The hearing device comprises an insertable part, which is to be inserted into an ear canal of a user of the hearing device. The insertable part may be identical with the hearing device itself, and the insertable part comprises a casing, which casing comprises a deformable part. The hearing device can include at least one deformable volume containing a fixed amount of a filler for changing a cross-sectional area of the deformable part. The cross-sectional area of the deformable part can be changed through changing the axial extension of the deformable part. The hearing device can include a variable volume arranged within the hearing device, the deformable part being arranged on the outside of the variable volume.

In-the-ear (ITE) hearing devices are, at least in part, to be worn in a user's ear canal. Usually, the geometry of the user's ear canal is precisely measured, and thereupon a hard polymer casing for housing a transducer, a signal processor, a battery and the like is produced, which casing is, accordingly, individually shaped for the user's ear canal. Nevertheless, it happens that the casing gives rise to a sore in the ear canal, due to changes in cross-section of the ear canal.
It is known from the art to provide the hard casing of an ITE hearing device with a soft coating on the outside of the casing in order to prevent such sores.
It can be advantageous to have a rather tight fit of the hearing device in the ear canal, because this reduces the risk of feedback when a high amplification gain is used. A defined opening ("vent") can provide for a defined air-penetrable connection between the inner part of the ear and the outside, which has a low risk of causing feedback. The vent equalizes pressure differences between the inside of the ear canal and the outside. The vent also suppresses the occurrence of low pressure (vacuum) in the inside of the ear canal when the hearing device is pulled out of the ear canal. Such a vacuum can occur when the ear canal is sealed by the hearing device and when the vent is plugged. This is unpleasant to the user, because the vacuum tends to pull the ear drum.
From DE 10 2004 010 866 A1, an insertion element is known, which can be connected to a behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aid. The insertion element can support a supply line of the BTE hearing aid, which supply line can carry a signal from the BTE hearing device. The insertion element comprises a balloon, which can be filled, e.g., with a gas or a liquid, and emptied. The insertion element is inserted into a user's ear canal when the balloon is emptied. For filling the balloon, a syringe containing said gas or liquid can be connected via a tube to the balloon, and said gas or liquid can be filled into the balloon. The formerly small balloon will thereupon enlarge and adapts to the shape of the ear canal. It seems inconvenient to have to have a syringe or the like and the gas or liquid available whenever the insertion element shall be pumped up. Furthermore, it appears difficult, to properly adjust the pressure exerted on the inside of the ear canal by means of the syringe each time. In addition, it appears inconvenient to have to close the balloon (or tube) properly after filling it with the gas or liquid.

Hearing device to be at least partially inserted into an ear canal


The present invention relates to an ice maker having a fan assembly. The ice maker 30 of the present invention comprises a main body 40 and a fan assembly 60 mounted to the main body 40 by means of resilient mounting hooks. A housing 62 defines an external appearance of the fan assembly 60, and comprises first and second housing portions 62a and 62b. The first and second housing portions 62a and 62b are provided with concavo-convex coupling portions 63 and 63′ at positions corresponding to each other so that the housing portions can be provisionally assembled by coupling the concavo-convex coupling portions to each other. The interiors of the first and second housing 62a and 62b are partitioned by partition plates 64 to define a cold air flow passage 64f, and a discharge duct 66 is formed integrally to communicate with the cold air flow passage 64f. A box fan unit 80 is installed in the cold air flow passage 64f, and mounting ribs 65 and 65′ corresponding to opposite corners of the box fan unit 80 are formed on the first and second housing portions 62a and 62b. The first and second housing portions 62a and 62b are coupled to each other by fastening the box fan unit 80 to the mounting ribs 65 and 65′ by means of screws. A housing cover 70 formed with an inlet 72 communicating the cold air flow passage 64f is installed at a side of the housing 62. A fastening rib 74 of the housing cover 70 is simultaneously fastened together with the first and second housing portion 62a, 62b by means of a screw.

A refrigerator is provided with an ice maker to make and provide ice to a user. In the ice maker, cold air with relatively low temperature within the refrigerator is supplied to a tray of the ice maker so that ice can be more rapidly made. A conventional ice maker with such a structure is shown in FIG. 1.
According to the ice maker as shown in the figure, a main body 1 of the ice maker is provided with an ice-making tray 3. Generally, the ice-making tray 3 is a portion in which ice is actually made, and is partitioned into a plurality of spaces. Reference numeral 5 is an ice-detecting lever. A driving unit 7 in which a driving motor for driving the ice-making tray 3 and the ice-detecting lever 5 is located is provided at a side of the main body 1 of the ice maker.
A fan assembly 10 is detachably installed at the driving unit 7. The fan assembly 10 forcibly supplies cold air toward the ice-making tray 3 to more rapidly make ice.
The structure of the fan assembly 10 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 2. A housing 12 defines an external appearance of the fan assembly 10. A fan housing 14 is installed within the housing 12. A sirocco fan 16 is installed within the fan housing 14. The sirocco fan 16 serves to cause cold air to flow toward the ice-making tray 3. The sirocco fan 16 is driven by a fan motor 15 installed at a side of the fan housing 14.
A duct housing 17 is provided at a side of the housing 12. An inlet 18 is formed at a side of the duct housing 17. The inlet 18 is a passage through which cold air within the refrigerator is introduced into the housing 12 by means of the sirocco fan 16. A discharge duct 19 is provided integrally at a side of the duct housing 17. An outlet 20 that is open toward a lower portion of the ice-making tray 3 is formed at an end of the discharge duct 19. The cold air forcibly delivered by the sirocco fan 16 is discharged through the outlet 20.
Further, a housing cover 22 is provided to define a side surface of the housing 12, more specifically, a surface of the housing 12 opposite to the main body 1 of the ice maker. The housing cover 22 defines a side surface of the external appearance of the fan assembly 10. The housing cover 22 is provided with a switch 23 for manipulating the fan motor 15.
Meanwhile, in the conventional ice maker with the fan assembly constructed as above, the operation of the fan assembly is controlled as follows. The sirocco fan 16 is driven only when the ice maker is operated. That is, in order to reduce time required for making ice, the sirocco fan 16 is driven after water is supplied to the ice maker. Accordingly, the sirocco fan 16 is not driven during the ice maker is not operated.
First, water is supplied into the ice-making tray 3. This step is performed by operating a water-supplying valve for a period of time that has been already set in a control unit. When the supply of water is completed, the control unit applies a driving signal so that electric power can be supplied to the fan motor 15. The fan motor 15 is driven in response to the driving signal and generates power for rotating the sirocco fan 16.
Here, the rotating operation of the sirocco fan 16 is performed until water supplied to the ice-making tray 3 is frozen into ice and thus the process of making ice is completed. Accordingly, the control unit detects temperature through a temperature-detecting unit for detecting temperature at the ice-making tray 3 and continuously drives the sirocco fan 16 until the detected temperature is reached to a predetermined value.
When the temperature detected through the temperature-detecting unit is equal to temperature that has been already set for a moment when the process of making ice is completed, the control unit controls an ice-releasing operation. Prior to this, the control unit outputs a control signal for cutting off the electric power supplied to the fan motor to stop the rotating operation of the sirocco fan 16. Therefore, when the electric power supplied to the fan motor 15 is cut off, the power for rotating the fan 16 is also cut off.
Further, the control unit outputs a signal to a motor that is provided in the driving unit 7. Then, the motor generates power for releasing the ice. The ice-releasing power is transmitted to an ice-releasing lever that in turn is rotated to release the ice from the ice-making tray 3. The released ice is stored in an ice storage container located below the ice-making tray.
When the ice-releasing operation is completed, the control unit restarts the sirocco fan 16. That is, the control unit performs control to again supply the electric power to the fan motor so that the fan motor 15 can be operated. In such a way, the sirocco fan 16 is rotated again.
Meanwhile, after the control unit performs the ice-releasing operation, it performs the process of checking the amount of ice stored in the ice storage container in order to determine whether to perform the process of making ice again. To this end, power for an ice-detecting operation is supplied from the motor in the driving unit 7.
The ice-detecting lever 5 is rotated by means of the power generated as above and determines whether the ice storage container has been fully filled with ice. When the ice-detecting lever 5 comes into contact with ice and is restricted in view of its rotating range during rotation thereof, a micro switch constructed to be mechanically interlocked with the ice-detecting lever 5 is operated to generate a signal according to the full state of the ice and transmit the signal to the control unit.
Once the control unit recognizes that the ice storage container is fully filled with the ice, the control unit no longer controls the ice-making operation. Then, the control unit applies a signal for cutting off the electric power supplied to the fan motor so as to stop the operation of the fan motor 15. Here, since the ice-making operation is no longer performed, the rotation of the fan 16 is also limited. However, if a state where the ice storage container is not fully filled with ice is detected, the control unit repeatedly performs control of the water-supplying operation, the ice-making operation and the ice-releasing operation.
However, there are the following problems in the prior art.
First, a relatively great number of parts are required to construct the fan assembly 10. The additional fan motor 15 is required for driving the fan 16 and the fan housing 14 is required for guiding an air stream formed by the fan 16. Further, about ten (10) screws are needed for fastening the fan housing, the housing 12, the duct housing 17 and the housing cover 22 to one another.
Accordingly, the conventional ice maker has problems in that it is difficult to manage constituent parts and manufacturing costs are increased due to the large number of parts, and assembly workability is deteriorated due to a plurality of screwing operations for assembling the parts.
Further, the fan motor 15 constituting the conventional fan assembly 10 is an AC motor that has a relatively large volume and heavy weight. Moreover, since the fan housing 14 is provided in the fan assembly 10, the entire weight of the fan assembly 10 is increased. Accordingly, considering the ice maker as a whole, the center of gravity of the ice maker is biased toward the fan assembly 10 and thus there is a problem in that the design of installation of the ice maker is complicated.
Furthermore, since openings of the inlet 18 and outlet 20 do not exit on a straight line in the conventional fan assembly 10, the flow of cold air is not smooth relatively. That is, there is a problem in that a relatively large loss of the flow of the cold air which flows within the fan assembly 12 is produced.
Meanwhile, the conventional ice maker is controlled such that ON/OFF operations of the fan are performed twice during one (1) cycle including the water-supplying operation, the ice-making operation, the ice-releasing operation and the operation for detecting the state where the ice storage container is fully filled with ice. That is, the ON/OFF operation of the fan is performed once during the process of releasing ice, and the ON/OFF operation of the fan is performed once again after the process of detecting the state where the ice storage container is fully filled with ice and the process of supplying water.
In the conventional ice maker controlled as described above, there is a problem in that the ON/OFF operations of the fan are unnecessarily performed since the fan is operated twice during one cycle, thereby shortening the life of the fan.

