A method of forming a chamfered through hole having a chamfered portion at each end thereof by: forming a prepared hole in a plate-like portion; forming a first chamfered portion by driving a first punch; forming a second chamfered portion by driving a second punch, which has a second tapered surface and a generally columnar central pressing portion protruding from the center of the second tapered surface and having an annular corner at a tip thereof, and thereby forming the second chamfered portion and a central recess recessed axially inward; and punching out an unnecessary portion protruding radially inward of the prepared hole by using a finishing punch having an outer diameter equal to or smaller than that of the corner of the central pressing portion. The punching out the unnecessary portion is performed by punching from the first chamfered portion toward the second chamfered portion using the finishing punch.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a manufacturing method of a member having a chamfered through hole having a chamfered portion in peripheral corners located at each end of the through hole.
2. Description of the Related Art
For example, in a carrier cover of an automobile automatic transmission (A/T) or other various mechanical parts, a chamfered through hole having a chamfered portion in peripheral corners located at each end of the through hole is sometimes provided in a plate-like portion of the part.
Such a chamfered through hole is provided by, for example, a method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. JP-A-S58-125320.
First, as shown in FIG. 12, a prepared-hole punching step is performed to form a prepared hole 90 extending through a plate-like portion 9 of a part by using a die 80 having a cut hole 800 and a punch 81.
Next, as shown in FIG. 13, the rear surface of the plate-like portion is supported by a stage 82, and a chamfering punch 83 having a pressing surface 830 corresponding to a desired chamfering shape is driven into the prepared hole 90 from its one end to form a first chamfered portion 91. With formation of the first chamfered portion 91, a burr-like unnecessary portion 94 protruding radially inward is formed inside the prepared hole 90.
Next, as shown in FIG. 14, the rear surface of the plate-like portion 9 is supported by a die 84 having a cut hole 840, and a finishing punch 85 is inserted into the prepared hole from the first chamfered portion 91 side to punch out the unnecessary portion 94. A finished hole 93 is thus formed.
Then, as shown in FIG. 15, the plane of the finished hole 93 having the first chamfered portion 91 is supported by a stage 86, and a chamfering punch 87 having a pressing surface 870 corresponding to a desired chamfering shape is driven against the periphery of the opposite end of the finished hole 93 to form a second chamfered portion 92. Formation of the chamfered through hole is thus completed. Note that, in order to form the second chamfered portion 92, a mold structure is designed so that generation of an unnecessary portion extending inward of a hole is suppressed to an acceptable level. In order to finish the finished hole 93 with higher accuracy, a cutting process may be performed as required.
In the above known method, formation of the finished hole 93 by the finishing punch 84 needs to be performed between the two chamfered-portion forming steps. It is more advantageous for cost reduction of the manufacturing process to perform the two chamfered-portion forming steps successively or simultaneously. However, it is practically difficult. If punching by the finishing punch is performed after the two chamfered portions are formed, appropriate support cannot be obtained with a die as shown in a comparative example (see FIG. 11) to be explained later. As a result, a shearing position may extend and a required portion may also be removed. Moreover, a sheared shape may become rugged instead of being circular, which is aesthetically problematic.
These problems can be solved by directly supporting the chamfered portion by a conically protruding die having a cut hole in the center. However, this method is problematic in terms of the fabrication cost and durability of the die.

Member having a chamfered through hole and manufacturing method of the same


Treatment of aneurysmal blood vessels with local delivery of therapeutic agents thereby reduces or lessens the severity of an aneurysm, and, where used in conjunction with the placement of an excluding device, provides for more rapid recovery of the blood vessel from any disturbance occurring during placement of the excluding device. Therapeutic agents are placed in the aneurysmal site in a time-release carrier medium, such that the therapeutic agent is released into the aneurysmal site over a period of time without the need to provide systemic introduction of the therapeutic agent. The carrier may be introduced through the patient's dermis, such as with the use of a laparoscope, or intravacularly, through the use of a catheter. The carrier may be in a solid matrix, viscous liquid or liquid form.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to the field of the treatment of body lumens, more particularly to the field of the treatment of blood vessels, and more particularly to the treatment of blood vessel aneurysms with stents, lined stents such as stent grafts, and the use of pharmaceutical agents therewith for the treatment of localized blood vessel phenomena, such as aneurysm.
2. Description of the Related Art
Aneurysm, i.e., the enlargement of a blood vessel at a specific location therein to the point where rupture of the blood vessel is imminent, has been treated in the past by surgical intervention techniques, whereby the affected portion of the blood vessel is removed and is replaced by a synthetic graft. This treatment regimen is highly invasive for the patient, and typically requires a multiple day post-operative hospital stay, as well as several months of recovery time until the patient has fully recovered from the surgery. Additionally, some patients may not capable of undergoing such a procedure due to morbidity or other overall health issues.
To address the limitations imposed by surgical intervention to replace the aneurysmal blood vessel region with an artificial graft, a new technique has been developed by which the aneurysmal blood vessel site is treated by placing a lined stent, known in the art as a stent graft, within the blood vessel in a position by which the tubular body of the stent graft spans the interior of the weakened area of the blood vessel wall. The stent graft, properly positioned, will allow blood to flow through the hollow tubular interior thereof, and also prevent blood, under systemic pressure, from reaching the weakened blood vessel wall at the aneurysmal site spanned by the tubular body thereof. However, there is still the opportunity for blood to reach the weakened wall location, such as through leakage of blood between the stent and the vessel wall and thus into the weakened region, diffusion of blood through the stent material itself, or re-supply of blood into the aneurysmal sac from adjacent blood vessels. In each case, there is a renewed risk that the blood vessel may rupture. Furthermore, there remains a risk of additional deterioration of the blood vessel wall at the aneurysmal location even in the absence of blood leakage into the region isolated by the stent graft or the renewed supply of blood to the isolated region.
Typically, surgical intervention for aneurysm repair is not indicated until the blood vessel diameter, at the aneurysmal site, is at least 150 to 300% of its normal diameter. Below this threshold, the normal course of treatment has been to monitor the site, and if the diameter of the blood vessel wall at the aneurysmal site continues to expand beyond an undesirable threshold diameter, intervene surgically. Recently, it has been found that the application of certain antibiotics and other aneurysmal attack inhibitors, can reduce the severity and/or progression of an aneurysm, and thereby reduce the likelihood of the need for surgical intervention to repair the aneurysm. It is postulated that the antibiotic or other inhibitor reduces the level of an elastin or collagen attacking protein in the bloodstream and blood vessel wall, specifically matrix metalloproteinasis, MMP2 and MMP9. This reduces the severity of an attack based on MMP2 and MMP9 and other MMPs on the elastin cells in the blood vessel wall and thus reduces the severity and the progression of the aneurysm. Antibiotics such as doxycycline, as well as beta adregenic blockage agents, ACE inhibitors, anti-inflammation drugs have been found to suppress aneurysm progression.
Typical antibiotic or other based treatment requires the use of systemic antibiotics, either orally, intra-muscularly or intra-venously introduced, in a dosage sufficient to ensure that the quantity of antibiotic reaching the aneurysm is sufficient to affect the elastin, collagen attacking protein level at the aneurysm site. Thus, far more antibiotic must be used than that needed to treat the aneurysm, because a substantial portion of the antibiotic is directed to locations other than the aneurysmal site. The systemic use of antibiotics to treat localized sites can lead to serious side effects, including the occurrence of drug resistant bacteria, gastrointestinal disruption, and the like. The longer the duration of time that antibiotics are taken, and the higher the dosage, the higher the risk of such serious side effects.
One additional proposed mechanism for treating blood vessels which are in an aneurysmal state, but for which surgery is not yet indicated, is to introduce "micro-spheres" containing a quantity of a therapeutic agent, into the sac space between the sac wall and the stent graft. Such microspheres are constructed to provide a time release of the pharmaceutical agent, and thus provide long term dosing of the aneurysmal site. These microspheres are typically configured to have a diameter on the order of 50 microns or more, such that sufficient therapeutic agent can be carried therein to enable a relatively long-term release of the therapeutic agent from the microsphere into the bloodstream. Because, microspheres of this size can cause substantial complications, such as the blockage of smaller capillaries or distal thrombosis; they are not recommended to be introduced in the blood stream. Additionally, only a small portion of the therapeutic agent released from the microspheres actually reaches the aneurysm, because the majority of the agent becomes distributed throughout the body by the patient's blood. Therefore, although the microspheres provide the patient with longer term regular dosing of the therapeutic agent, and thus free the patient from the need to regularly ingest or inject the agent, y do not provide long term localized delivery of therapeutic agents directly to the aneurismal site.
Therefore, there exists a need in the art for a localized drug delivery system, which will allow timed delivery of therapeutic agents to an aneurysmal site in a blood vessel, after placement of a bypassing element or prosthesis, such as placing a stent graft in the blood vessel to span the aneurysmal site, without the need for systemic application of the therapeutic agent.

