An electrophotographic photoconductor includes a conductive substrate and a photosensitive layer formed on a substrate. The photosensitive layer includes a phthalocyanine compound as a charge generation substance. An embodiment of the photosensitive layer contains a first phthalocyanine compound as a main component and a second phthalocyanine compound as a secondary component and as a result, has greater ability to generate negative charges than the ability of the first phthalocyanine compound.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrophotographic photoconductor (also referred to as xe2x80x9ca photoconductorxe2x80x9d) used in a printer, a copier, or a facsimile machine that employs an electrophotographic process. In particular, the invention relates to a photoconductor that comprises an improved photosensitive material in a photosensitive layer, thereby exhibiting an excellent potential retention rate. The invention also relates to a method for manufacturing such a photoconductor.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is generally known that electrophotographic photoconductors provide the function of maintaining surface charges in the dark, generating charges upon receipt of light, and transporting charges upon receipt of light. Known types of photoconductors include single-layer type photoconductors having all of these functions in a single layer. Also know are laminated-layer type photoconductors consisting of function-separated two layers, where one layer mainly serves to generate charges and another layer serves to maintain surface charges in the dark and to transport charges upon receipt of light.
These types of photoconductors are used for forming images by known electrophotographic methods, such as the Carlson method. Image formation using this method includes the steps of charging the photoconductor by a corona discharge in the dark, forming an electrostatic latent image, such as characters or drawings of an original, on the charged surface of the photoconductor, developing the thus formed electrostatic image by means of toner powder, transferring and fixing the toner powder representing the image onto a support, such as paper.
After the toner transfer, the residual toner powder is removed, and residual charges are erased by light exposure, so that the photoconductor can be used again.
Various substances have been employed as photosensitive materials in electrophotographic photoconductors. For example, inorganic photoconductive substances include selenium, selenium alloys, zinc oxide and cadmium sulfide, dispersed in a resin binder, as well as organic photoconductive substances, such as poly-N-vinylcarbazole, poly(vinyl anthracene), phthalocyanine compound or bisazo compound, dispersed in a resin binder or subjected to vacuum deposition.
Among the organic photosensitive substances described above, the phthalocyanine compound exhibits quite different electrophotographic properties depending its crystal form. A variety of studies have investigated this substance.
Methods for applying the phthalocyanine compounds have been reported not only in cases where one type of that compound is used, but also in cases where two or more types of that compound are used as a mixture.
Uses of two or more types of phthalocyanine compounds by intentional mixing are disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication (KOKAI) Nos. H2-170166, H2-84661, and H6-145550. Unfortunately, the mixed use of the phthalocyanines in these references was only aiming at a simple use of mixed crystals. No reference discloses a study on difference in positive or negative charge generating ability in a charge generation process of the mixed materials. Xabq
The mixed use of two or more phthalocyanine compounds can be unintentionally conducted by generation of side products during the synthesis process of phthalocyanine. Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication (KOKAI) No. H3-35245, discloses discussions on side production of titanyloxo(chlorophthalocyanine) in the synthesis process of titanyloxophthalocyanine. This reference discloses that inclusion of 0.38 to 5 wt % of chlorine is confirmed in the patent documents published in the past. The reference further discloses a detailed study on a synthesis method of titanyloxophthalocyanine that does not generate a side product of chlorine-containing phthalocyanine.
According to the references, titanyloxophthalocyanine with high purity and without lattice defects may be obtained by suppressing generation of the side product of chlorine-containing phthalocyanine. As a result, photoconductors with excellent potential retention capability and high sensitivity may be generated. Unfortunately, the references do not disclose changes in charge generation mechanisms in a case where two types of phthalocyanines are included. The references also do not mention change of potential retention rate depending on the ratio of the contents of the two phthalocyanines in consideration of a charge generation mechanism.
Metal-free phthalocyanines are also studied in terms of various synthesis methods and purification methods, and are disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication (KOKAI) Nos. H7-2071883 and S60-243089.
These references do not disclose or consider impurities from phthalocyanine derivatives. As a result, no study has been made about variation of charge generation mechanisms due to containment of impurities of phthalocyanine derivatives.
It is known that photoconductors include negative-charging laminated-layer-type photoconductors, positive-charging laminated-layer-type photoconductors, and positive-charging single-layer-type photoconductors.
Synthesis methods of phthalocyanine compound are disclosed in xe2x80x9cPhthalocyaninesxe2x80x9d by C. C. Leznoff et al., 1989, VCH Publishers, Inc. and xe2x80x9cThe phthalocyaninesxe2x80x9d by F. H. Moser et al., 1983, CRC Press, for example. By-production of derivatives in the synthesis process of titanyloxophthalocyanine is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. H3-35245. A titanylphthalocyanine complex compound may be synthesized by the method disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. H8-302223 or No. H9-230615.
The use of a phthalocyanine compound as a photosensitive material in a photoconductor is known. Methods of synthesis and use of these compound have been studied in some aspects. Unfortunately, a relationship between a charge generation mechanism and a potential retention rate has not been understood or clarified in mixed uses of two or more types of phthalocyanine compounds.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a photoconductor with excellent photoconductive characteristics.
It is another object of the present invention to provide, in particular, an excellent potential retention rates in a photoconductor.
It is another object of the invention to provide a method for manufacturing a photoconductor, the method comprising a step for forming a photosensitive layer with coating liquid and forming a photosensitive layer with an excellent potential retention rate.
Briefly stated, the present invention relates to an electrophotographic photoconductor and manufacturing method. The electrophotographic photoconductor includes a conductive substrate and a photosensitive layer formed on a substrate. The photosensitive layer includes at least a phthalocyanine compound as a charge generation substance. The photosensitive layer contains a first phthalocyanine compound as a main component and a second phthalocyanine compound as a secondary component and as a result, has greater ability to generate negative charges than the ability of the first phthalocyanine compound.
It is to be understood, that to solve the above-described problems, the inventors have made rigorous studies considering the negative-charge-generating ability of the phthalocyanine compound in the charge generation mechanism, and surprisingly found, as a result, that the potential retention rate of a photoconductor significantly increases when second phthalocyanine compound, having higher ability to generate negative charges than that of first phthalocyanine compound, is contained as a secondary component in the photosensitive layer including the first phthalocyanine compound as a charge generation substance.
It is to be further understood, that a potential retention rate of a photoconductor significantly increases when a phthalocyanine compound as a secondary component of charge generation substance is contained in addition to a phthalocyanine compound as a main component of charge generation substance in a coating liquid in the process of manufacturing the photoconductor, where the secondary phthalocyanine compound has higher ability to generate negative charges than an ability of the main phthalocyanine compound.
It is to be understood, that the photosensitive layer in a photoconductor of the invention may be either single layer type or laminated-layer type, and is not be limited to one of the two types. A coating liquid in a method of the invention for manufacturing a photoconductor may be applied to various coating methods including dip-coating and spray-coating, and is not limited to any specific coating method. It is to be understood, that xe2x80x98mmolxe2x80x99 represents xe2x80x98milimole.xe2x80x99
According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an electrophotographic photoconductor, comprising: a conductive substrate; a photosensitive layer on the conductive substrate; the photosensitive layer containing a first phthalocyanine compound as a main component of a charge generation substance and a second phthalocyanine compound as a secondary component of the charge generation substance; and the second phthalocyanine compound having a higher ability to generate negative charges than an ability of the first phthalocyanine compound.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an electrophotographic photoconductor, wherein: at least one of a central element of the first phthalocyanine compound and a central element of the second phthalocyanine compound is titanium.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an electrophotographic photoconductor, wherein: at least one of the first phthalocyanine compound and the second phthalocyanine compound is titanyloxophthalocyanine.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an electrophotographic photoconductor, wherein: at least one of a central element of the first phthalocyanine compound and a central element of the second phthalocyanine compound is gallium.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an electrophotographic photoconductor, wherein: at least one of a central element of the first phthalocyanine compound and a central element of the second phthalocyanine compound is indium.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an electrophotographic photoconductor, wherein: at least one of a central element of the first phthalocyanine compound and a central element of the second phthalocyanine compound include hydrogen atoms.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an electrophotographic photoconductor, wherein: at least one of the first phthalocyanine compound and the second phthalocyanine compound is 29H, 31 H-phthalocyanine.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an electrophotographic photoconductor, wherein: at least one of the first phthalocyanine compound and the second phthalocyanine compound is X-type metal-free phthalocyanine.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an electrophotographic photoconductor, wherein: at least one of the first phthalocyanine compound and the second phthalocyanine compound is X-type metal-free phthalocyanine.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an electrophotographic photoconductor, wherein: the second phthalocyanine compound is in an amount of not more than about 600 mmol with respect to of 1 mol of the first phthalocyanine compound.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an electrophotographic photoconductor, wherein: the second phthalocyanine compound is in an amount of not more than 600 mmol with respect to of 1 mol of the first phthalocyanine compound.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an electrophotographic photoconductor, wherein: the second phthalocyanine compound is contained in an amount of not more than about 200 mmol with respect of 1 mol of the first phthalocyanine compound.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method for manufacturing an electrophotographic photoconductor comprising a step of: forming a photosensitive layer by coating a conductive substrate with a coating liquid including charge generation substance, wherein the coating liquid contains a first phthalocyanine compound as a main component and a second phthalocyanine compound as a secondary component, and the second phthalocyanine compound having a higher ability to generate negative charges than an ability of the first phthalocyanine compound.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provide a method, wherein: an intensity ratio of the second phthalocyanine to the first phthalocyanine in an anion measurement is greater than the intensity ratio in cation measurement in a spectrum of the coating liquid observed by means of laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectroscopy.
The above, and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals designate the same elements.

