An improved device for registration of dental bite provides a possibility to make accurate impression of the patient's dental bite and includes the first portion and second portion. The first portion comprises a first mouth portion and a first handle portion, and the second portion includes a second mouth portion and a second handle portion. Each of the first mouth portion and second mouth portion are generally of half-U-shaped configuration, and in the coupled position form the U-shaped configuration. Also, the device comprises the connector located in the handle portions of the first portion and second portion respectively, and which includes a first connecting portion located on the first handle portion and the second connecting portion located on the second handle portion.

Orthopedic appliances have been increasingly used in both children and adults for correcting improper alignment of the teeth. The known orthodontic appliances, which are molded to accurately conform to the teeth and jaws of the individual user, have proven to be especially valuable in correcting malocclusions such as overbite and underbite, and open bite, where the upper and lower incisors do not contact one another.
It is also known in the fabrication of orthopedic appliances for use in closed bite cases, the typical first step is to obtain what is commonly termed a "construction bite" and/or occlusion. The occlusion is corresponded to the proper alignment of the jaw and teeth with the finished orthopedic appliance in position within the patient's mouth. As known, that in order to achieve the optimum correction of the misalignment, it is required that the occlusion be obtained as accurately as possible. When an accurate construction bite has been obtained a wax mold inserted between the posterior teeth will be imprinted with such construction bite, and can thereafter be used in the fabrication, such as by molding, of the finished orthopedic appliance.
In obtaining occlusion, dentists and dental technicians have sometimes relied on visual sighting and manual manipulation of the jaws to properly align the teeth. Additionally, some dentists have used tongue depressors inserted between the upper and lower incisors to achieve proper spacing therebetween, together with visual alignment of the midpoints of the upper and lower incisors. That is, with an increasing number of orthodontic appliances, the upper and lower incisors must be spaced apart to accommodate biting surfaces of the appliances themselves, thereby requiring accurate vertical, horizontal, and rotational alignment of the teeth preparatory to the construction bite. Although visual sighting of the midline of the upper and lower incisors have proven satisfactory in achieving rotational alignment, such method, whether alone or in combination with manual manipulation of the jaws, has not proven satisfactory in achieving accurate horizontal and vertical alignment.
For example, the bite-taking device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,439,147 provides the registration of the occlusion. This device includes an elongated handle having a ridge running from its outer end to its inner end, an enlarged portion, biting panel, and stops. The enlarged portion and stops have curved surfaces corresponding to the curvatures of the incisors and generally extending the width of the incisors. Biting panel extends a length in excess of the thickness of the incisor teeth, i.e., the length from enlarged portion to stops. Surfaces of stops are adapted to abut the rear portions of the upper and lower incisors whereas in its alternate use surfaces or enlarged portion are adapted to abut the outer surfaces of the upper and lower incisors. The biting panel is inserted into the patient's mouth and brought upward against the upper incisors just in front of one of the stops. The patient is then directed to gently bite down until the lower incisors contact the undersurface of biting panel, after which the handle is pulled gently outwardly to bring the upper and lower incisors into abutting relationship with stops, while at the same time visual sighting is made of the upper and lower incisors to achieve accurate midline adjustment. The surfaces of stops have been brought into abutting relationship with the inner surfaces of the upper and lower incisors.
The temporomandibular joint articulates the mandible to the temporal bone of the skull. If the dental patient portion of the temporomandibular joint is misaligned or if the joint or the interposed disc is damaged or destroyed pain and altered function may result. One technique used to relieve joint pressure and reposition the members of the joint involves the construction of a removable intraoral appliance or splint into which the upper and lower teeth fit in such a manner as to realign and reposition the members of the temporomandibular joint in an attempt to relieve joint pressure, provide relaxation of the jaw muscles and allow healing of the joint.
A splint is typically molded from a thermoplastic or thermosetting polymer and contains on its upper and lower surfaces a reverse image or impression of the upper teeth and the lower teeth. Stone models or casts are made from these impressions of the upper and lower teeth. These casts must then be positioned or registered relative to each other so as to achieve a desired relationship in the temporomandibular joint. As known, the splints have been made by first taking separate impressions of the upper and lower teeth utilizing conventional techniques. An intraocclusal bite record is then usually made by placing a relatively thin sheet of wax or other bite registration material between the patient's teeth and having the patient bite in the desired jaw relationship. This procedure involves a separate step utilizing the registration material which is subsequently interposed between the dental casts or models of the teeth to align the models in the desired relationship. This conventional step of relating dental casts with a separate interposed bite registration material for the purpose of producing splints, or for other occlusal therapy, introduces inaccuracies because inherent distortion of the wax or other bite registration material, especially from temperature changes, may result in an inaccurate mounting or relationship of the patient's dental casts. The multiple steps involved in handling the separate bite registration material also lead to additional distortion of the relationship between the mounted casts.
As described in the known sources, mounting the lower dental cast to the upper cast requires a separate step which is a facebow transfer. A facebow is positioned on the patient's head relative to the axis-orbital plane which relates the location of the upper dental arch to the temporomandibular joint. The facebow is then transferred to an articulator, a machine used to simulate jaw function. The model made from the impression of the upper teeth can then be positioned on the articulator utilizing the facebow. This separate step also introduces the possibility of distortion of the mounting. Thereafter, the model made from the impression of the lower teeth is positioned against the upper model using the intraocclusal bite record. Completion of these separate steps and mounting of the dental casts on the articulator yields a rigid mechanical analog of an individual's jaw movements and relationships.
For instance as known, if it is desired to make a splint in which the patient's lower jaw is moved two millimeters forward of its normally closed position to relieve pressure on the temporomandibular joint, the model of the lower teeth is moved forward relative to the model of the upper teeth and affixed at the new position. A splint is then produced from the repositioned location of the models of the upper and lower teeth. As one might surmise, this repositioning can introduce several inaccuracies into the splint. As a result, when a splint is fitted to a patient's teeth, a significant amount of time and effort may be required in order to obtain a final accurate relationship of the paired temporomandibular joints and the upper and lower teeth relative to the splint. This same registration technique described herein is applicable to recording jaw positions and relationships for fabrication of removable orthodontic appliances, for relating complete dentures, for mounting dental casts for diagnostic purposes including bite adjustments and for fabrication of single or multiple units of fixed or removable prosthetics.
The one of the known instruments by U.S. Pat. No. 4,602,905 describes the dental registration device comprising a double-sided impression tray having an anterior reinforcing enlargement through which first and second channels extend in an anterior/posterior direction. The first channel is shaped to receive a flat registration tab onto which can be positioned a deformable registration material, such as ordinary dental wax. The upper channel removably receives a reciprocator rod. A reciprocator knob threadably engages the reciprocator rod. The registration tab and the reciprocator knob coact so, that selective rotation of the knob will selectively reciprocate the registration tab in the registration channel. The impression tray has two symmetrical U-shaped ridges on the upper side of a septum and mirror image ridges extending downwardly from the lower side of the septum. The first set of ridges are spaced equidistantly from each other and with the septum define an upper impression cavity. Similarly, the lower ridges in conjunction with the septum form a lower impression cavity. The notch is extended downwardly from the upper ridge of the anterior ridge and is positioned at the anterior central end of the ridge. The flange extends forwardly from the anterior ridges adjacent the plane of the septum. The flange also extends rearwardly from the anterior ridges and lies beneath the septum. The registration channel has a rectangular cross section for receiving registration tab and the deformable registration material. The registration tab comprises a rectangular tab that slidably engages the upper surface of the registration channel and the coplanar lower surface of the reinforcement flange. The rectangular tab has an anterior extension that extends first downwardly from the anterior edge of the tab, then extends forwardly and terminates in an upwardly oriented flange. The second channel is positioned above the lower channel and has in a semicircular cross section. The posterior portion of the channel carries a downwardly extending nib, which in conjunction with an annular channel in the rod secures the rod in the channel in a predetermined position. The anterior end of the rod carries a cylindrically shaped threaded portion. Between the threaded portion and the posterior end of the rod are located a plurality of axially spaced indicia running in a circumferential direction relative to the rod. The reciprocator knob has an internal bore that is threaded to receive and engage the threaded portion of the rod.
In some construction of any rigid dental device that contacts both the upper and lower teeth, models of the patient's upper and lower dentition must be positioned on a dental articulator. It is important that they be related to each other in the same relationship as existed in the patient's mouth. Most functional orthodontic appliances are designed to keep the lower jaw forward. Therefore, the models on the articular must be positioned with the lower model forward relative to the upper model.
The most common way of transferring the dental relationship in the mouth to the articulator is with a simple wax bite. The dentist softens a block of wax with heat and inserts it between the patient's upper and lower teeth. The dentist then guides the jaw to the desired position and tells the patient to hold it there while the wax cools and hardens. The models of the patient's upper and lower teeth then can be correctly related to each other by fitting them into the indentations in the wax. The models, with the wax between them, are then attached to the articulator. This is done in a manner that will allow the wax bite to be discarded and still allow the articulator, which simulates jaw movements, to open and close back to the wax bite position.
The relationship of the mandible to the maxilla is determined by the relative positions of the incisal edges of the lower to upper central incisor teeth.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,154,609 describes the dental bite registration device including the upper assembly incorporated the upper platform and a measuring arm. At the internal end of the upper platform is the impression platform with gripper holes to help secure the impression material on the platforms. (In this description the term "internal" refers to inside the mouth or toward the inside of the mouth, and "external" refers to outside the mouth or toward the outside of the mouth). The upper teeth indention is formed on the superior side of the upper platform by a notch which separates the upper internal block from the upper external block.
At the external end of the upper platform is the shank which connects with the measuring arm by its male portion of the snap lock. The most internal (proximal) end of the measuring arm is connected to the upper platform by its female portion of the snap lock. The most external border of the measuring arm is the measurement point which relates to the scale of the lower assembly.
The upper assembly fits within the lower assembly by inserting the measuring point in the internal (proximal) end of the channel. At the internal end of the lower assembly on the inferior side, the lower teeth indention is formed by a notch between the lower internal block and the lower external block.
The clamp, as a separate part, is either removably or permanently affixed to or near the middle of the length of the channel. The locking screw secures the anteroposterior relationship of the upper to lower assembly by compressing the measuring arm against the floor of the channel. At the internal end of the upper platform is the impression platform with gripper holes to secure the impression material on the platforms. At the external end of the impression platform is the upper teeth indention which is formed by a notch which separates the upper internal block from the upper external block. At the external end of the upper platform is the shank, which connects with the measuring arm by its male portion of the snap lock. The measuring arm is connected to the upper platform by its female portion of the snap lock. The connected measuring arm and upper platform are encased in the channel of the lower assembly in which they can freely slide anteroposteriorly. At or near the middle of the charnel is the clamp which encircles the lower assembly and the encased measuring arm. The locking screw is turned to compress the measuring arm against the floor of the channel, making it immobile.
As well known in mounting dental casts to an articulator, it is necessary to position the cast in the same relation to each other as the teeth in the patient's mouth as well as being orientated or related to the patient's hinge axis. In accomplishing that, impressions of the patient's occlusion (bite) are made in impression material positioned on a flat bite fork which is clamped between the patient's upper and lower teeth.
While the cast is held in that position, it is secured by dental plaster to a mounting plate attached to the upper frame of the dental articulator. Once the upper cast is mounted, the lower cast can be secured to the articulator by utilizing the upper cast as a guide along with an interocclusal record.
The U.S. Pat. No. 6,582,931 describes the dental-facial analyzer comprising a bite fork or plate, a pair of wings and the central portion which includes an elongated straight slot that extends forwardly from the center of the bite fork and opens to the front edge or, forward portion of the face bow. A disk-shaped holder, which includes grooves on its sides is sized to slide within the slot. The holder is formed with a central hole sized to receive a vertical indicator rod. This positions the rod perpendicular to the flat bow. One or more tubular markers slides on the upper and the lower end of the rod. A thumb screw fixes the rod relative to the holder.
The assembly also includes an upper index tray and a lower index tray. The upper index tray includes four downwardly extending pins or projections sized to fit within four mating holes formed in the bite fork. The projections are long enough such that they protrude through the bite fork and fit within four mating holes in the lower index tray. The upper index tray and lower index tray are also provided, with a number of small holes for receiving bite registration material such as impression compound. The lower frame of a dental articulator, which includes a vertical frame member topped by a pair of balls. The ball centers define a hinge axis. A horizontal lower frame member is connected to the lower portion of the vertical member and is supported on its forward end by a leg. A mounting platform assembly is mounted on a magnetic base plate secured to the lower frame member by a fastener.
While these known systems are relatively accurate, they are expensive, complex, require many different steps of the bite registration procedure, and comprise many components, the controllable means which are used for the tightening purposes (e.g. the screws to tighten), etc. As a result, many dentists (dental technicians) do not use such instruments. The most of the dental practitioners would utilize the greatly simplified dental articulator with the more simplified procedures for obtaining patient occlusion information with
Also, the bite fork of the described instruments need to be sterilized before each use.
All described prior arts are expensive and in some way have the same deficiency, that is a complexity.
Thus, there is a great need in the art for the improved not complex and not expensive device for registration of dental bite, providing simplified manufacturing (technological) process.

