A tire rasp blade made with an arcuate shape and a plurality of sets of teeth at the outer working edge having recesses between each set of teeth. Each set of teeth is inclined in the same direction and is formed by two teeth, with the pair of teeth in each set separated by an inclined narrow slit which has a curved portion at its inner end and which extends inwardly beyond the depth of the recesses between the teeth. Each pair of teeth in each set is displaced laterally or angularly from each other and from the body of the rasp blade. Each tooth of each pair includes a leading edge and a trailing edge wherein the portion of the teeth edges near the outer edge of the blade body are substantially straight or curved.. In another embodiment of the invention, clearing teeth are provided wherein each clearing tooth replaces a set of teeth at intervals of the teeth sets along the rasp blade of the rasp blades described above. Each clearing tooth is formed by a single tooth which is in the same plane as the blade body and which does not include the inclined narrow slit of the other teeth sets.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to rasp blades used for removing rubber from the carcass of a tire in order to prepare the carcass for retreading.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Prior to applying a new tread to a tire carcass, it is necessary to prepare the surface of the carcass so that it is substantially uniform and has the proper shape and condition for receiving the tire retread material. It has been customary for a number of years to use a rotating hub with a large number of rasp blades mounted on the hub for cutting and buffing the surface of the tire carcass to prepare such surface for receiving the retread material. Such rasp blades have been used in numerous configurations and shapes in the prior art.
The preferred rasp blades in use prior to the 1960's had negative rake teeth of generally triangular profile notwithstanding short-comings in life and performance, since positive rake had been found to cause dragging and tearing which was cumulative and uncontrollable. This apparently occurred since the tooth spacing and tooth tip angles employed in rasp blades with positive rake teeth had a stretching effect which, under moderate to heavy pressure, pulled the rubber into the path of oncoming teeth.
The break-through which enabled positive rake to be used came with blades having tooth sets oppositely directed wherein teeth with negative rake were interposed between those with positive rake. Examples of such prior art tire rasps are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,896,309, 3,082,506 and 3,680,185. The control resulting from these configurations enabled the rasps to perform effectively, with higher rate of tread removal and longer life.
The control provided by teeth oppositely inclined, as described above, stems from the proximity of the outer edge of the negative rake teeth to the leading edge of the positive rake teeth. The teeth are usually in the form of sets of four with two pairs of teeth facing at opposite angles of inclination to each other with recesses between the teeth. Other examples of such prior art tire rasps are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,747,194, and the prior art cited therein. The present invention is an improvement on the tire rasp blades disclosed in the above patent and departs from the concept of oppositely inclined teeth which has been the common trade approach to rasp blade construction.


A recording medium is formed by laminating a first transparent electrode, a photoconductive layer member, a recording member and a second transparent electrode in order. The recording medium has voltage supply members, having a conductive material, being provided to peripheral portions of the electrodes, equalizing electric potentials of the peripheral portions respectively when a specific voltage is applied across the electrodes, to make currents flow from the peripheral portions to respective portions of the electrodes, thus a potential difference between the electrodes, thus a potential difference between the electrodes being constant. There is also a recording medium having first and second transparent electrodes, a photoconductive layer member and a recording member. This recording medium has such voltage supply members as above, a first lamination member having a first transparent substrate on which the first transparent electrode and the photoconductive layer member laminated in order, a second lamination member having a second transparent substrate on which the second transparent electrode and the recording member laminated in order, and coupling embers for unifying the lamination members together with a gap of specific width in such a manner that the photoconductive layer member and recording member face each other.

The present invention relates to recording media and recording apparatus thereof.
The use of image signals that have been generated to correspond to an optical image of an object facilitates the performance of edit, trimming and other image processing in the status of electrical signals, and also facilitates the recording and reproduction through the use of a recording material for which the recorded signals can be erased. Conventionally proposed image processing systems in the field of printing and electronic publishing and the like, are as follows: (1) a method where color image signals that have been generated by a color TV camera of the three-tube or single-tube type are recorded to a recording medium such as a VTR, a semiconductor memory, or a magnetic disk or the like, and these are reproduced to obtain color image signals, (2) a method where color image signals that have been generated by a color TV camera of the three-plate or single-plate type are recorded to a recording medium such as a VTR, a semiconductor memory, or a magnetic disk or the like, and these are reproduced to obtain color image signals, and (3) a method where image signals are obtained using a laser telecinema from a color image recorded in a color film by photographing an object by a camera.
In order for the images obtained by image processing systems to be used in the fields of printing and the like, it is required for those images to have a resolution of about 4000 .times. 4000 pixels. Since there is the problem that a higher resolution cannot be obtained with respect to the camera tube or the the solid state image plate, and the recording system, there is a limit to the degree of resolution of about 1000 .times. 2000 pixels obtained by HDTV. More specifically, in the color TV cameras that have been conventionally used to generate image signals, an optical image of an object via a camera lens, is passed through a color splitting system and formed on a photo-electric conversion portion of an image pickup device. Then, in the photo-electric conversion portion, the optical image is converted into electrical image, and that image information is outputted as linear image signals on a time axis. The image pickup devices used in color TV cameras such as this are conventionally various known types of image pickup tubes and solid state image pickup devices.
When the image pickup device for the generation of a image signals for a high-quality and high resolution reproduced image, is an image pickup tube, there is a limit to the degree of fineness of the electron beam diameter in the image pickup tube and so the target capacity of the image pickup tube must be increased so as to correspond to the target area and thus it is not possible to obtain a high resolution. In addition, for example, in case of a color image pickup apparatus for moving picture, there is a problem of the signal-to-noise ratio because the frequency bandwidth of the image signals accompanying high resolution becomes greater than several tens of MHz to several hundreds of MHz. For these reasons, when an image pickup tube is used in a color image pickup apparatus, there are difficulties in generating such image signals that it is possible to reproduce high-quality and high-resolution reproduced images.
In this matter, in a conventional color TC camera, there is a limit to the use of HDTV system for which the image pickup device used as a degree of resolution of 1000 .times. 2000 pixels. Because of this, it is not possible to generate image signals that can reproduce images having a degree of resolution of 4000 .times. 4000 pixels.
In order to eliminate the problem associated with the conventional technology, the applicant of the present invention has proposed a recording and reproduction method using a charge image that can be recorded and reproduced for an image at a high resolution, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,831,452, for example. FIG. 1A is a view for describing the principle of the recording method using charge images, described above. In this figure, a recording medium RM is provided with transparent electrodes Et1, Et2, a photoconductive layer member PCL and a photomodulation layer member PML as a recording member. Connected to the recording medium RM are power source Eb and a switch SW.
Instead of the photomodulation layer member PML, a recording member such as a charge holding layer member, a charge image being held therein by a dielectric material can be used, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1990-222924.
In FIG. 1A, after an optical information Pi (an electro-magnetic radiation beam) which is the object of recording focussed by an image pickup lens (not shown), has passed the transparent electrode Et1 and forms an image on the photoconductive layer material PCL, the electrical resistance value of the photoconductive layer material PCL changes in accordance with the optical information. At this time, the switch SW is in the ON status and a voltage Vb that is generated by the power source Eb is impressed across the transparent electrodes Et1 and Et2.
Accordingly, a charge image corresponding to the optical information Pi is formed at the boundary between the photoconductive layer member PCL and the photomodulation layer member PML. This charge image causes an electrical field having a field intensity corresponding to the optical information Pi, to be impressed to the photomodulation layer member PML. As a result, the optical nature of the photomodulation layer member PML changes in accordance with the field intensity. When an electromagnetic radiation beam for reproduction is irradiated to this photomodulation layer member PML via the transparent electrode Et2, the electromagnetic radiation beam for reproduction changes in accordance with the optical nature and is outputted as a reproduced image.
The photomodulation layer material PML described above is conventionally comprised of lead lanthanum titanate, thermoplastic, or a polymer dispersed-liquid crystal film comprising a polymer material having many fine pores that enclose nematic liquid crystal or smectic liquid crystal. When a polymer dispersed crystal film is used as the photomodulation layer member PML, the status of orientation of the crystals in the many fine pores changes so as to correspond to the optical information Pi. As a result, the transmittance of light of the polymer dispersed-liquid crystal film changes in accordance with the optical information Pi.
In the recording medium RM described above, there is shading in a reproduced image obtained by irradiation of an electromagnetic radiation beam for reproduction to the recording medium RM from the transparent electrode Et2 side occurs when the field intensity formed across the transparent electrodes Et1, Et2 by the voltage Vb impressed thereacross from the power source Eb, changes according to portions of the transparent electrodes .An equivalent circuit of the recording medium RM is shown in FIG. 1B. In the circuit shown in FIG. 1B, r11, r12, ... are electrical resistors of the transparent electrode Et1, and r21, r22, r23, ... are electrical resistors of the transparent electrode Et2. The portion shown by an arrow Z in the figure corresponds to the photoconductive layer member PCL and the photomodulation layer member PML.
In the circuit, when the switch SW is ON, a potential difference between portions a and a' of the transparent electrodes Et1 and Et2 is Va-a' = Vb - (r11 + r21) * i1 (i1 is a current flowing through the electrical resistors r11 and r21).
Next, a potential difference between portions b and b' of the transparent electrodes Et1 and Et2 is Vb-b' =Va-a ' - (r12 + r22) * i2 (i2 is a current flowing through the electrical resistors r12 and r22).
Accordingly, Vb > Va-a' > Vb-b', so that the more the portions of the transparent electrodes Et1 and Et2 are apart from connection points P and P' of the power source Eb and the electrodes, the more the potential difference between the electrodes on those portions is decreased as shown in FIG. 1C. The axis of abscissas of FIG. 1C depicts the distance between the connection points P and P' and the portions of the transparent electrodes Et1 and Et2. Shading thus occurs in the output reproduced image as described above.