Electrophotographic photoconductor and method for manufacturing same


A pistol including a loaded chamber indicator to identify the presence of a cartridge loaded in the firing chamber. The pistol may generally include a barrel, a receiver attached to the barrel thereby defining a barrel-receiver assembly, and a chamber associated with the barrel-receiver assembly. An indicating element is provided which in one embodiment may be pivotally mounted in the barrel-receiver assembly. The indicating element is displaceable in response to contact by the cartridge from a first position which may in one embodiment correspond to an absence of a cartridge loaded in the chamber, to a second position which may in one embodiment correspond to a presence of a cartridge loaded in the chamber. A biasing member, such as a spring, may be provided to bias the indicating element towards the first position. In one embodiment, the indicating element protrudes outwards from the exterior of the pistol in response to contact by the cartridge rim to provide a visual and tactile indication of a loaded chamber condition to a user of the pistol.

The present invention generally relates to firearms, and more particularly to an improved device suitable for use with, but not limited to rimfire-type cartridges to indicate the presence of a cartridge in the chamber of a pistol (i.e., a "loaded chamber").
While the loaded condition of a firearm's chamber is customarily and most positively checked by the user opening the action and visually observing the presence of a cartridge therein, there have been prior devices which attempt to augment this procedure by providing a mechanical device to signal the chamber's state of readiness, particularly in military firearms where opening the chamber and observing the loaded condition of same may not be practical or possible due to the need for stealth. In a known loaded chamber indicator, an opening or window is cut into the rear portion of the barrel or chamber wall. The opening extends radially inwards from the side of the barrel and through the barrel's rear face against which the rim of a cartridge abuts when a cartridge is loaded into the barrel bore. An elongated thin elastic clip is provided that is fixed to the front portion of the barrel at one end. At the opposite end, the clip has a small projection that protrudes through the window in the barrel to contact the side of the cartridge casing when a cartridge is loaded into the barrel. The clip, however, is physically deflected outwards only by a very small amount by the cartridge casing. Moreover, the clip does not protrude beyond the exterior surface of the pistol in a loaded chamber condition, making the indicator not readily noticeable. Both of these factors make it difficult for a pistol user to visually distinguish a loaded chamber condition from an empty chamber condition by use of such devices.
In another known indicator, a very small viewing window or port is similarly cut into in the barrel or chamber wall of a pistol to allow the presence of the cartridge casing in the barrel bore to be seen through the window. Dirt, unburned gun powder residue, carbon build-up, and grease may obscure the small viewing ports and render them ineffective. The viewing port type indicators are also not useable at night or in other darkened environments.
A drawback of the foregoing known loaded chamber indicators is that they are also not suitable for use with all types of known self-contained cartridges currently on the market today because the window cutouts in the rear barrel or chamber reduce structural support of the cartridge casing and rim. In particular, the foregoing indicators are not well-suited for the very popular rimfire-type cartridges, such as the .22 Long Rifle, which optimally require substantial structural support of the cartridge casing and rim during firing. In a rimfire cartridge, the impact-sensitive primer material, which is used to ignite the propellant powder (i.e., gunpowder), is distributed inside and around the base of the cartridge casing in the rim. The rim is a relatively thin and narrow laterally-protruding hollow annular structure disposed around the circumference of the cartridge casing at its base. An annular space is contained inside the rim for holding the primer material. Striking the rim from the rear (such as with a firing pin) crushes and flattens the rim together against the rear face of the barrel or chamber. This "squeezing" deformation of the rim creates internal friction in the primer material sandwiched in the narrow annular space within the rim, and ignites the primer which in turn sets off the propellant powder. Accordingly, the casing in the base area, and in particular the rim of the cartridge casing, are intentionally made relatively thin and weak by structural design to be readily deformable. Therefore, a rimfire-type pistol, to provide maximum support to the base and rim of the cartridge to prevent the fragile rimfire casing from bursting during firing, should preferably not contain cutouts in the barrel or chamber area.
The known loaded chamber indicators discussed above all require cutting away of cartridge support provided by the barrel or chamber to allow those indicators to function properly. There has never been a loaded chamber indicator in the prior art that functions in a truly satisfactory fashion on firearms chambered for rimfire-type ammunition, which comprise a large percentage of the firearms sold. Accordingly, there is a need for a loaded chamber indicator that does not undermine support of a cartridge during firing and, in particular, one which functions satisfactorily with rimfire-type ammunition such as the .22 Long Rifle.


Adhesive layers are formed on the two opposing surfaces of a transparent support. At least one of the adhesive layers is made of a material of which the cured state may be changed. The adhesive layer is irradiated with light and a lens sheet is then pressed against the adhesive layer. The adhesive layer is cured. In this illustrative way, a laminate film of the lens sheet fixed to the transparent support via the adhesive layer may be obtained. The laminate film may be bonded to a polarizing plate on the viewer's side of a liquid crystal display element via the other adhesive layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for fabricating a laminate film, and in particular, relates to a method for fabricating a display device (e.g. liquid crystal display device) using a laminate film and having improved viewing angle characteristic.
2. Description of Related Art
Liquid crystal display devices, which typify flat panel displays, have features of being lightweight, thin, and low in power consumption, compared with CRTs, and thus find applications in wide-range fields such as OA apparatus, car-mounted TV sets, car navigation systems, and monitors for video cameras.
A major problem relating to such liquid crystal display devices is that the viewing angle dependence is large. The viewing angle dependence refers to the following phenomenon, for example. When the screen of a display device is viewed from a direction tilting by an angle exceeding a certain angle range, an image that should correctly be displayed in black appears whitish, or reversal in gray scale levels is observed, causing reduction in display quality. From theses viewing directions, the viewer fails to correctly recognize the display image. When the angle range within which the viewer correctly recognizes display image is narrow, it is said that the viewing angle dependence is large.
The viewing angle dependence occurs for various reasons. These include, for example, twist orientation (i.e. helical structure) of liquid crystal molecules (the direction of a helix, the position at which liquid crystal molecules start forming a helix defined by the rubbing direction), the refractive index anisotropy of liquid crystal molecules (difference in retardation in the direction of propagation of light), the characteristics of a polarizing plate (whether or not the selectivity in the light oscillating direction is good), and the directivity of light rays from an area light source.
In general, transmission type liquid crystal display devices are designed, in consideration of the viewing angle dependence described above, so that the position at which the display can be viewed most nicely falls within the range in which the viewer normally views the display. For example, design is made so as to enhance the contrast ratio of the center area in the screen in the direction normal to the plane of the screen or in a somewhat downward direction from the viewer, compared with the surrounding areas in the screen.
By the above construction, however, the viewing angle range is still insufficient. In particular, liquid crystal display devices have large viewing angle dependence in the upward and downward directions with respect to the screen. In order to solve this problem, various methods have conventionally been proposed.
For example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 7-43703 discloses a liquid crystal display device in which a material is filled between a microlens array sheet and a liquid crystal display element. The material has a refractive index equal to or less than the smaller one of the refractive indices of the materials constituting the micro-lens array sheet and the liquid crystal display element.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 10-73808 discloses a liquid crystal display device in which a light diffusing sheet is placed on the front surface of a liquid crystal display element. The light diffusing sheet includes a first diffusion layer containing a light diffusing agent formed on a transparent member and a second diffusion layer having concave and convex portions formed on the first diffusion layer.
In both the above conventional techniques, the microlens array sheet is placed on a polarizing plate constituting the liquid crystal display element. The material having a refractive index which is different from that of the microlense array sheet is provided between the microlenses array sheet and the polarizing plate.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 7-120743 discloses a liquid crystal display device in which convex tip portions of a micro-lens array sheet are in close contact with the surface of a liquid crystal display element.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 9-127309 discloses a liquid crystal display device in which an adhesive layer is formed on convex tip portions of a micro-lens sheet. The ratio of the height A of the convex portion to the thickness B of the adhesive layer (A/B) must be more than 1 and equal to or less than 1000.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 9-194799 discloses a liquid crystal display device in which spacers are placed between a rough surface and an adhesive layer.
In the above conventional techniques, the convex tip portions of the microlens array sheet are partly put in contact with the liquid crystal display element via an adhesive layer, to control the proportion of the contact portion of the lens array to the non-contact portion thereof. In this way, the degrees of transmission and divergence of outgoing light are controlled, and thus the viewing angle characteristic is improved. In either case, the microlens array sheet is placed on the side of the liquid crystal display element closer to the viewer (viewer's side), so that light outgoing from the liquid crystal display element is diffused to the side on which the microlenses are formed (lens formation directions), to attain improvement in viewing angle characteristic.
The above conventional techniques have the following problems.
In general, a pair of polarizing plates are placed on the front and rear surfaces of a liquid crystal display element for controlling the polarizing state before display of images.
The polarizing plates are made of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and triacetyl cellulose (TAC). PVA is impregnated with iodine, and the resultant material is drawn in one direction to align the iodine molecules, so that light polarized along the drawn direction is absorbed (or transmitted) and thus the polarizing state of incident light can be aligned in uniform.
During the above drawing, as shown in FIGS. 22A and 22B, fine waves 222 are generated on the surface of a polarizing plate 221 along an absorption axis (or a transmission axis) as the drawn direction. This is due to a miniscule variation in the thickness of the polarizing plate 221 caused by the drawing. These waves do not influence the display when they are observed only through the polarizing plate 221. However, as shown in FIG. 23B, when a light diverging element 235 such as a microlens array sheet is placed on a surface of a polarizing plate 231, in particular, when the light diverging element 235 is bonded to a polarizing plate 231 via an adhesive layer 234, waves 232 generated on the surface of the polarizing plate are magnified. As a result, the display quality greatly deteriorates.
The display quality also greatly deteriorates in the case of using a conventional double-sided adhesive tape as the adhesive layer 234 for bonding with the light diffusing element 235 and the case of using a curable resin as the adhesive layer 234. In these cases, the contact area between the light diffusing element 235 and the adhesive layer 234 is partly changed due to scars formed by hitting with foreign substances generated in the bonding process (concave and convex deformation caused by foreign substances) and deformation caused by external force (by the viewer who touches the lens surface). This partial change in the contact area causes generation of spot defects 233a and bar-shaped defects 233b as shown in FIG. 23A.
No means for solving the above problems have been mentioned in the prior art literature.
An object of the present invention is to provide a laminate film which enables an optical film to bond uniformly to a surface (e.g., surface of a display element), even if the surface has unevenness, a method for fabricating such a laminate film, a display device using such a laminate film, and a method for fabricating such a display device.

