A method and apparatus for forming a crystalline cadmium stannate layer of a photovoltaic device by heating an amorphous layer in the presence of hydrogen gas.

Photovoltaic devices can include semiconductor material deposited over a substrate such as glass, for example, with a first layer of the semiconductor material serving as a window layer and a second layer of the semiconductor material serving as an absorber layer. The semiconductor window layer forms a junction with the semiconductor absorber layer where incident light is converted to electricity.
Photovoltaic devices can also include a transparent conductive oxide ("TCO") layer to conduct electrical charge. One TCO material which is often used is crystalline cadmium stannate. This is because of crystalline cadmium stannate's low sheet resistance and high light transmissivity.
One conventional method of forming crystalline TCO layer is to deposit an amorphous layer of cadmium and tin oxide onto a substrate and to then transform the deposited amorphous layer to a crystalline form. This is done by annealing the amorphous layer at a high temperature (e.g., typically a temperature greater than 550° C.), in a low oxygen partial pressure environment (i.e., an oxygen-deficient or reduced atmosphere) for a sufficient amount of annealing time (e.g., at least 10 minutes).
To provide the low oxygen partial pressure environment, current photovoltaic device manufacturing processes advocate forming the semiconductor window layer, which may be made of cadmium sulfide, on the amorphous TCO layer before it is annealed. Doing so deprives the amorphous layer of oxygen that may be available in an ambient processing atmosphere. In addition, the cadmium sulfide layer over the amorphous TCO layer encourages any oxygen that may be present in the amorphous TCO layer to diffuse out of it. Specifically, oxygen that diffuses out of the amorphous TCO layer may react with the cadmium sulfide to form cadmium oxide which may evaporate at temperatures of about 600° C. and above and sulfur dioxide which will diffuse into the deposition ambient. This reaction then produces oxygen vacancies in the amorphous layer. Each oxygen vacancy acts as an electron donor which, once the amorphous TCO layer is transformed to a crystalline form, helps with electrical conductivity. Thus, the window layer is used as a reducing agent because it creates the needed oxygen-deficient atmosphere that promotes the oxygen vacancies in the TCO layer.
However, forming the cadmium sulfide window layer on the TCO layer before the amorphous TCO layer is annealed requires a longer annealing time, or a higher annealing temperature or both than would have been needed otherwise to transform the amorphous layer to the crystalline form. Using high temperatures for long periods of time can damage glass substrates. For example, glass substrates will often begin to soften at a temperature of about 550° C. and above. Thus, subjecting the glass substrates to such a high annealing temperature (i.e., greater than 550° C.) for such a relatively long time (i.e., 10 minutes or more), increases the risk of damaging the substrates. Specifically, the glass substrates may begin to soften and warp at the high annealing temperatures applied for such long annealing periods of time. Further, the high annealing temperature has a tendency to ionize sodium atoms or molecules present in the glass substrates, which over time may diffuse to other layers of the devices. Diffusion of sodium ions in certain layers of the devices may adversely affect device performance. In addition, a long annealing time decreases productivity and also subjects the annealing chamber to conditions favorable to chamber degradation, which can require remediation. Finally, the high annealing temperature used to transform the amorphous layer into crystalline is one of many high temperatures to which the devices may be subjected while being processed. For example, other layers have to be annealed at high temperatures. Thus, the devices may be subjected to a plurality of high thermal cycles. These thermal cycles may weaken the glass and subject it to a high degree of breakage.
Accordingly, a method of transforming an amorphous TCO layer to a crystalline form which mitigates against these potential problems is desired.

Method and apparatus for forming a transparent conductive oxide using hydrogen


The invention relates to a convertible vehicle (1) comprising a roof (2) which can be stored below a cover part (6) arranged below in the back of a vehicle. The cover part can be selectively opened in order to release a charging hole for luggage or to release an opening for the roof (2). A first pivoting axis (7), for said above-mentioned opening (7), is arranged in the region of a rear sided closing edge of the cover part (6) and at least the lateral swinging arms (10) associated with at least the longitudinal sides of the vehicle are coupled to the cover part (6) by means of a joint connection. The convertible vehicle is configured in such a manner that tolerance compensation is provided in the cover part (6) and/or in the joint connection (12). Said compensation results in a deviation of the trajectory of one part of the cover part (6) and/or the joint connection (12) of the circular trajectory (20, 21), at least during the pivoting of the cover part (6) in order to release the opening for the roof.

DE 197 56 062 describes a similar convertible automobile in which, apart from the first rearward swivel axis (identified by reference number 13), two separate lateral auxiliary frames are provided without any cross connection extending through the vehicle. These frames can be rotated relative to the vehicle body (around an axis 6). Their respective ends facing away from the swivel axis support a crank-like articulated lever (reference number 4 in that document) whose end facing away from the respective auxiliary frame supports a multiarticulated linkage. This design requires numerous links and components at a correspondingly high manufacturing cost. Moreover, because of the many pivots involved the movement of the cover panel is imprecise.
To address that problem it is the objective of this invention to improve the design of a convertible automobile of the type mentioned in terms of the configuration and kinematics of the cover-panel support system.
The invention solves the problem with a convertible automobile exhibiting the features specified in claim 1. Advantageous design enhancements of the object of the invention are described in the subsequent claims 2 to 12.
The design according to the invention allows for a reduced number of components. For example, no additional articulated link is needed between a body-mounted lever and the links connecting to the cover panel. The elastic give permits a movement of the cover panel that would not be feasible with mechanical links without requiring additional components.
Given this elasticity, considerable tolerances are acceptable in the manufacturing process, simplifying the installation of modules for the cover panel and its drive mechanisms while reducing the cost of manufacture.
With a compensating tolerance in the cover panel assembly it is possible to use for the joints plain pivots without any design modifications, obviating the need for any translational movement between individual links or between these and the cover panel. Slots, rocker arms and the like are not needed
The elastic deformability of the cover panel in the transition between an essentially horizontal and an essentially vertical section permits such deformation in visually inconspicuous fashion by an even larger degree, for instance at a transitional angle of 3° to 4°, in turn allowing for substantial differences between the paths traveled by spatially separated, mutually opposite sections of the cover panel.
If in its completely open and its completely closed state the cover panel is held in place without any deformation, no elastic give is needed in these positions, thus avoiding especially a permanent tensional stress on the cover panel.
Specifically, all links that connect to the cover panel can be directly coupled to a swivel lever that is pivot-mounted on the vehicle body, without requiring any additional intermediate components.
Other advantages and features of the invention will be evident from the implementation examples of the object of this invention illustrated in the drawings and described below.


The present inventive concept provides a substrate treating apparatus and an exposing apparatus that a chuck member, a chuck cleaning member including a cleaning tool removing a foreign substance on a substrate loading surface of the chuck member and a tool cleaning member cleaning a cleaning tool are disposed to be adjacent to each other inside a treating room. The present inventive concept also provides a method of cleaning a cleaning tool using a tool cleaning member. According to the above the apparatuses and the method, contamination of a chuck member by a cleaning tool is prevented and a defocus phenomenon caused by a particle on a chuck member during an exposing process can be minimized.

Exemplary embodiments described herein relate to a substrate treating apparatus and methods of substrate treating, and more particularly, to an apparatus for exposing a substrate and methods of exposing the substrate.
Generally, semiconductor devices are manufactured by repeating a process of sequentially depositing thin films so as to form a predetermined circuit pattern. A plurality of unit processes, such as a deposition process, a photolithography process and an etching process, are performed so as to form and deposit a thin film.
A photolithography process is a process for forming a pattern on a wafer. The photolithography process includes a photoresist coating process, an exposing process and a developing process. The top layer on a wafer is etched using a pattern formed on a wafer by a developing process, so that a device according to a pattern can be formed.
A photoresist coating process is a process of uniformly depositing a photoresist coating which is sensitive to light on a surface of a wafer using a coater. An exposing process is a process of transferring a circuit pattern onto a wafer that includes a photoresist layer by passing a light through a circuit pattern formed on a mask using a stepper. A developing process is a process of developing a portion of the photoresist through which light passes during the exposing process using a developer.
When the processes described above are performed by individually separated apparatuses, a wafer process line is relatively long. As a result, the wafer can be easily contaminated, due to the extended period of time taken to transfer the wafer from one apparatus to another apparatus, during which time the wafer is exposed to the atmosphere. To solve the problem, an in-line type substrate treating apparatus in which a coater, a developer, a baking unit and a stepper are sequentially disposed with an established arrangement has been developed.
An in-line type substrate treating apparatus performing a photolithography process includes a spinner apparatus performing a coating process and a developing process, and a scanner apparatus performing an exposing process which transfers a pattern to a wafer when the coating process is completed. A wafer is transferred between the spinner apparatus and the scanner apparatus by an interface unit disposed between the spinner apparatus and the scanner apparatus.
A wafer stage on which a wafer is placed is provided in the scanner apparatus. When a particle having a size of greater than 0.5 μm is present on a wafer stage, a focus depth of a lens at a position where the particle is present is out of a standard value, which induces a defocus phenomenon. As a result, a resolution of a photoresist layer is degraded due to the defocus phenomenon to cause an abnormal process.