Recording medium and recording apparatus wherein voltage is applied only to peripheral edges of the recording medium


A can type lithium secondary battery including an electrode assembly including a first electrode plate, a second electrode plate, and a separator, a can for receiving the electrode assembly and an electrolyte, and a cap assembly including a cap plate, an electrode terminal and a gasket, the cap assembly closing an upper opening of the can, wherein the electrode terminal comes into electrical contact with an upper surface of the cap plate when the can type lithium secondary battery is deformed by a longitudinal pressure.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a can type lithium secondary battery. More particularly, the present invention relates can type lithium secondary battery configured to short-circuit in a predetermined manner when subjected to an externally-applied force, thereby providing an enhanced margin of safety.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Batteries are employed in a wide variety of equipment including, to name just a few, vehicles, e.g., electric and hybrid vehicles, portable power tools, electronics, etc. Portable compact electronic devices, e.g., cellular phones, laptop computers, camcorders, etc., are being widely developed and produced. Such portable electronic devices typically include an internal battery pack to allow continuing operation even when no external power supply is available. Such a built-in battery pack typically includes at least one unit battery inside and provides the electronic device with a predetermined level of voltage over a reasonable period of time.
Batteries are generally classified as primary or secondary batteries. Primary batteries are commonly known as single-use batteries, while secondary batteries are commonly known as rechargeable batteries. Both primary and secondary batteries may be suitable for use in portable electronic devices. However, secondary batteries are widely adopted because they can be reused and may be, therefore, more economical than single-use batteries. Secondary batteries have been developed using a wide variety of technologies.
Battery technologies currently favored for portable electronic devices include nickel cadmium (Ni—Cd) batteries, nickel metal hydride (Ni-MH) batteries, lithium (Li) batteries, etc. The Li batteries have, in particular, been widely employed in the latest generation of electronics devices. A Li battery may have an operation voltage of 3.6 V, which is about three times the operation voltage of the comparable Ni—Cd or Ni-MH batteries. The Li battery may exhibit a relatively high energy density per unit weight. In a typical Li battery, a lithium-based oxide may be used as a positive electrode activation material, and a carbon-based material may be used as a negative electrode activation material. Li batteries may be classified as liquid electrolyte batteries and polymer electrolyte batteries, depending on the electrolyte used therein. Liquid electrolyte batteries are also known as lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries and polymer electrolyte batteries are also known as Li polymer batteries. The Li battery may be manufactured in various shapes, e.g., cylindrical can types, rectangular or prismatic can types, pouch types, etc.
A typical can type lithium secondary battery may have an electrode assembly, a battery case for housing the electrode assembly and electrolyte injected inside the battery case to give mobility to charge-carrying ions. The electrode assembly may include a positive electrode plate on which a positive activation material is coated, a negative electrode plate on which a negative activation material is coated and a separator interposed between the positive and negative electrode plates. The separator may serve to prevent short circuits between the positive and negative electrode plates, and to allow only ions to pass. The width of the separator of the electrode assembly may be larger than the widths of the electrode plates, in order to prevent the electrode plates from making contact with each other. However, if such a battery suffers an external impact, e.g., by being dropped or hit, it may develop a short circuit.
FIG. 1 illustrates an exploded perspective view of a conventional can type lithium secondary battery. Referring to FIG. 1, the can type lithium secondary battery may include an electrode assembly 112 including an anode electrode plate 113, a cathode electrode plate 115 and a separator 114. The can type lithium secondary battery may further include a can 110 for receiving the electrode assembly 112 and an electrolyte, and a cap assembly 120 for tightly sealing an upper opening 110a of the can 110.
The cap assembly 120 may include a cap plate 140, an insulation plate 150, a terminal plate 160 and an electrode terminal 130. The cap assembly 120 may be associated with a separate insulation case 170 and then coupled to the upper opening 110a of the can 110, so as to tightly seal the can 110.
The cap plate 140 may be a metal plate having a size and shape corresponding to those of the upper opening 110a of the can 110. The cap plate 140 may have a through-hole 141, which may be formed at a center portion thereof. The through-hole 141 may have a predetermined size for receiving the electrode terminal 130. A gasket 146, e.g., a gasket having a tubular aspect for encircling the electrode terminal 130, may be mounted on the electrode terminal 130 when the electrode terminal 130 is inserted into the through-hole 141, in order to insulate the electrode terminal 130 from the cap plate 140. The cap plate 140 may have an electrolyte injection hole 142, which may be formed at a side thereof. After the cap assembly 120 is coupled to the upper opening 110a of the can 110, the electrolyte may be injected through the electrolyte injection hole 142 into the can 110. Then, the electrolyte injection hole 142 may be sealed by separate sealing structure 143. The sealing structure 143 may be, e.g., a plug.
The electrode terminal 130 may be connected to a cathode electrode tap 117 of the cathode electrode plate 115, or to an anode electrode tap 116 of the anode electrode plate 113. The electrode terminal 130 may operate as a cathode electrode terminal or an anode electrode terminal.
The insulation plate 150 may be made from the same insulation material as the gasket 146 and may be attached to a lower surface of the cap plate 140. The insulation plate 150 may have a through-hole 151 formed in a portion thereof corresponding to the through-hole 141 of the cap plate 140, for receiving the electrode terminal 130. The insulation plate 150 may have a recess 152 formed in a lower surface thereof, in order to receive the terminal plate 160.
The terminal plate 160 may be made of, e.g., a metal such as nickel or nickel alloy, and may be attached to the lower surface of the insulation plate 150. The terminal plate 160 may have a through-hole 161 formed in a portion thereof corresponding to the through-hole 141 of the cap plate 140, for receiving the electrode terminal 130. The electrode terminal 130 may extend through the through-hole 141 and may be insulated from the cap plate 140 by the gasket 146, and the terminal plate 160 may be electrically insulated from the cap plate 140 while being electrically connected to the electrode terminal 130.
When the electrode terminal 130 is assembled with the cap plate 140, the insulation plate 150 and the terminal plate 160, the electrode terminal 130 may be inserted into the through-hole 141 by being rotated and subjected to a suitable force. After passing though the through-hole 141, the electrode terminal 130 may extend through the through-holes 151 and 161. The through-hole 151 may have a diameter equal to or slightly larger than a diameter of the electrode terminal 130. When the electrode terminal 130 is inserted into the through-hole 151, the peripheral surface of the electrode terminal 130 may come into close contact with and fit in the through-hole 151.
If a short circuit, e.g., an interior short circuit or exterior short circuit of the electrode assembly, occurs in the can type lithium secondary battery described above, an electric current flow may rapidly increase, which may result in the generation of a large temperature increase. Similarly, an overcharge or overdischarge of the can type lithium secondary battery may generate a large temperature increase. As a result, there is a danger of damage to the can type lithium secondary battery, the device the can type lithium secondary battery is installed in and/or the user.
In order to prevent interior short circuits of the can type lithium secondary battery, an insulating tape may be wound on various portions of the can type lithium secondary battery at which the short circuits are likely to occur, including, e.g., terminal portions of the anode and cathode electrode plates and the regions in which the electrode taps are welded in the electrode assembly. Additionally, safety elements, e.g., positive temperature coefficient devices, thermal fuses and protecting circuits, may be built into the can type lithium secondary battery. Such safety elements may interrupt the electric current before it exceeds a safe level, so as to prevent the damage of the can type lithium secondary battery.
However, if the can type lithium secondary battery described above is deformed by an external impact or externally-applied force, the safety elements may not prevent short circuiting between the electrode plates. In particular, when subjected to a standardized compression test or crush test used to evaluate safety for can type secondary batteries, the can type lithium secondary battery may suffer a short circuit between the electrode plates.
In the standardized compression test, a pressure jig is employed to apply a force to the can type lithium secondary battery. The pressure jig is used to compress two sides of the can type lithium secondary battery in a direction normal to the longitudinal axis of the can type lithium secondary battery. In particular, the pressure jig presses the can type lithium secondary battery, such that the pressing surfaces of the pressure jig are kept in parallel with the two sides of the can type lithium secondary battery, and subjects the can type lithium secondary battery to a pressure of about 13 kN in the direction normal to the longitudinal axis of the can type lithium secondary battery. Where the can type lithium secondary battery is a prismatic battery, the test may be repeated along a second axis, using a second sample of the can type lithium secondary battery. That is, referring to FIG. 1, the two short sides of a first sample of the can type lithium secondary battery may be crushed by applying the compressive force of a pressure of about 13 kN applied in the direction of the crush axis CA1.
When a can type lithium secondary battery is compressed according to the standardized compression test method, the anode electrode plate and the cathode electrode plate may be short circuited to each other, thereby allowing the electric current to rapidly flow from the anode electrode plate to the cathode electrode plate. This may result in a large amount of heat being generated by the resistance of the anode and cathode electrode plates. If the amount of heat generated is excessive, the can type lithium secondary battery may explode.


