A high-speed optical network includes according to the invention a housing having a plurality of slots for accommodating a number of line cards and an optional backplane facilitating communication between the line cards. The line cards include a client communication interface and a DWDM communication interface, for example, gigabit Ethernet interface, SONET interface or DWDM interface. Advantages of the invention include a high-speed network and network components that are capable of performing at a level consistent with optical network systems and which efficiently supports DWDM in a space-effective and cost-effective manner.

Advances in network communication and switching are moving ahead with great speed. The advent of optical network connections requires the evolution of network multiplexing and transmission technologies that can perform at high rates. Some of the technologies that assist in high performance include Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM). An advantage of DWDM is that many light waves carrying different data can be transmitted through the same fiber simultaneously. This parallel communication is very efficient since the same fiber can be used to transport many communication links.
The companies that build and operate the network backbone are called carriers and they define the network system requirements, which are ordinarily based on predicted user demand. Typical contemporary carrier requirements include: more bandwidth and greater transmission distance; better bandwidth utilization per wavelength; network visibility and manageability across subnetworks; smaller form factor, less power and lower cost; and preservation of legacy equipment.
Conventional technology, however, requires a very large number of devices to achieve the required rates and it does not provide support for future high data rate transport needs. Existing DWDM systems do not provide for adequate integration of the network components, and therefore, require a significant amount of space, which is at a premium in small central offices and other network locations.
The predominant problems with first-generation DWDM systems involve the inefficient use of wavelengths, because each service may require a dedicated wavelength. Furthermore, these solutions provide only simple transport of client signals (e.g., Optical Carrier level 48 (OC48), Gigabit Ethernet) without DWDM monitoring or client-specific monitoring. Second-generation DWDM systems use SONET/SDH (Synchronous Optical NETwork/Synchronous Digital Hierarchy) framing to address some of these problems, but still have shortcomings of their own. Some of these problems include: limited transparency; little to no support for strong forward error correction (FEC); inefficient transport of packet traffic (e.g. Ethernet); and a deep protocol stack that requires many chips and complex line card designs.
What is needed is a high-speed network and network components that are capable of performing at a level consistent with optical network systems and which efficiently support DWDM in a space-effective and cost-effective manner.

Advanced error correcting optical transport network


This invention provides a semiconductor package, the semiconductor package includes: a semiconductor chip having a connection pad; an encapsulant covering at least a portion of the semiconductor chip; and a connection structure disposed on the semiconductor chip and the encapsulant. The connection structure comprises a first insulation layer, a first redistribution layer disposed on the first insulation layer, and a second insulation layer disposed on the first insulation layer and covering the first redistribution layer. The first redistribution layer has one or more openings. The openings have a shape having a plurality of protrusions, respectively, and B/A is 1.5 or less, where A refers to a thickness of the first redistribution layer, and B refers to a thickness of a region of the second insulation layer covering the first redistribution layer.

The present disclosure relates to a semiconductor package, e.g., a fan-out semiconductor package.
One of main trends in technological development related to semiconductor chips in recent years is to reduce the size of components. Therefore, in the field of packaging, it is necessary to implement a large number of pins while having a small size in accordance with a surge in demand for small semiconductor chips and the like. To meet this requirement, one proposed semiconductor package technology is a fan-out semiconductor package. The fan-out semiconductor package may redistribute an electrical connection structure beyond an area on which a semiconductor chip is disposed, thereby enabling a large number of pins to be implemented while maintaining a small size.
Meanwhile, in a vacuum lamination method used in the printed circuit board manufacturing process, since an insulation layer may be transferred to a substrate through the vacuum lamination method to form an insulation layer, it is possible to effectively cope with the thickness deviation by position. However, there may be defects due to foreign matter generated during a film cutting process, and there maybe a high possibility of void occurrence due to insufficient filling of the insulation layer. In particular, since this film type insulation layer may usually be a non-photosensitive insulation layer, there may be a limit to the fine pitch of the redistribution layer and the connection via. In the field of semiconductor packaging technology in which a fine design is required, a method of coating a liquid insulating material on a substrate may be generally applied as a process of forming an insulation layer for forming a redistribution layer.