Device for registration of the dental bite


A relief valve for use with automatic suction operated swimming pool cleaners which has a tubular body and a bypass passage into the body inclined at an acute angle to the inlet and controlled by a closure pivotally supported about an end upstream of the normal flow direction through the valve and with the closure biased, preferably by at least one tension spring, to the closed position.

The optimum operation of a suction operated automatic swimming pool cleaner is usually very much dependant on the rate of flow of water through the cleaner. Too much flow tends to make the cleaner adhere too tightly to the surface being cleaned and too little flow prevents propulsion of the cleaner.
Several kinds of valve have been developed for this specific use and do operate with a greater or lesser degree of success. Some tend to choke on debris in the pool water, others are relatively complicated constructions and some by nature of their location in the pool filtration system induce vortex flow and the admission of air into the filtration system.


An improved underground box and lid for use in irrigation systems and other underground systems is provided. A single box can be inverted, combined and interlocked with a second box to form a single enclosed structure that is twice as high. This can be used for those installations where underground system components are buried in the ground at a greater depth than can be accommodated by a single box.

Valve boxes or other underground protective housings have been in use for some time in protecting pumps, valves, meters and other components of underground systems. These enclosures often have open bottoms so that they can be positioned over the underground component with the top of the housing being flush or slightly above or below the ground level. While older underground housings were constructed of concrete, more recent housings have been manufactured from metal or plastic. Often, the more recent housings are constructed of plastic that has been formed by a molding process.
A lid covers the top of the housing thereby keeping out dirt and debris while permitting access to the system components. Lids for underground irrigation system boxes typically have a hole through which a bolt can be inserted. The bolt can engage a threaded bore in the underground housing to keep the lid secured on the housing. However many users believe that the lids remain sufficiently secure on their underground boxes without the use of any coupler or bolt, and accordingly do not insert anything in the hole for securing the lid. With the lid and box interior thus exposed, insects, especially bees, have been known to enter the interior cavity of the box and build insect nests. Moreover, debris and dirt likewise can enter the interior cavity through this hole when it is not used with and covered by a bolt.
When a user needs to gain access to the system components housed within the box, the box and lid are sometimes covered with dirt and debris that need to be removed with a shovel. When the dirt and debris are removed from the lid, the user frequently uses his or her hands to remove the lid, which often is a difficult task, or tries to use the shovel to pry the lid off of the box which in turn often chips or breaks the edges of the box.
Valve boxes are used in the irrigation industry in a number of ways. Users cut them into pieces, cut holes into them to facilitate piping, and then bury them in the ground with just the cover or lid showing. Some users stack two such boxes when a deeper burial depth is required. When two boxes are used in this fashion, however, they often are only mated together by the dirt that is packed around them. When mated in this fashion, one box can slide with respect to the other box thereby providing an opening between the boxes with the undesirable consequence of allowing dirt to enter the underground enclosure.
Valve boxes sometimes have knockouts to assist the user in removing one or more sections or pieces from the sides of the box when it is necessary to run wires or pipes through the sides. In order to make the knockouts sufficiently thin to be able to remove them with relative ease, manufacturers of valve boxes using molding processes must design the entire box with thick enough walls to permit material, such as plastic, to flow into, or fill all of the cavities of a molded part, including the knockout portions. Also the manufacturer must design the molding tool so that the molded product can eject from the tool either by falling out under the force of gravity or by forceful ejection with pins.
In order to overcome these manufacturing challenges, prior art molded boxes sometimes include "fake" knockouts, i.e., features that look like knockouts and indicate a recommended place to remove material. However these frequently are not actually thin enough to be removed with relative ease. Other known designs involve valve boxes with knockouts created with advanced molding tools (sometimes using cams or slides) or with secondary machining operations, either of which option can add to manufacturing costs and difficulties.
Once users create a hole in a valve box through which to route a conduit, there often is a gap between the conduit and the opening in the box that allows dirt to fall in the interior cavity when the area around the box is backfilled. In the past, some users have tried to avoid this problem by locating most anything that is readily available, including cardboard, duct tape, or even empty soda cans, to place over this gap and attempt to cover it before filling the dirt in around the box. However, this can be inconvenient for the user, and it sometimes is ineffective in adequately covering the gap.
Accordingly, there remains a need for an improved underground protective housing which may receive and house various underground system components, such as valves, meters, electric junction boxes, etc. and which addresses some of the problems described above.