A highly conductive polymer is obtained by electrochemically oxidizing a polysilane.

Great attention has been paid to conductive organic polymers since the discovery that polyacetylene exerts high electrical conductivity due to electron conduction when it is oxidized or reduced in the presence of electron accepting or donative materials to induce charge transfer reaction. Typical examples of such organic polymers are polyacetylenes, polyphenylenes, polypyrroles, polyanilines and polythiophenes.
These organic polymers, however, are difficult to shape due to insolubility and infusibility. Since a film of such polymer is formed by a gas phase or electrolytic polymerization process, the shape of the film is restricted by the shape of the reactor or electrode. The polymers can be seriously deteriorated by oxidation or reduction. These problems prohibit the practical utilization of the conductive polymers.
Polysilanes are very interesting polymers because of their metallic nature and electron delocalization on silicons as compared with carbon, high heat resistance, flexibility, and good thin film formability although none of them are highly conductive. There are known only a few examples of conductive polysilane which are obtained by oxidizing a polysilane having an amino group in a side chain with iodine or oxidizing it with ferric chloride vapor. The use of such corrosive oxidizing agents restrains the conductive polysilane from finding use as electronic materials.

Highly conductive polymer composition and method for making


A computer system receives a first information detailing a TLS fingerprint. A computer system determines an amount of bad transactions associated with the TLS fingerprint, wherein a bad transaction is a transaction involved in one or more fraudulent activities. The computer system determines whether the amount of bad transactions associated with the TLS fingerprint exceeds a threshold amount.

TLS provides security in the form of encryption to all manner of network connections from legitimate financial transactions, to private conversations. The inability for an eavesdropper to analyze this encrypted traffic protects its users. Those using TLS operate under the assumption that although an eavesdropper can easily observe the existence of their session, the content itself is secure and unreadable without access to cryptographic keying material at one or both ends of the connection.
Furthermore, by capturing the elements of a client hello packet, which remain static from session to session for each client, it is possible to build a fingerprint (TLS fingerprint).

Utilizing transport layer security (TLS) fingerprints to determine agents and operating systems


Provided are a polycaprolactone-polyphosphate block copolymer, a liquid composite formed by the block copolymer, a nucleic acid preparation, preparation methods for the copolymer and the liquid composite, and the use of the copolymer and the liquid composite in a nucleic acid medicine delivery system. The block copolymer prepared using the present invention has good biocompatibility, low cytotoxicity, and good biodegradability. The micelles provided in the present invention self-assemble into nano-particles in an aqueous solution, and have good stability, biocompatibility, and biodegradability, and low cytotoxicity. The preparation method is simple, has high repeatability, as a vector can protect small nucleic acids such as siRNA from biodegradation, can combine with the scale effect of nano-particles, and can be used for treating different diseases. Additionally, bonding targeting groups enable specificity recognition of different cancer cells.

RNA interference is a technology of gene silencing mediated by double-stranded small interfering RNA (siRNA) composed of about 20 nucleotides or more. It has sequence specificity, so the small nucleic acids based on RNA interference has a great application prospect in disease treatment. However, as the molecules of small nucleic acids, including siRNA, don't have the ability to target tissues or cells, have a poor ability to penetrate cell membrane and are extremely unstable in a physiological environment, their delivery system, vector in particular, is a key issue that should be solved urgently. It is also one of the most critical factors deciding whether small nucleic acid drugs can eventually and successfully be used in clinic. At present, the small nucleic acid drugs used to treat solid tumors are under clinical trial in the world, for example: TKM-D80301 developed by Tekmira, ATU027 developed by Silence Therapeutics, and CALAA-01 developed by Calando Pharmaceutics.
Therefore, it is very important to develop delivery system and preparation of small nucleic acids with high biocompatibility, and low cytotoxicity and side effects to treat diseases.

Block copolymer, liquid composite thereof, nucleic acid preparation, preparation methods therefor, and use thereof


An electric motor system has a motor having motor windings and a motor housing. The motor is a variable speed permanent magnet motor configured to drive a load which is part of a residential or commercial machine. A motor control subsystem includes a power module electrically connected to the motor windings. A common mode inductor is electrically interposed between the motor control subsystem and the motor windings so as to present a high impedance obstacle to common mode transients and to reduce an electromagnetic interference effect of an inherent capacitance of each of the motor windings. The common mode inductor is an air core inductor located substantially within the motor housing, and takes the form of additional turns added to the end of each of the motor windings.

Common mode noise takes the form of high frequency transient spikes that have a path to ground, and may be caused by, e.g., lightning strikes, power outages, and power transitions in other large equipment on the same power line. In electric motor systems, these common mode line transients can cause high currents in motor phase leads which can stress the power module and even cause it to fail. More specifically, during surge and ring wave transients, particularly line to ground transients, the inherent capacitance between the motor windings and the stator can cause high currents to flow in the outputs of a power inverter component of the power module, and these high currents can stress and damage the power output stage.
In larger drives in which the motor controls are not mounted to the electric motors, inductors have been used between the controls and the motors to filter the output power in order to reduce stress on the motors resulting from pulse width modulation edges and to reduce electromagnetic interference (EMI) from the motor leads. However, these inductors are not integrated and therefore require additional space, labor, and cost to install, and are subject to saturation at the high currents levels that occur during transients.
This background discussion is intended to provide information related to the present invention which is not necessarily prior art.