Ice maker having fan assembly and fan assembly control method


A drill bit guiding device is used to guide axial movement of a drill bit when forming holes in a workpiece and includes an end block, a pair of guide shafts, a plurality of guide blocks and a positioning block. Each of the guide shafts is mounted removably on the end block and the positioning block in such a manner that the guide shafts are parallel to one another and extend between the end and positioning blocks. One of the guide shafts is formed with a graduated line that is marked off in units of length. The guide blocks are mounted slidably on the guide shafts and are parallel to the end block. Each of the guide blocks is formed with a single vertically extending hole in a direction that is transverse to axes of the guide shafts. The vertically extending hole receives a corresponding tubular guide sleeve therein. The guide sleeve permits extension of the drill bit thereinto. The guide blocks are locked releasably at desired positions on the guide shafts. In use, the drill bit guiding device is secured on the workpiece, and the guide blocks are positioned on the guide shafts so that the vertically extending holes are aligned with intended locations of the holes to be formed in the workpiece.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a guiding device, more particularly to a drill bit guiding device used to guide the formation of holes in a wooden workpiece.
2. Description of the Related Art
Drill bit guiding devices are used when it is desired to form holes in a wooden workpiece accurately. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a conventional drill bit guiding device 2 is used to guide the boring of holes 12 in the edge 11 of a wooden workpiece 1. The drill bit guiding device 2 includes two side plates 21, a guide block 22, a rotatable bolt 23 and a pair of guide rods 24. The side plates 21 are disposed on opposite sides of the guide block 22 and are respectively formed with aligned oppositely oriented screw holes. The rotatable bolt 23 engages the screw holes of the side plates 21 and passes through the guide block 22. The guide block 22 permits free rotation of the rotatable bolt 23. When the bolt 23 is rotated, the guide rods 24 guide movement of the side plates 21 toward or away from each other. The guide block 22 is formed with a series of aligned vertically extending holes 221. The holes 221 have different diameters and are adapted to receive a corresponding tubular guide sleeve 25 therein. The guide sleeve 25 serves to guide the axial movement of a drill bit 3 when forming a hole 12 in the edge 11 of the workpiece 1.
When using the drill bit guiding device 2, the workpiece 1 is marked on one side adjacent to the edge 11 in order to indicate the locations of the holes that are to be formed. The rotatable bolt 23 is then operated in order to adjust the distance between the side plates 21 so as to correspond with the thickness of the workpiece 1. The bottom side of the guide block 22 is seated on the edge 11 of the workpiece 1. The drill bit guiding device 2 is formed with several markings 26 which correspond respectively to the holes 221 of the guide block 22. The drill bit guiding device 2 is moved along the edge 11 until the marking 26 which corresponds to the selected hole 221 is aligned with one of the markings 101 on the workpiece The rotatable bolt 23 is further rotated until the workpiece 1 is clamped tightly between the side plate 21. The corresponding guide sleeve 25 is received in the selected hole 221, and the drill bit 3 is extended into the guide sleeve 25 and is rotated in order to bore a hole 12 in the edge 11.
After one hole 12 has been bored, the rotatable bolt 23 is operated so as to release the workpiece 1. The drill bit guiding device 2 is then moved along the edge 11 until the marking 26 which corresponds to the selected hole 221 is aligned with another one of the markings 101 on the workpiece 1. The above procedure is then repeated to form another hole 12 in the edge 11.
The drawbacks of the conventional drill bit guiding device 2 are as follows:
1. Since a relatively large distance between the side plates 21 is not permitted, the drill bit guiding device 2 cannot be used to guide the forming of holes in a relatively thick workpiece.
2. Note that the distances of the side plates 21 to the guide block 22 are equal. Therefore, when the drill bit guiding device 2 is clamped on the workpiece 1, the centers of the through holes 221 of the guide block 22 lie on a longitudinal axis of the edge 11. Thus, the holes 12 that are formed in the workpiece 1 must lie on the longitudinal axis of the edge 11 and cannot be formed on other locations.
3. Note that tolerable differences in the length, width and thickness of two equally sized workpieces 1 are usually present. With reference to FIG. 3, since the holes 12 that are formed with the use of the conventional drill bit guiding device 2 must lie on the longitudinal axes of the edges 11 of two workpieces 1, when pins 14 (only one pin 14 is shown) are used to connect the workpieces 1, a clearance (h) is formed between corresponding sides of the workpieces 1 because the thicknesses of the workpieces 1 are not exactly equal. Because both sides of the workpieces 1 are not flush, the quality of the finished product deteriorates.
4. FIG. 4 illustrates the workpiece 1 when mounted horizontally on a front side of a vertical workpiece (1a). The front side of the workpiece (1a) is formed with a number of aligned holes (12a). The axes of the holes (12a) are spaced by a fixed distance from a top surface of the workpiece (1a). As mentioned earlier, the holes 12 that are formed with the aid of the conventional drill bit guiding device 2 lie on the longitudinal axis of the edge 11 of the workpiece 1. If the thickness of the workpiece 1 deviates from an ideal value, a clearance (h) is formed between the top surface of the workpiece (1a) and one side of the workpiece 1 when pins 14 (only one pin 14 is shown) are used to connect the workpieces 1, (1a). Because the desired surfaces of the workpieces 1, (1a) are not flush, the quality of the finished product deteriorates.
Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, a second conventional drill bit guiding device 4 is used to guide the boring of holes 12 in a wide surface 13 of a wooden workpiece 1. The drill bit guiding device 4 includes a pair of parallel shafts 41 and a pair of elongated guide bars 42. The guide bars 42 are respectively formed with a series of aligned and equally spaced vertically extending holes 421. The holes 42 are equally sized and are adapted to receive a tubular guide sleeve 422 therein. The guide sleeve 422 serves to guide the axial movement of a drill bit 3 when forming a hole 12 in the surface 13 of the workpiece 1. The guide bars 42 are mounted slidably and transversely on the parallel shafts 41. The drill bit guiding device 4 further includes knobs 43 which are operable so as to lock the guide bars 42 on the parallel shafts 41. A limit piece 44 is provided on each end of the parallel shafts 41. Each of the parallel shafts 41 has a threaded end portion 411. Nuts 412 engage the threaded end portion 411 of the respective parallel shaft 41 and are tightened so as to urge the limit pieces 44 to clamp tightly the edges of the workpiece 1, thereby mounting the drill bit guiding device 4 on the workpiece 1.
When using the conventional drill bit guiding device 4, the guide bars 42 are initially adjusted to the desired positions on the workpiece 1. A guide plate 45, which is mounted detachably and slidably on one of the guide bars 42, is moved along said one of the guide bars 42 so as to align with a selected one of the holes 421. The guide sleeve 422 is received in the selected hole 421, and the drill bit 3 is extended into the guide sleeve 422 and is rotated in order to bore a hole 12.
After one hole 12 has been bored, the guide sleeve 422 is removed, and the guide plate 45 is moved so as to align with another one of the holes 421. The above procedure is then repeated to form another hole 12 in the workpiece 1.
The drawbacks of the conventional drill bit guiding device 4 are as follows:
1. The drill bit guiding device 4 is adapted for use when forming holes 12 in a relatively wide surface 13 of a workpiece 1 and cannot be used when forming holes in an edge of a relatively thin workpiece.
2. Note that the distance between adjacent holes 421 in the guide bars 42 is fixed. If the distance between the adjacent holes 421 is one inch, the permissible distance between the holes 12 in the workpiece 1 is limited to an integral multiple of one, such as one inch, two inches, etc. A distance of 1.5 inches between the holes 12 is not permitted.
3. Each time the drill bit guiding device 4 is used to guide the boring of a hole 12 in the workpiece 1, the guide plate 45 should be moved to a desired position before the guide sleeve 422 can be received in the selected hole 421. The guide sleeve 422 is removed before the guide plate 45 can be moved to another desired position on the workpiece 1 when boring another hole 12 in the workpiece