A Fringe Field Switching (“FFS”) mode liquid crystal display panel 10A includes an array substrate having first electrodes 14 each provided in a space delimited by a plurality of scan lines 12 and signal lines 17, second electrodes 21 provided on the first electrodes 14 with an insulator therebetween, and a plurality of slits 20A provided to each of the second electrodes 21 in parallel with one another in a direction crossing the signal lines 17; and a color filter substrate having a color filter layer. Each of the slits 20A has an open end 20A′ on one side. The color filter layer has a centerline 30 extending along the signal lines 17 for individual pixels, and the centerline 30 coincides with a display centerline 32 that is shifted toward the open end side of the slits from a centerline 31 of each second electrode as viewed from above. Accordingly, an FFS mode liquid crystal display panel is obtained that causes no color mixtures with this arrangement in which the slits each having an open end on one side are formed in each second electrode.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display panel of a fringe field switching (FFS) mode that includes a pair of substrates holding a liquid crystal layer, a common electrode provided to one of the substrates, and a pixel electrode provided corresponding to the common electrode with an insulator therebetween, and drives the liquid crystal layer by an electric field formed between the common electrode and pixel electrode. More particularly, the invention relates to a liquid crystal display panel that has slits whose ends are open on one side in each pixel electrode and provides bright displays without color mixture with improved alignment of a pixel electrode and a color filter.
2. Related Art
Over recent years, liquid crystal display panels have been much employed not only in information and telecommunications equipment but in electrical equipment in general. The liquid crystal display panels that have long been in use are made up of a pair of substrates of glass or the like with electrodes and so on formed on their surfaces, and a liquid crystal layer formed between such pair of substrates. Images of various types are displayed by the application of voltage to the electrodes on the two substrates, which rearranges the liquid crystals, altering the transmittance of light therethrough. This is what may be called the "longitudinal field mode". Among such longitudinal field mode liquid crystal display panels there exist those with a twisted nematic (TM) mode or vertical alignment (VA) mode, which however have the problem that their viewing angle is narrow. Accordingly, longitudinal field mode liquid crystal display panels with various improvements such as a multidomain vertical alignment (MVA) mode have been developed.
On the other hand, liquid crystal display panels that may be called "transverse field mode" are also known as in-plane switching (IPS) mode liquid crystal display panels that differ from the longitudinal field mode described above in having electrodes on one substrate only (see JP-A-10-319371 and JP-A-2002-131767). The operating principles of such an IPS mode liquid crystal display panel will now be described using FIGS. 8 and 9. FIG. 8 is a schematic plan view of a single pixel portion of the IPS mode liquid crystal display panel. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view along line IX-IX in FIG. 8.
This IPS mode liquid crystal display panel 50 has an array substrate AR and a color filter substrate CF. The array substrate AR has a plurality of scan lines 52 and common wires 53 provided in parallel with one another on a surface of a first transparent substrate 51, and a plurality of signal lines 54 provided in the direction orthogonal to these scan lines 52 and common wires 53. In the central portion of each pixel there is provided a common electrode 55 having for example a comb-like shape as in FIG. 8 and extending strip-like from the common wire 53. A pixel electrode 56, likewise of a comb-like shape, is provided so as to enclose the spaces around the peripheries of the common electrode 55, and the surface of the pixel electrode 56 is covered with a protective insulator 57 of silicon nitride and an alignment layer 58 of polyimide, for example.
Close to the intersections of the scan lines 52 and signal lines 54 there are formed thin film transistors (TFTs) that serve as switching elements. For each TFT, a semiconductor layer 59 is laid between a scan line 52 and signal line 54; a signal line portion on the semiconductor layer 59 constitutes the TFT's source electrode S and a scan line portion below the semiconductor layer 59 constitutes the TFT's gate electrode G, while a part of the pixel electrode 56 that overlaps part of the semiconductor layer 59 constitutes the TFT's drain electrode D.
The color filter substrate CF has a configuration such that a color filter layer 61 of red, green, or blue, an overcoat layer 62, and an alignment layer 63 are provided on a surface of a second transparent substrate 60. To form the IPS mode liquid crystal display panel 50, the array substrate AR and color filter substrate CF are positioned opposing each other so that the pixel electrode 56 and common electrode 55 on the array substrate AR and the color filter layer 61 on the color filter substrate CF face each other, a liquid crystal LC is sealed therebetween, and polarizing plates 64 and 65 are deposed on the outer side of the substrates AR and CF, respectively, so that their polarization directions are orthogonal to each other.
In this IPS mode liquid crystal display panel 50, when an electric field is formed between the pixel electrode 56 and common electrode 55, the liquid crystals, which are aligned horizontally, will gyrate horizontally as shown in FIG. 9. By means of this it is possible to control the amount of incident light from the backlight that is transmitted. This IPS mode liquid crystal display panel 50 has the advantages of a wide viewing angle and high contrast, but also has the problems of low aperture ratio and transmittance because the common electrode 55 is formed from the same metallic material as the common wires 53 or scan lines 52, as well as the problem of color variation depending on the viewing angle.
FFS mode liquid crystal display panels that may be called "oblique field mode" (see JP-A-2002-14363, JP-A-2002-244158, JP-A-2003-195352, and JP-A-2005-309052) have been developed in order to resolve the problems of low aperture ratio and transmittance in IPS mode liquid crystal display panels. The operating principles of such an FFS mode liquid crystal display panel will now be described using FIGS. 10 and 11. FIG. 10 is a schematic plan view of a single pixel portion of an FFS mode liquid crystal display panel. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view along line XI-XI in FIG. 10.
This FFS mode liquid crystal display panel 70A has an array substrate AR and a color filter substrate CF. The array substrate AR has a plurality of scan lines 72 and common wires 73 provided in parallel with one another on a surface of a first transparent substrate 71, and a plurality of signal lines 74 provided in the direction orthogonal to these scan lines 72 and common wires 73. A common electrode 75 coupled to the common wires 73 and formed from indium tin oxide (ITO) or a like transparent material is provided so as to cover each space delimited by the scan lines 72 and signal lines 74. Over a surface of the common electrode 75 there are provided therebetween, with an insulator 76 interposed, a pixel electrode 78A constituted of ITO or a like transparent material in which a plurality of stripe-like slits 77A are formed. The surfaces of the pixel electrode 78A and the slits 77A therein are covered by an alignment layer 80.
Close to the positions where the scan lines 72 and signal lines 74 intersect there are formed TFTs that serve as switching elements. For each TFT, a semiconductor layer 79 is laid on a surface of the scan line 72, and a portion is extended from the signal line 74 so as to cover part of the surface of the semiconductor layer 79 and constitute the TFT's source electrode S; a scan line portion below the semiconductor layer 79 constitutes the TFT's gate electrode G, while a part of the pixel electrode 78A that overlaps part of the semiconductor layer 79 constitutes the TFT's drain electrode D.
The color filter substrate CF has a configuration such that a color filter layer 83 of red, green, or blue, an overcoat layer 84, and an alignment layer 85 are provided on a surface of a second transparent substrate 82. To form the FFS mode liquid crystal display panel 70A, the array substrate AR and color filter substrate CF are positioned opposing each other so that the pixel electrode 78A and common electrode 75 on the array substrate AR and the color filter layer 83 on the color filter substrate CF face each other, liquid crystal LC is sealed therebetween, and polarizing plates 86 and 87 are deposed on the outer side of the substrates AR and CF, respectively, in such a manner that their polarization directions are orthogonal to each other.
In this FFS mode liquid crystal display panel 70A, when an electric field is formed between the pixel electrode 78A and common electrode 75, the field is oriented toward the common electrode 75 at both sides of the pixel electrode 78A, as shown in FIG. 11. Consequently, not only does the liquid crystal present at the slits 77A move, but so does the liquid crystal present over the pixel electrode 78A. As a result, the FFS mode liquid crystal display panel 70A has the features of having an even wider viewing angle and higher contrast than the IPS mode liquid crystal display panel 50, and moreover an ability to provide bright displays thanks to possessing high transmittance. In addition, the FFS mode liquid crystal display panel 70A has a greater overlap area, viewed from above, between the pixel electrode 78A and common electrode 75 than the IPS mode liquid crystal display panel 50 has, and, as a collateral effect thereof, a larger holding capacity and hence the advantage that no auxiliary capacity line needs to be specially provided.
In an FFS mode liquid crystal display panel, similarly to the IPS mode liquid crystal display panel disclosed in JP-A-10-319371, it is preferable for the sake of the display characteristics that the rubbing direction should be orthogonal to the signal lines, and the pixel electrodes be provided at a slight inclined angle relative to the rubbing direction. Accordingly, a structure may be adopted whereby stripe-like slits 77B provided in a pixel electrode 78B are inclined relative to the scan lines 72 as in the FFS mode liquid crystal display panel 70B shown in FIG. 12. Similarly, in order to widen an aperture and provide brighter displays, an open end 77C′ is provided to one end of each slit 77C provided in a pixel electrode 78C, as in an FFS mode liquid crystal display panel 70C shown in FIGS. 13A and 13B. FIG. 13B is a cross-sectional view with the color filter substrate included along line XIIIB-XIIIB in FIG. 13A.
In order to eliminate color variation depending on the viewing angle, stripe-like slits 77D provided in a pixel electrode 78D may be arranged in two mutually inclined sets, one above the other, thus producing dual domains, as in an FFS mode liquid crystal display panel 70D shown in FIG. 14. Furthermore, the signal lines 74 may be provided in a crank-shape in a direction orthogonal to the scan lines 72, and a plurality of common electrodes 75E and pixel electrodes 78E be arranged in a delta layout, so that the signal lines 74 will not form straight lines, and the device will be well suited for image displays, as in an FFS mode liquid crystal display panel 70E shown in FIG. 15.
The FFS mode liquid crystal display panels 70B to 70D shown in FIGS. 12 to 14 differ from the FFS mode liquid crystal display panel 70A shown in FIG. 10 only in that the slits 77B to 77D provided in their pixel electrodes 78B to 78D are inclined and have different shapes. Moreover, the FFS mode liquid crystal display panel 70E shown in FIG. 15 differs from the FFS mode liquid crystal display panel 70A shown in FIG. 10 only in that slits 77E provided in its pixel electrodes 78E are inclined and that its a plurality of common electrodes 75E and pixel electrodes 78E are arranged in a delta layout. In the below, component elements that have identical structure to those in the FFS mode liquid crystal display panel 70A shown in FIG. 10 are assigned the identical reference numerals and detailed descriptions thereof are omitted.
While the common wires are provided in parallel with the scan lines for individual pixels in the FFS mode liquid crystal display panels 70B to 70E shown in FIGS. 12 to 15, the common wires can be provided anywhere between adjacent scan lines, and therefore they are not specifically shown. While the slits in pixel electrodes are provided in parallel with one another in a transverse direction of the scan lines in the FFS mode liquid crystal display panels 70A to 70E shown in FIGS. 10 to 15, they may be provided in parallel with one another in a longitudinal direction of the scan lines (not shown).
Thus, FFS mode liquid crystal display panels have the features of having an even wider viewing angle and higher contrast than IPS mode liquid crystal display panels, and moreover of being able to provide bright displays thanks to possessing high transmittance. Furthermore they can be driven with low voltage, and what is more, have a larger holding capacity generated as collateral effect, which means that they yield good display quality without special provision of auxiliary capacity lines.
There is formed in such an FFS mode liquid crystal display panel a transverse electric field primarily in a direction substantially orthogonal to the longer sides of the slits. When the panel is driven to transmit light, the slits in the pixel electrodes and pixel electrode portions laid in parallel with the slits transmit light in lines in such a manner that both the slits and pixel electrode portions appear to emit light in lines. On the shorter sides of the slits where their ends in the longitudinal direction are closed, a transverse electric field primarily in a direction substantially orthogonal to the shorter sides is formed. Consequently, the two-direction transverse electric fields cause a reverse twist in part of the liquid crystal molecules, whereby transmitted light cannot be accurately controlled and thus brightness is lowered.
In the FFS mode liquid crystal display panel 70C shown in FIG. 13, each slit 77C provided in the pixel electrode 78C has the open end 77C′ on one side, thereby making the liquid crystal element twist with an electric field normally formed in a portion before the open end 77C′ of each slit, which has a fringe effect. Consequently, a display opening area in this display panel is wider by a width M than an FFS mode liquid crystal display panel having slits whose both ends in the longitudinal direction are closed. As a result, an FFS mode liquid crystal display panel is obtained that provides brighter displays.
This arrangement of the slits in pixel electrodes extending in a direction crossing the signal lines, however, sometimes causes color mixture in the FFS mode liquid crystal display panel 70C having the slits whose ends are open on one side. Upon conducting a series of various investigations into the causes of the occurrence of the color mixture in such an FFS mode liquid crystal display panel having slits whose ends are open on one side, the present inventors found that it was due to causes described below.
As shown in FIG. 13B, which is a sectional view also showing the color filter substrate along line XIIIB-XIIIB in FIG. 13A, a centerline 91 along the signal line 74 of the pixel electrode 78C in each pixel is physically located at the center in the width direction of the pixel electrode 78C. In contrast, the display width L2 extends from one (closed) end of each slit 77C in the pixel electrode 78C to another (open) end 77C′ plus the width M as shown in FIG. 13B. Therefore, a display centerline 92 of the display region along the signal line 74 is located nearer to the open end 77C′ of each slit 77C. Since the right and left ends of the color filter coincident with centers of the signal lines 74 in the related-art arrangement, as viewed from above, Rm is larger than Lm (Rm>Lm) where Rm is a distance from the left end of the filter to a median position between adjacent display regions and Lm is a distance from the right end of the filter to that median position.
A distance ΔL from the centerline 91 of the pixel electrode 78C and the display centerline 92 is determined by the formula below:ΔL=(L1−L2)/2where L1 is the width of the pixel electrode 78C. The distance ΔL varies depending on manufacturing devices and other factors, and generally ranges from about 1 to 5 μm.
This causes a problem when the array substrate AR and color filter substrate CF are combined. The display region is located nearer to the edge of the pixel electrode 78C on the open end 77C′ side of each slit 77C, giving a low tolerance Lm for misalignment. In contrast, the display region is located away from the edge of the pixel electrode 78C on the closed end side of each slit 77C, giving a high tolerance Rm for misalignment. Consequently, supposing that the open end 77C′ of each slit 77C is on the right, moderate misalignment of the color filter substrate CF to the right will cause no change in displayed colors, but a bit of misalignment of the substrate CF to the left will result in color mixture because the substrate overlaps an adjacent display region. While a black matrix can be interposed between adjacent color filters in the color filter substrate CF to prevent color mixture, if an attempt is made to form the black matrix to prevent color mixture in consideration of the potential for misalignment of the substrate, the black matrix, which does not transmit any light, becomes so thick that transmittance will be compromised.