Electronic motor system with common mode inductor


An image editor for an image processing system has a predefined set of system colors. Color pixel color index values for an image to be edited are stored in an image buffer. A color lookup register bank stores color values in respective registers for a predefined set of system colors. Each buffer index value corresponds to a lookup register having the specified color value. The image is thus displayed by indexing the image pixels to the lookup register bank for the color signal inputs to the display. A mouse is used to designate displayed colors that a user desires to modify in a region of the displayed image. Pixel position data corresponding to the designated colors is detected and hue, saturation and brightness (HSB) values are determined from the stored color values for the designated image pixels. A minimum range of values is determined for each of the HSB variables. A preselected color edit operation is applied to those image pixels having colors corresponding to HSB values within the respective minimum HSB ranges.

The present invention relates to image processing systems and methods and more particularly to image editors that employ color key editing.
Various kinds of image processing systems may employ color key editing or selection in image editing operations.
Color key selection uses pixel values to determine which operation. Editing or colorizing is then performed on all of the selected pixels (typically, defined by a bit mask) in accordance with a conventional editing operation such as TV Image or Line Art. The selected pixels are chosen by some suitable means.
Color key editing is often defined as a procedure in which pixel selection and colorizing are combined in a pixel-by-pixel operation.
One type of image processing system is a duplicator system in which a stored electronic image can be edited and applied to a platen to produce a hard copy output. Another system is a reprographic system in which a digital image is scanned from a hard copy input and then processed through an image editor to generate an edited hard copy output from a laser printer or the like. In an image edit system, an image editor processes stored images in accordance with edit operations and stores the edited images electronically for use in other systems.
Color editing generally is a process in which some means is provided for defining image pixels to which color changes are to be applied. In the prior art, for example, full color images are interactively edited on color display monitors of limited ibit-depth using the techniques disclosed in the above referenced patent application Ser. No. 07/517,895.
However, color editing typically has been limited to adjusting all of the color lookup table entries that correspond to pixels in a well-defined closed region of an encoded form of the full color image. Editing productivity and editing equality have according been adversly affected. Thus, it may be difficult to define a region having only the colors that are to be changed, and as a result some colors may not be changed that should be changed or vice versa.
For example, consider an image of a tree with sky showing through the leaves. The sky color may be greenish because of erroneous use of tungsten indoor film for outdoor picture taking. As a result, tiny bits of sky showing through small spaces between the leaves are off-color. Correcting the sky color of the small tree spaces without washing out the spaces is at best very difficult with known prior art procedures.
In any case, the known prior art has had no capability for adaptive editing where editing operation on a pixel depends on the pixel color.
The following prior patents have been identified as having limited relevance to the present invention:
1. U.S. Pat. No. 4,167,729, "Apparatus For Obtaining Multi-Spectral Signatures",dated Sep. 11, 1979, filed by Dempster S. Christenson, et al.
2. U.S. Pat. No. 4,488,245, "Method And Means For Color Detection And Modification",dated Dec. 11, 1984, filed by George W. Dalke, et al.
3. U.S. Pat. No. 4,649,423, "Method and Circuit Arrangement For Selective Correction Of Hues And Colors",dated Mar. 10, 1987, filed by Ingo Hoffrichter, et al.
4. U.S. Pat. No. 4,727,425, "Pixel Color Modification Using Look-Up Tables In Image Reproduction System",dated Feb. 23, 1988, filed by Clive L. Mayne, et al.
5. U.S. Pat. No. 4,731,662, "Image Processing Method For Processing An Image Signal Differently Depending On The Range Of An Image Characteristic Thereof Relative To The Range Within Which An Output Device Can Reproduce The Image Characteristic",dated Mar. 15, 1988, filed by Yoshiro Udagawa et al.
6. U.S. Pat. No. 4,758,885, "Method of Processing Color Image",filed Jul. 19, 1988, filed Takashi Sasaki, et al.
7. U.S. Pat. No. 4,989,080, "Color Correction Device With A Hue Area Judgment Unit To Determine Correction Parameters", filed Jan. 29, 1991, filed by Takanori Ito.
8. U.S. Pat. No. 4,992,861, "Color Image Reproduction Apparatus Having A Digitally Operated Look-Up Table Constructed by Means of a Least Squares Algorithm",dated Feb. 12, 1991, filed by John R. D'Errico.
9. U.S. Pat. No. 4,992,864, "Image Processor Having Density Indicator",dated Feb. 12, 1991, filed by Kazuya Akiyama.
10. U.S. Pat. No. 5,012,333, "Interactive Dynamic Range Adjustment System For Printing Digital Images",dated Apr. 30, 1991, filed by Hsien-Che Lee, et al.

Range tracker for image editing system having improved color key editing


A method according to one embodiment may include transmitting a frame from a transmitting device to a receiving device via a communication network of a data storage system, enabling an encoding operation of the transmitting device to encode decoded data into encoded data and transmitting the encoded data in the frame via the communication network if the receiving device has a decoding operation capable of decoding the encoded data into the decoded data, and disabling the encoding operation and transmitting the decoded data in the frame via the communication network to the receiving device if the receiving device does not have the decoding operation capable of decoding the encoded data into the decoded data. Of course, many alternatives, variations, and modifications are possible without departing from this embodiment.

A conventional data storage system may include one device capable of bidirectional communication with another device. One device may include a computer node having a host bus adapter (HBA). The other device may be a mass storage device. A variety of intermediate devices such as expanders, bridges, routers, and switches may also be utilized in the data storage system to facilitate coupling and communication between a plurality of HBAs and mass storage devices. The HBA and mass storage device may each function as a transmitting and receiving device in order to exchange data and/or commands with each other using one or more of a variety of communication protocols that transmit payload via frames via a communication network. However, value added encoding and decoding circuitry have not been available in the transmitting and receiving devices of the data storage system in a prior art embodiment.
Although the following Detailed Description will proceed with reference being made to illustrative embodiments, many alternatives, modifications, and variations thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, it is intended that the claimed subject matter be viewed broadly.

Data encoding and decoding in a data storage system


An environmental sensitive electronic device package including a first substrate, a second substrate, an environmental sensitive electronic device, at least one first side wall barrier structure, at least one thermal protrusion, and a first filler layer is provided. The second substrate is disposed above the first substrate. The environmental sensitive electronic device is disposed on the first substrate and located between the first substrate and the second substrate. The first side wall barrier structure is disposed on the second substrate and located between the first substrate and the second substrate, wherein the first side wall barrier structure is located on at least one side of the environmental sensitive electronic device. The thermal protrusion is located on the second substrate. The first filler layer is located between the first substrate and the second substrate and covers the environmental sensitive electronic device, the first side wall barrier structure, and the thermal protrusion.

With the progress of science and technology, information products that are light and slim, power saving, and that provide high image quality display have become indispensable portable tools to people nowadays. Among the information products, whether smart phones or tablet PCs or televisions, require a display device that serves as a user interface. Moreover, in view of the requirements of lightweight, slim appearance, high definition and low power consumption, it is organic light-emitting displays that have become widely used.
However, the organic light-emitting display is highly sensitive to moisture. Once an organic light-emitting device within the organic light-emitting display contacts moisture, phenomena of cathode oxidation and peeling of organic compounds may occur, resulting in decrease in display quality, and also reduction in life of the display due to accelerated aging of the organic light-emitting device. In addition, the organic light-emitting displays having a large display size have become the mainstream of current information products. As the number of the organic light-emitting devices or the area thereof increases, a problem of heat generation becomes severe. In brief, water and oxygen barrier properties and heat dissipation performance of the organic light-emitting displays have always been outstanding issues that urgently need to be solved.

Environmental sensitive electronic device package

Industrial Technology Research Institute


Disclosed is a nozzle tip, having a tip insert attached to a nozzle tip outlet end of a nozzle tip body, the tip insert being made of a material, or having a thermal barrier coating, having a thermal conductivity value of K<10 W/m ° K, and having a lower thermal conductivity than that of the nozzle tip body, to preclude the conduction of excessive heat to the nozzle tip outlet end, and promoting a more decisive fracture of the solidified resin at a gate orifice upon ejection of a molded product, thereby eliminating a string of molten resin and a vestige of excessive height, both of which are undesirable, on the molded product.

