A rotation speed of a heating roller 39a and a pressure roller 39b is variably controlled by a CPU 542 based on a sheet size to be printed, a direction the sheet is to be passed, and a number of sheets to be printed. Specifically, variable control of the rotation speeds of the heating roller 39a and the pressure roller 39b by the CPU 542 is based on an occurrence of a pass-through area 39b1 and a non-pass-though area 39b2 by a sheet of recording paper with respect to a roller lengthwise direction (axial direction) of a position at which the sheet of recording paper passes between the heating roller 39a and the pressure roller 39b, and controlled based on a thermal expansion coefficient of a roller diameter of the non-pass-though area 39b2 of the pressure roller 39b.

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) on Patent Application No. 2004-004346 filed in Japan on Jan. 9, 2004, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
The present invention relates to image forming apparatuses such as scanner devices, copying devices, facsimile devices, and compound machines that incorporate any of these devices, and methods for controlling fixing mechanism portions.
Conventionally, with image forming apparatuses such as scanner devices, copying devices, facsimile devices, and compound machines that incorporate any of these devices, a sheet of recording paper on which a toner image has been transferred is passed through a fixing mechanism portion and the toner image is thermally fixed onto the sheet of recording paper by the fixing mechanism portion. The fixing mechanism portion is provided with a pair of roller members arranged in opposition to each other and at least one of these members is constituted as a heating roller that acts as a heat source for fixing. That is, the toner image is thermally fixed onto the sheet of recording paper by transporting the sheet of recording paper while it is supported sandwiched between the pair of roller members.
In this regard, with this kind of fixing mechanism portion, it has been proposed that the warming up time of the device can be shortened and its energy efficiency improved without increasing the electrical power consumption (power supply) of the device by making the roller body thinner to reduce its thermal capacity.
However, when using a roller body that has been made thinner in this way, the roller body's thermal transferability in the axial direction is reduced due to being made thinner. For this reason, it becomes difficult to keep the entire roller body at a uniform temperature. For example, when a sheet of recording paper of a size smaller than the roller body's heating range has passed through, in contrast to the passed-through portion of the sheet of recording paper where heat has been absorbed by the sheet of recording paper, since heat is not absorbed at the portion where the sheet of recording paper does not pass through, an excessive rise in the roller temperature (hereafter, "irregular temperature rise at portions un-passed by paper") occurs at this portion. When a sheet of recording paper larger than the above-mentioned size is passed through under conditions in which such an irregular temperature rise at portions un-passed by paper has occurred, risks are posed such as excessive fixing at the portion of the excessive temperature rise, changes to the glossiness of the toner on the sheet of recording paper, and excessively fixed portions causing high-temperature offset such that toner adheres to the heating roller.
In order to avoid this irregular temperature rise at portions un-passed by paper, conventional fixing mechanism portions have a plurality of heaters of different heating ranges arranged inside the roller body, and heaters to which electricity is to be supplied are selected according to the size of the sheet of recording paper to be passed through (for example, see JP 2003-177627A).
FIGS. 8 and 9 show the internal structure of a conventional fixing mechanism portion 39 and an overall configuration of a heating roller and a configuration of a control circuit therein.
As shown in these drawings, a heating roller 39a is provided with a roller body 391 as a fixing member, halogen heaters 392 as heating means for heating the roller body 391, temperature sensors 393A and 393B constituted by a temperature detection means for detecting a surface temperature of the roller body 391, a control circuit 540, and a pressure roller 39b arranged in opposition so as to be opposing the heating roller 39a.
The halogen heaters 392 are arranged inside the roller body 391 and are provided with a main heater 392a positioned as a heater aligned with a center reference of a sheet of recording paper in a central portion of the roller axial direction and sub-heaters 392b arranged on both sides on the main heater 392a in the axial direction. The main heater 392a is positioned below the roller axis. On the other hand, the sub-heaters 392b are positioned above the roller axis. The main heater 392a and the sub-heaters 392b are constituted by a filament F accommodated inside a glass tube G, and the filaments F are formed such that portions corresponding to areas to be heated by the heaters 392a and 392b serve as heat-generating locations. Infrared rays are irradiated to achieve a predetermined thermal distribution by applying electricity to the filaments F from the control circuit 540 and the inner surface of the heating roller 391 becomes heated. Furthermore, the main heater 392a and the sub-heaters 392b are respectively and independently temperature-controlled by the control circuit 540.
The roller body 391 is heated by the halogen heaters 392 (the main heater 392a and the sub-heater portion 392b) to a predetermined temperature (for example, 200° C.) and thus heats a sheet of recording paper P, which is a recording medium, that passes through a nip area K (nip area K between the heating roller 39a and the pressure roller 39b) of the fixing mechanism portion 39. Furthermore, the heating roller 39a is provided with a core 39a1, which is the body thereof, and a mold release layer 39a2 formed on an outer surface of the core 39a1 to prevent the toner on the sheet of recording paper from offsetting.
A ferrous material such as iron or stainless steel for example, or an alloy of these, is used for the core 39a1. It is also possible to use a metal such as aluminum or copper. For the mold release layer 39a2, a fluorocarbon resin such PFA (a copolymer of tetrafluoroethylene and perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether) and PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene), silicone rubber, or fluorocarbon rubber is used.
The pressure roller 39b is structured such that it has a heat-resistant elastic material layer 39b2 such as silicone rubber around the outer surface of the core 39b1 of iron, stainless steel, or aluminum, or the like. A mold release layer may be formed with the same fluorocarbon resin as in the case of the heating roller 39a on the surface of the heat-resistant elastic material layer 39b2 of the pressure roller 39b. It should be noted that the pressure roller 39b is configured such that it is pressed against the heating roller 39a with a force of approximately 200 N by an elastic member such as a spring not shown in the drawings, and in this way the nip area K is formed with a predetermined width between the pressure roller 39b and the heating roller 39a.
On the other hand, the control circuit 540 is configured so as to control the heating roller 39a at a fixing temperature (200° C.) with a direct heating method using the halogen heaters 392. That is, the control circuit 540 is provided with drivers 541 that supply electricity to the heaters 392a and 392b, a driver 544 that rotationally drives the roller body 391, a CPU 542 that controls the drivers, and input circuits 543 that receive detection signals from temperature sensors 533A and 533B, and is configured to maintain the surface temperature of the heating roller 39a at the fixing temperature by alternating the state of power supply to the heaters 392a and 392b based on the detection signals from the temperature sensors 533A and 533B. Specifically, the state of the power supply to the main heater 392a is alternately based on a temperature detection signal from the main temperature sensor 533A positioned in the range heated by the main heater 392a. On the other hand, the state of the power supply to the sub-heaters 392b is alternately based on a temperature detection signal from the sub temperature sensor 533B positioned in the range heated by the sub-heaters 392b.
Then, while electricity is supplied to only the main heater 392a when a small-size sheet is passing through, electricity is supplied to both the main heater 392a and the sub-heaters 392b when a large-size sheet is passing through. In this way, it is possible to heat only the area on the roller body 391 on which the sheet of recording paper passes through.
In this regard, with such power supply control for the main heater 392a and the sub-heaters 392b, although it is possible that only the main heater 392a is supplied electricity (ON) while the sub-heaters 392b are not supplied electricity (OFF) when a small-size sheet is passing through, if the sub-heaters 392b are completely turned OFF, the temperature drops extremely at the axial-direction end portions of the heating roller 39a, and then, even when electricity supply (ON) to the sub-heaters 392b is started in order for a large-size sheet to be subsequently passed through, there is a problem in that the temperature at the axial-direction end portions of the heating roller 39a does not rise rapidly and a fixing deficiency occurs due to an insufficient amount of heat. For this reason, with conventional image forming apparatuses, the sub-heaters 329b are not turned OFF completely even when a small-size sheet is being passed through, and a standby heating is performed such that the temperature at the axial-direction end portions of the heating roller 39a is maintained to a certain extent by intermittently alternating the ON and OFF control. Specifically, if full electricity supply is given as 100%, then electricity supply of 30% is carried out with ON-OFF control. In this way, the above-mentioned fixing deficiency problem is solved when transitioning to printing of a large-size sheet.