In situ blood vessel and aneurysm treatment


A method for adjusting an image on the basis of characteristics of a display system is provided. The image includes M horizontal lines. Each of the M horizontal lines respectively includes N pixels. Each pixel has an original gray level. A look-up table previously stores a plurality of conversion coefficients related to the characteristics of the display system. The method first calculates an ith loading according to the N original gray levels of the N pixels in the ith horizontal line. Based on the ith loading, an ith conversion coefficient corresponding to the ith loading is selected from the plurality of conversion coefficients in the look-up table. The method respectively multiplies the N original gray levels of the N pixels in the ith horizontal line by the ith conversion coefficient to generate N new gray levels for the N pixels in the ith horizontal line, whereby the image is adjusted.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention is generally relative to methods and apparatuses for image processing. More specifically, this invention relates to methods and apparatuses for adjusting an image on the basis of the characteristics of a display system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A plasma display panel (PDP) consists of millions of lighting cells regularly arranged as a matrix. Typically, the lighting cells disposed on the same horizontal line are serially connected to and jointly share a horizontal electrode set consists of a scan electrode and a sustain electrode. Each of the lighting cells is selectively corresponding to one color among red, green, and blue. With the power provided by the horizontal electrode set, gas in the lighting cells discharges electricity and accordingly generates ultraviolet. The fluorescent powder in the lighting cells is then excited by the ultraviolet to selectively generate visible red light, green light, or blue light. Furthermore, by controlling an address electrode for each of the lighting cells, the brightness of one lighting cell can be independently adjusted. That is to say, by controlling the horizontal electrode set and the address electrode, the brightness of one lighting cell can be adjusted.
As described above, all the power of the lighting cells disposed on the same horizontal line is provided by one horizontal electrode set. The power loading for the horizontal electrode set varies with the number of lighting cells being turned on. Through measurements, it can be found that when all the lighting cells on the same horizontal line are turned on, the loading for the corresponding horizontal electrode set is highest. If the power provided from one horizontal electrode set to the lighting cells is fixed, the power provided to one lighting cell is less when the number of lighting cells being turned on is larger. Hence, when more lighting cells on the same horizontal line are turned on, the brightness of the lighting cells is lower. If the loadings of two adjacent horizontal electrode sets are different, the brightness of the two corresponding horizontal lines is also different even all the gray levels of the pixels on the two horizontal lines are the same. Besides, variances in brightness due to loading variations for red lighting cell, green lighting cell, and blue lighting cell are different. Thus, the colors of the two adjacent horizontal lines are different, too. When the loadings of two adjacent horizontal electrode sets are more different, the brightness and colors of the two corresponding horizontal lines differ more from each other. This phenomenon is called loading effect of PDPs. If the loading effect is serious, people can see an obvious horizontal boundary on a PDP screen, hence the quality of an image displayed on the PDP screen is lowered.
Various techniques have been developed for lessening the loading effect of PDPs. For example, changing the structure of a PDP to reducing current and using electrodes with lower resistances to decreasing voltage drops both can lessen the loading effect of the PDPs. Another technique also useful for lessening the loading effect is increasing the driving ability of horizontal electrode sets or changing relative driving waveforms. However, these prior arts are all difficult from the viewpoints of implementation and cost.

Apparatus and method for adjusting image on the basis of characteristics of display system


The present invention provides a gel-like electrolyte having excellent electrolyte solution retention ability. The resin composition contains an electrolyte composition containing a solvent and an electrolyte and a vinylidene fluoride copolymer. The vinylidene fluoride copolymer is a copolymer of vinylidene fluoride and a comonomer represented by Formula (1) below, wherein R1 and R2 are each independently a hydrogen atom or a fluorine atom, R3 is a hydrogen atom, a fluorine atom, or an alkyl group having from 1 to 5 carbons, and R4 is a basic group that is capable of forming an intermolecular hydrogen bond.

Lithium-ion secondary batteries have high energy density, and therefore are used not only in the power source of portable devices, but also in various applications such as hybrid electric vehicles and electric vehicles. In addition, as fields of application have been expanded, a lithium-ion secondary battery is required to have a smaller size and lighter weight, and enhanced safety.
Recently, as a method of making a lithium-ion secondary battery smaller and lighter and as a method to enhance the safety of a lithium-ion secondary battery, a method of using a gel-like electrolyte as the electrolyte is drawing attention. A gel-like electrolyte is an electrolyte that consists of a polymer and an electrolyte solution. However, because a polymer is generally an insulator, there is a problem that the ionic conductivity of a gel-like electrolyte to which the polymer is added decreases.
As a method for suppressing reduction of ionic conductivity, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a secondary battery having a gel-like electrolyte and having an adhesive layer containing a polar group and a polymer chain. Furthermore, Patent Document 2 discloses a vinylidene fluoride-based copolymer containing a fluorine-based monomer and a particular compound, and discloses a gel-like electrolyte that enables the electrolyte solution to be maintained as a solid, i.e., a gel-like electrolyte having electrolyte solution retention ability.
Furthermore, it is known that, as a polymer used in a lithium-ion secondary battery, polyvinylidene fluoride can be used as a binder for a lithium-ion secondary battery (Patent Documents 3 and 4).

Gel-like electrolyte having vinylidene fluoride copolymer


Microwave energy is used to dry air. Moist air is forced through an absorbing or adsorbing material and the material is regenerated by heat from one or more microwave transmitters. The drying material is placed in a magazine, the greater walls of which permit air to pass and at least one of the walls reflecting microwaves. A drying room placed adjacent the magazine contains at least one microwave transmitter. Moving bodies can be used to spread the waves over the magazine surface for even drying. Several combinations of the above components can be used together in several ways based upon the ground components.

It is well known that some materials take up water from moist air. Cellulose and diatomaceous earth are the examples of such materials. The skilled man knows several others. When the material becomes saturated with moisture, no further moisture can be taken up. But the materials can be regenerated (i.e. remove the moisture) with heat. Hot air can be used for regeneration or the materials can simply be put into a container which is then heated.
The absorbing or adsorbing technique and further regeneration is well known. But the regeneration of drying material is to some extent new. In the present inventor's Swedish patent SE 454 849, microwaves are used to regenerate drying materials. The distribution of these waves at a normal atmospheric pressure level is the problem that the present invention deals with.
Drying of compressed air is important for the vessels that contain that air. Here, NO 154 419 and EP 016 385 of a U.S. inventor teach the same heating technique but without the problem of spreading the microwaves over as large a surface as is necessary in ordinary air drying at an atmospheric pressure level. PCT/US78/00128 treats other materials saturated with other gases than the present invention.


A heat shield. The heat shield includes a supporting sheet metal piece having edges, an inner surface and an outer surface; a cover foil fastened on the edges of the sheet metal piece so as to define a thermally insulating air gap with the inner surface of the sheet metal piece; and spacers arranged on the sheet metal piece and projecting into the insulating air gap from the inner surface of the sheet metal piece.

Such heat shields are used in the automobile field to accomplish heat insulation, e.g., between an exhaust, a catalytic converter and the oppositely disposed vehicle components, e.g., a vehicle floor or the like.
EP 0 439 046 shows that it is known to create a heat shield as described above from a foil package, wherein a pad-like member is present, comprising a plurality of metal foils forming a stack, the metal foil layers being arranged one above another in a vertical direction above a sheet metal piece.
Here, the metal foils are embossed so as to form air gaps between the individual metal foil layers, which gaps are intended to considerably improve the insulating effect of the pad-like member.
However, in the above prior art arrangement, the insulating effect is not at an optimum because the embossed metal foils rest directly on the supporting sheet metal piece, and, as a result, produce an undesirable heat transmission therewith.


Disclosed is a hot-rolled steel sheet including, by mass %, C:0.02% to 0.5% of C, and the sum of the content of Si and the content of Al is 1.0% to 4.0%. An average pole density of an orientation group from {100}<011> to {223}<110> is 1.0 to 6.5, and a pole density of a crystal orientation {332}<113> is 1.0 to 5.0. A microstructure includes, by of an area ratio, 2% to 30% of retained austenite, 20% to 50% of ferrite, and 10% to 60% of bainite. rC that is a Lankford value in a direction orthogonal to a rolling direction is 0.70 to 1.10, and r30 that is a Lankford value in a direction forming an angle of 30° with the rolling direction is 0.70 to 1.10.

So as to suppress carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles, weight saving of a vehicle body using a high-strength steel sheet has been in progress. In addition, in order to secure safety of passengers, besides a soft steel sheet, a high-strength steel sheet is frequently used for the vehicle body. Furthermore, for the weight saving of the vehicle body to progress in the future, it is necessary to increase a strength of the high-strength steel sheet in use further than that of the related art. Accordingly, for example, so as to use the high-strength steel sheet for underbody components, it is necessary to improve local deformability for a buffing process.
However, generally, when the strength of a steel sheet is increasing, formability decreases. Therefore, uniform elongation, that is important for drawing or stretching, decreases. In contrast, Non-Patent Document 1 discloses a method of securing the uniform elongation by making austenite remain in a steel sheet.
Furthermore, Non-Patent Document 1 also discloses a method of controlling a metallographic structure of the steel sheet to improve local ductility that is necessary for a bending, a hole expanding process, or a burring process. In addition, Non-Patent Document 2 discloses that reduction of a difference in hardness between microstructures by controlling inclusions so as to control the microstructures into a single structure is effective for bendability or the hole expanding process.
For coexistence between ductility and strength, Non-Patent Document 3 discloses a technology of obtaining an appropriate fraction of ferrite and bainite. In the technology, a metallographic structure control is performed by a cooling control after hot rolling, precipitates and a transformation structure are to be controlled. However, all of the methods are improving methods of local deformability depending on the structure control (a categorical microstructure control), and thus local deformability is greatly affected by a base structure.
On the other hand, Non-Patent Document 4 discloses a technology of improving a material quality of a hot-rolled steel sheet by increasing a rolling reduction amount in a continuous hot rolling process. This technology is a so-called grain refinement technology. In Non-Patent Document 4, large rolling reduction is performed at a very low temperature in an austenite region to transform non-recrystallized austenite into ferrite. According to this, the grains of ferrite that is a main phase of a product is refined, and thus strength and toughness are increased. However, in the production method disclosed in Non-Patent Document 4, an improvement of local deformability and ductility is not considered.
As described above, for improving local deformability of the high-strength steel sheet, the structure control including inclusions is mainly performed.
In addition, in order to use the high-strength steel sheet as members for vehicles, the balance of strength and ductility is needed. For this requirement, hitherto, a TRIP steel sheet, in which transformation induced plasticity of retained austenite is used, is suggested (for example, refer to Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2).
However, the TRIP steel has characteristics in which strength and ductility are excellent, but generally, local deformability such as hole expansibility is low. Therefore, it is necessary for local deformability such as hole expansibility to be improved so as to use the TRIP steel, for example, as a high-strength steel sheet of underbody components.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Hot-rolled steel sheet and production method thereof

