An electrical connector includes an insulative housing having a top face, a pair of side walls, a rear face and a first receiving cavity extending upwardly and through the top face; a contact module including a first tongue portion extending into the first receiving cavity, and a number of first contacts insert molded with the first tongue portion, the first contacts being disposed on a mounting surface of the first tongue portion and exposed to the first receiving cavity, the contact module being attached to the insulative housing; a second receiving cavity into which a second tongue portion extends, the first receiving cavity being essentially narrower than the second receiving cavity communicating with the first receiving cavity, the first and the second tongue portions being parallel to each other; a number of second contacts disposed on opposite first and second surfaces of the second tongue portion, the second contacts being elastic and protruding into the second receiving cavity.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electrical connectors such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,467,977, which is more particularly related to electrical connectors with additional mating ports for mating with corresponding connectors.
2. Description of Related Art
Personal computers (PC) are used in a variety of ways for providing input and output. Universal Serial Bus (USB) is a serial bus standard to the PC architecture with a focus on computer telephony interface, consumer and productivity applications. The design of USB is standardized by the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF), an industry standard body incorporating leading companies from the computer and electronic industries. USB can connect peripherals such as mouse devices, keyboards, PDAs, gamepads and joysticks, scanners, digital cameras, printers, external storage, networking components, etc. For many devices such as scanners and digital cameras, USB has become the standard connection method.
As of 2006, the USB specification was at version 2.0 (with revisions). The USB 2.0 specification was released in April 2000 and was standardized by the USB-IF at the end of 2001. Previous notable releases of the specification were 0.9, 1.0, and 1.1. Equipment conforming to any version of the standard will also work with devices designed to any previous specification (known as: backward compatibility).
USB supports three data rates: 1) A Low Speed rate of up to 1.5 Mbit/s (187.5 KB/s) that is mostly used for Human Interface Devices (HID) such as keyboards, mice, and joysticks; 2) A Full Speed rate of up to 12 Mbit/s (1.5 MB/s); (Full Speed was the fastest rate before the USB 2.0 specification and many devices fall back to Full Speed. Full Speed devices divide the USB bandwidth between them in a first-come first-served basis and it is not uncommon to run out of bandwidth with several isochronous devices. All USB Hubs support Full Speed); 3) A Hi-Speed rate of up to 480 Mbit/s (60 MB/s). Though Hi-Speed devices are commonly referred to as "USB 2.0" and advertised as "up to 480 Mbit/s", not all USB 2.0 devices are Hi-Speed. Hi-Speed devices typically only operate at half of the full theoretical (60 MB/s) data throughput rate. Most Hi-Speed USB devices typically operate at much slower speeds, often about 3 MB/s overall, sometimes up to 10-20 MB/s. A data transmission rate at 20 MB/s is sufficient for some but not all applications. However, under a circumstance transmitting an audio or video file, which is always up to hundreds MB, even to 1 or 2 GB, currently transmission rate of USB is not sufficient.
As discussed above, with limited data transmission speed of the USB 2.0 connectors, there is a need to design electrical connectors with additional mating ports for high-speed signal transmission.

Electrical connector with additional mating port


A slide member having a slide surface coated with a lacquer including a resin. The lacquer is in turn at least partly coated with a lipophilic composition coating. The lipophilic composition coating provides a slide layer on the slide member with low friction.

Wardrobes having sliding doors are well-known in the art (cf. e.g. DE 298 13 478). Typically, the doors are arranged with supportive ball bearings, e.g. wheels rolling over a rail, at the upper end of the door and steering means, e.g. pins, at the lower. Ball bearings are working well, but suffer from being somewhat dust sensitive. Further, the start-stop resistance is very low if the doors are to be easily moveable; an inherent feature of ball bearings. At the end-positions, this may be partly overcome by providing resting end-positions provided with e.g. heads or recesses, for the wheels. However, this would not overcome the low start-stop resistance at intermediate positions.
Sliding kitchen doors, being less heavy than wardrobe sliding doors, are typically not provided with ball bearings, but are mounted standing in a sliding groove, i.e. a linear plain bearing. For lighter doors this may work well, though the sliding resistance may be fairly high; especially at start. However, for heavier doors, e.g. wardrobe sliding doors, linear plain bearings typically provide too high sliding resistance for practical use; especially at start. Further, such linear plain bearings are sensitive to dust contamination affecting the sliding resistance very negatively.
Further, also chests of drawer may be provided with linear plain bearings, such as a simple arrangement with a groove in the drawer rack receiving a strip arranged on the drawer. Chests of drawers may also be provided with more sophisticated linear plain bearings (cf. e.g. DE 10 2011 053 946). Still, drawers getting slightly tilted often get stuck in the chest.
Given its simplicity, it would be desired to provide a slide member with very low sliding friction. Such a slide member may find use e.g. with wardrobe sliding doors. Further, such a slide member may find use also in other applications, such as extendable tables, kits for hanging curtains, drawers of chests of drawers, etc.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


Each leg of a U tube blanket is configured to have at least one row of holes extending substantially along the length thereof. The size of the holes is incrementally increased from the proximal portion that is closest to the air inlet cross section of the blanket where heated air is input to the blanket for inflating the same to the distal portion of the legs of the blanket. For an embodiment of the inventive blanket, the plurality of vent holes along each leg of the blanket are grouped into a number of sections, for illustration purposes three, with the vent holes in each section having the same dimension. With the size of the holes being incrementally larger along the leg away from the heat source, a greater amount of warm air is output at the distal portion of the blanket to compensate for the distance the warm air needs to travel before it is vented from the blanket. As a result, a substantially evenly distributed bath of warm air is output from the legs of the blanket to the sides of the patient so that the patient is evenly warmed along his entire body. Straps that are separable from the legs of the blanket are provided to secure the blanket to the patient.

Prior to the instant invention, tube blankets, which may be in the shape of U tubes, are formed with vent holes that have the same dimension. Accordingly, the warm air that outputs from the portions of the U tube blanket that are remote from the air input source tends to be colder than the warm air that outputs from the portions of the blanket close to where the heated air from a convective warmer is input. Thus, uneven warming of the patient results.
There is therefore a need for a U-shaped type convective warming blanket that can bathe a patient with an evenly distributed envelope of warm air.


The present invention relates to a punched electrode and a rechargeable lithium battery using the same, and more particularly to a punched electrode and a rechargeable lithium battery using the same that can improve cycle life, capacity, and safety characteristics of the battery. The present invention can improve cycle life, capacity, and rate characteristics etc. of the battery by making the impregnation rate of an electrolyte higher and by uniformly controlling the impregnation degree, and it can improve safety properties of the battery by preventing lithium deposition such that a uniform electrode reaction occurs, through punching out a hole in an anode, an anode/cathode, or an anode/cathode/separator of an electrode group that comprises the inner part of the lithium secondary battery.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a punched electrode and a lithium secondary battery using the same, and more particularly to a punched electrode that can improve cycle life, capacity, and safety characteristics of batteries, and a rechargeable lithium secondary battery using the same.
(b) Description of the Related Art
Recently, an explosive increase in demand for portable electronic equipment has also made the demand for secondary batteries rapidly increase, and in particular, the role of lithium secondary batteries has been very important therein. In addition, as portable electronic equipment has been miniaturized and the efficiency thereof has been heightened, high performance, miniaturization, and various shapes of batteries have been required. Particularly, for personal computers, various shapes of batteries to decrease the thickness of personal computers have been attempted because battery size has a large influence on thickness of a personal computer. In addition, as serious environmental problems have arisen, solutions to global warming have been seriously and continuously discussed.
For a solution to these problems, legislation to decrease use of automotive petroleum fuel, which is a principal cause of global warming, and obligations to use electronic vehicles that are more environmentally friendly have been discussed, and some such directives are currently in force. In addition, in order to solve pollution problems, studies and development of electronic vehicles (HEV, EV) have been continuously carried out, and some such vehicles are commonly used now. For this, batteries having large capacity are required, and a novel approach to thermal stability and safety is also required.
In order to satisfy these needs, an attempt to increase height and width of batteries has been made. Although such an attempt can increase battery capacity and simplify the shape of batteries, it may be an obstacle to battery performance because there are difficulties in uniformly wetting the entire electrode area with electrolyte as the electrode area widens, and in causing a uniform electrode reaction over the entire electrode area during progression through charge and discharge cycles. Therefore, although electrode conditions are fair, a lack of electrolyte may accelerate electrode degeneration and therefore shorten the cycle life of batteries. In addition, if an electrode becomes seriously non-uniform, electrode reactions will be locally concentrated, and local deposition of lithium metal may cause safety problems.