On the other hand, control is performed by carrying out ON-OFF control of the sub-heaters 329b when printing a small-size sheet such that the central portion of the heating roller 39a to which the small-size sheet is to be passed through becomes a set fixing temperature in consideration of such factors as heat conduction to the sheet of recording paper, and the temperature at the axial-direction end portions of the heating roller 39a is raised to the temperature of standby heating when continuing to successively print small-size sheets since the sheets of recording paper do not pass through.
FIG. 10 shows an example of temperature distribution in the axial direction of the heating roller 39a. The curved line shown as a solid line in this drawing represents the temperature distribution when a small-size sheet has passed through and the curved line shown as a broken line represents the temperature distribution when a large-size sheet has passed through.
As shown in FIG. 10, when large-size sheets are passing through, the entire axial-direction length of the heating roller 39a is controlled at approximately the set fixing temperature no matter how many sheets are printed, but when small-size sheets are passing through, although control of the set fixing temperature is achieved at the beginning of printing, the temperature at the axial-direction end portions of the heating roller 39a continues to be raised by the preheating amount and, in accordance with the increasing number of printed sheets, the temperature becomes higher than the set fixing temperature (shown by the numerical symbol 81 in this drawing). As a result of measurements with an actual device, it was found that a temperature gap T at this time was in the range of 30° C. to 40° C.
Further still, a discrepancy in the thermal expansion of the pressure roller 39b itself, which is arranged in opposition to and pressed against the heating roller 39a, was caused due to the occurrence of the temperature gap T, and the diameter itself of the pressure roller 39b was different in the axial direction at a central area (paper pass-through area) and end areas (paper non-pass-through areas) due to this discrepancy in thermal expansion. As shown in FIG. 11, the difference in roller diameter is such that L1 (paper non-pass-through areas)>L2 (paper pass-through area) and the diameter of the paper non-pass-through areas becomes larger than the diameter of the paper pass-through area. In FIG. 11, the L2 portion is the portion at which small-size sheets pass through.
Incidentally, in recent years, an increasing number of image forming apparatuses employ a buildup system in order to achieve device compactness and a reduction in the area occupied by the device. That is, there are many formations in which there is a paper-supply portion for storing and transporting sheets of recording paper at the lowest part of the device, an image-forming portion directly above the paper-supply portion, and a document reading portion at the highest portion part of the device.
In such devices, a sheet of recording paper is transported substantially vertically, and at this time the transport force of the sheet of recording paper is subject to the influence of gravity. For example, when the sheet of recording paper passes through the transfer mechanism portion and is transported to the fixing mechanism portion, the sheet of recording paper naturally has an inclination to fall in the direction of the transfer mechanism portion due to the influence of gravity. For this reason, ordinarily it is usual for the peripheral roller speed of the fixing mechanism portion (paper transport speed) to be slightly faster than the speed at which the sheet of recording paper passes through the transfer mechanism portion (peripheral roller speed of transfer mechanism portion), and the speed ratio thereof becomes [(speed at which sheet of recording paper passes through transfer mechanism portion):(speed at which sheet of recording paper passes through fixing mechanism portion)=1.0:(1.02 to 1.005)].
With devices that transport the sheets of recording paper substantially vertically in this way, when the paper width closely resembles the approximate total length of the fixing rollers (the heating roller 39a and the pressure roller 39b) of the fixing mechanism portion by which the sheets of recording paper are carried, there is no discrepancy in thermal expansion such as that described above at the pressure roller 39b, and therefore the fixing and transfer processes can be carried out normally with the above-mentioned speed ratio.
However, when the width of the paper to be transported is that of paper that is narrow (such as for lengthwise transport of a small-size sheet) with respect to the fixing rollers (the heating roller 39a and the pressure roller 39b), temperature unevenness occurs as described above at the central area (paper pass-through area) of the fixing rollers (the heating roller 39a and the pressure roller 39b) at which the sheets of recording paper pass through and the side areas (paper non-pass-through areas) at which the sheets of recording paper do not pass through, and a discrepancy occurs in the thermal expansion of the pressure roller 39b due to this temperature unevenness such that the pressure roller diameters of the paper pass-through area and the paper non-pass-through areas become different as shown in FIG. 11. Since the paper transport speed of the fixing rollers is determined by the peripheral roller speed of the large-diameter non-pass-through areas of the pressure roller 39b, the relative speed ratio changes with respect to the paper transport speed in the transfer process. Specifically, the paper transport speed in the fixing process becomes gradually faster with respect to the paper transport speed in the transfer process in accordance with the thermal expansion of the paper non-pass-through areas of the pressure roller 39b. This disparity becomes conspicuous during successive printing.
The present inventors conducted tests regarding the extent of change in paper transport speeds during the fixing process in successive printing. In these tests, the dimensional error (magnification change) of documents and printing was measured in respective locations at a leading edge area, a central area, and a trailing edge area of sheets of recording paper when 50 sheets were successively printed in the respective cases of when A4-size sheets of recording paper were inserted sideways with respect to the paper transport direction (so called "sideways transport") and when the sheets were inserted lengthwise (so called "lengthwise transport"). The results thereof are shown in FIG. 12. FIG. 12A is the test results for when A4-size sheets of recording paper were transported sideways and FIG. 12B is the test results for when A4-size sheets of recording paper where transported lengthwise.
The case of sideways transport of A4-size sheets of recording paper corresponds to the passage of paper for large-size sheets and, as shown by the broken line in FIG. 10, the entire axial-direction length of the heating roller 39a is controlled at approximately the set fixing temperature no matter how many sheets were printed. Accordingly, there is no temperature unevenness of the heating roller 39a and no discrepancy in thermal expansion occurs in the pressure roller 39b that is arranged in opposition to it. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 12A, dimensional error (magnification change) of the document and the printing is not related to the number of printed sheets and the difference between the leading edge area and the trailing edge area of the sheets of recording paper is kept approximately constant.
In contrast to this, the case of lengthwise transport of A4-size sheets of recording paper corresponds to the passage of paper for so-called small-size sheets and, as shown by the solid line in FIG. 10, temperature unevenness occurs at the paper pass-through area and the paper non-pass-through areas such that, as shown in FIG. 11, the diameter of the pressure roller 39b is different at the paper pass-through area and the paper non-pass-through areas. The difference in the diameter of the pressure roller 39b increases according to the increase in the number of sheets printed. As a result of this, as shown in 12B, although the dimensional error at the leading edge area of the sheets of recording paper is not related to the number of sheets printed and is maintained at approximately 98.8%, this changes by approximately 0.5% from 99.3% to 98.8% at the trailing edge area of the sheets of recording paper according to the increase in the number of sheets printed. And it was found that this variation in dimensional error was a cause of transfer misalignment at the trailing edge area of the sheets of recording paper.
That is to say, when a sheet of recording paper being transported has a length that substantially spans the transfer roller and the fixing roller, the printing at the leading edge area of the sheet of recording paper is controlled according to the speed of the transfer roller and the printing of the trailing edge area is controlled according to the speed of the fixing roller, but in the case of successive printing, since the transport speed of the fixing roller gradually becomes faster in comparison to the transport speed of the transfer roller with each increase in the number of sheets printed, the trailing edge area (transfer side) of the sheets of recording paper becomes strongly pulled on by the fixing roller and transfer misalignment occurs at the trailing edge area side of the sheets of recording paper.