NIPPON STEEL & SUMITOMO METAL CORPORATION


A method of signal transmission according to one embodiment includes requesting a packet data serving node to filter a specified traffic flow from among a stream of packets. The method also includes requesting a radio access network to provide an indicated quality-of-service (QoS) treatment for the flow over a wireless air interface. The method further includes rescinding the request to filter or the request to provide a QoS treatment in response to a failure of the other request.

Examples of applications of wireless communications include cordless telephones, paging, wireless local loops, personal digital assistants (PDAs), Internet telephony, and satellite communication systems. A particularly important application is cellular telephone systems for mobile subscribers. As used herein, the term "cellular" system encompasses both cellular and personal communications services (PCS) frequencies, or any other frequencies upon which networks for wireless voice and/or video telephony may operate. Various over-the-air interfaces have been developed for cellular telephone systems including, e.g., frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), and code division multiple access (CDMA). In connection therewith, various domestic and international standards have been established including, e.g., Advanced Mobile Phone Service (AMPS), Global System for Mobile (GSM), and Interim Standard 95 (IS-95). IS-95 and its derivatives, IS-95A, IS-95B, ANSI J-STD-008 (referred to collectively below as IS-95), and proposed high-data-rate systems are promulgated by the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA, Arlington, Va.) and other well-known standards bodies.
Cellular telephone systems configured to comply with a version of an IS-95 standard employ CDMA signal processing techniques to provide highly efficient and robust cellular telephone service. Exemplary cellular telephone systems configured substantially in accordance with the use of one or more of the IS-95 standards are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,103,459 and 4,901,307.
The IS-95 standards subsequently evolved into third-generation or "3G" systems for wireless cellular telephony, such as cdma2000 and WCDMA, which provide more capacity as well as high-speed packet data services. Variations of cdma2000 include cdma2000 1xRTT (radio transmission technology, also called "1x"), as described in the documents IS-2000 (TIA) and C.S0001 to C.S0006 (Third Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2), Arlington, Va.), cdma2000 1xEV-DO (1x Evolution—Data Optimized, also called "DO" or High Rate Packet Data ("HRPD")), as described in the document IS-856 (TIA), DO-Revision A as standardized in C.S20024-A (also known as IS-856A), entitled "cdma2000 High Rate Packet Data Air Interface Specification," v. 1.0, March 2004 or v. 2.0, July 2005 (3GPP2), and cdma2000 1xEV-DV (1x Evolution, Data/Voice). A 1x system offers a peak data rate of 153 kbps, while an HRPD system offers a set of data rates ranging from 38.4 kbps to 2.4 Mbps, at which an access point (AP) may send data to a subscriber station (also referred to as a mobile station (MS) or access terminal (AT)). Because the AP is analogous to a base station in a system for cellular telephony, the terminology with respect to cells and sectors in such a system for wireless packet data services is the same as with respect to voice systems.
Given the growing demand for wireless data applications, the need for very efficient wireless data communication systems has become increasingly significant. One such wireless data application is the transmission of data packets that originate or terminate at packet-switching networks. Various standardized techniques exist for transmitting packetized traffic over packet-switching networks so that information arrives at its intended destination. One class of such techniques is described in the Wireless IP Network Standard IS-835 (e.g., document IS-835D), which specifies operations of Packet Data Serving Nodes (PDSN). A PDSN is responsible for establishing, maintaining, and terminating a packet data session with an access terminal, such as a Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) session over the Internet.
A subscriber station may be configured to execute various applications that receive data from and/or transmit data to the network. These applications may have very different tolerances and requirements in terms of how this data is transported (also called "quality of service" or "QoS" requirements). Non-real-time applications such as e-mail and file transfer (e.g., mp3 files) have variable bandwidth requirements but lax delay and loss requirements. Retransmission of missing or corrupted frames may be useful in non-real-time applications. Telephony applications may have low bandwidth requirements but have low tolerance for frame delay and for variability in the delay (also called "jitter"). Typically the latency from one handset to the other should not exceed 250 msec, and jitter should not exceed 20 msec. While the RLP (Radio Link Protocol) commonly used on a cdma2000 air interface allows for retransmission of frames, such retransmission is not useful for real-time traffic.
A subscriber station may also be configured to execute one or more multimedia applications having different QoS requirements. Streaming of audio and/or video content can tolerate some degree of startup delay and can be buffered to increase tolerance to jitter, while bandwidth and loss tolerance characteristics may vary depending on the particular codec. Interactive applications such as online gaming typically have low bandwidth requirements but very strict delay requirements. Video conferencing has high bandwidth requirements and also requires low delay and jitter.
It may be desirable to support QoS on a per-application-flow basis. A particular QoS treatment for a flow may be negotiated between two points of a packet data transmission (e.g., between a subscriber station and a base station, or between a subscriber station and a PDSN). A request for a particular QoS treatment may specify the bandwidth of the traffic channel, the scheduling of packet data, the scheduling of transmission packets over-the-air, delay sensitivity of the contents, or other factors that may be deemed relevant by a network carrier or service provider. Obtaining a desired level of service may involve requesting QoS processing operations from more than one network entity (e.g., from a base station and from a PDSN).

Systems, methods, and apparatus for quality of service processing


An automobile acoustic unit is provided for installation into an interior of an automobile. The automobile acoustic unit includes an audio source for generating audio signals, a chamber configured to receive and store a cellular phone, and a circuit for controlling and selecting the playback of audio signals from the audio source and signals from the cellular phone.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an automobile acoustic unit, and in particular, to an automobile acoustic unit that allows a conventional cellular phone to be integrated therewith, and which allows for hands-free operation of the cellular phone.
2. Background Art
The use of automobile cellular phones has increased significantly. For the user's convenience and to enhance safety, many conventional automobile cellular phones have been installed in the automobile in a manner to provide hands-free operation and use. For example, in FIG. 1, a support frame 1 is used to support and stabilize the cellular phone 2 on the panel or dashboard 31 of an automobile body 3. Similarly, FIG. 2 illustrates the use of a support frame 1 to support and stabilize the cellular phone 2 adjacent an air-conditioning vent under the dashboard 31. Other cellular phones have been installed adjacent the gear box of the automobile.
Unfortunately, to provide hands-free operation for these conventional automobile cellular phones, additional communication equipment, such as cords and earphones, will have to be installed. These additional cords and earphones cause the interior of the automobile to appear clogged and unattractive. More importantly, the combination of the cellular phone and these additional cords hinder the driver's operation of the automobile. For example, if the cellular phone is installed adjacent an air-conditioning vent, the cold air exhaust may be blocked by the phone and the cords. If the cellular phone is installed adjacent the gear box, the phone and the cords may interfere with the driver's use of the gear stick.
Another drawback associated with the use of conventional automobile cellular phones is that these phones typically consume power from an internal power source within the automobile. The conventional automobile cellular phones are typically attached to a cigarette lighter or other separate power source. If the power source of the cigarette lighter is used, the cigarette lighter itself cannot be used by the driver. If a separate power source is to be installed, the original circuit design of the automobile's electronics must be altered, which can be very costly.
Yet another drawback associated with the use of conventional automobile cellular phones is that the sound quality is often unclear or very poor. One contributing factor is that the signals are often blocked or otherwise impaired by the body of the automobile, since many conventional cellular phones are usually provided with their own antennas that will be carried with the phone inside the automobile during use.
Thus, there remains a need to provide cellular phones for use in automobiles, which cellular phones are not only convenient to use, but which do not hinder or interfere with the driver while enhancing safety during use. There also remains a need for a cellular phone which will provide improved acoustics and sound quality, and improve the interior appearance of the automobile.

Automobile acoustic unit having integrated cellular phone capabilities


A disk recording and reproducing apparatus in which the recorded information is read by using a pair of heads alternately. When recording information, the minimum recording time for each group is controlled to be longer than the maximum seek time. When reproducing information, the minimum reading time required for a reading operation is controll to be longer than the maximum seek time, in order that the seek operation will be completed during the reading operation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a disk playing and recording/reproducing apparatus.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In a recording/reproducing apparatus of DRAW type or EDRAW type disk, it has been customary to record and reproduce (or erase) by means of a single head.
When, to the contrary, a pair of heads are provided with one of the heads used for erasing and the other head for recording, it is possible to erase and record at real time. Also, if one head is used for reading and the other head is driven to a specified address, and if this operation is alternately repeated and reproducing is performed by alternately using a pair of heads, it is possible to continuously reproduce the desired image in any combination.
When recording, a series of information signals are recorded as one group. If the recording time of the information group, which is being read by one of the heads, is shorter than the access time of the other head (in the case where a pair of heads are used alternately on a recorded disk), then the reading operation of one head is completed during the access operation of the other head. Thus the image reproduction operation is interrupted after the completion of reading by one head until the completion of the access operation of the other head.