Punched electrode and rechargeable lithium battery using the same


Human antibodies that bind to TIMP-1 can be used as reagents to diagnose and treat disorders in which TIMP-1 is elevated, such as liver fibrosis, alcoholic liver disease, cardiac fibrosis, acute coronary syndrome, lupus nephritis, glomerulosclerotic renal disease, benign prostate hypertrophy, colon cancer, lung cancer, and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Tissue inhibitors of metalloproteases (TIMPs) inhibit metalloproteases, a family of endopeptide hydrolases. Metalloproteases are secreted by connective tissue and hematopoietic cells, use Zn2+ or Ca2+ for catalysis, and may be inactivated by metal chelators as well as TIMP molecules. Matrix metalloproteases (MMPs) participate in a variety of biologically important processes, including the degradation of many structural components of tissues, particularly the extracellular matrix (ECM).
Degradation of extracellular matrix tissue is desirable in processes where destruction of existing tissues is necessary, e.g., in embryo implantation (Reponen et al., Dev. Dyn. 202, 388–96, 1995), embryogenesis, and tissue remodeling. Imbalance between synthesis and degradation of matrix proteins, however, can result in diseases such as liver fibrosis (Iredale et al., Hepatology 24, 176–84, 1996). This imbalance can occur, for example, if levels of TIMPs are increased. Disorders in which TIMP-1 levels of increased include, for example, liver fibrosis, alcoholic liver disease, cardiac fibrosis, acute coronary syndrome, lupus nephritis, glomerulosclerotic renal disease, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, benign prostate hypertrophy, lung cancer, and colon cancer. See, e.g., Inokubo et al., Am. Heart J. 141, 211–17, 2001; Ylisirnio et al., Anticancer Res. 20, 1311–16, 2000; Holten-Andersen et al., Clin. Cancer Res. 6, 4292–99, 2000; Holten-Andersen et al., Br. J. Cancer 80, 495–503, 1999; Peterson et al., Cardiovascular Res. 46, 307–15, 2000; Arthur et al., Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Res. 23, 840–43, 1999; Iredale et al., Hepatol. 24, 176–84, 1996.
There is a need in the art for reagents and methods of inhibiting TIMP-1 activity, which can be used to provide therapeutic effects.


Systems, methods, and software are disclosed for provisioning tokens in a networked computing environment including merchants participating in payment networks. The method includes receiving, by a merchant processor, card account data of a purchase card from a cardholder. The method includes determining, by the merchant processor, that the card account data includes a multi-token enabled BIN. The method includes, in response to determining that the card account data includes the multi-token enabled BIN, receiving and storing, by the merchant processor and in a memory of the merchant, respectively, a primary token associated with a front-of-card brand of the purchase card. The method includes, in response to receiving the primary token, transmitting, by the merchant processor, a request for a secondary token. The method includes receiving and storing, by the merchant processor and in the merchant memory, respectively, the secondary token simultaneously with storing the primary token.

Merchants processing purchase card transactions, including in online shopping contexts, are charged processing and/or service fees to realize payment for such transactions. Naturally, merchants have a business interest and desire to not only minimize such transactions costs, but also to establish processes that make those costs more predictable. Commentators have called for more transparency and standardization regarding interchange and the cost associated with processing bankcards. The Durbin Amendment to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 was intended to address this issue for businesses and inure to the benefit of both merchants and consumers. Among the pro-competitive policies the Durbin Amendment facilitated are capped interchange fees charged to merchants every time they processed debit card transactions.
In e-commerce contexts, for example, merchants may obtain and store network-based tokens to facilitate payments in place of storing actual card numbers. In at least some known market contexts, merchants have to pay a different fee based on the bank that issued the debit card. The primary token obtained from token service platform(s) of global front-of-card brands (e.g., Visa®) may contain processing restrictions that may prevent merchants from using a primary token to route a payment transaction to an alternate network (e.g., Pulse®) that may be enabled on the actual card. The commercial framework for secondary tokens is based on transactional and other service fees. In at least some known business contexts, merchants are unable to effectively and efficiently establish purchase or payment transaction routing preferences on a per transaction basis, so as to predict, plan for, and minimize transaction costs, and maximize net profits. It would thus be beneficial to both merchants and consumers at large to provide a means for preserving merchant routing choice when no other alternative exists in the market today.

Multi-token provisioning, online purchase transaction processing, and card life cycle management systems and methods


An antenna includes a feed segment for transmitting a radio-frequency signal, a first radiator electrically connected to the feeding segment and formed on a first surface of a substrate, and a second radiator electrically connected to the feeding segment and formed on a second surface of the substrate, wherein the first radiator includes a first arm electrically connected to the feeding segment, a first branch and a second branch, and a second arm electrically connected to the feeding segment, a third branch and a fourth ranch, and the second radiator includes a third arm electrically connected to the feeding segment, a fifth branch and a sixth branch, and a fourth arm electrically connected to the feeding segment, a seventh branch and an eighth branch.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a miniature antenna and antenna module thereof, and more particularly, to a miniature antenna and antenna module thereof having an omnidirectional radiation pattern.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Electronic products with wireless communication functionalities utilize antennas to emit and receive radio waves, to transmit or exchange radio signals, so as to access a wireless communication network. Therefore, to facilitate a user's access to the wireless communication network, an ideal antenna should maximize its bandwidth within a permitted range, while minimizing physical dimensions to accommodate a trend for smaller-sized electronic products. Additionally, with the advance of wireless communication technology, electronic products may be configured with an increasing number of antennas. For example, a wireless local area network standard IEEE 802.11n supports multi-input multi-output (MIMO) communication technology, i.e. an electronic product is capable of concurrently receiving/transmitting wireless signals via multiple (or multiple sets of) antennas, to vastly increase system throughput and transmission distance without increasing system bandwidth or total transmission power expenditure, thereby effectively enhancing spectral efficiency and transmission rate for the wireless communication system, as well as improving communication quality.
As can be seen from the above, a prerequisite for implementing techniques, such as spatial multiplexing, beam forming, spatial diversity, pre-coding, etc., employed in the MIMO communication technology is to employ multiple sets of antenna to divide a space into many channels in order to provide multiple antenna field patterns. Therefore, it is a common goal in the industry to design antennas that suit both transmission demands, as well as dimension and functionality requirements.

Miniature antenna and antenna module thereof


A test clock generating apparatus is provided in the invention. The test clock generating apparatus includes an at-speed clock generator and a multiplexer. The at-speed clock generator is for receiving a reference clock signal and a scan chain enable signal and outputting an at-speed clock signal. The frequency of the at-speed clock signal is substantially the same with that of the reference clock signal. The multiplexer is for receiving the at-speed clock signal and a scan chain clock signal and outputting a test clock signal according to the scan chain enable signal. The frequency of the reference clock signal is higher than that of the scan chain clock.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to an integrated circuit, and more particularly to an integrated circuit including a test clock generating circuit.
2. Description of the Related Art
As designed and manufactured, digital logic circuits requires a suitable apparatus for circuit debugging and testing. A common digital logic circuit, as shown in FIG. 1 includes combinational logic circuits and sequential circuits. The combinational logic circuits 10˜16 generate output signals according to the present input signal. The sequential circuits, such as the flip-flops D1˜D6, can memorize and generate output signals according to the previous input signal, wherein the scan-chain signal sclk is a test clock signal.
The conventional method for testing a digital logic circuit is to serially couple a plurality of flip-flops as a scan chain. By doing this, the digital logic circuit can be debugged by recording specific logic values in the scan chain in order. This method is also called a scan test. The circuit can be selected to operate in a shift mode or a normal mode according to a plurality of multiplexers mu1˜mux6, and scan enable signals SE. When the circuit is operated in the shift mode (SE=1), the test pattern is scanned in from the tester and stored in the flip-flops D1˜D6. Afterwards, when the circuit enters the normal mode (or called capture mode) (SE=0), the values stored in the flip-flops D1˜D6 are sent to the combinational logic circuits 10˜16 to simulate the logic calculation under normal operational conditions, and the calculation results are stored in each flip-flop D1˜D6. Lastly, the circuit enters the shift mode again where the test results can be scanned out in order by the serially coupled flip-flop scan chain so as to check whether the function of the chip is normal or not.
In these few years, the operational clock loading of the chip has largely been enhanced from several tens MHz to several hundreds MHz, however, the chip cannot still be tested at speed for the scan clock provided by the tester is not enhanced accordingly. Even there are a few new testers, which can provide high-speed (at-speed) clocks, their cost in present is still expensive, thereby not meeting the cost benefit. Moreover, when the operational frequency of the interior circuits of the chip is faster than that of the input/output (I/O) circuit of the chip, it is difficult to test the chip at speed because the I/O circuit of the chip cannot operate normally in the high-speed (at speed) clock.


A service request interrupt router having Interrupt Control Units (ICUs); and an arbitration unit configured to be shared by the ICUs to arbitrate among Service Request Nodes (SRNs) that have respective service request interrupt signals and that are mapped to the ICUs, to determine for each of the ICUs which of the SRNs has a highest priority.

A service request interrupt router is an interface between on-chip service request interrupt signals and service providers that respond to these interrupt signals. The interrupt router arbitrates among the service request interrupt signals, which are based on hardware events or triggers, and forwards a winner to one of the service providers (e.g., Central Processing Unit (CPU), Direct Memory Access (DMA), etc.).
The service request interrupt router includes a Service Request Node (SRN) for each service request interrupt signal, and an Interrupt Control Unit (ICU) for each of the service providers. A typical multi-core service request interrupt router may have several hundred SRNs and multiple ICUs.
In current interrupt service request routers, each ICU has its own arbitration unit to arbitrate among all SRNs having respective pending service request interrupt signals that is assigned or mapped thereto. Also, each ICU arbitrates independently from other ICUs.