Image forming apparatus and method for controlling fixing mechanism portion


The present application discloses a method and system for transmitting a Broadcast/Multicast Service (MBMS), which is used for solving the problem that macro cell coverage of the MBMS and macro diversity combining of multi-cells cannot be implemented efficiently based on a frame structure of the existing Time Division-Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA) system in prior art. The method includes: mapping a channel estimation code and data symbols of a Broadcast/Multicast Service to a resource unit, wherein the channel estimation code is mapped in front of the data symbols in a signal frame at a time slot for all services or a time slot for the MBMS; and transmitting the resource unit. Using the present application, efficiency and performance of transmitting a MBMS are improved, and the multi-cells combining of the MBMS and deployment of the MBMS with a macro cell mechanism are implemented efficiently.

Numerous multimedia application services, such as Video-On-Demand, television broadcast, video conferencing, online education, and interactive games, have emerged along with rapid development of mobile communication and the Internet, and a plurality of users need to receive the same data simultaneously. These mobile multimedia services are characterized by a large amount of data, a long duration, etc., as compared with general service. For effective utilization of mobile network resources, the Third Generation Mobile Communication Standardization organization (i.e. 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP)) has proposed the Multimedia Broadcast/Multicast Service (MBMS). The MBMS refers to a point-to-multipoint service for transmitting data to a plurality of users from one data source, which enables sharing of network resources including mobile core network and access network resources, particularly air interface resources. The MBMS is different from the existing Cell Broadcast Service (CBS) in a mobile network. The CBS is a message-based service which allows low bit rate data to be transmitted to all users via a cell shared broadcast channel. The MBMS defined by the 3GPP can accomplish not only the multicast and broadcast of plain-text and low rate messages but also the multicast and broadcast of high rate multimedia services, e.g., a mobile TV service.
To efficiently utilize radio resources, network sides in broadcast and multicast modes typically transfer information to multiple User Equipments (UEs) using a common wireless channel. At present, it is defined in a 3GPP protocol that a transmission channel bearing point-to-multipoint transfer in the MBMS is a Forward Access Channel (FACH) and a corresponding physical channel is a Secondary Common Control Physical Channel (S-CCPCH). Because the Multimedia Broadcast/Multicast Service has a large amount of data and reception objects positioned in multiple points at uncertain positions, the same information needs to be transmitted by multiple network equipments through omnidirectional transmission at relatively large power, so that the whole cell can be covered by the transmitted information. In the case of a single frequency operation, a relatively large interference may occur between adjacent cells supporting the MBMS, so that performance of the system is reduced and the application of the Broadcast/Multicast Service is constrained.
In the existing MBMS protocols, selective combining and soft combining modes for the point-to-multipoint transmission are also defined to reduce the interference between the adjacent cells. The selective combining is achieved by the counting of a Radio Link Controller Protocol Data Unit (RLC PDU). That is, when MBMS wireless bearer rates of the adjacent cells are close to each other, and MBMS data streams from different cells do not exceed capability of reordering of a User Equipment Radio Link Controller (UE RLC), the UE may perform the selective combining. The soft combining mode requires a physical layer of a terminal to be capable of combining bit data from physical channels of different wireless links. For example, the terminal combines S-CCPCHs of two network equipments. To achieve the combining, the different S-CCPCHs need to adopt the same transmission format combination and the same data field, and the network side needs to determine cells that may be combined and directly notify the terminal about wireless frames of the S-CCPCHs that need to be combined.
However, in an existing Time Division Duplex (TDD) system, there is no requirement of macro diversity for the UE. The so-called macro diversity means that the UE maintains communicating with two or more network equipments simultaneously, so as to improve quality of the received signal. Therefore, a UE receiver with general design cannot meet the requirement of the above mentioned selective combining and soft combining for the MBMS.
Moreover, in a wireless frame structure of an existing Time Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA) system as shown in FIG. 1, each wireless subframe has duration of 5 ms and occupies 6400 chips in total, and is composed of 7 normal service time slots and 3 special time slots. As shown in FIG. 2, burst structure parameters of a normal service time slot include a training sequence (a channel estimation code) for channel estimation positioned in the middle of the burst structure, data symbols for transmitting service data and positioned at the both sides of the burst structure, and a Guard Period (GP) which is a duration extension for guarding the next time slot. In FIGS. 1 and 2, duration Tc of one chip is 0.781 μs, duration Tts of one time slot is 675 μs, duration T of the channel estimation is 0.781×144=112.5 μs, and duration Tgp of the Guard Period is 0.781×16=12.5
The capability of receiving multipath of the MBMS (that is, the capability of receiving multipath energy from multiple cells) depends on a size of an extension cycle window in the structure of the channel estimation code. If a signal falls outside the extension cycle window, the existing channel estimation based on a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) method cannot be achieved. Since it is required that the multipath of the MBMS does not interfere with other service time slots, a size of the Guard Period in the time slot structure also constrains the capability of receiving the multipath of the MBMS. That is, the capability of receiving the multipath of the MBMS depends on the two parameters of the extension cycle window and the Guard Period of the channel estimation code. In the existing TD-SCDMA system, the values of these two parameters each are 16 chips, which is equivalent to a transmission distance of d=12.5×10-6×3×108=3750 m=3.75 km. Such a transmission distance indicates that a signal from a cell beyond 3.75 km does not fall within a valid multipath reception window, instead brings about interference. Further, a radius of a cell is limited to be within 3.75 km, so that the coverage of the cell is reduced.
In view of the above, based on the structure of a wireless frame of the existing TD-SCDMA system, a scheme of time diversity combining and a scheme of macro diversity based on joint detection are proposed for the TDD system. In the method of time diversity combining, the time when the same information is transmitted from different cells is controlled so that the information arrives at the terminal at different time slots, accordingly, the UE sequentially processes the information from the different cells at the different time slots and then combines the processed information, thereby avoiding the requirement for the UE to perform reception from multiple links simultaneously. To realize the time diversity combining, the cells bearing the MBMS are divided into different sets, each of which is assigned to a unique time slot or time slot combination, and the time slots or time slot combinations do not overlap in time. When a set of cells transmits information at the assigned time slot, other sets of cells are in an inactivated state. Data is received by the UE from the different sets of cells, and combined at the physical layer or an RLC layer. As shown in FIG. 3, three time slots (t1, t2, and t3) are assigned for the MBMS transmission. The same signals from different cells are received by the UE at the three time slots t1, t2 and t3, respectively, and are combined at the physical layer or the RLC layer to improve the reception performance. In the scheme of time diversity proposed for the TDD system, the interference between the adjacent cells is reduced at the expense of channel capacity. For example, the above three time slots t1, t2 and t3 are assigned to three MBMS sets, respectively. When the time slot t1 is used by a set 1, data cannot be transmitted from sets 2 and 3 at the time slot t1, which wastes the system resources greatly. Such scheme satisfies the MBMS service performance at the price of an increase of the consumed system resources, and therefore is not adopted in the present product application implementation of the MBMS. As for the scheme of macro diversity based on joint detection, both the limited capability of the joint detection of a terminal (which supports joint detection of only 3-4 cells at present) and broadcast service limitation due to the structure of the wireless frame of the existing TD-SCDMA system limit the number of cells of the macro diversity based on the joint detection method at the terminal, thus the macro diversity combining of multi-cells and the macro cell coverage for the MBMS cannot be efficiently achieved.
Further, in a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, the 3GPP organization adopts a modulation mode of Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplex (OFDM) in the evolution design of a 3G system (Frequency division duplex (FDD) and Time division duplex (TDD)), where a macro diversity of a Single Frequency Network (SFN) mode is adopted for the evolution of the MBMS technology and a frame structure with a long Cyclic Period (CP) is adopted to implement the SFN macro diversity technology.
The implementation scheme of the existing SFN technology is as follows: the same temporal resources, frequency resources, scrambling code and channel estimation code used for a broadcast service are collectively allocated for all cells in the SFN network, and the temporal resources, the frequency resources, the scrambling code and the channel estimation code are also used by a UE in a cell to receive the broadcast service, that is, as long as a signal from a cell in the SFN network falls within the window of a multipath receiver of the UE, the UE may integrate energies of all such signals falling within the reception window directly at an air interface to thereby improve greatly reception performance of the broadcast service. The purpose of the design of the frame structure with a long CP is to expand the multipath reception window of the UE, to enable the UE to receive a broadcast signal from a farther cell.
To sum up, the diversity technology adopted based on the frame structure of the existing TDD TD-SCDMA system can efficiently implement neither the macro cell coverage of the Broadcast/Multicast Service, nor the macro diversity combining of more cells.

Method and system for transmitting a broadcast/multicast service

China Academy of Telecommunications Technology


A composition comprising an oligonucleotide having the structure 5′-Y1-L1-X-L2-Y2-3′. Y1 comprises a sequence of one or more DNA or RNA nucleotides, including a first nucleotide N1 having a 3′ phosphate covalently linked to L1. Y2 comprises a sequence of one or more DNA or RNA nucleotides, including a second nucleotide N2 having a 5′ phosphate covalently linked to L2. L1 and L2 each independently are a direct bond or a C1-C7 alkyl, alkynyl, alkenyl, heteroalkyl, substituted alkyl, aryl, heteroaryl, substituted aryl, cycloalkyl, alkylaryl, or alkoxyl group. X is