A lower electrode, a photoelectric conversion layer, and an upper electrode are stacked in order above a semiconductor substrate, and a charge storage section that stores charge generated in the photoelectric conversion layer is connected to the lower electrode. The charge stored in the charge storage section is swept away by a charge sweeping away section for a given time from the endpoint of exposure. The given time is a time taken until the residual image charge existing in the photoelectric conversion layer at the exposure end point time is sufficiently discharged to the outside of the photoelectric conversion layer in a state in which the same bias as that at the exposure start time point is applied to the photoelectric conversion layer.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an image pickup apparatus having an image pickup device having a photoelectric conversion element stacked above a semiconductor substrate and a charge storage section formed in the semiconductor substrate for storing a charge generated in the photoelectric conversion element for outputting a signal responsive to the charge stored in the charge storage section to the outside.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a single-plate color solid-state image pickup device represented by an image sensor of CCD type or CMOS type, three or four types of color filters are placed on a light reception section array for executing photoelectric conversion as a tessellated pattern. Accordingly, a color signal corresponding to the color filter is output from each light reception section and the color signals are processed, whereby a color image is generated.
However, with the color solid-state image pickup device with the color filters arranged as a tessellated pattern, if the color filters are primary color filters, about two thirds of incidence light are absorbed in the color filters and thus the light use efficiency is poor and the sensitivity is low; this is a problem. Since a color signal only of one color can be obtained in each light reception section, the resolution is also poor and particularly a false color is conspicuous; this is also a problem.
Then, overcome the problems, a stacked solid-state image pickup device of a structure wherein three photoelectric conversion layers are stacked on a semiconductor substrate has been researched and developed (for example, JP-T-2002-502120 and JP-A-2002-83946). This stacked solid-state image pickup device has a light reception section structure wherein photoelectric conversion layers for generating charges (electrons, holes) for light of B, G, and R are stacked in order from a light incidence face and moreover is provided with a charge storage section for storing a signal charge generated in each photoelectric conversion layer and a signal read circuit capable of reading a signal responsive to the charge stored in the charge storage section for each light reception section. Each photoelectric conversion layer is sandwiched between paired electrodes and one of the paired electrodes and the charge storage section are electrically connected, whereby the charge generated in the photoelectric conversion layer and moved to the one electrode is stored in the charge storage section.
With the described image pickup device, incidence light is almost converted into electricity for read and the use efficiency of visible light is near to 100% and moreover color signals of three colors of R, G, and B are provided in the light reception sections, so that a good image with high sensitivity and high resolution (false color is inconspicuous) can be generated.
The signal read circuit of the stacked image pickup device can be a CCD circuit for reading a charge stored in a charge storage section to a charge transfer section for transfer and converting the post-transferred charge into a signal voltage with an FD amplifier, etc., for output, a MOS circuit for converting a charge stored in a charge storage section into a signal voltage with a MOS transistor, or the like. To adopt the CCD circuit or the MOS circuit, after the signal read, it is necessary to sweep away the charge remaining in the charge storage section (transfer remaining charge if the CCD circuit is adopted) to a substrate, etc., and as an art concerning sweeping away of the charge, the art used with the single-plate image pickup device can be adopted.
For example, for the MOS circuit, a structure can be adopted wherein after an exposure time period expires, a signal responsive to the charge stored in the charge storage section in the exposure time period is output from the MOS circuit and then a reset pulse is supplied to a gate of a reset transistor for discharging an unnecessary charge to a reset drain.
FIG. 8 is a timing chart to describe the reset operation of the single-plate image pickup device. In FIG. 8, the case where the exposure time period and non-exposure time period of the image pickup device are controlled with a mechanical shutter is taken as an example.
When incidence light is incident on the image pickup device and the charge generated in the photoelectric conversion layer is stored in the charge storage section, the potential of the charge storage section rises as shown in the figure. After exposure terminates, a signal responsive to the charge stored in the charge storage section is output from the MOS circuit and the charge in the charge storage section is reset. When no light is incident after the reset operation, if a carrier generated in the photoelectric conversion layer is stored in the charge storage section in an instant, the potential of the charge storage section should not rise after the reset operation. However, a considerable time may be required until the carrier generated in the photoelectric conversion layer arrives at an electrode connected to the charge storage section and thus a carrier not moved to the charge storage section although it was generated in the photoelectric conversion layer during the exposure time period is stored in the charge storage section after reset as a residual image component. The residual image component mixes with a carrier stored in the charge storage section in the next exposure time period, so that the image quality is degraded. If the residual image component exists in the charge storage section, the potential of the electrode connected to the charge storage section rises and thus the bias voltage applied to the photoelectric conversion layer relatively lowers and a problem of lowering the carrier transport performance and making poor sensitivity can also occur. It is acknowledged that the residual image component in the photoelectric conversion layer decreases exponentially with the passage of time.
Then, it is considered that it is effective to prevent image quality degradation and sensitivity lowering by supplying a reset pulse once more when the residual image component in the photoelectric conversion layer sufficiently decreases. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, after a signal is read, when the residual image component in the photoelectric conversion layer sufficiently decreases, the reset operation may be performed once more and the next exposure may be started in a state in which almost no residual image component exists.
However, in so doing, the potential of the charge storage section fluctuates between the reset timings shown in FIG. 9 and thus meanwhile the force pulling out the residual image component in the photoelectric conversion layer to the electrode weakens. Consequently, the time until the residual image component in the photoelectric conversion layer sufficiently decreases is prolonged and the exposure time is shortened.