Service request interrupt router with shared arbitration unit


The present invention provides a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device comprising an insulating layer that includes a seed layer formed on a silicon substrate. The seed layer is formed by exposing a hydrogen-terminated surface of the silicon substrate in a substantially oxygen-free environment to a seed layer precursor comprising a methylated metal. Forming the insulating layer further includes depositing a dielectric material on the seed layer.

As active device dimensions get smaller, it is desirable to reduce the thickness of a gate insulating layer in such devices. The push toward thinner insulating layers is expected to limit the use of the currently popular conventional gate insulting layer, silicon dioxide. This follows because at some point of diminishing thickness, about 1 to about 1.2 nm, the leakage of current through the silicon dioxide insulating layer will become unacceptably high and adversely affect device performance.
One proposed solution is to use gate insulating layers composed of dielectric materials with a higher dielectric constant than that of silicon dioxide. Such materials, termed high K dielectrics, have superior insulating characteristics compared to silicon dioxide for equivalent thicknesses, for example, by allowing less leakage current. There are, however, a number of problems with forming gate insulating layers composed of dielectric materials. It is difficult, for example, to deposit high K dielectric materials by chemical vapor deposition directly on hydrogen-terminated silicon substrates, because such materials are not reactive enough to bond directly to silicon.
To facilitate deposition, typically an underlying layer of silicon hydroxide or oxide is first formed between the silicon substrate and the high K dielectric material. Formation of a silicon dioxide layer of about 1 nm or thicker, defeats the purpose of switching to a high K dielectric, because the presence of the thick silicon dioxide layer again gives rise to the above-mentioned problems. Alternatively, the formation of a silicon dioxide layer between the substrate and the dielectric layer may be an unavoidable by-product of the conventional techniques used to deposit the dielectric material and underlying layer on the silicon substrate. Techniques, such as metal-organic, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), rapid thermal CVD, atomic layer CVD, sputtering and electron-beam evaporation, all result in the formation of an undesired silicon dioxide layer.
One approach, for example, is using atomic layer deposition (ALD) to expose a hydrogen-terminated silicon surface to an oxygen source, such as water, to form an oxide layer, followed by the deposition of a high K dielectric precursor. Brief alternating exposures of the substrate to the oxygen source and the high K dielectric precursor result in the formation of a metal oxide layer comprising the high K dielectric. The high K dielectric layer, however, also contains an unacceptably thick (about 1 nm) silicon dioxide layer, and semiconductor devices having such insulating layers will not achieve an equivalent oxide thickness of less than 1 nm, as is desired for CMOS scaling.
Accordingly, what is needed in the art is a semiconductor device and method of manufacturing thereof that does not exhibit the limitations of the prior art.

Process for fabricating a semiconductor device having an insulating layer formed over a semiconductor substrate


A method of inputting keys in a portable terminal is provided. The method includes receiving a handwriting, identifying an input size of the handwriting and a reference size, and as a result of the identification, if a size difference between the input size of the handwriting and the reference size is less than a predetermined difference, converting the handwriting into a text having a text size corresponding to the reference size.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to portable terminals. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method of enabling to more conveniently use handwriting input through a touch pen in the portable terminal.
2. Description of the Related Art
As portable terminals evolve into various forms, such as smartphones or tablets, they provide user with many useful functions, which leads to widespread use of the portable terminals.
In particular, smartphones or tablets, multi-functional devices, for using multimedia and playing games have increased in popularity and are being widely used in many settings.
However, due to a lack of physical keyboards, most smartphones or tablets are inconvenient for use in some productive functions, such as document creation, as compared to an electronic device with the physical keyboard, such as a notebook.
To resolve this inconvenience, recent portable terminals provide touch pens for recognizing a pen input from the user on touch screens so that the user can conveniently use the portable terminal for a function such as a document creation or a drawing function.
A conventional technology for the document creation with the touch pen includes a technology for storing handwritings input by the user in an image format, or a technology for converting the handwritings input by the user into machine readable texts with a text recognition function.
However, in the case of the conventional technology for converting the handwritings input by the user into the texts, no matter how large the handwriting is, the handwriting is always converted into the same sized text. Thus, if the user wants to change the text size, the user must subsequently adjust the text size in a menu.
Therefore, in the case of using a handwriting input through the touch pen and converting the handwriting into a text, a method of easily changing the size of the converted text (e.g., the font size) without a need for establishing e.g., a separate menu, is required.
The above information is presented as background information only to assist with an understanding of the present disclosure. No determination has been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the above might be applicable as prior art with regard to the present invention.


Microstructured optical fiber for single-moded transmission of optical signals, the optical fiber including a core region and a cladding region, the cladding region including an annular hole-containing region that contains non-periodically disposed holes. The annular hole containing region is doped with at least one dopant selected from fluorine and chlorine. The optical fiber provides low bend loss as well as low heat-induced splice loss.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to optical fiber, and particularly to bend resistant optical fiber with reduced heat induced loss.
2. Technical Background
Tapered or heat-treated optical fibers are utilized in fiber pigtails, optical couplers, splicing, connectors and other optical components. Such tapering or heat-treatment can induce optical power loss. As performance requirements for the optical components become increasingly more stringent, the need to eliminate such loss becomes increasingly critical.
Tapering or heat-treatment can pose a particular challenge when the fibers to be treated are nanostructured optical fibers. Nanostructured optical fibers are a class of fibers developed to have ultra-low bend loss allowing for a wide variety of applications. These fibers include holes or voids running longitudinally along the fiber axis and heating the fiber causes the holes or voids to collapse, which can result in undesirable optical power leakage.

Bend insensitive fiber with reduced heat induced loss


In one aspect of the invention, an apparatus operable to facilitate add/drop multiplexing of optical signals includes an input operable to receive an input optical signal and an added optical signal, the input operable to generate a first and a second copy of the input signal and a first and a second copy of the added signal. The apparatus further includes a plurality of at least substantially reflective surfaces, each operable to receive either the first signal copies or the second signal copies and to reflect the copies for ultimate combination at an output to form an output signal for transmission. At least one of the at least substantially reflective surfaces comprises a moveable mirror operable to change its position relative to the input to create a phase shift between the first and second signal copies so that either the input optical signal or the added optical signal is communicated as the output signal depending on the position of the at least one moveable mirror.

Various techniques for facilitating optical add/drop multiplexing have been developed. However, none of the previous approaches has provided a satisfactory solution to the problem of add/drop multiplexing optical signals carrying numerous—sometimes hundreds—of wavelength components. In those situations, the cost of fabricating conventional devices to process each wavelength in the signal quickly becomes prohibitive.

Apparatus and method for optical add/drop multiplexing


A process of using fast pyrolysis to convert a plastic waste feed stream containing polycarbonate and ABS to high value monomeric constituents prior to pyrolysis of other plastic components therein comprising: selecting a first temperature program range to cause pyrolysis of a given polymer to its high value monomeric constituents prior to a temperature range that causes pyrolysis of other plastic components; selecting an acid or base catalysts and an oxide or carbonate support for treating the feed stream to affect acid or base catalyzed reaction pathways to maximize yield or enhance separation of the high value monomeric constituents of polycarbonate and ABS in the first temperature program range; differentially heating the feed stream at a heat rate within the first temperature program range to provide differential pyrolysis for selective recovery of optimum quantities of the high value monomeric constituents prior to pyrolysis or other plastic components; separating the high value monomeric constituents from the polycarbonate to cause pyrolysis to a different high value monomeric constituent of the plastic waste and differentially heating the feed stream at the second higher temperature program range to cause pyrolysis of different high value monomeric constituents; and separating the different high value monomeric constituents.