Disc playing and recording apparatus having a pair of heads controlled to prevent interruptions during play


The present method and apparatus seek to provide cosmetic skin care including application in concert or consecutively of various types of energy to bring about a welcomed combination of skin cleansing and skin rejuvenation and enhancing. There is thus provided, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the current method and apparatus an apparatus for cosmetic skin care including a brush-like head having a multiplicity of bristles attached to one or more carriers at least a portion of which is operative to apply forms of energy to the skin. At least one of the forms of energy is RF energy while other forms include light energy, mechanical energy, ultrasound energy and any suitable combination thereof.

Facial skin is one of the most common skin areas cosmetically attended to. Traditional cosmetic facial skin care involves facial skin massage and skin exfoliation employing cleansing tools such as woven mesh sponges. Such cleansing tools tend to be too harsh for the skin on the face and may cause increased dryness and irritation.
Facial cloths are used to remove dirt, oil and makeup but leave skin debris and clogged pores on the face, leading to facial irritation such as pimples or blackheads.
The practice of using heat energy for cosmetic skin treatment is known. Heating the skin and underlying tissues causes tissue shrinkage and produces the desired cosmetic effect.
The use of RF energy emitting devices for cosmetic skin treatment is also known. Cosmetic RF skin treatment is administered using an applicator coupled with one or more RF electrodes. The electrodes RF energy delivery surface, coupled with the surface of the skin, generate in the skin an electric current that heats the skin and underlying subcutaneous tissues to create the desired effect of tissue shrinkage.
The use of light energy in the form of visible light, infra-red (IR) light or coherent light in cosmetic skin treatment is also used in cosmetic skin treatment. Cosmetic Lasers and LED Light Therapy have shown to contribute to skin rejuvenation and reverse and control the visible signs of aging. Both visible and infrared light have been shown to effect various positive changes at a cellular level.
The application in concert of RF energy, light energy and mechanical massage energy in cosmetic skin care bring about a welcomed combination of skin cleansing and skin rejuvenation, enhancing the appearance of treated facial skin. Such apparatuses however exist for professional use only and the treatment is performed in cosmetic clinics under supervision of qualified personnel.
Recently, the at-home use of personal cosmetic skin care and skin cleansing devices have become popular. The present apparatus and method provide a solution for conducting a cosmetic skin care cleansing in residential conditions by a casual apparatus user. The treatment could result in similar or close to similar cosmetic skin cleansing results, as treatment performed in cosmetic clinic results.

Method and apparatus for cosmetic skin care


To provide a display device, a vehicle-mounted display device, and an electronic device whose chassis are not large with much design freedom. In the present invention, a plurality of light-emitting elements each having a luminescent material sandwiched between a pair of electrodes having transparency, a plurality of liquid crystal elements each having a liquid crystal material sandwiched between a pair of electrodes having transparency are arranged in a display device over a substrate having a mirror surface. Further, a plurality of light-emitting elements each having a luminescent material sandwiched between a pair of electrodes having transparency, a plurality of liquid crystal elements each having a liquid crystal material sandwiched between a pair of electrodes having transparency are arranged in a display device over a substrate having a reflecting surface. The display device is secured to the substrate with a barrier film therebetween.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display device that includes a display element having a transparent electrode. Further, the invention relates to a vehicle used for transport of people or goods and to an electronic device with the use of the display element of the present invention. Still further, the invention relates to a vehicle-mounted display device.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is a technique in which sight to be reflected in a side-view mirror or a rearview mirror provided for a vehicle is increased by applying a display device to the mirror (Reference 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-200936 (FIGS. 4, 5, 16, and 17)). In Reference 1, the following structures are disclosed: the first structure in which a display device itself which is provided on a side-view mirror or the like is used as a mirror, the second structure in which reflection of display is seen in a half mirror or the like, and the third structure in which a mirror and a display device are provided in parallel.
In the first structure in the above reference, since it is preferable to fabricate a display screen is shaped like a rectangle, a mirror using the display device should also be shaped like a rectangle. Accordingly, the design freedom is limited. In the second structure, the thickness of a chassis is increased. Meanwhile, the longitudinal length of a chassis is increased in the third structure.

Display device, and vehicle-mounted display device and electronic

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


The address signal position detection apparatus comprises a photodetector, a first and second adders which generate, from the output signals from the photodetector, two signal sequences whose phases change from each other according to a tracking error of a light spot, a phase difference detection circuit for detecting the phase difference from the two signal sequences, and a phase difference signal processing unit which generates an address signal position using the phase difference signal detected by the phase difference detection circuit, and detects an address signal position by providing threshold values with respect to the detected phase difference, thereby enabling a stable detection of the address signal position even when a DC symmetry in a difference signal of a reproduced signal is imperfect in an optical disk using the land/groove recoding method.