Image pickup apparatus having a charge storage section and charge sweeping section


A liquid supply pump unit for hydroponic culture, which can perform oxygen enrichment and has a small power consumption, and a hydroponic culture apparatus, which utilizes this liquid supply pump unit and automatically supplies a larger amount of oxygen in the daytime when the plant growth is active, are disclosed. The liquid supply pump unit includes a container for containing a culture liquid for hydroponic plant culture, a partition member for partitioning an interior of the container to charge the partitioned interior with air, an air blow portion formed below the partition member to supply air inside the partition member, an air supply pump for supplying air to the air blow portion, an air discharge portion for intermittently discharging air from the partition member to a portion above the partition member, and an inflow/outflow pipe connected to a side surface of the container to allow the culture liquid to flow into/from the container upon a change in liquid level of the culture liquid caused by air discharge from the air discharge portion. The hydroponic culture apparatus described above is constituted by connecting a culture tank to the liquid supply pump unit described above, and uses a solar battery as the drive power supply of the air supply pump.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid supply pump unit for flowing a culture liquid used for plant culture and a hydroponic culture apparatus using this liquid supply pump unit and, more particularly, to a liquid supply pump unit switch generates a water flow in a culture liquid by utilizing the air supply operation of an air supply pump used for replenishing oxygen dissolved in the culture liquid and which utilizes a solar battery as a drive power supply for this air supply pump, and a hydroponic culture apparatus using this air supply pump unit.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Hydroponic culture is a method of culturing plants not by using soil but by supplying components necessary for plant growth with an artificially adjusted culture liquid. In hydroponic culture, to supply the culture liquid to the plant, various types of methods are employed, e.g., a liquid level change method of changing the liquid level of the culture liquid, a flow method of circulating a culture liquid, a spray method of spraying a culture liquid to the plant root, and the like.
In hydroponic culture, nutrient components necessary for plant growth must be sufficiently supplied to the culture liquid. In addition, it is very important to supply a sufficient amount of oxygen to the plant root in order to promote the normal growth of the plant without rotting the root. To supply a sufficient amount of oxygen to the root, a sufficient amount of oxygen may be dissolved in the culture liquid to increase the dissolved oxygen concentration. Also, it is effective to flow the culture liquid.
In Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 5-25448, the present inventors disclose a hydroponic culture apparatus using the liquid level change method. In this hydroponic culture apparatus, air is supplied from an air supply pump into a culture liquid to dissolve oxygen in the culture liquid, thereby increasing the amount of oxygen dissolved in the culture liquid. Also, a partition member formed in a culture liquid tank is temporarily charged with the supplied air. The reserved air in the partition member is intermittently discharged into the culture liquid to change the liquid level of the culture liquid, thereby flowing the culture liquid. When the liquid level is lowered, the plant root is brought into direct contact with air, thereby supplying oxygen to the root. However, according to this apparatus, depth of the culture liquid tank may be 25 cm to 30 cm and relatively much quantity of the culture liquid is necessary.
According to a conventional method of increasing the amount of dissolved oxygen by dissolving oxygen in the culture liquid (this will be called "oxygen enrichment" hereinafter), air is supplied into the culture liquid by using an air supply pump and is discharged into the culture liquid in the form of small bubbles, thereby performing oxygen enrichment. According to a conventional method of supplying the culture liquid to the plant, the culture liquid is supplied into a culture tank by using a liquid supply pump, and a culture liquid flow is generated and flowed in the culture tank. According to these methods, the air supply pump and the liquid supply pump must always be operated, increasing the cost.
In particular, since the liquid supply pump for generating a water flow requires a large power consumption, a plurality of culture tanks are connected to one liquid supply pump, and the water flow directions are switched to generate a water flow in each culture tank. Also, the operation of the liquid supply pump during the nighttime is cut off. However, a selector for switching the water flow, a controller for changing the operation contents between the daytime and the nighttime, and the like become additionally necessary, leading to an increase in equipment cost.
The plant activity and a change in quantity of light substantially correspond to each other. When the quantity of light increases, the necessary oxygen amount also increases accordingly. The operation amount of the air supply pump preferably increases accordingly. In order to perform a control operation in accordance with the quantity of light in this manner, a sensor for detecting the quantity of light irradiated on the plant and other controllers become necessary, leading to an increase in equipment cost.


A portion corresponding to a surface lid section of a cabinet is formed using a nonconductive material. A structure is molded by using an insulating substance, an insulating plate member, and an insulating weir member so as to entirely cover a radiation-sensitive semiconductor and a voltage application electrode on an active matrix substrate. The area from the outer frame of the cabinet to the margin of the voltage application electrode is shielded by a shield member so as to cover any area, other than the portion just above the voltage application electrode, from above the insulating plate member.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a radiological image pickup apparatus with a radiation detection section of direct conversion type used in a medical field, an industrial field, a nuclear field, etc., and in particular to an art for improving the S/N ratio of the radiological image pickup apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Radiation (for example, X-ray) detectors include those of indirect conversion type wherein radiation (for example, X-rays) is first converted into light and then the provided light is converted into an electric signal by photoelectric conversion and those of direct conversion type wherein incident radiation is converted directly into an electric signal by a radiation-sensitive semiconductor.
The latter radiation detection section of direct conversion type applies a predetermined bias voltage to a voltage application electrode formed on the surface of a radiation-sensitive semiconductor and collects carriers produced with incidence of radiation from a carrier collection electrode formed on the back of the semiconductor and then takes out the carriers as an electric signal, thereby detecting radiation.
Particularly, to use an amorphous semiconductor such as amorphous selenium as a radiation-sensitive semiconductor, the amorphous semiconductor can be easily formed as a thick film of a large area by a method of vacuum evaporation, etc., and thus is fitted for forming a two-dimensional array radiation detection section requiring a large area.
As shown in FIG. 8, a two-dimensional array radiological image pickup apparatus in a related art comprises a radiation detection section having an active matrix substrate 6, a radiation-sensitive semiconductor 7, and a voltage application electrode 8, an LSI chip 9, a signal processing circuit 10 and a flexible wiring film 11. The active matrix substrate 6 is formed with a charge-storage capacitor, a charge read switching element, and a pixel electrode for each unit cell with signal lines and scanning lines disposed like a lattice on the substrate. The radiation-sensitive semiconductor 7 produces charges as radiation is incident and is formed on the active matrix substrate 6. The voltage application electrode 8 is formed on the surface of the semiconductor 7. The LSI chip 9 is formed on the flexible wiring film 11. A two-dimensional radiation detection signal can be obtained by applying a predetermined bias voltage to the voltage application electrode 8 and turning on the switching elements in order for each row by the LSI chip 9 and then reading the charges stored in the charge-storage capacitors for each column through the LSI chip 9 and the signal processing circuit 10.
To use the radiation detection section in FIG. 8, for example, to detect a translucent X-ray image of an X-ray fluoroscopic and radiographic apparatus, a translucent X-ray image can be provided based on the two-dimensional radiation detection signal output from the radiation detection section. To design the two-dimensional array radiation detection section as a compact size, the LSI chip 9 on which charge detection amplifiers and a gate driver are integrated is not separately shielded and is often used in a state in which it is exposed or is only resin-molded. Therefore, the radiation detection section is housed in a conductive cabinet 102 made of metal or a carbon material for use. Thus, it is a common practice to house the radiation detection section in the cabinet for use (JP-A-2002-214352).
However, as shown in FIG. 8, in the radiation detection section of direct conversion type, capacitors are formed between the voltage application electrode 8 and a surface lid section 101 corresponding to a surface lid of the cabinet 102 and when a bias voltage is applied, charges are stored. In this state, if the surface lid section 101 vibrates with vibration of a cooling fan 12, etc., the capacitance of each capacitor fluctuates, so that charge transfer occurs and noise is detected. The surface lid section 101 of the cabinet 102 serves as an incidence window member of radiation and thus needs to be made thin as much as possible and is comparatively easily affected by vibration; it is one of S/N degradation factors.


In a die for molding a honeycomb structure, in which a coating layer is formed on a die base so that slits with a particular width are provided, the slits are provided so as to have a width of 30 to 200 μm by forming the coating layer by a substrate layer with a thickness of 10 to 100 μm and a surface layer with a thickness of 1 to 30 μm. Further, the substrate layer is formed by a metal layer containing no oxide.