1. Field of the Invention
In general, the invention pertains to a method for controlling the pyrolysis of a complex waste stream of plastics to convert the stream into useful high value monomers or other thereby minimizing disposal requirements for non-biodegradable materials and conserving non-renewable resources. The method uses fast pyrolysis for sequentially converting a plastic waste feed stream having a mixed polymeric composition into high value monomer products by:
using molecular beams mass spectrometry (MBMS) techniques to characterize the polymeric components of the feed stream and determine process parameter conditions; PA1 catalytically treating the feed stream to affect the rate of conversion and reaction pathways to specific products; and PA1 differentially heating the feed stream containing catalyst according to a heat rate program using predetermined MBMS data to sequentially obtain optimum quantities of high value monomer and other high value products from the selected components in the feed stream. PA1 using molecular beam mass spectrometry (MBMS) to characterize the components of the feed stream; PA1 catalytically treating the feed stream to affect the rate of conversion and reaction pathways to be taken by the feed stream leading to specific products; PA1 selection of coreactants, such as steam or methanol in the gas phase or in-situ generated HCl; and PA1 differentially heating the feed stream according to a heat rate program using predetermined MBMS data to provide optimum quantities of said high value monomer products or high value chemicals.
From the conditions selected using the MBMS, batch or continuous reactors can be designed or operated to convert mixed plastic streams into high value chemicals and monomers.
The invention achieves heretofore unattained control of a pyrolysis process, as applied to mixed polymeric waste, through greater discovery of the mechanisms of polymer pyrolysis, as provided through the use of molecular beam mass spectrometry. Pyrolysis mass spectrometry is used to characterize the major polymers found in the waste mixture, and the MBMS techniques are used on large samples in a manner such that heterogeneous polymeric materials can be characterized at the molecular level. After characterization, in accordance with the method of invention, when a given a specific waste stream polymer mixture, that mixture is subjected to a controlled heating rate program for maximizing the isolation of desired monomer and other high value products, due to the fact that the kinetics of the depolymerization of these polymers have been determined as well as the effects of catalytic pretreatment which allow accelerating specific reactions over others, thus permitting control of product as a function of catalyst and temperature (heating rate).
2. Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 3,546,251 pertains to the recovery of epsilon-caprolactone in good yield from oligomers or polyesters by heating at 210.degree.-320.degree. C. with 0.5 to 5 parts weight of catalyst (per 100 parts weight starting material) chosen from KOH, NaOH, alkali earth metal hydroxides, the salts of metals e.g. Co and Mn and the chlorides and oxides of divalent metals.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,974,206 to Tatsumi et al. discloses a process for obtaining a polymerizable monomer by: contacting a waste of thermoplastic acrylic and styrenic resin with a fluid heat transfer medium; cooling the resulting decomposed product; and subjecting it to distillation. This patent uses not only the molten mixed metal as an inorganic heat transfer medium (mixtures or alloys of zinc, bismuth, tin, antimony, and lead, which are molten at very low temperatures) alone or in the presence of added inorganic salts, such as sodium chloride, etc., molten at <500.degree. C. but an additional organic heat transfer medium, so that the plastic waste does not just float on the molten metal, and thereby not enjoy the correct temperatures for thermal decomposition (>500.degree. C.). The molten organic medium is a thermoplastic resin, and examples are other waste resins such as atatic polypropylene, other polyolefins, or tar pitch. The added thermoplastic is also partially thermally decomposed into products that end up together with the desired monomers, and therefore, distillation and other procedures have to be used to obtain the purified monomer.
However, since Tatsumi et al. deal with acrylic polymers known to decompose thermally into their corresponding monomers, the patent provides no means for identifying catalyst and temperature conditions that permit decomposition of that polymer in the presence of others, without substantial decomposition of the other polymers, in order to make it easier to purify the monomer from the easier to decompose plastic or other high-value chemicals from this polymer.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,901,951 to Nishizaki pertains to a method of treating waste plastics in order to recover useful components derived from at least one monomer selected from aliphatic and aromatic unsaturated hydrocarbons comprising: melting the waste plastic, bringing the melt into contact with a particulate solid heat medium in a fluidized state maintained at a temperature of between 350.degree. to 650.degree. C. to cause pyrolysis of the melt, and collecting and condensing the resultant gaseous product to recover a mixture of liquid hydrocarbons; however, even though one useful monomer (styrene) is cited, the examples produce mixtures of components, all of which must be collected together and subsequently subjected to extensive purification. No procedure is evidenced or taught for affecting fractionation in the pyrolysis itself by virtue of the catalysts and correct temperature choice.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,494,958 to Mannsfeld et al. is directed to a process for thermal decomposition of polymers such as polymethyl methacrylate using the fluidized bed approach, comprising: taking finely divided polymers of grain size less than 5 mm and windsifting and pyrolysing said polymer grains at a temperature which is at least 100.degree. C. over the depolymerization temperature to produce monomeric products; however, this is a conventional process that exemplifies the utility of thermal processing in general for recovery of monomers from acrylic polymers which, along with polytetrafluoroethylene, are the only classes of polymers which have monomers recovered in high yield by thermal decomposition. See, for instance, A. G. Buekens in Conservation and Recycling, Vol. 1, pp. 241-271 (1977). The process of this patent does not acknowledge the need of taking the recovery a step further in the case of more complex mixtures of products, let alone provide a means for doing so.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,108,730 and 4,175,211 to Chen et al. relate respectively to treating rubber wastes and plastic wastes by size reducing the wastes, removing metals therefrom, and slurrying the wastes in a petroleum - derived stream heated to 500.degree.-700.degree. F. to dissolve the polymers. The slurry is then fed into a zeolite catalytic cracker operating at 850.degree. F. and up to 3 atmospheres to yield a liquid product, which is a gasoline-type of product.
While the Chen et al. references exemplify catalytic conversion, it is to a mixture of hydrocarbons boiling in the gasoline range, and not to make specific useful compounds(s), which can be formed and isolated by virtue of temperature programming and catalytic conditions.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,829,558 to Banks et al is directed to a method of disposing of plastic waste without polluting the environment comprising: passing the plastic to a reactor, heating the plastic in the presence of a gas to at least the decomposition temperature of the plastic, and recovering decomposition products therefrom. The gas used in the process is a heated inert carrier gas (as the source of heat).
The method of this patent pyrolyses the mixtures of PVC, polystyrene, polyolefins (in equal proportions) at over 600.degree. C., with steam heated at about 1300.degree. C., and makes over 25 products, which were analyzed for, including in the order of decreasing importance, HCl, the main product, butenes, butane, styrene, pentenes, ethylene, ethane, pentane and benzene, among others.
In Banks, no attempt is made to try to direct the reactions despite the fact that some thermodynamic and kinetic data are obtained.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,996,022 to Larsen discloses a process for converting waste solid rubber scrap from vehicle tires into useful liquid, solid and gaseous chemicals comprising: heating at atmospheric pressure a molten acidic halide Lewis salt or mixtures thereof to a temperature from about 300.degree. C. to the respective boiling point of said salt in order to convert the same into a molten state; introducing into said heated molten salt solid waste rubber material for a predetermined time; removing from above the surface of said molten salt the resulting distilled gaseous and liquid products; and removing from the surface of said molten salt at least a portion of the resulting carbonaceous residue formed thereon together with at least a portion of said molten salt to separating means from which is recovered as a solid product, the solid carbonaceous material.
In the Larsen reference, the remainder from the liquid and gaseous fuel products is char. Moreover, these products are fuels and not specific chemicals.
Table 1 summarizes examples from the literature on plastic pyrolysis.
TABLE 1 __________________________________________________________________________ Thermal decomposition of polymers (adapted from Buckens) Reaction Process developed Reactor type & heating temperature, Plant capacity, by method .degree.C. tons/day Feedstock Products __________________________________________________________________________ a) Union Carbide Extruder, followed by 420-600 0.035-0.07 PE, PP, PS, PVC, Waxes annular pyrol, tube, PETP, PA, mixes electrically heated b) Japan Steel Works Extruder c) Japan Gasoline Co. Tubular reactor, exter- Dissolved or suspended Heavy-oil nally heated in recycle-oil d) Prof. Tsutsumi Tubular reactor, 500-650 1 PS-foam superheated steam as a heat carrier e) Nichimen* Catalytic fixed bed reactor Mixed plast, no char- forming polymers f) Toyo Engineering Fluidized bed catalytic 0.5 Mixed plast., no char- Corp. reactor forming polymers g) Mitsui Shipbuilding Stirred tank reactor, 420-455 24-30 Low mol. w. polymers Fuel-oil & Engineering Co. polymer bath (PE, APPO h) Mitsui Petrochemical Industries Co. (Chiba Works) i) Mitsubishi Heavy Ind. Tank reactor with 400-500 0.7/2.4 Polyolefins Naphtha kerosene (Mihara Works) circulation pump and fuel-oil reflux cooling j) Kawasaki Heavy Ind. Polymer bath, formed by 400-450 5 Mixed plast. PE Gas-oil HCL (Kakogawa Works) PE and PS content 55% k) Ruhrchemie AG, Stirred tank reactor, salt 380-450 1.2 PE Oil, wax Oberhausen bath l) Japan Gasoline Co. Fluidized bed 450 0.2 PS-waste m) Prof. Sinn, Univ. of Fluidized bed 640-840 Laboratory PE, PS, PVC tyre Aromatic hydro- Hamburg Prof. scale rubber carbons & fuel oil Kaminsky Molten salt bath 600-800 Laboratory scale n) Sanyo Electric Co. Tubular reactor with a 260 (PVC), 0.3 (pilot) Foam PS, mixed Monomer screw for carbon removal, followed 3 (Gifu) (select. collect.) Fuel-oil dielectric heating by 500.550 5 (Kusatsu) 6% S HCL o) Sumitomo Shipbuild. % Fluidized bed, partial 450-470 3-5 Mixed plastics incl. Heavy oil Machinery Co. oxidation 600 (28) HCL (Hiratsuka Lab.) p) Government Industrial Fluidized bed, partial 400-510 Bed diameter: PS-chips Monomer and Research Institute oxidation 550 3.5/15/30/50 dimer Gasific. & 120 cm prod. q) Nippon Zeon, Japan Fluidized bed, partial 350-600 24 pre-comm- Sheared tyres Gas, oil, char Gasoline Co. oxidation (400-500 cial plant (Tokuyama) mostly) r) Kobe Steel Externally heated, rotary 600-800 5 (pilot) Crushed tyres Gas, oil, char kiln s) Bureau of Mines/ Electrically heated retort 500/900 Laboratory Tyre cuttings Gas, oil, char Firestone scale t) Hydrocarbon Research Autoclave 350-450 Tyres Inc. u) Zeplichal Conveyor band, vacuum Tyres v) Herbold, W. Germany Tyres __________________________________________________________________________ References Modified from A. G. Buekens, "Some Observations On The Recycling of Plastics and Rubber" in Conservation and Recycling, Vol. 1, pp. 247-271 (1977)