In an optical disk medium using a land/groove recording method, which is typified by a DVD-RAM (Digital Versatile Disk Random Access Memory), signals are recorded on both a recessed recording track formed by a guide groove and a projecting recording track formed between the guide grooves, and further each of the recording tracks is composed of the integer number of recording sectors each having the same length. Further, an address signal portion including information such as track address is added to a head portion of each of the recording sectors. For this type of optical disk medium, a position of an address signal is detected, thereby performing processing such as determining a tracking polarity.
An example thereof is disclosed in Japanese Patent Registration No. 3073744 (Pages 11 and 12, and FIG. 11).
Hereinafter, a prior art address signal position detection apparatus disclosed in the above-described prior art document will be described.
FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a track layout of this type of optical disk medium using the land/groove recording method. FIG. 11 shows a disposition of tracks and recording sectors in one zone and a construction of the recording sectors. As shown in FIG. 11, a track of a groove portion (hereinafter, also referred to as a groove or a recessed portion) shown as black in FIG. 11 (hereinafter, referred to as a groove track), and a track of a portion between grooves (hereinafter, also referred to as a land or a projecting portion) shown as white in FIG. 11 (hereinafter, referred to as a land track) are alternately connected once for every track on the disk, thereby forming a spiral recording track. Further, a recording track is composed of the integer number of recording sectors, and a preformatted address signal portion is added to a head portion of each of the sectors. The preformatted address signal portion is recorded when the optical disk recording medium is manufactured. The address signal portion is composed of two parts of a forward part and a rearward part with respect to the scanning direction. The forward part is displaced from the groove portion onto the outer circumference side on the disk medium by half the groove width and disposed, and the rearward part is displaced from the groove portion onto the inner circumference side on the disk medium by half the groove width and disposed.
An address of a groove portion is added to a forward part of an address signal portion of the groove portion, which is disposed in the address signal portion just before the information recording portion thereof and displaced from the center of the groove portion onto the outer circumference side by half the groove width. On the other hand, an address of a portion between grooves is added to a rearward part of an address signal portion, which is disposed in the address signal portion just before an information recording portion of a recording track of a groove portion on the outer circumference side of the recording track of the portion between grooves by one track and displaced from the center of the groove portion onto the inner circumference side by half the groove width. Consequently, the address of the portion between grooves is added to a rearward part of an address signal portion of a groove portion, which is disposed in an address signal portion just before the information recording portion thereof and displaced from the center of the portion between grooves onto the outer circumference side by half the groove width.
Next, the address signal portions for connecting parts each connecting a land and a groove for every track on the disk, and which parts are aligned in the radial direction of the disk, will be described.
In a recording sector just after a connection point between a recording track of a groove portion and a recording track of a portion between grooves, as the disposition of the address signal in the address signal portion thereof, a forward part is displaced from the groove portion onto the outer circumference side by half the groove width and disposed, just as with the disposition of address signals except in the boundaries. A rearward part is displaced from the groove portion onto the inner circumference side by half the groove width and disposed. An address of the groove portion is added to the forward part of the address signal portion, which is displaced from the groove portion just before the information recording portion thereof onto the outer circumference side by half the groove width and disposed, just address values are added except in the boundaries. On the other hand, an address of the portion between grooves is added to the rearward part of the address signal portion, which is displaced from the portion between grooves just before the information recording portion thereof onto the outer circumference side by half the groove width and disposed.
As described above, a first part which is a part of an address signal is displaced from the center of the groove portion into one radial direction, for example, onto the outer circumference side, by a given distance, and disposed, while a second part which is the other part of the address signal is displaced from the center of the groove portion into the other radial direction, that is, such as onto the inner circumference side, by the same distance as the give distance, and disposed, and when the disk is played back, a tracking error signal, that is, a difference signal of a tracking sensor in the radial direction (in the direction of radius) is binarized by two comparators each having a different threshold value from each other to detect the change. This enables tracking polarities of the respective recording sectors to be determined, thereby detecting a connecting point between a land track and a groove track.
The method for detecting the address signal position is disclosed in the above-described prior art document, and FIG. 12 shows a timing chart for the detection disclosed in the prior art document.
The disposition of grooves and preformatted address signals is shown as the signal disposition on the disk surface in FIG. 12. The first half part of the address signal of the groove portion is displaced from the center of the groove onto the outer circumference side by half the track pitch and disposed, while the latter half part is displaced from the center of the groove onto the inner circumference side by half the track pitch and disposed. Thereby, the address signal dispositions are different between a boundary sector portion at which a land track and a groove track are connected and another normal sector portion as is shown by the signal disposition on the disk surface in FIG. 12. Here, a difference between output signals from photoreceptors of a pickup is taken, thereby obtaining a difference signal used for push-pull tracking servo system like the difference signal shown in FIG. 12.
Then, two levels of threshold values, Lth and Rth, are provided for the comparators respectively so as to detect that prepits are displaced into the left and the right with respect to the direction of travel of a light beam by half the track pitch in the address signal portion, respectively. Thereby, a binarized signal L0 indicating that a tracking of the light beam is displaced into the left side (the inner circumference side) with respect to the tracing direction shown in FIG. 12 and a binarized signal R0 indicating that the tracking of the light beam is displaced into the right side (the outer circumference side) are generated. When the difference signal level is Lth or more, L0 is Hi, while when the difference signal level is Lth or less, L0 is Lo. On the other hand, when the difference signal level is Rth or less, R0 is Hi, while when the difference signal level is Rth or more, R0 is Lo. The states of L0 and R0 are as shown by L0 and R0 in FIG. 12.
As for the address signal, since the groove is modulated by the information and discontinued, and takes a form of pit string, the two binarized difference signals L0 and R0 from the difference signal waveform generation unit (not shown) also have waveforms which are modulated by data signal frequency. Then, each of the pit string waveforms is corrected so as to become a waveform of one consecutive pulse in the first half part and the latter half part of the address signal, with using such as a retriggerable mono multivibrator, in order to be able to detect the presence or absence of the first half part and the latter half part of the address signal on the basis of the two input binarized difference signals. L0 is corrected to generate a binarized corrected difference signal L1 and R0 is corrected to generate a binarized corrected difference signal R1. The states of these corrected difference signals L1 and R1 are as shown by L1 and R1 in FIG. 12, respectively.
However, when the prior art address signal position detection apparatus is constructed as described above, there is a problem that when a DC symmetry is imperfect in the difference signal used for the detection between the forward part and the rearward part of the address information portion, a stable detection of address position cannot be made.
FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an address position detection signal in the case of the DC symmetry being imperfect between the forward part and the rearward part of the address information portion. A reflected light of a light spot obtained by applying a light onto a track of an optical disk medium is received, thereby obtaining output signals s100, s101, s102, and s103 shown in FIG. 13. The output signals are obtained with using a photodetector 10 comprising photoreceptors 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d which are divided into four so as to form a cross-in-square shape as shown by signals on the disk surface in FIG. 13. The prior art apparatus is constructed so as to obtain a difference signal used for detecting an address position by subtracting the sum of outputs from the photoreceptors 10b and 10c in the photodetector 10 from the sum of outputs from the photoreceptors 10a and 10d in the photodetector 10. The difference signal corresponding to the first half part of the address information portion has a DC offset smaller than the difference signal corresponding to the latter half part and the DC symmetry is imperfect between the first half part and the latter half part of the address information portion as shown by the waveform of the difference signal in FIG. 13.
The symmetry of the difference signal becomes imperfect because a deviation of an optical axis with respect to a light reflected on the signal surface of the optical disk medium and the like occur due to such as variations in pickups at the manufacturing, and thereby offsets occur in the output signals s100, s101, s102, and s103 from the photoreceptors 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d.
Accordingly, when the address position is attempted to be detected using the difference signal and the threshold values Lth and Rth, the difference signal does not exceed the level of the threshold value Lth as shown by L1 and R1 in FIG. 13. Therefore, only one of the address position signals can be detected. When only one of the address position signals can be detected, switching between tracking polarities cannot be performed at the boundary between the land and the groove, and thereby a stable tracking servo cannot be performed. When the setting value of the threshold value is changed so as to be shifted closer to the center value in order to avoid the state where only one of the address position signals can be detected, the detection becomes possible. However, when the setting value is shifted too closer to the center value, the fluctuation amount of the difference signal which is generated in the data recording portion exceeds the threshold value when there is a vibration at the tracking, and a data signal is erroneously detected as an address position signal in the data recording portion. Therefore, switching between tracking polarities is performed except at the boundary between the land and the groove, and thereby the tracking servo cannot be stably performed.
As described above, there is a problem that a prior art address signal position detection apparatus cannot stably detect an address position when a DC symmetry is imperfect.

Address signal position detection apparatus, optical disk playback apparatus, and address signal position detection method

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


Disclosed is a heterodyne receiver for low noise and image frequency repression, comprising: a low noise amplifier for receiving an input signal from an antenna and amplifying the signal while reducing a noise figure of the input signal; and a frequency converter for receiving both the input signal outputted from the low noise amplifier and a local oscillation signal, filtering the signals to repress gain of the input signal at an image frequency band and increase gain of the input signal at a signal frequency band, and converting the frequency of the signals to the intermediate frequency band.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a heterodyne receiver including a frequency converter for low noise and image frequency repression being applied to a heterodyne communication system.
(b) Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 shows the image frequency problem of a frequency converter.
As shown in FIG. 1, a desired signal W1 and an image frequency are separated by intermediate frequency WIF from a local oscillating frequency LO in both directions. Both signals are then converted by the frequency converter to the same intermediate frequency.
In particular, distortion of a desired signal increases during frequency conversion when the image signal is large. As a result, an additional function to suppress the image frequency is required.
FIG. 2 shows a brief construction of a heterodyne receiver according to a conventional method.
As shown in FIG. 2, the heterodyne receiver according to a conventional method has a filter located between a low noise amplifier and a frequency converter for suppressing the image frequency.
The filter for suppressing the image frequency in the heterodyne receiver can be implemented as a manual type filter for external usage or as a filter having a Hartely or Weaver construction.
However, the embodiment of above with Hartely architecture or Weaver architecture has the problem of being complicated, so it is typical for a filter for suppressing an image frequency being added between the low noise amplifier and the frequency converter.
FIG. 3 to FIG. 5 show circuits of low noise amplifiers including filters for suppressing an image frequency according to a first, second, and third example of the conventional methods.
First, the low noise amplifier including the filter for suppressing an image frequency according to the first example of the conventional method includes a filter circuit for image suppressing composed of a first inductor L1 and a first capacitor C1 functioning as a filter and an amplifier circuit composed of transistors M1 and M2 and a second inductor L2.
Impedance
<PSTYLE ∈ DENT = 0LSPACE = 130 > |Zf|at a node X is reduced by a series resonance between the first inductor and the first capacitor, and thus a signal current which is applied to the transistor M2 is reduced. As a result, an image frequency gain, Vout/Vin is reduced.
Meanwhile, FIG. 3b shows that the low noise amplifier including a filter for suppressing an image frequency according to the first example has a property for suppressing the image frequency.
Next, the low noise amplifier including a filter for suppressing an image frequency according to the second example of the conventional method has a similar construction to the first example except for the circuit for suppressing the image frequency.
That is, impedance at the node X is reduced by a parasitic capacitance Cx when an Lx is absent as shown in FIG. 4a. Thus, the gain of a CASCODE composed of the transistors M1 and M2 is reduced.
Further, the Cx increases influence of the noise from the transistor M2 and decreases influence of the signal current from the transistor M1 to the transistor M2. Thus, the property of a noise figure of the low noise amplifier worsens.
Thus, the low noise amplifier including a filter for suppressing an image frequency according to the second example has a frequency property of the noise figure as shown in FIG. 4b. From the frequency property, it can be known that the noise figure can be improved by parallel resonance between Cx and Lx at the signal frequency fsig.
The low noise amplifier including a filter for suppressing an image frequency according to the third example is to implement a third filter by properly combining the constructions of the first example and the second example.
The low noise amplifier including a filter for suppressing an image frequency includes a first inductor L1, a capacitor C2, and a variable capacitor C1 as shown in FIG. 5a. The low noise amplifier can modify the image frequency which is desired to be suppressed, by changing the capacitance of C1.
The impedance property of the third filter is shown in FIG. 5b. Impedance
<PSTYLE ∈ DENT = 0LSPACE = 130 > |Zf|at the node X is reduced at the image frequency fimg, and is increased at the signal frequency fsig.
As shown in FIG. 5c, for the input-output property of the amplifier, the Vout/Vin at the image frequency has 'V' type narrowband properties. Correct control of the filter for series resonance at an image frequency is required to suppress the image frequency. On the other hand, the flat input-output property of a proper wideband is provided at around the signal frequency, so correct control for parallel resonance is not required.
Thus, the third filter suppresses the image frequency and offsets the influence of the parasitic capacitance at the node X. The noise property is therefore improved.
FIG. 6 shows a circuit of an active frequency converter according to a first example of the conventional method, and FIG. 7 shows a circuit of an active frequency converter according to a second example of the conventional method.
The active frequency converters shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 provide a conversion gain by using a MOSFET, and are examples without filter circuits.
First, according to the active frequency converter shown in FIG. 6, a single input RF voltage signal is converted to a current signal by the transistor M1 in a drive 11. An LO signal applied from a local oscillator LO is multiplied to the converted current signal by the transistors M2 and M3 with switching functions.
Next, according to the active frequency converter shown in FIG. 7, the differential RF voltage signal is converted to a current signal by the transistors M1 and M2. An LO signal applied from a local oscillator LO is multiplied to the converted current signal by the transistors M3-M4 and M5-M6 with switching functions.
FIG. 6 shows a single balanced mixer circuit wherein the single input signal is inputted to the first drive, and FIG. 7 shows a double balanced mixer circuit wherein the differential input signal is inputted.
FIG. 8 shows the folding of RF and image noise into the IF band with a conventional frequency converter.
As shown in FIG. 8, a frequency component which is inputted to an input port X is composed of a signal component at a signal frequency band and a thermal noise due to a load resistor Rs of the input port at the signal frequency band and the image frequency band.
The signal component, the thermal noise at the signal frequency band, and the thermal noise at the image frequency are converted to signals at the intermediate frequency band in the process of frequency conversion. Thus, a signal-to-noise ratio at an output port Y becomes ½ the signal-to-noise ratio at the input port X, when the conversion gain at the signal frequency band is the same as the conversion gain at the image frequency band.
Thus, the noise figure property of the frequency converter becomes worse by a factor of two (3 dB) when the gain of the frequency converter is 1. That is, the noise figure property can be improved only when the gain of the conversion at the image frequency band is lower than the gain of the conversion at the signal frequency band. Otherwise, the noise figure property worsens.
Meanwhile, most communication systems require image frequency suppression of more than 60˜70 dB to reject an image. However, the conventional method using the filter in the low noise amplifier cannot meet the system requirement. Thus, a device for suppressing an image is further required, apart from the low noise frequency amplifier.