Substrate treating apparatus and exposing apparatus for cleaning a chuck cleaning tool with treating bath


A power steering device for steering the wheels of a motor vehicle has a booster mechanism, a directional control valve mechanism, a hydraulic pump mechanism, an oil pressure setting valve and a pressurized oil injection valve mechanism. The booster mechanism receives pressurized oil from different directions and generates a steering force to steer the wheels of the vehicle in a left or right direction depending on from which direction the pressurized oil is received. The hydraulic pump mechanism pressurizes hydraulic oil from an oil reserve and supplies the pressurized oil to a feeding side hydraulic pump arrangement. The directional control valve mechanism is connected to the feeding side hydraulic pump arrangement and the booster mechanism and controls which direction the pressurized oil flows from the booster. The directional control valve mechanism has first and second reaction chambers. The oil pressure setting valve is positioned in the feeding side hydraulic pump arrangement between the hydraulic pump mechanism and the directional control valve mechanism. The pressurized oil valve mechanism injects a pulse of pressurized hydraulic oil from the feeding side hydraulic pump arrangement at an upstream side of the oil pressure setting valve to one of the first and second reaction chambers, depending on the direction of a steering motion. The pulse of pressurized hydraulic oil is injected at the beginning of the steering motion and possibly during a return steering motion to straighten the path of the vehicle.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a power steering device for use in motor vehicles in general and more particularly to a power steering device which undergoes a speed sensory control and a responsiveness control.
2. Description of the Related Art
A popular power steering device for use in motor vehicles is a speed sensing type. However, a motor vehicle provided with a power steering device which undergoes a responsiveness control is now demanded in view of the desired drivability and stability.
Further, in order to enhance drivability and stability of motor vehicles, it is necessary to investigate performance from two aspects because motor vehicle performance changes in response to steering operations of drivers, and in response to disturbances such as road irregularity and gusts of wind.
For the former aspect, one must consider increased motor vehicle speeding and the advanced ages of motor vehicle drivers which causes an expansion of in the range of physiological ability levels in relation to driving skill. It is therefore necessary to alleviate problems caused by the increased speeding and the expansion in the range of physiological ability levels within the motor vehicle side, i.e., the former aspect.
For example, an expressway in the middle of the night is as if it were a huge conveyer belt filled with trucks. These trucks are driving towards the metropolitan area. The distance between these truck groups is generally short and the speed thereof is high. Further, highway buses between cities aer present. Because of their advantages such as inexpensive fairs and ease of use, living space outside the city with a high quality, and attentive services, not only are day time highway bus services increasing, but also night time bus services are increasing. Night bus services were understood at the beginning to be used only to supplement railway train services. This is no longer true. As such, on one hand, high speed and long distance services are active. However on the other hand, in particular, with regard to trucks, the shortage of truck drivers is serious, and in addition, the age of the drivers has been increasing. Further, there appears to be an indication of woman driver expansion. The higher the speed of the motor vehicle is, the more the response performance thereof reduces. Still further, physiological abilities relating to driving skill of advanced age drivers and woman drivers are relatively low in comparison with those of young man (see FIG. 1). A system is desired which realizes a compensation in the motor vehicle for the decrease of response performance at high speeds and the physiological ability difference of the drivers. Moreover, a large sized motor vehicle, which requires a relatively wide space on the running road in comparison with a passenger car, should be provided with a better response performance than the passenger car.
Further, with regard to the desirable motor vehicle response characteristics, there are reports, one of which defines T.beta., a factor corresponding to the product of a time constant and yaw gain. The report indicates that the smaller the products is, the higher the subjective judgement of the driver is (see FIGS. 2a through 2c). Another report indicates that there is an optimum region of moving direction holding property in a range of small time constants and of certain amounts of yaw acceleration again (see FIG. 3). These data are concerned with passenger cars. However, these tendencies are similar in trucks and buses. FIG. 4 shows an example of the response characteristic of a truck and a bus, wherein the truck is equipped with a front engine and a leaf suspension and the bus with a rear engine and an air suspension. The gain and the phase lag of the truck are smaller than those of the bus. Further, the subjective judgement of the truck driver is better than the bus driver. The gain and phase lag increase in response to an increase in the vehicle speed (see FIG. 5) and thereby burdens to drivers increase correspondingly. In view of FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, a desirable steering response is aimed at reducing both the gain and the phase lag to less than they are now. This tendency meets with the previous tendency with regard to the passenger car data, when the phase lag is assumed to belong to the time constant. When the phase lag is large, the approach to a course aimed at by a driver lags so that excess turning or swing is caused in an effort to compensate. When the gain is much larger, the excess turning is amplified so drivers can be compensated for by reducing the time constant in that the motor vehicle becomes unsteady. Still further, the problems arising from the physiological ability differences of the steering system.
Although the above description deals with the response performance with regard to the driver's steering force, the same is true with regard to road disturbances. For example, because of a disturbance 1 due to a road irregularity, an axle pedal displaces 2 and then the suspension 3 and vehicle body displace 4 which displacements are sensed 5 by the driver. When an adjusting operation is carried out, any lag included in the processes 1-5 of the adjusting steering operation causes the deviation from the course to become large accordingly. The displacement in this case (more precisely the displacement into the direction which causes the deviation from the course) corresponds to the gain and is self-evidently preferable to be minimized. Namely, such disturbance should be prevented before they take effect at the entrance.
Further, when the steering response performances of trucks and buses are compared with those of passenger cars, there is a large difference in the phase lag, which is very large in trucks and buses (see FIG. 7). For analyzing what causes make the phase lag to be so large, the time lag from the initiation of the steering operation to the initiation of a change in the moving direction was measured along its transfer route (see FIGS. 8a through 8f). The time lag in the steering system occupies 60% of the total lag (see FIG. 9). The remaining 40% is the time lag in the vehicle body system, and the time lag due to the fact that buses are larger than trucks, the ultimate reasons for the lag are the influences of their suspension structure and differences between load allotments to front and rear shafts. Trucks and buses employ a common steering device so that with regard to the time lag in the steering device, there is no difference.
Further, several studies were carried out to shorten the time lag in the steering system which occupies 60% of the total lag. Some of these went further to suggest specific system structures but failed to reach practical uses.
Two reasons are presumed for the failures. One is that although the phase lag has been shortened, concurrently the gain gets large thereby the steering wheel becomes too sensitive and the steering feeling is deteriorated. The other reason may be that since the mechanical coupling between the steering wheel and the front wheels has been disconnected, problems with safety are prevalent.

Power steering device for use in motor vehicles


The state of charge of a rechargeable battery (12), such as those made from lithium, nickel-cadmium or metal hydrides, can be accurately determined by monitoring the rate of change of battery voltage over time (dv/dt), which parameter has empirically been found to change dramatically as the battery reaches complete discharge.

Virtually all portable electronic equipment, such as cordless and cellular telephones, lap-top computers, and facsimile machines, utilize one or more rechargeable batteries to supply the energy necessary to operate the equipment. Typically, the rechargeable batteries now used in present-day portable electronic equipment include those made from nickel-cadmium, lithium, lead-acid and metal hydrides. With such present-day rechargeable batteries, care must be taken not to over discharge the batteries during use. Otherwise, damage to the battery and/or the equipment may occur. For this reason, virtually all pieces of battery-operated portable electronic equipment include a monitoring circuit which operates to monitor the state of battery charge and to cut off the battery (i.e., interrupt the passage of current) once the charge drops below critical voltage.
At present, such monitoring circuits operate to determine the battery charge by sensing the magnitude of battery voltage. Once the battery voltage reaches a particular value (corresponding to the critical charge level), the battery is cut off. The cutoff battery voltage is typically set to provide a sufficient margin of safety so that the battery is cut off before any damage may be incurred. Unfortunately, battery voltage, under all conditions, is not a sufficiently sensitive measure of battery charge and for that reason, the cutoff voltage is usually set high enough to assure that, under worst-case conditions, the battery will be cut off before the charge drops below the critical value. As a consequence, under normal conditions, the charge level may not fall below the critical level once the cutoff voltage is reached, thereby reducing the potential amount of energy that may be withdrawn from the battery.
Thus, there is a need for a more accurate technique for sensing battery charge which maximizes the available amount of battery energy and increases the safety of the battery.

Method for monitoring battery discharge by determining the second derivative of battery voltage over time


A portable electrophoretic contactless conductivity detection (C4D) system for analysis on a microfluidic chip houses in one embodiment a fluidic compartment for receiving the microfluidic chip, and four detection electrodes: first and second emitting electrodes, and first and second receiving electrodes. The first emitting electrode and the first receiving electrode are adjacent to a first channel wall of the microfluidic chip, and the second emitting electrode and the second receiving electrode are adjacent to a second channel wall, where the second channel wall is opposite to the first channel wall. In an embodiment, the electrodes are provided as portions of a removable cartridge cell.