Fringe field switching liquid crystal display panel


A color image forming apparatus is described. The color image forming apparatus may includes: a belt that travels in a prescribed direction; a plurality of image carriers arranged in parallel in the prescribed direction, and opposed to the belt and carrying developing agent images of different colors respectively; a backup roller arranged in opposed relation to the belt; a cleaning roller arranged in opposed relation to the backup roller with the belt sandwiched therebetween, and adsorbing an adherent to the belt by a potential difference produced between the backup roller and the cleaning roller; and a discharge member opposed to the belt between a position more downstream in the prescribed direction than a position where the cleaning roller is opposed to the belt and a position more upstream in the prescribed direction than a position where the image carrier arranged on the most upstream side in the prescribed direction is opposed to the belt, for discharging the belt.

Conventionally, in color image forming apparatuses, such as a color laser printer, a method of transferring a toner image formed on a surface of a photosensitive drum to a sheet transported by a sheet transport belt, and a method of once transferring a toner image formed on a surface of a photosensitive drum to an intermediate transfer belt and then transferring it to a sheet therefrom have been known.
A belt, such as the sheet transport belt and the intermediate transfer belt, is wound around a plurality of rollers, and arranged so as to come in contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum. Therefore, the contact of the belt with the photosensitive drum causes a toner to be shifted and adhered to the surface of the belt, and the contact of the belt with a sheet causes a sheet dust to be adhered thereon.
A color image forming apparatus including such a belt is provided with a cleaning unit for removing the adherent on the surface of the belt. As the cleaning unit, one that makes a cleaning blade or a fur brush contact with the surface of the belt and then physically removes the adherent thereon has been known.
Another structure of the cleaning unit can be considered in which a cleaning roller is arranged in contact with the surface of the belt and a bias is applied to the cleaning roller, so that a potential difference is produced between the cleaning roller and the belt, whereby an electrostatic force causes the adherent on the surface of the belt to be shifted to the cleaning roller.
However, under the effect of the bias applied to the cleaning roller, the belt is charged, and due to the charging (uneven charging), a white patch (phenomenon in which an image is not locally printed) may appear in an image formed on a sheet.

Color image forming apparatus with discharge member


The invention relates to a rotary seal chuck of an optical fiber preform rod deposition lathe, comprising a fixed socket sleeve and a rotary shaft. The fixed socket sleeve is provided with a central hole base. The central hole base bears the rotary shaft through a bearing. An end of the central hole base is connected to an air hose. The rotary shaft is a hollow rotary shaft provided with a through hole. One end of the through hole communicates with the air hose, and the other end of the through hole is provided with a liner tube connecting sealing hole base. A magnetic fluid seal ring is disposed at a joint between an inner side of the rotary shaft and the central hole base of the fixed socket sleeve, to form a rotary dynamic seal. An outer side of the rotary shaft is connected to a rotary driving disk.

PCVD machining of an optical fiber preform rod is implemented through an optical fiber preform rod deposition lathe, and the PCVD machining process is performing plasma chemical vapor deposition inside a pure silica glass liner, and during the deposition, the pure silica glass liner is sealed and clamped by rotary seal chucks at two ends thereof; the rotary seal chuck seals the rotary seal chuck itself and two ends of the glass liner while clamping the glass liner and rotating at a constant speed, so that chemical gas participating the deposition flows from one end of the glass liner to the other end in sealed state, and the inner pressure in the liner is kept to avoid the leakage of the chemical gas and entrance of the external gas, thereby ensuring the quality of the deposition machining of the optical fiber preform rod. The dynamic seal performance of the rotary seal chuck is critical here. A dynamic seal part of a conventional rotary seal chuck is a rubber seal ring structure, which has the following defects during use: first, in order to ensure the seal performance, a linear contact area of the rubber seal ring must ensure an enough amount of compression, and a contact area of the inner ring and outer ring of the rubber ring and a rotation shaft as well as a fixed shaft must be large enough, so that not only great rotation friction is generated, but also the rubber part is inevitably worn, and therefore, the seal performance of the rubber seal ring is deteriorated after being used for a period of time, and the service life of the whole chuck device is short; second, sweeps generated by wearing of the rubber seal ring fall into an inner hole of the rotation shaft and is fixed to the chemical gas to contaminate the inner cavity of the glass liner, thereby affecting the deposition quality of the glass liner, which may cause an inferior work piece or even scrap when being serious.
Therefore, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the art to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.

Rotary seal chuck of optical fiber preform rod deposition lathe

YANGTZE OPTICAL FIBRE AND CABLE JOINT STOCK LIMITED COMPANY


Quaternary salts having a double helix structure are prepared by the reaction of dihydroxyaromatic compound, preferably a bisphenol, with an alkali metal hydroxide and a quaternary salt, such as a tetraalkylammonium or hexaalkylguanidinium chloride. The quaternary salts and their alkaline hydrolysis products are useful as catalysts in various reactions, including imide formation from bisphenol salts and halo- or nitro-substituted phthalimides and redistribution and equilibration of polycarbonates.

This invention relates to bisphenol chemistry, and more particularly to the preparation of a genus of catalysts containing bisphenol moieties.
The use of tetraalkylammonium and hexaalkylguanidinium salts as phase transfer catalysts in the preparation of various polymers is known. In particular, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,273,712 and 5,132,423 disclose the reaction of bisphenol salts with halo- or nitro-substituted phthalimides in an organic medium to produce bisimides which, upon conversion to dianhydrides and reaction with diamines, form polyetherimides. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,787,364, 3,838,097, 3,847,869 and 5,229,482 disclose a similarly phase transfer catalyzed reaction of bisphenol salts with halo- or nitro-substituted bis(phthalimido) derivatives of aromatic diamines or with similar compounds, resulting in the direct formation of polyetherimides and other polyether polymers. The phase transfer catalysts employed according to U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,132,423 and 5,229,482 are guanidinium and especially hexaalkylguanidinium salts; in the other patents, tetraalkylammonium salts are disclosed as suitable catalysts.
The hexaalkylguanidinium salts which are easiest to prepare are the chlorides, but they are hygroscopic. It is burdensome to store them in anhydrous form and subsequently dry them or to isolate them in anhydrous form, which is essential for the polyetherimide-forming reactions.
One of the by-products in the reaction of bisphenol salts with nitro-substituted compounds is an alkali metal nitrite, typically sodium nitrite. It is ordinarily removed by washing the organic reaction system with water. It would be desirable to recover the sodium nitrite and sell it for further use.
However, chloride levels in by-product nitrite salts are high, which can cause corrosion of metal reaction vessels in contact therewith. In addition, commercial applicability requires that sodium nitrite contain a very low chloride level, typically no greater than 100 ppm by weight, which is difficult or impossible to attain with the use of a hexaalkylguanidinium chloride, for example, as a phase transfer catalyst.
For these reasons and others, it is desirable to prepare non-hygroscopic hexaalkylguanidinium and tetraalkylammonium salts, as well as salts containing an anion other than chloride.

Quaternary bisphenolates, methods for their preparation, and uses thereof


The invention provides a polynuclear compound comprising two or more metal-hapto-3-capped nidocarborane groups. Also provided is the use of such a compound as a catalyst in a chemical reaction such as a hydrogenation or oxidation reaction.