Heterodyne receiver for low noise and image frequency repression

Information and Communication University Research and Industrial Cooperation Group


Timepiece barrel assembly including a barrel arbor including between first and second guide shoulders, a median shoulder carrying a core and a spring mounted between a drum and this core, this barrel arbor including, between this first shoulder and this core a ratchet-holder for securing a ratchet, and this core including, on the same side as and at a distance from this ratchet-holder, a first part for guiding the pivoting of this drum, in immediate proximity to which there is fixed this ratchet at a distance from and on the same side as this first shoulder, and the ratchet-holder directly or indirectly limits the shake of this drum relative to a bearing surface of this core at the edge of a receiving surface for this spring.

In order to increase the power reserve, by increasing the number of turns of a mainspring, one solution consists in decreasing the diameter of the barrel arbour and of the associated core, so as to increase the space available for the spring inside the drum.
The ratio of the core radius to the spring thickness is usually comprised between 10 and 20 and the invention proposes to reduce this ratio to below 10, and preferably to within a range of between 5 and 10.
The sizing must not be too small; there is a risk of breakage if the core diameter is too small.
In the conventional barrel architecture, a ratchet is axially mounted on a barrel arbour or on a core, via a square, with the ratchet usually being secured by an axial screw. The dimension of this screw and that of the square thus define the minimum diameter of a pivot shoulder. A step portion joined to this pivot shoulder limits the endshake of the arbour or of the core relative to a bottom plate or to a bridge carrying a jewel or similar element.
An even larger diameter than that of the step portion is required for a shoulder for guiding the pivoting of the drum on the arbour or on the core, combined with a step portion limiting the endshake of the drum. The dimension chain required to observe minimal sections of material results in substantial dimensions, which are difficult to reduce. In particular, it is not sufficient merely to reduce all of the dimensions, since the cross-sections of material are then insufficient to ensure fatigue resistance.
The precondition for minimising the diameter of the spring-holder core and the diameter of the barrel arbour is limiting any shake as far as possible, on the one hand between the drum and the core, and on the other hand the shake of the core (or the arbour) relative to the bridges. Shake must naturally be adjusted to allow for any expansion or contraction linked to variations in temperature within the range of use of the watch. The barrel architecture must thus allow for compatibility between shakes, with the lowest possible values, while preventing or at least limiting unwanted and energy consuming friction.
The design of a barrel is connected to generally large scale production, and manufacturing costs must be kept at the lowest possible level, with machining operations simplified as much as possible. Naturally, after-sales requirements mean that the barrel must be easy to dismantle, particularly in order to change the spring.
FR Patent No 306103 in the name of Etablissements Parrenin discloses a hollow core, whose length is equal to the thickness of the barrel, in which a longer, removable arbour pivots in a plate and a bridge. The core and the arbour have complementary pivotal drive means, via a square, yet relative axial motion is allowed between the core and arbour, one of the ends of the arbour including a stepped square driving a ratchet. The ratchet is held outside the barrel, beyond the bridge. A drum pivots on a stepped shoulder of the core, and a cover fixed to the drum pivots on another stepped shoulder of the core. The drum shake relative to the core is limited by two stepped portions of these two stepped shoulders in opposite directions. The core shake relative to the arbour is limited, on the ratchet side, by a stepped portion of the arbour cooperating with an end face of the core, while at the other end the other end face of the core bears on the plate. Limiting the shake of the arbour relative to the plate and to the bridge is achieved in one direction, either indirectly, by the core cooperating with the stepped portion of the arbour, or by the ratchet bearing on the bridge, while in the other direction it is necessary to add, beyond the end of the arbour provided with the ratchet drive square, a removable stop member, or an extra bridge, which has the drawback of increasing the necessary thickness inside the movement.
CH Patent No 324249 in the name of COMPAGNIE DES MONTRES LONGINES, FRANCILLON S.A. discloses a ratchet in a single-piece with the barrel arbour between shoulders for guiding the arbour in the plate and the bridge. The barrel arbour includes a pivotal drive means for a core carrying the spring, with a drum and associated cover pivoting on the core and clamping the core with no axial play. The shake of the arbour is limited in one direction by the ratchet bearing on the bridge, and indirectly in the other direction by the core bearing, via a first end surface on an inner surface of the ratchet, with the opposite end surface bearing on the plate. This mechanism has the drawback of requiring a bridge to be removed for any repairs.
DE Patent No 1872388 in the name of EPPLE KG OTERO UHREN discloses a mechanism which is bulky in thickness and wherein shake is limited by a strip-spring cooperating with a groove in the arbour, between the bridge and the drum.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,110,061 in the name of KIENZLE discloses a barrel arbour capped with a core, the arbour including a groove parallel to its axis, in which a longitudinal pin acts as coupling/uncoupling cam between the core and the arbour according to the direction of pivoting of the arbour. The drum pivots on the core, as does the cover fixed to the drum. The length of the core just matches the distance of centres between the plate and the bridge, and the arbour can be fitted into the core after the lateral insertion of the assembly formed by the core, spring, drum and cover. The drum shake is limited by the bridge in one direction and by a stepped portion of the core in the other direction. Here again, limiting the shake of the arbour relative to the plate and to the bridge requires a flange to be added to the bridge to limit the travel of the ratchet, which is detrimental as regards the thickness of the mechanism.
CH Patent No 295135 in the name of BRAC AG discloses a smooth arbour including a head retained by a stepped portion of a centring sleeve of a plate, the other smooth end of the arbour pivoting in a bridge. A drum and a cover grip a core, which is coaxial with the arbour, with axial play and between two shoulders. On the smooth side of the arbour, the core carries a ratchet. The endshake of the core is limited in the direction in which the arbour head is supported in the centring sleeve by the ratchet bearing on a fillet of the bridge, and in the opposite direction by an end face of the core bearing on the centring sleeve. The centring sleeve represents additional thickness for the barrel.
U.S. Pat. No. 182,629 in the name of BARCLAY discloses a safety barrel of more complex execution, including an overload protection mechanism with radially moveable corners pushed by an additional spring.
FR Patent No 1473744 in the name of GHIELMETTI discloses a particular barrel, which includes a cover provided with slots cooperating with lugs of a non-metallic strip inserted between the spring and an auxiliary strip-spring.
These mechanisms either include a core of large diameter leaving little space for the spring, or shake-limiting components which are added to the stack of components required for operation of the barrel, and increase the total thickness of the barrel.

Timepiece barrel assembly with reduced core diameter


A completed, solved game puzzle 10 is a mobius strip made of multiple columns 24 and rows 22 of blocks 20, or block-like pieces. Each block 20 has opposing display surfaces and opposing connecting surfaces which are orthogonal to the display surfaces. The connecting surfaces have mechanisms such as a corresponding peg 30 and aperture 32, respectively, for connecting one block 20 to another block 20. The display surfaces exhibit a color, alphabet 28, number or symbol. The unsolved puzzle is one or more bands of blocks connected by and pivotable about an axis 26 extending through the center of each block 20 parallel to the display and connecting surfaces. The solution to the puzzle may be words or phrases spelled by aligned letters of individual strips, or a predetermined pattern formed from aligned colors or symbols. To solve the puzzle, the blocks of each strip must be connected adjacent the blocks of another strip at appropriate locations.

Game puzzles are entertaining as well as educational. The benefit derived from a game puzzle is in meeting the challenge of solving the puzzle. A mobius strip is a two-dimensional strip one end of which is twisted one-half turn and connected to the other end of the strip to form a ring. Although the original, un-joined strip has two distinct surfaces, the mobius strip has one continuous surface. It can be appreciated that a game puzzle incorporating a mobius strip would be extremely challenging.