The art of injection molding is well known and documented, but some aspects of producing the perfect molded product is elusive. The basic process of melting, or plasticizing, a resin in an injection molding machine, then conveying said molten resin under pressure through melt channels in a heated manifold system to mating nozzle housings is proven. Each heated nozzle housing melt channel is in fluid communication with respective manifold melt channels to facilitate conduction of the resin at a uniform temperature throughout the hot runner, culminating in passage through a nozzle tip, distally attached to the nozzle housing, through a gate orifice and finally in deposition within a mold cavity, to take the shape of the molded product.
While the resin is optimally heated beyond its melting point throughout its journey within the hot runner, from sprue bushing to nozzle tip, in order to reduce the injection pressure required to move it, the resin must then be quickly cooled once it reaches the gate orifice and mold cavity to facilitate its formation into the final molded product. Both the tip surrounding gate insert as well as the mold cavity and mold core are cooled to a temperature below the melting point of the resin to hasten its solidification. Once the molten resin is injected into the mold cavity, it is afforded a predetermined amount of time to cool down below its softening temperature, so that it will retain its shape and break away from the gate orifice cleanly, when the mold cavity separates from the mold core and the molded product is ejected to further downstream product handling apparatus.
The two most popular methods of gating a molded product, or controlling the flow of resin through a small gate orifice adjacent the mold cavity, are using a valve gate or a hot tip type nozzle assembly. A valve gate device regulates the flow of molten resin through the gate to the mold, while affording precise control of the process, typically via a pneumatically or hydraulically controlled valve stem which reciprocates axially through the center of a nozzle housing melt channel. When cycled back and forth, the valve stem either retracts from the gate orifice to allow resin flow, or intimately mates with the gate orifice to mechanically shut off and prevent resin flow, through the gate orifice. While this type of mechanical control of resin flow through the gate is relatively accurate, its drawbacks include requiring significant space within the hot runner plates to enclose the numerous valve stem drive mechanisms, such as pistons and pneumatic or hydraulic cylinders, which translates to increased costs for thicker hot runner plate steel, the additional cost of a valve stem, piston and the means to drive them for each mold cavity and the cost of replacing or reworking the mating valve stem and gate inserts due to wear and abrasion accumulated from repeated contact during each molding cycle.
Comparatively, the hot tip method of gating to a molded product is a less cumbersome and less expensive device involving simply a heated nozzle housing to convey pressurized resin flow toward a thermally conductive nozzle tip having outlet ports to allow egress of the molten resin through to the adjacent gate orifice. Since this method of transmitting molten resin affords no mechanical means of control of its behaviour at the gate orifice, certain drawbacks of this nozzle tip style are also well known to those skilled in the art of injection molding.
At the beginning of an injection cycle, molten resin is forced, under high speed and pressure, through the hot runner culminating at the nozzle tip where, due to the decreasing orifice diameters, a high shear rate is encountered by the resin which adds additional shear heating to the local area of the nozzle tip and the gate orifice. These conditions help to force the cold slug of resin initially occupying the gate area through the gate orifice and re-melt the cooler layers of resin built up along the gate bubble to allow the flow of new resin into the empty mold cavity. Once the mold cavity is filled with resin, it is held in place for a period of time so that it may cool sufficiently. A layer of static resin solidifies, or freezes, in the gate bubble during this hold time and this solidified resin, or cold slug anchors the molded part to the gate insert. After sufficient cooling time has elapsed, the mold opens and the molded product separates from the gate orifice such that it takes with it a fractured, frozen layer of resin and leaves behind a cold slug in the gate area which acts as a sealing diaphragm, and the cycle continues.
Inherently, the hot tip gating method produces undesirable effects at the gate orifice such as a 'string' and a 'vestige'. A 'string' is defined as thin, fine hair-like extension of warm resin emanating from the gate orifice, attached to the molded product, which upon part ejection from the mold, usually necessitates downstream handling to trim it from said molded product. A string is caused by the remaining sealing diaphragm being too thin, or being too high in temperature, as well as a high residual pressure within the hot runner.
A 'vestige' is defined as a raised witness mark, or post, which is left on the molded product at the location of the gate orifice, and is caused by a lack of a definitive breaking point of the resin attached to the molded product at the gate orifice often caused by either the nozzle tip being recessed too far back from the molding surface or a gate orifice diameter which is relatively too large, or a combination of both. A vestige is characterized by the shape of the frozen layer left on the molded product which defines the resulting gate vestige quality.
The most favorable gate vestige left on a molded product is achieved by rapidly solidifying the resin in the gate area to form an optimal sealing slug before the mold breaks open. The factors affecting this outcome include nozzle tip geometry, gate bubble geometry, gate cooling efficiency and each of their associated temperatures during processing. Additionally, resin processing conditions are factors, specifically the solidification properties of the resin, the residual pressure in the hot runner as well as the amount of time the molded part is held and allowed to cool before ejection from the mold.
Upon mold opening it is desired to generate a brittle fracture across the solidified resin or cold slug such that there is left behind a solid sealing diaphragm in the gate orifice area. Variable mechanical influences, including gate notch geometry and surface finish, as well as resin behaviour and its processing conditions, such as the resin's slug geometry, temperature, fracture properties, and notch sensitivity, and mold break speed, all contribute to forming the optimal gate.
Current hot tip designs provide heat to the gate area to keep the resin molten to prevent its premature cooling or 'freezing' to a temperature below the melting point of the resin during injection. The problem with these designs is that the molten layer created around the tip surface extends beyond the gate orifice and into the mold cavity such that when the mold opens, following a holding stage at which the molded product is allowed to set, it breaks both the solidified and molten resin layers which results in a string. Ideally, to eliminate the string, only the cooled and solidified resin layer should be broken at part ejection. One solution to achieve this is to recess the nozzle tip from the mold cavity surface essentially cooling the gate area by virtue of removing the heat source that is the thermally conductive nozzle tip. While this proposed solution may reduce the frequency of stringing it comes at the expense of creating the potential of high gate vestige. Another solution to minimize potential stringing is to hold the molded part in the mold for an extended period of time so that the cooled mold cavity and core can extract sufficient heat from resin in the gate area thus rendering a more solidified resin. Unfortunately, this method negatively impacts the overall cycle time to produce each molded part and so reduces the potential quantities created per unit time, ultimately impacting realized revenue by the molder.
Still other hot tip designs utilize a thermally conductive tip body fitted with a tip insert made of carbide which, due to its high hardness, is used for its abrasion resistance. While this design prolongs the life of the tip insert by slowing its wear due to erosion from the resin flow, the carbide material has a relatively high thermal conductivity and as such, does little to prevent resin stringing at the gate area.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,164,954 to Mortazavi et al describes an inner portion of an injection molding device, a nozzle tip, as being made of, or having an inner layer or coating of, various materials, including ceramics. The objective of this design is to incur high wear resistance and excellent thermal conductivity. Notwithstanding that the nozzle tip design is for use with a valve gate tip, and so, has no apex to occupy the gate orifice, the conduction of heat to the gate area is undesirable due to the tendency to promote resin stringing.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,175,416 B2 to Baresich et al describes an injection molding nozzle of thermally conductive material which strives to reduce the potential for stringing by geometrically enhancing the nozzle tip such that the wall thickness of said nozzle tip is severely restricted at the tip end thereby choking off the conductive flow of heat within the tip. The resulting, relatively cooled, resin near the tip end is said to have fewer tendencies to produce strings. However, while the nozzle diameter is reduced, it is still an integral part of the nozzle body and, as such, is made of the same thermally conductive material. This limits the desired effect as heat will still be conducted to the tip end at the same rate on a molecular level. Also, because the resin flow of the nozzle in question is axial to the tip, it allows for the warmest resin to occupy the center of the gate orifice area, and since the resin is surrounded by the heated cylinder that is the nozzle tip, it acts as a barrier which precludes the cooled gate insert walls from efficiently removing heat from the central resin flow, which is critical to preventing stringing. Additionally, the cylindrical tip end geometry does not address the resin fracture mechanics and its effect on gate vestige on the molded product.
For the foregoing reasons, the present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems or disadvantages set forth above, and for providing a thermally conductive nozzle tip body featuring an insulating, low thermal conductivity, tip insert which will allow resin to freeze more quickly and specifically at the gate orifice to prevent resin stringing and minimize gate vestige on the molded product.