An optical equipment comprises: a first lens for focusing and compensation for magnification variation; a second lens for magnification variation; position detection means for detecting positions of the first lens and the second lens; focus detection means for detecting a focus status; lens drive means for driving the first lens and the second lens; and control means for controlling the lens drive means in accordance with information from the position detection means and the focus detection means. The control means determines a drive range of the first lens in which a circle of confusion may be zero, in accordance with focal length information, and inhibits the first lens from being driven out of the range during the magnification variation of the second lens.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical equipment such as a video camera, a still camera and a lens barrel having a lens control unit for controlling a lens position.
2. Related Background Art
Various types of lenses have been used in a zoom lens used for a video camera. FIG. 8 shows a common zoom lens. Numeral 1 denotes a front lens group which is movable along an optical axis for focusing, numeral 2 denotes a variator lens group which varies magnification, and numeral 3 denotes a compensator lens group for maintaining a focus plane constant when the magnification is varied. The variator 2 and the compensator 3 are moved for varying the magnification while they are kept in a predetermined relationship. Numeral 4 denotes a focusing lens group, and numeral 5 denotes a focus plane on which a CCD is mounted. In a front focus lens shown in FIG. 8 in which the focusing is done by the front lens 1, a mechanical cam ring is usually used to keep a fixed relationship between the variator 2 and the compensator 3.
On the other hand, an inner focus or rear focus lens in which the focusing is done by a lens group behind the variator lens rather than by the front focus lens is also known.
In a rear focus zoom lens shown in FIG. 9, the front lens group is fixed while the variator 2 and the compensator 3 are moved in linkage by a mechanical cam ring as they are in the front focus lens of FIG. 8. A lens group 4 or a portion thereof functions as a focusing lens. Where the focusing lens group is located behind the variator lens, it is necessary to move the lens group 4 during zooming even if a distance to an object remains unchanged. Further, a position of the lens group 4 to comply with a focal length varies with the distance to the object. FIG. 10 shows an in-focus position in accordance with a distance to an object for various focal lengths of the lens group 4. An abscissa represents the focal length, W represents a wide end and T represents a telescope end. An ordinate denotes a position of the lens group 4 and curves 6-10 shown in-focus positions for a given distance. For example, curve 6 represents 50 cm, curve 7 represents 1 meter, curve 8 represents 2 meters, curve 9 represents 10 meters and curve 10 represents infinite.
Where the lens group 4 is driven out (toward the object) to the wide end at a point 11, the focusing to a very near object is attained.
Another construction of inner focus lens is shown in FIG. 11. The lens group 1, the variator 2 and the iris 12 are moved during the magnification variation. Numeral 4A denotes a fixed lens group and numeral 4B denotes a focusing lens group.
Since there is no compensation lens group (the compensator in FIG. 3) behind the variator 2, which is moved in the predetermined relationship to the variator 2, the graph shown in FIG. 10 changes to the one shown in FIG. 12. For example, curve 13 represents 50 cm, curve 14 represents 1 meter, curve 15 represents 2 meters, curve 16 represents 10 meters and curve 17 represents infinite.
In the inner focus lens or the rear focus lens, it can focus to a very near object compared to the front focus lens and a compact lens structure is attained depending on a type of lens. On the other hand, in order to prevent defocusing in zooming even if the distance to the object does not change, the relationship as shown in FIGS. 13 or 12 should be exactly maintained.
The following methods have been proposed to avoid such defocusing.
First, a combination with a TTL auto-focusing device is pointed out. For example, in a video camera auto-focusing device, a peak of a high frequency component of an image pickup signal of a CCD is used to indicate an in-focus position.
FIG. 13 shows a principle thereof. An abscissa represents a position of a focusing lens group and an ordinate represents a high frequency component (focusing voltage) of an image pickup signal. The focusing voltage is maximum at a position shown by an arrow, and the position A is an in-focus position of the lens. A front focus or a rear focus in the defocus status is determined by whether it is on the left side or the right side of the point A.
Several methods to determine the front focus and the rear focus have been known.
In a first method, the focusing lens group is moved to one of the two directions and a change in the focusing voltage caused thereby is detected.
In a second method, an image pickup device is slightly vibrated by a piezo-electric actuator to detect a phase relationship of a change in the focusing voltage.
In a third method, the focusing lens group itself is slightly vibrated in a similar manner to that of the second method. It is usually carried out in the inner focus lens by using a stepping motor.
In the inner focus lens, when the lens is zoomed from the in-focus position at the wide end to the telescope end, the lens may follow a distance locus in the positional relation between the focal length and the focusing lens group as shown in FIGS. 10 and 12. However, when a focus depth is taken into consideration, it is not possible to exactly predict from an absolute position of the focusing lens group which is at the in-focus position in the wide end to the in-focus position in the telescope end.
Accordingly, when the lens is zoomed from the wide end to the telescope end, it is essential to always operate the auto-focusing device to maintain the in-focus state based on the detection by the auto-focusing device.
When the first to third methods are to be applied to the zooming of the inner focus lens from the wide end to the telescope end, the second method which uses the actuator such as a piezo-electric actuator separately from the actuator for driving the focusing lens group and vibrates the image pickup device other than the focusing lens group is not disadvantageous to the inner focus lens and the direction can be detected, but it is inadvantageous in terms of cost and size.
On the other hand, the first and third methods need the actuator to drive the focusing lens group in order to follow the locus shown in FIGS. 10 or 12. It is necessary to superimpose the drive for detecting the direction on the following operation.
In this case, there is no problem in terms of cost and size but a specification required for the actuator is severe. Accordingly, when it is spaced from the in-focus point in the map shown in FIGS. 10 or 12, the "follow" information is no longer the information of locus which passes through the in-focus point. As a result, the ability to detect the direction is lowered.