Fluorescent energy transfer probes are an important tool in genetic analysis. These probes, also known as dual-labeled probes (DLPs) or self-quenching probes, are generally comprised of a fluorescent donor (a fluorophore) and a quencher linked to an oligonucleotide. This basic design, wherein a signal change is detected once the probe hybridizes to its intended target, is used in a variety of biological applications.
One method for detecting hybridization using fluorophores and quenchers is to link fluorescent donors and quenchers to a single oligonucleotide such that there is a detectable difference in fluorescence when the oligonucleotide is unhybridized as compared to when it is hybridized to its complementary sequence. In so-called molecular beacons, a partially self-complementary oligonucleotide is designed to form a hairpin and is labeled with a fluorescent donor at one end of the molecule and a quencher at the other end (U.S. Pat. No. 5,925,517). Intramolecular annealing to form the hairpin brings the donor and quencher into close proximity for fluorescent quenching to occur. Intermolecular annealing of such an oligonucleotide to a target sequence disrupts the hairpin, which increases the distance between the donor and quencher and results in a detectable increase in the fluorescent signal of the donor.
Oligonucleotides are not required to form a hairpin structure for this method to work efficiently. The fluorophore and quencher can be placed on an oligonucleotide such that when it is unhybridized and in a random coil conformation, the quencher is able to quench fluorescence from the fluorophore (U.S. Pat. No. 5,538,848). Once the oligonucleotide hybridizes to a complementary nucleotide sequence it becomes more extended and the distance between the fluorophore and quencher is increased, resulting in reduced quenching and increased fluorescence.
Oligonucleotides labeled in a similar manner can also be used to monitor the kinetics of PCR amplification. In one version of this method, commonly known as a 5′-nuclease cleavage or hydrolysis assay, an oligonucleotide probe is designed to hybridize to the target sequence on the 3′ side ("downstream") of one of the amplification primers. During PCR, the 5′-3′ exonuclease activity of the DNA polymerase digests the 5′ end of the probe thereby separating the fluorophore from the quencher. The fluorescence intensity of the sample increases as an increasing number of probe molecules are digested during the course of amplification (U.S. Pat. No. 5,210,015).
DLPs find use in other molecular/cellular biology and diagnostic assays, such as in end-point PCR, in situ hybridizations, in vivo DNA and RNA species detection, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) analysis, enzyme assays, and in vivo and in vitro whole cell assays (see Dirks and Tanke, Biotechniques 2006, 40:489-486; Bustin, Journal of Molecular Endocrinology 2002, 29:23-39; Mackay, Clin Microbiol Infect, 2004, 10:190-212).
In one mechanism of fluorescence quenching termed ground state quenching, the fluorophore and the quencher associate to form a ground state complex which is not fluorescent. For ground state quenching to occur there need not be spectral overlap between the fluorophore and the quencher.
The most common mechanism of fluorescent quenching is fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET). In FRET, energy transfer occurs through space by dipolar coupling between the fluorophore and quencher and requires that there be overlap between the emission spectrum of the fluorescent donor and the absorbance spectrum of the quencher. This requirement complicates the design of probes that utilize FRET because quenchers are limited in their effective wavelength range. For example, the quencher known as BHQ-1, which absorbs light in the wavelength range of about 500-550 nm, quenches fluorescent light emitted by fluorescein, which fluoresces maximally at about 520 nm, but is of limited utility for Texas Red (emission maximum=615) or Cy5 (emission maximum=670). In contrast, the quencher BHQ-3, which absorbs light in the wavelength range of about 650-700 nm is almost completely ineffective at quenching fluorescein but is effective at quenching Cy5. In general, the number of quenchers that are known to be capable of quenching the fluorescence of any given fluorophore is limited.
Although fluorescent dyes themselves can be employed to quench fluorescence from other dyes, preferred quenchers will not fluoresce (or minimally fluoresce) so that background fluorescence is minimized. These quenchers are commonly referred to as dark quenchers. Dark quenchers allow for an increased signal to noise ratio in assays that employ DLPs, resulting in increased sensitivity. In addition, the lack of secondary fluorescence facilitates the use of additional fluorophores in multiplexed assay formats which utilize multiple distinct probes each containing a different fluorophore. If a quencher emitted light in a certain region, then additional probes could not bear fluorophores that emit light in that same region.
A number of factors are considered in designing a self-quenching probe. These include the ease of synthesis, the compatibility of the fluorophore and quencher, duplex stability, and the specificity of the probe in hybridizing to the intended target.
Duplex stability between complementary nucleic acid molecules is frequently expressed as the "melting temperature", Tm, of the duplex. Roughly speaking, the Tm indicates the temperature at which a duplex nucleic acid dissociates into two single strands. Nucleic acid hybridization is generally performed at a temperature slightly below the Tm, so that hybridization between a probe or primer and its target nucleic acid is optimized, while minimizing non-specific hybridization of the probe or primer to other, non-target nucleic acids. Duplex stability and Tm are also important in applications, such as PCR, where thermocycling may be involved. During such thermocycling melting steps, it is important that the sample temperature be raised sufficiently above the Tm so that duplexes of the target nucleic acid and its complement are dissociated. In subsequent steps of reannealing, however, the temperature must be brought sufficiently below the Tm that duplexes of the target nucleic acid and primer are able to form, while still remaining high enough to avoid non-specific hybridization events. For a general discussion, see Rychlik et al., Nucleic Acids Research 1990, 18:6409-6412.
Shorter oligonucleotides can help increase the specificity of a primer or probe, allowing for the discrimination of even a single mismatch between the probe and a potential complementary target. The shorter the oligonucleotide, the greater the effect of a single-base mismatch on duplex stability. However, the disadvantage of using such short oligonucleotides is that they hybridize weakly, even to a perfectly complementary sequence, and thus must be used at lower temperatures, which are unfavorable for reactions that use thermal stable enzymes, such as PCR. Certain modified nucleosides such as locked nucleic acids (LNAs) (U.S. Pat. No. 7,060,809) and C5-propynyl pyrimidines (U.S. Pat. No. 5,484,908) can be incorporated into oligonucleotides to increase duplex stability. Many nucleoside analogs, however, especially those having bulkier substituents attached to the base, are destabilizing. For example, fluorescein-dT can destabilize a duplex by up to 4° C. (Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters, 13:2785-2788 2003).
Modified nucleosides employed to increase Tm are typically placed internally within an oligonucleotide sequence replacing a natural base. In contrast, non-nucleoside substituents when introduced internally within an oligonucleotide, either as a replacement for a base or as an insertion between bases, generally interfere with hybridization. For example, insertion of an abasic fluorescein group into an oligonucleotide has been observed to destabilize a duplex by 2-4° C. (DNA Seq. 4:135-141, 1993).
There are several classes of compounds that are known to increase binding affinity between complementary nucleic acid strands. One class is major groove binders, which includes proteins or ligands that bind to the major groove (the wider groove around a DNA helix). A second class, minor groove binders (MGBs), include non-covalently bound and covalently bound compounds. Because the minor groove of a helix is narrower in A-T rich regions, some noncovalently bound MBGs recognize the shape of the helix and preferably bind to specific sequence regions. For example, netropsin and distamycin preferably bind to A-T regions (see Bailly and Henichart, ACS, vol. 2, 379-393 (1991). Covalently bound MGBs (U.S. Pat. No. 6,084,102) are typically linked to the 5′ or 3′ end of oligonucleotides (U.S. Pat. App. 2009/0259030) and are known to increase binding affinity and allow for shorter length probes.
A third class, intercalators, are generally flat polycyclic compounds, examples being acridine or lipticine derivatives (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,835,263). Intercalating compounds stabilize a duplex by fitting in between the bases of the nucleic acid monomers. They can be covalently or noncovalently bound. Some minor groove compounds, such as 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI), also intercalate.
Another group of compounds, capping reagents, are terminally attached compounds that favor Watson-Crick duplexes by stacking on the terminal base pair (Dogan, Z. et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2004, 126, 4762-4763). Such groups include stilbene derivatives (Wu, T, et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1995, 117, 8785-8792) and pyrenylmethylpyrrolindol (Narayanan, S. et al., Nucleic Acids Res. 2004, 32, 2901-2911).
The efficiency of quenching through FRET is extremely sensitive to the distance between the fluorophore and quencher (RFQ), varying with the reciprocal of RFQ to the sixth power. Maximally efficient quenching minimizes background fluorescence and improves the sensitivity of the 5′-nuclease assay and other hybridization assays in which DLPs are used. Generally, for ease of synthesis and to avoid disruption of hybridization of the probe to the target sequence, the dye and quencher are attached to the ends of the oligonucleotide. For the 5′-nuclease assay, the most common configuration is to attach the dye at the 5′-end of the oligonucleotide and the quencher at the 3′-end. DLPs used in the 5′-nuclease assay are typically 25 to 30 bases in length. Even with the use of Tm enhancing modifications, such as LNA bases or a minor groove binder, probe length is still usually 14 to 18 bases. Any method that permits placement of the fluorophore and quencher in closer proximity within a probe without destabilizing the duplex formed between the probe and its target nucleic acid will improve quencher efficiency and enhance the performance of the probe.

Methods for enhancing nucleic acid hybridization

Abstract: R1 is a hydrogen or a C1-C8 alkyl. M is a label or ligand comprising a fused polycyclic aromatic moiety.


A process for producing foamed articles containing thermoplastic aromatic polycarbonates is disclosed. Accordingly, thermoplastic aromatic polycarbonates are mixed with about 0.01 to 10% by weight of Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 (H.sub.2 O).sub.3 and the mixture is either extruded in an extruder at temperatures from 220.degree. C. to 320.degree. C. without application of a vacuum to produce foamed molded articles or it is injection molded in injection molding machines without application of vacuum at temperatures from 290.degree. C. to 330.degree. C. to produce molded foam articles.

Foams of high molecular weight polycarbonates are known (see, for example, DE-AS 1,031,507). Suitable blowing agents are, for example, inert gases such as N.sub.2 or CO.sub.2 or compounds which split off CO.sub.2.
In the past, it was widely held that thermoplastic polycarbonates could only be processed satisfactorily in a completely dry state and that the presence of moisture upwards of a certain quantity led to molecular weight degradation and the formation of blisters (see, for example, Taschenbuch Bayer-Kunststoffe, 2nd Edition 1959, page 177, Plastics Technologie, 10, 1964, pages 32-36 and GB-PS 841,652).
This sensitivity to moisture of thermoplastic polycarbonates does not exist in certain cases, for example if the moisture is introduced into the thermoplastic polycarbonate as an aqueous size for glass fibers or if the moisture is added for the removal of residues of solvent from the polycarbonate and subsequently expel led together with the solvent residues in an evaporation extruder (see U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,577,378, 3,567,813 and EP-A2-0,300,485).
It was an object of the present invention to choose the operating conditions for the incorporation of Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 (H.sub.2 O).sub.3 and subsequent molding of the mixture of polycarbonate with Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 (H.sub.2 O).sub.3 so that controlled degradation of the polycarbonate will take place which will bring about foaming without too seriously impairing the mechanical and other properties of the thermoplastic polycarbonate and of the molded foam products obtainable therefrom according to the invention. This has been achieved by the operating conditions according to the invention, which could not have been deduced from the state of the art .