Lab-on-a-chip (LOC) based device requirements for analyte detection are sensitivity, universality and portability. To this date, these conditions have not been fully met and detection remains the main challenge in the development of LOC technology. Optical detectors, including fluorescence detection, have demonstrated the highest sensitivity. However, optical detectors are not universal and not easily made portable due to the size of the light sources. The use of electrochemical methods is well-suited for integration into portable systems, but they are less sensitive and prone to interferences. From the group of electrochemical sensors, C4D detectors are the most appealing as they fulfill the requirements of portability, universality for charged analytes and acceptable sensitivity.
The principle of C4D in combination with electrophoresis will now be described with reference to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 shows an arrangement of two external metal electrodes 100a, 100b in close proximity to an electrophoretic separation channel 102 in a microfluidic chip 104. The microfluidic chip 104 comprises two polymer sheets, namely top sheet 104a and bottom sheet 104b. The top sheet 104a provides access to reservoirs as will be described below, and the bottom sheet 104b provides the separation channel 102 that has been hot embossed into the bottom sheet 104b. In use, a run buffer reservoir 107, a first sample reservoir 109 and an outlet reservoir 111 of the microfluidic chip 104 are filled with electrophoretic run buffer solution, and a second sample reservoir 113 is filled with target analytes, typically ionic species dissolved in the run buffer solution. A separation voltage is then applied between the second sample reservoir 113 and the first sample reservoir 109. This drives 'plugs' of ions 114 into the separation channel 102. Subsequently, the separation voltage is applied between the run buffer reservoir 107 and the outlet reservoir 111 with all other reservoirs floating. This causes the plugs of ions 114 to be driven towards the electrodes 100a, 100b for detection.
The two external metal electrodes 100a, 100b and the electrophoretic separation channel 102 together form the C4D cell or detection cell. When the upstream/emitting electrode 100a emits an AC signal through the channel 102, it is capacitively captured by the downstream/receiving electrode 100b. The electrodes 100a, 100b are in the same plane and are attached to a top plate that seals the channel 102 and are typically placed in an anti-parallel configuration with respect to the length of the channel 102. The applied AC signal (typically 50-600 kHz) from the emitting electrode 100a capacitively couples through the channel 102 to the receiving electrode 100b, resulting in a small current that is amplified by an amplifier 106, rectified and offset-corrected using a rectifier 108, filtered and that undergoes data acquisition using a data acquisition tool (DAQ) 110 and finally recorded in a computing device 112 or other storage device as a DAQ graph.
The C4D cell can be considered as a combination capacitor-resistor-capacitor (CRC) electrical circuit, where the electrodes 100a, 100b and the channel's electric double layer form the capacitors, and the section of the channel 102 between the electrodes 100a, 100b forms the resistor. When a plug of ions 114 is driven through the section of the channel between the electrodes, the measured impedance of the system changes instantaneously because of the change in the resistance due to the different conductivity of the ionic species passing through the electrodes within the background electrolyte. In practical terms, this leads to a sudden change in the zero leveled output voltage or a peak in the DAQ graph. By electrophoresis, separated plugs of ions can be driven through the C4D cell at different times and the corresponding signal recorded, thus obtaining separated peaks according to the times at which the ions cross the C4D cell. Each peak is related by time to a specific ion, and the area under the peaks is related to the concentration of the specific ion. C4D in combination with electrophoresis therefore provides qualitative and quantitative analysis.
The capacitive coupled contactless conductivity detection (C4D) cells reported to date use two electrodes placed externally over the separation channel. An example is illustrated in FIGS. 2(a) and (b), which respectively show a perspective view and plan view of a conventional detection cell. As noted earlier, electrodes 100a, 100b in conventional detectors are fixed to a top plate 200 that seals the separation channel 102 and are typically placed in an anti-parallel configuration with respect to the channel 102. In this configuration, the capacitance coupling to the solution in the channel 102 is inefficient and requires a high frequency and high voltage to couple the signal to detect low concentration samples. High frequencies, however, result in stray capacitance having a more significant effect. Changes in the conductivity of the solution will then only result in a small change over the background signal.
To reduce or eliminate the stray capacitance, different strategies have been employed such as placing a ground plane 202 between the electrodes 100a, 100b to shield their direct crosstalk (as shown in FIGS. 2(a) and (b)). However, while these strategies decrease the stray capacitance somewhat, the resulting detection sensitivity remains limited.
One alternative option to improve capacitance is to increase the magnitude of the AC voltage. However, high voltage levels are difficult to produce and are not safe to handle in portable systems. Another option to have increased capacitance is to use relatively large electrodes or detection lengths, but these approaches severely decrease resolution.
Without compromising resolution, one effective way to increase sensitivity in capacitive coupling detection is to reduce the distance between the electrodes at the detection area or the section of the channel between the electrodes (also known as the 'detection cell volume'). Known arrangements have achieved this by either: (i) scribing off some portion from the chip surface so that electrodes can be disposed nearer to the channel, or (ii) incorporating electrodes within the chip (integrated chip) during the microfabrication so that they are close enough to the channel. These approaches are either inaccurate (for option (i) above) or require complex fabrication processes (for option (ii) above).
To improve the portability of LOC devices, improvements have been made to releasbly attach the system to a laptop computer. The advantage of portable systems is that tests and analysis can be done onsite and when needed, which improves efficiency and decreases costs. In addition, transportation of the samples exposes the samples to conditions where the sample may possibly be contaminated or degraded. The portable system is user friendly and simple to operate. Therefore, it does not need highly trained personnel to operate the lab-on-a-chip analytical instrument. The system is also low cost and rugged to be carried and transported.
In the past decade, there have been efforts on developing portable instrumentation with somewhat limited success. In the area of electrophoresis, currently a few portable systems have been described where C4D is used as detector. One of them was developed for glass capillaries which typically require higher voltages to substantiate a high electric fields as the capillaries have longer length than microfluidic devices. This system is described in Electroanalysis 19, 2007, No. 19-20, pp. 2059-2065 by Kuban, P; Nguyen, H T A; Macka, M; Haddad, P R; Hauser, P C. Another system is from Innovative Sensor Technologies GmbH called TraceDec. This system uses glass microfluidic chips which are not disposable due to cost. The sensing electrodes are place at a far distance form the defection volume which results on low sensitivity. Another version that has been commercialized is described in IEEE SENSORS JOURNAL, VOL. 8, NO. 5, MAY 2008 by Holger Mühlberger, Wonhee Hwang, Andreas E. Guber, Volker Saile, and Werner Hoffmann. This system uses microchips with detection electrodes that are micro patterned on the outer surface of a plastic microfluidic chip. Due to this extra fabrication step, the cost of these types of chips increases drastically. Another C4D system is being commercialized by eDAQ Pty Ltd This system is modular, not fully integrated and involves the powers supply module, the C4D electronics module and the microfluidic C4D detection platform The electrophoresis microfluidic chip sits atop the C4D platform where the pair of electrodes for transmitting and receiving the AC signal are located only at the bottom plane. The electrodes are brought into contact with the chip from one side only and there is no ground plane between them to shield them from direct coupling to eliminate stray capacitance. The sensing electrodes are of fixed dimensions and not exchangeable. The cell is not encased into a housing to shield the whole cell from external interference effects or noises.
With the present invention, we developed a new generation of portable E-dC4D that provides improved sensitivity, low detection limit and at the same time it is low cost which reduces the price per analysis.
The present invention relates to the use of emitting electrodes positioned or positionable adjacent to and on opposite sides of a microfluidic channel, and receiving electrodes adjacent to and positioned or positionable on opposite sides of a microfluidic channel.
In one specific expression, the present invention relates to a contactless conductivity detection cell including: a microfluidic chip having a channel defined by channel walls, first and second emitting electrodes, and first and second receiving electrodes, wherein the first emitting electrode and the first receiving electrode are adjacent a first channel wall, and the second emitting electrode and the second receiving electrode are adjacent a second channel wall, the second channel wall being opposite the first channel wall.
Preferably the emitting electrodes and receiving electrodes are substantially planar and substantially parallel to each other.
Preferably the emitting electrodes are placed one on top and one at the bottom of the chip passing over the channel, and are configured to act as electrostatic image of each other to concentrate and focus signals from each other into a detection cell volume of the detection cell. Similarly, the receiving electrodes are preferably placed one on top and one at the bottom of the chip covering channel, and are configured to act as electrostatic images of each other to extract coupled signal from a detection cell volume of the detection cell.
Preferably the electrodes are each positioned at a distance of between 1 μm and 1000 μm from the channel and preferably the microfluidic chip has a thickness in the range of 30 μm to 1 mm.
Preferably the detection cell further comprises a first ground plane between the emitting electrodes and the receiving electrodes, and a grounded metal housing containing the emitting electrodes, the receiving electrodes and the first ground plane.
Preferably the detection cell further comprises a second ground plane configured to shield the emitting electrodes and the receiving electrodes from interferences from electronic components housed in the grounded metal housing while keeping a very close distance between the receiving electrodes and the receiving amplifier encased in a second shielded housing.
Preferably at least part of the channel between the emitting electrodes and the receiving electrodes has a restricted submicron-sized or nano-sized width/cross-section.
In one form, the first emitting electrode and the first receiving electrode are preferably arranged on or in a top plate of the microfluidic chip, and where the second emitting electrode and the second receiving electrode are adjacent a base of the channel. In another form, the first emitting electrode and the first receiving electrode are preferably arranged adjacent one side of the channel, and wherein the second emitting electrode and the second receiving electrode are arranged adjacent an opposite side of the channel.
Preferably the detection cell further comprises multiple parallel channels, each channel having a pair of emitting electrodes and a pair of receiving electrodes, wherein all of the emitting electrode pairs are connected to a single input.
In another expression, the present invention relates to a portable electrophoretic micro fluidic system and a contactless conductivity detection system comprising: a platform having an opening configured to receive a microfluidic chip having a channel defined by channel walls, a cover configured to close at least part of the opening, first and second emitting electrodes, and first and second receiving electrodes, wherein the first emitting electrode and the first receiving electrode are configured to be positioned adjacent a first channel wall, and the second emitting electrode and the second receiving electrode are configured to be positioned adjacent a second channel wall, the second channel wall being opposite the first channel wall.
Preferably the system is battery powered, which allows for greater portability.
Preferably the cover is configured to secure at least part of a microfluidic chip between the cover and the base of the opening.
Preferably the second emitting electrode and the second receiving electrode are positioned on or adjacent the base of the opening.
Preferably the first emitting electrode and the first receiving electrode are positioned on or adjacent an internal surface of the cover. Preferably the cover includes a holder on the internal surface, and wherein the first emitting electrode and the first receiving electrode are positioned on the holder.
Preferably the holder is resiliently coupled to the cover and is configured to press the first emitting electrode and the first receiving electrode against a microfluidic chip.
Preferably the detection system further comprises one or more slots to allow a microfluidic chip to be inserted into the opening.
Preferably the cover is selected from a group consisting of: a pivotable cover and a detachable cover.
Preferably the emitting electrodes and/or the receiving electrodes are movable along the channel.
Preferably the opening is configured to allow a microfluidic chip to be movable within the opening.
Preferably the detection system further comprises a current-to-voltage converter adjacent and connected to the receiving electrodes, and a rectifier, low-pass filter, and offset circuit connected to the current-to-voltage converter. Preferably the detection system further comprises an alternating current function generator adjacent and connected to the emitting electrodes, and a miniaturized high voltage power supply. Preferably the detection system further comprises detection electronics arranged on a circuit that comprises a top layer and a bottom layer, the top layer being isolated from the bottom layer.
In yet another specific expression, the present invention relates to a capacitive coupled contactless conductivity detection cell comprising: a microfluidic chip having a channel, and detection electrodes placed in a top-bottom geometry and in close proximity to the channel.
In still another specific embodiment, the present invention relates to a capacitive coupled contactless conductivity detection cell including: detection electrodes placed in a top-bottom geometry in a housing, a detection area located within the housing, a Faraday shield, and a grounded metal housing, wherein the electrodes are shielded from direct cross talk or external noise by the Faraday shield and the grounded metal housing.
Preferably the detection electrodes comprise two emitting electrodes and two receiving electrodes.
Preferably the emitting electrodes are placed one on top and one at the bottom of the channel, and are configured to act as electrostatic images of each other to concentrate and focus the signals from each other into a detection cell volume of the detection cell.
Preferably the receiving electrodes are placed one on top and one at the bottom of the channel, and are configured to act as electrostatic images of each other to extract coupled signals from a detection cell volume of the detection cell.
Preferably the detection electrodes comprise two emitting electrodes and two receiving electrodes separated by the Faraday shield and located in the grounded metal housing.
Preferably the housing holds a microfluidic chip inserted into a holder within the emitting and receiving electrodes.
Preferably the emitting and receiving electrodes are placed close to the separation channel, and are movable by a cover to adjust a detection cell volume of the detection cell.
Preferably the detection area is adjustable by moving the microfluidic chip within the emitting and receiving electrodes.
In one form of the invention the electrodes are provided within a replaceable cartridge cell. In use the cartridge cell is intended to sandwich the detection cell with the microfluidic channel. The cell may be releasably attached to the rest of the detecting system by a mechanism which electrically connects the emitting electrodes and the receiving electrodes to corresponding electrical contacts of the housing. A variety of replaceable cartridges may be provided, suitable respectively for different applications in terms of detection sensitivity and resolution. For example, they may differ in their electrode dimensions and gap distance. Thus, in contrast to embodiments in which these parameters are variable, this form of the invention is robust, and less complex, which reduces cost. A user can adapt the measurement which is made very easily by replacing one cartridge with another.
The present invention provides a C4D cell with improved sensitivity and detection limit compared to detection cells of the state of the art. A benefit of improving sensitivity is that the present invention can be implemented using lower power inputs than previously employed. The gap distance between the detection electrodes is made adjustable in accordance with certain embodiments of the invention, hence the detection cell length and thus the limit of detection (LOD, which determines sensitivity) and/or peak separation (which determines resolution) can be fine-tuned depending on demands of the specific application Where a shielded housing is provided containing all the necessary electronics and the C4D cell, an enhanced signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) is able to be obtained, which results in a highly sensitive portable electrophoretic analyzer. Embodiments of the present invention also provide a C4D detection device that has low power requirements. These and other related advantages will be readily apparent to skilled persons from the description below.