Controlled catalystic and thermal sequential pyrolysis and hydrolysis of polycarbonate and plastic waste to recover monomers


A skirt located on a worm is inserted in a C-shaped hole of a photo-interrupter blade wheel, and a motor shaft passes thought the center of each of said members. The rotation of the worm is transmitted to photo-interrupter blades with a predescribed angle of play due to the relative dimensions of a notch formed on the skirt and the C-shaped hole.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a device capable of preventing counting errors with regard to the number of rotations of a driving device or a driving source used to drive a movable member such as a photo-taking optical system or X-Y table, as well as to an apparatus equipped with said device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In connection with an apparatus having a movable member, i.e., in connection with the focusing or zooming of the photo-taking optical system in a camera lens mount, for example, when the lens units are driven, the number of rotations of the drive motor, which is the drive source for said lens units, is conventionally counted by means of pulse counting using a construction in which blades that rotate together with the drive motor pass through a gap of a photo-interrupter. By means of this counting, the amount of drive performed by the drive motor may be confirmed and the lens units may be driven to their desired positions.
However, in the construction described above, there is a possibility of an error occurring in the counting of the number of rotations of the drive motor when reactive reverse rotation occurs due to the elasticity, etc., of the components comprising the reduction mechanism located in the path used to transmit the driving force of the drive motor to a driven member.

Rotation device and apparatus equipped with rotation device


The present invention relates to personal care compositions suitable for styling hair, comprising from about 0.01% to about 20% of a hair styling polymer, a polyorganosiloxane emulsion comprising a polyorganosiloxane dispersed as particles an average particle size of less than about 150 nanometers, and a surfactant system; from about 0.01% to about 10% of a silicone-polyoxyalkylene copolymer surfactant and a carrier comprising at least about 0.5% of a first solvent selected from the group consisting of water; water soluble organic solvents; organic solvents which are strongly to moderately strong in hydrogen-bonding parameter; and mixtures thereof; wherein the first solvent is other than a C.sub.1 -C.sub.3 monohydric alcohol, a C.sub.1 -C.sub.3 ketone and a C.sub.1 -C.sub.3 ether.

The desire to have the hair retain a particular style or shape is widely held. The most common methodology for accomplishing this is by spraying a composition, typically from a mechanical pump spray device or from a pressurized aerosol canister, to the hair. Other means of providing style or shaping to the hair are mousses, gels, lotions and the like. Such compositions provide temporary setting benefits and can usually be removed by water or by shampooing. The materials used in these types of hair styling compositions are generally resins, gums, and adhesive polymers which are capable of imparting style or shape to the hair. Many of these products also contain lower alcohols in order to obtain good films of the polymer in a short period of time.
Many people desire a high level of style retention, or hold, from a styling product. Unfortunately, most current hair styling products having good hold characteristics suffer from the disadvantages of being either too stiff, not smooth or too sticky upon drying. Stiff compositions tend to be brittle and break down under common stresses such as wind, brushing, combing. Stiff compositions also tend to feel and look unnatural. Sticky compositions overcome many of the foregoing disadvantages of stiff compositions, because sticky compositions tend to be more forgiving, i.e., flexible, under stress and allow for restyling of the hair. However, sticky compositions have the disadvantage of leaving the hair with a heavy, coated feel and with a limp and unattractive appearance. Also, sticky compositions cause the hair to quickly become soiled from common contaminant sources such as dust, dirt, lint, sebum, etc.
One approach to minimizing stiffness and roughness of a hair styling composition is the incorporation of silicones, including silicone emulsions and microemulsions, in such compositions. Silicones tend to provide a desirably smooth or soft hair feel. Unfortunately, silicone emulsions tend to be difficult to formulate in hair styling compositions. Hair styling compositions tend to be complex, requiring a number of ingredients for different purposes, with potential for incompatibilities. For example, silicone emulsions tend to be unstable in compositions containing lower alcohols, resulting in phase separation of the composition. Other incompatibilities in the system, e.g., polymer--polymer or polymer-surfactant interactions, can also result in phase separation. This phase separation is not only undesirable for visual esthetic reasons, but for performance reasons as well. When the product phase separates, hold and/or hair feel properties of the product tend to be negatively impacted.
Therefore, a need exists for hair styling compositions providing good style retention without the disadvantages of stiff or sticky compositions. There is a particular need for hair styling compositions containing lower alcohols providing good style retention without the disadvantages of stiff or sticky compositions.
It has surprisingly been found that stable hair styling compositions which provide such benefits can be provided by employing specific silicone polyether compounds in a hair care composition containing a hair styling polymer, a silicone emulsion having a particle size less than about 150 nm and a surfactant, and certain carriers for the hair styling polymer. Such compositions are provided even where the composition contains relatively high levels of lower alcohols.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide stable hair styling compositions containing silicone emulsions, especially compositions which also contain lower alcohol.
It is another object of this invention to provide hair styling compositions that provide good style retention without unacceptable stiffness or stickiness. Another object of this invention is to provide hair styling compositions that both look and feel natural.
It is another object of this invention to provide methods for styling and holding hair.
These and other objects will become readily apparent from the detailed description which follows.


An artificial habitat assembly for fish or other aquatic life includes a series of vertically spaced plates or discs having a specified gravity less than 1.0, which are held adjacent the bottom of a body of water by an anchor and a flexible stress member to which the plates are attached in vertically spaced relationship. The plates provide areas of shade or darkness which are attractive to fish seeking shelter.

When lakes, reservoirs and other water impoundments are constructed, there are ground areas that have brush, trees, stumps and rocks which become natural underwater habitats for fish when the impoundment fills with water. These water bottom structures afford fish the cover and protection that they need. However in a few years the brush and any other prior vegetation will have rotted away, and even the rocks will have been covered up with mud and/or silt. Although some fisherman have been known to dump raw brush overboard in an effort to provide fresh habitat, this is troublesome and somewhat risky on account of the unwieldy nature of brush. Of course other fisherman are curious as to the presence or absence of fish at the spot where the brush was submerged.
A general object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved fish habitat which replaces, or adds to, rotted away vegetation.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved habitat of the type described which provides long term cover and shelter for aquatic life such as fish.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved fish habitat of the type described which can be safely transported by boat and deployed on the water bottom.


A developing device includes a developing container that accommodates toner particles, a developing roller that supplies the toner particles to an image carrier on which an electrostatic latent image is formed, and a stirring and transporting member that transports the toner particles inside the developing container toward the developing roller with stirring by rotating around a shaft axis. The stirring and transporting member includes a shaft portion serving as a rotation center and sheet-shaped first stirring blade and second stirring blade fixed to the shaft portion so as to extend outward in a radius direction from the shaft portion. The first stirring blade transports the toner particles in a first transportation direction. The second stirring blade transports the toner particles in a second transportation direction different from the first transportation direction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus represented by a copying machine and a printer, and to a developing device adaptable to the image forming apparatus or a powder stirring device.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, such as a copying machine and a printer, a photoconductive drum is used extensively as an image carrier. A normal image forming operation with the use of the photoconductive drum is as follows. The peripheral surface of the photoconductive drum is charged uniformly to specific potential by the charging device, and an electrostatic latent image of a document image is formed on the peripheral surface of the photoconductive drum by optically attenuating the potential in part through irradiation of light to the peripheral surface from an LED or the like in the exposing device. A toner image is formed by developing the electrostatic latent image by the developing device. After the toner image is transferred onto a sheet, toner particles remaining on the peripheral surface of the photoconductive drum are cleaned by the cleaning device, and static eliminating light is irradiated to the surface from a static eliminating device for eliminating static electricity from the charged surface to prepare for the following image forming operation.
The developing device serving as a main portion of the image forming operation as described above is configured in such a manner that a specific amount of toner particles are constantly accommodated inside the developing container. When toner particles are consumed and a remaining amount becomes low, toner particles are additionally replenished. In this instance, toner particles are generally put into the developing container from a toner replenishing container disposed above the developing device by gravitational action or with the use of a transportation member.
Because the developing container accommodates the developing roller, it is normally of an elongate shape that matches the shape of the developing roller. To enable a high-quality image to be formed, it is necessary that toner particles accommodated inside the developing container are distributed homogeneously along the longitudinal direction of the developing roller inside the developing container. To this end, the developing device includes a stirring (transporting) member that rotates about the shaft axis and widely adopts a method for distributing toner particles homogeneously in the longitudinal direction inside the developing container by a rotating operation of the stirring (transporting) member.
Examples of such a developing device are described in JP-A-2001-100500 (Reference D1) and JP-A-11-311895 (Reference D2). Both the developing devices described in References D1 and D2 include a stirring (transporting) member provided with a sheet member (stirring blade) having openings therein, and transport toner particles toward the developing roller with stirring by means of the stirring (transporting) member.
The developing device described in Reference D1 is configured so as to be able to supply the developing roller with toner particles in association with rotations of the stirring and transporting member in a stable manner without experiencing large resistance by using two sheet members provided with plural openings in a staggered arrangement. With the stirring and transporting member configured in this manner, toner particles are thought to migrate in the longitudinal direction inside the developing container owing to the openings in a staggered arrangement. However, the sheet members and the openings therein are not configured in a satisfactory manner in terms of allowing the toner particles to migrate inside the developing container. It is therefore difficult to distribute the toner particles homogeneously to a satisfactory extent across the entire region in the longitudinal direction inside the developing container. Consequently, a large amount of toner particles concentrate in a region near the supplied point in the developing container, such as the toner replenishment port, and toner particles that have been left unused over a considerable time may possibly accumulate in the opposing region. Hence, an image defect is likely to occur when such accumulated toner particles in a deteriorated condition are supplied to the developing roller.
The developing device described in Reference D2 is configured in such a manner that toner particles are gathered at the center portion in the shaft axis direction of the developing roller in association with rotations of the stirring and transporting member by sheet members provided with plural parallelogram-shaped openings. With the stirring and transporting member configured in this manner, however, a large amount of toner particles are gathered at the center portion in the shaft axis direction of the developing roller, and toner particles that have been left unused over a considerable time may possibly accumulate at the both ends. Hence, an image defect is likely to occur at the both ends of the developing roller when such accumulated toner particles in a deteriorated condition are supplied to the developing roller.