Display device including adhesive film with transparent support


A discharge system for printed media sheets and a printer which utilizes such a discharge system, the discharge system including a tray for the media sheets; rotating transport elements forming a discharge nip for discharging the sheets onto the tray; a guide plate having a surface for guiding the sheets to the discharge nip; and a rotating wheel containing bristles for guiding the sheets towards the discharge nip; the wheel facing said surface of the guide plate. At least one driven transport belt forms one of the transport elements defining the discharge nip, and the guide plate passes in approximately a one-half turn around two pulleys around which the transport belt is passed.

The present invention relates to a discharge system for printed media sheets, including: a tray for the media sheets; rotating transport elements forming a discharge nip for discharging the sheets onto the tray; a guide plate having a surface for guiding the sheets to the discharge nip; and a rotating wheel containing bristles for guiding the sheets towards the discharge nip.
In printers and copiers, printed media sheets are frequently collected on one or more trays. The media sheets may be supplied, for example, from a stack of cut sheets, or may be continuously supplied from a reel and then cut into sheets. When the media sheets are supplied from a reel, they are often slightly curled. This effect becomes even more pronounced when the end of the coil on the reel is reached and the radius of curvature of the reel becomes smaller. But also when the media sheets are supplied from a stack of cut sheets, they may become curled during the printing process.
When the sheets are guided along the surface of the guide plate towards the discharge nip, in case of a curled sheet, a part of the sheet may stick out from the guide plate. This might prevent the leading edge of the sheet from being properly threaded to the discharge nip, possibly resulting in the sheet becoming folded. This danger cannot be avoided by an arrangement ensuring that the transport elements immediately engage a sheet when it is fed to the discharge system, for the following reasons. In case the sheet has been printed with ink, the ink might not be completely dry when the sheet is fed to the discharge system, so that the printed image might get blurred. Moreover, the configuration of the discharge system may require a certain length of the guide plate. For example, in a printer the tray may be positioned above the printing unit, and a curved guide plate is needed to reverse the sheet transport direction before the sheet is discharged onto the tray.
JP 08002775 A shows a paper discharge device in which a brush roller is arranged in the way of the leading edge of a sheet. Depending on the rotational direction of the brush roller, the brush roller guides the sheet to a paper through direction or to a paper discharge direction. In the latter case, the sheet is guided between the brush roller and a guiding surface which is curved away from the brush roller, and is then funneled through a space between the guiding surface and an opposing guiding surface towards the discharge rollers. However, a curled sheet might curl around the brush roller instead of being funneled towards the discharge rollers. Moreover, the paper discharge device is suitable only for dry sheets, because the sheet is conveyed between pairs of conveying rollers towards the brush roller, and because any surface of the sheet may be guided to a side of the brush roller where it gets into a sliding contact with an opposing wall.
From EP 0 407 151 A2, a similar sheet path selector with a bidirectionally rotatable brush wheel is known.
EP 0 407 152 A2 shows a sheet stacker in which fiber brushes and foam drive rolls are arranged on a rotatable drive shaft. The diameter of the fiber brushes is greater than that of the foam drive rolls, so that the fiber brushes urge a leading edge of a sheet being fed vertically downward toward a nip being formed between the foam drive rolls and a baffle which is bent away from the foam drive rolls. However, both sides of the sheet are in sliding contact with walls that guide the sheet towards the fiber brushes, so that the sheet stacker can only be used for dry sheets.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,824,091 A shows a sheet collection device in which a sheet is guided between opposing straight walls to a discharge opening, while the sheet is engaged between two nip rollers. Rotatable brushes are arranged at the discharge opening to wipe down against a trail end of a sheet that has been discharged onto a tray. The brushes are arrange coaxially with one of the nip rollers and force a leading edge of a sheet against the opposing wall and into engagement with the nip rollers. However, the brushes do not assist in threading the sheet into the entrance aperture between the opposing walls, so that a curled sheet might get folded there.


A system is provided for extricating a patient from a position from which extrication is desired. The system includes a first hoist unit, a second hoist unit, a patient lifting pad and a portable lift stand.

Currently, emergency agencies and personnel are called upon to extricate persons from vehicles due to accidents, persons becoming incapacitated from medical reasons, obesity, physical disabilities, etc. To date, this is a completely physical event on the part of the emergency personnel. Current training offers little to no safety during the extrication. It remains a hands on physical event which requires several emergency personnel to lift, pull and tug on the injured patient. This also potentially causes more injuries and increases the risk of neck and spinal injuries to the patient. Consequently, injury rates to emergency personnel and patients continue to be high. There are no current offerings that allow the emergency personnel to safely extract a person from a vehicle without physically jeopardizing the patient or the personnel.
The present system/apparatus and method are designed to assist in vehicle extrication and lifting of a patient without the emergency personnel having to physical lift or pull the patient. By using two lift hoists in conjunction with a removable lifting pad, emergency personnel are able to remove a patient up and out of a vehicle while safely securing the patient in the removable lifting pad. The two points of movement allow the emergency personnel to move the lower body or upper body independent of each other, thus enabling a more precise movement as needed. Even if unconscious, the patient will be removed safely while secured in the removable lifting pad. Because this is a manual extraction and lifting system, weather is not an issue. The lack of electrical or battery power is no detriment.
While the system/apparatus and method are particularly useful in extricating a patient from a vehicle, it should be appreciated that they are just as useful in extricating a patient from other positions or situations from which extrication is needed. These include, but are no way limited to extrication from a confined space of any type, a bath tub or even building rubble following an earthquake, hurricane, tornado or other disaster.

System and method for extricating a victim


Methods for acquiring an approximation of the surface geometry of a 3-dimensional object include projecting pattern of structured light on the object, moving the pattern with respect to the object, acquiring images of the intersection of the light on the object over time, determining local coordinates of points on the intersection with respect to the pattern, tracking the position of the pattern, transforming the local coordinates to object coordinates, and accumulating the points as a model of the surface of the object. The methods include a step for wirelessly and possibly compactly transmitting geometrical data which characterizes an intersection for a given position of the scanner with respect to the object. Systems for embodying the method include a self-powered wireless, non-contact optical scanner, the location and orientation of which may be tracked with respect to an object coordinate system.