Lens unit wherein focal lens movement is selectively inhibited during zooming


A method and apparatus for obtaining real-time call by call feedback from customers is to the perceived quality of network services may be accomplished after communication via network connection between a calling party and at least one called party is completed. Upon completion, the network retains for a predetermined period of time at least a portion of the network connection to one of the parties involved in the communication. During this predetermined period of time the party provides feedback as to his or her perception of the quality of various aspects of the call. The feedback is received within the predetermined period of time, the network compiles the data which can be then used to interpret the network service quality, diagnostic information as to catastrophic failures as well as mild failures, overall service, perceived quality of new services and features, and quality of internetworking.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to telecommunications networks and specifically to obtaining user feedback as to the quality of data telecommunications services.
2. Description of the Related Art
Telecommunications systems are known to include a plurality of telephones or data terminals including computers and fax machines, a plurality of Local Exchange Carriers (LECs) and/or a plurality of Private Branch Exchanges (PBXs), and a plurality of Interexchange Carriers (IECs). Each of the data terminals is connected to either an LEC or PBX through some sort of network termination equipment, most likely a modem. Each of the LECs or PBXs are couple to at least one IEC, where the IEC between LECs. As is generally known, long distance service providers are known as IECs, local telephone companies are known as LECs and independent businesses sometime operate their own PBX(s). Recent legislative events in the United States have served to blur the distinct boundaries among the service providers.
To enable a calling party to communicate with a called party, a network connection must be established. Generally, the calling party initiates the establishment of the network connection by entering the called party's telephone number. The called party's telephone number is routed to the calling party's LEC (or PBX as the case may be) which in turn interprets the called telephone number to determine if a local or long distance call is indicated. As is known, the determination of a long distance call is made if a long distance prefix of "1" followed by a valid area code; absent the valid area code, a local call is deemed to have been placed. The LEC then completes the network connection and the communication takes place assuming that the called party is available.
If, however, the number dialed is for a long distance call, the LEC routes the call to an IEC. The IEC interprets the telephone number and routes it either to another IEC, a PBX or a LEC. When the network connection is finally made to the called party's LEC, the call is completed subject to availability of the called party and/or terminal. The calling and called terminals/parties communicate until terminated by an on-hook condition detected by the network.
As an alternative to establishing the connection through an IEC, the LEC of the calling party may route the call to another LEC which then completes the network connection to the called party.
Over the past 15 years, the telecommunications industry has dramatically changed. Prior to this period, telecommunications typically supported voice communications over wireline to wireline connections. Today, data, digitized voice digitized video and multimedia are communicated over wireline, wireless, cable satellite and internet mediums and various combinations thereof.
In addition to the dramatic changes in the telecommunications infrastructure, the services being provided have also dramatically changed. Such changes include 800 and 900 number calls, large conference calls via bridges, video-conferencing calls, data networking, facsimile transmissions and other data and multimedia services.
As a result of the increase in telecommunications services and infrastructures along with the evolving legal restrictions on service providers, competition has dramatically increased. To distinguish one's self from the competition, a network service provider spends millions of dollars to upgrade services and enhance the network and then advertise those enhanced services to customers.
While many network providers test their equipment for acceptable performance levels, they receive little, if any, feedback on quality from customers on a real-time per call basis. If a customer does provide feedback, it is usually after a catastrophe has occurred. For example, a customer may be blocked from placing a call for a significant period of time, have an existing call unexpectedly terminated or the communication may be of such poor quality that the data transmission is incorrectly received and/or displayed. Further, this feedback is often provided days or weeks after the incident. In many cases, there may be no indication of an unreceived data transmission. Unlike voice transmission, real time disruption of data transmission may go unnoticed.
Thus, network service providers are receiving little, if any feedback as to customers' perceptions of quality and what is received is often too stale to be of useful value. Such sporadic and generalized customer feedback has limited usefulness in determining future planning, the quality of new services and enhancements, user behavior profiles, interexchange carrier perceived quality, diagnostic information as to catastrophic and mild failures, and overall general service.
There is accordingly a need for a new method and apparatus for obtaining realtime feedback to a network service provider in order to solve or ameliorate one or more of the above-described problems.

Method and apparatus for obtaining feedback regarding data network services


There is disclosed a method of manufacturing a transistor in a semiconductor device. The present invention isolates a semiconductor substrate by an oxide layer with only a source, a drain and a channel region necessary for driving a transistor being left. Thus, it can obviate the current components due to parasitic factors to improve the punch-through characteristic.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to a method of manufacturing a transistor in a semiconductor device. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a transistor in a semiconductor device by which a semiconductor substrate is isolated by an oxide layer with only a source, a drain and a channel region necessary for driving a transistor being left, thus obviating the current components due to parasitic factors to improve the punch-through characteristic.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A method of manufacturing a conventional MOS transistor will be explained by reference to FIG. 1. A device isolation film (not shown) for isolating a cell region and a field region is formed on a semiconductor substrate 11. After a well 12 is formed on the semiconductor substrate 11, an ion implant process for adjusting the threshold voltage is performed. Then, a gate oxide film 13 is formed on the semiconductor substrate 11. Thereafter, a polysilicon layer, a polysilicon layer/a metal silicide layer or a metal layer, etc. is deposited on the gate oxide film 13 and is then patterned to form a gate electrode 14. Next, after a spacer insulating film 15 is formed on the sidewall of the gate electrode 14, a source/drain junction 16 is formed on the semiconductor substrate 11 by source/drain ion implant process.
In the transistor manufactured by the above method, if the voltage is applied to the drain and the gate is turned on, current will flows from the drain to the source. On the other hand, if the gate is turned off, the current from the drain to the source will be blocked. However, if the voltage applied to the drain is too great, unwanted current will flow into the well. This current is called a punch-through current. The punch-through current is generated when carriers are applied to a depletion layer and are then attracted by a bias of the depletion layer. This phenomenon becomes still severe as the length of the gate becomes narrower and will limit to manufacturing higher devices.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method of manufacturing a transistor in a semiconductor device capable of improving reliability of the device, by removing a well being the cause of generation of the punch-through so that the punch-through current does not generate.
In order to accomplish the above object, a method of manufacturing a transistor in a semiconductor device according to the present invention is characterized in that it comprises the steps of providing a semiconductor substrate and etching one part of the semiconductor substrate to form a first trench at a position where a transistor will be formed; etching the other part of the semiconductor substrate to form two trenches at a position where a source junction and a drain junction will be formed; implanting oxygen ions into the entire portions of the semiconductor substrate including the first and second trenches and then performing a thermal process to form a buried oxide layer within the semiconductor substrate; isolating, by the buried oxide layer, the semiconductor substrate of the portion where a source/drain junction will be formed, and of the portion where a channel region will be formed, by polishing process; and performing ion implant process for controlling the threshold voltage to form a channel region and then forming a gate oxide film, a gate electrode and a source/drain junction.

Method of forming a transistor in a semiconductor device

Hyundai Electronics Industries Co., Ltd.


The present invention relates to a synthesis method of metal cyclopentadienide by direct reaction of dicyclopentadiene with a group 1 metal in the presence of an aprotic solvent. Unlike the conventional method depending on retro Diels-Alder reaction of dicyclopentadiene to generate indirectly cyclopentadiene, the method of the present invention favors generation of cyclopentadiene and metal cyclopentadienide as well by adding dicyclopentadiene directly when the reaction temperature reaches to the boiling point of a reaction solvent.

Metal cyclopentadienide generally indicates potassium cyclopentadienide (KC5H5) or sodium cyclopentadienide (NaC5H5).
The potassium cyclopentadienide was first synthesized by the reaction of cyclopentadiene (Cp) and potassium (K) 100 years ago. In general, the potassium cyclopentadienide can be synthesized by reacting cyclopentadiene with potassium metal in the presence of tetrahydrofuran (THF), benzene or liquid ammonia.
The synthesis of the sodium cyclopentadienide was first reported by K. Ziegler and E. O. Fisher. And the synthesis of the sodium cyclopentadienide these days is largely induced by the reaction of cyclopentadiene and NaOH, tert-NaOtBu or NaCl.
The conventional synthesis methods all use cyclopentadiene as a reactant. The cyclopentadiene is in equilibrium with dicyclopentadiene and most of the time it remains as dicyclopentadiene at room temperature.
So, the cyclopentadiene is generally obtained from dicyclopentadiene by retro Diels-Alder reaction at 170° C. However, the synthesis method of metal cyclopentadienide by the retro Diels-Alder reaction using the dicyclopentadiene as a reactant has such problems that it is difficult to control the Diels-Alder reaction with cyclopentadiene, suggesting that dicyclopentadiene might still remain, and a process of producing cyclopentadiene has to be included, making the procedure complicated.
There has been an attempt to synthesize metal cyclopentadiene not by the indirect reaction with cyclopentadiene but by direct reaction with dicyclopentadiene.
Particularly, it has been tried to synthesize metal cyclopentadienide using dicyclopentadiene as a reactant in a high temperature/high pressure reactor or by the reaction with sodium metal in the presence of iron at room temperature or at 170° C.
However, the synthesis of metal cyclopentadienide using the high temperature/high pressure reactor or via reaction using iron as a catalyst does not favor mass-production.
As an alternative, a method to react dicyclopentadiene (as a reactant and reaction solvent) directly with sodium or potassium was reported in Organometallics 2003, 22, 877-878. However, this method also has a problem of over-dose of dicyclopentadiene which is necessarily used for mass-production but has to be eliminated.

