's location when they leave a safe zone as defined by geo-fencing or a specially designed wireless beacon.
A geo-fence is a virtual perimeter around a predefined location or a predefined set of boundaries. Only stationary safe zones are built by geo-fencing. As for a safe zone defined by a specially designed wireless beacon, a burn-in process is required to register the specially designed wireless beacons to a memory (e.g. a ROM) of the tracking device.

Tracking device and tracking device control method


An apparatus and a method for beam selection and inter-beam scheduling using beam scanning in a beamformed wireless communication system are provided. A method for transmitting a signal in a transmitting stage includes transmitting a reference signal through at least one transmission beam, receiving channel information of at least one transmission beam from a receiving stage, selecting a first transmission beam for sending a signal to the receiving stage, by considering the channel information of the at least one transmission beam provided from the receiving stage, and performing inter-beam scheduling for the receiving stage by considering ID information of the first transmission beam.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an apparatus and a method for beam selection and inter-beam scheduling in a wireless communication system. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for selecting a transmission beam to achieve optimal transmission efficiency in a wireless communication system using a beamforming technique.
2. Description of the Related Art
To meet the continuously increasing demand for wireless data traffic, wireless communication systems are advancing for supporting a high data rate. For example, to increase the data rate, the wireless communication system is under development to enhance spectral efficiency based on communication techniques such as Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) and Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO).
However, as the demand for smart phones and tablet PCs increases and accordingly applications requiring much traffic increase, the demand for the data traffic is more accelerated and thus it is hard to satisfy the wireless data traffic demand merely with the spectral efficiency enhancement. To overcome this shortcoming, a wireless communication system using an ultra-high frequency band is attracting much attention.
When supporting the wireless communication over the ultra-high frequency band, the wireless communication system is subject to the increasing propagation loss such as path loss or return loss, due to frequency properties of the ultra-high frequency. As a result, the propagation distance is shortened because of the propagation loss and the service coverage of the wireless communication system using the ultra-high frequency band is reduced.
The wireless communication system using the ultra-high frequency band can expand the service coverage by alleviating the path loss of the propagation using a beamforming technique and increasing the propagation distance. By use of the beamforming technique, a transmitting stage can form a plurality of transmission beams of different directions. A receiving stage may form a plurality of reception beams of different directions.
As such, when using the beamforming technique, the transmitting stage and the receiving stage of the wireless communication system require a method for selecting the transmission beam and the reception beam so as to achieve optimal transmission efficiency.
Therefore, a need exists for an apparatus and a method for selecting a transmission beam to achieve optimal transmission efficiency in a wireless communication system using a beamforming technique.
The above information is presented as background information only to assist with an understanding of the present disclosure. No determination has been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the above might be applicable as prior art with regard to the present invention.

Apparatus and method for scheduling using beam scanning in beamformed wireless communication system


An optical waveguide and a first lens are formed on an underlying surface. The optical waveguide guides light along a first direction. The first lens is continuous with one end of the waveguide and converges light radiated from the end plane of the optical waveguide and diverging along directions parallel to the underlying surface. A second lens converges light transmitted through the first lens and diverging along directions perpendicular to the underlying surface. A support member supports the first and second lenses. It is possible to prevent a shift of positions of the optical waveguide and lens to be caused by a temperature change and to prevent a light coupling efficiency from being lowered.

A) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical transmission device, and more particularly to an optical transmission device for optically coupling an optical waveguide formed on a substrate to another optical device.
B) Description of the Related Art
Optical communication is increasing its speed and capacity because of a broadening transmission band and development of wavelength division multiplexing. In order to configure a hardware infrastructure of an optical fiber network in a trunk communications network, optical switches are required for switching optical signals toward destinations.
An example of an optical switch is shown in FIG. 9A. The optical switch includes a plurality of optical splitters 100, an optical switch module 101, a plurality of optical multiplexers 110, and a plurality of optical amplifiers 111. An optical fiber 120 is connected to each optical splitter 100. A wavelength division multiplexed optical signal is supplied from the optical fiber 120 to the optical splitter 100. The optical splitter 100 splits the wavelength division multiplexed optical signal into a plurality of optical signals. Split optical signals are input to the optical switch module 101 at the succeeding stage.
The optical switch module 101 has a three-stage structure. Each stage is constituted of a plurality of optical switch substrates. At the first stage, the optical switch substrate is provided for each optical splitter 100 to switch optical signals from optical waveguides of each optical splitter 100. The optical switch substrate at the second stage switches optical signals from a plurality of optical switch substrates at the first stage. The optical switch substrate at the third stage switches optical signals from a plurality of optical switch substrates at the second stage.
The optical multiplexer 110 is provided for each optical switch substrate at the third stage to multiplex the optical signal output from each optical switch substrate at the third stage. The multiplexed optical signal is amplified by the optical amplifier 111. An optical connector 115 is provided for connection between the optical splitter 100 and optical switch substrate at the first stage of the optical switch module 101, between the optical switch substrate at each stage of the optical switch module 101 and optical switch substrate at the succeeding stage, and between the optical switch substrate at the third stage and optical multiplexer 110.
FIG. 9B is a plan view of the optical switch substrate of the optical switch module 101 shown in FIG. 9A. An XY rectangular coordinate system is defined on the surface of a rectangular substrate 125, the X- and Y-axes being parallel to the sides of the rectangle. A plurality of input side optical waveguides 130 are disposed along one side parallel to the Y-axis to transmit light along the X-axis direction. A collimator lens 131 and a beam deflection element 132 are disposed on the surface of the substrate 125 in correspondence with each input side optical waveguide 130.
A beam deflection element 134 on the output side is disposed in correspondence with each beam deflection element 132, with a slab optical waveguide 133 being interposed therebetween. A condenser lens 135 and output side optical waveguide 136 are disposed in correspondence with each beam deflection element 134.
The input side beam deflection element 132 changes the propagation direction of a light beam in the substrate plane. The light beam with a changed propagation direction propagates through the slab optical waveguide 133 and becomes incident upon the output side beam deflection element 134. The beam deflection element 134 changes the propagation direction of the light beam to make it incident upon the corresponding condenser lens 135. The condenser lens 135 converges the light beam at the input end of the corresponding output side optical waveguide 136.
By deflecting a light beam to a desired direction by the input side beam deflection element 132, the optical signal input to the input side optical waveguide 130 can reach a desired output side optical waveguide 136. An optical signal can be switched by controlling the deflection direction at each time slot of the optical signal.
A method of connecting the output side optical waveguide 136 shown in FIG. 9B to the input side optical waveguide of, for example, the optical multiplexer 110 shown in FIG. 9A, is disclosed in JP-A-2000-304966 and JP-A-5-40214.
According to the invention disclosed in JP-A-2000-304966, a lens is disposed in correspondence with each output side optical waveguide between the output side and input side optical waveguides. Each lens converges light output and diverged from a corresponding output side optical waveguide at the input end of the corresponding input side optical waveguide. Since the output ends of the output side optical waveguides are disposed in line, the lenses are made of a micro lens array.
According to the invention disclosed in JP-A-5-40214, a collimator lens and a condenser lens are disposed in correspondence with each output side optical waveguide between the output side and input side optical waveguides. Light output and diverged from each output side optical waveguide is changed to a parallel light flux by a corresponding collimator lens, and this parallel light flux is converged at the input end of the input side optical waveguide by the condenser lens. These collimator lenses and condenser lenses are also made of micro lens arrays. Since the light beam between the collimator lens and condenser lens is a parallel light flux, a position alignment precision of a space between the collimator lenses and condenser lenses can be relaxed. Since the lenses have a sealing structure, the inside of the optical system can be protected. The influence of attached dusts can be mitigated.
JP-A-5-264874 discloses an optical system of converging light radiated from a light source and makes the light incident upon the input end of an optical fiber. By utilizing a thermal expansion of components for mounting optical elements, a change in the focal length of a lens to be caused by a temperature change can be compensated.
A position displacement between an optical waveguide and a lens to be caused by a temperature change is required to be suppressed in order to maintain high a coupling efficiency between the output side and input side optical waveguides. A position displacement (along a direction parallel to the propagation direction of a light beam) to be caused by a change in the focal length of a lens to be caused by a temperature change can be compensated by the method of utilizing the thermal expansion of mount components disclosed in JP-A-5-264874. If the optical waveguide is of a single mode, the position precision of 1 μm or smaller is necessary with respect to two directions perpendicular to the propagation direction of a light beam.
If lenses are made of a micro lens array, a distance between lenses changes because of thermal expansion of lens material. If the positions of a particular optical waveguide and a particular lens are set at a high precision, the positions of other optical waveguides and lenses are displaced.