Conventionally, a ceramic honeycomb structure has been used widely as an exhaust gas purifying filter, a catalyst carrier, and the like. In recent years, as the regulation of exhaust gas has been tightened, a honeycomb structure having a wall thickness of 120 μm or smaller, which can offer higher exhaust gas purifying performance, has been demanded strongly.
On the other hand, as a manufacturing method for such a honeycomb structure, an extrusion molding method has generally been used. When extrusion molding is performed, it is a slit width of a die that determines the wall thickness of honeycomb structure, and various dies in which a coating layer is formed on a die base to adjust the slit width have been disclosed.
Specifically, as a conventional die for molding a honeycomb structure, there has been disclosed a die in which a coating layer is formed on a die base by electroless plating to adjust the slit width, and a rounded portion having roundness is formed at a corner of face forming each slit to increase its strength (Japanese Patent Publication No. 61-39167).
Also, a die for molding a honeycomb structure, in which a coating layer consisting of iron boride, chromium carbide, aluminum oxide, titanium carbide, titanium nitride, or titanium carbide nitride is formed on a die base by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) to improve abrasion resistance, has been disclosed (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 60-145804).
However, in the die for molding a honeycomb structure described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 61-39167, since the coating layer is formed by electroless nickel plating, the abrasion resistance of the coating layer is not necessarily sufficient to accomplish extrusion of ceramic material.
Also, in the die described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 60-145804, since the coating layer formed by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) has a thickness of about 30 μm at the most, if the coating layer is formed by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) after slits are provided roughly by a method such as electrical discharge machining (EDM), grinding, or the like, it is very difficult to finally form slits having a slit width of 120 μm or narrower, so that a honeycomb structure that meets the above-described recent demand cannot be obtained.
The applicant of the present invention has proposed a die for molding a honeycomb structure, in which a substrate layer is formed by electroless plating to roughly adjust the slit width, and then a surface layer is formed by chemical vapor deposition (CVD), by which slits having a slit width of 30 to 200 μm are provided (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-309713).
However, according to the subsequent study conducted by the inventor, it was found that in this die for molding a honeycomb structure, when or after the surface layer is formed by chemical vapor deposition (CVD), the substrate layer easily peels off, which sometimes results in damage to the surface layer.

Die for molding honeycomb structure and manufacturing method thereof

Abstract: A thin-wall honeycomb structure with a wall thickness of 30 to 200 μm can be formed, and moreover a die for molding a honeycomb structure, in which the coating layer is not damaged and thus the durability is high, and a manufacturing method thereof can be provided.


An image processing device includes: a size acquisition section that acquires a first display size of an output target display device that performs 3D display; a storage section that stores respective parallax amounts adjusted by a user during performing 3D display of 3D display image data respectively on display devices of different types, and stores respective second display sizes of the display devices; a parallax amount computation section that computes a parallax amount for the first display size based on a relationship between the parallax amounts and the second display sizes stored in the storage section; and an output section that outputs to the output target display device the computed parallax amount and the 3D display image data.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing device, an image processing method, and a storage medium, and in particular relates to an image processing device, an image processing method, and a storage medium that output stereoscopic (3D) display image data to a display device.
2. Related Art
A stereoscopic image processing method has been conventionally known in which a correct parallax for a user acquired by a first display device is read into a second display device, parallax of a parallax image is adjusted at the second display device according to the read correct parallax, and the parallax image after adjustment is output from the second display device (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 2004-7396).
A stereoscopic image generating device has been also known in which a stereoscopic image for the right eye and a stereoscopic image for the left eye is generated by converting a right eye image and a left eye image based on a display screen size and a viewing distance (for example, JP-A No. 2006-333400). In this stereoscopic image generating device, right eye and left eye positions of a viewer, a display screen region, and preset right eye image and left eye image display regions corresponding to the position of the viewer are set in a virtual space as a virtual right eye position, a virtual left eye position, a virtual display screen region and a virtual standard display region, based on display screen information (data) indicating the size of the display screen on which the stereoscopic image for the right eye and the stereoscopic image for the left eye are to be displayed, the position of the viewer, and the position of the display screen.
However, in the technology disclosed in JP-A No. 2004-7396, since manual parallax adjustment results for a display device is adjusted and used in another display device, an error in the parallax is liable to be larger in cases in which there is a large size difference between the display devices.
In the technology disclosed in JP-A No. 2006-333400, parallax adjustment must be performed each time in order to accommodate individual personal differences in stereognostic (3D) sensation.

Image processing device, image processing method and storage medium


A computer program product and method of simulation involve the present computer simulation model of a lossy transmission line. The model uses a hybrid model at each end of the transmission line, each hybrid model coupled to a port of the transmission line. Each hybrid model is coupled to a forward path model and a reverse path model, such that simulated signals pass through the forward path mode enroute from a first hybrid to the second hybrid, and through the reverse path model enroute from the second hybrid to the first hybrid. At each end of the transmission line there is also a reflection model coupling between the reverse path model and the forward path model.

Since the introduction of Berkeley Spice in the early 1970's, circuit simulation has become an invaluable tool in the design of analog and digital circuits. It is common for modern designers to use circuit simulators not only to test designs before constructing them, but to optimize many circuit parameters. Spice is capable of DC, AC, and transient simulations of a wide variety of circuits. Many circuit simulators available today trace many of their features, including syntax and capabilities, to Spice, and several use algorithms derived from those of Spice. Common analog circuit simulators include Hspice, Pspice, and other Berkeley-Spice derivatives including Hpspice, Powerspice Ispice, Eldo, Ispec, Mtime, and Spectre.
Over recent decades, simulation models for active devices like transistors have become quite accurate and efficient even for the high-speed, small geometry, devices found in modem integrated circuits. Simulation models for ideal passive devices like resistors and capacitors are also efficient and accurate.
Real world circuits contain circuitry beyond active devices and ideal passive devices. Real circuits have internal and external interconnect that can be considered lossy transmission lines. Real transmission lines are typically lossy due to conductor resistances, including skin effect resistance, and dielectric losses. Transmission lines also have delay, and frequency-dependent reflections may arise because of impedance mismatches at ends of the transmission line. Accurate modeling and simulation of delay and reflections can be of great importance to circuit and system designers.
In the early days of integrated circuits, designers were able to ignore the lossy transmission line characteristics of internal interconnect. As circuit speed increased in recent years, it has become necessary to consider transmission line effects that historically were ignored.
It is therefore necessary to have a fast, efficient, accurate, lossy transmission line simulation model for circuit simulation of circuitry containing lossy transmission lines. It is also desirable that the simulation model function for DC, AC and transient simulations.
Some circuit simulators incorporate proprietary transmission line models. For example, the Hspice W element uses a set of proprietary algorithms for modeling transmission lines. The Hspice W element description of the transmission line characteristics is prepared in terms of frequency, the analysis by Spice during AC analysis is done in the frequency domain. This model does not readily transfer to the time domain, forcing use of a completely different algorithm for transient simulations. The Hspice W element therefore executes AC and transient simulations with separate algorithms. It is known in the industry that the W-Element had significant errors in the time domain algorithm for several years after its introduction. The Hspice W element transmission line is not found on most other simulators, circuit simulations that use them are not portable to those simulators.
It is desirable to model lossy transmission lines in a simple, fast, efficient, portable, and accurate way. To ensure portability, it is desirable that a transmission-line model be built from those circuit elements commonly found in Spice, Spice-derived, and Spice-like analog circuit simulators. It is also desirable that the model be implemented in Spice components that can be executed without alteration in AC and transient analysis.
Spice, Spice-like, and Spice-derived circuit simulators generally use the first character of each line of source to determine a component type. They provide primitives for the following component types:
First CharacterComponent TypeRResistorCCapacitorLInductorEVoltage Dependent Voltage SourceTIdeal (lossless) Transmission LineXSubcircuit invocationVVoltage sourceGVoltage Dependent Current SourceHCurrent Dependent Voltage Source
While Spice provides an integral transmission line model, this typically models an ideal, lossless, transmission line as opposed to a lossy transmission line.
A commonly used circuit model for lossy transmission lines is an R-L-C ladder. The R-L-C ladder model uses cells containing a resistor, an inductor, and a capacitor. For balanced transmission lines, each cell contains two resistors, two inductors, and a capacitor. The cell is repeated multiple times, repetition increases accuracy of the model. While an R-L-C ladder model can provide portability and, if sufficient cells are used, reasonable accuracy, it has drawbacks at higher frequencies. Lossy transmission lines have a complex frequency dependence which can be difficult to model with fixed, discrete elements. For good accuracy, each frequency dependent resistor in FIG. 1 may need to be modeled using as many as 30 elements. High frequencies demand many R-L-C sections for accuracy, so the component count of the model can become quite large. The geometry of the model can also generate an ill-conditioned matrix which can cause severe round-off errors in the Spice engine. Round-off errors are undesirable because, the Spice simulation loses accuracy and may fail to converge. Failure to converge causes simulation to cease, and data is lost beyond this point in the analysis. What is needed is a new approach to the modeling of lossy transmission lines that does not require a large number of elements, can be used for transient and frequency analysis, and can accommodate variable lengths and frequencies without requiring large numbers of elements.