Synthesis method of metal cyclopentadienide in bulk


When a disk (1) is placed at a playback position, a clamp arm (15) clamps the disk (1). The clamp arm (15) has an engagement hook (16) for engaging with an engagement groove (12) of a fixed base (11) when the clamp arm (15) pivots on a slide base (13) so as to return to a standby position for waiting for a pivot while the slide base (13) slides.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a disk drive that can prevent a clamp arm from pivoting and vibrating even if the clamp arm receives vibrations and impacts when it remains in standby for waiting for a pivot.
2. Description of the Related Art
A prior art disk drive disclosed in Japanese patent application publication (TOKKAIHEI) No. 11-353769 (see paragraph numbers [0043] to [0045] and FIG. 11) is provided with a locking mechanism for engaging with a pivoting end portion of a holding base when a playback mechanism for playing back a disk is placed at a playback position, and for releasing the engagement with the holding base when the playback mechanism is placed at a retracted position. Because the prior art disk drive is provided with such a locking mechanism, the prior art disk drive can prevent vertical movements of an arm engaged with the holding base when the playback mechanism for playing back the disk is placed at the playback position.
However, when the locking done by the locking mechanism is imperfect, vibrations, impacts, or the like imposed on the holding base in a direction in which the holding base pivots can reach the arm engaged with the holding base. In order to assist the locking done by the locking mechanism, the prior art disk drive is further provided with a locking arm that engages with the holding base after the holding base is engaged with the locking mechanism and a driving mechanism for driving the locking arm.
A problem with the prior art disk drive constructed as mentioned above is that the prior art disk drive has to have a locking arm that engages with the holding base and a driving mechanism for driving the locking arm in addition to the locking mechanism in order to prevent the arm engaged with the holding base from vibrating, and therefore the structure of the disk drive becomes more complicated.

Disk drive with hook disposed on clamp arm and/or playback base engaging groove formed in fixed base


The present invention relates to a system and a method for developing an engine model. The system broadly comprises a module for generating a state variable model of an engine, which module receives a plurality of inputs to an engine representative of a particular flight condition and generates a set of estimated engine parameters representative of the model. The system further comprises a comparator for comparing the set of estimated engine parameters to a set of measured engine parameters for generating a set of residuals and an artificial neural network module to be trained and to be used in an implementation configuration after training has been completed. The artificial neural network receives the set of residuals and the engine inputs during a training phase and generates a set of estimated residuals representative of the engine condition.

The present invention relates to a system and a method for developing an engine model.
Gas turbine state variable models (SVM) have long been employed to support the design, development, and testing of modern full authority digital engine controls (FADECS) as well as applications requiring real-time deployment of an engine model. Referring now to FIG. 1, the SVM 10 is a piecewise linear engine model representation. For control law applications, this allows a simple system identification to be performed in terms of transfer functions which in turn are used to determine the control gains and compensation for the various control loops that will govern the engine operation. This is performed across the flight envelope. Thus, the SVM must be representative of the engine dynamics at altitude as well as at sea level static conditions. This requirement is fulfilled by providing engine numerics at sea level as well as at several discrete altitude-Mach number combinations and by modeling the SVM in terms of corrected or referred parameters. Since SVM's are fairly simple models, they do not impose a computational burden and are favorably suited for real-time applications. This feature makes the SVM ideal for the applications mentioned above.
The SVM engine model typically consists of an n state piecewise linear structure which is valid across a flight envelope ranging from sea level static to approximately 50,000 feet altitude. The model states typically include the engine's shaft rotor speeds as well as several metal temperatures with the hot section modules (turbines and combustor) and high pressure compressor. The states, along with the output engine parameters being modeled (as well as their associated numerics) are expressed in terms of (standard day) corrected parameters and as such the model remains valid at non-International Standard Atmosphere (ISA) conditions. Appropriate correction factors are applied to inputs to correct parameters upon entering the model and the same correction applied in reverse to UN-correct the outputs. This process is depicted in FIG. 1.
The SVM consists of a linear state variable model described by a set of first order differential equations. In general, the outputs (y) of the gas turbine engine may be considered to be a nonlinear function of its inputs (u) and states (x), i.e.x=f(x,u), y=g(x,u)This implies that:
                              ⅆ                                                    x                =                                                            (                                                      ∂                    f                                                        ∂                    x                                                  )                                                          ⅆ                                                                                x                                      +                                          (                                                      ∂                    f                                                        ∂                    u                                                  )                                                          ⅆ                                                                                u                                              ⇒                                    Δ                                                                                x                        ≈                                          A                                                                                Δ                                                                                x                            +                              B                                                                                Δ                                                                                u                                                                                ⅆ                                                    y                =                                                            (                                                      ∂                    g                                                        ∂                    x                                                  )                                                          ⅆ                                                                                x                                      +                                          (                                                      ∂                    g                                                        ∂                    u                                                  )                                                          ⅆ                                                                                u                                              ⇒                                    Δ                                                                                y                        ≈                                          C                                                                                Δ                                                                                x                            +                              D                                                                                Δ                                                                                u                                                        where A, B, C, and D are matrices of partial derivates and Δx and Δu are deltas from steady state conditions of the engine states and inputs, respectively. The steady state parameter values and partial derivatives are determined through small signal perturbation of a nonlinear model of the engine, for example a state of the art performance program. These equations are directly modeled within the SVM 10. The steady state baselines and partial derivatives are scheduled as a function of engine power (typically N2) and flight condition. For the latter, Reynold's Index may be used which combines the effects of altitude and Mach number. Reynold's Index is computed as Rel=δ/θ1.25. The flight envelope for which the engine numerics within the SVM 10 are represented is whatever is typical for the engine in question.
The engine model structure described above generally provides an adequate model for steady state and slow transient operation. For rapid transients or operation across a wide power range (e.g. idle to takeoff), the SVM admits a much greater error. For the purpose of parameter synthesis during these types of transients, this level of error is generally unacceptable. To mitigate the transients effects, an adaptable SVM such as that shown in FIG. 2 is essential.
One adaptable SVM technique which has been used with success is to provide a Kalman filter (KF) observer 12 which acts upon the residuals (r) formed by the output P of the SVM 10 and the actual observed measurements P from the engine 14 to provide a set of tuners ({circumflex over (x)}) which adapt the SVM 10 to match the actual observations (hence driving the residuals to zero on the average). The tuners ({circumflex over (x)}) consist of a set of engine module performance parameters such as efficiencies and flow parameters which allow the engine states and output parameters to be adjusted to allow a more faithful match to the actual engine.
A drawback of the adaptable SVM model shown in FIG. 2 is that the steady state level of the tuners may take on an unreasonable level in order to adapt a particularly deficient SVM model to a particular engine or engine type during development.
What is needed is a system architecture and a method to initialize the SVM to reflect a given initial state (in terms of the efficiencies and flow parameters) so that at installation the revised adaptable SVM matches the real engine in terms of generating average zero residuals as well as admitting the specified initial engine state.

Hybrid gas turbine engine state variable model


An improved LSI design automation system includes: an input unit, a circuit component storage unit, a circuit component selection unit, a design method decision unit, a design process unit, and a component entry unit. The input unit receives LSI function and performance information as a requirements specification and LSI component configuration information. The circuit component storage unit collectively stores a circuit data item, design method information items, and performance information items, as a circuit component. The circuit component selection unit selects a circuit component from the circuit component storage unit for implementation of a desired circuit. The design method decision unit selects an optimum design method information item from the design method information items held by each circuit component. The design process unit generates, modifies, and evaluates a circuit. The component entry unit enters a result of the modification made during the design and a newly generated circuit component into the circuit component storage unit.