Optical transmission device with optical waveguide coupled to optical device


Embodiments of an apparatus and methods for providing a workfunction metal gate electrode on a substrate with doped metal oxide semiconductor structures are generally described herein. Other embodiments may be described and claimed.

In a conventional metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET), the source, channel, and drain structures are constructed adjacent to each other within the same plane. Typically, a gate dielectric is formed on the channel area and a gate electrode is deposited on the gate dielectric. The transistor is controlled by applying a voltage to the gate electrode, thereby allowing a current to flow through the channel between source and drain.
An alternative to methods of building planar MOSFETs has been proposed to help alleviate some of the physical barriers to scaling down existing designs. The alternative method involves the construction of three dimensional MOSFETs, in the form of a multi-gate transistor such as a dual-gate field effect transistor (FinFET) or a tri-gate transistor field effect transistor, as a replacement for the conventional planar MOSFET.
Three-dimensional transistor designs such as the FinFET and the tri-gate field effect transistor allow tighter packing of the same number of transistors on a semiconductor chip by using vertical or angled surfaces for the gates. A tri-gate field effect transistor comprises three equal length gates situated on three exposed surfaces of a body whereas a FinFET comprises two equal length gates situated along the sides of a narrow body, or fin.
The gate electrode is commonly formed on the gate dielectric using a doped polysilicon layer, one or more metal layers, or a combination of polysilicon and metal layers. The gate electrode may be capped with dielectric layer to mask and protect the structure during front-end processing. The width of the gate electrode structure and regions of isolation between the gate electrodes is commonly miniaturized to provide a greater density of gates per unit area. Deviations in the profile of the gate structure where the cross-section of the gate structure is either flared or notched may lead to reduced device performance or operational failure of one or more transistors.

Selective anisotropic wet etching of workfunction metal for semiconductor devices


An offshore double cone structure for operation on an ocean foundation has a double-cone concrete shell having a neck ring at the top of the shell and a base caisson that supports the double-cone shell. The caisson rests on the ocean foundation. The environmental loads, topside weight, and self weight of the double-cone shell are transferred by double-cone shell action through the base caisson to the foundation. The base caisson's exterior wall can be either vertical or sloping. The neck ring is at an elevation sufficiently high that the wave and ice interactions with the neck ring do not increase global ice loads acting on the structure. The neck ring has sufficient area to provide room for facilities through the neck.

Offshore structures in ice-infested waters have to resist environmental forces posed by wind, waves, currents, earthquakes, and ice. Double cone shell structures represent a very promising concept. Arctic gravity base structures require large foundation areas to resist potential ice-induced sliding and overturning. The double cone shell can be designed for adequate strength to resist concentrated ice forces without requiring the central core structure. By eliminating the core of the structure, we minimize the volume of material and cost of the structure.