Computer program product and method of simulating circuits using a balanced, lossy, transmission line circuit model

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


Device having a flat macroporous support material made of silicon and having surfaces, a plurality of pores each having a diameter in a range of from 500 nm to 100 μm distributed over at least one surface region of the support material and extending from one surface through to the opposite surface of the support material, at least one region having one or more pores with SiO2 pore walls, and a frame of walls with a silicon core surrounding the at least one region and arranged essentially parallel to longitudinal axes of the pores and open towards the surfaces, wherein the silicon core merges into silicon dioxide over a cross section towards an outer side of the walls forming the frame.

In molecular biology, increasing use is being made of biochips with which discoveries about organisms and tissue can be made in a rapid fashion. The detection of (bio)chemical reactions, that is to say the detection of biologically relevant molecules in a defined study material, is extremely important for the biosciences and medical diagnosis. In this scope, the development of so-called biochips is being constantly pursued. Such biochips are usually miniaturized hybrid functional elements with biological and technical components, in particular biomolecules which are immobilized on a surface of a biochip base module and are used as specific interaction partners. The structure of these functional elements often has rows and columns. The term "microarrays" is then used. Since thousands of biological or biochemical functional elements can be arranged on one chip, they generally need to be fabricated using microtechnological methods.
Particularly suitable as biological and biochemical functional elements are: DNA, RNA, PNA, (in the case of nucleic acids and chemical derivatives thereof, there may for example be single strands, triplex structures or combination thereof present), saccharides, peptides, proteins (for example antibodies, antigens, receptors), derivatives from combinatorial chemistry (for example organic molecules), cell components (for example organelles), cells, multicellular organisms, or cell groups.
So-called microarrays are the most widespread variant of biochips. They are small wafers ("chips") for example of glass, gold, plastic or silicon. In order to detect corresponding biological or biochemical (binding) reactions, for example, small amounts of various solubilized capture molecules, for example a known nucleic acid sequence, are fixed on the surface of the biochip base module in the form of very small droplets, so-called dots, in a point-like and matrix-like fashion.
In practice, a few hundred to a few thousand droplets are used per chip. An analyte to be studied, which may for example contain fluorescence-labelled target molecules, is then pumped over this surface. This generally leads to various chemical (binding) reactions between the target molecules contained in the analyte and the fixed or immobilized capture molecules. As mentioned above, the target molecules are labelled with dyestuff molecule components, usually fluorochromes, in order to observe these reactions or bindings. The presence and the intensity of light which is emitted by the fluorochromes provides information about the progress of the reaction or binding in the individual droplets on the substrate, so that conclusions can be drawn about the presence and/or the property of the target molecules and/or capture molecules. When the corresponding fluorescence-labelled target molecules of the analyte react with or bind to the capture molecules immobilized on the surface of the support substrate, this reaction or binding can be detected by optical excitation with a laser and measurement of the corresponding fluorescence signal.
Substrates with a high but defined porosity have many advantages over planar substrates as a basis for such biochips.
More detection reactions can take place on the greatly enlarged surface area. This increases the detection sensitivity for biological assays. When the target molecules dissolved in the analyte are pumped through the channels between the front and back sides of the porous substrate, they are brought in close spatial contact with the surface of the substrate (<10 μm). On this size scale, diffusion is a very effective transport process which quickly covers the distance between a target molecule to be detected and the capture molecules immobilized on the surface. The rate of the binding reaction can thereby be increased so that the duration of the detection method can be significantly shortened.
Electrochemically produced porous silicon is an example of a substrate with such a defined porosity (cf. DE 42 02 454 A1, EP 0 553 465 A1 or DE 198 20 756 A1).
Many of the analytical methods currently used in active-agent research and clinical diagnosis employ optical methods for the detection of binding events between a substance to be detected and capture molecules (for example DNA hybridizations, antigen-antigen interactions and protein interactions). The substance to be detected is in this case provided with a marker which fluoresces after excitation with light of a suitable wavelength (fluorescence method) or which initiates a chemical reaction that in turn produces light (chemiluminescence method).
When the substance to be detected, that is to say the target molecule, binds with the immobilized capture molecule on the surface, then this can be detected optically, for example by means of luminescence. The term "luminescence," is in this case intended to mean the spontaneous emission of photons in the ultraviolet to infrared spectral range. The luminescent excitation mechanisms may be optical or non-optical in nature, for example electrical, chemical, biochemical and/or thermal excitation processes. Therefore, in particular, chemi-, bio- and electro-luminescence as well as fluorescence and phosphorescence are intended to be covered by the term "luminescence," in the scope of this invention.
Porous substrates with a high optical density and low reflectivity, for example porous silicon whose reflectivity is 50 to 70% in the visible range of the spectrum, however, do not give the expected results in conjunction with fluorescence or chemiluminescence methods in so far as the experimentally observed light-signal yield falls far short of the theoretically achievable values. The reasons for reduced experimentally determined light-signal yields compared with the theoretical values when such porous substrates are used are, on the one hand, problems with emitting the fluorescence of the substance or binding to be studied, and on the other hand—when a fluorescence method is used—problems with the optically exciting the fluorescence.
If (luminescent) light is produced throughout the volume of the pores, then the reflectivity of the pore walls is a crucial factor with a view to effective delivery of the optical signal to the surface. In the case of chemiluminescence, the light signal is radiated isotropically in all directions of space. Consequently, only a very small proportion of the generated light radiates directly in the aperture angle of the individual pore. All other optical paths are reflected several times by the walls of the pores before they reach the opening of the pore in question. Even with reflectivities which are only a little less than 100%, however, the intensity of a signal will be greatly reduced after multiple reflections. This means that this proportion of the generated signal will be greatly attenuated on its way out of the pore, and can then scarcely make any contribution to the overall signal.
Attenuation due to multiple reflections by the pore walls, which has already been described in connection with the problems of exciting the fluorescence, furthermore constitutes a serious problem for emitting the luminescence. Only fluorophors (fluorescent substances in the analyte) which radiate directly towards the pore opening are available unattenuated for a fluorescence signal. All the other optical paths are reflected at least once by the walls of the pores before they reach the opening of the pore. Even with reflectivities which are only a little less than 100%, these multiple reflections will lead to a significant attenuation of the optical signal to be detected.
In order to resolve the aforementioned problems of intensity attenuation due to multiple reflections, it has been proposed to arrange reflection layers on the pore walls in order to reduce the reflection losses, so that the excitation and emission light can be delivered better from the pores. But this solution approach does not lead to any significant improvement of the signal yield.