Agency for Science, Technology and Research


Tasking systems and methods are provided that support user interfaces for displaying objects, the displayed objects enabling user access to resources that provide for effecting tasks among the system and devices of the systems' environment. More particularly, tasking systems and methods are provided that support the foregoing features, wherein the systems and methods support clustering operations respecting such task-associated objects so as to enhance the effecting of the associated tasks, such clustering operations responding to context. The clustering operations preferably are both adaptive and dynamic. Tasking systems and methods preferably support the tracking of selected states, including, as examples, one or more of environment states, device states, and system states. Tracked states typically also include states respecting other relevant criteria, such as temporal criteria.

The present invention relates to tasking systems and methods supporting user interfaces for displaying objects, the displayed objects enabling user access to resources that provide for effecting tasks among a system and devices of the system's environment. More particularly, the present invention relates to tasking systems and methods having the foregoing features, wherein the systems support dynamic and adaptive clustering operations respecting such objects so as to enhance effecting of the associated tasks, such clustering operations responding to context.
Universal remotes are known. These remotes typically provide for controlling an environment and devices thereof. To do so, the remotes transmit, e.g., commands based on standardized communication protocols, which commands correspond to control functions and operations of the controlled devices. Generally, the remotes have compact dimensions, so as to enable the user to easily grasp and hold the remote in one hand.
Conventional universal remotes tend to rely principally on permanent keys. The keys typically are dedicated in that each corresponds to a particular function or operation of one external device. As such, the keys generally have permanent legends that identify the correspondence. Moreover, the number of keys is constrained by the remotes' compact, physical dimensions.
Some universal remotes employ screens, such as liquid crystal displays. Generally, these screens enable the remotes to be programmed. In one category, the screen provides a programmable legend to accompany a programmable, permanent (i.e., hard) key. In another category, the screen provides both a programmable legend and a programmable, virtual (i.e., soft) key—the virtual key being implemented as an icon displayed on the screen, the icon being actuable through the screen's touch sensitivity. In both categories, the number of keys typically remains constrained by the remote's compact dimensions, particularly due to the screen's limited dimensions. Moreover, once the keys are programmed, the keys and their respective legends typically are effectively permanent with respect to their disposition and their correspondence to an external device's function/operation. This permanence applies, at least in a presentation sense, where the programmed keys are organized in conventional menus.
A universal remote's efficacy is characterized, generally, by the number of devices (and associated functions/operations) the remote can simultaneously support. That is, on a first level, a remote's efficacy tends to increase with increases in the number of available keys. However, the number of keys and, therefore, the remote's efficacy tend to be limited by the remote's dimensional constraints.
Moreover, a remote's efficacy tends to plateau and even diminish, respectively, as the number of keys rises to, and then exceeds, some ergonomic threshold. That is, on a second level, a remote's efficacy may cease to increase once the number of keys leads to user perception of unacceptable burden and/or complexity. Indeed, with actual or perceived burden and complexity, a remote's efficacy will tend to diminish, particularly if the users' inclination and ability to use the remote declines. Such efficacy problems may not be overcome entirely by employing programmable keys, including virtual keys organized in conventional menus, in that, e.g., these solutions may simply be insufficient to counteract perceptions of, or actual, burden and complexity.
Conventional universal remotes also fall short in the types of products and product categories that they support. Supported devices typically are limited to TVs, VCRs, receivers, audio CD players and other audio and video equipment. In addition, however, devices increasingly will include many more products from a broader range of categories. The devices may, or already, include, without exhaustion, home air conditioning/heating systems and controllers therefor, lighting systems, personal computers and peripherals, home and automobile security systems, kitchen appliances, and other home, business, automobile, and entertainment products and systems.
As another example, supported devices are coming to include, or already include, resources that generally have not been so included. These resources include, without exhaustion, (i) web browsers and other communication clients and/or applications (e.g., capable of delivering, transmitting, processing and otherwise supporting electronic program guides, data, email, voice, or other media/information), (ii) communication connections (e.g., switched, cellular and IP telephony; Internets; Intranets; hypertext services, such as the World Wide Web; and LANs, WANs and other networks), and (iii) software applications (e.g., note pads, planners, and input facilities).
Some of these resources, particularly those that are communication- or computing-related, seem to be becoming ubiquitous. This, of itself, may engender problems, including the physical location of any remote. As an example, the computing-related resources are now available, or are becoming available, in compact form factors, e.g., personal digital assistants (PDAs), such as the VELO and NINO by Philips Electronics and PALM PILOT by 3Com. As another example, embedded electronics—in the form of a processor, a program and other hardware and software—empower engineers to add communication and computing capabilities essentially throughout a user's environment. In either case, conventional remotes would tend to be inadequate for providing sufficient access of/to these resources. In each case, a conventional remote not only fails to support the environmental devices, but presents problems as to how to implement the remote (e.g., location) even if support were to be provided.
Conventional universal remotes have additional shortcomings. As an example, the remotes generally do not provide for receiving signals, e.g., from and about the supported devices. As another example, other than the legends associated with the keys, these remotes tend to omit facility for conveying information to users—visual, audible or otherwise—pertaining to an applicable environment or the supported devices therein. These remotes, in particular, typically fail to provide adequately, if at all, for displaying or otherwise conveying relevant (e.g., locationally relevant or dependent) information to the user.
While conventional remotes may have shortfalls, other solutions tend to combine advantages with limitations. For example, instead of a conventional remote, a PDA may be configured (a) to support one or more standard infrared communication capabilities and (b) to display, via a user interface, a large variety of touch-sensitive icons, typically in a conventional hierarchy of menus, as well as other features provided by an applicable, commercial operating system ("OS"). However, with any such OS, to work with even a small number of supported devices and/or functions/operations, the user may need to open multiple menus or step through a plurality of other OS features, in order to access any particular function/operation of any particular environmental device. This is undesirable because, as menus and features are opened to activate a function/operation, a PDA's screen tends to become ever more cluttered due to its limited dimensions, such clutter making it increasingly difficult for the user to navigate to and activate other devices or functions/operations. Moreover, this navigational difficulty tends to overwhelm users seeking to activate several functions/operations simultaneously or in sequence.
Accordingly, there is a need to overcome problems inherent in apparatus, systems and methods for tasking supported devices in an environment, including those problems of the prior art as described above, so as to enable enhanced and new functionality, particularly in the event of plural supported devices, each tending to have associated therewith plural functions/operations.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Clustering of task-associated objects for effecting tasks among a system and its environmental devices