Presently, computer graphics, 3D modeling of real-world objects in software, and 3D mechanical design are in widespread use. Accordingly, it is desirable to capture an approximate computer software model of an existing physical object. In many cases, it may suffice for the model to be a "point cloud" of surface points sampled from the physical object. In a more sophisticated model, the points are vertices of abutting planar polygonal patches which approximate the surface of the object. In an even more sophisticated model, the patches are curved, each defined by a bivariate polynomial or rational mathematical function, as in the NURBS surfaces commonly used in computer graphics. Special cases of 3D data entry also rely on parametric entry, where the geometric shape (circle, sphere, cube, etc.) of the object is known and the parametric features are specified in order to be retained during scanning.
Numerous approaches exist which automate or partially automate the process of sampling representative points from the surface of an object. One approach generates a single point at a time, as a contact probe tip is moved across the surface of the object. Traditional coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) as well as handheld magnetic, mechanical, and optical probe tracking systems have historically used this contact probe approach. Computer-aided design (CAD) software can be used to accumulate the measured points and to build therefrom a 3-dimensional model of the surface of the object. An example of a handheld, optically tracked probe and its tracking system are the FlashPoint and 3D Creator products sold by Boulder Innovation Group, Inc. (Boulder, Colo.).
Another approach might include various laser or optical beam non-contact probes, which operate similar to the contact probe approach. However, the "probe tip" is a narrow light beam together with an optical sensor, which accurately measures the length of the ray-like beam to where it intersects the object at a point. That distance together with knowledge of the exact position of the light beam allows computation of the 3-dimensional XYZ coordinates of the point where the beam intersects the surface of the object. By gathering sufficiently dense points from the object, software can create a suitable model of the surface of the object. To date, such non-contact probes are tethered at least by an electronic cable, if not by additional mechanical linkage.
Rather than a single ray-like laser beam, more advanced non-contact scanners project a planar "fan" of light to illuminate many points on the object, where the intersection of the light and the object forms an illuminated stripe or contour line on the object. These scanners are sometimes called "laser stripe triangulation" scanners. One or more video cameras acquire a 2D dimensional image of the contour line from a position offset from the plane of light. In effect, the image of the contour line on each camera simultaneously captures the locations of many surface points all on one plane through the object. This speeds the process of gathering many sample points, while the plane of light (and usually also the receiving camera) is laterally moved so to "paint" some or all of the exterior surface of the object with the plane of light. By knowing the instantaneous position of the camera and the instantaneous position of the plane of light within a object-relative coordinate system when the image was acquired, a computer and software can use triangulation methods to compute the coordinates of illuminated surface points. As the plane is moved to intersect eventually with some or all of the surface of the object, the coordinates of more points are accumulated.
A number of commercially available systems employ the technique of projecting a manually moveable plane of light and imaging the illuminated intersection of the light on the object. Examples include, the U.S. Pat. No. 4,737,032 (Cyberware, Inc., Monterey, Calif.), the FastSCAN (Polhemus Inc., Colchester, Vt.), and K-Scan (Metris N. V., Leuven, Belgium).
Other systems project more than one plane of light onto the object, or project even more complex patterns of structured light. Examples are Metris's X-Scan product and U.S. Pat. No. 7,009,717 by Coppenolle et al, which is incorporated herein by reference.
Other systems project a pattern of light that is modulated by sequentially increasing and decreasing the light line widths, sometimes using a Gray Code Sequence. One variation of this moves the line pattern over the object, referred to as "phase shift encoding". Examples of these systems are GFM Messtechnik, ABW-3D, both of Germany, Opton (Japan), stereoSCAN by Breackmann and GOM of Germany.
To date, such non-contact scanners are tethered at least by an electronic cable, if not by further mechanical linkage. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 6,611,617 of Crampton.

Wireless methods and systems for three-dimensional non-contact shape sensing


A method and apparatus determine a caller's eligibility to enter a lottery, determine whether the caller has won the lottery and advise the caller of the winning status in response to a caller's request for communication services. The odds of winning a lottery for the caller can be adjusted based on the caller's participation history, such as a past number of calls made or total call time logged by the caller. Thus, frequent users of a communication service can be rewarded with increased odds of winning a lottery each time a request for communication services is made and communication services are provided.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to a method and apparatus for determining if a caller is eligible for entry into a lottery and determining the caller's odds for winning based on the caller's participation history.
2. Description of Related Art
Traditional lottery systems, or other similar games of chance, require players to purchase lottery tickets or make some other similar directed action to enter a lottery. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,403,999 to Entenmann et al. describes a system that allows a player to enter a lottery by calling a specific telephone number and entering the lottery over the telephone. Thus, in the Entenmann system, the player can enter, win and be advised of winning the lottery during a single telephone call specifically made to enter the lottery.

Method and apparatus for determining a caller's odds for winning a lottery based on caller history


A composition useful to produce a golf ball cover of a blend of ethylene-methyl acrylate and an ionomer resin and a compatabilizer. The composition produces a cover material having hardness and feel comparable to Balata, but having improved resilience, durability and cut resistance over Balata.

This invention relates in general to golf balls and, more particularly, to a golf ball having an improved cover material.
The assembly of a golf ball generally involves molding a cover around a solid or wound core. Golf balls with wound cores are typically referred to as "three piece" balls because they consist of three basic components: (1) a solid or liquid-filled center; (2) rubber winding around the center, and (3) the cover. Similarly, solid cores are referred to as having a "two piece" construction, since they consist solely of a solid core and a cover. A third type of ball, known as a "one-piece" ball is also known in the art. As the name suggests, one piece balls are solid balls of homogeneous construction made by any conventional molding method suitable for the purpose.
The composition of the golf ball cover has proven to be a factor in overall golf ball performance. Historically, three piece balls had covers made of Balata, a natural resin obtained from trees in South and Central America and is essentially made up of transpolyisoprene.
Balata is still used today as a cover material because of the "click" and "feel" provided by the balata cover to the golfer. "Click" is the sound made by a golf club head when it hits the ball. "Feel" is the overall sensation transmitted to the golfer after hitting the ball. Balata covered golf balls are also used because of the excellent playability and good flight performance qualities. These balls give good flight distance and skilled golfers can impart desirable spin to the ball, enabling it to draw or fade in flight. Also, especially with high-lofted clubs, the backspin allows the ball to stop abruptly on approach shots.
However, balata type materials are expensive and the manufacturing procedures required are time-consuming, labor-intensive and therefore expensive.
The majority of modern golf balls use a two piece construction with covers made of a durable synthetic thermoplastic resin such as Surlyn, a product of E. I. DuPont de Nemours Company, Incorporated. Synthetic thermoplastic cover materials have been used with limited success. They are durable and produce satisfactory flight distance. Additionally, they are less costly to manufacture than balata covers. However, these materials are hard and therefore lack the "click" and "feel" of a balata ball. Moreover, it is not possible to impart to such balls the desirable spin characteristics required by skilled golfers. It is desirable, however, to utilize a synthetic cover material for improved process manufacturing and to increase desirability and resilience performance.
In an attempt to overcome the negative factors of the hard ionomer covers, DuPont introduced low modulus SURLYN ionomers in the early 1980's. These SURLYN ionomers have a flexural modulus of from about 3000 to about 7000 PSI and a hardness of from 25 to about 40 as measured on the Shore D scale - ASTM 2240. The low modulus ionomers are terpolymers of ethylene, methacrylic acid and n- or iso-butylacrylate, neutralized with sodium and zinc cations. E. I. DuPont De Nemours & Company has disclosed that the low modulus ionomers can be blended with other grades of previously commercialized ionomers of high flexural modulus of from about 30,000 to 55,000 PSI to produce balata-like properties.
The low modulus ionomers when used without blends produced covers with very similar physical properties to those of balata, including poor cut resistance. Worse, such covers tend to go "out-of-round" quicker than balata covers. Blending with hard SURLYN ionomers was found to improve these properties.
However, the relatively high cost of the soft SURLYN ionomers, together with the need to blend several grades of hard and soft ionomers to achieve the desired properties, militates against the use of soft/hard ionomer blends in the commercial manufacture of a golf ball.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a golf ball having a synthetic cover material.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved synthetic cover material for a golf ball.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a golf ball having a synthetic cover material that achieves the click, feel, playability and flight performance qualities of Balata covered golf balls.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a golf ball having a cover material that has improved process manufacturing as well as durability and resilience.