Process for foaming thermoplastic polycarbonates


A switch power generating mechanism includes at least a first movable component, a second movable component, a first deforming component connected to the first movable component, and a power generator, wherein a pressing force is transmitted to the second movable component from the outside of the switch power generating mechanism to cause at least part of the first movable component and at least part of the second movable component to move in a connected manner and cause the first movable component to rotate by a fixed amount to deform the first deforming component by a fixed amount; and the deformation of the first deforming component is released once the first movable component has been caused to rotate by the fixed amount, and power generation is performed with power generated in the power generator due to the first movable component rotated by a fixed amount with the release from the deformation.

Attention has been drawn to environmental power generation of a self-power generation type (energy harvesting) that can generate power by utilizing weak kinetic energy (human power, vibration, pressure, heat, sunlight, etc.) existing in a familiar environment and conventionally discarded without being used.
Some electrical apparatuses and devices such as a light can control operation by remote control using a wireless communication device. A power source such as a dry battery is incorporated in a wireless switch for controlling this type of wireless communication device, and operation of the wireless communication device is controlled by power supplied from the power source.
Meanwhile, it is required to form a switch power generating mechanism that does not require work such as power source replacement or charging by generating power through environmental power generation and using the power to transmit operation instructions to various devices via wireless communication. Specifically, a switch power generating mechanism of a self-power generation type is realized, which can generate and provide power by a switching operation of a user without depending on a power source when a light-on or a light-off instruction is transmitted to an apparatus such as a light via wireless communication.
For example, a switch power generating mechanism described in Non-Patent Literature 1 generates power with kinetic energy of an operation to push a switch (switching operation) and transmits a light-on or a light-off instruction to a light via wireless communication.

Switch power generating mechanism and switch power generating method

ADAMANT NAMIKI PRECISION JEWEL CO., LTD.


A magnetic disk drive has a housing for a 3.5 inch form factor and disk media of a diameter for a 2.5 inch form factor. The smaller disk media rotate at a high speed while consuming low electric lower and generating less heat while providing for quick access speeds. Usually, when the magnetic disk media are rotated at a higher speed, the electric power consumption and heat generation are increased because of the load increase. This problem is avoided with the use of cooling fins placed about the periphery of the disk media. Further, the smaller size disk media enable a decrease in torque loss during on-load rotation with the media, and a decrease of electric current to the spindle motor during rotation.

1. Field of the Invention
A present invention relates to a magnetic disk drive, particularly, rotating a magnetic disk medium in a high speed and a magnetic disk drive system using this technique.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a magnetic disk drive system that is used as a high precision external storage, for example, a computer, a file server or a disk array, it is well known that a magnetic head flies a given distance over a recording surface of a magnetic disk medium in the magnetic disk drive system, so that information is recorded on or reproduced from the magnetic disk medium via a magnetic flux.
Performance of magnetic disk drives greatly affects the throughput of the magnetic disk drive system. For better performance, there are typically the following improvements of the system.
1) a memory capacity improvement within a limited system hardware (Increase of an information storage capacity per unit volume)
2) retrenchment of time for moving a magnetic head to a dedicated track on the magnetic disk medium (Shortening of seek time)
3) retrenchment of waiting time in rotation for waiting a magnetic head to a dedicated location at the specified position of a truck of the magnetic disk medium
These items were resolved in the present invention by an increase of rotational speed of the magnetic disk media, which also increases an input-output transfer rate of information between magnetic disk drive and upper system, and between magnetic disk drive system and upper system.
There is a xe2x80x9c3.5 inchesxe2x80x9d form factor drive that is well known. Here, xe2x80x9c3.5 inchesxe2x80x9d is called the shape coefficient. xe2x80x9c3.5 inchesxe2x80x9d size means a magnetic disk drive which is about 4 inches (101.6 mm) in width, and about 5.75 inches (146.1 mm) in length. It usually is about 1 inch in height unless otherwise specified.
In case a rectangular parallelepiped circumscribes a magnetic disk drive, let""s imagine the largest face that is parallel to the magnetic disk medium. At this time, the largest face of the xe2x80x9c3.5 inchesxe2x80x9d drive can include two largest faces of a xe2x80x9c2.5 inchesxe2x80x9d drive. Similarly, a largest face of the xe2x80x9c5 inchesxe2x80x9d drive can include two largest faces of a xe2x80x9c3.5 inchesxe2x80x9d drive. The shapes that fall in the above relationships are called form factors.
The conventional xe2x80x9c3.5 inchesxe2x80x9d magnetic disk drive has a structure, in a housing with 3.5 inches shape coefficient, which comprises: an arm than supports magnetic head parts, a carriage with the arm, which positions the magnetic head to the specified location on the magnetic disk media, an in-hub-type spindle motor that has rotational mechanism within a hub that holds the magnetic disk media on its outer surface, and magnetic disk media of which most outside diameter is 95 mm stacked on the hub (hereinafter called xe2x80x9c3.5 inchesxe2x80x9d disk for short)
Here, there are xe2x80x9c3.5 inchesxe2x80x9d magnetic disk drives which have mainly about 1 inch (25.4 mm) height or about 1.63 inches (41.4 mm) height.
FIG. 3 shows an inner structure (plan view) of prior xe2x80x9c3.5 inchesxe2x80x9d magnetic disk drive. External size of the housing 13 is a 3.5 inches form factor size (101.6 mmxc3x97146 mm). Magnetic disk media 23 are secured by a disk clamp 33 to a spindle motor 43, which are rotated at predetermined speed in this housing.
Magnetic heads 53 are secured to an edge of an actuator (the carriage and a coil) 63. The actuator 63 is secured rotatably by a pivot bearing 73 to the housing. The housing 13 secures a voice coil motor 83 that consists of a magnetic circuit. The coil of the actuator 63 is flowed by electricity, then it generates a rotational torque with electromagnetic force and drives the actuator 63. Consequently, the magnetic head 53 supported at the edge of the actuator executes a seek operation in which the head are located at an artbitrary location on the disk media 23 along a quasi-radial direction.
In the 1.6 inches height magnetic disk drive with an about 41 mm official height, the spindle motor 43 is mounted stackingly with eight xe2x80x9c3.5 inchesxe2x80x9d disk media (0.8 mm thickness). In 1 inch height magnetic disk drive with an about 25.4 mm official height, it is mounted stackingly with four xe2x80x9c3.5 inchesxe2x80x9d disk media.
Other prior arts about faster rotating technique of spindle motors are disclosed, for example, at Japanese Laid opened, sho 63-104282 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 5,243,479) and at Japanese Laid opened, hei 04-205776 that shows stacking structures with xe2x80x9c3.5 inchesxe2x80x9d disk media or xe2x80x9c2.5 inchesxe2x80x9d disk media in a housing of 5.25 inches of shape coefficient.
Inventors of this application tried to rotate magnetic disk media of 1.6 inches height magnetic disk drive shown in FIG. 3 faster than in prior arts. They confirmed that when a rotational speed of spindle motor 43 becomes 10000 rpm from 7200 rpm (prior rotational speed), electric energy consumption increases with about 60 percent and becomes more than 20 watts despite a lightweight design review that decreases the disk media 23 from 10 disks to 8 disks in the stack.
They also confirmed that an inner temperature of the housing 13 becomes more than 80 degree centigrade without cooling means surrounding the 1.6 inches height magnetic disk drive shown in FIG. 3. The cooling means are, for example, a fan that makes air flow for cooling.
Inventors of this application tried to rotate magnetic disk media of 1.6 inches height magnetic disk drive shown in FIG. 12 faster than in prior arts. When a rotational speed of spindle motor 43 becomes 12000 rpm from 6300 rpm (prior rotational speed), electric energy consumption increases with about 460 percent.
Japanese Laid opened, hei 4-205776 shows a magnetic disk drive that mounts a stack of magnetic disk media smaller in outer size than that of xe2x80x9c5.25 inchesxe2x80x9d magnetic disk media within a housing that is designed for a 5.25 inches form factor size magnetic disk drive. But it does not consider an increase of heat generation caused from faster rotation and higher density mounting.
Japanese Laid opened, sho 63-104282 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 5,243,479) does not consider fully a heat radiation while it discloses an increase of rotational speed of magnetic media.
Inventors of this application mounts magnetic disk media for xe2x80x9c2.5 inchesxe2x80x9d form factor magnetic disk drives, in the housing for 1.6 inches height xe2x80x9c3.5 inchesxe2x80x9d magnetic disk drive. And further they rotates the media at 12000 rpm in order to fabricate a magnetic disk drive with a high transfer rate of information (FIG. 13, FIG. 14). Inventors of this application found that it is necessary for keeping the inner temperature equal to or lower than 60 degrees centigrade to mount eight disk media or less when 0.8 mm thickness media are adopted and to mount eleven disk media or less when 0.635 mm thickness media are adopted. That is, they found that it is possible to rotate disk media faster with victimizing the information storage capacity in some extent, and that the storage capacity and the faster rotation of the media are in the trade-off relationship.
Here, disk media for the 2.5 inches form factor magnetic disk drive have a 65xc2x13 mm diameter (outermost diameter) and a 0.8 mmxc2x10.2 mm thickness or a 0.4 mmxc2x10.2 mm thickness. Normal thicknesses of the media are 0.8 mm, 0.635 mm or 0.381 mm.
One of the reasons why the inner temperature of the housing (during a seek operation) is kept in the predetermined temperature or less, for example, 60 degree centigrade or less, is to get a long life of the disk drive by setting an enough margin in temperature for long lives of a lubricant on the disk media surface and a grease in bearings of the spindle motor. Another is not to give a bad influence to a status between the magnetic head and the magnetic disk media, and to a posture of a slider. Consequently, recording or reproducing with a information to or from the disk media are not influenced badly. Thus, temperature specifications of the magnetic disk drive can be guaranteed.
Thus, inventors of this application found that it is necessary for making the stack of media lightweight, for achieving the faster rotational speed of the media, and for keeping or increasing the storage capacity, to attach a special cooling mechanism to the magnetic disk drive.
In the magnetic disk drive system, for example, the file server or the disk array, it is desirable for rotating the magnetic media faster and for keeping the system highly reliable that cooling means should be provided to the magnetic disk drive.
It is an object of the present invention to provide magnetic disk drives with a big storage capacity and a high reliability, which rotate the magnetic disk media at a high speed and which restrain heat generation grown out of the high speed rotation.
It is other object of the present invention to provide magnetic disk drives and magnetic disk drive systems with a big storage capacity and a high speed accessing ability.
It is other object of the present invention to provide magnetic disk drives and magnetic disk drive systems with a high speed accessing ability and a good cost performance.
Other objects of the present invention may be clear from the statement of this specification and drawings.
Achieving the above objects, the magnetic disk drive of the present invention mounts magnetic disk media smaller in diameter than xe2x80x9c3.5 inchesxe2x80x9d magnetic disk media within a magnetic disk drive in a shape coefficient 3.5 inches. For more cost performance, (in other words, using general-purpose parts that do not come expensive in stead of custom-order parts), the magnetic disk drive of the present invention may mount magnetic disk media for drives in a shape coefficient 2.5 inches, 65 mm media in outer diameter within the magnetic disk drive in the shape coefficient 3.5 inches.
Under the above structure, in the housing that is sealed including the actuator, the spindle motor, etc., around the magnetic disk media of 65 mm in outer diameter, space of 95 mmxe2x88x9265 mm=30 mm arises. If it says in the distance from the center axis of the spindle motor that rotates the magnetic disk media, a clearance of 15 mm arises.
From the trade off relationship between a performance and a price of the magnetic disk drive, members for heat radiation may be arranged in this margin area. Or this radiation member may not be arranged, resulting in that the magnetic disk drive may have a margin for parts"" arrangement in the above space.
When the radiation members are arranged, they are composed to arrange fins (uneven parts) in surrounding periphery of the magnetic disk medium.
Distance between the center of the spindle motor that rotates magnetic disk media of 65 mm in outer diameter, and the center of the actuator, may be arranged so that it becomes 40xc2x11 mm or less. Further, if cost performance is pursued, if normal actuator parts are used, and if a torque of the voice coil motor is increased, the above distance can be extended to 47.5 mm. The distance may have a margin considering to a windage loss, etc.
Further, in stead of magnetic disk media of a 65 mm in outer diameter, a magnetic disk media for a magnetic disk drive in a shape coefficient 1.8 inches, may be used in the 3.5 inches magnetic disk drive. The magnetic disk media of 48 mm in outer diameter are normal media for magnetic disk drives in shape coefficient 1.8 inches, and its thickness is 0.381 mm.