A process for preparing a phosphor layer of a cathode ray tube. To prepare a phosphor layer located on the display screen rear side of the cathode ray tube, the display screen rear side is first coated with an electrically conductive electrode layer consisting of electrically conductive polymers; a solution containing the phosphors or their precursors as well as a solution containing an electrolyte are deposited on the electrode layer; an electric field is applied between the electrode layer and the solution; and the phosphors are electrophoretically deposited on the electrode layer to form the phosphor layer. Since polymers with an evaporation temperature below the destruction temperature of the phosphors are selected, the electrode layer can subsequently be removed by evaporating the polymers.

Three processes are used, among other things, for preparing the phosphor layer in the production of cathode ray tubes for monitors, display screens, etc.: The brushing process, the spin coating process, and electrophoresis.
The substances of the phosphor layer, hereinafter called phosphors, are applied by means of a brushing sponge in the brushing process. However, phosphor layers applied in this manner have a relatively low homogeneity, Furthermore, the excess material is wasted and must be recycled or disposed of in an expensive process.
In the spin coating process, the phosphor layer is prepared from a mixture of a lacquer paste based on, e.g., ethyl cellulose and the phosphors. The phosphor-lacquer mixture is applied to the rear side of the picture side, i.e., to the side facing a later observer. After the distribution of this lacquer mixture, the cathode ray tube is rotated around an axis orthogonal to the picture side. After drying of the lacquer mixture, the lacquer mixture is heated to above 200.degree. C. and especially up to 400.degree. C., as a result of which the binder is destroyed and the phosphors remain on the rear surface of the picture side. However, the distribution of the phosphors is inhomogeneous, as a result of which the layer thickness of the phosphor layer, especially the layer thickness measured in parallel to the surface of the picture side, displays great variations. This process is unsuitable for coating large surfaces due to these differences in layer thickness.
In electrophoresis, the rear side of the display screen is coated with an electrically conductive electrode layer, mostly one consisting of a metal, such as aluminum or ITO (Indium-Tin Oxide). The phosphors are suspended in a solvent. An electrolyte or a mixture of various electrolytes, which dissolve in the solution and/or are suspended in it, is also added to the solution. The solution or the suspension is charged by the electrolyte. To deposit the phosphors and consequently to form the phosphor layer, the solution is brought into contact with the electrode layer, the electrode layer is used as an electrode, a counterelectrode is introduced, and different electrical potentials are applied to two electrodes, as a result of which the phosphors are electrophoretically deposited on the electrode layer, forming the phosphor layer. The layer thickness of the phosphor layer can be set by varying the parameters electrical (deposition) voltage, temperature, deposition time, and the materials used. The phosphors are subsequently optionally to be fixed on the rearward picture side by heating. After the application of the phosphor layer and the optional fixation, the electrode layer must be removed, especially by chemical etching. However, this process has a high reject rate.

Process for preparing a phosphor layer of a cathode ray tube


A base station apparatus includes a downlink reference signal generation unit configured to generate a first demodulation reference signal and a second demodulation reference signal that are reference signals used to demodulate a data signal, and a radio transmitting unit configured to transmit the first demodulation reference signal, the second demodulation reference signal, and control information to the terminal apparatus. The control information includes parameters regarding the first demodulation reference signal and parameters regarding the second demodulation reference signal. The parameters regarding the first demodulation reference signal include an antenna port number. The parameters regarding the second demodulation reference signal include an antenna port number, and a time domain density or a frequency domain density with which demodulation reference signals are mapped into a slot. The first demodulation reference signal is mapped before the second demodulation reference signal in the slot.

In a communication system such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) or LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) standardized by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), the communication area can be widened by forming a cellular configuration in which multiple areas, covered by base station apparatuses (base stations, transmission stations, transmission points, downlink transmission devices, uplink reception devices, a group of transmit antennas, a group of transmit antenna ports, component carriers, eNodeB, Access Point, and AP) or transmission stations equivalent to the base station apparatuses, are deployed in the form of multiple cells (Cells). A terminal apparatus (reception station, reception point, downlink reception apparatus, uplink transmission apparatus, receive antenna group, receive antenna port group, UE, station, and STA) is connected to the base station. In such a cellular configuration, frequency efficiency can be improved by using the same frequency among neighboring cells or sectors.
Research and development activities related to the 5th generation mobile radio communication system (5G system) have been actively carried out, aiming to start commercial services around the year 2020. A vision recommendation on the standard system of the 5G system (International mobile telecommunication—2020 and beyond: IMT-2020) was recently reported (see NPL 1) by the International Telecommunication Union Radio Communications Sector (ITU-R), which is an international standardization body.
The 5G system assumes that a radio access network is operated by combining various frequency bands to satisfy various requirements represented by three large use scenarios (Enhanced mobile broadband (EMBB), Enhanced Massive machine type communication (eMTC), and Ultra-reliable and low latency communication (URLLC)). Thus, unlike the known LTE/LTE-A, it is assumed that the 5G system uses multiple frame formats with different radio parameters (subcarrier spacings and the like) although the 5G system has the same access scheme as LTE/LTE-A.
However, it is assumed that the multiple frame formats involve respective suitable communication schemes and communication methods. The 5G system needs to be a system for integrating the frame formats together, with communications suitable for the respective frame formats maintained.
A solution is sought.

Base station apparatus, terminal apparatus, and communication method


Crown including a cap formed of a cover integral with a lateral skirt, wherein the crown includes a removable deck ring.

Crowns are commonly used as adjusting members for mechanical watches. Mounted on a tube which is driven or screwed into the middle part of the watch case, crowns are assembled at the end of a winding or control stem, and can take several distinct axial positions in which they can execute various types of functions, such as for example winding the barrel of the watch, setting the time, adjusting the date etc.
Screw-in crowns are commonly used for watches in order to improve the sealing of watches on their winding or control stem. This type of crown has the peculiarity of having to be in an unscrewed position to be capable of being actuated, in which the axial position of the crown can be changed to define an adjustment mode. In the screwed-in position, the crown is locked onto a tube, which is fixed inside the middle part and which preferably has a bulged part at the base of the portion thereof projecting outside the middle part of the case, in order to compress a sealing gasket, thereby improving the sealing of the watch. The screwed-in position is therefore the normal position when the watch is being worn and which has the best sealing properties, suitable, in particular, for use during aquatic activities, such as deep sea diving.
There exist several known manufacturing and assembling methods for assembling these screw-in crowns onto the middle part of a watch. There even exist angular orientation adjustment devices for placing the crown in a determined position relative to the case after the crown has been screwed-in, when there is a marking affixed to the end surface of the crown. This is the case, for example when the crowns are fitted to luxury and high quality goods.
Most crowns, regardless of whether or not they are screwed-in and orientable, generally include a cap formed by a cover on the top surface of which a trademark or logo can be affixed, and a lateral skirt inside which the securing tube is housed. To guarantee the sealing of this type of crown with respect to the tube, one or more sealing gaskets are provided on the lower end of the skirt, and are radially compressed between the external surface of the tube and the skirt, and covered by means of a crimped or driven-in ring. These covering rings, which are used to hold the sealing gasket axially when the crown is operated, are also commonly called "deck rings".
One drawback of these crowns is that sometimes it is impossible to replace a worn sealing gasket where the gasket is not accessible laterally when the crown is dismantled because the deck ring is permanently fixed to the bottom surface of the skirt of the crown. Consequently, during an after-sales service, for example, it may be necessary to replace the entire crown when its sealing properties deteriorate over time, which is very expensive.
EP Patent No. 0655664 proposes an alternative solution to deck rings for holding the sealing gasket of a crown-push button compressed against a guide tube by using an open, resilient, retaining ring engaged in a groove in the bottom face of the crown. These open resilient rings, also called circlips, are often employed as stop members for assembling and holding components in grooves about an arbour for larger sized parts, where the circlips are easy to handle using pliers which engage in holes at the ends thereof used for the assembly and removal of the circlips. However, the very reduced size of a timepiece crown, which is at most barely a few millimeters, makes the crown very difficult to handle, even simply to assemble, and particularly inconvenient for any subsequent dismantling operation. Moreover, the particular shape of the circlip requires a groove to be arranged in the bottom end of the crown skirt with a beak forming an axial retaining surface, as provided for in the invention disclosed by EP Patent No. 0655664, intended to prevent the circlip from being unintentionally wrenched out. This complicates the machining of the crown and therefore makes it more expensive to manufacture.