A computer-automated method for analyzing an organizational floorplan layout, and making recommendations for modifying the layout to optimize productivity, and efficiency of operations conducted within the modified layout includes the following method steps. Gathering raw performance measure date comprising performance measures known to quantify the floorplan layout productivity and efficiency of operations, performing statistical analyses on the raw performance measure data and comparing different areas in the floorplan layout using results of the statistical analyses, and generating proximity data as a result of the comparing. The method includes comparing different resources needed to carry out planned operations, including using results of the statistical analyses, and their interdependencies, calculating and evaluating costs associated with operating in accordance with floorplan layout, including using the resources allocation data, and transportation methods and by generating cost data as a result calculating and evaluating. As a result, opportunities for modifying the layout are identified and recommended, which may be used in their entirety or in part to improve operation efficiencies and effectiveness.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to organizational layouts, such as physical dimensions and relationships that limit required organizational operations carried out therein, and more particularly relates to a method for automatically analyzing an organizational floorplan layout, including, the interrelatedness of operations conducted therein in a form of a set of tangible measures, and providing analysis results and recommendations for modifying the floorplan layout to improve organizational operation in accordance thereto, in response to changing organizational or market conditions.
2. Background Art
Today's consumer markets for organizational services, such as centralized health care services, and industrial and consumer products produced by manufacturing organizations are extremely competitive, particularly in the US. To remain competitive in today's complex and changing markets compels service providers and manufacturers to find new and innovative ways for increasing productivity organization and enterprise-wide, including being responsive to market changes and changing services and product demand needs. Doing so includes creating and maintaining organizational floorplan layouts, e.g., working environments or environments in which customer or other public care and services are provided, that are ergonomically sound and efficiently laid out for efficient and effective resources movement. But many such organizations utilize the same floorplans or floorplan layouts, and organization operationally around the layouts, some combination of which being in operation from a time of the location's beginnings. While such traditional organizational floorplan layouts, e.g., manufacturing plant layouts such as a semiconductor fab or hospital emergency room, certainly get a patient processed or a manufactured product shipped at the end of a manufacturing cycle, but are not designed for optimized productivity and resource throughput. Subsequently, the patient or product experience through the system is less than ideal and can result in diminished operating efficiencies and a lower customer satisfaction.
Many presently active organizational floorplan layouts such as manufacturing plant layouts and designs are not designed so that operations conducted therein can be executed in accord with basic ergonomic principles, or otherwise optimally executed. Such conventional layouts and designs are not readily responsive to the dramatic changes we see so frequently in today's markets for manufactured goods, or application of institutional services, in US and worldwide markets. This is particularly so for those floorplan layouts that have developed over an extended number of years where evolving institutionalized services are provided, e.g., an airport, or industrial and consumer products are manufactured, e.g., a and manufacturing plant, where many obvious and not so obvious variables qualify overall organizational operational efficiency and therefore productivity and effectiveness.
Optimizing productivity lends itself to optimized profitability in today's competitive markets for finished products and manufactured goods. Optimized productivity can also mean being more responsive to changing customer demands or changes in the market. To improve or optimize productivity, investigations are undertaken to identify improvements and upgrades to floorplan layout and organizational activity conducted in such layout. Due to the numerous variables that influence productivity, such investigations tend to be complex and time consuming. And without analytical results, identifying best practices and layout for realizing optimized organizational, e.g., plant, resources management, and therefore optimized productivity cannot be determined.
Organizational floorplan layout and operational optimization tools are known. For example, manufacturing plant operational analyses are known to be conducted by plant management or organizational management within traditional manufacturing plants in attempts to optimize operations;, 'Optimizing' an organizational floorplan layout, and organizational operations conducted thereon is fundamental to achieving increased organizational productivity. For example, optimizing a manufacturing plant floorplan layout so that resources required for manufacture are delivered to various layout stations optimally, used optimally for particular operations, and reflect sufficient flexibility for modification to ensure smooth resources flow, human and material, realizes an end service or product that has been produced or provided more efficiently, and presumably, therefore, more competitively.
An optimal plant or service organizational location floorplan layout must be adaptive and responsive to service demand cycles, e.g., registration at a college campus location, and product manufacturing cycles within a manufacturing plant floorplan layout. Manufacturing cycles as used herein includes engineering models, and plans for manufacturing finished products, including raw material requirements (if applicable) and processes required to modify the raw material to the finished product. For that matter, and for matters of explanation purposes, nature of the invention, and its inventive applications will be described in particular detail herein with respect to the invention as it can be applied to manufacturing plant layout, and their modification or re-layout in order to optimize their operation.
Such manufacturing plant layout, and descriptions of the invention with respect thereto, however, are for explanation purposes, and is not meant to limit in any way the scope of the invention. Manufacturing plant floorplan layout, and manufacturing operations carried out within the confines of such layouts) are quite complex. The skilled artisan and reader alike should readily see that the inventive principles set forth and described with respect manufacturing plant floorplan layout, and operations therein, and recommendations for floorplan re-layout, may be readily applied to any organizational floorplan layout that could benefit by the inventive analysis and recommendations for improvement. Whether it is a manufacturing plant floorplan layout, a hospital emergency room, or a public library organizational floorplan layout, if it is designed or redesigned in a way that provides such operational adaptivity and responsiveness to changing market forces, and subsequent changing manufacturing or service cycles will result in optimizing productivity and profitability of the organization.
Manufacturing facilities designed in accord with basic ergonomic principles, and with sufficient flexibility and responsiveness to changing market conditions for the products under manufacture are found to reduce overall manufacturing cycle time and costs, ensuring faster time to market. Key performance measures for qualifying optimized manufacturing plant operation include example, effective manufacturing resources utilization throughout a manufacturing cycle, effective and/or improved manufacturing throughput and manufacturing cycle times. For that matter, to enable and maintain ergonomically designed manufacturing processes, it is paramount to design an ergonomically proper physical plant within which the processes would be carried out.
Various papers have been published concerning techniques for optimizing manufacturing plant layout. Several of these include: Balakrishnan, K., "Integrating simulation and design of experiments to identify factors for layout design", M.S. Thesis, Cincinnati, Ohio, University of Cincinnati (2000); Canen, A. G., Williamson, G. H., "Facility layout overview: towards competitive advantage", Facilities, Vol. 16, No. 7/8 (1998), pp. 198-203; Kerr, D. C., Balakrishnan, J., "Manufacturing cell formation using spreadsheets", International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 16, No. 9 (1996), pp. 60-73; Levary, R. R., "Re-engineering hospital emergency rooms: an information system approach", International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, Vol. 10, No. 5 (1997), pp. 179-191; Sha, D. Y., Chen, C. W., "A new approach to the multiple objective facility layout problem", Integrated Manufacturing Systems, Vol. 12, No. I (2001), pp. 59-66; Tompkins, J. A., White, J. A., Bozer, A. Y., Tanchoco, J. M. A., Facilities Planning, Wiley Publishers, 3rd Edition, New York, N.Y. (2002); and Wilde, E., "Functional Planning", Facilities, Vol. 14, No. 7/8 (1996), pp. 35-39.
Computer-based methods and techniques that attempt to optimize manufacturing plant layout and organizational operations conducted thereon are known, including various manufacturing plant floorplan layout software tools and applications. Manufacturing operation-planning tools, and manufacturing plant layout tools attempt to locate (or place) machines for manufacture within a plant layout or location, and attempt to locate the manufacturing operations with an objective of reducing the distance traveled to implement each operational stage. But such conventional layout design and redesign tools are limited in effectiveness. For example, if a product under manufacture requires a number of different parts types, planning tools would focus only upon the task of bringing the parts together, but typically ignore other factors that could be implemented to affect the operation. Other factors might include optimizing batch sizes of required parts, optimizing transport modes for the manufacturing (assembly) process, and optimizing manufacturing resource and capacity allocation during the manufacturing process.
Conventional manufacturing plant layout and organizational tools are not known to consider such factors as manufacturing floor distances, frequency (timing) of a particular operation, manufacturing batch sizing, mode of transport, resource utilization, etc., that might be required during manufacturing processes. For that matter, most conventional or known software tools do not consider manufacturing cost, or resource/capacity allocation for a particular manufacturing process, or such factors affecting plant operation as a whole, but provide only ready-to-use results. They are not geared to providing re-layout optimization suggestions.
For that matter, various US patents are known that disclose manufacturing plant floor planning and layout application software, which attempts to provide optimization solutions for manufacturing plant layout and operations. For example, published pending U.S. Patent Application No. 2002/0054101 ("the '101 application"), filed May 29, 1998, and incorporated by reference, discloses a graphical user interface shop floor control system that graphically represents a manufacturing plant, including individual production machines, storage locations, offices and other pertinent areas, and elements of the plant and its operation. Selectable icons are used to represent the individual factory elements. A macro or function included with the '101 application allows user access to a number of different plant schedules, statistical analyses, supplies and inventories, etc., at varying levels of detail. The disclosed technique(s), however, do not appear to do more than provide a framework for simulating certain manufacturing plant layout, and organizational operation. That is, the methods disclosed, in the '101 application do not provide functionality for improving or optimizing a manufacturing plant layout to optimize production therein.
Published, pending U.S. Patent Application No. 2006/0026558 ("the '558 application"), filed Jul. 19, 2005, and incorporated by reference, discloses a computer method and apparatus for automatically generating hybrid contextual floorplans, or floorplan layouts for object instances. The method provides a user interface for operational business entities where data relating to a process instance and data related to an object instance are managed uniformly. The method also provides a process view and object view of the manufacturing process and manufactured object, respectively. The invention disclosed in the '558 application, however, does not appear to do more than provide a user interface that offers a hybrid view of instantiated objects (products) or processes (manufacturing processes and operations) in a plant layout. The '558 application does not disclose functionality for improving or optimizing a manufacturing plant layout in such a way that the various processes implemented to manufacture the finished product are optimized.
Such known optimization tools are typically fast in execution, using algorithms that attempt identify "optimal" solutions, but as mentioned tend to be based in "black-box" approaches to optimization in practice, providing little insight into methodologies that may be adopted for obtaining the touted "results." And such conventional tools do not account for multiple variables that affect or determine optimized proximity in a floorplan layout. Conventional tools also do not allow for intermediate or incremental improvements to be made, in that the optimal solution tends to be an "all or nothing" proposition. Proximity, as used herein, is meant as a yardstick for measuring shared resources, or the shareability of resources for manufacturing operations with respect to spatial limitations and mobility attributes (transportation methods) of a layout.
Shared resources in manufacturing operations carried out in a floorplan layout might include without limitation shared tooling, shared transport type, sharing the various costs associated with various manufacturing processes, etc. But before "meat and potatoes" processing that such known optimization tools and software are intended to conduct may be carried out, significant programming efforts must be undertaken to customize the data and information to the requirements of a domain, e.g., a plant layout. That is, the use of conventional tools such m discussed above requires that data sufficient to represent the salient details of the proposed manufacturing processes or plant layout must first be provided, or made accessible to the process.
What would be welcomed in the art of organizational floor layout planning and design, and re-design or layout, is an application software tool that analyzes data defining the organizational floorplan layout, and the operations to be conducted thereon, and make recommendations for innovative ways of modifying or implementing the floorplan layout to optimize productivity of operating in accordance thereto, including being able to optimally respond to particular operational needs to increase operational efficiency and reduce operating costs.