Disc drive having 3.5 inch form factor housing and 2.5 inch form factor disk media


A structure of a low frequency surface plasmon polariton waveguide includes multiple unit cell blocks arranged at a sub-wavelength period to line up in a one-dimensional line-up direction to form a hollow metallic block periodic structure. Each unit cell blocs includes a body, a penetration section, and an open slot. The penetration section is formed in the unit cell block by extending in a direction perpendicular to the one-dimensional line-up direction so as to define a channel space in the unit cell block. In a low frequency spoof surface plasmon polariton transmission mode, in case of serving as a structure of an antenna, each unit cell block has an electromagnetic field distribution mostly confined in a channel space of the unit cell block; and in case of serving as a waveguide, the electromagnetic field is mostly distributed between two adjacent unit cell blocks with minority distributed in the channel space.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a structure of a low frequency surface plasmon polariton (SPP) waveguide, and in particular to a novel leakage waveguide composed of a unique metallic hollow block periodic structure surface that enables the metal surface to transmit electromagnetic waves in a more efficient manner and may serve as a highly directional radiation element.
2. The Related Arts
Using the general idea of surface plasmon polariton to manipulate electromagnetic waves in order to make transmission along a sub-wavelength path possible is an important contemporary issue for effectively enhancing device density of a photo circuit system and an integrated circuit. Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) are a hybridized excitation state of electron and photon occurring at interface between a metal and a medium (usually air). SPPs have a field amplitude that is maximum at the interface and exponentially attenuates in the metal and the medium. SPPs provides a possibility of guiding electromagnetic beyond diffraction limit and thus attract wide interesting in the surface plasmon polariton photonics.
Due to the electromagnetic field being highly confined around the interface between the metal and the medium, SPPs has an inherent two-dimensional (that is surface) transmission property that makes it a priority candidate for high integration of integrated optical circuit and design of photon device in the range of subwavelength. It is thus urgently desired to transmit signals in a circuit system of a relatively low frequency and to promote the application of the idea of SPPs to frequency bands of even lower frequencies, such as terahertz bands and microwave bands, for transmission of signals
In general, metals have a SPPs frequency that is in the ultraviolet band so that the behavior of the metals in the terahertz band is close to perfect electric conductor (PEC). This makes SPPs poor in confinement of electromagnetic field on the metal surface, incapable of effectively concentrating electromagnetic wave, thereby limiting the application of a leakage antenna of a regular structure in the terahertz band and the microwave band.
However, since the SPPs mode is generally impossible to realize in a low frequency, such as the microwave and terahertz bands, to achieve a similar physical phenomenon in a low frequency band, periodic metallic blocks or periodic grooves in a high density arrangement may be formed on the metal to realize high confinement of electromagnetic field. In a waveguide structure used in the prior art, a plurality of unit cell blocks that is spaced from each other by a fixed distance is arranged on a top surface of a planar metal substrate. In such a periodic structure of solid metallic blocks, the distribution of an electromagnetic field is highly confined in-between two adjacent unit cell blocks.

Waveguide structure based on low frequency surface plasmon polaritons


The invention therefore provides a method of improving print performance in a paper product including applying a coating composition having (i) a pigment and (ii) a starch dispersion of discrete crosslinked native starch particles in an aqueous liquid, wherein the particle size of the starch particles in the starch dispersion ranges from about 40 nm to about 400 μm, to the paper product, wherein the print performance of the paper product is improved. In one embodiment, the coating composition includes a solids content of from 5 to about 75% weight and includes (i) about 100 parts by weight of pigment, and (ii) about 1 to about 300 parts by weight of starch, all based on dry weight.