A combination of a protective tube and guidewire straightener used to locate a guidewire into a patient for introducing a catheter into a patient's bloodvessel. The guidewire straightener has a flexible end that flexes inwardly to lock the guidewire in a fixed position within the protective tube. The protective tube has an opening so that the guidewire straightener can be rotated by the user to align the flexible end with the opening to allow the flexible end to be released outwardly to unlock the guidewire so that it can move within the protective tube. A further opening in the shape of an elongated slot is formed in the protective tube and which allows the user to move the guidewire to advance or retract the guidewire from the protective tube. The positioning of the components are such that a user, by the manipulation of only one hand, can unlock the guidewire from it's fixed position and advance it into the patient, leaving the user's other hand free to carry out other operations.

This invention relates to medical guidewires and to a means of removing such guidewires from the protective tubes in which guidewires are shipped and for the insertion of the guidewires into patients through a one hand operation.
Guidewires are routinely used in medical procedures where it is desired to introduce a catheter into a patient's blood vessel such as an artery or vein.
In a typical procedure, one approach of utilizing such guidewires for the positioning of a catheter is called the Seldinger technique. In that technique, a catheter introducer is used that has a relatively short flexible cannula that is placed within the patient's blood vessel. Actual insertion of the cannula is assisted by the use of a needle that is positioned within the cannula and is thus inserted in the blood vessel. Upon insertion, the needle is withdrawn, leaving the cannula tip within the blood vessel while the body of the catheter introducer remains external of the patient.
A guidewire is then inserted through the catheter introducer and is extended through the tip of the cannula within the patient's blood vessel until it is positioned with its tip at the desired location within the patient. Upon removal of the catheter introducer, the guidewire remains in the patient and a long catheter is easily slid over the guidewire to the desired position and the guidewire withdrawn. Thus, the catheter remains within the patient having its distal end located at the proper position within the patient's blood vessel.
Such guidewires are delivered through normal shipping channels and are subject to considerable handling prior to and during shipment. The guidewire itself is packaged within a protective tube in a coiled form. Generally, a guidewire straightener fits within the end of the protective tube and the guidewire itself passes through the guidewire straightener and has its end formed into a J configuration just outside the distal end of the guidewire straightener.
A guidewire straightener, of the type used herein. is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,125,905 and assigned to the present assignee. A difficulty arises, however, in the actual introduction of the guidewire into the patient using the configuration of that patent. The guidewire requires the manipulation of two hands for the user to move the guidewire and extend it from the protective tube into the patient's blood vessel.
In using the arrangement shown in the aforementioned patent, the user is required to grip the protective tube with one hand and pull the guidewire and guidewire straighener out from that tube with the other hand. Thus, the user needs both hands to properly introduce the guidewire, whereas, it is more advantageous for the user to have a free hand to carry out other operations during such introduction. Continued insertion of the guidewire requires both hands as the guidewire is advanced into the patient in increments.
As an alternate to introducing the guidewire in increments, some users chose to remove the entire guidewire at one time from the protective tube and then introduce it into the patient. Again, however, a difficulty is encountered in that the lengthy proximal end of the guidewire swings free as the distal end is introduced into the patient and that proximal end may easily touch some nonsterile object and thus the guidewire itself is no longer sterile.

Guidewire introducer with guidewire grasp and release means


An intraocular lens that is capable of being inserted through a micro-incision includes an optic having an anterior and a posterior surface and a plurality of projections extending from the anterior and posterior surfaces. The anterior and posterior surfaces include a recess. The optic is implanted such that a rim of the capsulorhexis is disposed in the recess such that the plurality of projections grip the capsular bag.

Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to intraocular lenses, and more specifically, to compact intraocular lenses that can be implanted in the eye with a micro-incision.
Description of the Related Art
A human eye can suffer diseases that impair a patient's vision. For example, a cataract can increase the opacity of the lens, ultimately leading to blindness. To restore the patient's vision, the diseased lens may be surgically removed and replaced with an artificial lens, known as an intraocular lens, or IOL. As another example, to treat eye conditions such as myopia, hypermetropia or presbyopia, an intraocular lens can be surgically implanted in the eye to replace or supplement the natural eye.
IOLs can be inserted in the eye through an incision in the eye. The incision size can depend on the material of the IOL, size and structure of the IOL and the mode in which the IOL is delivered in the eye. For example, the incision size can be about 10-12 mm in standard extracapsular surgery, about 5.5-7.0 mm in manual small incision surgery and about 3.0-5.5 mm if phacoemulsification methods are used. Reducing the size of the incision can reduce the complexity of the surgical procedure, reduce post-surgical recovery time and reduce patient discomfort. IOLs that can be implanted in the eye through micro-incisions can advantageously increase patient safety, reduce recovery time and patient discomfort.

Micro-incision IOL and positioning of the IOL in the eye


Embodiments of the present application disclose an interaction method, an interaction apparatus, and user equipment. The method comprises: determining shape related information of a deformable touch sensing surface, where the shape related information corresponds to a first shape of the deformable touch sensing surface after a folding deformation; determining multiple effective interaction areas on the deformable touch sensing surface at least according to the shape related information, where the multiple effective interaction areas meet the following conditions: in nonadjacent positions on the deformable touch sensing surface, and adjacent in a spatial position in the first shape; and using the multiple effective interaction areas as an interaction area at least according to a first relative position of the multiple effective interaction areas in the spatial position in the first shape to provide a touch sensing interface to at least one interaction object.

With the development of technologies, deformable devices such as flexible devices become increasingly popular. Deformable devices have changeable shapes, and therefore bring users a lot of new user experience. For example, demands of users for wearable devices to meet different body curves, demands for devices to have increased sizes for using and decreased sizes for carrying, and the like are met more easily. When deformable interaction devices are used to perform interaction, different experience is also brought to users.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Deformable surface interaction method, apparatus, and user equipment


A heat sink assembly for dissipating heat from an electronic component (12) mounted on a printed circuit board (10) includes a heat sink (20) resting on the electronic component, and a fastener assembly (30) for securing the heat sink to the electronic component. The fastener assembly includes a hollow post (36) having a threaded hole (360) defined therein, a screw (32) threadedly engaged in the threaded hole, a coil spring (34) compressibly disposed between the heat sink and a top portion of the screw, and a latch (38) pivotably engaging with a bottom portion of the post. When the screw moves downwardly towards the printed circuit board, the latch is pushed by the screw to rotate and press the heat sink towards the printed circuit board, thus securing the heat sink to the electronic component.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a heat sink assembly, and more particularly to a heat sink assembly having a heat sink and a fastener assembly which can conveniently and reliably attach the heat sink to an electronic device.
2. Description of Related Art
A heat sink is usually placed in thermal contact with an electronic package such as a central processing unit (CPU), and transfers heat through conduction away from the electronic package so as to prevent over-heating of the electronic package. Usually, a heat sink is secured to an electronic package by using clips. Nevertheless, the clips are difficult to assemble, and the force exerted by the clips to the heat sink is difficult to control.
On the other hand, a printed circuit board with an electronic component mounted thereon has four holes defined around the electronic component, and a heat sink has four through holes defined in four corners thereof corresponding to the four holes of the printed circuit board. Screws extend through the through holes of the heat sink and the holes of the printed circuit board, and engage in the holes of a back plate attached to a bottom face of the printed circuit board, thereby attaching the heat sink to the electronic component. However, the heat sink is rigidly connected to the electronic component. It is difficult to ensure that the heat sink applies a uniform pressure on the electronic component, thus tending to reduce the efficiency of heat dissipation. Furthermore, the printed circuit board is prone to be deformed due to a rigid connection with the heat sink. Finally, to add the back plate in order to fasten the heat sink to the printed circuit board is costly.
What is needed, therefore, is an improved heat sink assembly which can overcome the above problems.