Powder stirring device, developing device, and image forming apparatus incorporating the same


A method of manufacturing a transport refrigeration unit is provided. The method includes providing an enclosure including an outer layer and a supporter. Providing the enclosure includes supplying one of a first material and a second material to a mold. This also includes supplying the other of the first material and the second material on the one of the first material and the second material that is supplied to the mold. Also, this includes curing the first material and the second material integrally that are supplied to the mold. The first material forms into the outer layer and the second material forms into the supporter. The second material includes a plurality of reinforcing fibers.

Conventionally, a transport refrigeration unit (TRU) is used to control a temperature inside a transport unit (e.g., a container, a trailer). The TRU is generally mounted on one side of the transport unit where conditioned air is blown into an internal space of the refrigerated transport unit. The transport refrigeration unit has an enclosure and refrigeration components (e.g., a compressor, a condenser coil, an expansion device, an evaporator coil, etc.). The refrigeration components are accommodated by the enclosure.

Method of manufacturing an enclosure for a transport refrigeration unit, transport refrigeration unit and transport unit


A multi-functional, multi-layer film or skin which may be used as a covering for a structure or platform incorporates an integrated photovoltaic element and an integrated RF antenna element. The film or skin is suitable for use in various applications, including those involving autonomous, self-powered, mobile communication systems and especially for use as a skin or covering for solar powered aircraft and UAVs. Planar PV cells and planar RF antenna are used to facilitate their integration into the film or skin. The PV cells and RF antenna are configured to face operate outward from opposite faces of the skin. The film or skin addresses potential problems arising from conflicting directional requirements for PV orientation and antenna pointing on mobile platforms. This is accomplished by employing wide angle AR coatings on the PV elements and electrical controls to steer the RF antenna.

Multi-functional articles, in which multiple structural and/or functional materials, or components, are integrated to achieve advantages of reduced volume, area, weight, power consumption & management, cost, enhanced performance, and more are of great technological interest in many fields.
Multifunctional articles may combine PV cells and RF antennas, for example. The fields of PV cells and RF antenna are extensively documented. Systems incorporating both PV cells and RF antenna have also been described. PV cells are typically comprised of a layer of semi-conductor absorber material, a p-n junction and electrical contact layers for extracting current for external use or electrical storage. Exemplary absorber materials include crystalline Si and thin film, amorphous Si, CdTe or Cu—In—Ga—Se (CIGS). Thin film cells have been fabricated on flexible metal foils and polymeric sheets, which enable lightweight and flexible modules. In operation, PV cells are typically oriented towards the sun. In some systems, PV modules are mounted on mechanical solar trackers to optimize power generation throughout the day or seasonally.
Numerous RF antenna designs, with wavelength specific resonant structures, have been implemented including, planar or low-profile antenna. Exemplary designs include patterned metallic, or conductive, micro-strip patch antenna and meta-material surface antennas. Phased array antenna (PAA) configurations have been used to enhance performance or to enable directional beam steering. Fractal designs have been used to enable multi-frequency operation. RF systems have also been integrated with other electrical systems including PV systems, although due attention should be paid to address potential interference and increased signal noise issues. Standard approaches for electrical isolation and grounding are typically employed to mitigate such issues. RF antenna designs have also been proposed for mobile applications including unmanned aircraft vehicles (UAVs) and mobile phones. However the proposed designs are non-planar or folded.
Systems in which PV cells and RF antennas are combined have been proposed for autonomous, self-powered communication and sensor devices. Typically the PV and RF systems in these applications are either (i) independently positioned on structures without significant integration or (ii) overlaid on top of each other. The latter configurations can have a top layer with a patterned antenna structure which frames a window to underlying PV cells or have an overlaid array of PV cells which are spaced to provide channels to underlying antenna. Each of these approaches gives rise to significant limitations. For instance, the relatively large size and weight of these PV and RF systems may be a significant hindrance for us in or on various types of platforms, especially on aircraft platforms. If the PV and RF systems are overlaid the performance of one system may be compromised by partial shading or shielding by the other. Furthermore PV and RF systems can have different operational directions. That is, PV systems are ideally oriented towards the sun for maximum power generation while RF antennas may need to be oriented towards remote transmitting or receiving systems in order to establish a strong communications link. These directionalities can be conflicting and the problem can be further exacerbated if the integrated system is located on a moving platform such as an individual or vehicle with a separately defined mission path. In the integrated planar approaches noted above, the PV and RF antenna functionalities typically operate through the same face of the article. Such mono-facial operation can be appropriate for terrestrial applications where system orientations for receiving solar illumination and RF communications are generally in upward and lateral directions but are inappropriate for elevated, airborne or space applications where the desired RF communications link orientation can be in the opposite direction to solar illumination.

Multi-functional skin incorporating a photo-voltaic array and a RF antenna


A degas tank for the cooling system of an internal combustion engine wherein the degas tank is formed from two plastic parts each of which has a plurality of cavities formed therein that are defined by ribs and in which certain of the ribs are provided with open-ended slots so when the two parts of the degas tank are joined together, pairs of open-ended slots cooperate to form an opening through which coolant can flow between adjacent cavities.

In certain automobiles manufactured by various auto companies, the cooling system used for the engine is of the so called "closed" type wherein a plastic degas tank is provided that is physically separated from the radiator and is closed by a pressure cap of a type normally located on the radiator. The degas tank is operated under internal pressure of about 15 PSI gage and is connected to the engine and the radiator so that the coolant circulates through the degas tank. One purpose for the degas tank is to allow entrained air and gasses in the coolant to be separated from the coolant as the coolant flows through the degas tank. In order to allow the air and gasses to escape into the degas tank, it is normal to provide the degas tank with a number of chambers or compartments which are connected in series through windows or openings formed in the ribs separating adjacent chambers so as to allow the coolant to flow between the chambers. During the injection molding process for making a degas tank of this type, the openings are formed in the ribs of the tank by using movable gate members in the molding die. When a gate member is in the closed position, the mold is filled with a liquid plastic material and, after solidification of the plastic material, the gate is moved by lifters laterally out of the opening and the die is retracted with the gate clearing the wall. As should be apparent, providing lifters within the molding die for moving the gates laterally increases the cost of the tooling for forming the degas tank. Not only does it increase the tooling cost, but increased maintenance for tooling of this sort is required.
The present invention solves the above problem by providing a two-part plastic degas tank in which the ribs separating the chambers in each part of the tank are formed with open-ended slots so as to reduce tooling cost by eliminating the multiple lifters heretofore used in the molding dies. The slots are formed in the ribs of each portion of the tank in a manner so when the two parts of the tank are joined together, the slots in opposed ribs register with each other to form an opening through which coolant can flow between the adjacent chambers.
A reservoir tank having certain similarities to the degas tank according to this invention can be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 5,111,776, issued on May 12, 1992 to Matsushiro et al. In FIG. 9 of the Matsushiro et al patent, the partitions of the tank are provided with holes and the Matsushiro specification indicates that slits or grooves in place of the holes can be provided in the walls for communication of the chambers provided in the tank. However, in Matsushiro there is neither a teaching of having a tank formed of two parts as required to practice this invention nor is there any mention of having open-ended slots located in pairs and cooperating with each other for forming an opening within a rib which serves as a partition between chambers.
In addition, Matsushiro et al fails to teach having openings between chambers which extend from the top wall to the bottom wall of a chamber or having enlarges sections formed with the ribs for increasing the bonding areas between the two parts of the degas tank. Both of the latter mentioned differences are added features of the present invention.