Multiple disclosures have been made regarding the composition and use of various forms of biopolymer nanoparticles. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 6,677,386 (which corresponds to WO 00/69916) describes a process for producing biopolymer nanoparticles, which in one form are starch nanoparticles. In the process, the biopolymer is plasticized using shear forces, and a crosslinking agent is added during the processing. After the processing, the biopolymer nanoparticles can be dispersed in an aqueous medium. One version of the process results in starch nanoparticles which are characterized by an average particle size of less than 400 nanometers. The nanoparticles can be used as a matrix material wherein the matrix material may be a film-forming material, a thickener, a rheology modifier, an adhesive or an adhesive additive (tackifier). The nanoparticles or dispersions thereof may also be used for their barrier properties, as a carrier, fat replacer or medicament for mitigating dermal disorders. Further examples of applications for the nanoparticles or dispersions thereof are in the paper-making and packaging industry, agriculture and horticulture fields. The nanoparticles can also be used as excipients or carriers in medicines, where they may be complexed or covalently coupled to active substances such as slow-release drugs. The nanoparticles can also be processed into a foam at relatively high density.
Other uses of the nanoparticles of U.S. Pat. No. 6,677,386 can be found in: (i) U.S. Pat. No. 7,160,420 which describes the use of the starch nanoparticles as a wet-end additive in papermaking pulp slurry, or applied to the surface of the paper as a surface sizing agent; (ii) U.S. Pat. No. 6,825,252 which describes the use of the starch nanoparticles in a binder in a pigmented paper coating composition; (iii) U.S. Pat. No. 6,921,430 which describes the use of the starch nanoparticles in environmentally friendly adhesives; and (iv) U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0241382 which describes the use of the starch nanoparticles in an adhesive for producing corrugated board. The disclosure of these patents and applications, and of all other publications referred to herein, are incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.
The invention in U.S. Pat. No. 6,677,386 relates to a process for producing biopolymer nanoparticles which in one form are starch nanoparticles characterized by an average particle size of less than 400 nanometers. The U.S. Pat. No. 6,677,386 does not anticipate, consider nor provide any motivation to use the biopolymer nanoparticles to improve printing performance, as in the current invention, nor does it anticipate performance advantages that might result therefrom.
Thus, it can be seen that the nanoparticles prepared by the process of U.S. Pat. No. 6,677,386 have numerous uses. The application of the biopolymer nanoparticle-based Biolatex™ binders of U.S. Pat. No. 6,677,836 in coated paper and paperboard was recently described in a technical article by Bloembergen et al., entitled "Paper binder performance with biobased nanoparticles. A starch-based biolatex can replace petroleum-based latex binders in papermaking", Paper 360.degree.Magazine, September 2008. The biolatex binder provides a high performance substitute to the petrochemical-based binders used in coated paper and paperboard manufacturing processes at a lower cost per pound. Carboxylated styrene butadiene (SB latex) and styrene acrylate (SA latex) are the dominant petrochemical-based binders used in coated paper and paperboard manufacturing.
Currently, the industry consumes over 4 billion pounds of SB and SA latex per annum. As the price of oil continues to escalate, and as the price of synthetic binders has increased by more than 100% over the past few years, paper producers have faced increased production costs forcing them to find efficiencies, pass increases on to the consumer, or cease production.
The biolatex binder of U.S. Pat. No. 6,677,836 provides performance that is comparable to SB and SA latex for important paper properties such as coating gloss, brightness, whiteness, fluorescence, ink gloss, and printability, while providing superior performance to SB and SA Latex for water retention, opacity, dry pick, print mottle, porosity (blister resistance) and paper stiffness. However, the biopolymer nanoparticles invention of U.S. Pat. No. 6,677,836 do not anticipate, consider nor provide any motivation for use in improved printing performance, as in the current invention, nor does it anticipate the significant performance advantages that result therefrom.
For instance, it is well known in the art that one area of performance deficiency relative to petro-based latex binders is in offset printing applications where water-based fountain solutions in combination with the tacky inks used in commercial 4-color offset printing operations can lead to "wet-picking" damage of the paper coating layer. The inherent challenge in meeting acceptable water-resistance is because the carbohydrate base of the biolatex binder technology is obviously more water-sensitive than the more hydrophobic petro-based binders. However, in other applications such as ink jet and flexographic printing, for example, the ability to attract water into the paper coating can be a major challenge.
Accordingly, a need exists for methods of printing which accommodate this challenge.

Methods of using biobased latex binders for improved printing performance


A mattress pad primarily intended for use with a standard hospital bed frame to reduce the development of decubitus ulcers or bed sores in patients using the pad. The pad is multi-layered and includes a cover or casing containing interior strata of a plastic film layer atop a fluid bladder layer supported on an underlying layer of foam. The pad is specially designed to reduce lateral and normal pressures and forces on the patient which can lead to the development of such ulcers. The reduction of the lateral shearing forces is accomplished in a number of ways including by oversizing the plastic film layer and fluid bladder layer on the underlying layer of foam and by positioning microbeads between the plastic film layer and fluid bladder layer to dramatically reduce the frictional drag or lateral shearing forces between the layers. Similarly, the normal pressures and forces are reduced and controlled in a number of manners including oversizing, modifying the configuration, filling, and size of the discrete fluid pouches of the fluid bladder layer, and varying the spring characteristics of the support columns in the underlying foam layer by hollowing them out to differing degrees, adjusting their spacing, and selectively tying adjacent columns together.

1. Field of The Invention
This invention relates to the field of mattress and cushion pads primarily intended for hospital use to reduce the development of decubitus ulcers in patients using the pads.
2. Discussion Of The Background
Decubitus ulcers, commonly referred to as bed or pressure sores, are a major health concern for patients that become bed or chair bound for prolonged periods of time. They are also frequent complications for burn victims and tall, thin patients and other patients with particularly bony protuberances. The ulcers generally develop at such bony protuberances as well as other relatively bony areas of the patient's body including the trochanteric (hip) area, scapula (shoulder blade) area, spinal area, and coccyx (tailbone) area where relatively little flesh is present and blood circulation is often poor.
Factors contributing to the development of the decubitus ulcers are numerous including the general overall condition of the patient's skin and underlying tissue; however, forces generated on the patient's body by the mattress pad or other support are also critical. These forces include both normal and lateral or shearing forces. Reduction of such forces has been attempted and accomplished in a variety of product designs with varying degrees of success and widely varying costs. Such product designs extend the gambit from, for example, standard hospital mattresses on one end to more exotic and expensive designs such as fluidized, specialty beds on the other.
Standard hospital mattresses and cushions are generally not considered as anti-decubitus products and, in fact, are often the primary cause of the decubitus ulcers in the patients using them. While certainly providing a degree of comfort over a limited time, conventional hospital mattresses commonly create pressure points and localized areas of relatively high, normal forces on the patient's body that may result directly in decubitus ulcers. Such normal pressures and forces when excessive or prolonged can cause localized occlusion of capillary blood flow depriving the skin and underlying tissue of needed oxygen and nutrition. Conventional mattresses can also offer significant resistance to lateral movement of the patient as he or she rolls over or otherwise moves or is moved across or along the mattress. Such resistance can create substantial lateral shear forces which may also cause occlusion of the capillary blood flow as well as cause direct structural failure or rupture of the skin and underlying tissue.
To improve the anti-decubitus properties of standard hospital mattresses, overlays are often used as a first measure. Such overlays, for example, may include convoluted foam pads of various thicknesses and densities which are quite common and inexpensive. The foam overlays generally are relatively thin and do a marginal job of reducing pressure points and high normal forces but have no mechanism for reducing lateral shear forces. Inflatable overlays are also widely used to reduce normal forces but like foam ones, they are relatively thin and have no mechanism for reducing shear forces. They are also prone to puncture failure and leakage and like most overlays, are usually difficult to clean and sanitize. Consequently, they are for the most part not reusable from one patient to the next. Inflatable overlays typically consist of a sealed vinyl bladder that is inflated manually or by an air pump. The more sophisticated and expensive models have a plurality of air chambers within the sealed bladder wherein adjacent chambers are alternately inflated and deflated (e.g., every 5-10 minutes). This serves to vary the support to areas of the patient's body to prevent any long term development of pressure points and the accompanying occlusion of blood flow that can lead to the development of the decubitus ulcers. However, in addition to the potential failure by puncture or leakage, the performance of such inflatable overlays depends greatly upon proper initial and continuing operation particularly in regard to correct inflation with respect to each patient's size, weight, and position.
Devices that are designed to replace the conventional hospital mattress altogether but still use the existing hospital bed frame are commonly referred to as "mattress replacements." Such replacements are normally categorized into two groups (i.e., dynamic and static or passive). Dynamic ones as the name implies are operationally active and require an external power source. In a large number of them, they employ pneumatic technology including some basic concepts used in inflatable overlays as discussed above (e.g., alternating inflating/deflating of adjacent air chambers). However, because of the use of external power sources, such pneumatic mattress replacements can also employ more advanced and complicated features such as isolating individual air chambers or zones and selectively controlling and adjusting the pressure in them. In this manner, pressure can be reduced, for example, in those chambers or zones where the risk of tissue breakdown is relatively high while pressure can be increased in the remaining chambers or zones where the risk of sore development is relatively low. Still other pneumatic mattress replacements maintain and monitor air flow through the bladder to control moisture and temperature at the interface of the patient's body on the mattress. This is usually done in systems classified as low air loss ones meaning that there is a predetermined amount of "air loss" or air flow through the inflated mattress. The air flow is then monitored and controlled for the desired moisture content and temperature. Dynamic mattress replacements often retail in the range of $2,000-$6,000 and are commonly leased or rented to the user or hospital because of the maintenance and repair requirements inherent in any such active systems.
Static or passive mattress replacements require no external power to operate and rely on a combination of materials and mechanical elements to achieve reduced normal or interface pressure between the patient's body and the mattress. The performance of static mattress replacements is generally not as high as the dynamic ones; however, they are very popular due to their reliability, maintainability, and relatively low cost ($500-$1,000). They are also for the most part very user friendly in the sense that there is very little if any need for the user to monitor or adjust any controls or other settings. Examples of static or passive systems would be simple waterbeds as well as designs that employ specially configured foam components or bladders filled with gels, air, or other fluids. In addition to their relatively low cost, the primary desirability of static or passive mattress replacements over the dynamic ones is that they do not have any externally powered components (with their inherent degree of additional complexity, cost, and maintenance).
Still other products that are designed to reduce the development of decubitus ulcers include specialty beds. Such specialty beds are typically integrated with their own bed frame and control systems that allow the user to adjust or control a variety of features. There are several types of such specialty beds including low air loss beds, fluidized bead beds, and spinal cord injury beds. The low air loss beds include many of the features of low air loss, replacement mattresses discussed above but generally on a more sophisticated level. Like the mattress replacement, low air loss, specialty beds commonly include a series of inflatable, adjacent chambers or zones which can be selectively inflated or deflated to obtain the desired support. Additionally, the control systems on such low air loss, specialty beds may regulate the air pressure to each individual chamber or zone of chambers. They may also monitor and control the moisture and temperature of the air that circulates through the air chambers or zones. In one common mode of operation, moisture from the patient's body is wicked away from the patient through the surface material of the bed into the chambers or zones where it is then evaporated and subsequently removed or exhausted by the circulation of fresh air through the system. Some low air loss, specialty beds also employ the alternating support concept discussed above with the more sophisticated ones even allowing the specific placement of shaped or profiled pillows which enable positioning and immobilization of the patient as desired. Still others include a turning feature which rotates the entire support surface and patient about the longitudinal axis of the bed. Understandably, the degree of complexity of these specialty beds inherently demands extensive maintenance and service requirements. Nevertheless, the overall performance is good and many victims of pressure sores or decubitus ulcers are placed on these types of beds for cure. Unfortunately, the high initial cost of these specialty beds (e.g., $10,000 to $40,000) as well as the high rental or lease rate (e.g., $80-$125 per day) limit their wide usage.
Of the specialty beds, perhaps the most effective are the fluidized bead beds. Such beds are considerably different from most other support systems in that the patient is supported by approximately 1200-1500 pounds of silica beads which are fluidized by a continuous flow of air from underneath the patient. A filter sheet separates the patient from the beads but allows the flow of air to pass through. This type of surface provides excellent pressure relief (i.e., virtually no normal pressure points) and also offers significantly reduced resistance (i.e., very low lateral or shearing force) to the patient's body as he or she moves or is moved across or along the bed. Nevertheless, fluidized bead beds do have several distinct disadvantages in addition to cost and complexity including the fact that they must remain in a horizontal position and they can cause severe dehydration in the patient due to the constant air flow past the patient's body. Also, patient transfers to and from the bed are often complicated due to the tub-like structure that contains the fluidized beads. Further, the entire volume of the beads must be cleaned and reprocessed after each patient's use.
With the above in mind, the anti-decubitus mattress pad of the present invention was developed. With it, the reduction of both normal and lateral forces and pressures on the patient's body such as currently achieved for the most part only in the higher priced and more complex specialty beds can now be offered in a less expensive, static, reusable mattress replacement design.