This invention generally relates to the field of LSI design automation. More particularly it pertains to a design automation system for design of an LSI (large scale integrated circuit) capable of making optimum reuse of existing design resources, and to an LSI design automation method for use by an LSI design automation system.
A high-performance LSI requires a design technique capable of making optimum reuse of existing design resources (hereinafter called the resource-reusable design technique).
The resource-reusable design is performed based on the information about the function and performance of an existing design resource. However, layout data for use by a resource-reusable design method is fixed in, for example, the circuit area. Reuse of such layout data produces some problems, since it lacks flexibility. For example, it cannot deal with a partial functional modification. On the other hand, there is a technique known in the art. In this technique, data is reused which is written by a Hardware Description Language (HDL) capable of flexible reuse of existing design resources. However, this technique is most likely to fail to generate a circuit conforming to the designer's function and performance requirements.
There has been offered an approach. In this approach not only circuit data but also associated design method information is reused with a view to optimizing the design resource performance and implementing a resource-reusable design technique with broad flexibility. Matsumoto et al reported a technique in a paper entitled "An Object-Oriented Method for Automatic Custom LSI Design," the Journal of Information Processing Society of Japan, 45th National Fitting (1992), Vol. 6, pp. 19-20. In accordance with this technique, circuit data, design method information, and other information of a design resource are collectively stored as a circuit component and reused in order to improve the efficiency of LSI design.
Where an LSI is practically designed using a resource-reusable design technique, many circuit components with different functions are combined to implement more sophisticated functions. However, a finally-obtained LSI resulting from the above-noted design method produces the problem that it does not conform to the timing requirements although it functions as designed. This method is not able to generate a desired circuit.
Practically, the timing, the circuit form, and the like must be changed by partly modifying a component, by changing design method information contained in a component, and by replacing a component with another component, to implement a circuit capable of fitting the requirements specification. However, practically it is not easy to modify circuit data and design method information for reuse purposes. Neither an optimum combination of components nor layout information necessary for implementation of a specific function is defined. Therefore the information about a combination of components capable of fitting a requirements specification must be found by trial-and-error.
To facilitate a way of modifying a component and to implement a way of defining an optimum combination of components are considered important.
If a change in the design rules (e.g., the technology change and the design tool change) is required, this will be a bar to the reuse of existing design resources. Especially, for the case of a design system that makes reuse of circuit data as well as design method information to automatically design an LSI, the circuit data change and the design method information change must be made according to the change in the design rules, and circuit data and design method information conforming to such a change must be extracted and stored.
Accordingly, construction of a frame for efficiently making changes in the circuit data and the design method information according to the design rule change becomes a critical subject.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A circuit and method for sensing a difference between a first signal, such as a signal from the source side of a memory cell, and a second signal, such as a signal from a reference dummy cell, includes developing first and second voltages respectively in response to the first and second signals, determining the time at which the second voltage developed in response to the second signal reaches a threshold level above a latch switching point, and latching a state of the first voltage and second voltage at the determined time using a latch circuit. The threshold level above the latch switching point is set so that potential mismatch in the components of the latch circuit is overcome prior to latching.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to high speed sensing for integrated circuit memory devices; and particularly circuits and methods for limiting the effects of device mismatch in sense amplifiers.
2. Description of Related Art
Sense amplifiers in integrated circuits are often designed to detect a difference in voltage across first and second inputs. The first input is connected to a memory cell via decoding circuits that select a memory cell. If the memory cell provides a differential output, such as provided by typical SRAM memory, then the second input is coupled to the complementary output of the memory cell. If the memory cell is single ended, then the second input is coupled to a reference voltage.
Circuits that detect a difference between two inputs include latch circuits that comprise a pair of cross-coupled inverters. The inverters are designed so that the switching points are balanced to switch according to desired levels of the first and second inputs of the latch circuit. However, in the manufacturing of integrated circuits, the inverters do not match perfectly. So, the sense amplifier must be designed to account for potential mismatch. Also, the latches have relatively high switching points, so low level signals, such as signals encountered in source side sensing in memory devices, must be amplified before latching.
One way to account for potential mismatch is to provide a high gain input stage for the sense amplifier. This increases the speed of changes in voltage on the inputs to the latch circuit, so that the time required to develop the margin is short. Another way to account for mismatch is to control the timing of the latch, so that it operates to capture the state of the first and second inputs after the voltage levels on the first and second inputs have reached a stable latch point above the margin required to account for potential mismatches. See, for example, U.S. patent application Publication No. U.S. 2003/0198112 A1, entitled VARIABLE DELAY COMPENSATION FOR DATA-DEPENDENT MISMATCH IN CHARACTERISTIC OF OPPOSING DEVICES OF A SENSE AMPLIFIER, filed Apr. 16, 2002, by Eleyan et al.
The problem presented by mismatch is aggravated by the advances in clock speeds, and reductions in supply voltages in modern integrated circuits. In order for sense amplifiers to work reliably, the timing of the latch circuit must be set to allow for the mismatch margins. Because the mismatch is difficult to predict, and can vary over time, the timing must account for worst-case conditions. The timing margin to account for mismatch becomes a significant limit on increasing clock speeds for the latch circuits. Likewise, mismatch in the switching levels of latch circuits requires that they be designed with voltage headroom to account for worst-case mismatch. Thus, the voltage headroom required to account for mismatch becomes a significant limit on low voltage operation of the devices.
Also, the addition of high gain stages can aggravate the mismatch problem, because the gain stages may also suffer from mismatch. The mismatch in the high gain stage can affect the accuracy and timing of the latch stage of the sense amplifier.
Thus, it is desirable to provide a sense amplifier design that reduces the problems associated with mismatch, allowing low voltage and high-speed operation.

Circuit and method for high speed sensing


A disinfection system is provided herein. The disinfection system includes an UV light source to generate UV light and a housing supporting the UV light source. The housing includes a fan and a shield having a body partially surrounding the UV light source. The body has an inner surface sized and shaped to reflect the UV light from the UV light source. The body defines at least one hole configured to receive air flow from the fan and direct the air flow to contact the UV light source to control a temperature of the UV light source.

Disinfecting surfaces, such as those found in patient areas, can be performed by exposing the hard surfaces to ultraviolet C (UVC) light. UVC light is a low wavelength subtype of UV light that is known to be harmful to micro-organisms such as bacteria, viruses and fungi. It is believed that the short wavelength radiation destroys organisms at a micro-organic level by destroying their nucleic acids, thereby disrupting the organisms' DNA. Once the DNA chain is disrupted, the organisms are unable to cause infection.
There are several advantages to utilizing UV light for disinfecting surfaces. First, generating UV light only requires electricity. UV light does not require the use of any potentially hazardous chemicals that could present storage challenges or potentially leave a residue on a disinfected surface. UV light also does not require a drying time and requires little manpower and skill to apply. Further, UV light generally uses long-lasting UV light sources that do not require significant management and/or maintenance.
One limitation to using UV light for disinfecting surfaces is that UV light generated by the aforementioned UV light sources can vary in intensity based on the temperature of the UV light source. Generally, as the temperature of a UV light source increases during usage, the intensity of the UV light generated by the light source decreases. This can be particularly significant for UV light sources mounted on or within a housing and/or for UV light sources that utilize a reflecting surface to disperse UV light upon generation. UV light sources in these configurations can increase in temperature shortly after being energized, thereby leading to generation of low intensity UV light and inefficient disinfection.