Composite membranes capable of separating p-xylene from mixtures including p-xylene and m-xylene, and processes for purifying p-xylene using the membranes, are disclosed. The membranes are polymer membranes with a thickness of between about 10 and 1000 microns that include non-interconnected zeolite particles less than 5 microns. In one embodiment, a relatively thin polymer layer (0.5-3 microns) that includes zeolite particles is adjacent to a relatively thick polymer layer which may or may not include zeolite particles, where the thickness of the two layers is between about 10 and 1000 microns. The preferred ratio of zeolite/polymer is about 0.2 by weight. A preferred method for preparing the composite is by dispersing the zeolite in a polymer solution, casting a film of the polymer solution, and evaporating the solvent to form a polymeric film. The polymer permits passage of p-xylene and m-xylene in the vapor state, such that p-xylene diffuses at the same or a faster rate through the polymer. The polymer is preferably a polyaramide, polyimide or cellulose polymer p-Xylene and m-xylene diffuse through the zeolite, albeit at different rates. The zeolite is preferably an intermediate pore size zeolite, and more preferably, is silicalite or ZSM-5. The composite membrane is preferably in the form of a dense film or a hollow fiber. A mixture containing p-xylene and m-xylene can be enriched in p-xylene by a perstractive, pervaporative or gas-phase process through the membrane.

The present invention relates to separation membranes with the ability to separate p-xylene from mixtures including p-xylene, m-xylene, o-xylene and ethylbenzene.
Para-xylene is a chemical intermediate used in the manufacture of resins, pharmaceuticals, and phthalic acid. It is commonly produced by a reforming reaction, along with ethylbenzene and the other xylene isomers, ortho-xylene and meta-xylene. Para-xylene is typically about thirty mole percent of the product composition.
The recovery of purified p-xylene from this mixture is a difficult and expensive process. Crystallization is the most common industrial method for recovering para-xylene. A limitation of this method is that it is relatively energy and capital intensive. Another method involves simulated-moving-bed (SMB) adsorption followed by crystallization. This method is also relatively expensive, especially since the SMB bed must adsorb a large fraction of the total feed.
Pervaporation, perstraction and gas separation methods have been developed for separating various product mixtures. Mixtures to be separated are contacted as liquids (pervaporation) or vapors (vapor permeation) with one side (the feed side) of a pore-free membrane. Suitable membranes show a high permeation capability (permeability) for at least one component of the mixture, whereas other components will not pass or only pass to a limited extent. The driving force for the transport across the membrane is the gradient of the partial pressure of each permeating component between the feed side and the permeate side of the membrane. At the permeate side one obtains under reduced partial pressure a material stream having a composition different from that of the mixture at the feed side to be separated. The methods of pervaporation and vapor permeation can thus advantageously be used to separate mixtures that are otherwise difficult to separate (such as azeotropic mixtures or components having similar boiling points).
These methods generally employ membranes in the form of sheets, tubes, hollow fibers, and in spiral wound configuration. Hollow fiber, asymmetric membranes are particularly attractive in that the fiber provides high surface area per volume and the asymmetric mode allows for less mass transfer resistance as compared to similar homogeneous materials.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,925,459 discloses a mixed matrix polymer membrane incorporating a zeolite (ZSM-5) and the use of the membrane to separate p-xylene from mixtures of p-xylene and m-xylene. The ratio by weight of polymer to zeolite is greater than 1. A limitation of this approach is that, when the membrane includes a polymer/zeolite ratio this high, the membrane tends to be brittle.
It would be desirable to provide additional devices and processes for isolating para-xylene from a mixture of xylenes and, optionally, ethylbenzene, particularly using membrane technology. The present invention provides such processes.
In its broadest aspect, the present invention is directed to a mixed matrix composite (MMC) membrane capable of separating p-xylene from ethylbenzene and other xylene isomers, and a process for purifying p-xylene using the membrane.
The composite membrane includes a polymer and small, non-interconnected zeolite particles encapsulated in the polymer. The composite membrane is preferably in the form of a sheet, tube or hollow fiber.
The polymer is a polymer that permits passage of p-xylene and m-xylene such that p-xylene diffuses at the same or a faster rate through the polymer. The polymer is generally a polyaramide, polyimide or cellulose polymer.
The zeolite is a zeolite through which p-xylene and m-xylene diffuse, albeit at different rates. The composite permits p-xylene to diffuse through at a faster rate than m-xylene. The zeolite is preferably an intermediate pore size zeolite and, more preferably, is silicalite or ZSM-5. The ratio of zeolite/polymer is typically between about 0.05 and 0.4, preferably about 0.2 to 0.4, by weight. Membranes with significantly higher zeolite/polymer ratios (for example, about 0.65 or higher) tend to be brittle.
A preferred method for preparing polymeric films is by dispersing the zeolite in a polymer solution, casting a film of the polymer solution, and evaporating the solvent to form a polymeric film.
One method for preparing hollow fibers is to melt the polymer, mix in the zeolite particles, and extrude the polymer/zeolite blend through a tubular capillary nozzle with a core fluid used for the purpose of retaining the hollow fiber shape.
Another method involves extruding a polymer spin dope (or spinning solution) formulation including zeolite particles through a spinneret to provide a nascent hollow fiber. The nascent fiber is then contacted with a fluid to coagulate the fiber into a polymer membrane, thus entrapping the zeolite particles in the polymer membrane.
A mixture containing p-xylene and m-xylene can be enriched in p-xylene by a gas-phase, perstraction or pervaporation process through the composite membrane. Pervaporation provides superior selectivity.
Preferred conditions for enriching by perstraction are any combination of feed pressure and temperature where the temperature is just below the boiling point at that pressure. Permeate pressures should be below the feed pressure enough to ensure complete vaporization at the operating temperature. Preferable ranges are temperatures between 30 and 150 degrees Centigrade and feed pressures of 14 psia and 35 psia. Permeate pressures have a preferred range of 0 to 10 inches of vacuum gauge.
In addition to purifying p-xylene and m-xylene, the membranes can be used to separate any molecules that are known to be separated using zeolites, by selecting the appropriate zeolite to incorporate into the polymer membrane.

Purification of p-xylene using composite mixed matrix membranes


The invention allows several users to manipulate complex data interactively, but separately, and then have the results of their inputs merged. It is based on hierarchical planning which matches typical business environments. The planning process is distributed over the management hierarchy and each level may contribute one or more alternative plans for consideration by a superior level. The distribution of the process is carried out using computer-enabled ‘delegation’. Relationships are specified between a dimensional structure and a responsibility structure such that sub-plans and plans using the dimensional structure of a planning data repository (PDR) may be partitioned into components corresponding to the responsibility structure. Part of ‘delegation’ is the process of setting up the conditions, requirements, etc. for a subordinate to draft one or more sub-plans for their particular area. The subordinate then submits one or more of these sub-plans based on these conditions and information in the PDR, as well as on their specific experience and other (local) input. On ‘submission’, this sub-plan is able to be incorporated into higher level sub-plans. During the submission process sub-plans are integrated into a single plan, ensuring overall consistency of the data, and conformance with any constraints defined by users. The process is iterative in nature.

In well-run organisations, plans made by senior management are based on information passed to them by subordinates. All levels of the management of an enterprise might have access to a data repository containing information about the history of the business, sometimes known as a data warehouse.
Business planning applications, among them budgeting and forecasting, are increasingly being integrated into an advanced data warehouse solution in order to maximize the payback of the considerable investment in both the computing facilities and the gathering of the data they contain. Data warehousing enables a company to eliminate an extensive amount of workload generated by various reporting tasks. It also facilitates the standardization of data throughout the organization. The company-wide use of such applications results in improved internal communications and more efficient team work.
In dimensional modeling, a data warehouse contains different dimensions and a fact set related to the business structure. Each dimension represents a collection of unique entities that contribute to, and participate in, the fact set independent of entities from another dimension. The fact set also usually contains transactional data where each transaction is identified by a combination of entities, one from each dimension. Within a data warehouse, each dimension is a table where each record contains a key (or a composite key) to uniquely identify each entity and a list of attributes to qualify or describe the corresponding entity (or key). Each fact record in the fact table contains a foreign key to join to each dimension as well as a list of those measures representing the transactional data.
In its usual form such a data warehouse provides the following potential business benefits, among others:                Assist in identification and understanding of business trends and risks        Assist in identification and understanding of customer behaviour        Assist in improvement in the quality of forecasts        Enabling customer segmentation        Improvement in customer profitability        Improving product and service quality        Enabling smarter marketing and targeting        Optimizing the use of resources
Typically, data warehousing overcomes the conflicts between information requirements and the current operational databases by copying data from the operational or transactional system, often transforming them into a more usable format, and storing them in a separate database optimized for supporting analytical users—so-called Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) and Multi-dimensional OLAP (MOLAP).
Multidimensional navigation and data analysis allow users the freedom to make effective use of the large quantity of data stored in a data warehouse. For example, sales performance may be viewed by company, division, department, salesperson, area, product and customer. Thus, the user can "turn the database cube" to view the information from a variety of desired angles or perspectives, first by department and then by area, for example. A 'drill-down' function allows the user to select a specific area (geographic) of interest and break it down further by product. Further drill-down on a specific product lets the user explore sales by period.
The above is more fully and clearly described in "An Introduction to Database Systems" by C J Date, 7th Edition, 2000, Chapter 21 Decision Support, pp 694-729.
The basic idea of OLAP is that users should be able to manipulate enterprise data models across many dimensions to understand changes that are occurring.
Business planning applications, among them budgeting and forecasting, are increasingly being integrated into an advanced data warehouse solution in order to maximize the payback of the considerable investment in both the computing facilities and the gathering of the data they contain. Data warehousing enables a company to eliminate an extensive amount of workload generated by various reporting tasks. It also facilitates the standardization of data throughout the organization. The company-wide use of such applications results in improved internal communications and more efficient team work.
The deployment of wide area networks, in particular the internet and its enterprise-wide equivalents, has resulted in the potential for revolutionary changes in the way enterprises manage their business internally. For example, a primary advantage of a web-based budgeting application is that it permits and encourages high participation throughout an organization. Users can access the application from around the world, at the appropriate level of detail and security, allowing organizations to adapt quickly and to make rapid changes to their goals and strategies. All relevant employees can participate directly in the budgeting process so that plans are developed using information from those who are actually involved in that area of the business. Users simply enter the data relevant to their function, and a calculation engine automatically generates the corresponding financial data after confirming its compatibility with other related data, and integrating it with that other data. This means that upper management can gain a better understanding of the business unit managers' forecasts and the assumptions underlying them.
Upper management is responsible for the strategic goals of the organization and must often explore so-called "what-if" scenarios. The business unit managers, on the other hand, are responsible for reaching these goals through revenue improvement, cost control, and resource allocation. Through web-based budgeting applications, upper management can set goals and priorities in the system to encourage the accomplishment of required objectives. As well, upper management can input standard rates or key planning assumptions such as salary grade levels, product prices, production capacity, inflation rates, and foreign exchange rates to ensure consistency throughout the plan. Business unit managers together with their upper management can, through a series of iterative steps, develop a plan that is aligned with the strategic goals of the organization. Thus a web-based budgeting application bridges the gap between upper management and the business unit management.
Although a number of products address some of the needs for putting together plans for large enterprises, they each have their shortcomings. Examples are "CONTROL"1 by KCI Computing, Inc. of Torrance, Calif., and "e.Planning"2 by ADAYTUM of Bloomington, Minn. None of these products have the ability to allow multiple alternate plans to be presented to a superior before selection and rollup into that superior's plan. They are all restricted in their ability to allow roles to have significant complexity in more than one dimension. 1™ of KCI Computing, Inc.2™ of ADAYTUM