A method of installing cable on a cable reel apparatus that includes providing a pre-wound, reel-less coil of cable for installing on a separable cable reel. The cable reel includes a first flange that is configured to be rotatably coupled to a first frame, and the first flange has opposite inner and outer sides, and a second flange that is separate from the first flange and is configured to be rotatably coupled to a second frame, and the second flange has opposite inner and outer sides. One of the first and second flanges includes a hub portion that extends transversely from the inner side thereof. The method also includes instructing a user to releasably couple the first and second flanges to support the pre-wound, reel-lees coil of cable on the hub portion between the first and second flanges along the central longitudinal axis of the separable cable reel.

Cable installers are commonly required to carry cable to installation locations. The installers usually use some type of shoulder bag or other types of packing solutions with an opening for paying out the cable. These cables are often wound on a reel to form a cable coil and packaged in a box or bag for payout during installations. The installer may, however, payout too much cable if the installer pulls too hard on the cable.
Therefore, a need exists for a cable reel that allows for easy installation of cable in a bag or the like.

Method of installing cable on cable reel


An apparatus and a method detect the current thickness and thus the wear of a brake lining of a motor-vehicle brake system, which has a wheel-brake actuator at each wheel that actuates the wheel brake and is individually electrically controlled. The wheel-brake actuator contains a hydraulic piston which is moved by an electric motor and is provided with a sensor that detects the brake pressure or brake force as well as with a further sensor that detects the travel of the hydraulic piston. The thickness of the brake lining is determined from signals of the two sensors. To that end, a measurement is made of the travel performed by the hydraulic piston until a predetermined brake pressure is reached.

Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an apparatus and a method for detecting the thickness of a brake lining.
Such an apparatus and method serve to monitor the state of the brake linings on the wheel brakes of a motor vehicle. Since the brake linings in all friction brakes are subjected to constant wear, information regarding the thickness of the linings is very important for the functioning of the brake. The brake linings can be monitored from such information to ensure that they maintain a minimum thickness which is critical for functioning and safety.
In an apparatus for monitoring a brake lining, which is known from German Published, Non-Prosecuted Patent Application DE 38 18 877 A1, a wear sensor has a plurality of electric conductors disposed at a distance from one another which are worn down with the brake lining. The number of conductors which are exposed in the process and have a short circuit to the chassis is a measure of the wear of the brake lining. Each short circuit to the chassis trips a fuse and reduces a monitoring current. German Published, Non-Prosecuted Patent Application DE 42 31 107 A1 discloses a sensor for determining the lining thickness and at the same time the temperature of brake linings. In that sensor an electric resistor which is disposed on the brake lining has a resistance value that is a function of its length and an electric resistance that has the same chassis ground is coupled thereto. Such a sensor is relatively complicated, changes to the brake linings are necessary and the resistor material must correspond to the lining material in terms of abrasion behavior and withstand the high temperatures occurring in the friction surface without showing signs of aging.
The increasing requirements currently imposed on modern brake systems of motor vehicles, such as anti-lock devices, travel-stability control systems, drive-slip control devices or traction control devices, necessitate braking intervention on selective wheels. In conventional brake systems, braking intervention on selective wheels is made possible with additional hydraulic pumps and solenoid valves. However, such brake systems are complicated and are not without problems. Braking intervention on selective wheels is achieved in a smoother and less complicated manner with brake systems in which each wheel is allocated an electrically controlled wheel-brake actuator that is integrated in the wheel-brake caliper and in which the requisite braking moment is produced with a brake motor. In a brake-actuating configuration known from German Published, Non-Prosecuted Patent Application DE 42 29 042 A1, an electric motor drives a drive piston through a reduction gear and a device for transforming the rotary motion of the electric motor into a linear motion. The pressure produced in a fluid chamber in that case acts on a brake-lining pressure piston. Such a brake system is also designated below as a "brake-by-wire" system or brake.

Apparatus and method for detecting the thickness of a brake lining


The invention provides a method for measurement of characteristics related to water vapor transfer through plate-like material samples, in particular textile materials, and a measuring unit device with a water container, a water container atmosphere or headspace, air chamber, and measuring chamber, where the water container headspace and air chamber are separated by such plate-like material sample for carrying out such measurements under stationary air flow conditions according to detecting an absolute humidity increase of 1% in an air chamber atmosphere, and where determinations of water vapor transmission rate, water vapor resistance, water vapor permeability and water vapor pressure differential across the plate-like material sample are obtained via use of appropriate sensors installed within the housing of such testing device, including air temperature and humidity sensors, water temperature sensor, and an evaporative heat flux thermal sensor.

Water vapor permeability and water vapor resistance are important elements in the evaluation of the thermophysical wearing comfort of a garment. Knowing the characteristics related to water vapor transfer in a textile or another material is also important for many technical applications.
The measurement of different characteristics related to water vapor transfer are carried out using methods requiring extended measuring intervals. For example, in carrying out the methods of the standard procedures ASTM 96-94 and ISO 11 092, measuring intervals of several hours are necessary. The ASTM 96-94 method is based on a measuring procedure whereby the weight loss of a cup filled with water and covered with the test sample is determined. The weight measurements, repeated at given intervals, and the evaluation of the results, are carried out manually. Thus, the ASTM 96-94 method is considered very labor-intensive. Because of these long measuring times of both methods, routine tests are limited. Furthermore, the tests of the two methods can only be run in a laboratory. Therefore, quality control tests cannot be carried out during production. A critical shortcoming of the standard procedures is also that different measurements are determined under different test conditions so that the results are not comparable.

Procedure and device for the measurement of water vapor transfer through textiles and other plate-like materials


The invention relates to a composition comprising a neuronal nicotinic receptor ligand and an α4β2 positive allosteric modulator, a method of using the same, and a related article of manufacture.