Systems and apparatus for ultraviolet light disinfection


A MEMS (micro-electronic mechanical system) sensor unit is described for wireless security applications that provides an extended battery life for the MEMS sensor unit, to provide both immediate MEMS motion detection, and also an “out of range” detection capability when the MEMS sensor unit is moved beyond the range of a security system receiver, providing both capabilities without an unacceptable reduction in battery life for the MEMS sensor unit.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to a MEMS (micro-electronic mechanical system) sensor unit for wireless security applications that provides an extended battery life for the MEMS sensor unit, to provide both immediate MEMS motion detection, and also an "out of range" detection capability when the MEMS sensor unit is moved beyond the range of a security system receiver, providing both capabilities without an unacceptable reduction in battery life for the MEMS sensor unit.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Prior art wireless security systems have protected valuable assets by attaching to each asset a battery powered security tag that periodically transmits a short range security RF signal to a security system receiver that monitors the signals within a protected safe area defined by the range within which the security system receiver can normally receive and detect the short range signals transmitted by the security tag. The range that a security system receiver can normally receive and detect transmitted short range RF signals is typically 200 to 300 feet within a building and can extend up to one mile over open space. A typical prior art security system can include several different receivers strategically placed around a security area being protected The security system assumes that the asset is safe as long as the security system receiver continues receiving the periodically transmitted security signals, and assumes an alarm condition when the security system receiver stops receiving the periodically transmitted security signals.
MEMS sensors are generally used in the prior art to measure and indicate motion immediately as the sensors are moved in one or more directions. In a wireless security system, a battery powered unit including a MEMS sensor and a transmitter can be attached to a valuable object to be protected, and when the MEMS sensor detects that the object is being moved, the unit transmits a wireless short range RF signal to a security system receiver. For broader applications in the security industry, an ideal MEMS sensor unit would provide immediate MEMS motion detection, and also provide an "out of range" detection capability when the MEMS sensor unit is moved beyond the range of the security system receiver. In this second "out of range" application, a logical way to provide a notification to the security system is for the MEMS sensor unit to transmit signals on a frequent periodic basis, such as on a periodic basis of once every minute. In such an arrangement, the battery life of the transmitter would be severely diminished, and the reduced battery life would not be acceptable in many different security situations. The present invention provides a solution whereby both applications can be met without an unacceptable reduction in battery life for the MEMS sensor unit.

MEMS sensor unit for security applications


The present invention provides a weatherable protective surfacing film which can be laminated to various substrates, such as vinyl outdoor fabrics, by heat and pressure without requiring adhesives. The film has a unitary structure and is comprised of an acrylic polymer/fluoropolymer composition which has a composition gradient across its thickness such that one surface of the film is fluoropolymer-rich to provide excellent weatherability, stain resistance and dirt repellant properties, while the opposite surface of the film is acrylic polymer-rich to give it self-bonding characteristics.

This invention relates to a weatherable film which is useful for forming a protective surfacing layer for a substrate. The present invention is especially applicable to the formation of a protective surface layer on flexible sheet materials, such as vinyl fabrics.
Vinyl outdoor fabrics are used in a wide range of applications such as in awnings, canopies, flexible signs, boat and pool covers, tarps and covers for trucks, and the like. Such fabrics are also widely used in constructing outdoor building structures, such as air inflated buildings and tension supported structures. In all of these outdoor applications, it is important that the vinyl fabric be able to withstand such environmental factors as extreme hot and cold temperatures, ultraviolet radiation and atmospheric pollution. The fabrics are usually produced in various colors and it is desirable that the fabric be resistant to mildew, fading by sunlight, soiling, and staining from airborne pollutants.
To maintain the appearance of the vinyl outdoor fabrics, many manufacturers recommend regular cleaning and the periodic application of a sealer composition, such as an acrylic polymer sealer. However, these procedures involve significant labor and material costs, and are therefore undesirable.
Neumann, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,556,589 discloses a protective fluoropolymer containing sealing layer for vinyl substrates which is applied as an aqueous dispersion to the vinyl substrate and thereafter heated and dried to provide weatherability and resistance to soiling and staining. However, coating processes such as that disclosed in the Neumann et al patent require special coating equipment which is often not available to producers of vinyl fabrics. Furthermore, such coating processes can result in uneven or incomplete coverage, pinholes or blisters, especially with fabrics having a textured surface.
Another approach which has been employed for protecting vinyl fabrics is to apply to the fabric a protective transparent film of a weatherable polymer, such as a fluoropolymer. One such commercially available film which has been widely used for this purpose is produced and sold by DuPont under the trademark Tedlar.RTM.. DuPont's Tedlar.RTM. film is an oriented polyvinyl fluoride film having excellent weatherability and stain resistance. However, the properties of this film which contribute to its excellent weatherability and stain resistance make it difficult to apply the film to a vinyl substrate. Application of the film requires a secondary process to make it adherent to the vinyl. Typically, this involves the application of solvent based adhesives. The volatile solvents required for application of the adhesive require special equipment to control the solvent vapors in the workplace environment. The natural non-adherent properties of the film also render it susceptible to delamination from the underlying vinyl substrate under severe conditions. A further significant drawback of the Tedlar.RTM. film in these applications is its inherent tendency to craze or stress whiten when folded. The vinyl fabrics are frequently creased or folded during handling or installation. The Tedlar.RTM. PVF film has a tendency to craze or stress whiten when folded, thus forming a permanent discoloration or crease line on the fabric.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome the disadvantages and limitations of the aforementioned prior art approaches to protecting vinyl fabrics.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a film which can be applied as a protective weatherable surfacing layer for various substrates, and which does not require the use of volatile solvents or solvent based adhesives for its application.
More specifically, it is an object of the present invention to provide a protective film of the type described which can be applied to various types of substrates and which has a self-bonding capability so that it can be economically and easily applied to the substrate with the use of heat and pressure.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a protective film of the type described which is not susceptible to crazing or stress whitening.
It is still another object of the invention to provide a film of the type described which, when applied to the substrate, forms a adherent bond which is not susceptible to delamination.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a protective film of the type described which imparts to a substrate excellent soil and stain resistance properties.


A flexible entry boot provides a fluid-tight fitting between a wall of a fluid containment region and a conduit passing through the wall. The flexible entry boot comprises a seal member disposed within the containment region; and a securing plate disposed within the containment region and releasably mounted to the seal member. A flexibly rigid, hollow support sleeve is attached to the seal member. The hollow support sleeve has a degree of flexibility sufficient to allow for the insertion of the conduit at angles equal to or other than an angle normal to the fluid containment wall while maintaining a fluid-tight environment. A mechanism is provided for releasably attaching the hollow support sleeve to the conduit. An outer sealing member is disposed outside the containment region; and an inner sealing member is disposed inside the containment region, the inner sealing member being matingly and sealingly engageable with the outer sealing member, with the wall of the fluid containment region extending therebetween. A mechanism is provided for releasably attaching the seal member to the inner sealing member.