This invention relates to metallacarboranes and to the use of metallacarboranes in the a of catalysis.
A carborane is a mixed hydride of boron and carbon containing a polyhedral framework of boron atoms which also includes one or more carbon atom. There are several classes of carboranes, two of which are of particular importance, the closo and nido categories. The prefix closo is used to designate those carboranes in which the framework is a complete deltahedron. The prefix nido designates those frameworks which are xe2x80x9copenxe2x80x9d, that is, one deltahedral site is incomplete.
Polyhedral closocarboranes have the formula Bnxe2x88x922C2Hn(nxe2x89xa75) and they may be prepared in a variety of ways. By way of examples reference will be made to dicarba-coso-dodecaboranes. 1,2-, 1,7- and 1,12-isomers exist, known respectively as ortho-caborane, meta-carborane and para-carborane. Icosahedral carboranes have high thermal stabilities, they are air stable and exhibit considerable chemical robustness.
Ortho-carboranes, R2C2B10H10, may be prepared by reaction of decaborane adducts, B10H12L2 (where L=dms, acetonitrile), with the appropriately substituted acetylene (RCxe2x95x90CR1).
Meta-carborane can be prepared quantitatively by thermal isomerisation of ortho-carborane at 460xc2x0 C., while para-carborane may be obtained by thermal isomerisation of the meta-isomer at 620xc2x0 C. However, the high temperatures required for these isomerisations render them unsuitable as routes to most substituted carboranes and alternative routes to substituted meta- and para-carboranes are used.
The hydrogen atoms on the carbons of dicarba-closo-dodecaboranes are acidic and thus undergo reaction with organolithium reagents (such as butyllithium) to produce C-lithiated carboranes. This carboranyl carbon lithium bond is itself susceptible to electrophilic attack, providing a means of preparing substituted meta- and para-carboranes. Carboranyl Grignard agents and copper derivatives can be prepared and used in a similar manner.
Other sigma-bonded carborane metal complexes have been reported in the literature, especially complexes of transition metals. F-block metal complexes have been reported but only with lanthanum, terbium and ytterbium as well as tentative reports of complexes with samarium and europium. No sigma-bonded actinide systems have been reported. Both 1,2- and 1,7-B10C2H12 can be degraded by strong bases to give isomeric B9C2H12 ions. This removal of a BH2+ unit from the parent carborane can be considered to result from nucleophilic attack at the most electron-deficient boron atom of the carborane. The B9C2Hxe2x88x9212 ions can be protonated to form the neutral nidocarborane, B9C2H13, which is a strong acid.
There are also many literature reports of pi-bonded metallacarboranes, again with transition metals. An actinide complex is reported by Fronczek et al in JACS, 99:6 1977 at page 1769. This results from the reaction of UCl4 with the B9C2H112xe2x88x92 anion in tetrahydrofuran solution and inert atmosphere conditions. The complex anion [U(B9C2H11)2Cl2]2xe2x88x92 has been isolated as several air-sensitive crystalline salts.
An NR2 bridged system has been reported by Plesek in Collect. Czech Chem Comm, vol 59, 1994 at page 374. An asymmetric cobaltacarborane complex is described which contains a monoatomic nitrogen bridge between both carborane units.
In addition to the carborane monomers mentioned above, substituted monomers may be prepared, an example being as shown in accompanying FIG. 9A.
Furthermore, oligomer structures have been prepared. By way of example, a structure having two carborane units is illustrated in FIG. 9B.
In addition, cyclic structures are known. Cyclic oligomers include dimer and trimer systems in particular, but higher ring sizes may be possible. The compounds shown in FIGS. 9C (where X is CH or N) and FIG. 9D (where X is Si, Sn or As) represent examples of cyclic structures.
In general, metals can be sandwiched between two nido anions or linked to just one anion to produce an xe2x80x9copen sandwichxe2x80x9d. An open sandwich structure leaves the remainder of the metal coordination available for occupation by other ligands. For example, certain RH(III) clusters have been disclosed by M F Hawthorne in Mol. Struct.Energ., vol 5, 1988, page 225 as homogeneous catalyst precursors for alkene isomerization or hydrogenation.
According to the present invention there is provided a polynuclear compound comprising two or more metal-hapto-3-capped nidocarborane groups. Preferably, a compound of the invention has at least one other real coordination site filled by a monodentate ligand.
Preferably, the compound of the invention has a cyclic structure.
Preferably, a compound of the invention includes two or three nidocarborane groups.
One class of compounds comprises oligomers of the polynuclear compounds. ie a chain of two or more of the polynuclear compounds of the invention, suitably linked by the reaction together of chemically reactive groups on subsituents of the nidocarborane units.
A preferred compound in accordance with the present invention is one in which two or more nidocarborane groups are linked together by a phenyl, pyridyl, triazyl, B(OH), CO, SO, CH2 or B(Ph) group, such that linear or cyclic structures are formed. The cyclic structures may have metals coordinated in the central cavity.
Preferred compounds contain a metal taken from F block metals, Rh, Co, Mn, Ru, Pd, W, Fe, Ni, Pt, Cr or Mo, and may contain the same metal at each site or different metals at each site.
A preferred metallacarborane includes two or more carborane units linked by means of a benzene ring, a pyridine ring or a triazine ring.
Preferably, the carborane units are functionalised (ie substituted) or linked in the 1,3, 1,4 or 1,5 (ie ortho, meta or para) positions. For functionalised carborane units, various substituent groups can be used including phenyl, alkyl (eg methyl) or a group (eg containing a phenyl or alkyl residue) having a reactive factional group (eg xe2x80x94COOH, an ester or an unsaturated group such as an ethylenic double bond). The functionalisation may or may not be symmetrical.
For the linkages within the linear or cyclic polynuclear compounds, particularly preferred units include phenyl (connected meta or para), pyridine, CO, SO, CH2 and B(OH).
The present invention also provides a method of carrying out a chemical reaction in which a compound of any of the preceding claims acts as a catalyst in the reaction. Compounds of the invention may be of use in, for instance, hydrogenation, isomerisation, polymerisation and oxidation reactions. For instance, a compound of the invention in which the metal is Rhodium may be used as a hydrogenation catalyst and a compound of the invention in which the metal is Uranium may be used as an oxidation catalyst.


A portable computing device for opening a door (an electronic door opener) and a method for its use is disclosed. The computing device has a shared secret key, a standard certificate, means for communicating with the door, and a processor adapted for performing operations with shared secret keys and standard certificates. The door also possesses the same shared secret key. Under normal operation, messages encoded with the shared secret key serve to establish a right to open the door. The portable computing device's standard certificate is used to respond to occasional challenges by the door, and to generate the shared secret key. Biometric capabilities of the portable computing device add an additional layer of security in screening the identity of the user of the device. A security system for controlling access, involving a first plurality of computing devices and a second plurality of doors, and operating based on shared secret keys and occasional challenges is also disclosed.

Permitting access through a door to the right person while keeping unwanted ones out is a common problem. There is always a tradeoff between security, that is to make sure that no one unauthorized enters, and the burden that is imposed in difficulty and time on the right persons to prove their identity for entering. Such problems are in the general domain of doors and keys.

Portable electronic door opener device and method for secure door opening

International Business Machines Corporation


A piston assembly for a door closer includes a piston formed with a mounting hole and a door closer valve installed with clearance in the mounting hole. The door closer valve has a body part with first and second formations at opposite respective ends of the body part for engaging opposite respective sides of the piston and retaining the valve in the mounting hole. The body part is movable in the mounting hole axially of the mounting hole. The first formation is a protruding flange for seating against the piston at the first side thereof around the mounting hole and creating a seal around the mounting hole.

The object of the invention is a door closer valve. Furthermore, a particular object of the invention is a door closer valve that also includes a check valve part.
A door closer includes a valve through which fluid contained in the door closer, usually oil, can flow from one side of the door closer piston to the opposite side. When the door is opened, the door closer piston presses the door closer spring. Oil will simultaneously flow through the valve to the other side of the piston. When the force of the pressed spring closes the door, the oil flows back to the opposite side through a separate flow passage having its cross-sectional area adjusted appropriately to make the door close smoothly, not abruptly. Thus the valve does not let the oil flow to the opposite side.
EP 1293633 describes such a valve solution that also includes a check valve part. When the door is closed, the check valve part opens at a certain value of oil pressure (that is, at over-pressure) which lets the oil flow to the opposite side. Appropriate dimensioning of the check valve affects the oil flow rate and therefore the rate at which the over-pressure condition is eliminated.
Known publications use a separate gasket to seal the reverse direction of the valve. In order to hold the gasket in place, a projection or cavity preferably has to be shaped in the valve body. This will cause additional costs, as will the gasket itself. However, the valve should be as inexpensive to manufacture as possible. The objective of the invention is to reduce the costs of manufacturing the valve.


A liquid discharge device includes a head having a piezoelectric element that vibrates a vibrating plate, a pressure chamber for which the internal pressure is increased and decreased by vibration of the vibrating plate, and a nozzle in communication with the pressure chamber, that can discharge a liquid by increasing and decreasing the pressure of the pressure chamber, a drive unit that outputs drive signals to the piezoelectric element, a testing unit that tests discharge abnormality of the nozzle based on a vibration pattern of residual vibration inside the pressure chamber that occurs due to the drive signals, and a control unit that has the drive unit output a second drive signal after having it output a first drive signal, and that has the testing unit detect the discharge abnormality of the nozzle after the second drive signal is output.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a liquid discharge device, and a discharge abnormality testing method.
2. Related Art
From the past, inkjet printers as liquid discharge devices for which liquid (ink) is discharged as droplets from nozzles of a head (inkjet head) using the inkjet method to perform image formation on media have become widely popular since it is easy to obtain a high quality printed object at a relatively low cost. The inkjet printer head has a piezoelectric element for vibrating a vibrating plate, a pressure chamber for which liquid is stored in the interior, for increasing and decreasing the internal pressure using vibration of the vibration plate, and a plurality of nozzles provided in communication with the pressure chamber on the head nozzle surface, and liquid is discharged from the nozzles by the piezoelectric element being driven by drive signals to increase and decrease the pressure of the pressure chamber.
In recent years, there has been even further increase in demand for the quality of formed images, and along with that, an even larger number of nozzles are being provided on the nozzle surface of the inkjet printer head. With this kind of head, due to reasons such as an increase in ink viscosity, mixing in of air bubbles, adhesion of dust, paper powder or the like, there are cases when among the large number of nozzles, several nozzles become clogged, and it is not possible to discharge ink droplets. When nozzles become clogged, missing dots occur within the printed image, which is a cause of image quality degradation.
As a method of detecting liquid discharge abnormalities to prevent image quality degradation of images such as of missing dots or the like, for example in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2007-30343, introduced is a method whereby drive signals are output to a piezoelectric element, the residual vibration after changes in pressure within the pressure chamber due to those drive signals are detected as changes in the electromotive force of the piezoelectric element, and based on the vibration pattern of that residual vibration, abnormalities are detected in the discharge of ink from the nozzle. Using this discharge abnormality detection method, the presence or absence of discharge abnormalities is confirmed, and when a discharge abnormality is detected, by performing maintenance processing such as nozzle surface sweeping, cleaning or the like, it is possible to prevent image quality degradation.