Liquid transfer device for an analysis unit with a capacitive liquid level detector (10) for detecting the dipping of a liquid transfer needle (5) into an analysis liquid (4). More reliable operation, in particular a better ratio between useful signal and noise signals, is achieved by the fact that the liquid transfer needle (5) is part of a coaxial electrode arrangement (11). The coaxial electrode arrangement includes, in addition to the liquid transfer needle (5), at least one coaxial electrode (12, 13) surrounding the needle and insulating from it and a detection circuit (17). This detection circuit detects a change in capacitance between the electrodes (5, 13) of the liquid level detector (10), and includes an isolation amplifier circuit (23) to whose input (23a) and output (23b) two adjacent electrodes (5, 12) of the coaxial electrode arrangement (11) are connected as signal electrode and compensating electrode. As a result of this structure, no voltage difference occurs between the signal electrode and the compensating electrode.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a liquid transfer device for a fluid analysis unit. The liquid transfer device has a liquid transfer needle and a capacitive liquid level detector, for detecting the submersion or dipping of the liquid transfer needle into an analysis liquid contained in a vessel. The liquid level detector includes two electrodes and a detection circuit with an a.c. voltage source for detecting a change in capacitance between the electrodes.
2. Description of the Related Art
In analysis units of the type necessary for the analysis of body fluids such as blood, liquid transfer devices are required in order to transfer analysis liquids, such as liquid samples or reagents. Common liquid transfer devices are, for example, pipettes, which are used for removing samples or reagents from a first vessel and ejecting them into a second vessel. Another common liquid transfer device is a dispenser in which the liquid transfer needle is connected via a hose to a greater stock of the liquid, which may be ejected through the needles by means of a pump device. Dispensers usually also perform the function as a pipette. A liquid transfer device for the purpose of the present invention is essentially any device or structure which in an analysis unit serves to dip into an analysis liquid in order to make possible some liquid transfer steps (intaking and/or ejection of liquid) by means of the liquid transfer needle. The liquid transfer needle is a hollow needle which usually consists of a thin tube of metal or plastic. It will be referred to herein, for the sake of simplicity, as the "needle".
If the needle is dipped or submerged deep into the analysis liquid, a relatively large amount of excess liquid remains undesirably suspended in and around the needle. The amount of liquid transfer can thereby be inaccurate, and during the next dip of the needle, the excess liquid contaminates the remaining analysis liquid (so-called "carry over") In order to better monitor the dipping depth, liquid transfer devices are provided with a sensor device for. detecting the dipping of the needle into the analysis liquid, which is usually referred to as a liquid level detector or LLD. The liquid level detector is connected to a vertical drive by means of which the needle is dipped into the analysis liquid, in order to arrest the dipping movement when the tip of the needle is dipped in the analysis liquid by a few millimeters. The vertical position of the needle acts as a measure of the level of the liquid in the respective vessel. Consequently, the liquid level detector makes it possible to monitor the amount of liquid present in the respective vessel, in order to give a signal when the stock of a reagent liquid is depleted and the reagent bottle therefore has to be replaced.
A commonly used construction principle for liquid level detectors is based on measuring the electrical resistance between the needle and an electrode attached to the tip of the needle. Needle and electrode are insulated electrically from one another, so that the electrical resistance between them in the dry state is very high. Upon dipping the needle and the electrode into a sample liquid, the sample liquid closes the circuit so that the electrical resistance changes suddenly. The resulting signal can be detected reliably with simple electronic means. It is regarded as a major disadvantage of this principle, however, that an electrode must be dipped into the liquid in addition to the needle, which increases the amount of excess liquid which unavoidably remains suspended thereupon. The previously mentioned problems with regard to carryover and reduced accuracy are therefore further exacerbated.
Superior detectors for this purpose are liquid level detectors in which a change in the electrical capacitance between two sensor electrodes is recorded as a signal for detecting the dipping of the needle into the liquid. The signal is recorded by an electronic detection circuit coupled to the sensor electrodes, which includes an a.c. voltage source. The first electrode is usually the needle, which can consist of metal or an electrically conductive (metallized) plastic material; the hot pole of the a.c. voltage source is connected thereto, thereby forming a signal electrode. The counter electrode, which is usually connected to earth potential or ground, can be arranged on the outside of the liquid vessel, such as below the bottom and partially around the side walls of the vessel. It is usually an integral part of the vessel support. Upon dipping the needle tip into the liquid, the capacitance between the signal electrode and the counter electrode changes on the basis of the electrical conductivity and the dielectric properties of the liquid.
Liquid level detectors of the kind are described in EP-A No. 0 164 679, U.S. Pat. No. 4,818,492, and EP-A No. 0 355 791, which are hereby incorporated by reference. These printed publications contain more detailed explanations, to which reference will be made here.
A basic problem with these capacitive liquid level detectors exists in the fact that the change in capacitance upon the dipping into the liquid is very small in comparison with the other capacitances which are inherently present, such as "noise capacitances" from, for example, the connecting cable and the amplifier input. The ratio of the useful signal to the noise signals is consequently highly unsatisfactory. Particularly problematic is the fact that some of the noise capacitances are not constant, but change relatively rapidly with time. This is particularly applicable to capacitive interference, which is caused by the movement of objects, such as component parts of the automatic analysis unit, and hands or other parts of the body of the operating personnel. On a fully automatic analysis unit which has numerous moving parts, such interference is impossible to avoid in practice.
In EP-A No. 0 355 791, a specific problem of this kind (noise caused by a membrane sealing the vessel) is corrected by the fact that a reference signal is fixed upon the contacting of the membrane, and during the further downward movement of the needle the difference relative to the fixed reference signal is detected. However, this method is directed towards this specific application. Noise capacitances which change between the fixing of the reference signal and the detection of the liquid surface can often lead to faulty detection.
In the case of the liquid level detector described in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,818,492, the noise capacitance of the leads is compensated passively by means of a bridge circuit. Other capacitive noise is not thereby eliminated, however, and can similarly cause faulty detection with this type of detector.