1. Technical Field
The invention relates to a composition comprising a neuronal nicotinic receptor ligand and an α4β2 allosteric modulator, a method of using the same, and a related article of manufacture.
2. Description of Related Technology
Neuronal nicotinic receptors, especially α4β2 neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) have been targeted for pain and various central nervous system diseases. Antisense knockdown of the α4 subunit was found to decrease the analgesic effect of agonists (Bitner R S, Nikkel A L, Curzon P, Donnelly-Roberts D L, Puttfarcken P S, Namovic M, Jacobs I C, Meyer M D, and Decker M W (2000) Brain Res. 871:66-74). Reduced antinociceptive responses to nicotine also is seen in α4 gene knockout animals (Marubio L M, Arroyo-Jimenez M D, Cordero-Erausquin M, Lena C, Le Novere N, d'Exaerde A D, Huchet M, Damaj M I, and Changeux J P (1999) Nature 398:805-810). Both α4 and β2 nAChRs are responsible for mediating nicotinic analgesia at supraspinal responses and spinal sites (Decker, M W, Rueter, L E and Bitner, R S (2004) Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonists: a potential new class of analgesics, Curr Top Med Chem., 4: 369-384). Antinociceptive effects through α4β2 nAChRs are generally attributed to stimulation of brainstem monoaminergic transmission, particularly in the raphe (Cucchiaro G, Chaijale N, and Commons K G (2005) J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 313:389-394). However, α4β2 stimulation of GABAergic and glycinergic inhibitory transmission in the spinal cord also may contribute (Rashid M H, Furue H, Yoshimura M, and Ueda H (2006) Pain 125:125-135).
Central α3* nAChRs may contribute to nicotinic analgesia (Khan I M, Wennerholm M, Singletary E, Polston K, Zhang L, Deerinck T, Yaksh T L, and Taylor P (2004) J Neurocytol. 33:543-556), but α3β4 ligands are of little interest because of likely autonomic side effects. Indeed, the goal has been to avoid α3* neuronal nicotinic receptor (NNR), as the dose-limiting emetic liability of nonselective compounds has been attributed to activation of α3 containing nAChRs. α3* nAChRs are expressed in the enteric nervous system as well as in other components of the peripheral and central nervous systems. Area postrema and nucleus tractus solitarius are brainstem nuclei thought to be involved in nausea and emesis. α3* nAChRs in the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus and in nucleus tractus solitarius have been implicated in gastric and blood pressure responses to nicotine injected locally (Ferreira M, Singh A, Dretchen K L, Kellar K J, and Gillis R A (2000) J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. 294:230-238).
Compounds with varying degrees of selectivity for α4β2 nAChRs over other nicotinic subtypes (α3, α7, α1-containing) have been discovered over the years. For example, ABT-594 (referred to as Compound A in this application) was efficacious across a number of rodent models of nociception including acute thermal, chemogenic, neuropathic, and visceral pain (Decker M W, Meyer M D, and Sullivan J P (2001) Expert Opinion on Investigational Drugs 10:1819-1830). Available data suggest that ligands with selectivity for the α4β2 nAChRs over α3β4 efficacy is preferred for low adverse event profiles. In theory, the therapeutic index could be expanded by (a) reducing α3β4 activity or (b) increasing α4β2 efficacy without increasing α3β4 activity. The latter may be achieved by an α4β2 selective positive allosteric modulator (PAM) either alone or in combination with exogenous α4β2 agonist. Positive allosteric modulators can potentiate effects by enhancing the efficacy and or potency of agonists. Accordingly, an α4β2 selective positive allosteric modulator can selectively enhance effects at the preferred α4β2 nAChRs over other nAChR subtypes.
Initially known positive allosteric modulators of the α4β2 nAChRs have been nonselective and not very potent. For example, nefiracetam has been reported to potentiate α4β2 nAChR responses (Narahashi T, Moriguchi S, Zhao X, Marszalec W, and Yeh J Z (2004) Biol. Pharm. Bull. 27:1701-1706). More recently, subtype selective PAMs have been disclosed. Compounds like 3-(3-pyridin-3-yl-1,2,4-oxadiazol-5-yl)benzonitrile and others have been described with robust α4β2 PAM effects with little modulatory activity at other subtypes such as α3β4 (e.g., see WO 2006/114400, published Nov. 2, 2006).
Pain is an unmet medical need and the methods and possibilities for treatments of such indications are insufficient. Although continued efforts are being made to treat pain using nAChR agonists, robust efficacy in pain may be limited by the range of side effects associated with their use, albeit to differing degrees. In light of the significance of chronic pain and the limitations in their treatment, it would be beneficial to identify new methods of treating such disorders, particularly in a manner that reduces adverse ganglionic effects such as at the gastrointestinal systems (e.g. emesis). It would be particularly beneficial to identify compounds and compositions that offer an opportunity to wide the therapeutic window of nicotinic (nAChR) agonists in pain. Enhanced efficacy with nAChR ligands for the treatment of other central nervous system diseases such as cognitive and attention deficits is also desirable.

Pharmaceutical compositions and their methods of use


A type of lightweight, multi-use headware is provided which has an aperture on one or both sides of the headware for temporarily receiving a small illuminating device in a non-obstructive manner that allows the handle of the illuminating device to be securely held within the interior of the headware. When the illuminating device is removed from the aperture the headware may be more traditionally used to shield the user's face and eyes from sunlight.

The use of portable flashlights for illumination purposes are well known and frequently are used by hunters, fisherman, miners, fireman and others having a particular task to perform in the darkness. To permit the user of the flashlight to have both hands free to perform a designated task, it has been found advantageous to have the flashlight securely connected to headware worn by the user of the flashlight. This type of attachment allows the illuminating beam of light to be constantly positioned in the users direction of sight.
The headware used for the attachment of a flashlight has commonly been in the form of a rigid hardhat or helmet with an exterior bracket for attaching the flashlight, batteries to operate the flashlight or both. One type of configuration has a flashlight attached to the hardhat with a wire connected to a battery pack worn on the belt of the user. Another type of design has the batteries attached on the rear exterior surface of the hardhat. These types of configurations are generally heavy, cumbersome, and have a tendency to permit either the handle portion of the flashlight, the batteries attachment bracket, or wiring to become snagged or hooked on surrounding limbs from trees or shrubs or on other objects.
Another type of flashlight holder which may be worn around the users' head utilizes a headband or strap which attaches to a small flashlight. Although these apparatus are much lighter and less cumbersome to wear than the rigid hats described above, they do not adequately secure the flashlight to the user's head, and are additionally prone to objects such as limbs or twigs snagging the flashlight handle projecting from the strap. Furthermore, the headband type of flashlight holder does not have any other utility besides holding the flashlight. For example, the headband cannot be used to shield the sun from a user's eyes or provide protection in the case of a hard hat.
Thus, a need exists for a type of headware, and more particularly a cap or fedora to be constructed in a manner which allows a small flashlight handle to be temporarily and concealably secured to the hat in a manner which alleviates the flashlight handle from snagging other objects, yet is compatible for the user to wear for other uses such as shielding the sun.


A write-once type optical recording medium is provided, which is low-cost and capable of maintaining the recording and reproducing stability high while enabling the relative ratio of read power to write power to be set high.

In recent years, there has been a need for an optical recording medium capable of high-density and high-speed recording, and as one of concrete measures for responding to such need, an optical recording medium capable of recording and reproducing by means of blue wavelength laser beam is considered noticeable.
Among such optical recording media utilizing blue wavelength laser beam, optical recording media of the read only memory (ROM) type and optical recording media of the rewritable (RW) type have already been proposed.
However, there has been no proposal yet of a write-once type of optical recording medium capable of high speed recording utilizing laser beam with a wavelength shorter than blue wavelengths.
In one of recording structures for write-once type optical recording media that have been conventionally proposed, an organic dye is applied on a substrate. This structure utilizes the fact that the dye in a part irradiated with laser beam absorbs light and generates heat, by which the configuration or refractive index of the substrate is changed, and the part thus changed is read as the change in reflectance.
However, the recording sensibility of recording media using an organic dye is not high enough to perform high-speed recording. Also, if the laser beam wavelength is made shorter for increasing the recording density, it becomes difficult to synthesize dye that can be used with laser beam particularly with a wavelength shorter than blue wavelengths.
Although proposals have been made to form a recording layer from an inorganic material (See Japanese Patent Publication No. 1992-838, for example), all of these conventional structures pose many problems such that they are not suitable for high-speed recording, their reliability in storage stability in the recorded state is not sufficiently high, and their reproduction durability is poor.
Under such circumstances, presently, there exists no write-once type optical recording medium that has high storage stability, is low-cost, and is capable of high-speed and high-density recording/storing.
Generally speaking, if the read power (the power of laser beam irradiated for reproducing recorded information) Pr is low, the ratio of noise to reproduced signal becomes relatively high to decrease the so-called CNR (carrier-to-noise ratio), and the reliability for reproduction is lowered by that much. On the other hand, if the write power (the power of laser beam irradiated for recording information) Pw is high, laser radiation equipment with higher output by that much is required, and the costs of parts and devices are increased. Further, the lifetime of laser tends to become shorter.
Therefore, in terms of the viewpoint of hardware such as disk drive, it is qualitatively preferable that the read power Pr is high and the write power Pw is low. In other words, the ratio Pw/Pr is desirably as close as possible to 1.
However, in conventional optical recording media, the ratio of write power Pw to read power Pr, Pw/Pr had to be set to "10 or more" for the reasons of securing stability in recording and reproduction, ensuring long term reliability and so on.

Recording and reproducing method for optical recording medium and optical recording medium

Abstract: The high-speed write-once type optical recording medium 10 includes a recording layer 18 that is constituted by laminating first and second subsidiary recording layers 18A and 18B each having one type of metal, for example Al and Sb respectively, as the main component. In the optical recording medium 10 having such constitution, the ratio between write power Pw and read power Pr, Pw/Pr is set to a value in the range of 2.0 to 8.0. When the recording layer 18 is irradiated with laser beam with a wavelength of 200 nm to 450 nm and a write power Pw of 2.5 to 5.0 mW at a recording-transferring rate of at least 35 Mps, Al and Sb contained in the subsidiary recording layers 18A and 18B respectively are diffused and mixed by the irradiation to form a recording mark that has a low reflectance, has been transformed to a single layer, and has been changed irreversibly.


There is provided an exercise machine in which resistance to movement of an actuation member, such as a handle, is provided and that resistance is able to be varied through the course of a single repetition of a series of repetitive exercises. The variation of resistance with distance along the movement path of the actuation member is, in a preferred embodiment, able to be changed by the selection and fitting of a component having a contoured surface, with which a follower means in the machine interacts to vary the resistance. There is also provided a multi-function exercise machine, that lends itself well to provision of the variable resistance feature.