Liquid discharge device, and discharge abnormality testing method


An apparatus and method for facilitating the grinding wheel sharpening of contour knife blades having a contoured cutting edge formed along one side thereof includes contour profile knife blades having a passageway formed therethrough, the passageway having an opening into the flat surface of the knife blade and an opening into the mounting surface of the knife blade, the opening into the flat surface being of greater diameter than the opening to the mounting surface. A tool bar having linearly-aligned threaded openings formed therein is provided so that the knife blades may be mounted to the tool bar for grinding wheel sharpening thereof, the knife blades being mounted to the tool bar utilizing screws such that the heads of the screws are intermediate the opening the opening in the flat surface and the opening in the mounting surface sufficiently removed from the grinding wheel so that when the selected portion of the knife blade is ground away for sharpening, the screw head is not contacted by the grinding wheel, thus providing a method and apparatus for sharpening contour knife blades utilizing conventional equipment.

When cutting contours in wood for applications in cabinets, door parts, or the like, a special cutting tool consisting of a rotating cutter head having a plurality of contoured blades attached thereto is used. The blade contours define the contours which are ultimately cut into the wood. By utilizing precision contoured blades, cabinet doors and other wood products utilizing contoured molding fit together properly and provide a neat and attractive appearance.
In order to maintain product consistency and precision fits, the contoured blades must be removed periodically and sharpened to preserve the ability of the cutter to provide precision cuts, and it is important that all blades from a single cutting head are sharpened identically.
Typically, the contour knife blades are made from tool steel or carbide. The knives made from tool steel tend to wear quickly, which typically rounds the cutting edge. The preferred known method of sharpening the blades is to grind away a portion of the profile edge, which is the cutting edge that defines the contour shape. This so-called "profile grinding" requires a highly skilled operator and the equipment necessary is costly. This method of sharpening reduces the overall size of the contour which requires changes in the mounting arrangement of the blades in the rotary cutter head. Further, since each knife is sharpened individually and on the profile surface, the resultant sharpened blades are less likely to produce a precision contour cut than new blades, resulting in poorly fitted moldings.
Currently, many cutting blades are being formed of carbide due to its ability to withstand continued use over a longer period of time than tool steel, as well as its enhanced ability to hold an edge. Carbide contour knife blades can be disposable which greatly increases the cost of contour cutting operations while wasting materials. This method does, however, maintain the precision of the contour cut. Other carbide blades are resharpenable, but heretofore have been resharpenable only by profile grinding. Accordingly, there is a need for an apparatus and a method of sharpening carbide blades which maintains a precision contour profile and does not require a highly skilled operator.

Apparatus and method for sharpening contour profile cutter blades


A product dispenser includes a receptacle having a cylindrical body that is open at one of its ends, a piston that is axially movable in translation in the body, and a drive screw passing through an orifice in the piston. The orifice is provided with a link suitable for transforming rotary motion of the screw into axial displacement of the piston. The screw is rotated by a drive member accessible to the user, and the link is radially deformable. The link is organized to deform radially in contact with the thread of the screw when the screw is forced to move axially relative to the link, thereby allowing relative axial movement between the screw and the link even if the screw is not rotated.

It is already known that such dispensers can be used for packaging and applying deodorants in stick form, i.e. in the form of a solid cake.
Such dispensers comprise a receptacle having a cylindrical body that is open at one of its ends, a piston that is axially movable in translation inside the body, and a drive screw mounted to rotate inside the receptacle and passing through a tapped orifice in the piston.
The stick is associated with the piston and by turning the drive member in the appropriate direction, the piston is caused, under drive from rotation of the drive screw, to move towards the open end of the cylindrical body so as to extend the stick and enable the product to be removed by rubbing. By turning the drive member in the opposite direction, the piston is moved in the opposite direction to retract the stick of product and to enable a closure cap to be put into place on the receptacle.
When assembling the dispenser, in order to mount the piston inside the cylindrical body of the receptacle, a first solution consists in initially mounting the drive screw inside the receptacle, and in subsequently engaging the tapped orifice of the piston on the free end of the screw. The piston is then moved into the receptacle by turning the drive member. That solution can be difficult to implement when the drive member is constituted by a knurled knob which is accessible only through windows formed in the base of the receptacle since that reduces the available contact area and increases the number of handling operations that need to be performed to rotate the knob.
Another solution has thus been proposed which consists in making the central portion of the piston removable by means of a snap-fastening and by ensuring that the transverse size of the central portion is small enough to enable it to be inserted at the end of a rotary tool via the open end of the cylindrical body and then displaced along the drive screw by rotating the tool until a predetermined position is reached inside the receptacle. Thereafter, it suffices to cause the remaining portion of the piston to slide from the open end of the cylindrical body until it snap-fastens onto the central portion of the piston which is already in place inside the receptacle. With that solution, there is thus no longer any need to rotate the drive member in order to position the piston inside the receptacle.

Product dispenser having a rotary drive member, and a method of manufacture


Systems and methods are provided for managing the computational resources of coprocessor(s), such as graphics processor(s), in a computing system. The systems and methods illustrate management of computational resources of coprocessors to facilitate efficient execution of multiple applications in a multitasking environment. By enabling multiple threads of execution to compose command buffers in parallel, submitting those command buffers for scheduling and dispatch by the operating system, and fielding interrupts that notify of completion of command buffers, the system enables multiple applications to efficiently share the computational resources available in the system.

Beginning with the first time-sharing system in the mid-1960s, operating systems (OSs) have implemented numerous methods of allowing multiple applications to share computational resources of a computer without knowledge of one another. By allocating small 'time slices' to each application, and interrupting when a 'time slice' has expired, a computer can present each application with the illusion that it is running alone on the computer. For example, two applications could be running on a system with 1 millisecond time slices. In such a case, each application would run somewhat less than half as fast (due to the overhead needed to swap between the two) than if they were running on the computer alone, each getting about 500 time slices per second. Longer time slices involve less overhead, but also result in a coarser granularity of execution, making the system less suitable for timing-sensitive applications.
An enormous amount of work has gone into developing various abstractions such as virtual memory, processes, and threads that interact to provide applications with software models that enable the computational resources of the central processing unit (CPU) to be shared. However, these abstractions have not yet been augmented so that they can apply to the management of computational resources in graphics processing units (GPUs) as well as host microprocessors.
In this regard, in the last few years, graphics processors have become significantly more functional. The number of transistors in PC graphics chips has grown far faster than Moore's Law would suggest, i.e., the number of transistors in graphics chips has grown from about 200,000 in 1995 to about 60,000,000 transistors in 2001. The computational power of these chips has also increased with the number of transistors; that is, not only can graphics chips process more data, but they can also apply more sophisticated computations to the data as well. As a result, today, the graphics chip(s) in a computer system can be considered a computational resource that complements the computational resources of the host microprocessor(s).
The software model presented by a graphics chip is somewhat different than the software model presented by the host microprocessor. Both models involve context, a set of data that describes exactly what the processor is doing. The contexts may contain data registers, which contain intermediate results of whatever operation is currently being performed, or control registers, which change the processor's behavior when it performs certain operations. On a 32-bit INTEL® processor, for example, the EAX data register is used as an accumulator, to perform multiplications, to hold function return values, and so on. The floating point control word (FPCW) is a control register that controls how floating point instructions round inexact results (single, double, or extended precision, toward positive or negative infinity, toward zero, or toward the nearest; and so on). As a general rule, however, graphics processors have a great deal more state in control registers than general-purpose microprocessors. Graphics processors' high performance stems from their pipelined, flexible, yet fixed function architecture. A great deal of control register state is needed to set up the operations performed by the graphics processor. For example, a set of control registers may include (a) the base address(es) and dimensions of one or more texture maps currently serving as input, (b) the texture addressing and filtering modes, the blending operation to perform between texture values and interpolated color values, (c) the tests to apply to the alpha and Z values of the fragment to decide whether to incorporate it into the color buffer and (d) the alpha blend operation to use when incorporating the color fragment into the color buffer at the final rendering stage. While graphics processors contain numerous scratch registers such as iterators that control their processing, generally it is not necessary to save those registers during context switches because context switches are not permitted on a granularity that requires them to be saved. In any case, even if such registers must be saved during a context switch, generally they are not directly available to software applications. The opacity of volatile register state to client software is merely one distinction between the software model presented by graphics processors, as compared to the software model presented by general purpose microprocessors.
To date, attempts to manage the computational resources of coprocessors, such as graphics processors, have been ad hoc at best. Historically, there has not been much demand for careful management of these computational resources because only one application has been active at a time. In the context of the commercial workstation applications that 3D acceleration hardware initially was designed to accelerate, such as 3D modeling and animation, end users typically would operate one application at a time. Even if more than one application were active at a given time, the end user would perform a significant amount of work on each application before switching to another and the granularity of switching between applications was on the order of seconds or much longer. Game applications, the second set of applications to substantially benefit from graphics hardware acceleration, also are typically run one at a time. In fact, the DIRECTX® application programming interfaces (APIs) in WINDOWS® specifically enable game applications to gain exclusive access to the hardware resources in the computer system and particularly the graphics chip.
As graphics chips become more functional, it is reasonable to expect the number of active applications that demand significant computational resources from them to increase, and for the granularity of switching between these applications to become finer. In some areas, this trend is already evident. For example, video decoding acceleration such as hardware-accelerated motion compensation ("mocomp") and integer discrete cosine transform ("IDCT") has been added to most graphics chips in the 2001 timeframe. Since it is possible to launch a video playback application and run other applications at the same time, playing back video and running any other application that demands computational resources from the graphics processor will require careful management of those resources, to ensure that the video playback and other application(s) both deliver a high quality end user experience.
Other potential sources of increased demand for graphics processors' computational resources include the composition of multiple applications' output, and improved utilization of hardware acceleration by 2D graphics APIs such as GDI (graphical developer interface) or GDI+. In short, the need for efficient and effective management of computational resources of graphics processor(s) in a computing system will only be increasing, along with the increasing power, flexibility and speed of the graphic processors themselves and along with increasing number of applications making simultaneous use of the computational resources of the graphics processors.