An RF transmitter (60) generates non-DC bias signals (104, 106) configured to improved power-added efficiency (PAE) in the operation of an RF amplifier (94). The RF amplifier (94) generates an amplified RF signal (126) which, due to the addition of the bias signals (104, 106), includes bias-signal-induced RF distortion (48, 50). The bias signals (104, 106) drive a bias-induced distortion cancellation circuit (152) that adjusts the bias signals to compensate for the influence of impedances experienced by the bias signals (104, 106) before being applied to the RF amplifier (94). After mixing with a baseband communication signal (64), adjusted bias signals (186, 188) are combined into a composite baseband signal (76), upconverted to RF in an upconversion section 84, and applied to the RF amplifier (94) where they cancel at least a portion of the bias-signal-induced RF distortion (48, 50).

An RF power amplifier provides the final stage of amplification for a communication signal that has been modulated and converted into an RF signal. The RF signal provided to an RF power amplifier for amplification generally exhibits frequencies confined within a predetermined frequency band licensed by a regulatory agency for a particular use. Many popular modern modulation techniques, such as CDMA, QAM, OFDM, and the like, require the RF power amplifier to perform a linear amplification operation. The degree to which the amplification is not perfectly linear leads to distortion, unwanted intermodulation, and spectral regrowth in the amplified RF signal output from the RF power amplifier.
Spectral regrowth can cause the amplified RF signal output from the RF power amplifier to spill outside the frequency band where the transmitter is licensed to operate. Other forms of distortion, though nevertheless confined within the licensed frequency band, cause deterioration in an error vector magnitude (EVM) parameter of the amplified RF signal output from the RF power amplifier.
While perfect linearity is a goal for any linear RF power amplifier to minimize the pernicious effects of amplifying with an imperfectly linear transfer function, all linear RF power amplifiers invariably full to meet it. Accordingly, a wide variety of schemes have been developed to improve the linearity of imperfectly linear RF power amplifiers used in RF transmitters. Many of these schemes seek to cancel unwanted signal components in the amplified RF signal. Some of these schemes actually introduce out-of-band signals prior to amplification with the goal of cancelling other out-of-band signals generated as a result of imperfectly linear amplification.
Unfortunately, a typical amplified RF signal is an extremely complex composite of wanted and unwanted signal components. The unwanted signal components result from many different distorting effects. As distortion is forced to be a smaller and smaller part of the amplified RF signal, more and more sources of distortion need to be managed. And, the number of combinations and permutations of different signal components that have interacted with one another by being processed through a nonlinear process is intractable. Accordingly, while many diverse schemes have been directed toward the problem of improving RF amplifier linearity, few have actually achieved a highly linear result.
Another trend in RF transmitters, apart from incorporating schemes to improve linearity, is enhancing power-added efficiency (PAE). Power-added efficiency, hereinafter referred to simply as "efficiency", is the ratio of the RF output power to the sum of the input RF power and the applied bias power. In conventional RF transmitters, improvements in efficiency have been achieved at the expense of linearity. In other words, linearity has actually been degraded in order to improve efficiency