Method for optimizing organizational floor layout and operations

International Business Machines Corporation


A method for forming an electronic circuit disposes a plurality of magnets onto a flux plate to form a magnetic platen. A substrate package is formed using the magnetic platen and, stacked against the magnetic platen, a non-magnetic carrier and a substrate layer, with a bonding material sandwiched between the carrier and the substrate layer, and with the carrier layer disposed nearest the magnetic platen. A fused wafer stack is formed by heating the substrate package to adhere the substrate layer to the carrier. The fused wafer stack is removed from the magnetic platen and the circuit fabricated on the substrate layer.

Thin-film transistor (TFT) devices are conventionally fabricated on glass or other silicon-based substrates using a sequence of deposition, patterning, and etching steps. For example, amorphous silicon TFT devices require deposition, patterning, and etching of metals, such as aluminum, chromium or molybdenum; of amorphous silicon semiconductors; and of insulators, such as SiO2 or Si3N4, onto a substrate. Fabrication facilities for LCD panels are set up to handle glass substrates that are generally in the 500 to 700 um thickness range. The semiconductor thin film is formed in layers having typical thicknesses ranging from several nanometers (nm) to several hundred nm, with intermediary layers having thicknesses on the order of a few microns. The semiconductor thin film may be formed over an insulating surface that lies atop the rigid substrate.
The requirement for a rigid substrate has been based largely on the demands of the fabrication process itself. Rigidity allows the fabrication system to more accurately register the substrate in position for the different process steps. Thermal characteristics are also particularly important. TFT devices are fabricated at relatively high temperatures, making it difficult to work with many types of plastics and with some metals, due to thermal expansion characteristics. Thus far, the range of substrate materials that have been used successfully is somewhat limited, generally to glass, quartz, or other rigid, silicon-based materials.
For some applications there would be an advantage in fabricating TFT devices on thin metal foils that could provide a thinner and more rugged substrate than glass. Such foils could have thicknesses in the range of 50 to 250 um or greater. One method to accommodate such foils in a glass-based fabrication facility is to laminate the foil substrate to a glass carrier for the fabrication process, then delaminate it for use once fabrication is completed. However, lamination in this manner presents a number of difficulties, for example:
(i) Dimensional instability of the laminated stack of materials over the temperature range. The different materials used for the foil substrate, carrier, and lamination are subjected to a wide range of temperatures during fabrication. In some cases, the total temperature change during various phases of fabrication can be around 250 degrees C. Over this changing temperature range, mismatches of their respective Coefficients of Thermal Expansion (CTE) can cause excessive stress along the interface between the different materials. This applies to the laminated materials themselves as well as to materials used to form the TFT devices. In some cases, this can cause the laminated materials to separate or stretch or can even crack the glass carrier.
(ii) Failure to maintain substrate flatness and position throughout processing. In order lie flat in position against the carrier throughout processing, the laminate material that acts as the adhesive must be applied uniformly between the foil substrate and the carrier and must work well over the complete temperature range. The substrate must be maintained in positional register so that it does not shift relative to the carrier surface during processing. Air pockets must be prevented from forming within the metal foil-glass carrier stack.
(iii) The need for proper preparation and conditioning of the foil surface. TFT fabrication requires that the substrate surface be extremely smooth, with no more than about 50 nm peak-to-peak roughness. Handling and preparatory steps must be performed with this stringent requirement in mind. This includes steps for lamination without damaging the foil surface.
(iv) Delamination without damaging the circuitry, substrate, or carrier. Once fabrication is complete, it is important that the treated substrate be removed from the carrier without stretching, tearing, or otherwise damaging the material or causing stress to the TFT components. It can be further advantageous to be able to re-use the carrier.
(v) Chemical incompatibility of laminated materials. Materials laminated together must be chemically compatible with each other as well as with the chemical processes that are used in TFT circuit fabrication.
(vi) Poor signal handling and isolation with respect to the metal substrate. Planarization and other methods must be used to prevent shorting to the conductive substrate. Other considerations related to signal handling can include capacitive coupling.
If a separate lamination sheet is assembled into the metal and glass wafer stack, it is desirable to easily trim such a lamination sheet to the edge of the metal foil after assembly to the glass and before heating. As can be appreciated, the task of accurately registering a thin precut 12 to 50 um thick plastic lamination sheet to the thin metal wafer is extremely difficult.
In addition to metal foils, there can also be advantages in circuit fabrication onto thin plastic substrates or other non-metallic films. To use such materials, some type of carrier is needed to provide support during fabrication. The same general requirements given earlier in (i)-(v) apply for providing non-metallic substrates on a suitable carrier for TFT fabrication processing.
There is an interest in TFT fabrication onto a metal foil and other substrates using a glass carrier. However, the problems listed above (in (i)-(vi)) present a challenge to efforts for achieving large-scale production fabrication onto metallic or non-metallic foil substrates.

Magnetic hold-down for foil substrate processing


An electric double-layer capacitor having a capacitor element, a package defining a closed space accommodating the capacitor element, and electrolytic solution loaded in the closed space. The package includes a body and a lid, and the body has a metallic portion and a resin portion. The metallic portion includes two lead-out terminals electrically coupled to the capacitor element, and these two lead-out terminals are electrically isolated from each other by the resin portion. The resin portion includes two projections extending into the closed space, which make the closed space narrower and reduce the amount of loading of the electrolytic solution.

One technology of interest to the present invention is that found in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2011-100998. This publication discloses, particularly in FIGS. 1 and 3, a package for an electric double-layer capacitor having a tray-shaped body and a lid.
Electric double-layer capacitors or similar electrical storage devices, which have a package accommodating positive and negative electrodes and electrolytic solution, should be improved to consume less of the electrolytic solution since the electrolytic solution is expensive.
The electrolytic solution must fill the space between the positive and negative electrodes so that ions can move between the pair of electrodes. This means that the electrical storage device can operate with no electrolytic solution in any part other than the space between the positive and negative electrodes; allowing the expensive electrolytic solution to exist is fairly meaningless unless between the two electrodes.
For this reason, the use of electrolytic solution in electrical storage devices should be minimized. However, packages designed as in the publication mentioned above are not effective in reducing the amount of use of the electrolytic solution because the electrolytic solution spreads and gets into some internal spaces which should be empty.


A protective ladder cap for fitting over the end of a rail of a ladder is provided. The cap has an open end for fitting over the rail and a closed end. The ladder cap has tapered internal ribs for engaging the end of a side rail of a ladder. The ladder caps prevent the ladder side rails from damaging the surface upon which the ladder leans when in use.