Methods and system for managing computational resources of a coprocessor in a computing system


An exposure apparatus and method wherein a mask is illuminated with light and light one of transmitted through and reflected from the illuminated mask is imaged onto a substrate. At least during imaging, transmission of light one of transmitted and reflected from the illuminated mask is partially inhibited. More particularly, a spatial filter is utilized for inhibiting at least a portion of O-order diffraction light.

The present invention relates to an exposure method and apparatus therefor, an exposure system and a mask circuit pattern inspection system, which eliminate an influence of interference light generated in an extremely fine circuit pattern formed on a mask, so that an image is formed with a high resolving power on a substrate through a projection lens and exposed and, further, wherein the light source is an excimer laser light source.
In the manufacture of an LSI, a circuit pattern on a mask is exposed and transferred onto a wafer to form a fine circuit pattern on the wafer. However, to cope with the need of high integration of LSI, the circuit pattern transferred onto the wafer tends to be an extremely fine pattern, which constitutes a resolution limit of an imaging optical system.
In view of the foregoing, various techniques have been developed in order to transfer an extremely fine circuit pattern.
For example, there is a method for exposure using X-rays such as SOR (Synchrotron Organized Resonance) light. There is a further method which uses an EB (Electron Beam) exposure machine. Furthermore, there is another method using an excimer laser disclosed in "Excimer Laser Stepper for Sub-half Micron Lithography, Akikazu Tanimoto, SPIE, Vol. 1088 Optical Laser Microlithography 2 (1989)" or Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 57(1982)-198631.
A theoretical analysis of partial coherent imaging is introduced in "Stepper's Optics (1), (2), (3) and (4)" (Optical Technical Contact: Vol. 27, No. 12, pp. 762-771, Vol. 28, No. 1, pp. 59-67, Col. 28, No. 2, pp. 108-119, Vol. 28, No. 3, pp. 165-175).
Also, Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 3-27516 describes an example in which a spatial filter is used to improve a resolving power.
Further, a phase shifter method for modifying a mask to improve a resolving power is known from Japanese Patent Publication No. 62(1987)-50811. According to this phase shifter method, light from a neighboring pattern is made to interfere, thereby enhancing the resolving power, which is realized by providing a film (a phase shifter) with phases alternately deviated through .pi. so that phases of adjacent patterns are inverted. However, the prior art known from the aforementioned Patent Publication No. 62(1987)-50811 has a problem in that an arrangement of the phase shifter is difficult, and the manufacture of a mask provided with the phase shifter is difficult.


A bacteriocin produced by Lactococcus lactis NRRL-B-18535 is described. The bacteriocin is useful in foods and other materials and has a wide spectrum of activity against Gram-positive bacteria in a pH range between 2 and 8.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a novel bacteriocin derived from a Lactococcus and method of use to inhibit bacteria, particularly in foods and other materials in need of protection from the bacteria. The present invention particularly relates to a bacteriocin produced by Lactococcus lactis LL-1 deposited as NRRL-B-18535 (previously known as Streptococcus lactis).
2. Prior Art
The lactic streptococci have been previously described to produce a variety of polypeptide antibiotics, diplococcin, lactostrepcins and bacteriocins (Klaenhammer, T. R., Biochemie 70: 337-349 (1988)). The term nisin describes a family of polypeptide antibiotics produced by Lactococcus lactis that prevents the outgrowth of Clostridium and Bacillus spores (Eapen, K. C., et al., J. Food. Sci. Technol. 20: 231-240 (1983)). Bacteriocins are also produced by pediococci.
Diplococcin is an antimicrobial agent produced by Lactococcus cremoris. This inhibitor does not inhibit sporeformers and is only active against other dairy lactococci (Davey, G. P. and B. C. Richardson., Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 41:84-89 (1981)).
Lactostrepcins are inhibitory proteins produced by the lactococci that inhibit other streptococci. These molecules are active at relatively low pH and activity is completely lost when the pH is raised to 7.0 (Kozak, W., et al., J. Dairy Res. 45: 247-257 (1978)).
Bacteriocins produced by lactic lactococci have been observed in many commercial strains (Geis, A., et al., Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 45:205-211 (1983)). Eight bacteriocin types (I-VIII) have been identified on the basis of their activity spectrum, proteolytic enzyme susceptibility, heat stability and cross-reaction with other bacteriocin producers (Geis, A., et al. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 45:205-211 (1983)).
The problem is that the bacteriocins are not active over a wide pH range. It would be very desirable to provide a bacteriocin which is useful in a wide variety of foods regardless of whether they are acidic or basic.


A vortex angle system includes one or more vortex angle sensors disposed on one or more wingtips of an aircraft. A summing circuit and computer compare signals from each sensor to provide a signal, which is indicative of the average vortex angle of the aircraft.

Modern commercial aircraft typically include a stall warning system which is triggered by the angle of attack of the aircraft as determined by an angle of attack vane. Such aircraft also include an integrated airspeed control command and display system which aids a pilot during take-off, climb out, let down, approach, landing and go-around maneuvers. Such integrated systems are also based on various parameters relating to flight conditions including the aircraft's angle of attack as determined by an angle of attack vane or the like.
It is customary to locate the angle of attack vane on the sides of an aircraft's fuselage. However, these side mountings may lead to problems when the aircraft is in a banked turn or flown in a yawed flight. Under such conditions, i.e. when an aircraft is in a banked turn or flown in a yawed condition, the position of the angle of attack sensing vane will be determined by the local airflow passing the vane. The angle of attack vanes are usually located so that the changes in the local airflow at the vane cause the vane to pivot in accordance with the angle of attack. The local airflow at these fuselage locations are determined to a lesser extent by the yaw of the aircraft so that the indicated angle of attack is actually a function of both the angle of attack and the yaw.
One approach for avoiding yaw induced problems is disclosed in my earlier patent for an aircraft control system, as disclosed in my U.S. Pat. No. 5,590,853. As disclosed therein, an aircraft control system computes a yaw compensated angle of attack. The system includes an angle of attack sensor for generating a signal which represents an aircraft's angle of attack as determined by an angle of attack vane and a transverse accelerometer for generating a signal in response to the lateral acceleration of the aircraft. A summing device sums the two signals to thereby provide a yaw compensated angle of attack signal.
All aircraft produce wake vortices like two small horizontal tornadoes trailing behind the wingtips. The larger and heavier the plane the stronger the wake. These vortices result from the outflow and uplift of air around the wingtip of an aircraft and have a relationship to a wing's lift. Accordingly, it is believed that measuring the airflow angle at the wingtip, referred to hereinafter as the vortex angle may provide more accurate information than a conventional angle of attack system.
Accordingly, it is presently believed that there may be a commercial market for an airflow system to measure the vortex angle. There should be a commercial market for a system in accordance with the present invention because it is believed that such system will reduce or eliminate problems associated with banked turns and yaw particularly during landings and provide a more accurate indication of the vortex angle as the plane banks and turns.
Further, the systems in accordance with the present invention should be less likely to be physically damaged when a plane is being served or worked on. Such systems will also be accessible and readily replaced in the event of damage, are durable and can be produced and installed at a reasonable cost.

System for measuring an airflow angle at the wingtip of an aircraft


The invention provides a substrate device having thin film transistors (TFTs), each including a semiconductor layer and capacitors formed above the TFTs, that are provided on a substrate. Each of the capacitors can include a first electrode electrically connected to a part of the semiconductor layer, a second electrode arranged to face the first electrode, and a dielectric film including a nitride film arranged between the first electrode and the second electrode on the substrate. Further, the nitride film has an aperture facing the semiconductor layer as seen in plan view. Accordingly, it is possible to effectively hydrogenate the semiconductor layer using the aperture.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to the art of a substrate device, such as a thin film transistor (TFT) array substrate device, in which TFTs are formed, a method for manufacturing the same, and an electro-optical device such as a liquid crystal device and an electronic apparatus provided with such a substrate device.
2. Description of Related Art
A substrate device, such as the TFT, has semiconductor layers, such as polysilicon films or amorphous silicon films each including a source region, a drain region, and a channel region on a substrate such as a quartz substrate. Gate insulating films formed of a high-temperature oxide ("HTO") film, such as a thermal oxide film formed by dry oxidation or wet oxidation, a tetraethyl orthosilicate ("TEOS") film, or a plasma oxide film, are formed on the surfaces of the semiconductor layers. Gate electrode films can be formed on the gate insulating films to form the TFTs on the substrate. The TFTs are formed in individual pixels in an image display region of an electro-optical device, such as a liquid crystal device, to be used as pixel-switching elements in the TFT-array substrate device. TFTs are also formed in a peripheral region of the image display region to be used as a part of a circuit for driving the substrate device.
Also, N-channel type TFTs, which are excellent in carrier mobility because of electrons as carriers, that is, excellent in switching properties, are commonly created in the image display region. CMOS (complementary) type TFTs formed of a pair of an N-channel type TFT and a P-channel type TFT and driven by a small amount of driving current are commonly created in the peripheral region.
The substrate device where the TFTs are formed in the image display region or the peripheral region is widely used in various electro-optical devices including a liquid crystal device of a TFT active matrix driving method. Additionally, such substrate devices are generally required to have superior electrical properties like high performance and high reliability. In particular, it is required that the TFTs that form the substrate device have a higher performance and higher reliability with respect to leakage current properties, interface state density, and a hot carrier tolerance (that is, the leakage current and the interface state density are lower and the hot carrier tolerance is higher). Of course, it is also required to maintain such excellent transistor properties for a relatively long time.
In order to meet such requirements, it is necessary to efficiently perform an appropriate process, that is, the removal or termination of dangling bonds generated in a crystal grain boundary in the semiconductor layer or an interface between the semiconductor layer and the gate insulating film. This is because the on/off properties of the TFTs deteriorate if the dangling bonds resides. Further, it is necessary to prevent moisture from permeating the gate insulating film that forms the TFT or the interface between the gate insulating film and the semiconductor layer. If moisture permeates such film or interface, the threshold voltage Vth of the TFTs increases. In view of maintaining the excellent properties, it is preferable to remove the above-described inconveniences.
Several technique for solving the above problems are provided in conventional technology. However, considering that it is commonly required that the properties of the TFT be generally and significantly improved, it is difficult to say that the complete technique of solving the problems have been proposed.
Further, such problems matter more in the case where the substrate device corresponds to the TFT-array substrate that forms the electro-optical device such as the liquid crystal device capable of displaying images. It is required that such an electro-optical device displays high quality images and maintains high quality images for a long time, which is significantly dependent on the properties of the TFT on the TFT-array substrate.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