A variety of RF power amplifier efficiency enhancements has been proposed. These proposals suggest the use of schemes to variably bias the RF power amplifier. Traditionally, "biasing" has referred to DC voltages and currents that are applied to power inputs and signal inputs of amplifiers so that they will reproduce an input signal in a desired manner. The biasing establishes the operating point of the amplifier. Using Lateral Diffusion Metal Oxide Semiconductor (LDMOS) field-effect transistor (FET) terminology, the biasing refers to traditionally DC voltages applied to the drain and gate of an LDMOS, FET, RF power amplifier. But when DC biasing is used, poor efficiency usually results. Accordingly, for variably biased RF power amplifiers, these bias voltages are modulated to achieve improved efficiency with the goal of harming linearity as little as possible. That goal has been difficult to meet.
With the envelope-elimination and restoration (EER) technique, also known as the Kahn technique, the amplitude component of a communication signal is separated from the phase component. Then, the phase component is amplified in a highly efficient amplifier configured for a nonlinear class of operation. The amplitude component is restored by varying the bias voltage at the power input (e.g., the drain) of the nonlinear class amplifier commensurate with the amplitude component of the communication signal. But a significant price is typically paid in linearity by this technique. Accordingly, the EER technique is not readily useable in high power and wide bandwidth applications because, rather than realizing efficiency enhancement, efficiency deterioration is the likely result along with reduced linearity. Efficiency deterioration would result from attempting to generate a high power bias voltage that exhibits a bandwidth consistent with the amplitude content of a wide bandwidth signal.
Another variably biased RF power amplifier technique is the envelope-following technique. Envelope following differs from the EER technique in that both the amplitude and phase components of the communication signal are amplified in a linear-class amplifier. But like the EER technique, power input bias voltage is varied in a manner commensurate with the amplitude content of the communication signal. Accordingly, bias voltage need not be greater than it needs to be to accommodate the RF signal being amplified in a linear class of operation on an instant-by-instant basis. Efficiency enhancements result when compared to traditional linear-class amplifier operation using static DC biasing voltages. Typically, timing issues are less critical than in the EER technique, and the linearity deterioration is less severe than in the EER technique as a result. But a linearity penalty still results, and the envelope-following technique is not readily usable in high power and wide bandwidth applications because, rather than realizing efficiency enhancement, efficiency deterioration is the likely result.
Another variably biased RF power amplifier technique is the envelope-tracking technique. Envelope tracking differs from the envelope-following technique in that the envelope of the RF communication signal is not followed completely. This lowers the switching frequency requirements in the power supply that generates the bias voltage applied to the RF power amplifier's power input, resulting in some efficiency gain to offset an efficiency loss suffered by not completely following the envelope. And, timing issues become less critical, at least in narrow bandwidth applications, so that linearity need not suffer greatly. But a linearity penalty still results, and nothing is provided to ensure that the linearity penalty does not result in the violation of a spectral mask.
The above-referenced Related Inventions discuss yet another variably biased RF power amplifier technique which yields improvements even in a wide bandwidth, high power application. But none of these efficiency techniques are as compatible as desired with a transmitter application that calls for the use of a highly linear or highly linearized RF power amplifier. Accordingly, a need exists for an RF transmitter that better accommodates both variable biasing for its RF power amplifier along with linearization of the RF power amplifier.

RF transmitter with bias-signal-induced distortion compensation and method therefor