Heat sink assembly having a fastener assembly for fastening the heat sink to an electronic component

Fu Zhun Precision Industry (Shen Zhen) Co., Ltd.


An optical scanning apparatus includes a light source that emits a light beam, optical systems through which the light beam travels including one that forms a line image, a polygon mirror that rotates and deflects the light beam with a deflective reflection surface, and a scanning optical system that converges the light beam to scan a target surface with a light beam spot. The optical system closer to the light source than the polygon mirror is configured so as to correct a change in an image-forming position of the light beam spot caused by deformation of the deflective reflection surface originating from the rotation of the polygon mirror.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical scanning apparatus and an image forming apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Optical scanning apparatuses are used in image forming apparatuses, such as an optical printer, an optical plotter, an optical facsimile apparatus, and a digital copying machine.
With the progress of colorization of these image forming apparatuses, a so-called tandem type color image forming apparatus has become very popular to increase the image forming speed. The tandem type color image forming apparatus forms toner images of different colors respectively on a plurality of photoconductive surfaces, and sequentially transfers the toner images one on another on a sheet-like recording medium, thereby forming a color image. An example of such conventional technology is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2002-90672.
Further, to achieve high-quality, high-definition images with the optical scanning apparatus, the spot size of a light beam spot is made smaller.
The spot size of a light beam spot on a surface to be scanned (hereinafter, referred to as scanning target surface) is determined by the design of the optical system that constitutes the optical scanning apparatus. Theoretically, a light beam spot is accurately formed on the scanning target surface, i.e., when the light beam waist position of a light beam that forms a light beam spot matches with an image surface. In practice, there are factors that shift the light beam waist position with respect to the scanning target surface.
One of such factors is deformation of the shape of the deflective reflection surface of a polygon mirror used as a light beam deflector, caused by the high-speed rotation of the polygon mirror. That is, the polygon mirror, which is generally formed of a light metal like aluminum, rotates fast at a very high speed of, for example, 20,000 rotations per minute (rpm). The high-speed rotation causes large centrifugal force to act on the polygon mirror, thus deforming the deflective reflection surface.
While the deflective reflection surface is normally flat, it is curved when deformed by the centrifugal force. In this case, in the optical system constituting the optical scanning apparatus, the deflective reflection surface itself will have an image forming action although small, thus changing the light beam waist position or the image-forming position of a deflected light beam. This enlarges a spot size such that the size of the light beam spot becomes greater than the designed size, thereby reducing the resolution of a formed image.
Methods of compensating for the influence of the deformation of the deflective reflection surface of a polygon mirror are proposed in the specifications of Japanese Patent Nos. 2746397 and No. 3432054.
The method disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2746397 is based on the fact that a laser beam from a light source has a Gaussian intensity distribution on the cross section of the light beam, and reduces or prevents the enlargement of a spot size by adjusting the emission intensity of the light source. The method disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 3432054 designs the scanning optical system to cancel out a deviation of the light beam waist position caused by the deformation of the deflective reflection surface of the polygon mirror.
Japanese Patent No. 2746397 discloses a case in which the deflective reflection surface is deformed into a concaved surface, and Japanese Patent No. 3432054 discloses a case in which the deflective reflection surface is deformed into a convex surface.
The deformation of the deflective reflection surface according to the high-speed rotation of the polygon mirror, and the degree of the deformation actually depend on various factors, such as the number of rotations of the polygon mirror, the number of the deflective reflection surfaces, the shape of the deflective reflection surface, and the diameter of the rotational axis, and can fluctuate among polygon mirrors manufactured with the same design.
The method described in Japanese Patent No. 3432054 is effective when the amount of deformation of the deflective reflection surface is specifically known beforehand. However, in reality, the amount of deformation of the deflective reflection surface fluctuates according to various factors, and is not uniquely specified. When the scanning optical system is designed to eliminate the influence of the deformation of the deflective reflection surface, the design of the scanning optical system is changed every time a parameter like the number of rotations on the polygon mirror is changed.
The method described in Japanese Patent No. 2746397 requires an electrical unit that regulates the intensity of the laser beam source according to the deformation of the deflective reflection surface.

Optical scanning apparatus and image forming apparatus


A process for providing aromatics from a coal tar stream. A coal tar stream is provided, and the coal tar stream is fractionated into at least a naphtha range stream. The naphtha range stream is hydrotreated, and the hydrotreated naphtha range stream is separated to provide at least a naphthene rich stream. The naphthene rich stream is reformed or dehydrogenated to convert the naphthene. The dehydrogenated naphthene rich stream may be combined with a portion of a reformed crude oil hydrocarbon stream.

Many different types of chemicals are produced from the processing of petroleum. However, petroleum is becoming more expensive because of increased demand in recent decades.
Therefore, attempts have been made to provide alternative sources for the starting materials for manufacturing chemicals. Attention is now being focused on producing liquid hydrocarbons from solid carbonaceous materials, such as coal, which is available in large quantities in countries such as the United States and China.
Pyrolysis of coal produces coke and coal tar. The coke-making or "coking" process consists of heating the material in closed vessels in the absence of oxygen to very high temperatures. Coke is a porous but hard residue that is mostly carbon and inorganic ash, which may be used in making steel.
Coal tar is the volatile material that is driven off during heating, and it comprises a mixture of a number of hydrocarbon compounds. It can be separated to yield a variety of organic compounds, such as benzene, toluene, xylene, naphthalene, anthracene, and phenanthrene. These organic compounds can be used to make numerous products, for example, dyes, drugs, explosives, flavorings, perfumes, preservatives, synthetic resins, and paints and stains. The residual pitch left from the separation is used for paving, roofing, waterproofing, and insulation.
Coal tar is rich in aromatics, but includes a large portion of contaminants, such as sulfur, nitrogen, metals, mercury, oxygenates, etc. Removing such contaminants saturates the aromatics. There is a need for an improved process for providing aromatics from coal tar.

Process for providing aromatics from coal tar


A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor substrate and a super junction structure on the substrate. The super junction structure is constructed with p-type and n-type column regions that are alternately arranged. A p-type channel layer is formed to a surface of the super junction structure. A trench gate structure is formed to the n-type column region. An n+-type source region is formed to a surface of the channel layer near the trench structure. A p+-type region is formed to the surface of the channel layer between adjacent n+-type source regions. A p-type body region is formed in the channel layer between adjacent trench gate structures and in contact with the p+-type region. Avalanche current is caused to flow from the body region to a source electrode via the p+-type region without passing through the n+-type source region.

As disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,734,496 corresponding to JP-A-H9-266311, a super junction metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) has been proposed that achieves improved breakdown voltage and improved on-resistance. In the super junction MOSFET, a drift region is constructed with n-type drift regions and p-type compartment regions that are alternately arranged. Each of the p-type compartment regions is positioned between adjacent n-type drift regions to form a p-n junction. When the MOSFET is in an ON condition, a drift current flows through the n-type drift regions. In contrast, if the MOSFET is in an OFF condition, a depletion layer spreads out from each p-n junction between the n-type drift region and the p-type compartment region into the n-type drift region. In this case, since the depletion can be accelerated by laterally extending the outermost ends of the depletion region from both longitudinal sides of the p-type compartment region, the p-type compartment region is simultaneously depleted. Consequently, a breakdown voltage of the MOSFET becomes high. Further, on-resistance of the MOSFET can be reduced by increasing impurity concentration of the n-type drift region.
JP-A-2004-72068 and JP-A-2004-134714 disclose a technique for improving an avalanche capability of such a super junction MOSFET. In JP-A-2004-72068 and JP-A-2004-134714, the width or the impurity concentration of the n-type drift region and the p-type compartment region is adjusted so that electric field distribution in the p-n junction can be improved to increase the avalanche capability.
The super junction MOSFET disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,734,496, JP-A-2004-72068, and JP-A-2004-134714 has a planar gate structure. In a super junction MOSFET with a trench gate structure, avalanche breakdown occurs directly below a trench gate. Therefore, an avalanche current flows to a source electrode by way of a channel layer on an outer side wall of a trench and a source layer. Since this avalanche current flow causes a parasitic bipolar transistor action, it is difficult to improve an avalanche capability of a super junction MOSFET with a trench gate structure.