System and method of manufacturing a substrate device


An endoscope hood comprises a cap section which has A cap section which has a nail section inside of an inner surface of a tip margin, an attaching section which is disposed to a base terminal of the cap section to be attached to a tip of an inserting section of the endoscope, a soft tube 16 of which tip aperture connects to an inside of the cap section so as to insert the snare sheath therethrough, a snare wire which is inserted in the cap section via the soft tube 16, and a snare wire feeding section which is formed by making a notch section in a part of the soft tube in the nail section in a corresponding position to the tip aperture, such that the snare wire can be spread in the cap section so as to be disposed inside of the nail section, and the center axis of the soft tube is disposed so as to pass through a range of the snare wire feeding section. By doing this, it is possible to provide an endoscope hood and an endoscopic mucosa cutting device having therefore in which it is possible to dispose a loop of the snare wire in an area which is inside of the nail section of the cap section reliably.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an endoscope hood and a endoscopic mucosa cutting device which are used to be inserted in a live organization together with a high frequency snare for a medical operation such as a demucosation for a live organization by conducting a high frequency electric current.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, endoscopic demucosations are performed for cutting a mucosa in a ailing section without performing an abdominal operation but using an endoscope instead. An endoscopic demucosation which used a high frequency snare is know for such a methods.
For such an endoscopic demucosation, an endoscope hood is proposed which is used in an auxiliary manner so as to be attached to a tip of an inserting section of the endoscope (See Japanese Unexamined Utility Application, First Publication No. Hei 6-75402, pages 4 to 5, FIG. 1, and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publications No. 2001-275933, pages 2 to 4, and FIG. 1). In such a case, a nail section which protrudes toward an inside of an tip margin of an approximate cylindrical cap section which is formed by a transparent member in a flange manner is provided so as to be used while being attached to the tip of the inserting section of the endoscope. The mucosa is cut by disposing the snare wire of the high frequency snare which is conducted via a channel in the endoscope over an inner section of the nail section, by absorbing the mucosa in the cap, and grabbing the mucosa by a loop wire of the high frequency snare, and conducting an electricity to the high frequency snare.
Also, an endoscope hood is proposed which can be used compatibly with an ultra-sonic probe which is inserted in the channel of the endoscope by connecting the tip of the soft tube to a connecting port which is disposed in the cap section and inserting the sheath of the high frequency snare via the soft tube (See pages 2 to 5, and FIG. 1 in a Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2002-45369).

Endoscope hood and endoscopic mucosa cutting device


This invention relates in one aspect to the treatment of a valve-associated region of a vascular vessel with a biomaterial. The biomaterial can be a remodelable material that strengthens and/or supports the vessel walls. Additionally the biomaterial can include a variety of naturally occurring or added bioactive agents and/or viable cellular populations.

In general, the present invention relates to methods of treating patients suffering from defects or diseases of the vascular system. More specifically, the present invention is directed to methods for treating, strengthening, and/or repairing vascular vessels in regions in and around internal valve structures.
A variety of vascular disorders arise in and around the site of vascular valves. One common disorder is venous valve insufficiency resulting from valvular dysfunction, most often occurring in the legs. The valves in the veins do not adequately inhibit reflux or retrograde blood flow. Varicose veins resulting from venous valve insufficiency can be quite painful for the patients who suffer from this condition and can also cause embarrassment over the appearance of the varicose veins. In more severe cases, venous valve insufficiency can lead to general swelling in the patient's lower extremities, and can ultimately result in venous stasis ulcers of the skin and subcutaneous tissue. While there is no cure for these conditions, a variety of treatment methods have been used or suggested. One treatment method includes resecting the affected vein segment and replacing the resected vein with an autologous vein removed from the patient or by reconstructing venous valves. Other treatment methods include placing constricting sutures around the veins; vein ablation, where whole sections of the veins are closed off usually via heat or chemical treatment; and ambulatory phlebectomy, where the abnormal vein is removed. Less invasive treatments include wearing compression stockings about the patients legs to physically compress the veins and tissue surrounding the veins.
There is a continuing need for advancements in the relevant field, including improved and/or alternative treatment methods and devices. The present invention is addressed to these needs.

Methods for treating valve-associated regions of vascular vessels


A cooling device cools a conditioned space (6) by transferring heat from the conditioned space to a working fluid (2) in a heat exchanger (4). A compressor (10) compresses the working fluid (8), which is then condensed in a condenser (14). Heat from the condenser is transferred to a dehydrogenation reaction zone (104) that includes a dehydrogenation catalyst (106) to supply a portion of an endothermic heat of reaction. The catalyst (106) is contacted with an organic hydride (102) to dehydrogenate the organic hydride to form H.sub.2 (108) and at least one dehydrogenation product (110). A combustor (112) burns the H.sub.2 (108) to form combustion products (144) that expand in a turbine (116) to drive the compressor (10). A portion of the heat of combustion is used to supply the remainder of the endothermic heat of reaction required in the dehydrogenation reaction zone (104).

Air conditioning, refrigeration, and other cooling devices have long been known. Typically, such devices operate by transferring heat from a conditioned space to a liquid working fluid, thereby boiling the working fluid. The gaseous working fluid is then compressed, condensed to a liquid, and recycled to absorb additional heat from the conditioned space. Compressing the working fluid requires an energy input to the cooling device. Condensing the working fluid rejects heat to the environment. This represents a loss of potentially useable energy. As the industry constantly strives to improve the efficiency of cooling devices, it would be desirable to find a practical use for the energy rejected by condensing the working fluid. In addition, it would be desirable to reduce the energy input needed to compress the working fluid.

High efficiency, hydrogen-driven cooling device


According to an aspect of the present invention, provided is a storage system including a plurality of storage devices, a plurality of access control devices, a relay device, and a connection control device. The plurality of access control devices control access to each of the plurality of storage devices. The relay device connects each of the plurality of storage devices to one of the plurality of access control devices. The connection control device instructs, in response to load states of the plurality of access control devices, the relay device to switch an access control device connected to one of the plurality of storage devices so that deviation of loads among the plurality of access control devices is improved.

A distributed storage system is realized by clustering a plurality of storage nodes each of which includes a plurality of storage devices and a server controlling writing and reading data to and from the plurality of storage devices. The distributed storage system has a feature that the scalability of the system according to an increase in data to be stored is high. As one type of such a distributed storage system, there has been an object storage system that handles data as an object.
Various kinds of techniques have been proposed that are used for improving performance of the storage system. For example, there has been a storage system that moves a logical volume within a storage subsystem to another storage subsystem so that loads are balanced between the storage subsystems. In addition, there has been a storage system where, in a fibre channel (FC) switch, connections between a plurality of ports individually connected to separate servers and a plurality of ports connected to redundant arrays of inexpensive disks (RAID) device are switched so that the loads of access paths are balanced.
Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2004-13215 and Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2007-304896 disclose related techniques.
Broadly speaking, examples of data to be stored in a distributed storage system include "hot" data frequently accessed, and "cold" data rarely accessed after having been stored once, such as data used for a backup. However, in many cases, at the time of storing data, it is not clear which data is hot data and which data is cold data, from among pieces of data to be stored. Therefore, if hot data is intensively stored in storage devices within the same storage node, the load of a server within the storage node becomes excessive, and hence, there has been a problem that performance for accessing individual storage devices connected to the server is significantly reduced.

Storage system and method for controlling storage system


An input circuit for reading in an analog input signal of a sensor comprises: first and second input ports connectable to the sensor; a first current-measuring signal converter connected to the first input port and comprising a current-measuring apparatus to determine a first output signal from the analog input signal; a current-limiting apparatus inside the first current-measuring signal converter for limiting a maximum current flowing through the first current-measuring signal converter; and a second current-measuring signal converter connected to the second input port and comprising a current-measuring apparatus to determine a second output signal from the analog input signal, wherein the first and second current-measuring signal converters are connected in series; and a testing apparatus for comparing the first and second output signals to detect faults of the first and second current-measuring signal converters in response to deviations between the first and second output signals exceeding a limit value.