Computer-based business planning processes

International Business Machines Corporation


A blank gumming method for cigarette packing machines, whereby a blank, presenting a central portion defining the front, rear and end walls of a respective packet, and two lateral portions located on either side of the central portion and defining, by superimposition, the lateral walls of the packet, is gummed in two successive steps, one preceding and the other following mating of the blank with a respective group of cigarettes; one of the two steps being performed by spraying adhesive material.

The present invention relates to a blank gumming method for cigarette packing machines.
More specifically, the present invention relates to a blank gumming method for cigarette packing machines wherein each blank is mated with a respective group of cigarettes, and is folded about the group to form a container, the blank presenting a central portion defining the front wall, the rear wall and two first end walls of the container, and two lateral portions on either side of the central portion and defining, by at least partial superimposition, two second end walls of the container.
Here and hereinafter, the term "cigarette packing machine" is intended to mean both a packing machine in the real sense of the word, i.e. a machine for receiving loose cigarettes and conditioning them into containers consisting of packets formed from respective flat blanks of cardboard or similar, and an overwrapping machine, i.e. a cartoning or boxing machine for receiving the cigarettes already conditioned inside packets or cartons, and for further conditioning them into containers formed from respective flat blanks of cardboard or similar.
For the sake of simplicity, the following description refers, purely by way of example, to actual cigarette packing machines.
GB A-2091162 and EP A-601411 relate to the formation of so-called rigid, hinged-lid packets from a blank made of cardboard or similar, and which, when withdrawn from a feedbox, is placed, still flat, onto a conveyor, and is fed to a spray gumming station where all the portions of the blank to be connected stably to other parts of it and to the group of cigarettes to be conditioned are gummed simultaneously.
The above method presents several drawbacks. In particular, since the blank is folded as it travels through a succession of folding stations distributed along a relatively long folding path, all the in-process packets located along the folding path and downstream from the gumming station must be rejected in the event of stoppage of the packing machine.

Blank gumming method for cigarette packing machines


A semiconductor device manufacturing method is disclosed. The method is to form a second semiconductor layer which has less susceptibility to adopting insulative characteristics than a first semiconductor layer on the first semiconductor layer. Then, grooves which expose portions of the second and first semiconductor layers are formed to extend from the upper surface of the second semiconductor layer into the first semiconductor layer. Next, portions of the first and second semiconductor layers which are exposed to the grooves are changed into an insulator form to fill the grooves with the insulator-form portions of the first semiconductor layer.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a semiconductor device manufacturing method and more particularly to a manufacturing method of a semiconductor device having fine trench isolation.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, as an element isolation region of a semiconductor device, a shallow trench isolation (STI) region is widely used instead of a local oxidation (LOCal Oxidation of Silicon: LOCOS) type element isolation region. The STI region is less subject to mask conversion errors since the "bird's beak" is not grown, unlike the LOCOS region. Further, in the STI region, the isolation region can be formed deeper and the isolation distance between the adjacent active regions can be made large in comparison with the LOCOS region. A semiconductor device having the LOCOS type element isolation region is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,963,817, for example.
The STI region is advantageous for miniaturization, but some difficult conditions occur when the semiconductor device is further miniaturized.
One of the problems is that the aspect ratio of the STI region becomes higher. The aspect ratio is the ratio of the vertical length to the width of a trench and, for example, it is a value of a fraction using the opening diameter W of a trench 200 as a denominator and the depth D thereof as a numerator as shown in FIG. 41. As the aspect ratio D/W increases, the cross section of the trench becomes a long narrow shape.
In order to further miniaturize the semiconductor device, it is necessary to reduce the width of the STI region, that is, the opening diameter W. At the same time, in order to compensate for an isolation distance between active regions which is reduced by reducing the opening diameter W, it is necessary to make larger the depth of the STI region, that is, the depth D of the trench. As a result, the aspect ratio of the STI region becomes higher.
In the STI region with the enhanced aspect ratio or the STI region having the opening diameter reduced, one of the difficult conditions is that it becomes difficult to fill the trench with an insulating material. For example, as shown in FIG. 42, insulating materials 201 overhang the trenches 200 to cover the openings of the trenches 200. If the openings of the trenches 200 are thus covered and closed, it becomes impossible to deposit the insulating materials 201 in the trenches 200 to make the STI structure incomplete.
Reference Document: U.S. Pat. No. 5,963,817

Semiconductor device manufacturing method


Either multiple open slot air jets 2 or multiple closed jets 102 interlacing yarn can be positioned side by side in abutting relationship so that the jets can be positioned in close proximity to decrease the centerline spacing for adjacent yarns. An open slot air interlacing jet 2 includes a yarn channel 20 and a threading slot 42 forming an opening on one side of the yarn channel so that yarn or yarn filaments can be inserted into the yarn channel. An air orifice 40 intersects the yarn channel and high pressure air injected through the air inlet or orifice 40 interlaces or intertwines the yarn or yarn filaments as they are drawn through the yarn channel 20. Thread guides 58, 60 located below the yarn channel axis and the tapered yarn channel sections permit the yarn to be drawn through the yarn channel 20 at an angle relative to the threading slot 42 so that the yarn cannot easily escape from the yarn channel 20. Open jets 2 and closed jets 102 have grooves 52 and 152 respectively located on both sides of the jet bodies adjacent to the bottom surface which receive rods 56, 156 for mounting the jets.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention is related to the air intermingling, interlacing, commingling, or bulking of yarns or yarn filaments with an air jet. More specifically this invention is related to an interlacing jet in which the yarn or yarn filaments are subjected to a turbulent air stream as the yarn or yarn filaments pass through a channel into which high pressure air is injected.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A number of air jet configurations are used to interlace or bulk multifilament yarns. Both closed jet and open jet configurations have been used in prior art applications. The following patents show some of the air jets or air jet inserts that have been used in applications where air is injected into a yarn channel transverse to the axis of the channel and to the yarn.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,146,660 discloses a device for air-bulking multifilament yarn. This device has a two piece body formed by a nozzle unit and a baffle unit that are attached to form a yarn channel. When yarn is inserted in this yarn channel through a threading slot, air is injected through the nozzle unit to intermingle the multifilament yarn. Thread guides in the form of glued-in sapphire pins are inserted in the nozzle unit at both ends of the yarn channel. These thread guides position the yarn to maintain a minimum distance from the nozzle section.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,010,631 also discloses an air nozzle with a continuous yarn channel with an open treading slot. A baffle wall section opposed to a nozzle wall section is configured so that the air stream deflected by the baffle wall section does not enter the threading slot. The stated purpose for this configuration is to prevent filaments and filament bundles from being carried along with the airstream so that they will not impinge upon the edges of the threading slot and be damaged.
European Patentschrift 0 564 400 B1 discloses a device for intermingling multifilament yarn in which opposite walls of a yarn channel are convexly curved so that the distance between the two wall surfaces gradually increases from a minimum at the outlet of a jet nozzle toward both ends of the yarn channel. Thread guides are positioned at both ends of the yarn channel and both thread guides are at the same elevation so that the yarn cannot follow the curved surface of the yarn channel and the position of the yarn relative to a threading slot remains essentially constant along the axis of the yarn channel.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,430,780 discloses a fluid flow commingling jet having a threading slot that extends substantially tangentially relative to the yarn channel. A fluid flow pin is mounted on a plate having yarn guide located at one end of the yarn channel. The position of the fluid flow pin alters the fluid flow characteristics of the jet to produce a forwarding action. A prior art closed jet with a tapered yarn channel to cause air to flow in the direction in which the thread is moving is also described.