The present invention relates generally to a fitting for a containment chamber and, more particularly, to a matingly engaged flexible entry boot for providing a fluid-tight fitting between a wall of a fluid containment region and a conduit passing through the wall.
For many years in the area of fluid fittings, some structures have been of a permanent variety which include welding or bonding of the exterior wall of the conduit to the wall opening of the fluid containment region through which the conduit extends. Other structures, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,775,073, disclose the use of a fitting system which is installed at a factory and then adapted by the user to fit his needs. Such manufacturing processes of fluid containment structures are limited since they require built-in fitting systems for which some users may not have any need, use and/or desire.
Moreover, many of these fitting structures require fixedly attaching the conduit at an angle perpendicular to the containment region wall. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,129,684; 4,775,073; 4,492,392; and 2,310,877 teach conduit fitting systems which require the conduit to be placed at an angle normal to the containment wall. If the angle is not normal, the fluid-tight seal will be breached. Such requirements greatly inhibit the use of the fitting system since a conduit cannot be inserted into the containment wall at angles which are other than normal while still maintaining a fluid-tight environment.
A prior art bulkhead fitting 100 is shown in FIG. 6. This fitting 100 includes a threadingly engageable flanged member 102 outside the containment region. Inside the containment region is a gasket 104; and the mating member 106 for threading engagement with the flanged member 102. The threads both on member 102 and mating member 106 are square threads. At an end distal from the threadingly engaged end, mating member 106 includes an annular lip 108, over which a flexible boot portion 110 is placed. A conduit (not shown) is inserted through opening 112, and worm gear hose clamps (not shown) secure the boot portion 110 and conduit at clamping areas 114 and 116, respectively. However, several drawbacks exist with this fitting 100. Due to the circumferential seal between annular lip 108 and boot portion 110, if the materials of which boot portion 110 and mating member 106 are made do not have exactly the same coefficient of expansion, lip 108 and boot portion 110 will expand and contract at different rates. This will make fitting 100 prone to leakage. In fact, under normal use pressures, such as water pressure and/or other exterior pressures, eg. backfill pressure, boot portion 110 may dislodge completely from mating member 106. Further, if to prevent such leakage, boot portion 110 is made to be tightly tensioned over lip 108 at any temperature and/or pressure, boot portion 110 will be very difficult to remove for repair and/or replacement; and it will be extremely difficult to replace while within the strict confines of a buried sump or the like. Further, lip 108 is quite thin, and substantially thinner than the remainder of mating member 106; as such, lip 108 may be weak and prone to breakage. A further disadvantage is that the same sized fitting 100 is used to accommodate various diameter piping systems. As the boot portion 110 is quite large, when a smaller diameter pipe (such as a 1" pipe) is installed therein, the consequently large gaps therearound are prone to fill with backfill gravel and the like, further making fitting 100 prone to failure.
Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide a fluid-tight entry boot for use with fluid-tight fitting systems, which boot has the advantage of easy installation for a user. It is a further object of the present invention to provide such an entry boot which has at least one seal member substantially fully disposed within the containment region, which advantageously protects the seal member from ground and weather exposure. It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a flexible entry boot which may be repaired and/or replaced without detaching the entire boot assembly from the wall of the containment region. Yet still further, it is an object of the present invention to provide such an entry boot which allows for the insertion of a conduit into a containment wall opening at angles which are not necessarily normal while maintaining a fluid-tight environment. Still further, it is an object of the present invention to provide such a fluid-tight system which is of simple construction and relatively easy and inexpensive to manufacture. It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide such an entry boot which can suitably withstand the effects of thermal expansion and contraction, while yet being quick and simple to replace and/or repair.


A DLP optical system is provided. The DLP optical system includes a lamp unit, an optical engine unit, a DMD, a prism, a projection lens, and a light-blocking part. The lamp unit provides light, and the optical engine unit is optically connected with the lamp unit, has optical parts for converting light incident from the lamp unit into an image signal therein, and includes a primary lens for transmitting the image signal. The DMD reflects the image signal transmitted from the primary lens, and the prism is formed closely to the DMD to adjust a path of light. The projection lens projects an on-beam of light from the prism that contributes to forming of an image onto a screen. The light-blocking part is provided on an incident side of the projection lens to transmit only the on-beam and shields light of a flat state region located between an on-beam and an off-beam.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical system, and more particularly, to a digital light processing (DLP) optical system for solving a contrast problem of an image that is caused by light discarded in the DLP optical system.
2. Description of the Related Art
A DLP optical system is much favored as a panel for a next generation projection television (TV) and a projector because the DLP optical system has a superior contrast to a contrast of a panel of liquid crystal display (LCD) devices, cathode ray tubes (CRTs), which are currently in use, and has a very simple optical structure, so that a size and weight of the system can be reduced.
The DLP optical system allows light from a lamp to be reflected by a plurality of extremely fine mirrors manufactured using a Micro Electro Mechanical System (MEMS) technology and controls brightness of a pixel corresponding to each of the mirrors. At this point, since light's brightness expresses nothing but a contrast, light is transmitted through a color wheel before the light is incident to the mirrors so that both contrast and color can be realized.
The brightness of each pixel is determined by a time for which one of the mirrors that corresponds to each pixel illuminates light from a light source onto a projection lens. Such a process is realized through pulse width modulation (PWM).
The DLP optical system uses a digital micro mirror device (DMD) developed by Texas instrument Co. The DMD is a semiconductor light switch where fine driving mirrors are integrated. In the DMD, a fine aluminum alloy mirror is installed on an upper portion of one cell of a static random access memory (SRAM), and the fine mirror is operated by a static electric field of a lower memory.
The DMD is classified into a single-chip DMD and a 3-chip DMD separating light into red, green, and blue lights, and managing the same. Both the single-chip DMD and the 3-chip DMD are complete digital type devices and have an advantage of achieving very excellent color reproduction. Besides, the DMD has a long life, a high definition, and can directly reproduce an input digital image signal without separate correction and thus realize an image without reduction of image quality.
A construction of a DLP optical system will be schematically illustrated. First, the DLP optical system includes a lamp unit emitting light, an optical engine unit for converting light introduced from the lamp unit into an appropriate image signal on the basis of an image signal input from the outside, an DMD device for reflecting an image signal transmitted from the optical engine unit, a projection lens for transmitting part of the image signal reflected from the DMD device, and a support for supporting respective elements.
The lamp unit is used as a light source for providing white light including all colors and may be a metal halide lamp. The metal halide lamp emits light by discharging electricity in a gas in order to provide brighter complete white light than that of a low-priced metal filament lamp.
The optical engine unit separates and combines colors of whit light generated from the lamp unit such that colors correspond to an image signal input from the outside to form an image and projects the formed image.
The DMD reflects an light in the form of an on-beam or an off-beam according to a signal input from the outside. The one-beam or off-beam is changed in its path by a prism and projected to the outside via the projection lens.
In detail, when needed, the DMD reflects an input signal in the form of an on-beam or an off-beam. When the input signal is reflected in the form of the on-beam, the DMD realizes a white screen. When the input signal is reflected in the form of the off-beam, the DMD realizes a black screen. There can exist a reflection angle of a DMD in an on-beam state, a reflection angle of a DMD in an off-beam state, and an intermediate angle between them. This is because the DMD realizes the on-beam state and the off-beam state by physically rotating mirrors of the DMD. Therefore, a flat state is generated when transition from the on-beam state to the off-beam state, and from the off-state to the on-state are made.
A light optical path of the DLP optical system having the above-descried construction is clearly understood when a conceptual view of a light reflection path of the DMD illustrated in FIG. 1.
Referring to FIG. 1, when mirrors 8 of the DMD rotates a predetermined angle, light emitted from a lamp 5 is incident to a projection lens 6 when the light is in the on-beam state and incident to a light absorption part 7 when the light is in the off-beam state. However, in the intermediate state between the on-beam state and the off-state, light is incident to a portion not defined in an inner side of the optical system or incident to a screen via the projection lens, so that an unwanted image is formed on the screen.
The intermediate state between the on-beam state and the off-beam state will be descried in detail.
When the DMD transitions from the on-beam state to the off-beam state or vice versa, the mirrors of the DMD that reflect light go through an intermediate angle while the mirrors change between an angle corresponding to the on-beam state and an angle corresponding to the off-beam state. Therefore, even during the off-beam state, part of light is transmitted via a prism and projected onto a screen via the projection lens by the mirrors. The light projected onto the screen during the off-beam state is illuminated on an entire screen, which reduces contrast of the screen. Accordingly, black color is not perfectly realized but instead a gray color is displayed.
In detail, even when a related art DLP optical system realizes a black screen, that is, the DMD reflects all signals in the form of the off-beam, part of light is projected onto a screen via a projection lens, so that a perfect black and white screen is not realized and thus contrast of the screen is reduced.
Since such contrast reduction is always generated while mirrors of a DMD rotate, the contrast reduction is always generated when an image of any type is formed on a screen as well as a black is realized on the screen.

Light shielding member for a micro-mirror projection system


Derivatives of gamma-amino-alpha,beta-unsaturated sulfonic acids, a process for the preparation of the same and their utilization in the synthesis of pseudopeptides characterized by the presence of at least a sulfonamide type bond conjugated to a double bond are described.

This invention relates to derivatives of aminosulfonic acids and the utilization of the same in the synthesis of pseudopeptides characterized by the presence of at least a sulfonamide type bond, and having a potential pharmacological activity. This invention relates also to a process for the synthesis of said derivatives of aminosulfonic acids as well as their utilization in the synthesis of said pseudopeptides.

Derivatives of aminosulfonic acids, utilization of the same in the synthesis of pseudopeptides and process for their preparation