There are numerous different methods for exercising muscles of the human body. Many involve no requirement for equipment at all, simply involving a person following a defined movement that concentrates loads on particular muscle groups. Many methods, however, do involve equipment, and for a range of reasons—to enable larger forces to be obtained, to better target particular muscle groups than ordinary exercise regimes can do, and to allow more easy regulation of progress from easy exercise to more demanding. One popular exercise method involves the use of "free" weights, such as barbells and so-called "dumb-bells". The use of free weights is desirable for such reasons as these.
In addition to the advantages which free weights offer, there are also several disadvantages. First, it is difficult to isolate some muscle groups with free weights because of the awkward angle at which the free weight must be moved during the exercise. Additionally, many lifts involving free weights require the use of a "spotter", i.e. an assistant. If the lifter is unable to complete the lift, the spotter must step in and quickly assist in the lift to prevent physical harm from being incurred by the lifter. Nowhere is this more important than in bench presses, in which a barbell is lifted above the body of a lifter lying on his (or her) back. If the lifter is unable to lift the weights and no spotter is available, the barbell can land on the lifter's throat, causing serious injury or even death.
Because many individuals wish to work out at home or wish to avoid the use of a spotter, there has been a marked increase in the popularity of mechanical devices in which one or more movable parts are moved by the user against resistance generated by, for example, weights, springs, or even the user's own weight. Multi-function equipment in particular has proven popular, due to its ability to provide a range of exercises, targeted to develop particular muscle groups. As with free weights, such machines when used continuously or repetitively involve the expenditure of effort and so also aid the improvement of fitness (eg heart and lung function).
Such equipment most usually includes at least one weight stack which engages a cable which is in turn pulled by the user. Typically this is accomplished by an elongate metal shaft with a plurality of holes which extends through the stack of weights. A locking pin is inserted into one of the holes and all weights above the locking pin are lifted with each pull on the cable. The cable may be pulled directly by a user, or alternatively the user may move a mechanical component which is itself linked to the cable directly or indirectly via various types of mechanisms.
One disadvantage of such equipment, however, is that the resistance felt by a user often varies throughout the normal range of movement, often in a way that is not ideal for the user. For example, some equipment tends to focus the exertion of each lift at the beginning of each muscle movement. In other words, once the cable has begun to move the associated weights, the effort involved with moving the weights through the remainder of the repetition decreases significantly. This can affect muscle use and development. For this reason, many serious body builders will not use multi-function machines. This problem also limits the ability of the user to focus on a particular area of weakness along the muscle's movement. For example, a user may determine that he is not as strong as desired in the last 60 degrees of a biceps curl when using free weights or may desire to tone his biceps to provide a more rounded curve. With the present multi-function machines and even single station cable-based exercise machines, strengthening or toning as desired can be extremely difficult.
The available multi-function exercise machines also have a number of other problems. For example, some machines will only allow a user to perform a few different exercises, e.g. they may only work the arms or legs, often in only a limited number of ways. Others are overly complex and costly. Thus there is a need for an improved multi-function exercise apparatus that addresses these problems.
The problem of providing resistance to movement of a member of an exercise apparatus, with that resistance varying along the path of the member in a desired way, has been recognized, and addressed in various ways. One class of machine is based on a weight being supported on a member rotatably mounted on a shaft journalled in a frame, the shaft being rotated by a lever or other mechanism through the effort of a user. A starting position (i.e. lateral displacement from the shaft axis) of the weight can be varied so that the starting torque applied to the shaft to resist the user-generated torque, and the nature of its variation as the shaft is rotated, can be adjusted to a degree. One example of this approach is disclosed by Hobson (U.S. Pat. No. 6,350,219). A problem with such devices is that only a limited degree of control of resistance variation is possible.
An alternative approach, and the one thought to be the most commonly used, is thought to be that exemplified by such devices as those of Kasigkeit (Australian patent application 57830/86), Johns (U.S. Pat. No. 5,356,360), and Solow (U.S. Pat. No. 5,102,121), in which a cable or chain extends from a weight stack over a rotatable cam which in turn is rotated (directly or via one or more intermediate members) by a user. See also U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,511,137, 4,666,152, 4,807,874, 4,957,281 and European Patent 0391315, all of which are examples of such cam-based exercise machines. The torque applied by the weight to resist its rotation depends on the shape of the cam. This approach is in reality a variation on the previous one, in that the resisting torque applied to a rotating member depends on the distance from that member's axis at which a constant force is applied. There are limitations to the nature of the resistance variation that can be provided in this way. For example, variation in resistance over a very short distance is difficult to provide. There are also limitations to the ease with which the nature of the resistance variation can be changed at will for a given exercise or to suit a different exercise.
The exercise apparatus disclosed herein addresses the problems of multi-function machines set out above, while allowing a large number of different exercises to be carried out. Moreover, the machine lends itself to being modified to provide modulated resistance for improved workout for various muscle groups. "Modulated" here means that the resistance to movement felt by a user of apparatus during each repetition of a particular exercise (or part of an exercise) varies with movement along the stroke.
Other types of exercise apparatus provide a degree of variation of resistance simply through progressive change of relative orientation of their parts during use. An example is the apparatus of Stearns (U.S. Pat. No. 5,658,227), which uses an arrangement of pin-jointed links to provide movement, but with variation of resistance not being a particular objective. U.S. Pat. No. 6,074,328 also discloses a machine of this class. The modulation of resistance discussed herein is to be understood as variation that is additional to and distinct from such variation, but need not necessarily be of smaller magnitude.
A mechanical arrangement is disclosed herein which can provide modulation of the resistance felt by a user of exercise apparatus in the above sense. The arrangement also enables the nature of that variable (modulated) resistance to itself be changed conveniently.
The multifunction exercise apparatus disclosed herein lends itself to use of the said arrangement, and is preferably provided with it. However, the exercise apparatus is also considered to offer a useful alternative to others in the market when the variable resistance arrangement is disabled or even excluded altogether.
Moreover, the variable resistance arrangement disclosed is also applicable in types of exercise apparatus other than the preferred one here disclosed.


There are provided a transparent display apparatus and a method for controlling the same. The transparent display apparatus includes a transparent display unit that includes an emissive area and a transmissive area and is configured to display a video, an optical sensor configured to measure the amount of light, and a light shielding unit that is disposed on one surface of the transparent display unit and is configured to adjust transmittance on the basis of the amount of light.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a transparent display apparatus and a method for controlling the same, and more particularly, to a transparent display apparatus and a method for controlling the same with which it is possible to improve visibility by shielding incident light on the basis of an analysis of an ambient environment of the transparent display apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
A transparent display apparatus is a display apparatus in which a background of a screen is transparently seen, and the transparent display apparatus is primarily realized by projecting a video on a transparent screen in the past. However, there has been currently developed a display apparatus that directly includes a transparent display device. Since a liquid-crystal display (LCD) uses two polarizing plates, the liquid-crystal display has low transmittance, so that it is difficult to be used as a transparent display apparatus. The transparent display apparatus is mostly realized in an organic light-emitting display device (OLED) capable of self-emitting, especially. Such a transparent display apparatus is applied to a front glass for a vehicle or a glass for home to provide desired information to a user.

Transparent display apparatus and method for controlling the same


The disclosure, in one aspect, provides a method for providing an image of a fluid that includes passing light through the fluid, detecting light passing through the fluid at at least one wavelength and producing signals corresponding to the detected light, and processing the signals to provide the image of the fluid.

1. Field of the Disclosure
The disclosure herein relates to imaging fluids downhole.
2. Description of the Related Art
Oil wells (also referred to as wellbores or boreholes) are drilled into subsurface formations to produce hydrocarbons (oil and gas). A drilling fluid, also referred to as mud, is supplied under pressure to drill the wellbores. A majority of the wellbores are drilled under over-burdened or overpressure conditions, i.e., the pressure gradient in the wellbore due to the weight of the mud column is greater than the natural pressure gradient of the formation in which the wellbore is drilled. Because of the overpressure condition, the mud penetrates into the formation surrounding the wellbore to varying depths, thereby contaminating the natural fluid contained in the formation, which fluid also is referred to herein as the "connate formation fluid" or the "connate fluid."
To estimate or determine the type or the components of the fluid, including oil, gas and water, in a formation at a particular wellbore depth or to estimate the condition of the reservoir surrounding the wellbore at the particular depth, tools, referred to as the formation evaluation tools, are used during drilling of the wellbore and after the wellbore has been drilled to obtain samples of the connate fluid for analysis. After drilling the wellbore, such tools are conveyed via a wireline or coiled tubing. During drilling of the wellbore, such tools are disposed in a bottomhole assembly above the drill bit, which assembly is conveyed by a drill string that may include a coiled tubing or may be made up of jointed tubulars. To obtain a sample of the connate fluid, a probe is often used to withdraw the fluid from the formation. However, the formation fluid up to a certain distance adjacent the wellbore is contaminated with the mud (i.e., it includes the mud filtrate). Therefore, to obtain a clean sample of the formation fluid, the formation fluid withdrawn from the formation for an initial time period is discarded to ensure that the sample is a clean sample. Various sensors have been used to estimate when the fluid being drawn is clean or of an acceptable quality level, i.e., that the contamination level is acceptable. However, such methods do not provide a visual image of the fluid being withdrawn. Real time visual images can be helpful to an operator for taking samples. Therefore, there is a need for an apparatus and method for obtaining visual images of the fluid downhole.

Apparatus and method for imaging fluids downhole