The present invention relates to ladders and, more particularly, to protective caps that secure over the ends of the rails of a ladder to protect the surface upon which the ladder leans when in use.
Ladders have been used for decades by homeowners and commercial entities. Without a doubt, ladders provide great utility to those that use them. In decades past, most ladders were made of wood, but that has changed. Most ladders today are made of aluminum or fiberglass. Aluminum or fiberglass is desirable because the materials are lightweight and durable. Nonetheless, the rails that form the sides of the ladder have a tendency to cause damage to the surface upon which they are leaning. Further, hard plastic end pieces are often times used to protect the ends of the rails and are prone to damage the surface upon which they rest. It is not uncommon for the ladders to leave scratches and marks on, for example, vinyl siding.
Industry recognized this problem and, for a number of years, has offered protective caps that fit over the ends of the ladder rails. The caps are typically made from a pliable plastic. The caps serve to protect the surface upon which the ladder leans.
A problem, however, not addressed by the prior art is that ladder rails are not all sized the same. Thus, a protective cap designed to fit on one ladder rail will not fit on all ladder rails. If a user attempts to place a protective cap that is larger than the ladder rail cross-section, the cap will not fit securely on the ladder and can easily fall off the ladder rail. If a user attempts to place a protective cap on the ladder rail that is too small, it may not fit at all, or, if forced over the ladder rail, it may split after some time or during use. Further, the user often times does not know the size of the ladder rail. It is therefore much easier to buy a product that is adapted to fit over a broader range of varying sized side rails
This invention is directed to a protective ladder cap for fitting over the end of a rail of a ladder. The cap has an open end for fitting over the rail and a closed end. The cap has at least one elongated internal rib that tapers from a lower rib height closer to the open end than the closed end to a higher rib height closer to the closed end than the open end. In the preferred embodiment, the cap includes a plurality of internal ribs. The internal ribs also preferably comprise an indent portion adjacent the closed end of the rail to secure the cap on the ladder rail.
In the preferred embodiment, the protective ladder cap has two wide internal faces and two narrow internal faces. The internal ribs are on at least one of the wide internal faces, and preferably both. In an even more preferred embodiment, the internal ribs are on the narrow faces as well.
Because the internal ribs taper from a lower height to a higher height, the ladder cap is adapted to receive ladder rails of varying cross-section. Further, the tapered ribs ensure that the ladder cap is secured to the ladder, thus minimizing the ability of the ladder cap to fall off of the ladder rail. Because the ladder cap of the present invention is able to securely fit on ladder rails having varying cross-sections, consumers purchasing ladder caps are not required to know the cross-section size of their ladder rails. Thus, the ladder cap of the present invention also makes it much easier for consumers to purchase a ladder cap that fits snugly on the consumer""s ladder.
These and other aspects of the invention are described more fully below.


The invention provides a stop lamp lighting controller able to improve durability of a relay while unnecessary automatic turning on and off are avoided. A stop lamp is lit through a main line at a gentle braking time. At a sudden braking time, the stop lamp is switched on and off by disconnecting and connecting the main line in a predetermined period. At a breakdown time of the main line, the main line is switched to a subline and a lighting function of the stop lamp is secured. The main line is formed when both a first relay and a second relay are in a de-energizing state. The main line is disconnected and connected by periodically opening and closing the first relay. The main line is switched to the subline by energizing the second relay.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a stop lamp lighting controller of a vehicle such as an automobile, and particularly relates to a stop lamp lighting controller capable of performing "automatic turning on and off control" of a stop lamp.
2. Background Art
In accordance with "Security standard of road conveyance vehicle" (Ordinance No. 67 of the Transport Ministry of Japan on Jul. 28, 1951), a display device (red light) for displaying an operating situation of a braking device of a vehicle such as an automobile to a following vehicle behind must be provided on a rear face. Specifically, in a two-wheeled vehicle and a bicycle provided with a motor, one brake light must be provided on its rear face. Further, in an automobile such as a passenger car, one brake light must be provided on each of left and right sides of the rear face (two brake lights in total), and one auxiliary brake light must be provided in a predetermined high position of the rear face at the center. The brake light is generally called a brake lamp or a stop lamp, and the auxiliary brake light is called a high mount stop lamp. In this specification, however, these lights (the brake light and the auxiliary brake light) are not distinguished and are generically referred to as "stop lamp".
The stop lamp is normally switched off, and is lighted in a red color when the driver performs a braking operation. Such a binary operation (switching light on and off) has the demerit in that the amount of information to the following vehicle is small because braking operations include not only the usual gentle braking for slow deceleration but also sudden braking for avoiding a danger. A mechanism capable of displaying three different kinds of conditions including the sudden braking, gradual braking and non-braking is desirable.
The brake pedal is sometimes intermittently stepped on many times. When this operation is performed, the stop lamp is repeatedly switched on and off. Accordingly, it is seen as if the stop lamp is turned on and off, calling attention to the following vehicle. Accordingly, if this operation is used together, the above three kinds of state displays may be considered to be realized.
It can be said that the above operation (intermittent stepping on the brake pedal) corresponds to a so-called pumping brake on a slippery road surface such as a frozen road. However, considerable practice and experience are required to instantly operate the pumping brake at an emergency, and it is not everybody that can be expected to pump on the brake pedal. Moreover, a device such as an ABS (antilock brake system) for preventing a wheel lock at a braking time is mounted to many vehicles nowadays. Accordingly, there is a reduced opportunity for operating the pumping brake. It is also pointed out in the first place that affinity of ABS and the pumping brake is bad (braking distance becomes long). Accordingly, it is unreasonable that the three states of "normal state (non-braking state)", "gentle braking state" and "sudden braking state" are intended to be discriminated and displayed by the stop lamp in addition to the above operation (intermittent stepping-in of the brake pedal).
Therefore, an automation technique replaced with the above operation (the intermittent stepping-in of the brake pedal), i.e., a technique able to automatically turn the stop lamp on and off without manually intermittently stepping-in the brake pedal is required. In the present law "Security standard of road conveyance vehicle" (article 39), there is a provision of "the brake light has no structure automatically turned on and off - - - ". In the present invention, it is intended that the brake light (stop lamp) is automatically turned on and off, but no violation of the law is encouraged. There is recently a movement (ECE Reg 48 revised proposal) for relaxing such regulation. Therefore, a social useful technique is intended to be precedently disclosed in conformity with this movement.
For example, "a stop lamp turning on and off device" described in JP-A-2000-52857 is known as the related art relative to the automatic turning on and off of the brake light (stop lamp).
FIG. 6 is a schematic constructional view of the related art. However, this view is set to be easily seen by partially correcting the view of the related art. In this view, a brake switch 1 is a switch turned on when the braking operation is performed by a driver. For example, a switch, etc. arranged together in the brake pedal correspond to this brake switch 1. When the brake switch 1 is turned on, a battery voltage Vb is supplied to a timer 2 and a turning on and off circuit 3 through this brake switch 1.
A relay 4 is connected to the timer 2. The timer 2 energizes this relay 4 during a predetermined time from just after the battery voltage Vb is supplied. The relay 4 has a normally closed terminal 4a (hereinafter similarly also called a normally closed contact or simply called a contact in a certain case) and a normally open terminal 4b (hereinafter similarly called a normally open contact or simply called a contact in a certain case). The relay 4 supplies the battery voltage Vb to a stop lamp 5 through the normally closed terminal 4a while a de-energizing state is set and the brake switch 1 is turned on. While an energizing state is set and the brake switch 1 is turned on, the relay 4 supplies a driving voltage Vc from the turning on and off circuit 3 to the stop lamp 5 through the normally open terminal 4b.
The turning on and off circuit 3 generates the driving voltage Vc repeating on and off in a predetermined period while the battery voltage Vb is supplied through the brake switch 1.
Accordingly, in accordance with this construction, the driving voltage Vc from the turning on and off circuit 3 is supplied to the stop lamp 5 through the normally open terminal 4b of the relay 4 during a predetermined time from just after the brake operation is performed by the driver. Accordingly, in the meantime, the stop lamp 5 is repeatedly lighted and put out in conformity with turning on and off periods of the driving voltage Vc so that the stop lamp 5 can be automatically turned on and off. After a predetermined time has passed, the relay 4 is de-energized so that the relay 4 supplies the battery voltage Vb to the stop lamp 5 through the normally closed terminal 4a (if the brake switch 1 is still turned on). Thus, the stop lamp 5 can be always set to a lighting state.
There are the following problems in the related art.
(1) It is defective in consideration with respect to circumference.
As mentioned above, the brake operation can be divided into braking (gentle braking) for mere deceleration and braking (sudden braking) for emergent avoidance. Braking to be turned on and off with respect to the stop lamp 5 is "sudden braking", and is not required in the case of the gentle braking. This is because, when a frequent braking operation is performed within a vehicle series of a traffic snarl, repetitious turning on and off of the stop lamp before one's eyes seen from a crew member of a subsequent vehicle gets on one's nerves and the crew member has a troublesome feeling. Thus, in the related art, the gentle braking and the sudden braking are not distinguished and the stop lamp 5 is turned on and off at all braking times. Accordingly, a problem exists in that unnecessary turning on and off are not refused and it is defective in consideration with respect to the circumference (particularly, the subsequent vehicle).
(2) Durability of relay
Durability (life) of the relay is generally discussed by a maximum opening-closing number (or time number). When the relay of x times with respect to the maximum opening-closing number is opened and closed y times every day, it is said that life is exhausted in x/y days, etc. When the related art is considered on the basis of this matter, the relay 4 is opened and closed at one time every time the braking operation is performed at one time in the related art. Accordingly, for example, if the maximum opening-closing number of the relay 4 is set to 1000000 times and a braking number per one day is 1000 times for convenience, it is calculated that life is exhausted in 1000000 times÷1000 times=1000 days, i.e., about 2.7 years. 1000 times as the braking number per one day might be too many, but is a time number able to be sufficiently generated within a traffic snarl meanderingly continued, etc. It can be said that the life of 2.7 years is short particularly as a relay for vehicle mounting. Accordingly, in the related art, a problem exists in that durability of the relay is not sufficient.