A method and system for an electronic price label system comprising at least a base station and a plurality of electronic labels for transferring information between the base station and electronic labels. The method comprises transmitting a first message from base station 6 to a plurality of electronic labels 5a, 5b, the first message comprising at least identification information of one electronic label 5a, 5b, receiving the first message at the electronic label 5a, 5b, recognizing the identification information in the first transmitted message by the electronic label 5a, 5b, transmitting a second message from the base station 6 to the electronic label 5a, 5b, receiving the second message and sending an acknowledgement message to the second message from electronic label 5a, 5b with a modulation frequency from a certain frequency range, and searching the acknowledgement message from a predefined frequency range at the base station 6.

Conventionally, the price information on price tags in shops is always changed manually when the price of the product is changed. The new prices are printed out on paper or a corresponding material, and these tags with their new price markings are placed manually in a location reserved for the price tags on shelves in the sales premises. Thus, an employee must first find the correct location of the price tag to be updated, after which the previous price tag is removed and discarded and the new price tag is inserted in its position. A disadvantage in this arrangement is, among other things, the fact that the arrangement is very laborious and there is a high risk of mistakes. In case of a mistake, a situation may, for example, occur, in which the price information on the price tags on the shelves conflicts with the price information in the cash register system.
To avoid the above-mentioned drawbacks, electronic systems have been developed, in which electronic labels and their electronic displays are provided on the front edge or above the shelves, close to the products, in which the price information of the products can be changed in a centralized manner from the control centre of the system, or the like. This will facilitate and accelerate the updating of the price information to a significant extent. The data on the displays can be updated in a cabled or wireless manner, depending on the system. Cabled systems involve the problem that a wire connection must be provided for each display for data transmission and possibly also for power supply. For example in a normal retail outlets for daily consumer goods, the number of displays is relatively large; consequently, there must also be a large number of wires, which causes problems and limitations, for example, on the placement of the price displays.
Wireless systems do not require complex wirings but, in turn, they require transponders equipped with antennas in connection with battery-driven price displays, for communicating with the control unit of the system via suitable communication means. The previously known systems require advanced transmitters and receivers. Advanced transmitters and receivers are costly. This is problematic if the unit cost of e.g. electronic labels would be desired to be low.


An electrophotographic imaging device comprises generally, an image transfer station configured to transfer a toned image to a substrate, a fuser assembly configured to fuse the toned image to the substrate and a transport device configured to transfer the substrate from the image transfer station to the fuser assembly. The device further includes a controller for controlling a first process rate of the image transfer device and a second process rate of the transport device. The controller has a mode of operation wherein the first process rate is different from the second process rate when a hand off is performed to pass the substrate from the image transfer station to the transport device.

The present invention relates in general to an electrophotographic imaging apparatus and in particular to an electrophotographic apparatus capable of performing a printing operation wherein an electrophotographic imaging operation and a fusing operation are performed at different speeds.
In electrophotography, a latent image is created on an electrostatically charged photoconductive surface, e.g., a photoconductive drum, by exposing select portions of the photoconductive surface to laser light. Essentially, the density of the electrostatic charge on the photoconductive surface is altered in areas exposed to a laser beam relative to those areas unexposed to the laser beam. The latent electrostatic image thus created is developed into a visible image by exposing the photoconductive surface to toner, which contains pigment components and thermoplastic components. When so exposed, the toner is attracted to the photoconductive surface in a manner that corresponds to the electrostatic density altered by the laser beam. The toner pattern is subsequently transferred from the photoconductive surface to the surface of a print medium, such as paper, which has been given an electrostatic charge opposite that of the toner.
A fuser then applies heat and pressure to the print medium before it is discharged from the apparatus. The applied heat causes constituents including the thermoplastic components of the toner to flow into the interstices between the fibers of the medium and the pressure promotes settling of the toner constituents in these voids. As the toner is cooled, it solidifies and adheres the image to the medium.
Fusing requirements may be more stringent when printing onto certain substrate types such as transparencies, compared to plain paper. For example, to produce good quality color transparencies, the un-fused opaque color toner components must be transparentized, which requires that all of the toner be adequately fused to the substrate. Also, more energy is required to fuse multiple layers of toner, e.g., for color printing, compared to fusing a single layer of toner, such as for monochrome printing because the fuser is required to fuse a much higher toner mass/area ratio. The fuser nip must also heat up the toner to a point that it flows on the surface of the transparency creating a smoothed substrate surface. The smoothed surface minimizes surface defects that can scatter light, making the image appear "dirty" or out of focus. Moreover, the smoothed surface allows light to transmit through the transparency and toner layer with very little diffusion. To address the above issues, fusing operations for transparencies generally require longer resident times of the substrate in the fuser compared to fusing operations for plain paper.
Color printers are typically optimized for printing at the highest operational speed. Unfortunately, the wide variation between the fastest print speed and the lower, optimal transparency print speed can cause motion quality artifacts in the electrophotographic operations formed at the lower speed, e.g., due to rotational velocity instability such as wow and flutter caused by operation of the electrophotographic motor at a non-optimized speed. In this regard, motors may be configured to tolerate relatively wide speed ranges using relatively complicated, multi-speed gearboxes to change the gear ratio when switching from high speed to low speed print jobs so that the motor operates within designed-for speed ranges. However, such a solution adds considerable cost, bulk and complexity to the system design.
Alternatively, a transfer device may be used as an intermediary to handoff the print medium, e.g., a transparency, from an image forming assembly to a fuser assembly. Under this configuration, the transfer device and the fuser assembly are both typically operated by a common fuser motor. Essentially, the image forming assembly is operated at a first, relatively high speed. The transfer device and the fuser assembly are ramped up to the first operating speed to accept a first handoff of the transparency from the image forming assembly to the transfer device. Once the transparency has cleared the transfer from the image forming assembly onto the transfer device, the operating speed of the transfer device and the fuser assembly are ramped down to a second, relatively slower speed that is optimal for fusing operations before a second handoff of the transparency from the transfer device to the fuser.
However, the above-described use of an intermediary increases the required inter-page gap between successive sheets thus reducing overall throughput of the electrophotographic device because the fuser motor speed, which also controls the transfer device, can not be ramped back up to the first speed until the trailing edge of the leading transparency has completely cleared the fuser nip. The result is that the overall print speed for transparencies is actually less than the optimized transparency fuser speed. For example, a printer may realize an output rate for transparencies of 6-7 pages per minute despite having the capability of operating at a fusing rate of approximately 10 pages per minute because the inter-page gap between successive transparencies must be increased to accommodate the time required for ramping up the transfer device for the first handoff and subsequently slowing down the transfer device for the second handoff.
Further, the image forming assembly of a conventional printer typically comprises a toner cartridge having a developer roll that turns against a corresponding photoconductive drum to supply the drum with toner. Toner is stripped off the developer roll and is recycled back to the cartridge if such toner is not transferred to the drum surface as the drum and developer roll rotate. However, repeated recycling or churning of the toner begins to strip electrophotographic additives from the toner, thus decreasing the useful life of the toner particles. The drum and the developer roll typically rotate during an entire printing operation, including the time required to ramp up and ramp down the transfer device, e.g., when printing transparencies as noted above. During such ramp up and ramp down times, the drum is not printing, e.g., directly onto a print medium or an intermediate transfer member belt, and is not removing toner from the developer roll, thus increasing the amount of toner churn.

Electrophotographic device capable of performing an imaging operation and a fusing operation at different speeds