Automatically operating technical systems have become increasingly significant and widespread for many years. Some examples that can be mentioned in this context include automatically operating systems in industrial production processes, automatically operating systems for transporting people and goods, or systems that are used in the building automation technology. In such technical systems, the safety aspects for avoiding personal injury and damage to property are becoming increasingly more important since an automatically operating technical system can result in a number of risks that can be caused, in particular, by an operating error or by an error in the workflow of the system.
Typical measures for securing automatically operating technical systems include, for example, establishing protection zones using light barriers, light grids and protective fences, etc., as well as providing emergency OFF switches, that enable a safe shutdown of the system (or a part of the system). A central component of an automatically operating technical system is a safety switching apparatus that is in a communication link with sensors and actuators (actuators) via, for example, a field bus. A safety switching apparatus can comprise, in particular, an evaluation and control unit that can be designed as a safety programmable logic controller. In addition to digital inputs for receiving digital input signals, a safety switching apparatus can also comprise analog inputs, by which the safety switching apparatus can be fed analog measuring signals of a sensor. At this point analog pressure sensors, temperature sensors, speed sensors or flow sensors that can provide the safety switching apparatus with analog measuring signals, in particular, analog current signals, should be mentioned merely for illustrative purposes. One example of a sensor, which can be connected directly to an analog input of a safety switching apparatus, is a so-called 2-wire sensor, wherein the energy supply and the measuring signal are routed over a common line. In addition, 3-wire sensors and 4-wire sensors are also used.
The actual measured values, acquired by the sensor in operation, are normalized to a level by the sensor in a suitable manner, so that the sensor emits a normalized analog measuring signal, which is made up of the kind of signal (for example, an electric current or an electric voltage) and the amount (for example, in accordance with the standard EN 61131-2:2007, an amount ranging from 0 mA to 20 mA in the case of a current signal or 0 V to 10 V in the case of a voltage signal) that forms an analog input signal for an input circuit of the safety switching apparatus.
Preferably current interfaces with an outgoing and return line and low impedance inputs are used, in order to transmit analog sensor signals to a safety switching apparatus. The current interfaces are characterized, in particular, by the feature that they are insensitive to noise even in the case of relatively long lines. It has been found that the 0 mA to 20 mA type of signal does not lend itself or, more specifically, lends itself only to a limited extent to the aforementioned 2-wire sensors, since at a current of 0 mA (i.e., at the start of the measurement range) no current flows and, as a result, the sensor needs an external current supply, so that it can be operated. Therefore, in the case of sensors, which deliver an analog current signal as the measuring signal, a useable signal range between 4 mA and 20 mA is often used. Therefore, at a zero signal of the sensor, there is still a current of 4 mA, so that the sensor can be supplied with energy over the entire signal range (i.e., also at the start of the measurement range). The input circuit for the fail-safe reading in of an analog input signal is typically configured to measure currents in a range between 0 mA and 25 mA. If input signals are sensed that are outside the actual working range between 4 mA and 20 mA, then the signal inputs are rated as faults. If, for example, a line break occurs in the outgoing or return line, then the transmission of the signal to the safety switching apparatus is interrupted. The input circuit measures a current of 0 mA that is outside the working range, so that this fault can be detected.
In accordance with the standard EN 61131-2:2007, the input resistance of the input circuit has to be ≤300 ohms. If a voltage of 24 V is applied to this input resistance, then an electric power of 1.92 W is converted at the input resistance. On the other hand, at a voltage of 30 V, the electric power, converted at the input resistance, is at 3 W. A type of resistor that is often used in analog circuits is the so-called mini MELF resistor that is designed in the SMD type of construction. Typically such mini MELF resistors are about 3.6 mm long and have a diameter of about 1.4 mm. They exhibit a typical power loss of 0.25 W. In order to design the input resistance of the input circuit in compliance with the aforementioned standard for 300 ohms at an input voltage in the amount of 30 V, twelve such mini MELF resistors have to be used. A single, suitably sized resistor (shunt resistor), which can be used to measure the current, would also be possible. Owing to the relatively large space requirement, the shunt resistor, at which it is possible to measure the voltage drop, in order to determine the electric current flowing through the input circuit, is usually not designed for an overvoltage of 30 V.
For example, the applicant of the present invention offers analog input modules under the name "PSSu". The analog input modules have an input circuit that exhibits an input resistance (shunt resistor) of 115 ohms and that is designed for a maximum continuous current of 40 mA. The maximum input current is already achieved at an input voltage of 4.6 V. If a higher input voltage is applied, then the shunt resistor can be destroyed under some circumstances, so that the input module is no longer functional and, therefore, has to be replaced.

Input circuit for the fail-safe reading in of an analog input signal


This invention relates to, among other items, benzoxaborole compounds and their use for treating bacterial infections.

The global rise of bacteria and other microorganisms resistant to antibiotics and antimicrobials in general, poses a major threat. Deployment of massive quantities of antimicrobial agents into the ecosphere during the past 60 years has introduced a powerful selective pressure for the emergence and spread of antimicrobial-resistant pathogens. Thus, there is a need to discover new broad spectrum antimicrobials, such as antibiotics, useful in combating microorganisms, especially those with multidrug-resistance.
Boron-containing molecules, such as 1-hydroxy-1,3-dihydro-benzo[c][1,2]oxaborole (also sometimes known as 1-hydroxy-benzo[c][1,2]oxaborole or oxaboroles or cyclic boronic esters), useful as antimicrobials have been described previously, such as in U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 12/142,692; 11/505,591 and 11/357,687. Generally speaking, a 1-hydroxy-1,3-dihydro-benzo[c][1,2]oxaborole has the following structure and substituent numbering system:
Surprisingly, it has now been discovered that certain classes of 1-hydroxy-1,3-dihydro-benzo[c][1,2]oxaboroles are effective antibacterials. This, and other uses of these 1-hydroxy-1,3-dihydro-benzo[c][1,2]oxaboroles are described herein.


A method and device for joining assembled hollow shafts which consist of a tube and several attachable parts such as cams, flanges, bearing sleeves, pulse generating devices, toothed gears and chain gears slid on to the tube, wherein the tube, inside the attachable parts, is radially plastically expanded in individual portions by applying internal pressure in such a way that the attachable parts are secured to the tube by a permanent press fit, wherein the attachable parts and the tube are individually positioned and fixed relative to one another and wherein the tube is sequentially plastically expanded in individual portions associated with the individual attachable parts.

In such hollow shaft assemblies, the drive elements, such as the cams and driving pinions of a camshaft, are each produced as individual elements with through-apertures. The drive elements are then slid on to the hollow shaft or tube. Thereafter, a probe member is slid into the tube. The probe member comprises individual operating regions which are axially associated with the drive elements. Each operating region includes a probe portion which is delimited by two annular seals. A hydraulic medium can be applied in the operating region at a high pressure of up to 3000 bar, for example. As a result, the tube is plastically expanded in the respective longitudinal portion, thus securing the drive elements on the hollow shaft. The deformation of the drive elements preferably takes place in the purely elastic range.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,750,250 discloses, in general, a method and a device for simultaneously fixing a plurality of drive elements such as cams, gearwheels and bearing bushes on a hollow shaft in one operation. The problem of holding the drive elements in an accurate position relative to the hollow shaft, particularly with respect to angular accuracy, however, is not satisfactorily addressed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,195,239 describes a method and a device for positioning all of the drive elements on a hollow shaft. In this case, too, after all the drive elements have been positioned, all the drive elements are jointly joined on the hollow shaft by simultaneously expanding the hollow shaft in the individual portions associated with the drive elements. The drive elements are positioned with respect to their axial and angular positions by electromagnetic forces. Given the magnetic properties of the drive elements and of the hollow shaft, however, the accuracy of this method of positioning raises concerns. Moreover, the device in which the hollow shaft is held has a horizontal axis which is very difficult to automate.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,054,182 discloses methods and devices for joining a shaft of the above-mentioned type, wherein all the drive elements are first slid on to a hollow shaft and wherein the hollow shaft is then inserted into an overall device which comprises a divisible die for each individual drive element. Each divisible die holds the respective element in a predetermined axial and angular position relative to the hollow shaft and the remaining drive elements, respectively. Various embodiments disclose part axes in a horizontal position and part axes in a vertical position. These devices are very difficult to automate. In addition, they are totally unsuitable for shafts with different designs because each joint type requires its own set of die inserts. The overall device has to be newly set up for the axial positions of the individual divisible dies.
The above-mentioned methods have common disadvantages in that, because of the large number of operating portions of the probe, the number of possible faults which might occur is increased, and it is not easy to immediately identity the source of the fault. If the hydraulic pressure curve is indicating any malfunction while the probe is being operated, the entire assembled shaft has to be regarded as a reject.
If different hydraulic pressures have to be applied to different individual portions of the hollow shaft, for example for a spur gear flange on the one hand and for cams on the other hand, this can only be achieved by means of a highly complicated probe design.
Within a relatively short time, the unavoidable wear of the annular seals at the probe, which seals delimit the operational portions in pairs, leads to the need to replace the annular probe seals. This is a complicated operation.

Method of and device for joining assembled hollow shafts