An electrolytic solution for operating electrolytic capacitors which deteriorates extremely little in electrical properties even when used in a high-tension capacitor. The electrolytic solution comprises a compound expressed by general formula (1) below and a compound expressed by general formula (2) below or their salts:

As a conventional electrolytic solution for operating an electrolytic capacitor, in particular, as an electrolytic solution for a medium-to-high voltage electrolytic capacitor, solutions obtained by adding boric acid or ammonium pentaborate serving as an electrolyte to a solution comprising ethylene glycol as a main component have been used. In an electrolytic solution containing boric acid, the boric acid is reacted with ethylene glycol so that a large amount of water is produced by condensation, which results in increasing water content in the electrolytic solution system. Therefore, when an electrolytic solution containing boric acid is used at a temperature of more than 100° C., the water in the electrolytic solution is evaporated to form a water vapor. Thus, the internal pressure in the package of the electrolytic capacitor is increased, and the electrolytic capacitor tends to be damaged. In order to overcome such a disadvantage, an electrolytic solution containing linear saturated dibasic acid or a salt thereof has come to be used.
However, since the solubility of linear saturated dibasic acid with respect to a solvent such as ethylene glycol is low, the linear saturated dibasic acid tends to be precipitated in the form of crystals at a low temperature, and therefore the problems that overcurrent is generated, and the low temperature characteristics of the capacitor deteriorate cannot be avoided.
Therefore, in recent years, it is attempted to use branched saturated or unsaturated dibasic acids, for example, dibasic acids such as 7-methyl-tetradecane-1,14-dicarboxylic acid, 7,12-dimethyl-octadecane-1,18-dicarboxylic acid, 7,12-dimethyl-7,11-octadecadiene-1,18-dicarboxylic acid, 7-methyl-7-tetradecene-1,14-dicarboxylic acid (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 57-27013, Japanese Patent Publication Nos. 63-54209, 62-11765, 62-8005, and 62-7684, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication Nos. 62-254416, and 64-31408), 7-vinyl-9-hexadecene-1,16-dicarboxylic acid (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 4-186713) and their salts as a solute.
The solubility of such branched unsaturated dibasic acids or their salts in a solvent such as ethylene glycol has been improved from that of linear saturated dibasic acids as described above or their salts. Therefore, the branched unsaturated dibasic acids or their salts are useful as a solute of an electrolytic solution. In particular, a dibasic acid of 7-vinyl-9-hexadecene-1,16-dicaroboxylic acid or its salt is useful as a solute of a specific electrolytic solution having electrical characteristics having a high breakdown voltage that exceeds a medium voltage region. This seems to be because the vinyl group in position 7 has a high ability of forming a complex with an aluminum electrode foil.
However, when the branched unsaturated dibasic acids as described above or their salts are used as a solute of an electrolytic solution for a high voltage capacitor, the electric conductivity (mS/cm) or the sparking threshold voltage (Vsp) of the electrolytic solution is reduced in use over a long time, and the water content tends to be increased. Therefore, the performance as a high voltage capacitor is not always adequate.
Therefore, there is a demand for a composition for an electrolytic capacitor that can be used for a high voltage capacitor, does not allow the electric conductivity (mS/cm) or the sparking threshold voltage (Vsp) of the electrolytic solution to be reduced in a long time use and prevents the water content from increasing, in particular, a composition for a high voltage electrolytic capacitor.

Composition for electrolytic solution and process for producing the same

Abstract: where each R is a same or different alkyl group, and R′ is hydrogen, a methyl group or an ethyl group, and n is an integer of 0 to 14.


A broadhead for connecting to the end of an arrow comprises a shaft having a longitudinal cylindrical shaped body and a plurality of blades pivotally attached to a blade holder that is slidably mounted upon the shaft. The blades are resiliently held in a retracted position during flight by at least one O-ring. When the broadhead impacts against an animal, the blade holder is slidably forced rearward allowing the blades to pivot outward into an extended position.

The present invention pertains to the field of game hunting with a bow and arrow, more specifically to a broadhead for an arrow, and even more particularly to a broadhead having cutting blades that are positively held retracted during flight, for greater accuracy, but are easily and forcibly extended upon striking an intended target. Specifically, in the instant invention, a blade holder is thrust backwards on a shaft by target impact thus causing the cutting blades to become extended.


A substance mixing apparatus that is capable of uniformly mixing a certain amount of trace substances and also mixing minute particles. A substance mixing apparatus includes two or more flow paths (11, 12, 13) in which orifices (111, 121, 131), from which a fluid that flows therethrough is externally discharged, are formed, oscillation devices (112, 122, 132) that form droplets of the fluid discharged from each of the orifices (111, 121, 131) by oscillating at least the orifice (111, 121, 131) part of the flow paths at a predetermined oscillation frequency and discharge the droplets, and a device for causing the droplets (A, B, C) discharged from the orifices (111, 121, 131) of the flow paths (11, 12, 13) to collide with one another.

The present invention relates to a substance mixing apparatus and a substance mixing method, more specifically, to an apparatus and method for mixing substances by causing droplets discharged from orifices of two or more flow paths to collide with one another.
In recent years, in fields of biotechnology and chemistry, an increase in scale and speed of a reaction analysis process is progressing. For realizing a high throughput of the reaction analysis process, it is effective to simultaneously analyze a large number of micro reaction systems. With a large amount of reaction systems, when carrying out an analysis on a substance having an extremely high reaction speed, for example, a reaction progresses in a part of the reaction systems before mixing of all the reaction systems is ended. As a result, a large number of reaction systems cannot be analyzed under the same condition, and an accurate analysis result cannot be obtained.
On the other hand, with micro reaction systems, there is a problem that it becomes difficult to uniformly mix substances in a certain amount. When the amounts of substances vary among the reaction systems or substances are mixed without uniformity, reproducibility of the analysis is lowered, and a reliable analysis result cannot be obtained.
As a technique that enables trace substances to be mixed uniformly in a certain amount, Patent Document 1 discloses a uniformly mixing method and a uniformly mixing device for a substance that are characterized by including two or more piezoelectric type fluid droplet discharge means, and in that small fluid droplets discharged from the fluid droplet discharge means are caused to collide with one another to be uniformly mixed. According to this technique, a mixing-reaction operation of a minute amount of substances becomes possible, and the substances can be caused to react uniformly so that a uniform reactant can be obtained. It should be noted that the "piezoelectric type fluid droplet discharge means" adopted in the uniformly mixing method for a substance and the like is a fluid droplet discharge apparatus that generates a pressure in a fluid compression chamber by deforming a partial wall portion of the fluid compression chamber by a piezoelectric/electrostrictive device to thus inject a fluid in the fluid compression chamber from a nozzle hole.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. Hei 11-262644

Droplet collision substance mixing apparatus and droplet collision substance mixing method