A scan driver includes a plurality of stages arranged sequentially and configured to respectively output a scan signal; and a switching unit configured to receive a plurality of clock signals, to select clock signals of the plurality of clock signals according to a selection control signal, and to input the selected clock signals to the plurality of stages.

1. Field
Embodiments of the present invention relate to a scan driver and a driving method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
A display device, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) or an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display, generally includes a display panel having a plurality of pixels, a plurality of signal lines, and a driving unit, which drives the display panel. Each pixel may include a switching element, which is coupled to a signal line, a pixel electrode coupled thereto, and an opposed electrode. The pixel electrode is coupled to the switching element such as a thin film transistor (TFT) and the like, and receives a data voltage. The opposed electrode may be formed on an entire surface of the display panel, and a common voltage Vcom may be applied to the opposed electrode. The pixel electrode and the opposed electrode may be arranged on the same substrate or different substrates.
The display device receives an input image signal from an external graphics controller. The input image signal carries luminance information of each pixel, and each luminance has a number or value (e.g., a predetermined number or value). A data voltage corresponding to desired luminance information is applied to each pixel as a pixel voltage, depending on a difference from a common voltage, which is applied to the common electrode, and the pixel displays a luminance, which is indicated by a gray level of an image signal.
A driving unit includes a scan driver, which supplies a scan signal to a display panel, a data driver, which supplies a data signal to the display panel, and a signal controller, which controls the data driver, and the scan driver. The scan driver includes a shift register including a plurality of stages subordinately coupled to each other. The scan driver receives a plurality of driving voltages and a plurality of scan control signals to generate a scan signal. The plurality of driving voltages may include a gate-on voltage capable of turning on a switching element and a gate-off voltage capable of turning off the switching element. The plurality of scan control signals may include a scan start signal (SSP) for instructing start of scanning, a clock signal for controlling timing for outputting a gate-on pulse, and the like.
In the related art, driving circuits such as the scan driver and the data driver are mounted on a printed circuit board (PCB) as a chip to be coupled to the display panel, or a chip of the driving unit is directly mounted on the display panel. However, in recent years, because a scan driver does not require high mobility of a thin film transistor channel, a structure in which a scan driver is integrated into the display panel has been developed instead of forming a scan driver as a separate chip.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.


A mounting board of the invention includes: an insulative base; a plurality of first conductive elements provided on the insulative base and having lands; a plurality of second conductive elements disposed on the lands; a plurality of solder pieces each disposed on each of the second conductive elements; and an electronic component which includes electrode sections each contacting each of the solder pieces, wherein the first conductive elements are made from a first element that contains at least silver; the second conductive elements are made from a second element that contains at least copper; and the solder pieces are made from a third element that contains at least tin.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mounting board and a method of producing the same. More particularly, the invention relates to a mounting hoard which ensures excellent connection reliability and on which small electronic components can be mounted.
Priority is claimed on Japanese Patent Application No. 2007-334593, filed Dec. 26, 2007, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electronic components have been mounted on a circuit board or other substrate using solder or a conductive adhesive.
An exemplary connection terminal structure is shown in FIG. 12, which is disclosed in Patent Document 1. This connection terminal structure includes a wiring board 101 having a wiring pattern formed thereon. The wiring pattern includes first lands 102. Second lands 103 made from a metallic material with poor solderability are provided on the first lands 102. Third lands 104 made from precious metal material with good solderability are provided on the second lands 103 for soldering. The second lands 103 define a surface to exclude solder pieces 106 at an outer periphery of the third lands 104. Electrode sections 141 of an electronic component 140 and the wiring board 101 are electrically connected together via the solder pieces 106. In this connection terminal structure, the wiring board 101 is made from epoxy resin, ceramic or alumina, and the wiring pattern therefore is a copper circuit. Accordingly, the structure disclosed in Patent Document 1 addresses typical problems relating to soldering on copper wiring, including a problem of separation of lands for soldering (namely, the third land 104) and the solder pieces 106.
In the case in which some electronic components are mounted on a membrane circuit board, the membrane circuit board includes a polyethylene terephthalate (hereinafter referred to as PET) substrate on which a printed silver paste circuit is formed. In mounting the electronic components by soldering, low-temperature solder (with a soldering temperature of about not more than 165° C.) must be used that causes no PET embrittlement.
Accordingly, for the mounting on the membrane circuit board, a conductive adhesive which starts a curing reaction at a relatively low temperature (i.e., about not more than 165° C.) is used instead of solder. FIG. 13A is a cross-sectional view schematically showing an exemplary mounting board in which an electronic component is mounted on a membrane circuit board using a conductive adhesive. A conductive paste circuit 220 provided on a substrate 210 is electrically connected to electrode sections 241 of an electronic component 240 via conductive adhesive pieces 260(260a). Outer peripheral areas of the conductive adhesives 260a are sealed with sealing resin 261 adhering thereto.
In this case, adhesive strength between the electronic component 240 and the substrate 210 is determined by epoxy resin contained in the conductive adhesive pieces 260 or by the sealing resin 261. Unlike connection by soldering, no metal connection is established in the mounting board of FIG. 13A, a connection state is therefore unstable that can cause poor conductivity.
Recently, more and more tin-plated electrode sections such as the electrode sections 241 of the electronic component 240 are used along with gold-plated electrode sections. The conductive adhesive pieces 260 typically include silver powder and epoxy resin as principal components. The silver component in the conductive adhesive pieces 260 is incompatible with the tin component and they may cause galvanic corrosion. In addition, moisture ingression into an epoxy resin component at an interface of the conductive adhesive pieces 260 and the connecting sections of the electrode sections 241 may cause local cell corrosion (i.e., galvanic corrosion). As a result, tin may be dissolved or oxidized to cause poor connectivity. In order to prevent this phenomenon, a binder with reduced hygroscopicity should be employed to inhibit moisture ingression.
The conductive adhesive pieces 260a may be deformed and extended during mounting of the electronic component 240. In a subsequent heating process, the conductive adhesive pieces 260a may lose viscosity and then flow out of the applied place. As a result, two conductive adhesive pieces 260a are flown into space 250 to unite together as shown in FIG. 13B. To prevent occurrence of such a phenomenon, the distance between the two conductive adhesive pieces 260a should be increased to some extent. It is therefore difficult to mount small electronic components on the conventional mounting board.    [Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2006-120677
The invention has been made in view of the aforementioned circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a mounting board which ensures excellent connection reliability and on which small electronic components can be mounted.
Another object of the invention is to provide a method of producing a mounting board on which tin-plated small electronic components can be mounted with improved yields of products.

Mounting board and method of producing the same


An image forming apparatus may include an intermediate transfer belt for transferring, onto a sheet, a developer image that has been transferred from an image carrier to the intermediate transfer belt. The image forming apparatus may also include a cleaning unit that cleans the sheet conveying belt. The image forming apparatus that may also include a first driving unit that drives the intermediate transfer belt; a second driving unit that drives the cleaning unit, wherein the second driving unit is independent from the first driving unit; and a sheet conveying mechanism that conveys the sheet, wherein the second driving unit drives at least a part of the sheet conveying mechanism.

Conventionally, an image forming apparatus including a laser printer, which has such a structure that an endless belt is employed for conveying sheets of paper and for conducting intermediate transfer, has been known. In the image forming apparatus having this structure, there is generally provided a cleaning unit including a roller and/or a brush, in order to remove foreign substances such as toner, paper dust, etc., which have adhered to a surface of the belt. In an image forming apparatus disclosed in JP-A-9-152788, for example, a cleaning roller that is in pressure contact with the surface of the belt is driven to rotate so that foreign substances, which have been shifted from the belt to the cleaning roller, is scraped off by a blade. The cleaning unit of this type is usually driven, making use of power of a motor for driving the belt.

Image forming apparatus with an independent drive unit for a cleaning unit


A device for delivering fluid to a user includes a housing, a drive motor assembly in the housing, other internal components in the housing, and a keypad external to the housing. The device includes a number of features and elements that enhance its operation, manufacturability, reliability, and user-friendliness. These features and elements include a shock absorbing element for a battery of the device, a keypad actuator layer that overlies a keypad assembly and forms a water resistant seal with the housing, and an offset element for a piezoelectric speaker that is located inside the housing.