Device based on partially oxidized porous silicon and method for its production


A full-field, geometrically-desensitized interferometer (GDI) instrument incorporates a combination of diffractive optics and conventional optics to perform beam splitting and recombining operations during a surface profilometry operation. Symmetrically-positioned inbound and outbound optical subassemblies typically are arranged to direct an inbound collimated beam from a light generator to the profiled surface of a test object and to direct outbound reflected beams to an imaging device as a single recombined outbound interference beam. The optical path difference between the two inbound beams or between the two reflected outbound beams can be substantially independent of field position on a perfectly flat sampled surface adjusted for null fringes--hence producing the desired full-field effect. The resultant instrument, in addition to being capable of full-field imaging, exhibits several advantages when compared to grating-based GDI instruments including 1) a larger working distance, 2) the employment of readily-available blazed diffraction gratings or the like, and 3) the ability to transmit light with higher efficiency and without producing ghost images.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to interferometers and, more particularly, relates to a geometrically-desensitized interferometer (GDI) instrument for surface profiling. Even more particularly, the invention relates to a full-field GDI instrument combining diffractive optics and conventional optics to perform beam splitting and beam recombining operations. The invention additionally relates to a method of surface profiling using a full-field GDI instrument.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Optical metrology of surface profiles can generally be divided into two regimes, namely interferometric and geometric. Geometric techniques include triangulation and moire fringe analysis, which involves the projection and imaging of a periodic structure such as a ronchi ruling. Geometric techniques are relatively insensitive to surface roughness and deformations, but are of relatively low resolution--so low, in fact, that they are unsuitable for many applications in which surface profiles must be measured with high precision.
Interferometry, on the other hand, relies on the wave nature of light to ascertain with high precision the surface profile of a test object. A typical traditional interferometer includes a light generator that generates a beam of light, a spatial filter-beam diverger that diverts the light beam into a diverging spherical wavefront, a beam splitter that diverts part of the diverging spherical wavefront from the filtered beam, and a collimating lens that collimates the wavefront to produce a piano wavefront of coherent light. This wavefront of coherent light is then reflected off test and reference surfaces to produce first and second reflected wavefronts which combine with one another while interfering both constructively and destructively to produce an interference fringe pattern. An imaging device such as a solid state camera receives the recombined wavefronts and acquires images of the interference fringe pattern. The interference fringe pattern then is analyzed to obtain information about the surface profile of the test object.
Fringe pattern analysis for surface profilometery often is performed by the well-known technique of phase shifting interferometry (PSI). In PSI, the height difference between locations on a surface imaged by first and second pixels on the imaging device is determined by first determining a phase difference between light received at the first and second pixels and by then using the phase difference to calculate a height difference. A primary advantage of PSI is that it is highly precise. The vertical height precision for PSI is a fraction (e.g., 1/100) of the optical wavelength of the light source used to conduct the measurement. A second advantage of PSI is that it has good vibration immunity characteristics because phase data is acquired for all pixels simultaneously and because the data acquisition time is relatively short.
Generally speaking, however, conventional PSI approaches can only profile smooth surfaces having relatively small height variations or "surface departures" between adjacent measurement sites. This constraint results from the fact that PSI has a phase ambiguity constraint. Specifically, the maximum physical departure between adjacent measurement sites on the profiled surface must be less than 1/4 of the source wavelength. Stated another way, the maximum phase difference between the reference and test light beams must have an absolute value which is less than .pi.. This constraint, sometimes known as "two .pi. ambiguity", arises because the arctangent function, which is used to convert phase to distance, is only unique within the range of .+-..pi.. Thus, although the use of phase measurements advantageously allows very high precision to be obtained, it disadvantageously limits the maximum surface departure between adjacent measurement sites to one quarter of the source's optical wavelength. A further difficulty with PSI arises when the surface slope is so large that it becomes difficult to resolve or distinguish the interference fringes because the fringe density is too high. Therefore, while PSI interferometetry is much more precise than geometric optical profilometery, it historically has been considered to be ill-suited for use with rough objects or objects having marked surface deformations. Interferometers using PSI analysis therefore historically have not been considered appropriate for some surface profilometery applications.
One interferometric technique that lacks the quarter-wavelength constraint of PSI is the so-called scanning white light interferometry or SWLI. In SWLI, a white light illumination source or, more generally, one which is of a broad-band as opposed to being of a narrow-band, generates an interference pattern which contains regions of high contrast for each location on the test surface as a function of scan position. The scan position of high contrast for a given pixel indicates the height of the corresponding location on the test surface. Therefore, by comparing the temporal characteristics of these regions of high contrast with one another, a difference in height between two locations on the profiled surface can be determined. Unlike PSI, SWLI does not calculate height differences based on phase differences, and the PSI phase constraint therefore does not apply to SWLI. The maximum physical departure between adjacent measurement sites on a profiled surface therefore may be much larger with SWLI than with PSI.
However, SWLI has disadvantages of its own that hinders its use in industrial applications. For instance, the field of view is generally no larger than can be accommodated by standard microscope objectives. To function correctly, the imaging device of the instrument must have high resolution when compared to the corresponding interference fringe density. When the field of view of the typical SWLI instrument is increased, the fringe density can easily become difficult to resolve even with very high resolution imaging devices. This problem is especially evident during the profiling of rough surfaces. Moreover, slope tolerance for specular surfaces decreases linearly with the field size, and the speckle effects required for rough-surface measurements are only resolvable if the numerical aperture (NA) of the objective decreases linearly as the field increases. The need to resolve the speckle pattern from rough surfaces is the most discouraging, since the amount of collected light decreases with the square of the NA. The light loss means that larger surfaces require a more powerful illuminator. Worse, the fringe contrast is now a highly variable parameter, and the quality of the measurement depends critically on the balance between the reference and object beam intensities.
Another disadvantage of typical SWLI techniques is that data acquisition is very slow. The slow speed is a consequence of the large amount of data which must be acquired given the rapidly varying interference effect as a function of scan position. Accurate measurements require that these variations be recorded in detail, usually at the rate of one measurement per pixel per 75 nm of scan motion. The slow speed creates additional problems such as a high sensitivity to thermal distortions and mechanical strain during measurement.
Still another disadvantage of typical SWLI is its high sensitivity to vibration, which is due in part to the slow data acquisition speed, and in part to the extremely high sensitivity of the interference fringe pattern, which is easily corrupted by very small amounts of vibration. An instrument configured for SWLI analysis generally requires massive mounting fixtures and expensive vibration isolation. Even with these precautions, such instruments are still restricted to relatively vibration-free environments as compared to normal production environments.
Recent years have seen an increased demand for the high speed, high precision metrology of the surface profiles of manufactured parts having large surface departures, i.e., having rough surfaces or surfaces with pronounced surface deformations. A corresponding demand has arisen for the acquisition of data during production as opposed to in the laboratory. For instance, precision products such as hard disks for computer disk drives need to be profiled with high precision, at high speeds, and under conditions in which the test object may be subjected to substantial vibrations during manufacturing processes. Neither traditional PSI techniques nor traditional SWLI techniques are suitable for these purposes. A need therefore has developed for a "desensitized" interferometer that is relatively insensitive to surface roughness and surface deformations, that performs surface metrology with high accuracy and at high speeds, and that is relatively insensitive to vibrations and therefore is well-suited to production-line use.
This need has been met to a large extent by the development of the geometrically-desensitized interferometer (GDI) instrument. A GDI instrument is characterized by the replacement of the beam splitter of the traditional instrument with an optical assembly located between the collimating lens and the test object. The optical assembly, divides the collimated source light into two beams which propagate in two different directions and impinge on the profiled surface at the same location but at different incident angles. The beams reflect from the profiled surface and pass back through the optical assembly in different directions, after which they are recombined. Constructive and destructive interference of the reflected and recombined beams form an interference fringe pattern having an equivalent wavelength .LAMBDA. that may be orders of magnitude larger than the source wavelength. As a result, the GDI instrument is much less sensitive to height variations and surface deformations than are traditional interferometers using PSI analysis techniques.
Some forms of GDI instruments also are achromatic. That is, the fringe spacing in an interference fringe pattern produced by a GDI instrument is independent of the source wavelength. As a result, and unlike with SWLI interferometers, there is no coherence envelope associated with the source bandwidth. Many disadvantages associated with SWLI such as a limited field of view, a slow acquisition speed, and a high sensitivity to vibration therefore are avoided. The sensitivity of GDI instruments is intermediate conventional interferometry and moire fringe analysis, and is comparable to that obtained with grazing-incidence interferometry. GDI instruments therefore can be used in manufacturing applications and other applications that are unsuitable for traditional interferometry.
The two best-known types of GDI instruments are grating-based and conventional optics-based, respectively. The characteristics and limitations of each type of instrument will now be briefly described.
A grating-based GDI instrument is characterized by the use of at least one (and usually two) diffractive gratings that perform all of the beam splitting and beam recombining operations of the instrument. An exemplary grating-based GDI instrument is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,526,116 to de Groot (the de Groot '116 patent). Specifically, FIG. 2 of the de Groot '116 patent illustrates a diffractive optical assembly that includes first and second parallel linear phase gratings spaced from one another in the Z direction of the instrument. The second grating is not strictly required but produces the advantage of permitting the working distance between the exit surface of the grating assembly and the profiled surface of the test object to be increased from zero to a somewhat larger distance--typically about 2 inches. Both gratings are involved in both the splitting of an inbound beam and in the recombining of reflected beams from the object surface. Specifically, the first grating diffracts an inbound collimated beam from a light source into two first-order beams "A" and "B". The beams A and B are then redirected by the second grating so that they impinge on the profiled surface of the object at the same location but at different incident angles .alpha. and .beta.. Reflected beams A' and B' propagate outwardly from the profiled surface at corresponding angles .alpha.' and .beta.' and travel back through the second and first gratings sequentially so as to recombine with constructive and destructive interference. The recombined interfering beams or wavefronts are then imaged by an imaging device to display an interference pattern representative of the profile of the imaged surface. Typically, the interference pattern provides for each point on the imaged object surface an interference phase that is substantially linearly proportional to the local surface height.
The typical grating-based GDI instrument exhibits all of the above-described advantages of GDI instruments. Moreover, because it only requires two optical devices to split and recombine the inbound and outbound beams, it is relatively compact, relatively easy to align and maintain its alignment, and has a relatively small sensitivity to air turbulence. Moreover, it constitutes a true full-field GDI instrument. A "full-field" instrument is one in which the optical path difference between the two inbound beams A and B (or between the two outbound beams A' and B') is substantially independent of field position on a perfectly smooth sample surface the orientation of which relative to the instrument is adjusted to produce null fringes when it is imaged. The full-field capability of grating-based instruments arises from the fact that the gratings permit a change of direction of the beam without actually tilting the gratings relative to one another. The basic geometry of a full-field instrument is substantially unchanged with either side-to-side or fore-to-aft object tilt and, accordingly, provides a substantially linear and uniform response to surface topography over the entire imaged area of the object surface. In contrast, an instrument that is not capable of full-field imaging provides a substantially linear and uniform response only at a single point or along a single line of the imaged object surface.
Grating-based GDI instruments have some limitations arising from the fact that all beam splitting and recombining operations are performed via the same phase grating(s). For instance, they have a relatively small working distance (defined as the distance between the second grating and the profiled surface) that varies generally directly with the distance between the first and second gratings. For example, a grating-based GDI instrument employing currently-available phase gratings generally has a maximum working distance of about 2". This working distance is sufficiently large for most laboratory applications. However, it is insufficiently large for some industrial applications in which the test object is located in an environment that is hostile to the instrument and/or is separated from the instrument, e.g., by a transparent wall. These applications include profiling an object in an oven or profiling an object in a processing chamber.
Another limitation of the typical grating-based GDI instrument is that it requires the use of relatively expensive and difficult-to-obtain phase gratings. Phase gratings or their functional equivalents are required because these same gratings both 1) split inbound beams to form the converging impinging beams and 2) recombine reflected outbound beams to form the outbound interference beam. Stated another way, the gratings must be capable of accommodating both positive diffraction orders and negative diffraction orders with sufficient transmission efficiency to produce acceptable interference fringes using commercially-available light sources and imaging devices. Phase gratings meeting these requirements are relatively difficult to obtain and cost about twice as much as comparable reflective gratings designed for light impingement on one surface only. Moreover, the basic geometry of the typical grating-based GDI instrument precludes blazing the phase grating to enhance its transmission efficiency.
Conventional optics-based GDI instruments rely on beam splitters, lenses, mirrors, and/or other conventional optical elements to split and recombine beams. GDI instruments of this type are disclosed, e.g., in U.S. Pat. No. 3,958,884 to Smith (the Smith patent) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,714,348 to Makosch (the Makosch patent). For instance, the instrument illustrated in FIG. 6 of the Makosch patent employs a beam splitter and a plurality of mirrors to generate three collimated beams that are brought to interference in a symmetrical light field. When an object surface is brought into this light field, reflected beams are transmitted back through the system of splitters and mirrors and are recombined to form an interference pattern representative of the profile of the imaged surface. Conventional optics-based GDI instruments have the advantage of not requiring phase gratings and hence tend to exhibit a larger working distance than grating-based instruments. For small objects, they also may be less expensive to manufacture than grating-based GDI instruments to the extent that they employ more readily available optics than the phase gratings employed by grating-based GDI instruments.
However, conventional optics-based GDI instruments have at least one very serious limitation that severely limits their practical range of applications. That is, unlike grating-based instruments, conventional optics-based GDI instruments do not have full-field capability. This limitation arises from the fact that the field-independent path difference condition of a full-field instrument is not fulfilled by the mirrors or other conventional optical elements typically used in conventional optics-based GDI instruments. Conventional optical elements cannot be positioned in parallel with one another and still produce beams that overlap on the object surface at two different angles of incidence. Hence, in the Makosch patent, the inbound beams exhibit a first OPD at one field position on the object surface as illustrated in FIG. 6 of the Makosch patent and exhibit a different OPD at a different field position, even if the object surface is perfectly flat. Depending on the manner in which interference data is acquired and interpreted, the actual field of view of the typical conventional optics-based GDI instrument may therefore constitute no more than a point on the object surface relative to the instrument or, at best, a line extending along the object surface. Therefore, conventional optics-based instruments generally are limited to single-point profiling or, at best, linear profiling. This extremely limited field of view is unacceptable for most applications.
A need therefore has arisen to provide a GDI instrument that has full-field imaging capability but that lacks the limitations of grating-based GDI instruments.