Provided is a rotary electric machine including a stator including a plurality of stator pieces, a rotor being arranged inside the stator and rotating about a rotation axis, a housing holding the stator and the rotor, a lid member preventing the stator and the rotor from coming out of the housing, and a cylindrical frame forming the stator by containing the plurality of stator pieces and being internally mounted in the housing, in which a first fixing portion and a second fixing portion for fixing the frame to the housing are disposed at both end portions of the frame along an extending direction of the rotation axis.

Examples of a technology relating to such a rotary electric machine include a rotary electric machine described in JP9-308144A (Reference 1) (see paragraphs [0006] and [0012] and FIGS. 1 and 2).
In the rotary electric machine, an integrated stator is formed by, for example, arranging stator pieces, which are formed in a divided manner into twelve pieces, in a cylindrical shape and welding adjacent stator pieces to each other.
Each stator piece is formed by densely winding a winding around an iron core that is formed by stacking iron pieces having a predetermined shape. The twelve stator pieces, which are individually formed, are integrated by, while bringing the twelve stator pieces into contact with each other in a cylindrical shape, welding outer peripheral surfaces of adjacent stator pieces to each other.
On this occasion, the welding is performed at dispersed points. In other words, although a contact line between a pair of adjacent stator pieces is formed in a linear shape along an axis of the rotor, performing welding over the whole contact line causes the pair of adjacent stator pieces to be electrically conducted to each other, which inhibits an excellent magnetic circuit from being formed.
Thus, welding portions are disposed at dispersed points along the linear contact line. As examples of the welding portions, welding portions each of which is welded in a dot shape that extends to both stator pieces with the contact line interposed therebetween and welding portions each of which is welded in a tilted linear shape in such a way as to cross the contact line in order to securely join stator pieces on both sides of the contact line to each other are described in Reference 1. It is asserted that such configurations eliminate the above-described problem of the magnetic circuit.
However, in the above-described conventional rotary electric machine, since divided stator pieces are welded to each other, magnetic performance is certainly impaired at the welding portions.
In addition, it is difficult to completely eliminate disturbance in relative arrangements between stator pieces at the time of welding, and such disturbance leads to a reduction in the magnetic performance. Further, a welding technology for forming an appropriate welding portion is required to be used, and welding cost thus increases.
A need thus exists for a rotary electric machine which is not susceptible to the drawback mentioned above.

Rotary electric machine and wheel steering system of vehicle


A rotationally ratcheting bone screw including a body having a distal end formed with an engagement tip for engaging bone tissue, and a shaft formed with a unidirectional stop. The bone screw further includes a fastening element formed with an opening complementally configured to receive the shaft and responsive to relative rotation between the shaft and fastening element to axially advance along the shaft. The fastening element includes a rotationally sensitive ratchet element to cooperate with the stop and inhibit relative counter-rotation between the shaft and the fastening element.

Bone screws are utilized in a variety of medical procedures to take advantage of the natural anchoring properties of bone tissue. Such procedures often involve fastening multiple bone fragments of a bone fracture together, or mounting one or more prosthetic elements to the bone in an effort to improve patient mobility. Bone plates are often also utilized in cooperation with a bone screw to provide a more distributed area of compression against the bone being clamped.
The classical bone screw construction comprises an integrally formed fastener having at one end a threaded shaft of a predetermined length to penetrate the bone to a predetermined depth and a fixed radial head formed with a compression flange disposed at the opposite end. In operation, a physician first determines the proper size of bone screw to install from an array of stocked sizes. Once the appropriate size is selected, the screw is implanted into the bone by drilling the threaded end of the bone screw into the bone, for example, across a bone fracture, and utilizing the head as a clamping element.
While the classical bone screw design works well for its intended uses, different orthopedic applications typically require differently sized bone screw shafts or heads in order to adequately anchor or provide proper compression. Consequently, due to the integral nature of the classical bone screw, treatment centers often must stock an assortment of differently sized bone screws in preparation for any type of bone screw application. This tends to create substantial up-front procurement costs to either the supplier or user institution. Moreover, because the classical screw length is fixed, the surgeon must undertake a fairly accurate pre-implant measurement to properly determine the appropriate sized bone screw. Should the measurement prove less than satisfactory, the head may project beyond the expected compression point, requiring removal and replacement of the screw.
In an effort to solve the problems described above, one proposal for a bone screw, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,628,752 to Asnis et al., implements a two-piece structure including a shaft formed with bone thread at its proximal end and a nut. The shaft is formed with a plurality of axial in-line teeth projecting angularly toward the shaft proximal end. The nut is complementally formed to slide axially along the shaft in the direction of the proximal end and includes an inwardly projecting radial tab or pawl that prevents axial backing-out of the nut by engaging the previously passed tooth. In operation, the screw shaft is drilled into the bone tissue and the nut advanced axially along the shaft until adequate compression between the screw and the nut is obtained. Any excess shaft projecting beyond the nut is typically cut. As a result, the bone screw is adaptable to a variety of bone screw applications due to its variable length.
A second proposal, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,167,664 to Hodorek, utilizes a similar linear ratcheting feature by including a screw shaft formed with circumferential external teeth. The teeth engage circumferential internal grooves formed within a head to effect unidirectional axial adjustment. Operation of the Hodorek device is similar to that of the Asnis device.
Although the proposals described above work well to minimize the aforementioned problems inherent in a classical type of bone screw, the linear ratcheting feature is incapable of interfacing with conventional surgical power tools. Because of this problem, implanting a bone screw of the linear ratcheting construction often involves more effort and time on the part of the physician. Moreover, non-conventional tooling capable of interfacing with a linear ratcheting bone screw is often substantially more costly than readily available conventional tools.
Thus, the need exists for a bone screw capable of rotationally ratcheting to allow a convenient interface with conventional surgical power tools. The need also exists for a uniform bone screw construction to maximize the reduced costs inherent with wholesale purchasing. The bone screw of the present invention satisfies these needs.

New York Society for the Ruptured and Crippled Maintaining the Hospital for Special Surgery


A novel heterogeneous liquid phase catalytic process for dehydration of monoethanolamine to ethylenimine and water has been discovered. The process utilizes a novel catalyst made by modifying a cation exchange resin in the hydrogen ion form. The process using the catalyst is performed in a solution of monoethanolamine in a solvent.

Ethylenimine (EI) is an active three-membered cyclic amine and is a very useful compound since it can introduce an amino group by an addition reaction, substitution reaction, ring opening reaction and the like. EI is a commercial chemical used as raw material in pharmaceutical and amino resins. EI can also be used to determine the desired product mix of alkylene amines (ethylenediamine, diethylenetriamine and triethylenetetramine, etc.) when reacting with ammonia. The current alkylene amines process based on ethylene dichloride and ammonia gives no product flexibility.
EI has been formed by catalytic dehydration of monoethanolamine (MEA) in a vapor phase over a catalyst. Examples of such processes are disclosed and taught in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,289,656, 4,301,036, and 4,337,175.
Hideaki Tsuneki, "Acid-base catalysis: on the example of ethylenimine production," Applied Catalysis A: General, 2001, 221, 209-217 discusses certain solid acid-base catalysts showing high catalytic activity and selectivity in vapor phase intramolecular dehydration of MEA to EI.
Operating a vapor phase has problems because catalytic performance (selectivity and life of the catalyst) can be issues and also processes need to be performed at high process temperatures.
EI has also been produced from MEA in the liquid phase by using H2SO4 and NaOH (Wenker reaction). However, this reaction forming large quantify of waste water containing by-product Na2SO4 in the process, which can be a problem.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved low temperature liquid phase catalytic process for the dehydration of MEA to EI and water.

Heterogeneous liquid phase catalytic process for the dehydration of monoethanolamine to ethylenimine