Portable medical devices are useful for patients that have conditions that must be monitored on a continuous or frequent basis. For example, diabetics are usually required to modify and monitor their daily lifestyle to keep their body in balance, in particular, their blood glucose (BG) levels. Individuals with Type 1 diabetes and some individuals with Type 2 diabetes use insulin to control their BG levels. To do so, diabetics routinely keep strict schedules, including ingesting timely nutritious meals, partaking in exercise, monitoring BG levels daily, and adjusting and administering insulin dosages accordingly.
The prior art includes a number of fluid infusion devices and insulin pump systems that are designed to deliver accurate and measured doses of insulin via infusion sets (an infusion set delivers the insulin through a small diameter tube that terminates at, e.g., a cannula inserted under the patient's skin). In lieu of a syringe, the patient can simply activate the insulin pump to administer an insulin bolus as needed, for example, in response to the patient's current BG level.
A typical infusion pump includes a housing, which encloses a pump drive system, a fluid containment assembly, an electronics system, and a power supply. The pump drive system typically includes a small motor (DC, stepper, solenoid, or other varieties) and drive train components such as gears, screws, and levers that convert rotational motor motion to a translational displacement of a stopper in a reservoir. The fluid containment assembly typically includes the reservoir with the stopper, tubing, and a catheter or infusion set to create a fluid path for carrying medication from the reservoir to the body of a user. The electronics system regulates power from the power supply to the motor. The electronics system may include programmable controls to operate the motor continuously or at periodic intervals to obtain a closely controlled and accurate delivery of the medication over an extended period.
Personal medical devices such as infusion pumps are typically powered by a battery or battery pack. For example, some medical devices can be powered by a single AA battery. The portable nature of such devices means that they might be subjected to physical impact, shock, or stress (which may result from physical activity of the user, accidental bumping into nearby objects, dropping of the device, etc.). The force imparted by a battery to the housing of a portable medical device could compromise the integrity of the housing and/or disturb the delicate operating components inside the housing. Accordingly, it is desirable to have a feature or component that protects the battery, the housing, and/or other elements of a medical device from battery impacts.
A number of electronic devices, including personal medical devices such as infusion pumps, include membrane keypad assemblies that allow the user to manipulate certain functions of the devices. Conventional membrane keypad assemblies usually include an underlying keypad layer and an overlying actuator layer. The bottom surface of the actuator layer is typically printed with graphics associated with the different keys or buttons and/or with decorative graphics. The actuator layer is usually attached to the keypad layer or the housing of the device using an adhesive or bonding material. Ideally, the actuator layer is sealed around the housing such that moisture and contaminants cannot enter the housing. Indeed, some personal medical devices are designed to be water resistant (to accommodate bathing, swimming, exposure to rain, etc.) and, for such devices, the actuator layer forms a water resistant seal with the housing. In this regard, it is desirable to have a membrane keypad assembly that exhibits strong, robust, and reliable water resistant characteristics.
Many electronic devices, including personal medical devices such as infusion pumps, use piezoelectric speakers to generate sound. If the device is waterproof or water resistant, then a piezoelectric speaker will typically be mounted against the inner wall of the housing for purposes of transmitting sound to the outside world. For such implementations, the volume of sound produced by the piezoelectric speaker will be influenced by various factors such as the shape, size, and structural features of the housing. If a piezoelectric speaker is mounted directly to a rigid case or housing of a device, however, it will not effectively or efficiently generate sound at the desired volume. Accordingly, it is desirable to have a piezoelectric speaker assembly that operates effectively when mounted within a sealed rigid housing of an electronic device.

Medical device with membrane keypad sealing element, and related manufacturing method


A printing system includes an information processing apparatus for generating print data and a printing apparatus, in which the information processing apparatus is provided with conditions for deciding the resolution and/or gray scale gradation of the print data, and continue or cancel printing processing by an operator's decision based upon the condition, in case of continuation of the printing processing, a command for lowering resolution and/or gradation at time of printing is inserted into the print data, which is transmitted to the printing apparatus, on a per-printing-job basis, and produces an output in accordance with the command by the printing apparatus.

This invention relates to a printing apparatus in a system having the printing apparatus and an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer, and to control of the resolution and/or gradation (gray level) of the printing apparatus.
A method of controlling the printing resolution or gray level of a printing apparatus in dependence upon the complexity of the print data and the processing capability of the printing apparatus itself is known in the art.
More page printer comprises a video controller and a printer engine. The video controller receives print data described in Printer Language from a host computer or the like and develops the print data into the image data represented with a dot image matrix. To store one page of image data, large amount of memory capacity is required in the printer. As the paper size or the resolution increases, the number of bits necessary for the memory increases. To reduce the memory capacity, a band buffer technique often uses. In the band buffer technique, a page corresponding to a print image is divided into bands in a sheet feed direction. A plurality of band buffers are cyclically used for each output page, and the developing process for one band buffer and the transmitting the image data from another band buffer to the printer engine are performed in parallel. But, in some cases, like the amount of the print data in one page is too large and these data is overflowed from the print data buffer or the developing process takes too much time to prepare the image data sipping to the printer engine and has occurred the overrun error, the image data can't be printed on the sheet correctly. To alleviate these above situation, there is the method which decreases the amount of time for the developing process or the amount of memory for storing the image data by taking the lower resolution or gradation for processing the image data then the prevailing resolution or gradation.
However, it isn't determined whether takes the lower resolution or gradation until the processing time for all of the band buffer are estimated based on the received print data from host computer for one page or the print data buffer is full, herein the print data are converted into the intermediate code depending on the resolution or gradation in parallel with the printer data receiving.
Accordingly, when the need to lower printing resolution or gradation actually arises, it is necessary to invalidate processing executed thus far based upon the prevailing resolution or gradation delete the above type of the intermediate code and generate a page image whose resolution or gradation is lower than the prevailing resolution or gradation using all of the received data again to produce the image. This is disadvantageous in that rapid printout cannot be performed.


Apparatus integrated for metering liquid products, particularly viscous products, into molds to prepare molded article products and for suctioning liquid product from the molds to remove liquid from the molded article products and to recycle suctioned liquid product includes a hopper for containing liquid product for supply to a liquid product metering component which meters the liquid product into molds, and the apparatus further includes components including a pipette device for suctioning liquid product from molds and recycling suctioned liquid product to the hopper. Further components of the apparatus are provided so that a headspace is maintained in the hopper, and components including a vacuum pump are connected to the hopper at positions for providing a vacuum pressure in the headspace and for suctioning liquid product via the pipette device from molds.

The present invention relates to apparatus employed for molding and freezing confectionery substances to obtain frozen confectionery articles and particularly, to making multi-component confectionery articles with devices which meter products to molds for making the articles and with devices for suctioning products from the molds and to recycling suctioned product for reuse.
The production of molded articles of frozen confectionery in individual portions, in particular stick ice lollies, composed of several differently flavoured concentric layers, requires the use of the so-called "shell and core" technique. It consists of allowing a certain thickness of a liquid composition to harden towards the centre by heat transfer from the outside of a mold in contact with a refrigerating liquid, and of emptying the as yet unsolidified central part by suction. Accordingly, a solid shell remains at the periphery, empty in the centre. A new operation combining metering, hardening into a layer and suction can be carried out several times in this way. This technique is currently used for the manufacture of water ice lollies by molding.
A process is known, for example from European Patent Application Publication No. 0 322 469, for manufacturing a multi-layer molded frozen article including inside it alternate layers of ice cream and chocolate leaves in the form of a shell. In this process, the successive alternate layers of ice cream and chocolate are created by filling molds, solidifying the periphery, withdrawing the still liquid centre, spraying chocolate into the central cavity and repeating the preceding filling and withdrawal operations. The devices enabling filling and withdrawal to be carried out are not described, but it is clear that they operate separately. Moreover, it is not specified that the liquid withdrawn is recycled.
The manufacture of molded chocolate shells by filling cells, solidifying the periphery and then withdrawing the centre is described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,529,553. Although the liquid withdrawn is recycled by means of a pump to the feed hopper, filling and withdrawal are carried out separately by means of distinct devices.
A need is felt to improve the quality and production efficiency of articles of this shell-and-core type as well as a need to obtain better cleaning hygiene.
Up to now, the aspiration technique generally used for simplifying manufacture and improving cleaning hygiene has consisted of profiting from the principle of volumetric metering by means of a piston moving inside a filling chamber with one metering unit per filling line, and a filling line which can comprise as many as 20 tracks. The filling chamber is connected to a pipette by a pipe and via valves and the pipette dips into the centre of the mold. Coordination is achieved by means of a mechanical linkage in two stages. In a first stage, a relative movement of the piston in its chamber produces a vacuum and liquid is pushed up inside the chamber under the effect of ambient air pressure, filling coming to an end when the piston arrives at the end of the stroke at the bottom of the chamber. In a second stage, the pipette leaves the mold as the movement of the piston in the chamber reverses, and due to the valves, liquid is expelled into a second pipe and is hence recycled, either into an intermediate buffer reservoir or directly into the metering hopper the latter containing recycled liquid and fresh liquid added in a quantity corresponding to the volume already metered. The success of the operation depends on the system being completely liquid-tight. The degree of maintenance and care to be taken over cleaning as many systems as there are tracks, multiplied by the number of suction operations required, dictated by the nature of the composite product to be manufactured, is considerable. These difficulties explain why this system is only used for metering nonviscous syrups constituting compositions for water ices.

Apparatus integrated for metering products to and suctioning products from molds