Full-field geometrically-desensitized interferometer employing diffractive and conventional optics


An improved handle (14) for a walking stick or ski pole additionally serves as a vehicle for advertising. The improved handle has an inner part (26) and an outer part (28). The two parts are formed of different materials. Portions (18,20,22,24) of the inner part project outwardly through openings in the outer part, and are visible from the outside of the handle. The inner and outer parts are made of different materials.

Handles or hand grips for ski poles, walking sticks, and the like, are of course known. Some of these are shown in published German Patent Application No. 22 29 116, and in German Utility Model No. 83 00 930. These references teach that such a handle may be used for advertising purposes. Trademarks are similar informative details may be sprayed on, or otherwise adhere to the surface of the handle in a suitable contrasting color.
The intensive wear that such handles are subjected to offend causes the color to become unsightly, or to be rubbed off completed within a relative short period of time.
The object of the present invention is to provide an improved handle for a ski pole, walking stick, or the like, which handle offers the possibility of displaying design information on its outer surface in a manner that is resistant to wear.
This object is accomplished by providing an inner shaped tubular portion, and an outer shaped tubular portion surrounding the inner portion. The outer portion has various through holes communicating its inner and outer surfaces. The inner part has raised indica, which intend through the outer part opening so as to be visible from without the handle.
The inner shaped part thus contributes toward forming the outer surface of the assembled handle. The inner part, or at least the raised portions thereof, may be, and preferably are, in a color contrasting to that of the outer part, so that the visible raised portions will be in a contrasting color.
The outer part may have a somewhat oval shape, with the informative indica being formed on at least one of its two longitudinal sides.
The projecting portions of the inner part may have their distal ends arranged to be flush with the outer surface of the outer part, or may have their distal ends recessed relative to the outer surface of the outer part.
The inner part projections may be symbol-, relief- and/or letter-type design, depending, for example, on the nature of the informative information to be conveyed.
In a preferred embodiment, the inner part is injection molded, and is encased by the outer part in order to prevent shifting of the outer part during its application. The inner and/or outer parts may have additional interlocking projections and recesses to prevent relative movement of the inner and outer parts. These interlocking projections and recesses need not necessarily penetrate the outer part.
The inner part is preferably formed of a hard plastic, such as a polyamide. The outer part is preferably formed of a material which defers from that of the inner part. The outer part may, for example, be formed of an elastomer, which affords the capability of a non-slip handle outer surface.
The handle is preferably designed as a separate commercial article. The handle is then pushed on to the marginal end portion of the walking stick, ski pole or the like, and is subsequently affixed to it.

Hand grip construction for a ski pole or the like